Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06YEREVAN1750
2006-12-21 13:49:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Yerevan
Cable title:  

CDA HOSTS HUMAN RIGHTS LUNCH

Tags:  PHUM PREL PGOV APER KPAO AM 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO1360
RR RUEHDBU
DE RUEHYE #1750/01 3551349
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 211349Z DEC 06
FM AMEMBASSY YEREVAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4621
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 YEREVAN 001750 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR/CARC

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/21/2016
TAGS: PHUM PREL PGOV APER KPAO AM
SUBJECT: CDA HOSTS HUMAN RIGHTS LUNCH

REF: A) STATE 196666

Classified By: CDA A. F. Godfrey for reasons 1.4 (b, d).

-------
SUMMARY
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 YEREVAN 001750

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR/CARC

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/21/2016
TAGS: PHUM PREL PGOV APER KPAO AM
SUBJECT: CDA HOSTS HUMAN RIGHTS LUNCH

REF: A) STATE 196666

Classified By: CDA A. F. Godfrey for reasons 1.4 (b, d).

--------------
SUMMARY
--------------


1. (C) Lively discussion at a Human Rights Day lunch hosted
by the Charge d'Affaires December 20 demonstrated that,
while Armenia's most vocal human rights advocates agree that
the upcoming parliamentary elections will not be free
and fair, they do not fear airing their most damning
complaints in the presence of a high-ranking government
official. The CDA hosted the leaders of three prominent
human rights NGOs as well as the GOAM's human rights
defender. Post also published a press release about the
luncheon, which received coverage in several media
outlets. END SUMMARY.


2. (C) In attendance at the lunch were the government's Human
Rights Defender Armen Harutyunyan (a
constitutionally-mandated ombudsman position),Misha
Danielyan of the Helsinki Association, Avetik Ishkhanian from
the Armenian Helsinki Committee, and Susanna Vardanyan of the
Women's Rights Center. Views expressed by the three human
rights leaders were far from uniform. They ranged from
Danielyan at one extreme ("No progress can be made under the
Kocharian regime as everything he does is an illegal act.")
to Ishkhanian, who expected that the process of voting on
Armenia's next election day would be generally clean, but
that the lead-up to elections would not be.

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EVERYTHING IS ALREADY DECIDED
--------------


3. (C) Echoing concerns held by many voting Armenians,
Danielyan said he believed the distribution of parliamentary
seats has already been decided, including the provision of a
few token opposition seats for the National
Unity party. Ishkhanian said the voting had already been
compromised by a flawed election process, including the
shutting down of independent television news station A1 .
Despite their cynicism, both Danielyan and Ishkhanian said
they were committed to monitoring the voting, but added that
while the GOAM might allow international monitors to release
a report after the voting, the government surely would not
allow them to "influence the process." Ishkhanian said he
believed an Armenian public free to vote its conscience would
vote to change the current government.


4. (C) The group agreed that the government would not be
forced to acknowledge fraud in the upcoming elections unless
citizens filed complaints, which they have shown themselves
reluctant to do in the past. Ishkhanian said the lack of
reporting comes not from fear, but from citizens' belief that
their complaints won't make a difference. The government
brushed off most complaints that arose during the seriously
flawed 2005 constitutional referendum, he said. Results of
recent USAID-funded polls commissioned by the International
Republican Institute support Ishkhanian's theory, revealing
widespread apathy and resignation among the voting public.

--------------
OMBUDSMAN TALKS THE TALK
--------------


5. (C) Echoing previous conversations with various mission
staff, Harutyunyan said the outcome of the election was not
as important as the process. He said the voting public was
not principled, and was prone to flitting from party to
party. Harutyunyan told us several weeks ago, that he was
only interested in fighting fraud that would change the
outcome of the voting. That said, he remarked that he did
not believe fraud would affect the election results. When we
called him on the apparent loophole he had left for himself,
he said he was committed to raising with the government every
complaint he received.

--------------
COMMENT
--------------


6. (C) While not surprising to us, the most striking part of
the luncheon was the frankness with which the NGO
leaders aired their complaints to Harutyunyan, whom they
believe to be in the pocket of the president. Though
Armenia's human rights record is far from spotless, most
agree that the lack of oppressive censorship puts it in a
league above many of its fellow former Soviet states.

YEREVAN 00001750 002 OF 002


Harutyunyan's comments about a fickle public may be more
about voters' not-unreasonable belief that opposition parties
just do not count for much, and they might as well take such
benefit as they can find from the process, as for example,
Prosperous Armenia's attracting support with targeted
philanthropy.
GODFREY