VZCZCXRO6514
RR RUEHDBU
DE RUEHYE #1365/01 2751256
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 021256Z OCT 06
FM AMEMBASSY YEREVAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4046
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE 0483

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 YEREVAN 001365 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR EUR/CARC, EUR/ACE, DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/27/2011 
TAGS: PREL PGOV EAID PHUM KDEM KPAO AM
SUBJECT: LOCAL ACTIVISTS SKEPTICAL FOREIGN ASSISTANCE WILL 
LEAD TO CLEANER ELECTIONS 
 
 
Classified By: Pol/Econ chief Steve Banks, reasons 1.4 (b,d) 
 
¶1. (C) SUMMARY: On September 26, donor organizations 
presented election assistance plans to a group of local NGO 
partners.  The NGOs were pessimistic that technical 
assistance and training would make much difference to the 
conduct of the 2007 elections, believing the GOAM would 
pre-determine the outcome and ensure the desired results. 
The NGOs were especially concerned about tightening 
government controls on broadcast media, and public apathy. 
END SUMMARY. 
 
------------------------------ 
NGOS DISCUSS ELECTION PROGRAMS 
------------------------------ 
 
¶2. (U) At a September 26 Open Society Institute roundtable, 
the leading international donors in Armenia  (USAID, UNDP, 
OSCE, CoE, OSI, and UK Embassy) presented their plans for 
election assistance programs to local NGOs.  These programs 
aim to provide technical assistance, educate election 
officials and voters, and increase public awareness and 
participation. 
 
------------------------------------------ 
FAIR ELECTIONS RECIPE LACKS POLITICAL WILL 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶3. (C) NGO leaders expressed doubt that the assistance would 
lead to fair democratic elections because, they said, 
authorities had already mapped out the next National 
Assembly.  NGOs were quite skeptical about donor plans to 
train Central Election Commission members and judges, saying 
that those officials had been ordered to commit election 
fraud in the past.  Civil Society Institute,s Artak 
Kirakosian commented that technical assistance will go only 
so far.  Kirakosian said the international community should 
take measures to ensure the physical safety of local election 
monitors and other public participants in the process. 
 
------------------------------------------- 
ARMENIAN PUBLIC - APATHETIC AND DEMORALIZED 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (C) The NGO leaders were disheartened by the seeming 
political apathy of Armenian society.  Transparency 
International,s Amalia Kostanyan said the general public saw 
no incentive to get involved.  Despite constitutional 
reforms, little has changed in practice.  She said that the 
impunity of corrupt officials, including past 
election-stealers, also demoralized voters.  Kostanyan 
suggested it was the international community's obligation to 
see that Armenia prosecuted such offenders.  Other NGO 
leaders noted that the Armenian public was not immune to 
corruption, and said that those who sell their votes for USD 
10 must be made to understand the long-term consequences of 
their actions.  The NGOs agreed that they needed to change 
the mentality of the people in order to try to create the 
demand for democracy from below. 
 
---------------------------------- 
BLEAK CONDITIONS FOR MEDIA FREEDOM 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (C) NGO leaders said the most alarming problem was the 
absence of independent broadcast media.  According to Nune 
Sargsian, the executive director of Internews NGO, in 
previous elections it had been possible to encourage certain 
TV and radio stations to provide fair and objective election 
campaign coverage.  But Sargsian said that all broadcast 
media are now under strict government control.  The Helsinki 
Committee,s Avetik Ishkhanian said international efforts to 
train media outlets will do nothing about the problem of 
government control.  Other NGO leaders suggested that the 
international organizations should purchase air time for 
debates to ensure candidates receive equal and fair coverage. 
 (NOTE:  It has been alleged and is widely believed that the 
Presidential spokesman and chief of staff closely vet 
broadcasters' news and editorial content, even reviewing 
stories in advance for outlets deemed less trustworthy. Radio 
Liberty -- which authorities appear reluctant to drive off 
the air -- and some Russian news reporting, are seen as the 
most credible and independent news sources on Armenia's 
national airwaves.  END NOTE.) 
 
------- 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
 
YEREVAN 00001365  002 OF 002 
 
 
¶6. (C) The local NGOs participating represent some of our 
best partners and the most active pro-democracy voices in 
Armenia.  Their deep pessimism is troubling, if not wholly 
unsurprising, as many Armenians share their sentiments. 
According to an August Gallup Poll commissioned by the 
International Republican Institute, 78 percent of respondents 
said the 2007 parliamentary elections would not be free and 
fair.  Even so, 71 percent of respondents said they would 
"definitely" or "probably" vote in those elections.  But, the 
local NGO's attitude may also be slightly exaggerated: These 
are the people most involved with democracy and human 
rights-building efforts, often confronting the authorities on 
a daily basis.  They are also vigorous advocates, and 
government officialdom is as often their opponent as their 
partner.  It may be natural for these representatives to be 
more jaded and cynical -- worn down by the daily grind -- 
than is perhaps warranted.  That said, they are also some of 
the most informed sources outside of the government, and 
their unanimous views cannot be dismissed lightly.  Clearly 
-- as we have always known -- election assistance may be a 
necessary, but certainly not sufficient, precondition for the 
next elections to be free and fair. 
 
 
GODFREY