ARMENIAN PRESS CONTINUES TO USE ANTI-SEMITISM TO VILIFY THE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 YEREVAN 000497 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/CARC, EUR/OHI, DRL/FO, DRL/IRF AND DRL/SEAS E.O.12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM KIRF AM SUBJECT: ARMENIAN PRESS CONTINUES TO USE ANTI-SEMITISM TO VILIFY THE OPPOSITION REF: YEREVAN 214 YEREVAN 00000497 001.2 OF 003 -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Beginning in mid-May, pro-government print media and state-run Public Television have made outlandish anti-Semitic and anti-Masonic accusations against former president and current opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrossian (LTP). Most of the accusations appear to be harsher versions of previous allegations that surfaced right before and after Armenia's disputed February presidential election (reftel). The small, pro-government Armenian Jewish community has expressed deep concern over the attacks, given the fact that anti-Semitic rhetoric has not been an issue in Armenia before. Post intends to raise the issue with Armenian officials during the impending visit of DRL Assistant Secretary Kramer. End summary. -------------- PRO-GOVERNMENT PRINT MEDIA GOES ON THE ATTACK -------------- ¶2. (SBU) The first accusations appeared in late May in the pro-government Russian-language Golos Armenii (Voice of Armenia) and Armenian-language Hayots Ashkhar (Armenian World) dailies, both with circulations under 3,500. President Sargsian reportedly sponsors both outlets, and in the past the two have had ties with the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutiun) political party, which now is part of the four-party ruling coalition. ¶3. (SBU) The accusations that appeared in several scathing articles portray LTP as a traitor to Armenia, claiming his true allegiance lies to the West -- particularly to Israel and the Freemasons. In an identical article published in both papers entitled "Levon Hakob Ter-Petrosan or Levon Frayim Pliskovsky -- Armenian National Congress or Jewish Congress?" the author questions LTP's loyalty by speculating on his alleged conspiratorial meeting with a wealthy Russian Jewish businessman in January where he presumably got the businessman to give him USD 100-200 million for his presidential campaign. The author then alleges that "the Jewish-Masonic lobby spent USD 65-70 million" on the same campaign. ¶4. (U) The author attacked LTP's Jewish wife, Lyudmila Ter-Petrossian, accusing her of being the go-between for LTP and Masonic structures. "By involving Lyudmila Ter-Petrossian in the leadership of their infra-structures, the Masonic organizations of the United States, the Russian Federation, Europe and the Near East managed to maintain permanent and reliable ties with Levon Ter-Petrossian and offer him assistance." The author also alleges that the only trips that LTP has made to Armenia's regions after his leaving office in 1998 have been repeated trips to a Jewish cemetery. "And here is an interesting fact: after resigning from office, L. Ter-Petrosyan never visited any marz (region) of the country apart from Vayots Dzor. After he and his wife paid several visits to the cemetery of the Jews (situated near the village of Yeghegis),they decided to have it renovated and reconstructed. What's more, L. Ter-Petrosyan promised the Jewish community that right after being elected President in 2008 he would deal with the reconstruction of the cemetery in person." ¶5. (U) The author also alleged that the May 27-28 visit to Armenia of representatives of the American Jewish Committee was for LTP to receive further instructions on how to advance the Jewish cause. "It will be extremely interesting to ask L. Ter-Petrosyan why the members of the Jewish-American Committee (the second largest Jewish lobbying organization in the United States and Europe) are arriving in Armenia on May 27-28? It should be noted that those arriving in Armenia are not ordinary members of the organization but rather, its leaders, i.e. Peter Rosenblatt, Barry Jabes (sic) and John Waters, as well as American-Armenian translator Ross Vardanyan (sic) who will accompany them. According to available information, the leaders of the Jewish organization want L. Ter-Petrossian to report them on his accomplishments; thereafter, they will specify the ex-President's further steps in the following three directions: 1. Armenia's domestic problems; 2. US-Armenian relations; and 3. Turkish-Armenian relations" ¶6. (SBU) Subsequent articles have rehashed and built upon these themes, roughly mirroring the lines of the ugly, anti-Semitic remarks that were made in an inflammatory DVD that was distributed just days prior to the election (reftel). -------------- STATE-RUN TELEVISION AIRS ATTACKS -------------- YEREVAN 00000497 002.2 OF 003 ¶7. (SBU) On the evening of Sunday, June 1, state-run H1 Public Television channel aired a ten-minute segment on its weekly 360 Degrees news magazine program whose sole focus appeared to be character assassination of LTP. The footage incorporated the anti-Semitic and anti-Masonic attacks by Golos Armenii and Hayots Ashkhar. In a bizarre twist, the segment accused LTP of mounting a PR attack against Armenia's beloved pop star "Sirusho" prior to her performance -- and eventual fourth-place finish -- at the late May Eurovision Song Contest. The segment then detailed the newspaper articles: it showed the captions of their offensive doctored photographs of LTP wearing an enormous yarmulke (with a Star of David on the top just in case the yarmulke was too subtle for some of its readers); the presenter read selected excerpts from the articles; then it showed H1's February 27 news coverage -- almost in its entirety-- that zoomed in on the Israeli flag flown at some of the LTP-led post-election opposition rallies (reftel); and ended with showing captions from a website entitled "The Grand Lodge of Armenia." According to USAID's Media Programs implementer, the show captured an audience of nearly 100,000 households, or 23 percent of those watching television at the time. -------------- NOTED SCHOLAR ADDS FUEL TO FIRE -------------- ¶8. (SBU) On June 12 Hayots Ashkhar published an interview with Samvel Karapetian, a noted Armenian historian and architecture critic, who asserted that LTP is not an opposition leader but a traitor, since he made speeches under the Israeli flag. He asserted that people don't call LTP a traitor because they are afraid of his masters -- Washington and Tel Aviv. Karapetian also suggested that Alexander Arzumanian, Armenia's jailed former Foreign Minister, would have been named Foreign Minister in the Sargsian administration if his Amcit wife were not Jewish. (Note: Post has no idea whether or not she is, but the statement smacks of an anti-Semitic smear tactic. End note). -------------- -- THE JEWISH COMMUNITY IS PERPLEXED...AND WORRIED -------------- -- ¶9. (SBU) Rimma Varzhapetian, head of Armenia's Jewish community, told Emboffs that she is distressed about the articles, calling them "a provocation and a kindling of anti-Semitism" in a country with no such record of similar attacks. She added that "I am afraid to think that this has the backing of the people in power." Varzhapetian said that she has no plans for a public response, though she believes it is incumbent upon the GOAM to condemn the hateful rhetoric. She noted with concern that people are starting to believe these malicious lies, including some of her acquaintances. They have reacted to her remonstrations about the anti-Semitic articles by attributing her objections to the fact that she is Jewish. ¶10. (SBU) Varzhapetian also spoke about the community's recent failed initiative to create a tree-lined Israeli alley. The plan had been to plant 60 trees in a Yerevan street with which to mark and honor Israel's 60th anniversary. She said that then-PM Sargsian and Parliament Speaker Tigran Torosyan refused this request without explanation. She noted that in spite of the rejection, the Jewish community still held a significant celebration of Israel's independence, which she claimed received no media coverage whatsoever. -------------- POST'S REACTIONS -------------- ¶11. (SBU) Post has responded to the anti-Semitic articles in several ways. This has included mention of the attacks in the 2008 International Religious Freedom Report, and reaching out to the Jewish community and like-minded diplomatic missions to forge a common front against Armenian media's promulgation of anti-Semitic rhetoric. Post also plans to raise the issue with senior-level officials during DRL A/S Kramer's June 23-25 visit. Post contemplated lodging a complaint with the National Media Ethics Board until it learned that out of the 31 media outlets that signed the joint Code of Conduct for Media governing the board, neither Hayots Ashkhar nor Golos Armenii are members, nor is Public Television. (Note: In late February, post raised the issue of the inflammatory DVD and Public Television coverage before and after the election with the Armenian government's Director of Ethnic and Religious Minority Affairs. Regrettably, this person resigned her YEREVAN 00000497 003.2 OF 003 post in early March, in protest of the fatal March 1 crackdown against the LTP-led opposition, and post never got an official response. End note.) -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶12. (SBU) The emergence of anti-Semitism as a crude political tool appears to be new in Armenia's political arena. Its use by pro-government print media, and its airing on Public Television, suggests it is being condoned and even orchestrated by the current authorities, who are employing it to weaken the opposition leader challenging their rule. Introducing such a phenomenon in a country without an anti-Semitic history, even for politically expedient reasons, is dangerous and irresponsible. Post will say as much during A/S Kramer's discussions on the topic. End comment. PENNINGTON