MEDIA REACTION TO A/S FRIED'S STATEMENTS ON FRENCH

UNCLAS YEREVAN 001512

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/PPD, EUR/CARC

E.O. 12958; N/A
TAGS: OPRC AM KMDR KPAO
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION TO A/S FRIED'S STATEMENTS ON FRENCH
"GENOCIDE" DENIAL BILL


Sensitive but unclassified, please protect accordingly.

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SUMMARY
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1. (U) Armenian media broadly covered A/S Fried's October 20 remarks
in Brussels on a bill approved by France's lower chamber of
parliament that would criminalize denial of the "Armenian genocide."
Major television stations and a number of newspapers and news
agencies covered Fried's remarks, with most basing their reports on
an article published in Turkey's Zaman newspaper (Fried made his
remarks in response to a question from a Zaman journalist in
Brussels). Press reports, which generally provided quotes without
commenting, stated that Fried said the proposed legislation did not
make sense and called on France not to take sides, but to facilitate
Turkish-Armenian dialogue. In one of the only opinion pieces on the
topic, Russian-language Novoye Vremya newspaper sarcastically
criticized Fried for attempting to please both Turkey and Armenia.
END SUMMARY.

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"BILL DOESN'T MAKE SENSE"
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2. (U) Armenian media reports largely focused on Zaman's statement
that A/S Fried said that the French bill did not make sense (though
many outlets translated Fried's words less aptly as "meaningless").
PanArmenian.net, an independent news website, began its article by
stating, "The bill criminalizing the denial of the Armenian Genocide
'is senseless,' U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Europe
and Eurasia Daniel Fried stated at a news conference in Brussels."
Haykakan Zhamanak, a pro-opposition sensationalist daily, also
focused on this remark by Fried. In a short article entitled,
"Senseless," the newspaper quotes Fried as saying, "I certainly
share the view that this legislation criminalizing discussion
doesn't seem to make any sense." Novoye Vremya, a pro-government
Russian-language newspaper, criticized Fried for this remark, saying
that he "betrayed diplomacy" when he stated that the bill did not
make sense.

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FRIED CALLS ON FRANCE TO PROMOTE DIALOGUE
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3. (U) Media outlets also reported widely that Fried called on
France to contribute to dialogue between Turkey and Armenia.
Arminfo, an independent news agency, published an article entitled,
"American Diplomat Calls on France to Contribute to Dialogue of
Turkey and Armenia." The article states, "Also calling on France
'to promote dialogue instead of taking sides,' [Fried] pointed out
that the subject in Turkey was already being discussed and Turkish
intellectuals had started adopting different angles to evaluate the
events of 1915."

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NEWSPAPER CRITICIZES FRIED FOR TRYING TO PLEASE BOTH SIDES
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4. (U) In a sarcastic front-page opinion piece, Novoye Vremya
criticized Fried at length for failing to take sides and trying to
please both Armenia and Turkey. The article states that after
saying the United States did not describe the events of 1915 as
"genocide," "[F]ried probably remembered his friends from the
Armenian Assembly of America, who were offered assurances of
everlasting friendship this spring," and corrected himself by saying
that this did not mean the U.S. Government was belittling or denying
the mass killings that took place in 1915. The author sarcastically
writes that Fried has been successful in maintaining "balance,"
saying that while Ambassador Evans fulfilled his "human duty" by
using the word "genocide," Fried "did not make such a slip."

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COMMENT
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5. (SBU) As expected, the Armenian media and public were critical of
Assistant Secretary Fried's lack of support for the French bill and
his statement that the United States does not call the events of
1915 "genocide." The local interpretation was that this was purely
an anti-Armenian/pro-Turkish statement; the nuance that the draft
French law was objectionable on free speech grounds was lost on
Armenian editors, unfortunately.

GODFREY