HOW THE STATE OF EMERGENCY IS AFFECTING NGOS AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 YEREVAN 000194 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/CARC, EUR/ACE, DRL DEPT PLEASE PASS USAID E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/04/2018 TAGS: EAID PHUM PGOV KDEM AM SUBJECT: HOW THE STATE OF EMERGENCY IS AFFECTING NGOS AND USG ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS REF: YEREVAN 187 YEREVAN 00000194 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: CDA Joseph Pennington for reason 1.4d. -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) With a GOAM-enforced State of Emergency (SoE) in Yerevan in effect until March 20 (reftel),many local and international NGOs have been forced to curtail their activities. USG assistance implementers, especially those working on Democracy and Governance (DG),have not been spared this fate, with most of our media, advocacy and political party programs limited for the duration. Many of our implementers are nervous that the SoE will be extended in time and to the rest of the country and are planning accordingly. If that proves to be true, the impact on USG assistance to Armenia would be significant. END SUMMARY. -------------- STATE OF EMERGENCY -------------- ¶2. (U) As reported reftel, the GOAM imposed a SoE on the city of Yerevan from March 1 until March 20. The provisions of the SoE are wide ranging and prohibit, inter alia, public gatherings, independent reporting of internal political issues, the dissemination of news flyers and the activities of political parties and NGOs with regard to political issues. The fact that the Constitutional provision under which President Kocharian issued the SoE decree has no supporting legislation from the National Assembly and therefore has no interpretive elements means that the precise words of the decree are being treated in the broadest possible way, commensurate with the vagueness with which the SoE decree was written. -------------- INTERNATIONAL NGOS -------------- ¶3. (SBU) International NGOs, such as Transparency International, have ceased all of their activities. Others, including Helsinki Foundation, Internews and the Open Society Institute, are taking a cautious stand about furthering their activities, using the 1996 SoE -- declared under the old constitution -- as precedent. -------------- USG ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS -------------- ¶4. (C) MEDIA PROGRAMS: Media programs run through USAID's implementer The International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX) have been entirely suspended. IREX has advised all of its media outlets not to publish anything, including official information from the GOAM. ArmeniaNOW, an IREX-supported online news source with its servers in Kentucky, has continued to publish official information under a conspicuous black "Media Blackout" banner across the top of its page. IREX has also temporarily suspended or postponed its trainings during the period of the SoE, including those outside of Yerevan. IREX Chief of Party Robert Evans reports, "with media restricted all over the country, I expect the SoE shortly to be extended nationwide." ¶5. (C) DEMOCRACY PROGRAMS: The National Democratic Institute (NDI) has suspended all of its programs related to political parties, even those in its branch offices outside of Yerevan. In some instances, NDI's political party partners have been detained or are in hiding. NDI Chief of Party Gegham Sargsian reports that former president Levon Ter-Petrossian is planning a rally for March 21, the day after the SoE is lifted. "I believe strongly," Sargsian says, "that the SoE will be extended beyond 20 days." Sargsian also reports that NDI has suspended all of its media programs as well as its consultations with political figures. NDI also reports that it has postponed its civic programs throughout the country. YEREVAN 00000194 002.2 OF 002 ¶6. (SBU) ADVOCACY PROGRAMS: The American Bar Association - Rule of Law Initiative (ABA-ROLI) reports that it has suspended its advocacy trainings for the SoE period, though it will continue a computer class for public defenders. Its Legal Initiative, a pro bono public defender service, is still representing clients, as the SoE did not suspend the right to counsel. It has further suspended distributing its printed materials that advertise the Legal Initiative. ABA-ROLI and the Department of Justice/Resident Legal Advisor have also postponed trainings with judges and prosecutors. ¶7. (C) OTHER CIVIL SOCIETY PROGRAMS: Counterpart International (CI),ONE of the largest DG implementers, has imposed restrictions on its staff and partners. CI has reconfigured its email system so that no email can be sent to more than ten recipients at a time (to avoid the prohibition on distributing flyers). CI has begun to disseminate information from its office via a phone tree amongst its partners. It has surveyed its advocacy NGO partners, advising them not to conduct CI-funded events within the first week of the SoE; ONE of these partners has decided to shut down its operations. Based on consultation with lawyers, CI and ABA/ROLI interpret the provision of the SoE against activities that would undermine lifting of the SoE to include any criticism of the government, even policy reform efforts in non- democracy sectors such as health. Advocacy and train- the-trainer classes throughout all of CI,s recipient partner NGOs have been postponed, though statistics training will go ahead. CI's election grantees have been warned that their funding will be reviewed if they decide to violate the SoE. Existing requests for applications will continue, though CI has decided to extend the deadline on this latest round to accommodate orientation meetings that have been postponed until after the SoE is lifted. ¶8. (SBU) HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE: Counterpart Humanitarian Assistance Project, a Department of State Humanitarian Assistance implementer, has decided that distributing such assistance will cause crowds to form in violation of the SoE and have suspended such activity. The Department of State's other assistance- distributing implementers (International Relief and Development and United Methodist Council on Relief) currently have no supplies to distribute, but are postponing meetings about how to deal with incoming shipments until after the SoE has been lifted. ¶9. (SBU) OTHER PROGRAMS: Overall, the SoE does not affect USG programs that fall under Peace & Security, Economic Growth or Investing In People. The Eurasia Partnership Foundation has postponed a conference on Armenian-Turkish relations scheduled for next week. PENNINGTON