VZCZCXRO7924
OO RUEHDBU RUEHLN RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHYE #1279/01 2971223
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 241223Z OCT 07
FM AMEMBASSY YEREVAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6527
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORP WASHDC 0123

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 YEREVAN 001279 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/CARC, DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL KDEM AM
SUBJECT: APPARENT CRACKDOWN ON TER-PETROSSIAN SUPPORTERS 
 
 
YEREVAN 00001279  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶1. (SBU) Armenian police on October 23 detained 12 opposition 
activists as they publicly called for an opposition rally in 
support of the candidacy of Armenia's first president, Levon 
Ter-petrossian in the approaching presidential election. 
Police scuffled with, and then detained the activists, after 
they defied police orders to stop announcing the October 26 
rally through loudspeakers at a busy downtown intersection in 
Yerevan.  Among those detained were two editors of opposition 
newspapers and leaders of the pro-Ter-Petrossian 
"Alternative" movement.  Several pro-Ter-Petrossian youth 
activists were also reported detained by police earlier in 
the day as they disseminated leaflets in a Yerevan 
neighborhood, as well as a photojournalist covering the 
youth, all of whom were subsequently released.  An MP from 
the opposition Heritage party negotiated with police for the 
release of the 12 detainees, as did Ter-Petrossian himself, 
who arrived late in the evening and stayed through half the 
night until the release of the detainees at 3:20 am.  The 
arrests come on the heels of recent developments where the 
authorities appear to be cracking down on supporters of 
Ter-Petrossian's expected presidential bid.  End summary. 
 
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POLICE DETAIN ACTIVISTS CALLING FOR OPPOSITION RALLY 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶2. (U) In the early evening of October 23, police detained a 
dozen opposition activists who were publicizing the upcoming 
October 26 opposition rally at which former president Levon 
Ter-Petrossian is expected to formally declare his return to 
national politics after a decade-long hiatus.  The activists 
had been walking through downtown using bullhorns to urge 
public attendance at the rally when police intervened. 
Footage broadcast by a local TV station showed police trying 
to seize the loudspeakers, after which a scuffle broke out 
and police appeared to set off a tear gas canister.  There 
are conflicting reports that 20 or so participants in the 
scuffle sustained light-moderate injuries.  (Note:  According 
to Armenia's Law on Assembly, marches or rallies up to 100 
people are authorized without prior notification to the 
authorities.  End note.)  At 3:20 am in the morning, all of 
the detainees were released, to shouts of "Levon! Levon!" and 
"Victory" by the approximately 70-100 people assembled 
outside the police station. 
 
¶3. (U) Among those who had been detained were five leaders of 
the pro-Ter-Petrossian "Alternative Movement" that includes 
editors of opposition newspapers harshly critical of the 
government:  Nikol Pashinyan, leader of the radical 
opposition "Impeachment Bloc" and editor-in-chief of the 
"Armenia Times" daily; Shogher Matevosyan, editor-in-chief of 
the opposition tabloid "The Fourth Estate"; Mikayel 
Hayrapetyan, Chairman of the Conservative Party of Armenia; 
Petros Makeyan, leader of the marginal Democratic Homeland 
party; and Davit Matevosyan, a former MP.  Seven other 
activists accompanying the leaders were also detained and 
taken together to the central police station in Yerevan. 
 
¶4. (U) The opposition activists reportedly claimed they were 
forced to take to the streets to publicize their upcoming 
rally because, they allege, authorities have pressured TV 
stations not to publicize public events by opposition 
parties.  Witnesses to the event reported also seeing riot 
police at the scene, and the arrival of police reinforcements 
at the central police station following the detention of the 
activists.   According to the "Fourth Estate" newspaper, one 
of its journalists was beaten by plainclothes police, sprayed 
with tear gas, and required emergency care afterwards. 
 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
HIGH-LEVEL NEGOTIATIONS FOR RELEASE OF DETAINED 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶5. (U) According to media reports, the first person to 
negotiate for the release of the detainees was Larisa 
Alaverdian, an MP from the Heritage opposition party, who, 
like many others at the scene who sought access to the 
detainees, was initially rebuffed from entering the police 
station.  She was later joined by, and allowed inside the 
police station, with another Heritage MP, human rights 
Ombudsman Armen Harutyunan, and former President Levon 
Ter-Petrossian himself, among others.  Between 70-100 
supporters assembled outside the police station, which 
included leaders of various opposition political parties such 
as Stepan Demirchian of the Armenian Peoples Party, Babken 
 
YEREVAN 00001279  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
Araktsyan, former National Assembly Speaker and member of the 
pro-Ter-Petrossian Armenian National Movement (ANM), Ararat 
Zurabyan, ANM Chairman, Khachatur Sukiasian, a pro-ANM 
prominent businessman, and others.  The crowd of supporters 
shouted opposition slogans in defense of the detained. 
 
¶6. (U) According to reports, Ter-Petrossian unexpectedly 
arrived at the central police station at 11:30 pm to 
negotiate the release of the activists, and along with other 
ANM leaders asked the assembled crowd to maintain calm and 
respect the law.  He and his bodyguard were allowed to enter 
without any incidents, and the police cordon in front of the 
police station was subsequently removed.  The former 
president stayed until the release of the detainees well into 
the morning.  After his release, Nikol Pashinyan publicly 
stated that "we were released only because of him 
(Ter-Petrossian)," and that the detainees would have been 
formally arrested absent the former president's intervention. 
 
 
------------------------- 
INTERPRETATIONS OF EVENTS 
------------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) Ter-Petrossian loyalist and former Foreign Minister 
Alexander Arzoumanyan told us after the release of the 
detainees that since "we do not have access to TV," posting 
of leaflets has been the only way to inform the public about 
the upcoming rally.  He added that activists who have been 
dispatched to regions to publicize the rally there have also 
been harassed by the authorities, including governors, and 
that regional police have called activists into various 
stations for questioning.  Arzoumanyan stated that before the 
events of the preceding evening, ANM youth activists 
throughout the day were being detained in Yerevan, allegedly 
for driving-related offenses, but later released after ANM 
officials intervened.  He says the police indiscriminately 
used excessive force in the evening, during a "peaceful" 
march, on youth, males and females alike.  Arzoumanyan said 
there were no serious injuries, but activists were kicked by 
police.  He confirmed that Ter-Petrossian arrived at 11:30 pm 
and stayed until the release at 3:20 am.  To his knowledge, 
no criminal charges have been filed, but he would not be 
surprised if they followed later. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Misha Danielyan of the human rights watchdog 
"Helsinki Association" told us that he was at the police 
station until one in the morning, and that the authorities 
had acted with "total impunity" when police prevented 
detainees' lawyers from entering the police station.  He said 
that tear gas had been used, and sprayed at people's faces. 
The office of the government's Human Rights Defender 
(Ombudsman) -- who was also in the police station overnight 
-- informed us that only 11 individuals had been detained, 
that detainees and police alike sustained injuries, and that 
police provided referrals for medical care to the detainees 
requiring attention.  The office also told us that the police 
are preparing criminal charges against detainees for 
assaulting their officers.  The Ombudsman has not yet made a 
public statement on the events, but various news outlets 
report that he declared there had been insufficient grounds 
for detaining the activists. 
 
9.(U) According to the government daily "Hayastani 
Hanrapetutiun," police intervened during the march when it 
began to hinder the flow of traffic and attempted to stop 
public transportation.  Scuffles then broke out after 
activists allegedly began to insult and curse police, after 
which they were detained and taken to the central police 
station for questioning.  Some policemen reported sustaining 
injuries during the altercations. 
 
¶10. (U) While the detained were still in custody, Babken 
Arakstyan, ANM member and former National Assembly Speaker, 
blasted the authorities, calling the ruling regime a 
"deluded, nervous state."  He added that "they (the 
authorities) understood that the situation in Armenia has 
changed, but they cannot fight against us."  After his early 
morning release, Nikol Pashinyan called on those assembled 
outside the central police station to continue distributing 
rally leaflets in the morning.  Later in the day, Pashinyan 
announced he and other detainees would hold a press 
conference on the preceding day's events. 
 
------------------------------ 
IS THE LTP CRACKDOWN UNDERWAY? 
------------------------------ 
 
¶11. (U) In early October, opposition leaders announced the 
 
YEREVAN 00001279  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
holding of a large, opposition-wide public rally scheduled 
for Friday, October 26, where it is widely expected that 
Ter-Petrossian will formally announce his candidacy for the 
February, 2008 presidential race.  The rally's timing is also 
significant, coming one day short of the anniversary of the 
1999 assassination of Armenian leaders at the National 
Assembly.   Former President Ter-Petrossian has recently 
raised his profile, making his first major public speech in 
years in late September, meeting with government and 
opposition party leaders, and making a trip to 
Nagorno-Karabakh where he met with the recently elected 
"president" of the non-recognized breakaway territory.  Other 
opposition leaders are slated to join the former president at 
the rally, including Stepan Demirchian of the People's Party 
of Armenia and Aram Sargsyan of the Republic Party.  The 
rally has received formal approval by Yerevan's city 
government. 
 
¶12. (U) The arrest of the opposition figures and 
Ter-Petrossian loyalists comes on the heels of seemingly 
related events where authorities appear to be clamping down 
on support for the former president's candidacy in the 
upcoming election.  The owner of the Gala TV station located 
in Gyumri, Armenia's second largest city, claimed October 22 
that the authorities are trying to punish him for airing in 
full Ter-Petrossian's September 21 Independence Day speech 
that criticized the authorities, which he says he aired as a 
paid advertisement despite being warned by the 
government-controlled National Commission on Television and 
Radio not to do so.  The owner also said that officers from 
the Gyumri branch of the National Security Service visited 
him shortly after airing of the speech to warn him to stop 
covering Ter-Petrossian's political activities.  Breaking 
media reports from Gyumri state that Armenian tax officials 
raided Gala's offices on October 23. 
 
¶13. (U) Meanwhile, the ruling Republican Party has announced 
a free pop concert at a downtown stadium to compete with the 
ANM rally.  Media and political observers here largely view 
the concert's coincidental timing as an effort by 
Ter-Petrossian's opponents to deflate his political sails. 
The move has also been assailed for its alleged insensitivity 
to the tragic events of the 1999 National Assembly 
assassinations.  In addition, police in different 
neighborhoods of Yerevan have recently been spotted tearing 
down posters publicizing the October 26 rally. 
 
¶14. (U) On October 18, leading Armenian media figures and 
monitors expressed concern over what they allege has been a 
recent move by the country's largest media outlets to curtail 
their coverage of politically oriented news in advance of the 
2008 presidential election.  Two of the leading press clubs 
in Yerevan complained that, in contrast to established 
practice, major television channels have begun to ignore 
their public events as well as news conferences held by 
politicians and public figures.  The media figures have 
publicly expressed their concern over this recent 
development, and allege that the authorities are behind the 
move. 
 
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COMMENT 
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¶15. (SBU) The detention and harassment of pro-Ter-Petrossian 
activists in Yerevan and the regions appears to be the ruling 
authorities' first  "push-back" to the former president's 
election bid.  So far the former president has enjoyed 
abysmally low popularity ratings, with sky-high negatives. 
However, authorities' actions to oppose the former 
president's bid may perversely add greater legitimacy and 
popularity to the ex-president, who has been surprisingly 
crafty in his early moves.  His chances of real success still 
seem small, but we should not count him out either. 
PERINA