RFE/RL'S ROSY VIEW OF THEIR STATUS IN ARMENIA

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 YEREVAN 000386

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/PPD AND EUR/CARC

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/04/2019
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL OPRC KMDR KPAO AM
SUBJECT: RFE/RL'S ROSY VIEW OF THEIR STATUS IN ARMENIA

REF: A. 08 YEREVAN 995

B. 08 YEREVAN 813

C. 08 YEREVAN 811

D. 08 YEREVAN 779

E. 08 YEREVAN 778

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Classified By: AMB Marie L. Yovanovitch, reasons 1.4 (b/d).

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Summary
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1. (C) RFE/RL Prague representative Nenad Pejic traveled to
Armenia from May 20-21 to review Radio Liberty's coverage
related to Yerevan's May 31 municipal election. Pejic sought
feedback from Armenia's political parties and explained to
them the election guidelines under which Radio Liberty's
reporters are meant to operate. He also met with
Presidential Adviser Vigen Sargsian. In his readout to the
Embassy, he said that all his interlocutors had provided a
positive assessment of Radio Liberty's work and that the
President's office had "significantly improved its attitude"
toward RFE/RL. He also rebuffed Embassy concerns that RFE/RL
Bureau Chief, Agahsi Yenokian, is too closely tied to the
Armenian opposition, stating categorically he "has no issue
with Yenokian." Based on previous and later comments to us
by high-ranking GOAM officials, we believe Pejic's assessment
of Radio Liberty's situation in Armenia is overly optimistic.
End Summary.

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Parties Have No Problem with Coverage
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2. (C) From May 20-21, RFE/RL Prague representative Nenad
Pejic traveled to Armenia to review Radio Liberty's coverage
related to Yerevan's upcoming May 31 Yerevan municipal
election. (Note: The visit was precipitated in large part
by GOAM concerns that Radio Liberty's coverage of the
February 2008 presidential election was biased against
President Sargsian and that Bureau Chief, Aghasi Yenokian, is
closely linked to the opposition. End Note.). Pejic met
with representatives of Armenia's main political parties,
providing them with an "Election Alphabet" outlining RFE/RL's
standard operating procedures for election coverage, and the
opportunity to discuss any concerns they might have about
Radio Liberty's reporting of the election. He met with Gagik
Beglarian, current Yerevan Mayor and mayoral candidate for
the ruling Republican Party; Vahan Hovhannisian from the
Dashnaktutiun Party (until recently, part of the governing
coalition); Artur Baghdassarian from the Rule of Law Party
(part of the governing coalition); Aram Safarian from the
Prosperous Armenia Party (also in the governing coalition);
and Levon Ter-Petrossian, Armenian National Congress
opposition leader and former president.


3. (C) During his meetings, Pejic reported that "literally
speaking," all candidates expressed support for RFE/RL
broadcasts in Armenia and indicated that Radio Liberty
ensured balanced broadcasting. Party members who had
expressed previous concerns over bias stated that they
believed that the bias had been specifically related to the
presidential elections and that the station's reporting had
improved significantly." Pejic asserted that "no single
example of any false report" was noted and that the only
suggestion received during his meetings was offered by
Ter-Petrossian, who urged RFE/RL to become the "formal voice
of the opposition."

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Presidential About-Face?
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4. (C) Pejic also met with Vigen Sargsian, Presidential
Advisor. (Note: Sargsian has repeatedly criticized RFE/RL
for being pro-opposition and has vehemently opposed RFE/RL's
choice to hire Yenokian as Bureau Chief. On a previous
visit, Sargsian refused to let Yenokian accompany Pejic to
the meeting, shouting that Yenokian was "anti-Armenian.").
Pejic stated that during this meeting, Sargsian was "exactly
the oQite," greeting both of them warmly. Pejic reported
Sargsian's body language was "very friendly" and that
Sargsian said that any problems with RFE/RL are "a matter of
taste." He urged Pejic to keep lines of communication open
and did not rule out an interview with President Sargsian.
He did however, complain about the order in which stories are
broadcast and reminded Pejic to "be careful the next two
weeks" with the station's reporting, indicating that "Any

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potential interview with the President would depend on
RFE/RL's coverage."

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Differing Points of View
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5. (C) In a meeting with Pejic at the end of his visit,
Ambassador Yovanovitch expressed concern about a May 20
Hayots Ashkhar newspaper article with a photo of Yenokian
embracing two opposition leaders at a recent demonstration.
The GOAM has complained that Yenokian is still an active
member of the opposition, with intimate ties to top ANC
leadership. (Note: Sargsian did not mention the article at
his meeting with Yenokian and Pejic. End Note.). The
Ambassador asked Pejic to once again confirm that Yenokian
had severed his ties with the opposition. Pejic
categorically stated that Yenokian is an unbiased journalist
who has "every right to report on the opposition,"
complaining to Emboff on the way out that U.S. government
officials "do not always understand the role of the media."


6. (C) At the request of the RFE/RL Office of Audience
Research, InterMedia commissioned the Yerevan-based
organization Armenian Center for Integration and
Democratization to conduct a study. The study took place
from March 25-28, 2009. Pejic reported positive results, no
findings of bias, and high quality programming. (Note: The
copy of the report that we received was not quite as glowing
and noted a significant number of people in the focus groups
commenting on what they perceived as a pro-opposition bias in
reporting. End Note.)

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Comment: Not Out of the Woods Yet
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7. (C) In our past meetings with Pejic, we have noticed a
tendency to portray his meetings with government officials in
an overly positive light and gloss over potential warning
signs. Over the past several months, DAS Bryza and the
Ambassador have continued to receive complaints about Radio
Liberty's reporting from Foreign Minister Nalbandian and
President Sargsian, who appears to take any negative
reporting by RL quite personally. When Ambassador told
Nalbandian that she was pleased to hear that the government
now approved of how RFE/RL was reporting, the Foreign
Minister quickly corrected the record and noted that Pejic,s
interlocutors were "playing games"


8. (C) We commend RFE/RL for keeping lines of communication
open. However, we do not believe that we have heard the last
of the GOAM's complaints, nor do we feel confident that the
GOAM will forego efforts in the future to shut RFE/RL down.
On the bright side, we were recently told by the station
manager of one of the two networks that carries RFE/RL
programming that the most sought after advertising slots are
just before and just after the Radio Liberty broadcasts.
YOVANOVITCH