HOTELS CONFIRM GOAM PRESSURE TO DENY VENUES FOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 YEREVAN 001034

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/22/2018
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM AM
SUBJECT: HOTELS CONFIRM GOAM PRESSURE TO DENY VENUES FOR
POLITICAL MEETINGS

REF: YEREVAN 999

YEREVAN 00001034 001.2 OF 002


Classified By: DCM Joseph Pennington, reasons 1.4 (b,d).


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SUMMARY
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1. (C) Two western hotels operating in downtown Yerevan
confirmed that the National Security Service (NSS) continues
to pressure them to deny rented meeting space to
organizations that seek to hold events of a political nature
(reftel). Both the Armenian-American-owned "Marriott Armenia
Yerevan" hotel and the Italian-owned "Congress" hotel
separately said that they have been pressured by the NSS to
refuse between ten and twenty requested meetings, each, since
Armenia's fatal March 1-2 unrest. The director of a
U.K.-sponsored cultural center denied being subject to such
pressure, but did not exclude that the center's administrator
had been. NSS pressure on foreign-owned enterprises is
symptomatic of the authorities' continued reluctance to allow
freedom of assembly and determination to keep the screws
tight on the opposition. END SUMMARY.

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ITALIAN-OWNED "CONGRESS" HOTEL
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2. (C) Chiara Figini (protect),the Italian expatriate
General Manager of the Congress Hotel, which recently entered
into a reservations bookings arrangement with the U.S.-owned
Best Western franchise, told Emboff December 22 that the
Congress has foregone approximately USD 32,500 in meeting
space revenue since early June, when her hotel was first
approached by the National Security Service with the
directive not to rent space to organizations seeking to hold
meetings of a political nature. Figini said that the
Congress has been forced to deny rented space requests
approximately 20 times in that time period, and recounted how
civilian-clothed NSS agents arrived at her hotel in early
June to physically bar access to the Congress by the
All-Armenian Union of Women headed by the spouse of
opposition presidential candidate Levon Ter-Petrossian.
Figini said the NSS also continues to pressure the Golden
Tulip hotel, another upscale hotel in downtown Yerevan that
is owned by the same Italian parent company that owns the
Congress.


3. (C) In describing the vetting process for rental space
requests, Figini said the NSS directed her hotel to consult
with them on all rented space requests that might be
considered "political" in nature before either approving or
denying them. She said that the turnaround time averages
about 24 hours from the time the Congress notifies the NSS to
the time they receive the decision, although sometimes it can
last longer. All contacts with the NSS are conducted over
the phone. Figini expressed frustration that some hotels
were renting space for the same events that the NSS had
denied permission to the Congress to host. She said when she
recently complained about one such case to the NSS, the case
officer defended himself, saying "that hotel is not under my
jurisdiction." Figini also said she had been frightened by a
recent exchange with the NSS in which the case officer told
her "to keep your mouth shut" and "don't make any trouble "
when she complained about the continuing pressure to deny
venues.

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ARMENIAN-AMERICAN-OWNED MARRIOTT HOTEL
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4. (C) Alex Nurock (protect),the Israeli expatriate Sales
and Marketing Manager at the "Marriott Armenian Yerevan"
hotel told Emboff December 23 that he was aware of at least
ten cases where the NSS had pressured the hotel, most of
which occurred right after the March 1-2 unrest. He said the
NSS has not "dared" to approach him or the Israeli General
Manager of the Marriott directly, and deals instead with the
hotel's security chief, who is an Armenian citizen. Nurock
said the pressure was "stupid" and "bad for business," but
the Armenian-American owners of the hotel and Marriott's
regional offices in Germany had decided to "wait out"
Armenia's "political crisis" before resuming to rent space to
political parties and the opposition. Nurock confirmed that
the Marriott's current policy is not to rent space to any
political party, neither from the opposition nor ruling
coalition.

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U.K.-BASED TEKEYAN CULTURAL CENTER

YEREVAN 00001034 002.2 OF 002


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5. (C) The Tekeyan Cultural Center, a non-profit charity
operating in Armenia since 1997, denied that it had recently
been pressured to withhold space to the newly created Miatsum
(Unity) movement that opposes any Armenian concessions on
Nagorno-Karabakh. Its director, Armen Tsulikian (protect),
told Emboff on December 23 that he was out of the country
attending the annual Tekeyan Foundation meeting at the
foundation's London headquarters when Miatsum wanted to hold
its meeting in Yerevan on November 24, only to be told at the
last minute by Tekeyan's administrator -- who manages the
Cultural Center's facilities -- that broken water pipes
prevented the holding of the meeting. Tsulikian said that
"while I have no reason to distrust my administrator," he was
not "naive," and is aware of the denied venue issue. That
said, Tsulikian said that he personally had not been
pressured, and that the Tekeyan Cultural Center has worked to
maintain a neutral, open door policy for everyone, "including
government structures." (NOTE: In early November, Tekeyan
hosted the screening of a documentary film that chronicled
the controversial eviction of apartment dwellers in central
Yerevan earlier in the decade, in what authorities then
argued was an eminent domain case. The film's presenters had
been denied space at a popular downtown cinema before
approaching and receiving Tekeyan's approval. END NOTE.)

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COMMENT
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6. (C) The deployment of the NSS to curtail the operations of
Western-owned or sponsored businesses and centers is
symptomatic of the authorities' continued reluctance to allow
freedom of assembly and their determination to keep the
screws tight on all forms of opposition. It also suggests
that the authorities have few qualms about pressuring
foreign-owned entities, even those belonging to prominent
Diaspora Armenians, in their efforts to control the political
arena. That these entities cooperate with the authorities
also demonstrates the degree to which they feel vulnerable in
the present environment. At the end of a year in which
opposition supporters, independent media, and
opposition-linked business interests have been persecuted for
their political stances, it is not surprising that foreign
entities with substantive exposure here are avoiding actions
that could provoke the authorities' ire.
YOVANOVITCH