VZCZCXRO6566
PP RUEHDBU RUEHLN RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHYE #1317/01 3061353
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 021353Z NOV 07
FM AMEMBASSY YEREVAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6579
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 YEREVAN 001317 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/CARC 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM AM
SUBJECT: COUNCIL OF EUROPE'S HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSIONER 
GIVES ARMENIA A MIXED ASSESSMENT 
 
REF: A) YEREVAN 1302 B) YEREVAN 1282 C) YEREVAN 1278 
 
------- 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
¶1. (U) The Human Rights Commissioner of the Council of Europe 
(COE) visited Armenia October 7-11 to assess the human rights 
situation.  During his trip, Thomas Hammarberg visited police 
stations, prisons, refugee centers, and the Gyumri earthquake 
zone.  He also met with Armenian leaders and NGOs.  His 
mission focused on the judicial system, corruption, media 
freedom, electoral code reforms, and related human rights 
issues.  Prior to his departure, he noted that although 
Armenia had made great strides in advancing human rights 
since the Soviet era, serious areas for improvement remained, 
particularly on implementation.  Emboffs met with the local 
COE representative to get a read-out on the visit, and found 
that the COE has scheduled a flurry of additional visits 
prior to Armenia's presidential election in February, 2008. 
Hammarberg is expected to release his final report in three 
months. End summary. 
 
------------------------------------------- 
GLOOMY ASSESSMENT OF POST-EARTHQUAKE GYUMRI 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) Commenting on his visit to Gyumri, the epicenter of 
the 1988 earthquake that claimed between 25,000-50,000 lives, 
Hammarberg said he was flabbergasted to find families still 
living in temporary housing 19 years after the event.  He 
called the living conditions "inadmissible" and said that the 
GOAM and the international community must assume 
responsibility for "ensuring worthy living conditions for 
those who suffered" from the earthquake.  He also visited two 
refugee sites that house Armenian refugees from Azerbaijan, 
one of which he assessed to be in a deplorable state. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Hammarberg visited penitentiary facilities in Gyumri 
where he spoke, unaccompanied, with prisoners.  He met with 
Aram Babjanian, Zhirayr Sefilian and Vardan Malkhasian, all 
of whom are widely believed to have been jailed on account of 
their political views. Responding to a question on political 
prisoners, Hammarberg stated that "there are people in prison 
who shouldn't be there for various reasons." During his 
visited he also focused on police treatment of detainees. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
MEDIA FREEDOM, JUDICIAL REFORM, ALTERNATIVE SERVICE 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) Bojana Urumova, the Special Representative of the 
Secretary General of the Council of Europe to Armenia, told 
 
SIPDIS 
Emboffs that Hammarberg repeatedly registered his concerns 
over freedom of the media.  There have been recent 
developments (ref A) that suggest the authorities are 
clamping down on TV coverage of the political opposition with 
the 2008 presidential elections right around the corner. 
Hammarberg's concern was heightened when the GOAM informed 
him that revisions to the law on TV and Radio, which governs 
the way the members of the National Commission on TV and 
Radio are chosen, will not be made until after the 
presidential election in February.  The law had been slated 
for reform in 2007, and the COE had already sent the 
authorities its opinion on the draft revisions.  In an 
interview Urumova gave October 24, she emphasized that media 
freedom remained a COE priority in Armenia, and cautioned 
that "without such freedoms, elections and other democratic 
processes are seriously challenged and flawed." 
 
¶5. (SBU) Hammarberg also raised judicial reforms in his 
meetings with Armenian leaders, including the President, 
Prime Minister, and Justice Minister.  When he asked about 
the Judge Ohanian affair (refs B & C), he was told "the 
outcome is up in the air." (Note: On October 16, President 
Kocharian dismissed the judge for alleged misconduct in the 
handling of previous legal cases. End note.) When Hammarberg 
raised the issue of Armenia's extremely low acquittal rate, 
he received a tepid, noncommittal response.  Urumova said 
that Hammarberg wants the COE to maintain pressure on this 
issue, and said American "sticks" on the controversial topic 
could be of help. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Hammarberg also raised the issue of police 
mistreatment, after his finding in Armenia that it was a 
widespread problem.  Hammarberg called the authorities' 
handling of the Levon Gulyan case "worrying," and Urumova 
said the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and 
Inhuman Treatment (CPT) is monitoring the case and remains in 
 
YEREVAN 00001317  002 OF 002 
 
 
contact with the authorities on its handling. (Note: Gulyan 
fell to his death in mysterious circumstances on May 9 when 
he was being questioned by police about a homicide that had 
taken place outside of his restaurant.  The investigation of 
his death is still pending. End note.) According to an 
October 31 media report, the COE informed Armenia's Human 
Rights Ombudsman during the latter's October 17-19 visit to 
Strasbourg that it remains "anxious" over the lingering 
problem of inhumane treatment in police stations and other 
law enforcement facilities. 
 
7 (SBU) In his meeting with the Speaker of the National 
Assembly and the Ombudsman, Hammarberg commended Armenia for 
its constitutional and various legal reforms that strengthen 
human rights protection.  But he expressed his concern that 
the reforms were not being adequately implemented and 
enforced.  Hammarberg also raised COE concerns that 
alternative service in Armenia still does not conform to 
European standards.  He noted that alternative service still 
falls under Ministry of Defense jurisdiction - not civilian, 
as in Europe - and that the service is excessively long.  The 
Prime Minister was receptive to the idea of reform, but the 
Minister of Defense rebuffed Hammarberg on the issue. 
 
-------------------- 
DIVERGENCE OF VIEWS? 
-------------------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) At his press conference prior to departing Armenia, 
Hammarberg stated that Armenia had made tangible progress in 
human rights protections since independence from the Soviet 
Union. He saluted Armenia's ratification of almost all 
European and international conventions on human rights, but 
said there still remained room for improvement. 
Interestingly, Urumova told Emboffs that the President and 
the National Assembly Speaker told Hammarberg during their 
meetings that "we have fulfilled" almost all of Armenia's 
commitments made to the COE, and that the sole remaining 
issue was reforming Yerevan's administrative status. (Note: 
As of November 2, the Ombudsman's web site still cites that 
the government has yet to respond to COE opinions it provided 
on amendments to Armenia's laws on TV and Radio, Alternative 
Service, and the Ombudsman. End note.) 
 
¶9. (SBU) Hammarberg is expected to issue his final report on 
his visit sometime in January, but Urumova said it might be 
delayed until after the February presidential election.  In 
the meantime, the COE has on tap a visit by the Secretary 
General in November, a December visit by two rapporteurs from 
the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), 
and separate visits early in the year by the COE's so-called 
AGO group, another body tasked with monitoring Armenian 
reforms. 
 
------- 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶10. (SBU) We were pleased to see that Hammarberg used his 
visit to remind the authorities of the most pressing human 
rights issues in the country. The reaction he received, 
however, shows a large gap still remains between Armenia's 
human rights commitments to the COE and its current 
practices.  The fact that the outgoing president believes 
Armenia has fulfilled all of its obligations also gives 
pause.  One hopes that his successor, whoever it may be, will 
evaluate the human rights situation from a fresh perspective. 
 
PENNINGTON