YOUTH MOVEMENT LEADER SEVERELY BEATEN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 YEREVAN 000438 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR DRL, EUR/CARC E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/28/2018 TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL KCRM KDEM KJUS AM SUBJECT: YOUTH MOVEMENT LEADER SEVERELY BEATEN REF: YEREVAN 425 Classified By: A/DCM Robert Frazier, reasons 1.4 (b/d). -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) On May 28, several unidentified assailants attacked and severely beat in broad daylight Arsen Kharatian, leader of the HIMA (NOW) youth movement. Kharatian was hospitalized and placed in intensive care, but left the hospital on his own recognizance on May 29. Kharatian told Emboff he is sure he was targeted because of his political activities heading HIMA. The attack on Kharatian is the second in seven days on prominent critics of the government. A criminal case has been launched into the attack. END SUMMARY. -------------- THE ATTACK -------------- ¶2. (SBU) On May 28, Kharatian received a call from a reporter of someone reputedly representing "Life" magazine, and agreed to an interview request after lunchtime that same day at a local cafe. When the reporter failed to show, Kharatian left the caf, where he came under attack from three unidentified individuals who beat him severely in broad daylight before fleeing the scene. Kharatian says he didn't see the attackers' faces, since he was laying face-down on the ground. After the attackers fled, passers-by called an ambulance and Kharatian was placed in the intensive care unit a Yerevan hospital. A criminal case has been launched into the attack. -------------- HIMA (NOW) AND ARSEN KHARATIAN -------------- ¶3. (C) In his mid-20s, Kharatian is the chief organizer of HIMA youth movement, which was formed by youth in the wake of disputed presidential election. Since March 1, HIMA has organized a series of eye-catching protests demanding the release of detained political activists, freedom of speech and assembly, and rule of law. Some of their protests have involved dressing up as inmates in front of the Prosecutor General's office, and taping their mouths and handing out opposition newspapers in front of the parliament building. HIMA has also been very active in demonstrations demanding the preservation of Armenia's Teghut forest that authorities want to exploit for its copper and mineral deposits. Following the March 1 events, police have twice detained Kharatian for participating in "political promenades" on Yerevan's downtown Northern Avenue that lies across the street from Freedom Square. On both occasions, Kharatian was released the same day. ¶4. (C) Kharatian in April told Emboffs that HIMA has no affiliation with any political party or leader. (NOTE: During ex-president Levon Ter-Petrossian's post-election rallies on Freedom Square, "HIMA" ("NOW") became a popular rallying cry. And LTP advisors have told Emboffs that while HIMA pursues its own objectives, coordination between HIMA and LTP's camp has taken place in the past. END NOTE.) Kharatian said HIMA assembles youth who are concerned about Armenia's future and seeks to highlight the mistakes that the authorities make which impact upon the public good. Kharatian added that most of the youth involved in the movement are financially independent and are not motivated by economics. Kharatian himself works as analyst for GTZ, Germany's counterpart to USAID, and receives a salary three-four times higher than Armenia's average. Kharatian told Emboff he was certain he was attacked for his political activism. ¶5. (C) Kharatian is the son of Hranush Kharatian, the former head of National Minorities Department, who resigned her post on March 3, though the government issued a statement alleging she was dismissed. Mrs. Kharatian subsequently told Emboffs in a private conversation that she resigned because she could not continue working for the government after the events of March 1-2. (NOTE: Hranush Kharatian was a tough but fair partner for the Embassy on religious freedom issues. She appeared truly committed to reforms that would better protect minorities. Her successor has yet to be appointed. END NOTE.) YEREVAN 00000438 002 OF 002 -------------- REACTIONS -------------- ¶6. (SBU) The HIMA movement released a statement describing the attack, which it said was designed to weaken the youth movement and propagate an atmosphere of fear. The "Hope" NGO issued a statement condemning the attack, saying it has "heightened tensions in Armenia's capital and across the nation," and that a "deep-running deficit of trust and legitimacy characterize the public's attitude towards the authorities." ¶7. (SBU) Many newspaper outlets reported that the attack occurred, but provided scant or no details. Only the pro-opposition Aravot and 168 Zham dailies newspaper described the incident in detail with background information. Most online news services posted extensive articles on the attack, and A1Plus even interviewed Kharatian the night of the attack while he was in the hospital. (NOTE: Photos on the site showed Kharatian with extensive head bandages and bruising on the face. END NOTE.) -------------- A WEEK AFTER ATTACK ON HUM RTS ACTIVIST -------------- ¶8. (C) The attack took place one week after the May 21 point-blank air gun attack on Mikhail Danielian, the prominent human rights activist who heads the local Armenian Helsinki Association (reftel),and six days after the attack of Ara Gevorgian, the son of Gevorg Gevorgian, a prominent oppositionist serving on the board of the Armenia National Movement, LTP's former political party. Gevorgian junior was beat by police after he supposedly tried to enter Freedom Square from Northern Avenue where he was participating in a "political promenade." Some online media outlets drew parallels between the attack on Kharatian and the attack on Danielian. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶9. (C) Kharatian's beating is the third attack in seven days of prominent government critics or oppositionists. Coincidental or not, the intimidation that the attacks carry in the polarized post-election environment is difficult to dispute. As long as pro-government forces silence outspoken critics with impunity, public mistrust of the new authorities can only grow. END COMMENT. PHILLIPS