SERIES OF SMALL PROTESTS AT EMBASSY CALL FOR U.S.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 YEREVAN 000275 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL ASEC AM SUBJECT: SERIES OF SMALL PROTESTS AT EMBASSY CALL FOR U.S. "GENOCIDE" RECOGNITION ¶1. The Embassy has been visited by a string of small, brief demonstration rallies in recent days, each calling for the U.S. Government to label the Armenian massacres of 1915 as "genocide." Each of these demonstrations amounted to several dozen participants. First in line, on April 16, was the youth wing of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (aka Dashnaksutyun),which is generally considered the most overtly nationalistic of Armenia's mainstream political parties. This was followed by the Heritage Party youth wing, April 22. Both the ARF and Heritage groups had notified us in advance, and we made arrangements to bring in a small delegation of representatives to meet with an emboff and deliver their respective letters (see below). On April 23, in the early afternoon, an unnamed group organized by an Armenian social networking website assembled some 50 demonstrators in a light rain for about 20 minutes, with balloons, banners, and alarm clocks (an element whose significance was unclear),but this group had no clear spokesman nor any letter to present. Then at approximately 7:00pm, a previously unknown-to-us group calling itself the International Associaton of Lawyers and Psychologists assembled perhaps two dozen demonstrators, who delivered a letter in Armenian to polchief along the same basic lines. ¶2. The ARF and Heritage Party youth wings courteously provided English translations of their letters with the original Armenian. Verbatim text follows at paragraphs 3 and ¶4. ¶3. TEXT OF HERITAGE PARTY YOUTH WING LETTER (HERITAGE-SUPPLIED TRANSLATION): 21 April 2009 Dear Mr. President: We, the young members of the Heritage Party of Armenia, are extremely enthusiastic over your recent election to the office of the President of the United States of America. We are full of hope that your selection to this post will bring a new impetus to the progress -- including the protection of human rights, the pacific resolution of conflicts, and the pre-eminence of the precepts of liberty and justice of the American people and the whole of humanity. We were especially encouraged by your pre-election promise toward formally acknowledging the Armenian Genocide of 1915 and, as President of the United States and after a twenty-year interval, calling it like it is once again. As a civilizational challenge and a permanent guarantee for regional security and stability, we believe it is highly important for all nations and countries to reflect on their history and to face it head-on, no matter how bitter that may be. We, the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the small number of genocide survivors from Mush, Sasun, Cilicia, Kars, Sunnalu, Erzerum, Malatia, Sebastia, Arabkir, Zeitun, Marash, and Butania-and the representatives of a new generation -- are patiently waiting for the day when, in keeping with the letter and spirit of international law, we will be given the chance to return to Western Armenia -- our Motherland which was taken away from us unlawfully and as a consequence of the Genocide -- and to once more own our estates: our lands and homes. We condemn any and all attempt by the international bodies toward applying double standards for any regional nation, circumnavigating international law, and solely considering who is stronger or whose natural resources are greater. Mr. President, we, the youth of Heritage, a national liberal party, urge you to recognize not solely the Genocide of the Armenian people that was perpetrated by the Turkish state from 1915 to 1922, but also the great dispossession of their homeland. In result of this dispossession, an entire nation lost nearly ninety percent of its historical motherland, those territories where it had dwelled for millennia and created a rich civilization and great cultural treasures. Yet we still have great hopes on sound judgment and believe that the problematic issues existing among the nations will be resolved in due course and on the basis of international law and thus the legal heirs of the guilty will repent, ask forgiveness, and make reparations through justice. Because injustice, as well as apathy by the international bodies and powerful countries, can increase the temptation to personally restore one's own lost and disregarded rights and to use asymmetric force against a powerful but a brute force. And this can make us all face new challenges and can shake the foundations of security and stability in the world entire. We are confident that the Turks -- with whom we expect to soon establish normal relations anchored in real justice, historical truth, and international law-need your sincere YEREVAN 00000275 002 OF 002 assistance on their thorny road to amending their past and returning to the world's family of nations with a clean slate. Respectfully, ¶1. Kirakossyan Meline 2. Sargsyan Ashkhen 3. Mheryan Artak 4. Tonoyan Hakob 5. Tonoyan Gohar 6. Tonoyan Astghik 7. Qocharyan Gagik 8. Sardaryan Aren 9. Poghosyan Narine 10. Nazlukhanyan Gohar 11. Markosyan David 12. Markosyan Armen ¶13. Gevorgyan Sirarpi 14. Grigoryan David 15. Hakobyan Lilit ¶16. Mirzakhanyan Sam 17. Eranosyan Narek 18. Mnacakanyan Arsen 19. Hovhannisyan Anahit 20. Matevosyan Nana 21. Sargsyan Ani 22. Sanasaryan DaVId 23. Isakhanyan Voskehat ¶24. Hakobyan Margarit 25. Matevosyan Meri 26. Ghazaryan Mariam 27. Ghazaryan Srbuhi ¶4. TEXT OF ARF LETTER (ARF-SUPPLIED ENGLISH TRANSLATION): Dear Mr. Obama, You are a believer in change. We also believe in change. Changes which are necessary, not only for the United States of America, but for the whole world. On the eve of the 94th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, we, the youth of Armenia appeal to you with the expectation, as you stated during your recent trip to Turkey, that you haven't changed your position on the recognition of the Armenian Genocide. We hope that you will now fulfill the pledge you have made many times, and in your annual statement on April 24, recognize the historical truth, this time as President of the United States of America. From the day of its creation, the United States of America adopted human rights, freedom, and democratic values and humanitarian principles. As a witness to the tragedy of the Armenians, President Woodrow Wilson, one of the best proponents of these values, at the end of World War I, in the name of truth and justice, enshrined the rights of the Armenian nation. We are greatly encouraged that the House of Representatives of the state of Hawaii, where you were born, a few days before the 94th anniversary, officially recognized the Armenian Genocide and condemned Turkey's policy of denial and as such became the 42nd state in America to do so. Your recognition of the truth is not only in the interest of the American people, the Armenians and other peoples of the world, but it is especially in the interests of the Turkish people. By doing so, you will be greatly contributing to putting an end to Genocide, today and in the future. We believe that you will help in reinstating the historical truth. Mr. President, Recognize the Armenian Genocide and future generations of the Armenian people will always remember you and your people with gratitude. We believe in you. Dashnak Youth April 7, 2009 YOVANOVITCH