US ASSISTANCE COORDINATOR PRESSES PRESIDENT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 YEREVAN 000411

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR DAS BRYZA, EUR/CARC
NSC FOR MARIA GERMANO

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/18/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM AID AM
SUBJECT: US ASSISTANCE COORDINATOR PRESSES PRESIDENT
SARGSIAN ON DEMOCRATIC REFORM


YEREVAN 00000411 001.2 OF 003


Classified By: CDA Joseph Pennington, reasons 1.5(b,d)

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SUMMARY
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1. (C) US Assistance Coordinator Tom Adams met with President
Sargsian May 15 to press for Armenia's return to democratic
reform in the wake of February's dubious presidential
election and the deadly post-election violence of March 1-2.
Adams stressed the link between serious reforms and levels of
US assistance to Armenia, including the continuation of
Armenia's Millennium Challenge Program. Sargsian defended
the conduct of the election, blamed the violence largely on
the opposition, and said former President Kocharian "did what
needed to be done" in declaring a state of emergency and
arresting opposition supporters. Sargsian denied that anyone
is being held for political reasons, and asserted that those
who committed crimes "must serve sentences." He acknowledged
that police may not have handled the March 1 demonstrations
in the best way -- a function, he said, of a lack of training
and proper equipment. The source of the problem, though, was
a "months-long plan" by opposition supporters to "take power
by force." Sargsian promised steps toward reform, but said
such steps "must not threaten he future of the country." He
dismissed the suggestion that Armenia lags behind in media
freedom, and sharply criticized Radio Liberty for "biased
coverage." Sargsian expressed determination to tackle
corruption, especially in the State Tax Service and Customs
Administration. He agreed with Adams on the need for a new
US ambassador in Yerevan, and claimed to have made his view
on that issue clear to Armenian-Americans during his October
2007 visit to the US. He made no commitment on our
longstanding request for the registration of NDI. End
Summary.

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SARGSIAN: ELECTION WAS A "STEP FORWARD"
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2. (C) Visiting US Assistance Coordinator for Europe and
Eurasia Tom Adams, accompanied by Deputy Coordinator Daniel
Rosenblum and CDA, met with President Sargsian for nearly 90
minutes on May 15. Adams highlighted concerns in Washington
about Armenia's perceived backsliding on democratic reform in
light of the problematic presidential election and subsequent
violence and crackdown on opposition. Despite these
concerns, he made clear that the US wants Sargsian and his
team to succeed and would like to help Armenia return to a
democratic path in order to "move beyond" the current
political crisis. He stressed that Armenia has placed some
US assistance at risk -- especially the MCC, which was
established as a reward for good governance. Adams said that
while the MCC Executive Board is unlikely to take decisive
action on Armenia's MCC program at its upcoming meeting in
June, a Board decision to suspend the program in September is
entirely possible if negative trends are not reversed.


3. (C) Sargsian said that the MCC program is important for
Armenia's development, adding that the GOAM is well aware of
the program's conditionality. He argued that there had been
"no backsliding" by Armenia on economic reform, citing
continued high GDP growth rates and positive assessments of
Armenia by international credit agencies. The President said
that the progress of reform in the political field "is a
question of approach." He defended Armenia's recent
elections -- the parliamentary election in May 2007 and
presidential election in February 2008 -- as "steps forward"
for democracy, and attributed the current tension in the
country to an unwillingness of supporters of former President
Levon Ter-Petrossian (LTP) to accept the election results,
and their efforts to "take power by force." The President
contended that the international community had ratified the
presidential election as "mostly in line with international
standards," and had found "no problems" with the
parliamentary election. An end to MCC would be "painful" for
Armenia, he said, adding that suspending the MCC program
"will not contribute to the development of democracy."

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PRESIDENT DEFENDS MARCH 1 DECISIONS
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4. (C) Sargsian acknowledged that the authorities could have
handled the events of March 1 in a way that would have
avoided loss of life. The problem, he said, was that
Armenian police were not properly trained or equipped to deal

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effectively with such a situation. Sargsian argued that
neither he nor former President Kocharian wanted violence on
March 1, but he alleged that LTP supporters "had been
planning this for a month." He said that "some in the
international community understand this," but complained that
"their voices have not been heard." When Adams suggested
that Kocharian was primarily responsible for the decisons
made on March 1, Sargsian strongly defended the former
president. Kocharian, he said, "did what needed to be done
by declaring a State of Emergency." Sargsian condemned those
in the international community who criticized the GOAM for
using excessive force "before all the information had come to
light." The President said that if the police had used more
force earlier in the day in order to "localize" the
demonstrators, then no one would have been killed.

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POLITICAL PRISONERS: NOT SURE WHAT YOU MEAN
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5. (C) When Adams reiterated US concerns that the new
government take actions to deal effectively with popular
frustration stemming from the election and March 1 --
investigation of March 1 deaths, serious prosecution of
election fraud, releasing political prisoners, allowing
opposition demonstrations and free expression of views --
Sargsian pushed back. "I disagree with you completely on the
elections," he said, repeating the claim that the
international observer mission had given an overall positive
assessment. "Of course there were some shortcomings,"
sargsian added, "but those responsible have been tried and
sentenced, including from our side." (Note: Although there
have been a number of convictions for election fraud, the
vast majority of those prosecuted were working for the
opposition -- not the Sargsian campaign. End Note.) As to
political detainees, Sargsian said "I really don't know who
you mean." He claimed that all suspects accused of less
serious crimes have been released, including people close to
LTP. But "people who have committed serious crimes cannot be
released" just because there is political pressure, he
argued. "They have committed crimes, and they must be
sentenced for this."

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WE WILL TAKE SOME STEPS
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6. (C) Adams urged President Sargsian to take steps toward
reform that would ease the political tension in Armenia and
reduce support for the opposition. The authorities' current
path, he added, is only adding fuel to LTP's fire. Sargsian
said the government "will take some steps, but those steps
will not threaten the future of the country." "Since I only
got just over 50 percent" of the vote, Sargsian continued,
"half of the people will always be unhappy." "I will never
fulfill all the demands of Ter-Petrossian," he concluded.

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BASHING RADIO LIBERTY
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7. (C) The President then launched an attack against
US-funded Radio Liberty (RL),claiming that RL had conducted
"500 interviews during the election campaign," none of which
painted the authorities in a positive light. Repeating a
claim made by Kocharian's staff last December, Sargsian
alleged that the head of RL's Armenia Service in Prague is
"from the LTP team." The President acknowledged that the
State Department does not have a direct role in RL
programming, but added that "if Radio Liberty is the US idea
of free media, then we have a different view." Adams
countered that the best way to combat negative media is to
allow more media outlets to flourish. Sargsian responded
that "there is probably no country where the print media is
freer than in Armenia." "Anyone in Armenia can start up a
newspaper within a matter of days," he said, "and can print
anything he wants." The President acknowledged that
newspapers had been shut down during the State of Emergency,
but again defended this as a "necessary measure."

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WE NEED TO REGAIN TRUST
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8. (C) After assuming a defensive posture throughout most of
the meeting, Sagsian finally acknowledged that the Government
"does not have the trust of the people." The problem, he

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said, is the people's perception of law enforcement. "When
we try to make the tax system more fair, fight corruption,
and enforce the law, people will be even more unhappy."
Sargsian predicted that more Armenians would be dissatisfied
in the coming months, as reforms proceed in these areas.
"That is not something we like, of course, but we need to
solve problems." After foreshadowing positive changes,
however, Sargsian returned to bashing the opposition: "Even
if LTP had only won 35,000 votes instead of 350,000, we would
still have this problem. This was their intention from the
beginning."

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NEW AMBASSADOR, NDI
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9. (C) Adams stressed the need for a new US ambassador in
Yerevan. The President said he fully agreed, and claimed he
had made his views clear in meetings with Armenian diaspora
organizations during his visit to the US last October. He
promised to repeat this message as opportunities arise.


10. (C) Finally, Adams urged the President to ensure that the
National Democratic Institute office in Yerevan, which has
operated in a legal gray area for the past two years, is
allowed to register officially with the Armenian authorities.
Despite repeated promises by GOAM officials on this issue,
Sargsian made no commitment this time. "They have to work in
a normal way," he said, without further elaboration.

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COMMENT
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11. (C) As a barometer of the President's commitment to
serious democratic reform, this meeting was a disappointment.
Although Sargsian seems genuinely energized to make an
effort to clean up corruption at the tax and customs services
-- something that appears to be moving along well -- he is
decidedly defensive when it comes to democracy and freedom.
Even a small, symbolic gesture such as NDI registration seems
beyond his reach. On the larger issues such as political
detainees and restoring democratic freedoms, Sargsian is
downright defiant. The President remains focused on
punishing his enemies and pinning responsibility for all
Armenia's ills on the opposition. Our message to Sargsian
was that there is still time to turn things around, and that
we want to help him do that. So far, the President does not
seem to share our sense of urgency.



12. (U) EUR/ACE U.S. Assistance Coordinator Tom Adams cleared
on this cable.


PENNINGTON