Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09YEREVAN518
2009-07-24 12:57:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Yerevan
Cable title:
AMBASSADOR DISCUSSES PUBLIC COUNCIL WITH CHAIR MANUKIAN
how-toVZCZCXRO5609 RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHNP RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSL RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG DE RUEHYE #0518 2051257 ZNR UUUUU ZZH R 241257Z JUL 09 FM AMEMBASSY YEREVAN TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9323 INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
UNCLAS YEREVAN 000518
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
E.O.12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL GE AM
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR DISCUSSES PUBLIC COUNCIL WITH CHAIR MANUKIAN
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED. NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION.
-------
SUMMARY
-------
UNCLAS YEREVAN 000518
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
E.O.12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL GE AM
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR DISCUSSES PUBLIC COUNCIL WITH CHAIR MANUKIAN
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED. NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION.
--------------
SUMMARY
--------------
1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The Armenian Public Council, created by the GOAM
to serve as an interface between government bodies and the public,
will review and advise parliament on every draft law prior to
legislative consideration, council chairman and former Prime
Minister Vazgen Manukian told the Ambassador. Public interest in
the council has been intense, according to Manukian, though the body
will need to overcome significant skepticism if it is to overcome
its early reputation as a convenient tool of the government in
steering "public debate." END SUMMARY.
--------------
ADVISE AND DISSENT?
--------------
2. (SBU) Ambassador met with the Chairperson of the Armenian Public
Council, Vazgen Manukian, on July 17 to discuss the composition and
purpose of the new advisory body. President Sargsian created the
Public Council, comprised of representatives of political and
non-governmental organizations, as a forum for dialogue with the
opposition and other segments of society in order to defuse tensions
following Armenia's March 2008 election. Manukian, a former Prime
Minister (1990-1991) and Minister of Defense (1992-1993) became
Chairman of the Public Council on May 31.
3. (SBU) Manukian asserted that, although the council will serve
only an advisory role, it could prove influential. The 36-member
council (one-third appointed by the President, one-third delegated
by NGOs, with the remaining third elected by the first two groups)
will review every draft law prior to consideration by parliament and
will have a representative in every parliamentary committee. The
council's most notable contribution to date was its recommendation
to the President that he grant amnesty to those arrested in
connection with the 2008 post-presidential-election violence.
(COMMENT: It is widely held that Sargsian directed the
recommendation of the council so that he could claim he was
responding to the "public" rather than opposition and international
pressure. END COMMENT)
--------------
ENTHUSIASM BORN OF ALIENATION
--------------
4. (SBU) The level of interest in the Public Council has been
surprising, according to Manukian. Over a period of two months,
1,530 delegates from over 900 NGOs participated in the process of
electing the NGO representatives to the council, he noted. Manukian
attributed this enthusiasm to popular alienation with both the
government and the opposition. "The majority don't love the
authorities, but LTP (opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrossian) is not
an alternative for many either," he said. "Since 1995, not a single
election result has been accepted by the populace, but many believe
in the council," he added.
5. (SBU) Beyond its most basic structure, the Public Council is very
much a work in progress, according to the chairman. It could take
its direction from the President (as with the amnesty); from the
council's commission experts; or from the public. In the near term,
he foresees the council weighing in on a wide range of issues, from
recommending wholesale reforms to law enforcement and judicial
structures, to advising on the expansion of small aircraft aviation,
to advancing the public dialogue concerning rapprochement with
Turkey (a position he said he would strongly, publicly support).
For further clarity in defining the aims and methods of the body,
Manukian said he hoped he could learn from the experiences of
similar bodies in other countries, including in the U.S.
6. (SBU) COMMENT: Although a respected political figure, Manukian's
political influence is modest these days. Critics say he has been
co-opted in chairing a body meant to give political cover to actions
the President wants to take anyway, e.g., the amnesty. And while
many acknowledge the Public Council could play a useful role, thus
far it has elicited more skepticism that this is yet another Russian
tool imported to manage Armenia's democracy than hope that it will
prove a useful mechanism to increase the role of the people in
governing Armenia. END COMMENT
YOVANOVITCH
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
E.O.12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL GE AM
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR DISCUSSES PUBLIC COUNCIL WITH CHAIR MANUKIAN
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED. NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION.
--------------
SUMMARY
--------------
1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The Armenian Public Council, created by the GOAM
to serve as an interface between government bodies and the public,
will review and advise parliament on every draft law prior to
legislative consideration, council chairman and former Prime
Minister Vazgen Manukian told the Ambassador. Public interest in
the council has been intense, according to Manukian, though the body
will need to overcome significant skepticism if it is to overcome
its early reputation as a convenient tool of the government in
steering "public debate." END SUMMARY.
--------------
ADVISE AND DISSENT?
--------------
2. (SBU) Ambassador met with the Chairperson of the Armenian Public
Council, Vazgen Manukian, on July 17 to discuss the composition and
purpose of the new advisory body. President Sargsian created the
Public Council, comprised of representatives of political and
non-governmental organizations, as a forum for dialogue with the
opposition and other segments of society in order to defuse tensions
following Armenia's March 2008 election. Manukian, a former Prime
Minister (1990-1991) and Minister of Defense (1992-1993) became
Chairman of the Public Council on May 31.
3. (SBU) Manukian asserted that, although the council will serve
only an advisory role, it could prove influential. The 36-member
council (one-third appointed by the President, one-third delegated
by NGOs, with the remaining third elected by the first two groups)
will review every draft law prior to consideration by parliament and
will have a representative in every parliamentary committee. The
council's most notable contribution to date was its recommendation
to the President that he grant amnesty to those arrested in
connection with the 2008 post-presidential-election violence.
(COMMENT: It is widely held that Sargsian directed the
recommendation of the council so that he could claim he was
responding to the "public" rather than opposition and international
pressure. END COMMENT)
--------------
ENTHUSIASM BORN OF ALIENATION
--------------
4. (SBU) The level of interest in the Public Council has been
surprising, according to Manukian. Over a period of two months,
1,530 delegates from over 900 NGOs participated in the process of
electing the NGO representatives to the council, he noted. Manukian
attributed this enthusiasm to popular alienation with both the
government and the opposition. "The majority don't love the
authorities, but LTP (opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrossian) is not
an alternative for many either," he said. "Since 1995, not a single
election result has been accepted by the populace, but many believe
in the council," he added.
5. (SBU) Beyond its most basic structure, the Public Council is very
much a work in progress, according to the chairman. It could take
its direction from the President (as with the amnesty); from the
council's commission experts; or from the public. In the near term,
he foresees the council weighing in on a wide range of issues, from
recommending wholesale reforms to law enforcement and judicial
structures, to advising on the expansion of small aircraft aviation,
to advancing the public dialogue concerning rapprochement with
Turkey (a position he said he would strongly, publicly support).
For further clarity in defining the aims and methods of the body,
Manukian said he hoped he could learn from the experiences of
similar bodies in other countries, including in the U.S.
6. (SBU) COMMENT: Although a respected political figure, Manukian's
political influence is modest these days. Critics say he has been
co-opted in chairing a body meant to give political cover to actions
the President wants to take anyway, e.g., the amnesty. And while
many acknowledge the Public Council could play a useful role, thus
far it has elicited more skepticism that this is yet another Russian
tool imported to manage Armenia's democracy than hope that it will
prove a useful mechanism to increase the role of the people in
governing Armenia. END COMMENT
YOVANOVITCH