WIVES OF POLITICAL DETAINEES PROTEST AT US EMBASSY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 YEREVAN 000340 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/CARC, NSC FOR MARIA GERMANO E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/17/2018 TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM AM SUBJECT: WIVES OF POLITICAL DETAINEES PROTEST AT US EMBASSY REF: YEREVAN 337 YEREVAN 00000340 001.2 OF 002 -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (SBU) Approximately 50 women assembled at the Embassy on April 17 to protest the jailing of their male relatives for their political views. Melissa Brown, the Amcit wife of detained ex-Foreign Minister Alexander Arzumanian led the peaceful protest. The women carried photos of the jailed and posters denouncing the arrests, complained the government continued to harass their families, and cited the new arrest of a political party leader two days prior. The protesters thanked President Bush for not congratulating President Sargsian on his election, delivered a letter to the Charge, and asked that their plight be raised at the April 17 Helsinki Commission hearing in Washington. Our Human Rights Officer met with the protesters, accepted the letter, and told them the Embassy would relay their concerns. Independent media covered the event, and praised the Embassy for meeting the protesters and listening to what they had to say. Diplomatic colleagues at the Council of Europe, French and German embassies on April 14-16 had ignored the protesters when they showed up at their missions. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (SBU) In response to the roundup of the 100-plus opposition leaders and supporters who backed the presidential bid of ex-President Levon Ter-Petrossian, an informal organization of women -- wives, sisters, daughters, and other relatives of the detained -- has emerged to protest the arrest of their loved ones. DAS Bryza met with some of the wives of prominent detainees during his April 9 visit to Yerevan. The organization, which calls itself simply "Wives of the Detained," appears to be growing and doing a better job coordinating its actions. On April 11, the organization announced it would demonstrate one hour a day before the Council of Europe, the French, German, and US Embassies. On April 16, they announced plans to hold weekly Friday afternoon protests at the Prosecutor-General's office. ¶3. (SBU) The protest at the US Embassy -- as at others -- proceeded peacefully, and lasted about 45 minutes. Unlike protests at other embassies earlier in the week, police did not follow the demonstrators to our mission. (Comment: This did not prevent several members of our local diplomatic protection service who work for Armenia's National Security Service from listening intently to what the protesters and our Human Rights Officer were saying. End Comment.) Also, no TV crews filmed the event as they had at other Embassies. One journalist from the A1 Plus independent/opposition on-line news service covered the protest. Melissa Brown, the Amcit wife of LTP's campaign manager and former Foreign Minister Alexander Arzumanian, led the protest. Demonstrators carried color photographs of the more prominent political detainees, and posters with slogans that read, "Freedom for Political Prisoners," "We Will Fight Until We Win," "We Demand Justice," and one that referenced the perceived stolen presidential election that said, "We Will Win Again, and Finally!" ¶4. (C) More than a few protesters were animated in their denunciations of the authority. One woman supporting Karabakh War hero and jailed MP Sasun Mikaelian said the political detentions disgraced the Armenian nation, and "if anyone should be put on trial, it's the entire country for allowing the arrests to happen!" She also said women were preparing to begin hunger strikes if Mikaelian and others were not released. (Comment: The most vocal demonstrators came from Mikaelian's home town of Hrazdan, where -- as noted in reftel -- the war hero enjoys almost mythical stature. The authorities' detention of Mikaelian has struck a nerve with Karabakh War veterans around the country, and developments involving his supporters bear watching. Mikaelian's supporters appear to be the most devoted and willing to take risks, and his detention is turning him into a long-term liability for the authorities. End Comment.) ¶5. (SBU) The protesters praised the USG for its stance during the current political crisis, thanking President Bush for not congratulating President Sargsian for his "tainted election." They were aware of the hearing to be held by the U.S. Helsinki Commission later in the day, and asked that the Embassy relay their concerns about their loved ones' plight so the issue could be raised at the hearing. They also delivered a letter addressed to the Charge urging the USG to YEREVAN 00000340 002.2 OF 002 "stand by the side" of committed supporters of freedom and democracy in Armenia. (Note: Text of letter follows below. End Note.) They praised the Embassy for sending a diplomat out to speak with them, and complained that they had been ignored the three previous days by diplomats at the Council of Europe (COE),and at the French and German Embassies. (Note: A COE staff person phoned the Embassy in the morning to ask our advice on how to react to the protesters in advance of their return visit to the COE that afternoon. We told them we were going to listen to what they had to say. The COE decided to send an Armenian employee out to receive the protesters' letter, but no diplomat was dispatched to listen to their concerns. End Note.) The demonstrators ended their protest with clapping and shouts of "Viva America." ¶6. (SBU) The protesters complained about harassment they continued to receive from the authorities. Several alleged that police would not allow them to walk in Freedom Square -- the site of LTP's 11-day-long post-election protests -- even with their families. Others alleged constant police surveillance. One said she and her kids were beaten by police on April 9. Another said she and her younger brother had been detained by police, but subsequently released, after they came looking for their older brother, an LTP supporter and businessman who went into hiding after the fatal March 1-2 clashes. The older brother's factory has been assessed a substantial tax penalty in the interim, which the sister characterized as politically motivated. They also said the police had picked up the head of a political party on April ¶15. (Note: We couldn't get the name of the person or party, but were told by one of the protesters that it is an obscure party that supported LTP's presidential bid. End note.) ¶7. (C) The protesters confirmed that they are now allowed to see their loved ones twice a month for hour-long visits. They can deliver food once a week, and pass medicine to those who require it. They complained, however, that medical care by the prison administration has been poor and sporadic. One detainee who apparently has not received the right to visitation is Aram Karapetian, the leader of the radical New Times political party that backed LTP during the election and who was subsequently picked up after giving a fiery speech at a post-election rally at Freedom Square. (Note: Karapetian reportedly has strong contacts in the Russian political establishment, and it is rumored that the authorities were concerned about those ties being used to secure Moscow's backing of LTP when they detained him. He is also a fire-and-brimstone speaker who the authorities might not have wanted leading the post-election protests. End Note.) ¶8. (SBU) Text of protesters' letter follows: April 17, 2008 Mr. Joseph Pennington Charg d'Affaires Embassy of the United States of America Yerevan, Armenia Dear Mr. Pennington, We are writing to you today on behalf of the wives, mothers, sisters, and daughters of those citizens of the Republic of Armenia who have been subjected to persecution and arrest in connection with the February 19, 2008 presidential election and its aftermath. Our husbands, sons, brothers, and fathers are innocent -- they took lawful part, as opposition activists, proxies, and supporters, in an election that was falsified and accompanied by violence and abuse on the part of the authorities from the outset -- and are now in confinement because they espoused, through peaceful and legal means, the values that the United States holds dear. We urge the United States Government to stand by the side of those citizens of Armenia who are committed to democracy and freedom. In this connection, we will be gathered outside the U.S. Embassy in Yerevan, from 15:00 to 16:00 today. We would welcome the opportunity to meet with you briefly, to convey our concerns regarding today's hearing by the U.S. Helsinki Commission hearing entitled, "Armenia after the Election." Thank you for your consideration. (The letter was signed by ten of the protesters.) PENNINGTON