PRO-OPPOSITION YOUTH ACTIVIST SEVERELY BEATEN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 YEREVAN 001365

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SUBJECT: PRO-OPPOSITION YOUTH ACTIVIST SEVERELY BEATEN


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(U) Sensitive but unclassified. Please protect accordingly.

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SUMMARY
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1. (SBU) On Thursday November 15 Narek Galstian, a student activist,
was attacked by three men and severely beaten. The attack came two
days after police reportedly detained him for posting leaflets
advertising the upcoming Levon Ter-Petrosian rally on Friday,
November 16. Galstian and opposition party leaders are pointing the
finger at the government for allegedly orchestrating the attack.
Government officials, however, have denied such claims.
END SUMMARY.

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POLICE WARN AGAINST DISTRIBUTING ANTI-GOVERNMENT PROPOGANDA
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2. (SBU) Narek Galstian, the leader of the Sargis Tkhruni
student-youth union of the opposition Social-Democrat Hnchakyan
Party (SDHK),was arrested by police November 13. He and another
group member were reportedly posting leaflets critical of Serzh
Sargsian's candidacy, and informing people about the upcoming rally
of Levon Ter-Petrosian. Lyudmila Sargsian, the SDHK chairwoman,
asserts that the two men were admonished by police against
distributing 'anti-government propaganda,' and that they were
mistreated while in police custody. She alleged that the chief of
Yerevan police, Major General Nerses Nazarian, personally hit the
two men. She says of the incident: "the fact that a police general
does not shy away from beating 19- and 20- year-old young men, and
even trying to stuff a leaflet into their mouths and force them to
eat it... shows that this is a police state." Larisa Alaverdyan, MP
from the opposition Heritage Party, was quoted saying "a sad
tradition has been created in Armenia, according to which
distribution of leaflets is not considered a normal phenomenon by
Armenian law enforcement."


3. (SBU) A police spokesman confirmed to us privately that Galstian
was "invited" to the police station for a discussion about what he
was doing, but denies that he was ever involuntarily detained or
arrested, or that he suffered any mistreatment.

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GALSTIAN TAKEN FROM TAXI AND BEATEN
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4. (SBU) On his way to work on Thursday November 16, three men
blocked Galstian's taxi, forcing it to stop. The three unidentified
men then took Galstian from the car and severely beat him. Galstian
was hospitalized as a result of the attack. He has reported that
the men warned him that they would kill him next time if he talked
to newspapers. In an interview from the hospital Galstian has
accused the authorities of orchestrating the attack, calling it part
of an ongoing government campaign of 'repression' against the
opposition and those who support Levon Ter-Petrosian. The attack
came just two days after his detention and one day before the
Ter-Petrosian rally, causing many to conclude that the incidents
were connected and that it was politically motivated.

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THE GOVERNMENT REACTS
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5. (SBU) On November 16, President Robert Kocharian denied any
involvement of the authorities, in response to a press conference
question. Dismissing any political motive, the president said that
Galstian was too young and little-known to pose a threat to his and
Sargsian's rule. "As always, whatever happens to anyone in the
run-up to elections is linked with politics," he told reporters. "I
personally never heard about that lad. I didn't know there was such
a political figure. I don't think he was of interest to anyone,"
Kocharian added. Several pro-government parties have commented on
the attack. Artsvik Minasian, an MP from the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation (ARF-Dashnaks) said that his party could not comment on
the attack, since violence against a representative of a political
party did not necessarily mean that the attack was politically
motivated. Naira Zohrabian, an MP from the Prosperous Armenia
party, told reporters that the authorities would not have
orchestrated such an attack, as it would have a damaging effect on
their image.

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OPPOSITION PARTIES CONDEMN THE ATTACK
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6. (SBU) At hisNovember 16 public rally in Yerevan, Levon
Ter-Petrosian during his speech (septel) made mention of Galstian

YEREVAN 00001365 002.2 OF 002


and condemned the attack on him. Ter-Petrosian demanded that
Nazarian, the Yerevan police chief, be fired and that failure of the
authorities to do so would implicate both Kocharian and Serzh
Sargsian in orchestrating the beating. The SDHK leader, Lyudmila
Sargsian, also alleges that the government was behind the attack,
and is quoted in the press as saying, "Nowadays police will not take
any action without orders from above. I link [the beating] to the
highest echelons of power." Members of the opposition have tied the
beating to what they claim is a wider range of 'repression'
unleashed by the government against supporters of the opposition,
including the tax inspections on Sil Holding and GALA TV.

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COMMENT
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7. (SBU) This latest event seems to be another troubling example of
the government's failure to protect the opposition's rights to free
expression without fear of reprisal. We have no evidence to support
the assertion that the police were specifically behind the beating,
but we believe that the attack was most probably politically
motivated and done by one or another pro-government faction.

PENNINGTON