ARMENIANS UNITED IN PROTESTING USG STATEMENT THAT

C O N F I D E N T I A L YEREVAN 000084

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR/CACEN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/19/2014
TAGS: PREL PGOV AM
SUBJECT: ARMENIANS UNITED IN PROTESTING USG STATEMENT THAT
N-K IS "CRIMINALLY SECESSIONIST"

Classified By: Amb. John M. Evans for reasons 1.4 (b, d).

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SUMMARY
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1. (C) The Armenian body politic has come together to protest
Assistant Secretary Elizabeth Jones' comments on
Nagorno-Karabakh as reported in the January 14 edition of the
Moscow Times. The story dominated media coverage on a day
when the other big news in the bilateral relationship was the
send-off for GOAM contribution to Coalition efforts in Iraq
(septel). GOAM officials expressed private dismay at what
they referred to as unfortunate timing and objected strongly
to the characterization of "criminal secessionists." In
addition to press and television commentaries condemning A/S
Jones' statement (media reaction septel),students and the
youth wings of both opposition and governing coalition
political parties protested against the comments. End
Summary.

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TIMING UNFORTUNATE
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2. (C) The Ambassador met privately with Minister of Defense
Serzh Sargsian and spoke to Deputy Foreign Minister Tatul
Markarian to address GOAM concerns, highlighting A/S Jones'
full statements. Despite their public restraint, MFA
Americas Desk Officer Lilit Toutkhalian told us that senior
GOAM officials viewed A/S Jones' comments as a slap in the
face, and were complaining privately that they had taken the
unpopular step to send troops to Iraq "for nothing." Some,
she continued, were so emotional as to assert that the U.S.
was behaving in an "ungrateful manner."

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WELL-ORGANIZED PROTEST WITH BROAD SUPPORT
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3. (SBU) Students and young party activists from more than
thirty groups and representing all the major government and
opposition parties protested against A/S Jones' statement in
front of the Embassy January 19. Despite inclement weather,
roughly 1000 young protesters gathered at Opera Square and
marched up the street to protest in front of the Embassy at
1:00 p.m. local time. The students were well-organized, with
professional-quality banners in English and Armenian saying,
"Shame on Elizabeth Jones," "Karabagh: Democracy, Peace and
Freedom," "Keep Your Hands Off a Free Karabakh," and "No
Double Standard." The protesters, aged 16 to 26, were
energetic and mostly male, taking advantage of the fresh snow
to throw snowballs at each other and playing to the
television cameras.

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COMMENT
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4. (C) The coincidence of the departure of the Armenian
non-combatant contingent to Iraq, which produced excellent
local media coverage and the report in the Moscow Times was
unfortunate, and has produced a negative public and official
reaction that we will have to deal with; however, the
essentially strong relationship that the United States and
Armenia enjoy -- and such facts as that the United States,
provides humanitarian assistance to Karabakh -- will enable
us to weather this storm. The Ambassador found that even
Defense Minister Sargsian, an ardent Karabakhi, was mollified
when he saw the full text of Assistant Secretary Jones' video
conference and had it pointed out to him that it was the
secessionist areas bordering on Russia that were at the
center of her attention.
EVANS