ARMENIA - 2007 COUNTRY REPORT ON TERRORISM

UNCLAS YEREVAN 000007 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/CARC, S/CT E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: AEMR AM ASEC EFIN KCRM KHLS PTER SUBJECT: ARMENIA - 2007 COUNTRY REPORT ON TERRORISM REF: A. A. SECSTATE 145633 ¶B. B. SECSTATE 146856 ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: There have been no major terrorism-related developments in Armenia in 2007. Per reftel instruction, the following is an update of Armenia,s 2006 Country Report on Terrorism. Due to technical difficulties in gaining edit privileges to its country,s terrorism page on Intellipedia-S, post has opted to send the text of the report in standard cable format. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (SBU) In 2007 Armenia continued to be a valuable partner of the United States in the Global War on Terrorism. This partnership included continued commitment to over-flight and landing rights of U.S. Military Aircraft, additional security support to U.S. facilities in Armenia during times of terrorist alert, and the renewed deployment of peacekeeping forces in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. In addition, this year Armenia joined or expressed interest in joining a number of international security initiatives targeting terrorism. These included the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism (GICANT),The Convention for Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism, and The Nuclear Smuggling Outreach Initiative (NSOI). ¶3. (SBU) The Financial Monitoring Center (FMC),a U.S.-supported financial intelligence unit within the Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) continued to make investigative strides against money-laundering in 2007. During the first nine months of 2007, the FMC received twenty-four suspicious transactions reports (STRs). This compared to twenty-three STRs during the same period in 2006, and six STRs in 2005. Under its current mandate the CBA can temporarily freeze financial assets while referring the STRs to the competent authorities for further investigation. To date, no cases involving terrorist financing have been uncovered or prosecuted. In addition, the FMC received Egmont Group membership in 2007. ¶4. (SBU) In 2007, Armenia continued efforts to improve border security by maintaining an automated Border Management Information System (BMIS) that documented and stored the names of travelers at nearly all official points of entry (POEs). The remaining two POEs (Gogovan and Bavra) were scheduled to have BMIS capability by February 2008. This BMIS also contains criminal and terrorist watch-lists as updated by the Republic of Armenia Police (RA) and National Security Service (NSS). While Armenia has no bilateral agreement with the U.S. governing the sharing of information on travelers, the NSS and RA continued to share information with the U.S. Embassy when they discovered fraudulent U.S. visas or other documents of interest. ¶5. (SBU) The 2006 warming trend in Armenia,s relations with neighboring Iran continued throughout 2007, with Armenia hosting official visits by Iranian President Ahmedinejad (October) and Iranian Defense Minister Najjar (November). In addition to fostering closer diplomatic ties, these visits served to solidify previous bilateral commitments to develop joint energy and transportation projects. This closer cooperation has made Armenian more reluctant to publicly criticize objectionable Iranian conduct or join other UN member states in advocating for sanctions on the Iranian regime. -------------- TERRORIST ACTIVITIES -------------- ¶6. (SBU) In 2007 there were no significant terrorist activities recorded in Armenia. However, the Regional Security Office (RSO) noted more than one possible surveillance incident of the U.S. Embassy facility involving Iranian nationals and an Iranian diplomatic plated vehicle. Separately, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) has a limited official presence in Armenia, but there is no evidence to suggest that it is conducting military training or operations in the country. -------------- CHALLENGES -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Although Armenia has continued to strengthen its Counter-Terrorism capabilities and has enhanced its CT cooperation with the United States and other international security organs, its geographic location, porous borders, and loose visa regime still provide ample opportunities for traffickers of illicit materials, persons, and finances. Furthermore, endemic governmental corruption, a significant organized crime presence, and a large shadow economy make the country potentially vulnerable to money laundering and terrorist financing schemes. -------------- POST POINT OF CONTACT -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Post POC on general terrorism issues is PolEcon officer Nigel De Coster; e-mail: decosterna@state.gov; tel. ( 374 10) 46-47-00 ext. 4628. PENNINGTON