Home
Cables mirror and Afghan War Diary
Privacy
| Identifier | Subject | Date | Office | Classification | Tags |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 07YEREVAN1364 |
TER-PETROSYAN READY TO RESIGN IN THREE YEARS IF ELECTED [...] (SBU) Former President Levon Ter-Petrosyan (LTP), who is emerging as PM Serzh Sargsyan's primary rival for the February 2008 presidential polls, drew thousands of supporters to downtown Yerevan November 16 for a second rally. LTP apologized to the people for past mistakes of his former adminis [...] |
2007-11-19 14:22:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PGOV PREL AM |
| 07YEREVAN1365 |
PRO-OPPOSITION YOUTH ACTIVIST SEVERELY BEATEN [...] (SBU) On Thursday November 15 Narek Galstian, a student activist, was attacked by three men and severely beaten. The attack came two days after police reportedly detained him for posting leaflets advertising the upcoming Levon Ter-Petrosian rally on Friday, November 16. Galstian and oppositio [...] |
2007-11-19 14:29:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PHUM PGOV KDEM AM |
| 07YEREVAN1376 |
RENEWING THE MESSAGE ON IRAN CONCERNS [...] (C) SUMMARY: CDA conveyed Ref A points to the Foreign Minister, Energy Minister, and presidential chief of staff, while A/DCM conveyed to senior staff of the prime minister (Ref B). All interlocutors insisted Armenia had no intention to build infrastructure capable of exporting Iranian gas [...] |
2007-11-26 14:37:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL ETTC EFIN ENRG KNNP IR TU AM |
| 07YEREVAN1383 |
THE TER-PETROSSIAN SCENARIO: A LONG SHOT, BUT [...] (C) SUMMARY: Ex-president Levon Ter-Petrossian (LTP) has become the leading opposition candidate for president. His chances of success -- whether at the ballot box or with a street protest strategy after the fact -- remain small, but he should not be dismissed prematurely. LTP enjoys unique [...] |
2007-11-27 16:08:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PINR PHUM ASEC KDEM AM |
| 07YEREVAN1384 |
MIXED, LARGELY SANGUINE REACTIONS TO ARMENIA'S ELECTORAL [...] (SBU) With the presidential election set for February, parliament swiftly enacted electoral code changes that took effect November 20. Over the course of two day-long readings, the parliament amended almost one third of the articles of Armenia's electoral code. IFES and other election monitor [...] |
2007-11-28 04:24:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PGOV PHUM PREL KDEM KJUS AM |
| 07YEREVAN1394 |
ANOTHER BROADSIDE FROM THE PRESIDENT'S OFFICE ON [...] (C) Presidential Chief of Staff Armen Gevorkian called in CDA November 27 to renew Kocharian's visceral objections to Radio Liberty (RL) programming which, according to Gevorgian, has been "turned into a mouthpiece for (former President) Levon Ter-Petrossian (LTP) by the director of the RL Arme [...] |
2007-11-30 09:35:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV PHUM KPAO KDEM AM |
| 07YEREVAN1404 |
ARMENIA: UNLIKELY TO CHANGE VOTES IN FAVOR OF UNGA [...] (SBU) Poloff met with Armenian MFA Director for International Organizations Dziunik Aghajanian on November 29 to communicate reftel demarche regarding upcoming UNGA votes to renew Anti-Israeli biased resolutions. Given Armenia's 2006 votes on the three resolutions (Yes on 61/22 and 61/116, an [...] |
2007-12-05 05:54:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PREL UNGA IS AM |
| 07YEREVAN1405 |
ARMENIAN PARTICIPATION IN THE DECEMBER 4-6 [...] No summary [...] |
2007-12-05 05:58:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED | EAGR KFLU EAID TBIO PREL XX AM |
| 07YEREVAN1412 |
SIGNIFICANT ACTIVITIES REPORT-ODC ARMENIA-November 2007 [...] EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Letter of Agreement (LOA) totaling $6.8M in FMF for Peacekeeping equipment and radios signed by ARM MOD; Letter of Agreement for Excess Defense Articles (EDA) approved; Letter of Request (LOR) received from ARM MOD requesting additional EDA trucks forwarded to USASAC; ARM M [...] |
2007-12-07 06:00:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED | MCAP KCFE XG AM |
| 07YEREVAN1413 |
ARMENIA'S PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE SLATE NOW SET [...] (SBU) December 6 was the nomination deadline for Armenian presidential candidates. Nine persons have been nominated to participate in the February 19, 2008 election. In addition to Prime Minister Serzh Sargsian and ex-president Levon Ter-Petrossian, the widely acknowledged front-runners, the [...] |
2007-12-11 06:17:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PGOV PREL KDEM AM |
| 07YEREVAN1416 |
ARMENIA: NO SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENTS IN WORST FORMS OF [...] (SBU) In 2007 there were no significant developments to report with respect to worst forms of child labor in Armenia. As previously reported (ref B), Armenia has adopted all international agreements on children's rights, as well as a list of occupations considered hazardous for children. Both [...] |
2007-12-12 05:54:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | ELAB EIND ETRD PHUM SOCI AM |
| 07YEREVAN1420 |
NUCLEAR SMUGGLING OUTREACH INITIATIVE: INITIAL [...] Varduhi Asaturian, Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2. Liudmila Shahinyan, Export Control Commission 3. Vahe Demirchyan, Ministry of Justice 4. Sona Avanesyan, Ministry of Justice 5. Aida Avetisyan, Armenian Nuclear Regulatory Authority 6. Alexander Stepanyan, Armenian Nuclear Regulatory Autho [...] |
2007-12-13 02:48:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | ETTC KNNP KSTC MNUC PARM PREL AM |
| 07YEREVAN1423 |
BOMB ROCKS OUTSPOKEN OPPOSITION PAPER IN YEREVAN [...] (C) An outspoken opposition newspaper was bombed in the early hours on December 13. Nobody was in the offices of the stridently pro-Ter-Petrossian &Chorrord Ishkhanutyun8 (Fourth Estate) newspaper when the bomb went off, and no injuries were reported. The editor-in-chief suggested the author [...] |
2007-12-14 11:09:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PHUM PREL AM |
| 07YEREVAN1431 |
TER-PETROSSIAN APPEALS TO OLIGARCHS FOR SUPPORT WHILE [...] (SBU) Addressing approximately 15,000-20,000 citizens gathered at his third public rally in Yerevan on December 8, ex-President Levon Ter-Petrossian (LTP) urged oligarchs and businessmen to throw off "the yoke" of the Kocharian regime and support his candidacy. LTP also responded to Kocharian' [...] |
2007-12-17 11:44:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PGOV PHUM PREL AM |
| 07YEREVAN1437 |
ARMENIA ADOPTS NEW ANTI-TRAFFICKING NATIONAL ACTION PLAN [...] On December 6, Armenia's government approved the new 2007-2008 National Plan of Action (NPA) on Combating Trafficking in Persons (TIP). Armen Baiburtyan, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, presented the NPA on behalf of the government, and said the new NPA will focus more on the implement [...] |
2007-12-18 03:18:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED | PGOV PREL KTIP KCRM HSTC AM |
| 07YEREVAN1438 |
CEC CHAIRMAN BRUSHES OFF KEY PARTS OF U.S. [...] (C) SUMMARY: CDA, accompanied by AIDoff and Polchief, called on Central Election Commission Chairman Garegin Azaryan in a bid to persuade Azaryan not to refuse key elements of USAID implementer IFES' election assistance program. Azaryan was stubborn, smug, and unmoved. He suggested, speciou [...] |
2007-12-18 03:18:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV EAID PREL PHUM KDEM AM |
| 07YEREVAN1439 |
BRIEFING THE PRESIDENCY ON EXIT POLLS, IFES/CEC [...] (C) SUMMARY: USAID briefed presidential aide Vigen Sargsian, at government request, about plans for a USAID/IRI-sponsored exit poll for the upcoming presidential election. Sargsian pressed for more details about the methods and partners involved, and expressed great skepticism both personall [...] |
2007-12-18 03:18:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL EAID PGOV PHUM KDEM KPAO OSCE AM |
| 07YEREVAN1445 |
DEMARCHE DELIVERED ON MISSING AMCIT ROBERT LEVINSON [...] No summary [...] |
2007-12-18 11:34:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | KJUS CASC PGOV PHUM PREL IR AM |
| 07YEREVAN1446 |
ARMENIA HUMAN RIGHTS ROUND-UP (NOVEMBER-DECEMBER) [...] (U) Headlines in this round-up: -- MONITORING OF PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION COVERAGE -- CIVIL PROTEST OVER INFORMATION POLICY OF PUBLIC TV -- CONTINUING REPORTS OF MEDIA CLAMPDOWN -- THE ONGOING TRAVAILS OF GALA TV -- TER-PETROSSIAN'S PRE-ELECTION MONITORING REPORTS -- HOUSING CERTIFICATES FOR 1 [...] |
2007-12-18 12:02:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PHUM PGOV PREL ASEC SOCI ELAB KDEM KJUS KWMN HSTC |
| 07YEREVAN1448 |
CDA RAISES DEMOCRACY PROGRAM CONCERNS WITH PRIME [...] (C) SUMMARY: CDA and polchief called on the PM December 4 to discuss our ongoing election assistance programs (highlighting IRI plans to conduct an exit poll), raise concern about residence permits for USAID anti-corruption program staff, and to review the Radio Liberty (RL) issue with the PM [...] |
2007-12-18 12:24:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PREF PHUM PGOV EAID KDEM KPAO AM |
| 07YEREVAN1460 |
ARMENIA: DEMARCHE CONCERNING DECEMBER 18 UNGA [...] No summary [...] |
2007-12-20 07:18:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PHUM PREL UNGA AM |
| 07YEREVAN1467 |
ARMENIA: PRESIDENCY STILL UNDECIDED ABOUT IRI [...] (C) Although less hostile to the idea of an exit poll during the upcoming presidential election than he was a week ago, Presidential aide Vigen Sargsian still expressed significant concerns about the poll's format and possible fall-out. After being briefed by IRI staff on the poll's technical [...] |
2007-12-21 13:42:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL EAID PGOV PHUM KDEM KPAO OSCE AM |
| 07YEREVAN1471 |
ARMENIA'S GROWING INSURANCE SECTOR [...] Despite the rapid growth of Armenia's banking sector and GDP over the past several years, other financial services, including insurance, have developed more slowly. Insurance remains a small part of the financial sector and plays a minor role in financial intermediation. Encouragingly, the tr [...] |
2007-12-27 06:31:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED | ECON EFIN AM |
| 07YEREVAN1472 |
SIGNIFICANT ACTIVITIES REPORT-ODC ARMENIA-DECEMBER 2007 [...] EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Joint Visual Inspection for Excess Defense Article (EDA) trucks conducted; EMEDS IPR conducted in San Antonio; ARM MOD cancels EDA UH-1H helicopter request; Dec SPP event postponed until Jan 08. 2. SIGNIFICANT EVENTS A. On 17-18 Dec 07 the ODC Chief and two repr [...] |
2007-12-27 12:51:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED | MCAP KCFE XG AM |
| 07YEREVAN1482 |
OPPOSITION LEADER DECRIES BIASED OPINION POLL, [...] (C) SUMMARY: Presidential candidate Artur Bagdasaryan invited the Charge to lunch to voice his deepening concerns about the upcoming presidential election. He complained that overwhelmingly biased media coverage, the combination of expensive air time and campaign spending limits, and "black [...] |
2007-12-28 13:18:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL PHUM AM |
| 07YEREVAN149 |
ARMENIAN REPLY TO TURKEY ON COMMISSIONS STILL IN [...] (C) CDA and Pol/Econ chief met February 8 with DFM Kirakossian to ask whether/when Armenia would respond to the GOT's latest proposal on bilateral dialogue (i.e. the "commissions" proposal). Kirakossian noted that the recent Erdogan-Saakashvili-Aliyev meeting to celebrate their deal to build [...] |
2007-02-09 12:27:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL TU AM |
| 07YEREVAN150 |
NOMINEE FOR CONFERENCE IN EUROPEN ON MODERN [...] 1. Post would like to nominate Armen Yedigarian, Director of the Arms Control and National Security Department at the MFA (roughly U.S. Assistant Secretary equivalent), for the Marshall Center European conference on insurgency March 26-27. Yedigarian is a knowledgeable, effective, and influen [...] |
2007-02-12 13:07:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED | EAID PINS PREL PROP PTER NATEU MARR MOPS KISL |
| 07YEREVAN151 |
PALESTINIAN UNITY GOVERNMENT POINTS DELIVERED [...] No summary [...] |
2007-02-12 13:07:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED | PREL KISL KPAL KWBG IS AM |
| 07YEREVAN162 |
MAJOR TRAFFICKING RECRUITER SENT TO PRISON [...] (SBU) Four TIP defendants were convicted January 31, after a four-month hearing. The defendants had been accused in connection with a case involving the three witnesses (reftels) who complained of misconduct by an investigator in the prosecutor general's office the previous summer. This case [...] |
2007-02-15 12:09:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PGOV PREL PHUM KTIP KCRM KWMN HSTC AM |
| 07YEREVAN164 |
GOAM DISPATCHES INVITATION TO ODIHR ELECTION [...] (C) DFM Armen Baibourtian phoned CDA on February 15 to confirm that the invitation for OSCE's ODIHR to monitor elections had been signed and was being sent over immediately to the OSCE Office in Yerevan. Baibourtian said that the letter was signed on February 14 by FM Oskanian and would be se [...] |
2007-02-15 12:46:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV AM |
| 07YEREVAN165 |
ANALYSTS WORRIED, GOVERNMENT UNCONCERNED ABOUT [...] (C) GOAM officials' mild public statements about the finalizing of the Kars-Akhalkalki-Baku railway agreement (ref A) belie the significant resentment and frustration they feel about it. Newspapers have been abuzz with analysts' gloomy predictions of further Armenian isolation, and harsh crit [...] |
2007-02-15 13:25:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV GG TU AM |
| 07YEREVAN167 |
FUNDING REQUEST FOR AI HEALTH AWARENESS PSAS [...] Per ref A announcement, Embassy Yerevan would like to request USD 50,000 for the development and broadcast of television Public Service Announcements (PSAs) on health and food safety issues related to Avian Influenza. While UNICEF and others have produced posters and leaflets targeted at chil [...] |
2007-02-15 13:37:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED | AM KFLU KPAO |
| 07YEREVAN182 |
ARMENIA: COMMENTS FOR 2007 SPECIAL 301 REVIEW [...] (SBU) Summary: Post recommends that Armenia remain off the Special 301 Watch List for 2007. Music and video piracy does exist and there are look-alike products and store fronts, but industry losses in the Armenian market are probably small. The IPR Enforcement Unit within the Organized Crime [...] |
2007-02-21 14:26:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | ETRD ECON PGOV PREL KIPR USTR AM |
| 07YEREVAN186 |
DASD MACDOUGALL'S MEETING WITH DEFMIN SARGSIAN, [...] (C) During a February 16 meeting with Armenian Defense Minister Sargsian, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Jim MacDougall praised Armenia's progress in defense reform, thanked Armenia for its contribution to coalition operations in Iraq, and encouraged Sargsian to consider sending a conti [...] |
2007-02-22 10:27:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV AM |
| 07YEREVAN192 |
PROSPEROUS ARMENIA PARTY CONGRESS A SUCCESS, REAL [...] (C) Prosperous Armenia (PA), the new oligarch-founded party that has taken Armenia's political scene by storm (but whose agenda is still unclear), held its long-awaited pre-election congress on February 15. The congress hall was packed, and also drew a number of sour-faced senior government o [...] |
2007-02-23 11:37:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PHUM KDEM AM |
| 07YEREVAN194 |
STAFFDEL TILLEMANN FOCUSES ON DEMOCRATIZATION [...] (SBU) SUMMARY: SFRC Majority Staffmember Tomicah Tillemann visited Yerevan February 18-20, with an eye on Armenia's May elections and MCC eligibility under the "Ruling Justly" category. In a range of meetings with GOAM officials, he made clear that, despite Armenia's many friends on the Hill, [...] |
2007-02-23 14:06:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PGOV PREL OTRA AM |
| 07YEREVAN202 |
CUSTOMS GIANT FALLS AMID RUMORS OF SMUGGLING AND [...] (SBU) On February 19, Head of Customs for Cargo at Zvartnots Airport Karen Janoyan was fired along with four colleagues reportedly for smuggling mobile phones into Armenia. The dismissal has sparked some speculation that it may herald a new era of customs reform in Armenia, but most observers [...] |
2007-02-26 13:45:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | ECON ETRD EAIR PREL PINR AM |
| 07YEREVAN209 |
JOURNALIST WINS COURT CASE ON FREEDOM OF [...] The head of Armenia's independent Asparez Press Club won a freedom of information case against several village mayors in the Shirak region on February 23. The mayors had denied press club director Levon Barseghyan's requests for copies of the village budgets. The court ruled that the mayors h [...] |
2007-02-27 13:02:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED | PGOV PHUM AM |
| 07YEREVAN21 |
PRESIDENT KOCHARIAN'S NEW YEAR'S EVE REMARKS [...] SUMMARY: President Kocharian's New Year's Eve remarks reiterated his call for free and fair parliamentary elections in 2007, and for deepening Armenia's political and economic reforms, especially for competitive markets, judicial reform, and anti-corruption. He said that government-paid salari [...] |
2007-01-08 11:43:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED | PGOV PREL KDEM AM |
| 07YEREVAN211 |
ARMENIA SHARES USG CONCERN OVER ILLICIT CASH COURIERS [...] (SBU) Post delivered reftel demarche to Armenian Central Bank (CBA) Financial Monitoring Center Methodologist Armen Malkhasyan and Analyst Aram Zakaryan on February 22. Malkhasyan said that Armenia was very concerned about bulk cash transfers and was working to improve its compliance with rela [...] |
2007-02-27 13:34:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | EFIN ETTC PREL PTER KTFN AM |
| 07YEREVAN242 |
OPPOSITION CALLS COURT RULING ANOTHER ATTEMPT TO [...] (SBU) In response to an application submitted by President Robert Kocharian, the Armenian Constitutional Court has ruled as unconstitutional a law requiring Public TV and Radio to broadcast parts of National Assembly sessions. The opposition claims that, after recent announcements of what the [...] |
2007-03-02 13:45:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV OPRC AM KPAO |
| 07YEREVAN250 |
EMBASSY YEREVAN'S 2007 TIP REPORT INPUT [...] (U) This cable represents Embassy Yerevan's submission for the Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report. Please see paragraph 5 for responses keyed to reftel request. 2. (SBU) The government of Armenia has made progress in its efforts to combat trafficking since the release of the 2006 TIP Repo [...] |
2007-03-05 06:26:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PGOV PREL PHUM PREF ASEC ELAB KFRD KCRM KWMN |
| 07YEREVAN251 |
HOW LONG CAN THIS GO ON? ARMENIA'S CONTINUED DOUBLE- [...] Armenia's economy continued its significant expansion in 2006, with GDP up by 13.4 percent, the fifth consecutive year of double-digit growth. As in previous years, construction, much of which is funded by remittances, was the primary driver of growth, up by 37 percent and accounting for 26 pe [...] |
2007-03-05 06:28:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED | ECON EFIN EAID |
| 07YEREVAN256 |
ELECTIONS LIKELY TO BRING A SUBSTANTIAL INCREASE [...] (SBU) One relative bright spot on the political stage when party lists were released March 1: the potential for a 100-percent increase in the number of parliamentary seats held by women. A National Democratic Institute (NDI) analysis of the lists shows that women make up an average of 22 per [...] |
2007-03-06 11:29:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PGOV PHUM KWMN KDEM AM |
| 07YEREVAN260 |
CONCERNS RAISED OVER POLITICAL ADVERTISING AS ELECTIONS [...] (SBU) Candidate access to broadcast media and the rising cost of airing political advertisements have emerged as issues of concern as the pre-election period gets underway in Armenia. Opposition leaders complain that the rise in prices since the 2003 election is a government plot to limit thei [...] |
2007-03-07 06:43:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PGOV PHUM KPAO AM |
| 07YEREVAN265 |
ARMENIA CONCERNED ABOUT IRAN, BUT RELUCTANT TO [...] No summary [...] |
2007-03-07 13:51:00 | Embassy Yerevan | SECRET | IAEA TRGY ENRG MNUC PARM PREL KNNP IR AM |
| 07YEREVAN266 |
KOCHARIAN'S CHIEF OF STAFF SEEKS TO EJECT NDI FROM [...] (C) Armen Gevorgian, President Kocharian's Chief of Staff, told NDI Country co-Directors on March 6 that NDI should shut down their operations until after the May 12 elections. Gevorgian, assuming that NDI Armenia had arranged for a senior oppositionist to visit Washington in February, said [...] |
2007-03-07 14:55:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL EAID AM |
| 07YEREVAN272 |
CONCERN OVER PROPOSED IFC LOAN TO ARMAVIA [...] (C) Econoff recently met with local International Finance Corporation (IFC) head Nerses Karamanukian to raise post's concern about a proposed USD 11 million loan to Armenian national air carrier Armavia. Over the past year, Armavia has been plagued by financial problems and the company is ow [...] |
2007-03-09 13:47:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | ECON EAIR PGOV AM |
| 07YEREVAN273 |
IRAQ NEIGHBORS CONFERENCES [...] No summary [...] |
2007-03-09 13:49:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL OIC UN IZ AM |
| 07YEREVAN274 |
KURDS' PRO-OCALAN PROTEST LUKEWARM [...] (C) About a dozen dilapidated buses bearing posters of Kurdish militant Abdullah Ocalan pulled into the capital March 9 to protest Ocalan's imprisonment. The passengers were Yezidis from villages not far from Yerevan. The National Security Service (NSS) was aware of the protest, but was unab [...] |
2007-03-09 14:02:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL ASEC PTER AM |
| 07YEREVAN300 |
ARMENIA: MEDIA REACTION ON MCC VP JOHN HEWKO'S VISIT [...] MCC Vice President for Operations John Hewko visited Armenia March 7-9. As part of his visit, Hewko held a press conference that was covered extensively by the major television stations, three newspapers, and a number of news agencies. Press reports focused on Hewko's statement that the MCC [...] |
2007-03-14 14:09:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED | OPRC AM KMDR KPAO |
| 07YEREVAN305 |
PROMISE OF PROSPERITY RESONATES WITH VILLAGERS IN [...] (SBU) The crocuses are blooming in Yerevan, but it is still winter in the remote villages of Armenia's Shirak province. Though construction dust has displaced the February slush in the relatively well-heeled capital city, Shirak villagers are still burning dried bars of cow dung for heat and [...] |
2007-03-15 08:01:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PHUM AM |
| 07YEREVAN307 |
MCC VP HEWKO DRIVES HOME COST OF BAD ELECTIONS [...] (C) During his March 8-9 visit to Yerevan, MCC Vice President for Operations John Hewko praised Armenia's implementation of the MCC Compact while sending a clear message that in order to remain eligible for funding, elections in May must be a "significant improvement towards full compliance wi [...] |
2007-03-15 09:29:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV KMCA AM |
| 07YEREVAN320 |
DEMARCHE DELIVERED: UN INTERNAL ADMINISTRATION OF [...] No summary [...] |
2007-03-16 12:37:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED | ACABQ AORC APER PREL UNGA AM |
| 07YEREVAN323 |
IRAN-ARMENIA PIPELINE DEMARCHE--FM OSKANIAN FINDS [...] (C) SUMMARY: CDA delivered reftel points March 15 to a surprised and non-plussed FM Oskanian. Oskanian hoped Washington would understand Armenia's difficult neighborhood, and thus its imperative to obtain Iranian gas as an alternative to the unreliable supply line of Russian gas. Oskanian pr [...] |
2007-03-16 13:17:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | ETTC PREL ENRG EPET EINV IR AM |
| 07YEREVAN328 |
IRAN-ARMENIA GAS PIPELINE: GOAM REPLIES TO OUR [...] (C) SUMMARY: The MFA called in CDA March 19 to present Armenia's reply to Ref A demarche (see para 5 for full text of MFA non-paper), three hours before Presidents Kocharian and Ahmadinejad formally opened the pipeline. The most significant point in their reply is that "there is no more imp [...] |
2007-03-19 12:19:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | ETTC PREL ENRG EPET EINV IR AM |
| 07YEREVAN331 |
ARMENIAN GAS COMPANY COMMENTS ON IRAN-ARMENIA [...] (C) On March 16, we met with ArmRusGasProm (ARGP) General Director Karen Karapetyan to discuss the Iran-Armenia pipeline, Russian ownership of ARGP and future developments in the Armenian energy sector. Karapetyan reported that the "second phase" of the Iran-Armenia pipeline would be complete [...] |
2007-03-19 13:50:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | ECON ENRG PREL EPET ETTC EINV IR AM |
| 07YEREVAN332 |
ARMENIA CELEBRATES NATO WEEK (WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM ITS [...] (SBU) Embassy Yerevan provided key support to ensure that Armenia's first "NATO Week," held March 12-16, was a success. The Week was launched with the NATO - Armenia Youth Educational Rally, featuring the departure of a NATO bus that traveled from one end of Armenia to the other giving present [...] |
2007-03-19 14:36:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED | PGOV PREL PHUM KPAO NATO AM |
| 07YEREVAN339 |
LOW-KEY MEDIA COVERAGE OF IRAN-ARMENIA PIPELINE CEREMONY [...] The March 20 Iran-Armenia pipeline inauguration ceremony, led by Presidents Kocharian and Ahmadinejad, offered surprisingly little fodder for Armenian media. The ceremony was short. The two presidents did not deliver their prepared remarks, apparently because of bad weather at the outdoor si [...] |
2007-03-20 13:57:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED | ETTC PREL ENRG EPET EINV IR AM |
| 07YEREVAN343 |
FM OSKANIAN BRIEFS US ON IRANIAN PRESIDENT [...] (C) SUMMARY: FM Oskanian called in CDA to provide a readout of the Iran-Armenia pipeline opening, and the presidents' bilateral meeting on the margins. Oskanian said that the GOAM had kept the event "as low-key as possible" and that Ahmadinejad had also been restrained in his remarks. Presid [...] |
2007-03-22 08:08:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | ETTC PREL ENRG EINV EPET MNUC IAEA IR AM |
| 07YEREVAN344 |
FM OSKANIAN SKEPTICAL OF TURKISH INTENTIONS WITH [...] (C) SUMMARY: FM Oskanian told us March 21 that a deputy culture minister would lead the GOAM's delegation to the Aktamar church opening March 29. He said the Catholicos would also send representatives of the Armenian church from Echmiadzin, as perhaps would the Armenian Patriarch in Istanbul [...] |
2007-03-22 08:16:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PHUM TU AM |
| 07YEREVAN349 |
ARMENIA GRANTS LEGAL STANDING TO THE ARMENIAN CHURCH [...] The Armenian Church, which counts among its fold the vast majority of Armenians both in the homeland and in the diaspora, until earlier this month had no legal standing in Armenia. A law signed March 14 by the president granted legal standing, but did not grant the Church status as the only st [...] |
2007-03-23 07:57:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED | PGOV PHUM AM |
| 07YEREVAN351 |
NEW STAFF OF THE ANTI-TIP UNIT A WELCOME CHANGE [...] (SBU) Four months into the staff changes that took effect in the Anti-Trafficking Unit of the Prosecutor General's Office in December, 2006 (reftel), Armenia's premier anti-TIP NGO, Hope and Help, reports a great new spirit of mutual cooperation with the unit's new staff. The unit's new lead i [...] |
2007-03-23 13:02:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PGOV PREL KTIP KWMN KCRM HSTC AM |
| 07YEREVAN356 |
CABINET DISSOLVED WITH PM MARGARIAN'S DEATH, [...] (C) SUMMARY: The prime minister's sudden death March 25 automatically dissolved the cabinet. Sources tell us that President Kocharian will appoint an acting PM--possibly Serzh Sargsian--to lead a caretaker government. The constitutional timeframe for replacing a deceased prime minister in th [...] |
2007-03-26 13:02:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV AM |
| 07YEREVAN358 |
SIGNIFICANT ACTIVITIES REPORT-ODC ARMENIA-MARCH 2007 [...] EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: ODC Armenia conducted Bilateral Country Planning Conference in Yerevan; LOA for AM-B-UAB Harris radio case for 12th Peacekeeping BN signed and returned 27 Mar; LOA for AM-B-OAA blanket training case signed and returned 27 Mar. New Budget Analyst/Admin Assistant hired. 2. [...] |
2007-03-27 08:08:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED | MCAP KCFE XG AM |
| 07YEREVAN361 |
ARMENIA-TURKEY: PM FUNERAL AND AKTAMAR CHURCH [...] (C) SUMMARY: DFM Kirakossian told us March 27 that Deputy Culture Minister's delegation to Aktamar Church opening departed by bus early March 27 in order to reach the March 29 ceremony in time. GOT offers to allow a direct air link did not arrive in time for this to be a viable option. Sep [...] |
2007-03-27 12:46:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL TU AM |
| 07YEREVAN362 |
UNSCR 1747 DEMARCHE DELIVERED TO DFM KIRAKOSSIAN [...] No summary [...] |
2007-03-27 13:04:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PARM PREL EFIN MNUC TRGY AORC KNNP UNSC IAEA |
| 07YEREVAN373 |
CIVIL AVIATION SECURITY AGREEMENT - CORRECTED TEXT [...] (SBU) On December 7, 2006, the GOAM submitted a Diplomatic Note to the Embassy with proposed changes to the draft Civil Aviation Security Agreement initiated by the USG in August 2006 (ref A). Unfortunately, post incorrectly transcribed the text of the Diplomatic Note and the text reported in [...] |
2007-03-29 12:17:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | EAIT PREL KTIA AM |
| 07YEREVAN383 |
IMPLEMENTATION OF UNSCR 1747 WITH RESPECT TO BANK [...] (C) On March 30, Pol/Econ Chief and EconOff met with Armenian Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) director Nerses Yeritsyan to discuss GOAM implementation of UNSCR 1747 (ref A). We mentioned that EUR DAS Bryza has raised our Iran concerns March 28 with President Kocharian and FM Oskanian (septel [...] |
2007-03-30 13:01:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | EFIN PARM KNNP IR AM |
| 07YEREVAN385 |
PRESIDENT KOCHARIAN DISCUSSES IRAN, TURKEY, AND [...] (C) SUMMARY: Armenian President Kocharian met for over an hour with EUR DAS Bryza following the funeral of PM Margarian on March 28. On Iran, Kocharian explained that Armenia, in its precarious geopolitical situation, must carefully think through the consequences of every step it takes with it [...] |
2007-03-30 13:22:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV PHUM KDEM IR AJ AM |
| 07YEREVAN386 |
ARMENIAN MEDIA, PUBLIC CRITICAL OF CEREMONY MARKING THE [...] (SBU) Armenian media outlets varied from semi-critical to extremely critical in their coverage of the March 29 Holy Cross (Aktamar Island) Church re-opening ceremony. Most claimed that the opening was a propaganda move and berated Turkey for placing Turkish flags and a portrait of Ataturk on th [...] |
2007-03-30 13:22:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PGOV PREL OPRC AM KMDR KPAO |
| 07YEREVAN397 |
THREE KILLED IN AMBUSH OF GYUMRI MAYOR [...] No summary [...] |
2007-04-04 03:06:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PGOV KDEM KCRM AM |
| 07YEREVAN398 |
THREE KILLED IN AMBUSH OF GYUMRI MAYOR [...] (SBU) Unknown gunmen wounded the Gyumri mayor, Vartan Ghukasian, and deputy mayor, Gagik Manukian, in a bold highway attack that killed three in the two-car convoy, including Ghukasian's driver. Gyumri is Armenia's second largest city. The mayor and his entourage were attacked from two ca [...] |
2007-04-04 05:40:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PGOV KDEM KCRM AM |
| 07YEREVAN400 |
A DECENT BET: PROPOSED OPIC FINANCING FOR FIRST [...] (SBU) The following information, provided per reftel, concerns OPIC's proposal to provide a USD 5 million loan to First Mortgage Company (FMC). Post believes that FMC is a strong prospective partner and that there is significant potential within the Armenian mortgage market. Any loan agreeme [...] |
2007-04-04 11:11:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | EINV ECON AM |
| 07YEREVAN405 |
ARMENIA JOINS THE GLOBAL INITIATIVE TO COMBAT [...] Post met with Head of Global Security at the MFA Arshak Manukyan to discuss the Global Initiative to Combat Acts of Nuclear Terrorism (GICANT) and conference scheduled for June 11-15, 2007 (refs). Manukyan confirmed that Armenia fully supports GICANT and the Statement of Principles. According [...] |
2007-04-04 12:04:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED | PTER KNNP MCAP PARM PREL AM |
| 07YEREVAN406 |
ARMENIA REQUESTS UZBEK HELP TO LOCATE ESCAPED [...] (C) The Armenian Police has renewed its request for assistance from Uzbek law enforcement in locating a convicted trafficker who escaped from an Armenian prison in early 2006. The trafficker, Anush Zakharyants, is an ethnic Armenian citizen of Uzbekistan, who is believed to be hiding in Samar [...] |
2007-04-04 13:06:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | HSTC PHUM PREL PGOV KCRM KWMN SMIG AM |
| 07YEREVAN409 |
HOLY CROSS OPENING - ARMENIA MORE POSITIVE AS THINGS COOL [...] (SBU) Following local media criticism of Turkey's decision to reopen the ancient Armenian Holy Cross Church as a museum (refs), the GOAM delegation that took part in the ceremony tried to focus on the positive aspects of the renovation. During a press conference, Deputy Culture Minister Gagik [...] |
2007-04-05 11:16:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PGOV PREL OPRC KMDR KPAO AM |
| 07YEREVAN412 |
NO SURPRISES HERE - DEFMIN SARGSIAN NAMED PRIME [...] (U) In a widely anticipated move, President Kocharian announced April 5 that Defense Minister Serzh Sargsian would replace Prime Minister Andranik Margarian, who died suddenly on March 25 (ref A). Sargsian stepped down from his position as defense minister, where he has served for approximatel [...] |
2007-04-05 12:39:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL AM |
| 07YEREVAN417 |
ARMENIA: ELECTION UPDATE [...] (C) SUMMARY. Armenia's 35-day long "official" campaign period for the May 12 parliamentary election kicks off on April 8, and so far, the government has kept its commitments to hold better elections. ODIHR observers are in place and report that the legal preconditions for fair elections have [...] |
2007-04-06 12:49:00 | Embassy Yerevan | SECRET | PGOV PHUM AM |
| 07YEREVAN419 |
DEMARCHE DELIVERED: RIBBON CUTTING AT THE NATANZ [...] No summary [...] |
2007-04-09 12:03:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PARM PREL MNUC AORC KNNP IAEA UNSC IR AM |
| 07YEREVAN44 |
ARMENIA INVESTMENT CLIMATE STATEMENT, 2007 [...] (U) Following is our submission per reftel for the 2007 Investment Climate Statement for Armenia. ---------- BEGIN TEXT ---------- Foreign investment in Armenia has steadily increased from USD 70 million in 2001 to USD 297 million as of September 2006, according to data from the National [...] |
2007-01-12 12:47:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED | EINV EFIN ETRD ELAB KTDB PGOV OPIC USTR AM |
| 07YEREVAN442 |
ARMENIA JOINS INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION ON PROTECTION AND [...] Armenia joined the International Convention on Protection and Promotion of Rights and Dignity of Disabled Persons March 30, the first day of its signing. (NOTE: The convention was adopted by the UN General Assembly in December. END NOTE.) Armenia also signed the Optional Protocol. The conv [...] |
2007-04-12 11:26:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED | PGOV PHUM AM |
| 07YEREVAN443 |
BOOM! EXPLOSIONS MARK THE FIRST WEEK OF ARMENIA'S [...] (C) Early in the morning on April 12, two bombs exploded in close succession at Prosperous Armenia offices in Yerevan's Avan and Kanaker neighborhoods. President Kocharian's office quickly condemned the bombings, which caused physical damage but no injuries, and Yerevan police are investigati [...] |
2007-04-12 11:33:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PHUM PGOV AM |
| 07YEREVAN45 |
ARMENIA BACKS OUR IRAQ POLICY, AND WILLING TO DO A [...] (C) SUMMARY: Armenia's Foreign and Defense Ministers each expressed solid support for our Iraq policy, and for the President's announced changes in Iraq strategy. Both agreed that our Iraq strategy cannot be allowed to fail, and reaffirmed Armenia's commitment to sustain its troop deployment [...] |
2007-01-12 13:56:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV MASS KPAO AM IR IZ AF GR YI |
| 07YEREVAN451 |
IVANOV'S ARMENIA VISIT: STUMPING FOR SARGSIAN? [...] (U) Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Sergey Ivanov's visit to Yerevan April 10-11 generated many of the routine media reports about economic cooperation and and Armenia's views on NATO that typically follow Russian visits to Armenia. Ivanov's meetings with new Prime Minister Serzh Sargsian [...] |
2007-04-13 11:25:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PGOV PREL AM |
| 07YEREVAN452 |
TOWARDS A TOBACCO FREE ARMENIA? [...] (U) The Coalition for a Tobacco Free Armenia, including American University of Armenia's Public Health Department and 25 NGOs, recently marked the second anniversary of the passage of a law restricting the sale and use of tobacco. At the event, the Coalition introduced public awareness materia [...] |
2007-04-13 12:54:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | SOCI EAID AM |
| 07YEREVAN457 |
NIGHT OF 1000 DINNERS RECEPTION RAISES FUNDS FOR NGO'S [...] (U) Summary: At a fundraising reception held as part of the Night of 1000 Dinners (reftel), Post helped raise over 4,000 USD for the Armenian Red Cross Society, a local NGO working to reduce landmine casualties through a Mine Risk Education program. The event drew more than 70 guests, includi [...] |
2007-04-16 12:40:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED | DMIN PHUM KMDR KPAO EAID KHDP MASS PARM PREL AM |
| 07YEREVAN459 |
HARD TIMES FOR AGRC LEAVES OTHER INVESTORS WORRIED [...] (C) The Armenian Gold Recovery Company (AGRC), plagued by allegations of tax evasion and failure to report profits, appears to be the latest casualty of rising gold prices and a possible Russian push to increase economic ties with Armenia. After a difficult confrontation with the Ministry of [...] |
2007-04-16 13:04:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | EINV ECON PREL AM |
| 07YEREVAN46 |
ARMENIA: GOOD COVERAGE OF PRESIDENT BUSH'S SPEECH AND [...] (SBU) In addition to engaging with senior GOAM leaders (reftel), on January 11 the Charge d'Affaires held an interview on the President's new strategy in Iraq with three major Armenian media outlets we invited to participate--Armenian Public TV (Armenia's national television station), Kentron T [...] |
2007-01-12 14:09:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | OPRC AM KMDR KPAO |
| 07YEREVAN47 |
FONMIN OSKANIAN CONFIRMS MAY 12 ELECTION DATE; [...] (C) SUMMARY: In a January 12 meeting to update the Foreign Minister on Iraq strategy (septel), CDA and Pol/Econ Chief were able to cover a range of issues, including election planning, Nagorno-Karabakh, the Ambassador-designate Hoagland's nomination, Armenia-Turkish relations, and Iran. As of [...] |
2007-01-12 14:11:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV PHUM KDEM PBTS AM AJ IR |
| 07YEREVAN471 |
A REAL LIVE CAMPAIGN SEASON, AS BOMBINGS SEEM QUICKLY [...] (SBU) Armenia's campaign environment has ratcheted into high gear, with a vibrant rainbow of political ads posted everywhere you look. The April 12 bombings of two Prosperous Armenia (PA) offices (ref A) seem quickly to have disappeared from political relevance, after virtually all parties con [...] |
2007-04-19 04:00:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PGOV PREL KDEM AM |
| 07YEREVAN485 |
AMID ELECTORAL IMPROVEMENTS, VIOLENCE PUNCTUATES SCENE [...] (SBU) SUMMARY: Campaign events around Armenia this week have been largely uneventful; several parties - including opposition -- successfully staged rallies without government interference, garnering modest attendance despite poor weather. The Police announced significant progress in their wo [...] |
2007-04-20 12:58:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PGOV KDEM AM |
| 07YEREVAN486 |
AS ELECTIONS APPROACH, BROADCAST MEDIA BECOME [...] (SBU) As Armenia's May 12 parliamentary elections approach, Armenian broadcast media have begun giving more air time to opposition figures. While opposition politicians had previously complained about unequal access to the broadcast media and presidential control of television stations (ref A [...] |
2007-04-20 13:00:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PHUM KMDR KPAO AM |
| 07YEREVAN490 |
NEWSPAPER PUBLISHES OPPOSITION CONVERSATION WITH [...] (C) SUMMARY: On April 21, Golos Armenii a government-leaning Russian language newspaper, published a transcript of a clandestinely-recorded conversation between an opposition leader and a British diplomat. The piece claimed that the opposition politician -- former parliament speaker and Ori [...] |
2007-04-23 12:23:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PHUM PREL KDEM AM |
| 07YEREVAN502 |
ARMENIA: POINTS OF CONTACT FOR GLOBAL INITIATIVE [...] Post delivered reftel points to MFA Global Security and Non-Conventional Issues Division chief Arshak Manoukian on April 20. 2. Armenian Government points of contact for Global Initiative issues are: Primary: Arshak Manoukian, Global Security and Non-Conventional Issues Division Chief, [...] |
2007-04-25 12:38:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED | PTER PARM ETTC PREL KGIC AM |
| 07YEREVAN504 |
INTERIM CABINET COMPLETED 19 DAYS BEFORE ELECTIONS [...] (U) President Kocharian appointed Chief of the General Staff Colonel-General Mikayel Harutyunyan to serve as Armenia's interim defense minister on April 24, two weeks after he had appointed the rest of the cabinet. Harutyunyan succeeds former Defense Minister Serzh Sargsian, who became Prime M [...] |
2007-04-25 12:46:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PGOV PREL MARR AM |
| 07YEREVAN508 |
EXERCISING AVIAN FLU RESPONSE PLANS IN ARMENIA [...] (U) This cable, a response to reftel, details the GOAM's recent actions to improve avian influenza (AI) preparedness, test existing response plans and improve diagnostic and response capacity. On March 27, the World Health Organization (WHO) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), with f [...] |
2007-04-25 13:30:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | TBIO KFLU AM EAGR |
| 07YEREVAN510 |
ARMENIA UNLIKELY TO PARTICIPATE IN NUCLEAR [...] No summary [...] |
2007-04-26 06:20:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED | KNNP MNUC ASEC ENRG PARM AM |
| 07YEREVAN520 |
DEMARCHE DELIVERED: NPT PREPCOM [...] No summary [...] |
2007-04-26 12:14:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED | MNUC PARM PREL AM ENRG KNNP |
| 07YEREVAN522 |
ELECTION HOMESTRETCH -- WITH SIXTEEN DAYS LEFT, WE [...] (C) SUMMARY: We called on President Kocharian to deliver some messages for the final stage of the pre-election campaign. We urged him to galvanize prosecutors against electon-related fraud. We also protested sharply the apparent clandestine taping, and subsequent publishing, of a British d [...] |
2007-04-26 13:27:00 | Embassy Yerevan | SECRET | PREL PGOV PHUM KDEM AM |
| 07YEREVAN525 |
ARMENIA/OSCE EXTRA BUDGETARY-PROJECTS [...] (SBU) Per ref B e-mail, Embassy Yerevan supports funding for proposed project 1300107 - Monitoring Places of Detention. Most prison monitoring in Armenian is done by two groups of NGOs (one convened under the Ministry of Justice and one under the police). We understand that there have been q [...] |
2007-04-27 06:28:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | EAID PGOV PHUM AM |
| 07YEREVAN526 |
NEW WAY FORWARD ON IRAQ [...] No summary [...] |
2007-04-27 09:40:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED | MARR MASS MOPS PREL PTER AM |
| 07YEREVAN528 |
YEZIDI PROTEST AT EMBASSY [...] (S) About 15 Yezidis protested in front of the Embassy April 27, carrying Armenian-language signs that read "Stop the genocide of Yezidis" and "23 killed in Mosul." They were protesting the deaths of 23 Yezidi workers who were shot in Mosul, Iraq, on April 22. The protest was the first in re [...] |
2007-04-27 12:33:00 | Embassy Yerevan | SECRET | PGOV PTER PHUM IR AM |
| 07YEREVAN532 |
ARMENIA: MEDIA REACTION TO HRR AMENDMENTS [...] (SBU) On April 27, 28 almost all TV stations and five newspapers referred to the amendments made in the Human Rights Report (HRR) regarding Nagorno-Karabakh. Commentary from Armenian media outlets varied from critical to extremely critical, claiming that the last change made in the HRR called [...] |
2007-04-30 12:44:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | OPRC PREL PGOV KMDR KPAO AM |
| 07YEREVAN534 |
ARMENIA: USING USG ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS TO LEVERAGE [...] (C) Our assistance programs aimed at helping Armenia achieve cleaner elections are big news here. Thanks to a strong Public Diplomacy effort, we have largely dispelled early concerns about whether Armenians should be suspicious that we seek to foment a "color revolution" and have built under [...] |
2007-05-02 11:57:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV EAID PHUM AM |
| 07YEREVAN551 |
ARMENIA JOINS EUROGIRO MONEY TRANSFER NETWORK [...] (U) On April 27, the Armenian National Postal Operator "Haypost" signed a membership agreement with the Eurogiro Network, allowing Haypost offices to provide electronic money transfer services to and from more than 60,000 post offices across Europe. Under this agreement, accountholders will b [...] |
2007-05-03 04:03:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | ECON EFIN EINV PTER KTFN AM |
| 07YEREVAN555 |
ODIHR MISSION HEAD DISCUSSES PRE-ELECTION [...] (C) CDA met May 2 with Ambassador Boris Frlec, the head of OSCE/ODIHR,s Election Observation Mission (EOM) for a discussion on the pre-election period in Armenia. Frlec evaluated the pre-election period as broadly competitive, despite flaws. He saw a relatively even playing field, albeit wh [...] |
2007-05-03 10:34:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL PHUM KDEM OSCE AM |
| 07YEREVAN556 |
DEMARCHE DELIVERED: UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL [...] No summary [...] |
2007-05-03 11:45:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PHUM AM |
| 07YEREVAN559 |
ARMENIA POLITICAL PARTY PRIMER [...] (C) SUMMARY: This cable provides a basic reference to the political parties in the May 12 parliamentary race. Out of seventy-four registered political parties in Armenia only 24 parties and one bloc registered to participate in the parliamentary election, and two have since dropped out. END [...] |
2007-05-04 03:09:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV KDEM AM |
| 07YEREVAN560 |
KOCHARIAN ACCUSES BAGHDASSARIAN OF BETRAYAL [...] (U) President Kocharian blasted opposition leader Artur Baghdassarian during an address to local university students on April 27, accusing him of "betrayal." "I don't want to use legal terms. For me, this is a real manifestation of betrayal," Kocharian told students at Yerevan State Universi [...] |
2007-05-04 03:09:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PHUM KDEM AM |
| 07YEREVAN564 |
ARMENIA ELECTIONS: KOCHARIAN CONVOKES OSCE CHIEFS [...] (C) SUMMARY: On May 3, President Kocharian convoked all Chiefs of Mission of OSCE Member States resident in Yerevan regarding the upcoming parliamentary elections. He sought to convey to the dip corps that his administration was doing all it could to ensure an election process which should me [...] |
2007-05-04 12:39:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PHUM KDEM OSCE AM |
| 07YEREVAN566 |
SIGNIFICANT ACTIVITIES REPORT-ODC ARMENIA-April 2007 [...] EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: ODC Armenia conducted visit of Defense Reutilization Management Office and Excess Defense Article stockyard in Kaiserslautern; FY08 Counter Terrorism Fellowship Program plan developed at TPMR; Letter of Request for equipping Nuclear Biological and Chemical defense platoon se [...] |
2007-05-07 09:54:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED | MCAP KCFE XG AM |
| 07YEREVAN571 |
VAYOTS DZOR REPUBLICANS STRONG FOR ELECTION DAY [...] (SBU) SUMMARY: An Embassy pre-election trip to the sparsely-populated Vayots Dzor province on 27 April found an electoral calm much attributed to the popularity of the Republican marzpet (governor) headquartered in Yeghanadzor and the relatively favorable image he exudes of the Republican Par [...] |
2007-05-07 11:37:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PHUM PREL KDEM AM |
| 07YEREVAN572 |
CDA CALLS ON NEW DEFMIN [...] (C) Charge d'affaires and DATT paid a courtesy visit to new Defense Minister Mikayel Harutyunian on May 4, the first such visit since the former chief of staff had assumed the post (reftel). The DefMin expressed his dissatisfaction with the new Human Rights Report language on Nagorno-Karabakh [...] |
2007-05-07 11:57:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV MARR AM |
| 07YEREVAN585 |
GEGHARKUNIK MARZ PREPARES FOR ELECTIONS [...] (C) Post dispatched two officers on April 26 and 27 to the Gegharkunik region, which wraps around Armenia's largest body of water -- Lake Sevan. Gegharkunik region, like every other region of Armenia outside of the capitol, is in dire economic straits. Summer tourism to Lake Sevan, potato far [...] |
2007-05-08 12:27:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | AM KDEM PGOV PHUM |
| 07YEREVAN586 |
ARMENIAN ELECTIONS: VIEWS FROM ARAGOTSOTN [...] (C) SUMMARY. Characterizing the pre-election campaigning as "boring," governmental, non-governmental, political party and international observers in the Aragotsotn region of Armenia foresee a parliamentary election devoid of significant fraud in their area. Interlocutors tell us that there [...] |
2007-05-08 12:40:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PHUM KDEM AM |
| 07YEREVAN587 |
INCREASING TENSIONS EXPECTED IN LORI, MORE [...] (C) Embassy officers on May 4 visited Vanadzor (Lori Region), the largely-impoverished third-largest city of Armenia to examine pre-election conditions. Typically, pro-government officials claimed there were no problems in the run-up to 12 May while opposition and NGO figures noted otherwise [...] |
2007-05-09 11:29:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL PHUM KDEM ASEC AM |
| 07YEREVAN588 |
FM OSKANIAN DEFENDS VISA REFUSAL OF TURKISH OSCE [...] (C) CDA and the German Ambassador each protested (during a scheduled meeting with CDA and EU chiefs of mission late May 8), Armenia's refusal to grant visas to Turkey's contigent of seconded OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission short-term observers (STOs). Each associated themselves with [...] |
2007-05-09 11:57:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV KDEM OSCE TU AM |
| 07YEREVAN591 |
CHARGE'S ASSESSMENT ON UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL [...] (C) Based on conversations with foreign ministry officials and Armenia's previous voting record on Belarus, we expect that Armenia will support Belarus' candidacy even once Bosnia enters the race. Dzunik Aghadjanian, head of the MFA's International Organizations Department, told us May 10: "It [...] |
2007-05-10 12:19:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PHUM PREL UNHRC AM |
| 07YEREVAN592 |
PRO-GOVERNMENT NEWSPAPERS EXPRESS RULING ELITE'S [...] (C) In the weeks leading up to the May 12 parliamentary election, two pro-government newspapers regularly published articles highly critical of the United States and other Western missions and NGOs. Hayots Ashkhar and Golos Armenii newspapers have denounced the United States for interfering i [...] |
2007-05-10 12:55:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PHUM PREL KDEM KPAO AM |
| 07YEREVAN594 |
ARMENIA'S SOUTHERNMOST REGION ON ELECTIONS: SO [...] (C) In a late April visit to Syunik marz, the most remote and one of the poorest of Armenia's regions, Poloffs learned that the voting public is engaged and is generally looking forward to the May 12 polls. This despite a widespread sense of intimidation amongst the populace and trepidation to [...] |
2007-05-11 06:46:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV KDEM AM |
| 07YEREVAN603 |
ARMENIA SLOW TO IMPLEMENT BANK SEPAH ASSET FREEZE [...] (S) Per ref A, on May 8 we met with Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) Head at the Armenian Central Bank Nerses Yeritsyan to discuss what steps Armenia had taken to implement UNSCR 1747 and specific actions taken against Sepah Bank. Yeritsyan confirmed that Sepah Bank maintains correspondent [...] |
2007-05-11 11:49:00 | Embassy Yerevan | SECRET | EFIN PARM KNNP IR AM |
| 07YEREVAN604 |
DEMARCHE DELIVERED ON KEY U.S. OBJECTIVES AT THE [...] No summary [...] |
2007-05-11 12:14:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED | TBIO AORC PREL KFLU WHO AM |
| 07YEREVAN607 |
ARMENIAN ELECTION SCENESETTER [...] (C) The stage is set for this election to go far better than other recent polls in Armenia, but we have not, by a long shot, seen a fundamental change in political culture here, and things could still go very wrong on Election Day. We are cautiously optimistic that Armenia's parliamentary ele [...] |
2007-05-11 13:17:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PHUM PREL ASEC KDEM AM |
| 07YEREVAN608 |
OPPOSITION FIGURE'S ARREST DRAWS PROTEST MARCHERS [...] (C) SUMMARY: The May 7 arrest of a minor oppostion personality led to a protest march on the National Security Service headquarters May 9. Police were poorly prepared for the unscheduled event. When several officers unwisely interposed themselves in front of -- then got swallowed by -- the c [...] |
2007-05-11 13:27:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PHUM KDEM ASEC AM |
| 07YEREVAN609 |
OBSERVERS GIVE ARMENIA'S ELECTION A PASSING GRADE, [...] (C) Armenia's Parliamentary elections took place on May 12. Preliminary results show a strong victory by PM Sargsian's Republican Party. These same early results show that the new oligarch-led "Prosperous Armenia" party ran a distant second and three other parties -- including two oppositi [...] |
2007-05-13 14:13:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PHUM PREL OSCE KDEM AM |
| 07YEREVAN639 |
HCOC INREACH: ARMENIA WILL MAKE ITS DECLARATION [...] No summary [...] |
2007-05-16 10:43:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL MNUC KSCA ETTC TSPA MTCRE AM |
| 07YEREVAN640 |
JUDGING ARMENIA'S ELECTIONS - GOOD ENOUGH, BUT [...] (C) SUMMARY: We judge Armenia's May 12 election an improvement over previous elections, although this is faint praise. The combined International Election Observation Mission has issued an upbeat preliminary assessment. ODIHR seemed to feel keenly the institutional pressures. If the Europe [...] |
2007-05-16 11:15:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PHUM KDEM AM |
| 07YEREVAN642 |
PM SARGSIAN'S REPUBLICANS STRENGTHEN HOLD ON POWER [...] (C) Armenia's ruling Republican Party, led by PM Serzh Sargsian, is set to have a slim majority in the new National Assembly to be seated May 31. Results will not be made official until May 19, but it seems clear that the Republicans will take 68 out of 131 seats of the new parliament. Runn [...] |
2007-05-16 12:54:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PHUM ASEC KDEM AM |
| 07YEREVAN646 |
ARMENIA: ENTRY INTO FORCE OF THE AGREEMENT ON THE [...] According to Armenian Diplomatic Note 16/05822 dated May 14, 2007 and received at the Embassy on May 17, 2007, Armenia has completed the formalities required for entry into force of the agreement on the exchange of technical information and cooperation in nuclear safety matters. 2. The sub [...] |
2007-05-17 11:37:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED | PREL ENRG ECON AM |
| 07YEREVAN649 |
WITNESS DIES DURING INTERROGATION [...] (C) On May 12 Levon Ghulyan died under controversial circumstances while being questioned by the police as a presumed witness of a deadly gunfight on May 9 near the restaurant he owned. The police initially claimed that, during the interrogation, Ghulyan fell to his death while trying to esca [...] |
2007-05-18 11:12:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PHUM PGOV AM |
| 07YEREVAN65 |
KOCHARIAN SCOLDS TAX AND CUSTOMS OFFICIALS [...] (U) President Kocharian took an unusually hard stance with Customs and Tax officials during an annual January meeting with key government officials. He said the tax and customs services lacked the will to combat the shadow economy and described their work as "unsatisfactory." Despite some suc [...] |
2007-01-17 13:02:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | ECON ETRD EFIN PGOV KCOR AM |
| 07YEREVAN653 |
ARMENIA WILL PARTICIPATE IN OSCE PPP CONFERENCE [...] No summary [...] |
2007-05-18 12:33:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED | OSCE PREL PTER ABUD AFIN RS SP AM |
| 07YEREVAN658 |
PM SARGSIAN HOPES FOR "BIG TENT" COALITION [...] (C) PM Sargsian told CDA on May 17 that he plans to form as large a coalition as he can, to include the new pro-government Prosperous Armenia (PA) party as well as former coalition partner ARF-Dashnaktsutyun (the Dashnaks). Armenia's constitution gives him until the end of June to propose his [...] |
2007-05-21 13:00:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PHUM AM |
| 07YEREVAN659 |
GLOBAL GOLD MINING: A YEAR OF... [...] (C) Global Gold Corporation (GGC) is an international gold mining company with operations in Armenia and principal offices in Connecticut. For the past few years, GGC has been involved in an at-times hostile dispute with the GOAM and more specifically with the Armenian Minister of Nature Protection [...] |
2007-05-22 03:37:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | EINV ECON PGOV OPIC AM |
| 07YEREVAN660 |
BIO REPORT FOR NERSES YERITSYAN, ACTING HEAD OF [...] (C) Nerses Yeritsyan is the Senior Advisor to the Chairman of the Central Bank (CBA) and has been acting head of the Bank's Financial Intelligence Unit since its founding in 2005. He served for two terms on the CBA Board and still plays a leading role in many of the bank's non-FIU initiative [...] |
2007-05-22 03:50:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PINR ECON INRB AM |
| 07YEREVAN661 |
TRAFFICKING VICTIMS HELD IN GEORGIA RETURNED TO [...] (C) Two alleged Armenian trafficking victims who had been held in a Georgian jail for six months returned to Armenia May 17, and are in the care of an active anti-trafficking NGO. Anti-trafficking activists hailed the return of Anna Harutyunyan and Lianna Krasnova as a textbook case of good c [...] |
2007-05-22 11:34:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PHUM KWMN KCRM HSTC GG AM |
| 07YEREVAN662 |
"WE ARE NOT BORN YESTERDAY": OSCE/ODIHR OBSERVER [...] (C) SUMMARY: OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission (EOM) chief of mission, Ambassador Frlec, and deputy COM, Ian Gorvin, were markedly more sour on Armenia's May 12 election in a dinner at CDA's residence, and less-markedly so in the semi-public forum of their last OSCE member state chiefs [...] |
2007-05-23 05:09:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV KDEM OSCE AM |
| 07YEREVAN677 |
DEMARCHE DELIVERED: RUSSIAN DRAFT OF OSCE "CHARTER" [...] No summary [...] |
2007-05-25 07:11:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | OSCE PREL KTIA PGOV AM |
| 07YEREVAN688 |
DEMARCHES DELIVERED: NEW GLOBAL INITATIVE PARTNERS [...] No summary [...] |
2007-05-30 04:05:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED | KGIT PARM PREL PTER IC NO SZ AM |
| 07YEREVAN689 |
ARMENIA WILL SUBMIT UNSCR 1747 IMPLEMENTATION [...] No summary [...] |
2007-05-30 04:06:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PARM ETTC UNSC IR AM |
| 07YEREVAN691 |
CDA'S LUNCH WITH DEPUTY PG AND ANTI-TIP WORKERS [...] (C) We gathered together post's most reliable anti-TIP interlocutors in the Armenian government for a May 29 lunch at the CDA's residence. The guest list included Deputy Prosecutor General Gevorg Danielyan and two other members of the PG's staff, as well as the heads of the MFA's Internationa [...] |
2007-05-30 07:38:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV PHUM KDEM KWMN KCRM HSTC AM |
| 07YEREVAN692 |
ARSON AGAINST OPPOSITION PARLIAMENTARY CANDIDATE [...] (SBU) On May 28, Larisa Paremuzyan, regional chairwoman of Stepan Demirchian's People's Party of Armenia (PPA), survived a late night arson attack on her apartment in the northern town of Alaverdi (Shirak Region). Paremuzyan blamed the attack on Karen Saribekian from the governing Republican P [...] |
2007-05-30 08:32:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PGOV PREL PHUM KDEM KCRM AM |
| 07YEREVAN696 |
FIRST PARLIAMENT SESSION POSTPONED [...] (SBU) Parliament staffers and political party sources tell us that the scheduled May 31 inaugural session of the new National Assembly has been postponed until June 7. It is expected that the inaugural session will see the election of the new parliament chairman (or speaker), two deputy chair [...] |
2007-05-30 11:01:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PGOV KDEM AM |
| 07YEREVAN698 |
DEMARCHE DELIVERED: NEW WORLD BANK PRESIDENT [...] No summary [...] |
2007-05-30 12:10:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED | ECON EFIN IBRD AM |
| 07YEREVAN699 |
MARKING FOURTH ANNIVERSARY OF PSI WITH AN OP-ED [...] Post concluded the best way to accomplish reftel goals was to place an op-ed from the CDA in the governmental newspaper Hayastan Hanrepetutyun, which we also conveyed as a courtesy to the MFA's International Security Department. The op-ed ran on May 30. Complete text follows. 2. TEXT OF [...] |
2007-05-30 12:16:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED | PARM PREL MNUC KNNP XG AM |
| 07YEREVAN70 |
ARMENIA: LAW ENFORCEMENT COOPERATION WITH U.S. [...] (SBU) Law enforcement cooperation with Armenia continued to improve in 2006, with concrete key successes despite a complex environment and the lack of a formal bilateral legal framework. Fugitive investigations continued to be the most fruitful area of cooperation, but GOAM cooperation in an [...] |
2007-01-19 07:00:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PGOV ASEC SOCI PINS AM |
| 07YEREVAN701 |
GOAM APPROVES A THREE-YEAR TAX SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM [...] (U) SUMMARY: On May 24, 2007, the GOAM approved a Strategic Development Program for the tax system that, over the next three years, will make significant structural, legislative and technological changes within the State Tax Service (STS). The STS has benefited from the help of USAID's Tax Imp [...] |
2007-05-31 07:47:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | ECON PGOV EFIN ETRD EAID AM |
| 07YEREVAN709 |
ELECTION FRAUD COMPLAINTS PROCEED ON SEVERAL TRACKS [...] (C) SUMMARY: Four opposition parties have filed election complaints with the Constitutional Court, calling for the May 12 elections to be voided. Their contention is that sufficient irregularities occurred to invalidate the election. The Constitutional Court hearing is scheduled to begin Jun [...] |
2007-05-31 12:31:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL KCRM AM |
| 07YEREVAN711 |
SFRC STAFFDEL TAKES IN THE PANOPLY OF US ASSISTANCE TO [...] (U) From May 22 to 26, SFRC stafdel Paul Foldi and Marik String visited Armenia. After four days of briefings, meetings, presentations and site visits, Foldi and String -- accompanied to most meetings by just a driver and interpreter, per their request -- reported that they were pleased with [...] |
2007-06-01 03:41:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | EAID OTRA AM |
| 07YEREVAN713 |
HR DEFENDER GIVES US GHULYAN DEATH CASE UPDATE [...] (C) The government-appointed Human Rights Defender (or ombudsman) Armen Harutyunyan told us at a May 31 meeting that the Yerevan city prosecutor had responded to his inquiry regarding the Ghulyan case (death in police custody, see reftel). Harutyunyan had asked prosecutors, after our May 17 i [...] |
2007-06-01 03:54:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PHUM PGOV AM |
| 07YEREVAN720 |
HR DEFENDER'S OFFICE CREATES MILITARY POSITION [...] The Armenian government has created a new position within the office of Human Rights Defender (ombudsman) Armen Harutyunyan intended to follow up complaints of human rights abuses in the ranks of the Armenian military. The Ministry of Defense proposed the position to the ombudsman in late 200 [...] |
2007-06-01 09:37:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED | PGOV PHUM MARR AM |
| 07YEREVAN723 |
ARMENIA'S YEZIDI KURDISH MINORITY: A SMALL BUT [...] (S) The mayors of two Yezidi Kurdish villages, spoke openly to us during a May 31 visit about the fact of PKK (KGK) presence in Armenia, telling us that wounded PKK fighters from neighboring countries receive medical treatment in Armenia. We also discussed the complicated issue of Yezidi Kurd [...] |
2007-06-01 11:54:00 | Embassy Yerevan | SECRET | PREL ASEC PTER PHUM AM |
| 07YEREVAN735 |
DEMARCHE DELIVERED: GLOBAL INITIATIVE [...] (U) We delivered reftel information to Arshak Manukyan, head of the MFA's Division of Non-Conventional Arms and Global Security, who thanked us for the update. GODFREY [...] |
2007-06-05 10:25:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED | PTER KGIC PARM PREL FI PL PO SW AM |
| 07YEREVAN748 |
ARMENIA'S NEW PARLIAMENT CONVENES WITHOUT [...] (SBU) SUMMARY: Armenia's newly-elected parliament convened for the first time on June 7, after a coalition arrangement was signed on June 6. PM Sargsian's Republican Party will lead a "two plus one" coalition, with the tycoon-led "Prosperous Armenia" as a coalition partner and the ARF-Dashna [...] |
2007-06-07 12:09:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PGOV KDEM AM |
| 07YEREVAN754 |
LAWYERS: DEATH IN CUSTODY CASE PROCEEDING FAIRLY [...] (C) Lawyers for defenestrated businessman Levon Ghulyan told us June 6 that the case seemed to be proceeding fairly, and that they did not have any concerns regarding the pre-investigation process thus far. Results of an independant autopsy by international experts are still not available, ho [...] |
2007-06-08 10:33:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PHUM AM |
| 07YEREVAN755 |
CDA RAISES ENERGY SECURITY,NUCLEAR POWER, AND IRAN [...] (C) SUMMARY: We met with Energy Minister Movsissian June 1 to explore Armenia's current plans and thinking with regard to replacing the Soviet-era Armenian Nuclear Power Plant (ANPP). Press reports had suggested Armenia had made deals with Russia for the construction of a new nuclear plant, [...] |
2007-06-08 11:02:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL EAID ENRG ETTC PARM ETRD AM IR |
| 07YEREVAN764 |
PRESIDENT NAMES NEW CABINET, A LOT LIKE THE OLD ONE [...] (U) President Robert Kocharian named the new cabinet in a decree published late June 8; well ahead of the Constitutional deadline. The Constitution requires that the new cabinet must submit its program to the National Assembly within 20 days, i.e. by June 28. the parliament will then have fi [...] |
2007-06-11 13:15:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV KDEM AM |
| 07YEREVAN77 |
OPENING THE TURKISH-ARMENIAN BORDER: BUSINESSES AND [...] On January 13 and 14 the Armenian International Policy Research Group (AIPRG), with funding from USAID, the British Embassy, and the Eurasia Foundation, held a conference on "The Economic and Social Consequences of Opening the Armenia-Turkish Border." While the caliber of the papers was mixed, [...] |
2007-01-23 06:49:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED | ECON ETRD EINV ELNT PGOV PREL TU GG AM |
| 07YEREVAN777 |
KOCHARIAN PLEDGES CONTINUED REFORM TO MCC'S [...] (C) In a June 12 meeting with President Kocharian, Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) CEO Ambassador John Danilovich said that the good progress toward international standards shown during Armenia's May 12 parliamentary elections was good news for MCC and would certainly be welcomed by MC [...] |
2007-06-14 13:10:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV EAID KDEM AM |
| 07YEREVAN779 |
CIVAIR: REVISED TEXT OF U.S.-ARMENIAN AVIATION SECURITY [...] On June 8, 2007, we delivered reftel talking points and the revised draft U.S.-Armenian security agreement to the Director General of Civil Aviation, Artyom Movsesyan, and the Deputy Director General of Civil Aviation for Security, Arsen Poghosyan. 2. Movsesyan indicated that all the propose [...] |
2007-06-15 11:02:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED | EAIR KTIA AM |
| 07YEREVAN782 |
FM OSKANIAN ON PUTIN'S GABALA STATION MISSILE [...] (U) Several Armenian media outlets quoted Foreign Minister Oskanian's comments on the Gabala idea during his interview on Kentron television. Oskanian commented that he saw no physical danger to Armenia from the proposed project, noting that the facility would only be a radar station, not an [...] |
2007-06-15 12:00:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PARM PREL KMDR AM AJ RU |
| 07YEREVAN783 |
CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM RESTRUCTURES INVESTIGATIVE [...] (C) SUMMARY: Armenian law enforcement is grappling with a major restructuring that strips the powerful Prosecutor General's or "Procuracy" organization of all its investigative functions and staff, transferring the investigators themselves into police agencies. The reform is an excellent one [...] |
2007-06-15 12:47:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PHUM PREL ASEC KJUS KCRM KDEM KTIP HSTC |
| 07YEREVAN785 |
SIGNIFICANT ACTIVITIES REPORT-ODC ARMENIA-May 2007 [...] The Letters of Request (LOR) for two FMF cases designed to enhance the Armenian EMEDS were forwarded to DSCA and SAF/IA on 23 May. One case is an amendment to the existing AM-D-EAA equipment case. This amendment will acquire additional medical and deployment equipment that will improve the capa [...] |
2007-06-18 02:45:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED | MCAP KCFE XG AM |
| 07YEREVAN788 |
KOCHARIAN DEAD SET AGAINST ATTENDING BSEC SUMMIT [...] (C) On June 16, Charge raised the issue of Armenia's attendance at the upcoming BSEC Summit with President Kocharian. Kocharian said that there was "absolutely no way" he would consider attending. In fact, he would have preferred that FM Oskanian also skip the event, but relented under Oska [...] |
2007-06-18 09:16:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL NATO OSCE TU AM |
| 07YEREVAN794 |
ARMENIAN COURTS RULE ON ELECTION VIOLATION CASES [...] (C) SUMMARY: Armenian courts continue to deliver verdicts for election fraud, with a total of six cases, affecting 15 individual defendants, now adjudicated. Verdicts have now been announced in five more cases. Three persons were sentenced to imprisonment for one or two years; one person wa [...] |
2007-06-18 13:14:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PHUM PREL KDEM KJUS AM |
| 07YEREVAN81 |
ARMENIANS REMEMBER HRANT DINK WITH VIGILS, MARCHES [...] Bearing signs that read "We are all Hrants," in acknowledgment of similar slogans borne by protesters in Istanbul, several thousand Armenians attended a January 23 memorial gathering for slain Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink at Yerevan's Freedom Square. Event organizers, a small ad hoc [...] |
2007-01-24 10:42:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED | PREL PHUM PGOV TU AM |
| 07YEREVAN815 |
IRAN-ARMENIA PIPELINE DEMARCHE; MEDIA REPORT U.S. [...] (C) CDA and Pol/Econ chief delivered Ref A demarche points to FM Oskanian June 13. CDA also emphasized the continuing diplomatic and public relations disaster that Armenia's Iran engagement represents, given the context of UNSCRs and international consensus on the need to isolate Iran. He po [...] |
2007-06-22 13:16:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | ENRG ETTC PREL KMDR IR AM |
| 07YEREVAN827 |
NATO OFFICIAL UPBEAT ON ARMENIA'S IPAP PROGRESS [...] (C) SUMMARY: NATO's special Caucasus representative found much to praise after his June 21-22 visit. Top Armenian officials affirmed strong political commitment to defense reform goals and the NATO relationship, and IPAP benchmarks are on or ahead of schedule. END SUMMARY 2. (C) TOU [...] |
2007-06-27 11:03:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PHUM MARR NATO AM |
| 07YEREVAN829 |
RADIO LIBERTY MAY BE FORCED OFF THE AIR [...] (SBU) The National Assembly appears poised to enact a pair of laws that seem aimed directly at forcing RFE/RL off the airwaves. One provision will block state radio from airing the broadcasts, while a companion amendment in another law will impose hefty taxes on any commercial broadcaster airin [...] |
2007-06-27 13:35:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PGOV PHUM OPRC KMDR KPAO AM |
| 07YEREVAN840 |
PRESSING THE CASE AGAINST LAW AIMED AT RADIO [...] (SBU) CDA worked the phones June 27-28 to raise our concerns about pending legislation that appears aimed at shutting down RFE/RL broadcasts in Armenia. He spoke with president chief of staff Armen Gevorgian, twice with State and Legal Affairs Committee chair David Harutyunian, and finally w [...] |
2007-06-29 01:46:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PHUM KDEM KPAO AM |
| 07YEREVAN862 |
ARMENIAN BANKING SECTOR GETS SERIOUS [...] (U) Steady macroeconomic growth, stable inflation, a strong local currency and inspired, independent leadership at the Central Bank have given Armenia's banking sector room to grow. According to new data, the sector grew by more than 20 percent last year. Western banks, led by HSBC ten years [...] |
2007-07-03 07:33:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | EFIN ECON EAID AM |
| 07YEREVAN870 |
RADIO LIBERTY REPRIEVE: PARLIAMENT VOTE FAILS FOR [...] (SBU) Controversial draft amendments to the Radio and TV Law and State Duty Law (reftels), apparently aimed at RFE/RL, died in the National Assembly when the chamber failed to maintain a quorum. Sixty-six votes were necessary for the drafts to pass, the chamber was one voting-member shy, as a [...] |
2007-07-06 12:29:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PHUM PREL KDEM AM |
| 07YEREVAN884 |
NEW CHALLENGE TO RADIO LIBERTY BROADCASTS [...] SUMMARY: Radio Liberty's Armenian Service is again in jeopardy, as the state radio service gave 30 days notice of its intent to pull Radio Liberty off the air. The notice implies that the reason is Radio Liberty's unpaid bills to the public radio service, which now amount to either $76,000 ( [...] |
2007-07-10 12:36:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED | PHUM PGOV PREL KDEM KPAO AM |
| 07YEREVAN888 |
NEW CDA CALLS ON DFM KIRAKOSSIAN: RADIO LIBERTY, [...] (C) SUMMARY: Charge d'Affaires met Deputy Foreign Minister Kirakossian for initial GOAM courtesy call, (with FM Oskanian abroad), which then delved into substance. Kirakossian said he and his minister fully agreed with us on Radio Liberty, but urged CDA to raise it at higher levels. Kirakoss [...] |
2007-07-12 05:53:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV PHUM KDEM HSTC KTIP AM TU |
| 07YEREVAN893 |
SIGNIFICANT ACTIVITIES REPORT-ODC ARMENIA-June 2007 [...] EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Bilateral Defense Consultations (BDC) held in Wash DC; South Caucasus and Moldova Clearing House (SCMCH) conducted in Tbilisi; U.S. Assessment of Armenian English language program concluded; ODC escorts key MOD leaders to DLI in San Antonio; Letter of Agreement for Nuclear, [...] |
2007-07-13 05:51:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED | MCAP KCFE XG AM |
| 07YEREVAN896 |
PRIME MINISTER ENCOURAGING ON RADIO LIBERTY; NOT [...] (C) CDA paid an introductory courtesy call on Prime Minister Serzh Sargsian July 12, accompanied by DCM and pol/econ chief. Sargsian joked that he had expected to get a permanent U.S. Ambassador, but failing that, he was very pleased to see CDA in Yerevan again. CDA affirmed that Washingto [...] |
2007-07-13 10:06:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV PHUM MOPS MASS EAID KDEM AM IR |
| 07YEREVAN901 |
CDA DISCUSSES PARLIAMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS IN [...] (C) CDA's introductory courtesy call on National Assembly Chairman Tigran Torossian focused, after initial pleasantries, on the embassy's plans for a new phase of assistance to the newly-elected parliament. Torossian allowed that he had not been completely satisfied with the previous iteratio [...] |
2007-07-16 07:11:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV EAID AM |
| 07YEREVAN902 |
MFA ENGAGED ON POSSIBLE RESETTLEMENT OF [...] (C) Emboffs informally sounded out MFA International Organizations Director, Dziunik Aghajanian, July 11 about Armenia's attitude toward the possibility of resettling Iraqi-Armenians in Armenia, as mentioned ref A. We noted our understanding that the UNHCR was in preliminary discussions about [...] |
2007-07-16 11:27:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PREF PREL SMIG EAID AM IZ XF |
| 07YEREVAN906 |
ARMENIA GETS FIRST FEMALE GOVERNOR, YET GOAM REMAINS HIGHLY [...] (SBU) On July 11 the GOAM appointed Armenia's first ever female governor to run the region of Shirak; despite this unexpected move, Armenian executive and legislative bodies remain starkly underrepresented by women. END SUMMARY. ------------------ A FEMALE GOVERNOR! ------------------ [...] |
2007-07-17 03:02:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PGOV PREL KWMN PINR AM |
| 07YEREVAN914 |
FM OSKANIAN DISCUSSES RADIO LIBERTY, NDI, IRAN, [...] (C) SUMMARY: In his initial call July 16, CDA renewed our concerns about forced stoppage of Radio Liberty (RL) broadcasts, but mentioned that the Prime Minister's reply had been somewhat encouraging on this. He highlighted ongoing Washington concerns about Armenia's relationship with Iran, [...] |
2007-07-17 13:49:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV PHUM KDEM KPAO AM TU IR |
| 07YEREVAN926 |
PRIME MINISTER UNDERSCORES COMMITMENT TO U.S. [...] (C) SUMMARY: Prime Minister Sargsian hosted CDA and DCM to a private dinner July 18, for a long evening of vodka toasts and frank conversation, by way of welcome to CDA and farewell to DCM. The overarching message of the event was the Prime Minister's clear intent to sustain a close working r [...] |
2007-07-20 10:15:00 | Embassy Yerevan | SECRET | PREL PGOV PHUM KDEM AM |
| 07YEREVAN93 |
CHARGE CLEARS THE AIR ON ELECTION ASSISTANCE, MCA CRITERIA, [...] (SBU) On January 24, the Charge d'Affaires, accompanied by the MCC Armenia Country Director, held a press conference that received wide-spread coverage. During the press conference, the Charge focused on U.S. assistance programs, including the Millennium Challenge program and the Embassy's USD [...] |
2007-01-29 09:43:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | OPRC KMDR KPAO AM |
| 07YEREVAN935 |
KOCHARIAN ON RADIO LIBERY, NDI, HR CASES, IRAN [...] (C) SUMMARY: In an almost 90 minute introductory call by the CDA, President Kocharian defended his positions on Radio Liberty, NDI, and human rights cases in a friendly but unbending manner. He was determined to move Radio Liberty broadcasts from state radio to a private network, but emphat [...] |
2007-07-23 14:03:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV PHUM KDEM KPAO AM IR |
| 07YEREVAN939 |
IRANIAN FM VISIT PROMPTS WEAK DEFENSE FROM FM [...] (C) SUMMARY: Iranian FM Mottaki was received by Armenia's president, prime minister, and foreign minister, and energy minister during his July 20 visit to Yerevan to take part in the 7th annual Armenian-Iranian inter-governmental economic commission. Armenian leaders were unhelpfully positive [...] |
2007-07-24 14:13:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL KMDR IR AM |
| 07YEREVAN97 |
TERRORIST FINANCE: U.S. DOMESTIC DESIGNATION OF DOCKRATS - [...] No summary [...] |
2007-01-30 09:15:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | ETTC PTER EFIN KTFN PREL AM |
| 07YEREVAN984 |
SURVEY SHOWS HERITAGE PARTY THE BIG WINNER OF THE MAY 12 [...] (SBU) A recent USAID-funded poll has found that Raffi Hovannisian and his Heritage party gained the greatest increase in recognition and popularity following the May 12 Armenian Parliamentary elections. The poll further showed that the vast majority of the Armenian electorate has very little c [...] |
2007-08-03 10:40:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PGOV AM |
| 07YEREVAN998 |
SIGNIFICANT ACTIVITIES REPORT-ODC ARMENIA-July 2007 [...] EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Large FMF equipment shipment for 12th Peacekeeping Battalion arrives; Received Defense Language Institute assessment of Armenian English language training programs; Armenian OIF contingent deploys; Awaiting Letter of Agreement for Excess Defense Articles (EDA) to be approved [...] |
2007-08-07 10:32:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED | MCAP KCFE XG AM |
| 08YEREVAN100 |
ARMENIA INVESTMENT CLIMATE STATEMENT 2008 [...] (U) Per reftel, Embassy Yerevan, Armenia submits the following as its 2008 Investment Climate Statement. ---------- BEGIN TEXT ---------- 2. According to data from the National Statistical Service (NSS), foreign investment in Armenia has steadily increased from USD 70 million in 2001 to [...] |
2008-02-08 03:16:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED | EINV EFIN ETRD ELAB PGOV KTDB OPIC USTR AM |
| 08YEREVAN1002 |
INSTANT REPLAY: NO VENUE YET FOR OPPOSITION [...] (SBU) On December 12, Levon Zurabian, a top LTP aide and coordinator of the ANC, publicly threatened to hold a planned conference in Tbilisi should the ANC not receive permission by December 15 to hold it at the Government Sessions Hall. Having applied on December 3, Zurabian said that absent a [...] |
2008-12-15 14:13:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PGOV PHUM KDEM AM |
| 08YEREVAN1006 |
FROM SURVIVAL TO REVIVAL - EMBASSY EVENTS MARK 2OTH [...] Two photo exhibits, a Speaker's Program, a message from President Bush and a U.S. military flight bringing humanitarian aid served to recall the devastating earthquake that struck northern Armenia in 1988 and the leading role the USG played as part of the international response. The exhibits [...] |
2008-12-16 12:58:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | KPAO SCUL AM |
| 08YEREVAN1010 |
AMBASSADOR'S INTRODUCTORY CALL WITH NEW CASSATION [...] (C) On December 2, the Ambassador had an introductory meeting with Judge Arman Mkrtumian, the newly appointed President of Armenia's Cassation Court, and Karen Matevosian, Head of the Judicial Department of the Court. The judicial officials briefed the Ambassador on planned reforms to the Cas [...] |
2008-12-16 14:10:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PHUM PREL KDEM KJUS AM |
| 08YEREVAN1011 |
AUTHORITIES OFFICIALLY DENY VENUE FOR OPPOSITION [...] (C) The Armenian Government has officially denied permission for Armenia's largest political opposition group to hold its December 21 party congress in a publicly-owned facility commonly used for such events. The Armenian National Congress (ANC), led by former President Levon Ter-Petrossian ( [...] |
2008-12-16 16:20:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PHUM KDEM AM |
| 08YEREVAN1012 |
ARMENIA TO BACK EGYPT'S CULTURE MINISTER FOR [...] (C) Acting Pol-Econ Chief delivered reftel demarche on December 16 to Tziunik Aghajanian, Director of International Organizations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Aghajanian said Armenia has long committed to supporting the candidacy of Egyptian Culture Minister Farouk Hosni to be the next [...] |
2008-12-16 16:38:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL UNESCO AM |
| 08YEREVAN1013 |
DASHNAK LEADERS TELL AMBASSADOR VIEWS ON [...] (C) SUMMARY: Top Dashnaksutyun party leaders called on the Ambassador to broaden their contacts with USG. The Dashnaks fretted about the rights and welfare of Georgia's Armenian minority, which they portrayed as a dangerous crisis with the potential to deteriorate into irredentist conflict. T [...] |
2008-12-17 06:24:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV PHUM PBTS CVIS KIRF KDEM TU RU GG |
| 08YEREVAN1014 |
AMBASSADOR'S INTRODUCTORY MEETING WITH CENTRAL [...] (C) In their introductory meeting December 8, Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) Chairman Arthur Javadyan stressed to the Ambassador the high priority the CBA places on maintaining monetary stability and preventing panic among Armenian depositors. He insisted that Armenia's banking system is in so [...] |
2008-12-17 07:56:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PROV PREL ECON EFIN EINV AM RU |
| 08YEREVAN1015 |
CENTRAL BANK CHAIRMAN DEFENDS SUSPENSION OF [...] (C) Meeting with the Ambassador on December 8, Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) Chairman Arthur Javadyan defended the CBA's August decision to expel Western Union from Armenia in response to its decision to close its branches in Nagorno-Karabakh under pressure from the Government of Azerbaijan (G [...] |
2008-12-17 12:06:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL ECON EFIN EINV AM RU |
| 08YEREVAN1018 |
GOAM TO AUCTION SEIZED ASSETS OF OPPOSITION [...] (SBU) The GOAM announced on December 9 that the Bjni mineral water bottling plant--one of the key parts of fugitive opposition oligarch Khachatur Sukiasian's SIL Group business holdings--will be put up for auction December 19. The announcement follows the October 23 seizure of the Bjni facilit [...] |
2008-12-18 13:06:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | ECON PGOV PREL PHUM KDEM AM |
| 08YEREVAN102 |
BAGHDASSARIAN RALLY DRAWS GOOD CROWD; FEATURES [...] No summary [...] |
2008-02-08 13:28:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PHUM PREL KDEM AM |
| 08YEREVAN1020 |
AUTHORITIES DROP COUP CHARGES AGAINST FOUR [...] (C) On December 17, Armenia's Special Investigative Service (SIS) announced it was dropping its charges against four prominent opposition politicians who supported Levon Ter-Petrossian in February's disputed presidential election. A senior SIS official said he dropped the charges due to a lack [...] |
2008-12-18 14:37:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PHUM KDEM KJUS AM |
| 08YEREVAN1022 |
PRESIDENT SARGSIAN THANKS PRESIDENT BUSH FOR [...] At the December 17 annual MFA holiday reception, featured guest President Sargsian handed the Ambassador a letter addressed to President Bush thanking the United States for its assistance to Armenia in the aftermath of the 1988 Gyumri-Spitak earthquake. What follows is the unofficial transla [...] |
2008-12-19 11:10:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED | OPDC AM |
| 08YEREVAN1028 |
TURKISH PERFORMERS WOW ARMENIAN AUDIENCE [...] The Turkish folk group Kardes Turkuler and the Armenian Sayat Nova Choir, both from Istanbul, gave a moving performance at the Yerevan opera house as part of the Eurasia Partnership Foundation "Music Bridge" project funded by USAID. Playing to a full hall, the groups sang to traditional instr [...] |
2008-12-22 12:37:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED | KPAO SCUL AM |
| 08YEREVAN103 |
PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE PROFILE: ARTUR [...] No summary [...] |
2008-02-08 13:37:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PHUM PREL PINR KDEM AM |
| 08YEREVAN1032 |
AMBASSADOR YOVANOVITCH PAYS COURTESY CALL ON [...] (SBU) Ambassador Yovanovitch paid a courtesy call December 3 on Yerevan Mayor Yervand Zakharyan at City Hall. The Mayor described his administration's accomplishments and plans for the city of Yerevan, particularly in alleviating traffic congestion and in maintaining the city's economic stabil [...] |
2008-12-23 12:24:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV ECON PHUM SENV KDEM AM |
| 08YEREVAN1033 |
AMBASSADOR'S INTRODUCTORY MEETING WITH MINISTER OF [...] (C) In the Ambassador's December 10 introductory meeting with Minister of Agriculture Aramayis Grigorian, the Minister outlined the GOAM's priorities in the agriculture sector, and assured that planned changes to safety standards on poultry imports were not intended to exclude imports in violat [...] |
2008-12-23 12:26:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL EAGR EAID AM |
| 08YEREVAN1034 |
HOTELS CONFIRM GOAM PRESSURE TO DENY VENUES FOR [...] (C) Two western hotels operating in downtown Yerevan confirmed that the National Security Service (NSS) continues to pressure them to deny rented meeting space to organizations that seek to hold events of a political nature (reftel). Both the Armenian-American-owned "Marriott Armenia Yerevan" [...] |
2008-12-23 14:08:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PHUM KDEM AM |
| 08YEREVAN1035 |
ARMENIA: 2008 COUNTRY REPORT ON TERRORISM [...] (SBU) SUMMARY: There have been no major terrorism-related developments in Armenia in 2008. Armenia continued to be a constructive partner of the United States in the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT). The Armenian Government (GOAM) made measured progress in implementing border security and an [...] |
2008-12-24 08:21:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PTER ASEC EFIN KCRM KHLS AEMR AM |
| 08YEREVAN1038 |
OPPOSITIONISTS' "COUP" TRIAL OFF TO CHAOTIC START [...] (C) The controversial trial of seven prominent opposition figures charged with an attempted coup d'etat during Armenia's post-election unrest has gotten off to a chaotic start. After a relatively peaceful first hearing on December 19, the second hearing on December 22 nearly erupted into fist [...] |
2008-12-24 14:57:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PHUM KDEM KJUS AM |
| 08YEREVAN1046 |
EMBASSY PRESSES GOAM ON "CASE OF SEVEN" [...] (C) The Ambassador spoke with a presidential adviser and met with the Prosecutor General to register USG concerns over the GOAM's handling of the "Case of Seven," which has gotten off to a tumultuous start (reftel). In observing the first three hearings of the trial so far, Emboffs have witnes [...] |
2008-12-30 15:35:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PHUM PREL KDEM KJUS AM |
| 08YEREVAN1049 |
ARMENIA'S CIVIL NUCLEAR ENERGY PLANS [...] No summary [...] |
2008-12-31 09:30:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED | ENRG TRGY BEXP BTIO |
| 08YEREVAN1051 |
HARSH REACTION FROM GOAM TO DEPUTY SECRETARY'S [...] (S) SUMMARY AND COMMENT: On December 30, the Ambassador met separately with Foreign Minister Nalbandian and Presidential Foreign Policy Advisor Sargsian, who both expressed the President,s anger over the Deputy Secretary,s letter to President Sargsian. They both stated that the U.S. had t [...] |
2008-12-31 11:21:00 | Embassy Yerevan | SECRET | ETTC PARM PGOV PREL IR BU AM |
| 08YEREVAN106 |
ELECTION SEASON HUMAN RIGHTS ROUND-UP (JANUARY-FEBRUARY) [...] (SBU) In light of the current presidential election in Armenia, scheduled for Tuesday, February 19, this issue of Yerevan's Human Rights Round-up is exclusively dedicated to reported and alleged election-related violations. Reports are organized chronologically. This issue's headlines: [...] |
2008-02-11 12:08:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PHUM PGOV PREL EAID SOCI KDEM KPAO KJUS KWMN AM |
| 08YEREVAN108 |
ARMENIA ON POST-2008 PLANS IN IRAQ (C-DI7-02264) [...] (S) In response to reftels, the Defense Attache (DATT) and two PolOffs met February 5 with Armen Yedigarian, Head of the Department of Arms Control and International Security at the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to inquire about GOAM intentions in Iraq after the eventual expiration of th [...] |
2008-02-11 12:27:00 | Embassy Yerevan | SECRET//NOFORN | PINR PREL MARR MOPS IZ AM |
| 08YEREVAN109 |
DASHNAKS DRAW 10,000 IN FIRST MAJOR YEREVAN RALLY [...] (SBU) On February 8, presidential candidate Vahan Hovannisian of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun) held his first major rally in Yerevan, drawing approximately 8,000-10,000 supporters whom the party bussed in from around the country . Under a heavy police presence, consid [...] |
2008-02-11 13:10:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL PHUM KDEM AM |
| 08YEREVAN110 |
FEB 9 TER-PETROSSIAN RALLY THE BIGGEST SO FAR THIS [...] (SBU) SUMMARY: Ter-Petrossian proved February 9 that he can still bring out a truly large crowd (40,000) of supporters, at least for a rally. His speech hit hard against the current rulers for allegedly being ready to sell out Armenian land in the south -- and thus, Armenia's vital national [...] |
2008-02-12 03:07:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PHUM KDEM AM |
| 08YEREVAN112 |
NO ARMENIAN FIRST-WAVE RECOGNITION OF KOSOVO -- [...] (C) Polchief met with the savvy and plugged-in director of the MFA Americas Department, Armen Yeganian, to deliver points from reftels. We left a slightly-slimmed down version of the two cables' talking points -- redacted somewhat in consultation with EUR/CARC to downplay Nagorno-Karabakh (N [...] |
2008-02-13 11:27:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PBTS OSCE UNMIK YI SR AM |
| 08YEREVAN113 |
PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE PROFILE: ARTUR [...] (C) Ex-parliament speaker and 39-yr-old presidential hopeful Artur Baghdassarian of the centrist-opposition Orinats Yerkir (Rule of Law) party continues to run a consistent second in mission-sponsored polls. The only challenger with double digit poll numbers, the charismatic Baghdassarian al [...] |
2008-02-13 11:32:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PHUM PREL PINR KDEM AM |
| 08YEREVAN117 |
LIKELIHOOD OF STREET PROTESTS, POSSIBLE VIOLENCE, [...] (C) The Armenian political scene is growing more, rather than less, unpredictable as Election Day draws near. It is clear to us that both ex- President Levon Ter-Petrossian's (LTP) and PM Serzh Sargsian's camps are each "all in" on this election outcome. Neither will be prepared to accept a [...] |
2008-02-13 15:17:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV ASEC CASC AM |
| 08YEREVAN118 |
ARMENIA: PRE-ELECTION TOUR OF ARARAT MARZ [...] (C) SUMMARY: On February 6, Embassy Officers traveled to Ararat Marz (region) to meet with local political leaders and opposition party representatives to discuss the Presidential election campaign scheduled for February 19. Emboffs visited key population centers of the region including Arta [...] |
2008-02-13 16:28:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PHUM PREL KDEM AM |
| 08YEREVAN125 |
ARMENIA'S SOUTH RELATIVELY QUIET BEFORE [...] (C) Blanketed by feet of snow, residents of Armenia's southern regions of Syunik and Vayats Dzor seem more interested in their crops, the weather and even the U.S. presidential campaign than in their own presidential elections slated for February 19. Opposition activists are having trouble ge [...] |
2008-02-14 12:57:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV KDEM AM |
| 08YEREVAN127 |
THE DVD WAR: THE RULING PARTY STRIKES BACK, [...] (C) Levon Ter-Petrossian's (LTP) campaign has for weeks been distributing campaign DVDs, featuring the former president's campaign speeches and rallies. This technique has been somewhat effective, not only as a medium to reach voters in the absence of fair television coverage, but also as a [...] |
2008-02-15 03:40:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PHUM KDEM AM |
| 08YEREVAN140 |
BITTER LEMONS: ELECTION TENSION TURNS FUNERAL [...] (C) During a pre-election regional reporting trip to the northwestern city of Stepanavan, PolOff uncomfortably watched a funeral gathering degenerate into a tense shouting match between friends and family when discussion turned to Armenia's approaching February 19 presidential election. Forget [...] |
2008-02-15 14:30:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL//NOFORN | PROG PREL KDEM AM |
| 08YEREVAN141 |
ARMENIA: VISIT OF E.U. TROIKA [...] (SBU) SUMMARY: An EU Troika delegation met with senior GOAM officials as part of a 3-day visit to the South Caucasus February 4-6. The delegation discussed, among other things, issues related to Armenia's upcoming presidential elections, Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement, as well as other [...] |
2008-02-15 14:38:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV PHUM CVIS SMIG KDEM AM |
| 08YEREVAN142 |
ON EVE OF ELECTION, KOCHARIAN AND SARGSIAN ON [...] (C) With Armenian voters set to elect a new president February 19, outgoing President Robert Kocharian and his most likely successor, Prime Minister Serzh Sargsian, appear to be on diverging paths that reflect both their perceived political interests and their differing visions for Armenia's f [...] |
2008-02-18 13:30:00 | Embassy Yerevan | SECRET | PGOV PREL KDEM AM |
| 08YEREVAN144 |
VOTERS FOR SERZH SARGSIAN -- ARMENIA'S MOST [...] (C) Although he is the front-runner in Armenia's February 19 presidential election, Prime Minister Serzh Sargsian nevertheless remains little known by the Armenian electorate. While many despise him and accuse him of being sinfully corrupt, countless others respect him as an experienced mili [...] |
2008-02-19 14:15:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL//NOFORN | PGOV PINR PHUM ASEC KDEM AM |
| 08YEREVAN145 |
ARMENIA: PRE-ELECTION TOUR OF ARAGATZOTN REGION [...] (C) While characterizing the pre-election campaigning as "routine to date," governmental, non-governmental, political party and international observers in the Aragatzotn region of Armenia nevertheless highlighted a growing undercurrent of widely suspected fraud, particularly vote buying, in th [...] |
2008-02-19 14:42:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL PHUM KDEM ASEC AM |
| 08YEREVAN150 |
PM SARGSIAN DECLARED WINNER OF PRESIDENTIAL [...] (C) Armenia's Central Election Commission announced preliminary results from yesterday's presidential election showing PM Sargsian as the winner with 52.8 percent of the vote. The PM's margin ensures that he will (barely) escape a runoff with second-place finisher and former president Levon T [...] |
2008-02-20 15:37:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | KDEM PGOV PREL AM |
| 08YEREVAN154 |
ARMENIA ELECTION AFTERMATH: TER-PETROSSIAN PASSES [...] (C) "URGENT MESSAGE": Presidential candidate Levon Ter-Petrossian's (LTP) adviser, Levon Zurabian, requested an urgent meeting with PolChief February 21. Suggesting the possibility of electronic eavesdropping, Zurabian passed PolChief a note (text at para 5), which he said was directly from [...] |
2008-02-21 12:43:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL ASEC CASC KDEM AM |
| 08YEREVAN156 |
MFA, PRESIDENCY RAISE CONCERNS ABOUT USG ELECTION [...] (C) In back-to-back meetings on February 21, and as a major opposition protest was getting underway just blocks away, Foreign Minister Oskanian and Presidential Chief of Staff Armen Gevorkian expressed to the Charge their concerns about the Department's planned statement on Armenia's February [...] |
2008-02-21 16:48:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL PHUM KDEM AM |
| 08YEREVAN159 |
ARMENIAN'S WAIT-AND-SEE SUPPORT OF KOSOVO [...] (C) CDA delivered Ref A demarche to FM Oskanian February 21. We had earlier telegraphed the main substance, while awaiting the chance to see the FM during the hectic Armenian election period. CDA emphasized US view that Kosovo was a unique case and that its declaration of independence did no [...] |
2008-02-22 14:51:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV PBTS UN UNMIK GG RU SR YI AM |
| 08YEREVAN16 |
ARMENIAN PM CONTRADICTS PRESIDENCY: EXIT POLL [...] (C) In a hastily called meeting, Armenian Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan told Charge that he still favors the holding of a USAID-funded exit poll during the upcoming presidential election, as long as a key condition be met. Contradicting the presidential administration, which has privately oppo [...] |
2008-01-08 13:00:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL EAID KDEM OSCE KPAO AM |
| 08YEREVAN160 |
ARMENIAN DEMOCRACY LOOKING SHABBIER EVERY DAY [...] (C) SUMMARY: While most of Armenia gets on with life, a significant core of Yerevan's population -- especially the more educated -- remain bitterly unreconciled to the election outcome. And not without reason: while it is impossible to know how the election would have turned out if it had b [...] |
2008-02-25 15:44:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PHUM KDEM AM |
| 08YEREVAN161 |
ARMENIAN RECOUNT CONFIRMS SARGSIAN VICTORY, BUT IS [...] (C) Recounts of ballots cast in last week's presidential election in most disputed precincts concluded on the afternoon of February 24. The recounts did not produce significant changes to the preliminary results announced by the Central Election Commission on February 20. But the process, wh [...] |
2008-02-26 03:07:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV KDEM PREL AM |
| 08YEREVAN163 |
PM STAFF PLEA FOR U.S. SUPPORT IN CANDID CHAT [...] (C) SUMMARY: CDA and polchief met with two of the PM's closest advisers over drinks late February 26 to compare notes. PM staff probed for our political assessment. We expressed concerns over arrests of opposition politicians, voting infractions we had seen, the conduct of the recounts, and [...] |
2008-02-27 14:33:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV PHUM PINR KDEM AM |
| 08YEREVAN164 |
LTP AND SARGSIAN HOLD DUELING RALLIES; LTP WINS [...] (C) Ex-president Levon Ter-Petrossian and president-elect Prime Minister Serge Sargsian held competing rallies blocks away from each other in downtown Yerevan the afternoon of February 26. While Sargsian's first post-election rally drew approximately 60,000 to 70,000 bussed-in supporters, LTP' [...] |
2008-02-28 04:14:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL KDEM AM |
| 08YEREVAN167 |
ARMENIA INCREASINGLY CONCERNED ABOUT "FALSE" PKK [...] (C) During a February 21 meeting with CDA, FM Oskanian expressed increasing GOAM concerns about reports alleging the expansion into Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh of militant cells from Turkey's Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK). He asked that Washington help "put an end" to such reports, which he [...] |
2008-02-28 13:31:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL PTER ASEC AJ TU AM |
| 08YEREVAN168 |
MR. KOCHARIAN'S WORLD: WHERE THE GOVERNMENT NEVER [...] (C) SUMMARY: President Kocharian called in CDA February 28 to discuss election-related violations, recent opposition arrests, and the possible use of force to clear the square. He alleged that the recent arrests were necessary to deter oppositionists from bringing firearms to the square, and s [...] |
2008-02-28 15:18:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV PHUM ASEC KDEM AM |
| 08YEREVAN173 |
EMBASSY OFFERS TO ACT AS GO-BETWEEN [...] (C) Implementing a strategy informally agreed with the Department (EUR), post has floated an offer to the Prime Minister to serve as go-between to the opposition movement led by former President Levon Ter-Petrossian (LTP). Polchief sought a brief meeting with PM adviser Levon Martirosian, dur [...] |
2008-02-29 11:57:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV PHUM KDEM AM |
| 08YEREVAN176 |
FM OSKANIAN URGES REJECTION OF UN RESOLUTION ON N-K [...] (U) This message is sensitive but unclassified. Not for internet distribution. 2. (SBU) In a meeting with all Yerevan chiefs of mission at the MFA February 29, Foreign Minister Oskanian urged countries to reject a draft UN resolution being circulated by Azerbaijan regarding the situation i [...] |
2008-02-29 12:19:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PREL UNGA AM AJ |
| 08YEREVAN178 |
RULING PARTY OFFICIAL OFFERS INSIGHTS [...] (C) SUMMARY: Republican Party official Samvel Nikoyan offered confidential, personal insights on the political standoff. He reported that President Kocharian and President-elect/PM Sargsian have very different strategies, with Kocharian favoring a "get tough" approach, and Sargsian preferin [...] |
2008-02-29 15:08:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL PHUM ASEC KDEM AM |
| 08YEREVAN179 |
ARMENIA SITREP: VIOLENT PROTESTS AFTER DAWN RAID [...] (C) Riot police drove opposition squatters from Freedom Square at about 06:45 local time on March 1. Former President Levon Ter-Petrossian (LTP) was taken home, and apparently placed under house arrest. Police established perimeter around Freedom Square, and forcefully dispersed media, would [...] |
2008-03-01 13:22:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV ASEC CASC PREL PHUM KDEM AM |
| 08YEREVAN186 |
ARMENIA SITREP: ARMY CALLED IN TO RESTORE ORDER; [...] (C) Calm prevailed in Yerevan March 3, after pitched battles between opposition protesters and security forces ended in the early hours of March 2. Official GOAM reports state that eight people died in the armed clashes, 33 police were injured, and 100-200 injured overall, although a higher d [...] |
2008-03-03 14:42:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV ASEC CASC PREL PHUM KDEM AM |
| 08YEREVAN187 |
ARMENIA DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY AFTER [...] (U) SUMMARY: On March 1, Armenian President Robert Kocharian signed a decree declaring a state of emergency in the city of Yerevan. The state of emergency is to last until March 20, unless extended. It prohibits or limits any opposition political activity, independent news reporting, and ce [...] |
2008-03-03 14:46:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED | PGOV ASEC CASC PREL PHUM KDEM AM |
| 08YEREVAN190 |
PRESIDENCY PROVIDES OFFICIAL VERSION OF YEREVAN [...] (C) In briefings for selected diplomats including CDA during and immediately following the violent events in Yerevan on March 1-2, Presidential Chief of Staff Armen Gevorkian provided the official version of events. Gevorkian asserted that "all political responsibility" for the violence rests [...] |
2008-03-04 16:42:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL KDEM AM |
| 08YEREVAN194 |
HOW THE STATE OF EMERGENCY IS AFFECTING NGOS AND [...] (C) With a GOAM-enforced State of Emergency (SoE) in Yerevan in effect until March 20 (reftel), many local and international NGOs have been forced to curtail their activities. USG assistance implementers, especially those working on Democracy and Governance (DG), have not been spared this fat [...] |
2008-03-05 14:00:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | EAID PHUM PGOV KDEM AM |
| 08YEREVAN197 |
ARMENIA: OSCE POST-ELECTION WORKING GROUP MEETING [...] (SBU) On March 3, 2008 embassy officers attended the first OSCE Post-Election Working Group (PEWG) meeting hosted by OSCE Deputy Head of Mission Mark Bojanic. Present were representatives of the European Commission, several diplomatic missions, and a number of NGOs and civil society groups. [...] |
2008-03-07 12:45:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PGOV PHUM PREL KDEM AM |
| 08YEREVAN199 |
ARMENIAN SUPREME ALLEGES FIXED DECISION AGAINST LTP [...] (S) Late on March 6, Valery Poghossian, one of Armenia's nine Constitutional Court justices, secretly approached the Embassy for an urgent meeting at his home. Poghossian alleged to Emboffs that President Kocharian has fixed the court's upcoming March 8 decision to decide against the complain [...] |
2008-03-07 14:00:00 | Embassy Yerevan | SECRET | PGOV PREL PHUM ASEC KDEM KJUS AM |
| 08YEREVAN200 |
ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT CRACKDOWN INTENSIFIES [...] (C) Rejecting dialogue with the opposition it used lethal force to subdue on March 1-2 following Armenia's disputed February 19 presidential election, the Armenian government in the last five days has taken extraordinary measures to clamp down on any would-be dissent and isolate opposition lead [...] |
2008-03-07 14:33:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL PHUM ASEC KDEM AM |
| 08YEREVAN202 |
PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER PESSIMISTIC THAT CRACKDOWN [...] (S) SUMMARY: Presidential national security adviser Garnik Isagulian conceded to polchief March 9 that the March 1 morning crackdown was authorized by President Kocharian the day before, contrary to the government's official line. Isagulian believes that PM Sargsian -- bolstered by hardline ad [...] |
2008-03-10 13:32:00 | Embassy Yerevan | SECRET | PGOV PREL PHUM ASEC KDEM AM |
| 08YEREVAN203 |
ARMENIA: IMPLEMENTATION OF THE BERLIN DECLARATION [...] Pursuant to reftel request, post reports the following on the status of implementation in Armenia of the Berlin Declaration on Tuberculosis. 2. On 27 February Embassy Officers attended a meeting with the National Tuberculosis Program Manager Vahan Pogosian and his deputy Tatevik Kostanian [...] |
2008-03-10 14:57:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | TBIO WHO AM |
| 08YEREVAN204 |
ARMENIA'S POLITICAL FUTURE -- WHERE DO WE GO FROM [...] (C) SUMMARY: Mounting evidence -- including the latest ODIHR interim report -- has called into question the government's claim that PM Serzh Sargsian won a legitimate first-round majority on February 19. This result, combined with the subsequent heavy-handed use of force and declared State o [...] |
2008-03-10 14:58:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL PHUM ASEC KDEM AM |
| 08YEREVAN208 |
ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT DETAINING 97 PERSONS FOLLOWING [...] (C) The GOAM began arresting political opponents even before the disputed February 19 Presidential election, though the pace accelerated during the ten days of demonstrations at Freedom Square and again following the March 1 crackdown. While many detainees were quickly released, as of March 10 [...] |
2008-03-11 13:09:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV ASEC CASC PREL PHUM KDEM AM |
| 08YEREVAN209 |
VOICES FROM ARMENIA'S FREEDOM SQUARE: IT'S NOT [...] (U) This cable was mostly drafted late February 29, before police cleared the protesters from Freedom Square March 1, and the subsequent chaos. After some thought, we have decided to transmit it anyway, as a small window into what continues to be an important constituency. ------- SUMMARY [...] |
2008-03-12 02:35:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PHUM PREL KDEM AM |
| 08YEREVAN213 |
OSCE/ODIHR POST-ELECTION INTERIM REPORT ON [...] (SBU) OSCE/ODIHR released another interim report on Armenia's February 19 election on March 7. Cloaked in bland ODIHR language, the report documents some serious problems that have come to light since the February 20 Preliminary Statement. Characteristically, some of the most provocative find [...] |
2008-03-12 13:05:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL PHUM ASEC KDEM AM |
| 08YEREVAN214 |
THE UGLY--AND UNUSUAL--SPECTER OF ANTI-SEMITISM [...] (C) SUMMARY: Armenia's presidential election period bizarrely featured an unwelcome guest: anti-Semitism. A government-affiliated national television network aired a despicable, hour-long "documentary" of hate speech, that labeled the leading opposition candidate a "Zionist Jew" in cahoots wi [...] |
2008-03-12 13:15:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PHUM PGOV KIRF KDEM AM |
| 08YEREVAN218 |
EUR DAS BRYZA MEDIATES POLITICAL CRISIS IN YEREVAN [...] (C) EUR DAS Matthew Bryza visited Yerevan March 6-8 to consult with key leaders on Armenia's post-election political crisis. He met the President, Prime Minister (twice), Foreign Minister Oskanian, opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrossian (LTP), and a range of other politicians, civil society [...] |
2008-03-13 07:02:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV PHUM KDEM AM |
| 08YEREVAN221 |
RADIO LIBERTY RE-AIRING IN ARMENIA'S REGIONS [...] (C) In spite of stringent media restrictions imposed by the March 1 state of emergency, Radio Liberty (RL) began re-airing March 7 in Armenia's regions where the emergency decree does not apply. According to the local broadcaster Radio Hay (Armenian Radio), the station began re-airing RL broa [...] |
2008-03-13 16:09:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PHUM PREL ASEC KDEM AM |
| 08YEREVAN226 |
ARMENIA'S CONSTITUTIONAL COURT UPHOLDS [...] (SBU) In a March 8 decision, Armenia's Constitutional Court found that while there were irregularities in the conduct of the February 19 presidential election, they were not sufficient to alter the outcome of the vote won by Prime Minister Serzh Serzh Sargsian. The plaintiffs in the court cas [...] |
2008-03-14 14:11:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PHUM PREL KJUS KDEM AM |
| 08YEREVAN227 |
GOAM RATCHETS UP THE PRESSURE UNDER STATE OF [...] (C) Despite recent conciliatory public statements from President-elect Sargsian, the authorities appear to be ratcheting up their pressure on opposition supporters with one week left to the state of emergency. Foreign election observers who stayed to observe Constitutional Court proceedings r [...] |
2008-03-14 14:46:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL PHUM ASEC KDEM AM |
| 08YEREVAN228 |
GOAM'S SPIN CYCLE UNDER STATE OF EMERGENCY [...] (C) The suspension of independent media in Armenia following the March 1 imposition of a State of Emergency has allowed the GOAM to construct its own narrative of recent events without the inconvenience of opposition challenge or independent scrutiny. Not surprisingly, the GOAM has used this [...] |
2008-03-14 15:08:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PHUM PREL ASEC KDEM KJUS AM |
| 08YEREVAN229 |
ARMENIA - MACROECONOMIC OVERVIEW FOR 2007 [...] Armenia's economy continued its double-digit growth trend of the past five years, again driven primarily by the construction and service sectors. The gap between import and export of goods and services continued to increase, and year-end inflation was 6.6 percent. The Armenian Dram appreciated [...] |
2008-03-17 02:43:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED | ECON EFIN EAID AM |
| 08YEREVAN238 |
GOAM'S MCC POINT OF CONTACT ASKS FOR PATIENCE [...] (C) On March 13 MCC resident country director (RCD) and acting Polchief met with Minister of Trade and Economic Development Nerses Yeritsian to convey USG concerns about Armenia's ongoing political crisis, warn about its potential impact on continued funding of MCC programs, and urge the GOAM [...] |
2008-03-19 05:49:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PROV PREL PHUM EAID ASEC KDEM AM |
| 08YEREVAN240 |
ARMENIAN OPPOSITIONISTS DEVELOP UNDERGROUND [...] (C) Supporters of opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrossian and others disillusioned with Armenia's post-election crackdown are engaged in a spirited technological battle with the authorities to maintain access to independent news sources in the face of the near-total media ban imposed under the [...] |
2008-03-19 12:54:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PHUM KDEM KPAO PREL AM |
| 08YEREVAN241 |
NEW LAW ON DEMONSTRATIONS GIVES GOVERNMENT BROAD [...] (U) Armenia's National Assembly on March 17 passed a new Law on Rallies and Marches, in a hurry-up procedure that compressed into one day a legislative process that normally unfolds over several weeks. The new law allows municipalities to refuse to permit demonstrations "in the event there is [...] |
2008-03-19 14:09:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL PHUM KDEM AM |
| 08YEREVAN243 |
ARMENIA'S 2008 TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT [...] (U) This cable represents Embassy Yerevan's submission for the 2008 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report. Please see paragraph 5 for responses keyed to reftel request. 2. (SBU) During the reporting period, the government of Armenia significantly revamped its interagency apparatus that is res [...] |
2008-03-20 03:28:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PGOV PREL KCRM PHUM KWMN SMIG KFRD ASEC PREF ELAB |
| 08YEREVAN244 |
ARMENIA'S 2008 TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT [...] (U) This cable represents Embassy Yerevan's submission for the 2008 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report. Please see paragraph 5 for responses keyed to reftel request. 2. (SBU) During the reporting period, the government of Armenia significantly revamped its interagency apparatus that is res [...] |
2008-03-20 05:17:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PGOV PREL KCRM PHUM KWMN SMIG KFRD ASEC PREF ELAB |
| 08YEREVAN248 |
DETAILS ON LTP'S DE FACTO HOUSE ARREST [...] (C) Poloff has been able -- through weekly weekend hikes in the adjacent park -- to keep an eye on the de facto house arrest of former President Levon Ter-Petrossian (LTP). To our knowledge, LTP has only once been allowed out since March 1, and this was to address the Constitutional Court Marc [...] |
2008-03-20 13:32:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL PHUM ASEC KDEM AM |
| 08YEREVAN249 |
FUGITIVE MP'S PRESS SECRETARY VISITS EMBASSY [...] (C) Anna Mkrtchian, press secretary for the fugitive Armenian member of parliament Khachatur Sukiasian, visited the Embassy March 17 to discuss her boss's plight. She said authorities continue to exert pressure on Sukiasian's family and associates that began last fall when he became Armenia's [...] |
2008-03-20 13:44:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL PHUM ASEC KDEM AM |
| 08YEREVAN252 |
ARMENIA ACCUSES AZERBAIJAN OF UNDERMINING N-K [...] (C) FM Oskanian convoled all Yerevan Chiefs of Mission on March 21 to raise the alarm about what he described as Aserbaijan's efforts to undermine the N-K peace process, and ultimately to dissolve the Minsk Group. Oskanian decried the recent UN resolution on N-K pushed by Azerbaijan and, spea [...] |
2008-03-21 12:55:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | AM PGOV PREL AZ |
| 08YEREVAN258 |
ARMENIA: PSI FIFTH ANNIVERSARY INVITATION DELIVERED [...] Poloff delivered reftel invitation regarding the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) Fifth Anniversary Events to Armen Yedigarian, Director of the Department for Arms Control and International Security on March 20. Yedigarian stated that the Armenian MFA would try to participate at the Dep [...] |
2008-03-25 13:00:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED | PARM PREL KNNP KSTC AM |
| 08YEREVAN26 |
ARMENIA: UPDATE ON THE SPREAD OF AFRICAN SWINE [...] (SBU) As of Mid-December 2007, approximately 14,000 swine had died or been culled in Armenia due to ASF, according to government estimates. Post confirmed reports of outbreak in four regions in addition to Nagorno-Karabakh. The Government has been slow to react to the spreading virus despite [...] |
2008-01-14 03:19:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | AM EAGR |
| 08YEREVAN261 |
REGIONAL PRO-OPPOSITION TV STATION HOLDS TELETHON [...] (SBU) SUMMARY: The embattled, Gyumri-based GALA TV station continues to fight for survival, hoping supporters will help it raise the USD 82,000 in fines levied last October in apparent political retaliation for airing footage of opposition presidential candidate Levon Ter-Petrossian. After a [...] |
2008-03-25 13:58:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL PHUM KDEM AM |
| 08YEREVAN267 |
UNEASY SEMI-CALM SETS IN; ALL SIDES AWAIT APRIL 9 [...] (C) The much-anticipated end of the state of emergency (SOE) on March 21 transpired without any violence, with Armenian police massed in downtown Yerevan to deter would-be protesters. The silent evening protest drew roughly 3,000 supporters, a smaller-than-expected number that suggests GOAM p [...] |
2008-03-28 12:50:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PHUM PREL ASEC KDEM AM |
| 08YEREVAN268 |
OMBUDSMAN KEEPS UP DISAPPROVAL OF HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION IN [...] (SBU) Armenia's government Human Rights Defender (Ombudsman) Armen Harutyunian criticized the GOAM's recent conduct, in a March 27 interview with the Russian Regnum news agency. The ombudsman condemned continued restrictions on and violence against journalists, reported on his staff's prison vi [...] |
2008-03-31 01:53:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PGOV PHUM PREL KDEM AM |
| 08YEREVAN272 |
PM SARGSIAN CRITICIZES EMBASSY YEREVAN, DAS BRYZA [...] (C) Prime Minister Sargsian sharply criticized both the US embassy and DAS Bryza during a March 22 lunch with Euruopean ambassadors, according to two ambassadors who were in attendance. Sargsian reportedly claimed to the Europeans that the Armenian opposition "is being run out of the US embas [...] |
2008-03-31 12:16:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV AM |
| 08YEREVAN274 |
TOUGH LOVE: ARMENIA'S MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE PROGRAM [...] (C) As we consider the future direction of U.S. relations with Armenia in light of recent problems and broader negative trends in Armenia's democracy and human rights record, the future of Armenia's continued eligibility for the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) should be high on the agenda [...] |
2008-03-31 15:20:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL EAID PGOV PHUM KDEM AM |
| 08YEREVAN281 |
FORECAST FOR REFORM IN ARMENIA: MOSTLY CLOUDY [...] (C) Recent public comments by PM Sargsian suggest that he understands his "legitimacy problem" and views a return to reform as the best way to overcome it. Serious questions remain, however, about Sargsian's understanding of basic concepts of democratization and his willingness to take on the [...] |
2008-04-01 15:25:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PHUM KDEM AM |
| 08YEREVAN296 |
ARMENIAN GENERAL'S SON ALLEGEDLY INVOVLED IN MURDER, BUT [...] (SBU) Armenia's Association of Investigative Journalists has reported that the son of a notorious retired army general and Member of Parliament, Seyran Saroyan, has escaped justice for his alleged participation in the March 13 murder of a youth from Edjmiadzin. The murder allegedly took place a [...] |
2008-04-07 03:02:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PGOV PHUM PREL KJUS AM |
| 08YEREVAN297 |
ARMENIAN CUSTOMS SERVICE JOINS CRACKDOWN ON [...] (C) In what appears to be the GOAM's latest retaliatory measure against a pro-opposition (and currently fugitive) oligarch, Khachatur "Grzo" Sukiasian, a Sukiasian aide tells us the customs agency has for several weeks been holding up release of cigarettes imported by a Sukiasian-affiliated co [...] |
2008-04-07 13:23:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV ASEC CASC PREL PHUM KDEM AM |
| 08YEREVAN3 |
ARMENIAN PRESIDENCY OPPOSES EXIT POLL FOR [...] (C) During a lengthy, back-and-forth discussion, President Kocharian's Chief of Staff and senior aide conveyed the president's opposition to the exit poll proposed by USAID for the February presidential election. Asking the Mission to understand, and not politicize the president's request to [...] |
2008-01-04 09:55:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL EAID KDEM OSCE KPAO AM |
| 08YEREVAN302 |
SARGSIAN BLOGS WITH ARMENIAN PUBLIC, DENIES JOB [...] (SBU) Although the events described herein are some four weeks old, we believe there is still value in sharing them on the eve of President-elect Sargsian,s inauguration. They reflect an interesting attempt on his part to reach out to the Armenian public, using some of the same tools heretofor [...] |
2008-04-08 14:12:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PHUM PREL PGOV KDEM ASEC AM |
| 08YEREVAN304 |
CLOUDINESS SURROUNDING ARMENIA'S MARCH 1-2 DEATH TOLL [...] (SBU) It has been difficult to obtain detailed information on the deaths of the eight people killed in the March 1-2 clashes between protesters and security services. Besides the total number killed, official information on the specifics of the deaths has been sparse. The lack of a full, publ [...] |
2008-04-09 03:07:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PGOV PREL PHUM KDEM KJUS AM |
| 08YEREVAN313 |
SIGNIFICANT ACTIVITIES REPORT-ODC ARMENIA-MARCH 2008 [...] EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Humanitarian Mine Action (HMA) training begins; FY09 SA Planning Coordination meeting conducted by ODC; SASWG conducted by EUCOM in Ramstein. 2. SIGNIFICANT EVENTS A. On 24 Mar 08, ten Kansas National Guard instructors and two representatives from EUCOM's Humani [...] |
2008-04-10 12:57:00 | Embassy Yerevan | UNCLASSIFIED | MCAP KCFE XG AM |
| 08YEREVAN315 |
ARMENIA'S PRESDENTIAL INAUGURATION: SERZH STANDS [...] (C) Former Prime Minister Serzh Sargsian was sworn in as Armenia's third president in a solemn ceremony in Yerevan's opera house on April 9. Meanwhile, several thousand opposition supporters laid flowers near the French Embassy in honor of those killed in the authorities' March 1-2 crackdown [...] |
2008-04-10 13:06:00 | Embassy Yerevan | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV KDEM AM |
| 08YEREVAN316 |
KRUSCHEV'S "VIRGIN LANDS" ALL OVER AGAIN?: NEW [...] (C) President Serzh Sargsian has been calling for a new national program to make Armenia self-sufficient in the production of wheat and corn. Emboff's discussions since mid-March with senior Agriculture Ministry, regional, and local officials | ||||