KOCHARIAN ACCUSES BAGHDASSARIAN OF BETRAYAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L YEREVAN 000560

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR/CARC

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/03/2017
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM AM
SUBJECT: KOCHARIAN ACCUSES BAGHDASSARIAN OF BETRAYAL

REF: A) YEREVAN 522 B) YEREVAN 490

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


1. (U) President Kocharian blasted opposition leader Artur
Baghdassarian during an address to local university students
on April 27, accusing him of "betrayal." "I don't want to
use legal terms. For me, this is a real manifestation of
betrayal," Kocharian told students at Yerevan State
University, referring to the secretly-taped conversation
between Baghdassarian and the British DCM (ref B). The
president said that, despite the "hundreds of phone calls"
from citizens wondering how "such a politician can
participate in elections," the government would not take
"tough action." Instead, "let every voter decide whether
patriotism and dignity matter to them," he commented.
Kocharian suggested that another opposition leader, Aram
Karapetyan, might have been involved in the incident, as
Karapetyan admitted to having a copy. Karapetyan has said
that the CD recording of the conversation had been planted on
his office doorstep.


3. (C) During our meeting with Kocharian, (Ref A) he had
tried to point the finger of blame for the leaked recording
at Baghdassarian's foreign policy aide, Tigran Mkrtchyan, who
had been present during the conversation with the British
DCM. Kocharian hypothesized that Mkrtchyan might be bitter
about his low place on the party list -- with essentially no
hope of winning a parliament seat -- after all the work he
had done for the party.


4. (U) Baghdassarian hit back, telling reporters that "The
traitors are all those who rig elections and disgrace the
fatherland." He continued, "This is a violation of not only
the constitution and laws but moral norms."
GODFREY