VZCZCXRO2084
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHYE #0497/01 1700906
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 180906Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY YEREVAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7682
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORPORATION WASHINGTON DC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV 0022
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM 0022

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 YEREVAN 000497 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/CARC, EUR/OHI, DRL/FO, DRL/IRF AND DRL/SEAS 
 
E.O.12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM KIRF AM
SUBJECT: ARMENIAN PRESS CONTINUES TO USE ANTI-SEMITISM TO VILIFY THE 
OPPOSITION 
 
REF: YEREVAN 214 
 
YEREVAN 00000497  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY:  Beginning in mid-May, pro-government print media 
and state-run Public Television have made outlandish anti-Semitic 
and anti-Masonic accusations against former president and current 
opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrossian (LTP).  Most of the 
accusations appear to be harsher versions of previous allegations 
that surfaced right before and after Armenia's disputed February 
presidential election (reftel).  The small, pro-government Armenian 
Jewish community has expressed deep concern over the attacks, given 
the fact that anti-Semitic rhetoric has not been an issue in Armenia 
before.  Post intends to raise the issue with Armenian officials 
during the impending visit of DRL Assistant Secretary Kramer.  End 
summary. 
 
--------------------------------------------- 
PRO-GOVERNMENT PRINT MEDIA GOES ON THE ATTACK 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) The first accusations appeared in late May in the 
pro-government Russian-language Golos Armenii (Voice of Armenia) and 
Armenian-language Hayots Ashkhar (Armenian World) dailies, both with 
circulations under 3,500.  President Sargsian reportedly sponsors 
both outlets, and in the past the two have had ties with the 
Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutiun) political party, 
which now is part of the four-party ruling coalition. 
 
¶3. (SBU) The accusations that appeared in several scathing articles 
portray LTP as a traitor to Armenia, claiming his true allegiance 
lies to the West -- particularly to Israel and the Freemasons.  In 
an identical article published in both papers entitled "Levon Hakob 
Ter-Petrosan or Levon Frayim Pliskovsky -- Armenian National 
Congress or Jewish Congress?" the author questions LTP's loyalty by 
speculating on his alleged conspiratorial meeting with a wealthy 
Russian Jewish businessman in January where he presumably got the 
businessman to give him USD 100-200 million for his presidential 
campaign.  The author then alleges that "the Jewish-Masonic lobby 
spent USD 65-70 million" on the same campaign. 
 
¶4. (U) The author attacked LTP's Jewish wife, Lyudmila 
Ter-Petrossian, accusing her of being the go-between for LTP and 
Masonic structures.  "By involving Lyudmila Ter-Petrossian in the 
leadership of their infra-structures, the Masonic organizations of 
the United States, the Russian Federation, Europe and the Near East 
managed to maintain permanent and reliable ties with Levon 
Ter-Petrossian and offer him assistance."  The author also alleges 
that the only trips that LTP has made to Armenia's regions after his 
leaving office in 1998 have been repeated trips to a Jewish 
cemetery.  "And here is an interesting fact: after resigning from 
office, L. Ter-Petrosyan never visited any marz (region) of the 
country apart from Vayots Dzor. After he and his wife paid several 
visits to the cemetery of the Jews (situated near the village of 
Yeghegis), they decided to have it renovated and reconstructed. 
What's more, L. Ter-Petrosyan promised the Jewish community that 
right after being elected President in 2008 he would deal with the 
reconstruction of the cemetery in person." 
¶5. (U) The author also alleged that the May 27-28 visit to Armenia 
of representatives of the American Jewish Committee was for LTP to 
receive further instructions on how to advance the Jewish cause. 
"It will be extremely interesting to ask L. Ter-Petrosyan why the 
members of the Jewish-American Committee (the second largest Jewish 
lobbying organization in the United States and Europe) are arriving 
in Armenia on May 27-28?  It should be noted that those arriving in 
Armenia are not ordinary members of the organization but rather, its 
leaders, i.e. Peter Rosenblatt, Barry Jabes (sic) and John Waters, 
as well as American-Armenian translator Ross Vardanyan (sic) who 
will accompany them.  According to available information, the 
leaders of the Jewish organization want L. Ter-Petrossian to report 
them on his accomplishments; thereafter, they will specify the 
ex-President's further steps in the following three directions:  1. 
Armenia's domestic problems; 2. US-Armenian relations; and 3. 
Turkish-Armenian relations" 
¶6. (SBU)  Subsequent articles have rehashed and built upon these 
themes, roughly mirroring the lines of the ugly, anti-Semitic 
remarks that were made in an inflammatory DVD that was distributed 
just days prior to the election (reftel). 
--------------------------------- 
STATE-RUN TELEVISION AIRS ATTACKS 
--------------------------------- 
 
 
YEREVAN 00000497  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶7. (SBU)  On the evening of Sunday, June 1, state-run H1 Public 
Television channel aired a ten-minute segment on its weekly 360 
Degrees news magazine program whose sole focus appeared to be 
character assassination of LTP.  The footage incorporated the 
anti-Semitic and anti-Masonic attacks by Golos Armenii and Hayots 
Ashkhar.  In a bizarre twist, the segment accused LTP of mounting a 
PR attack against Armenia's beloved pop star "Sirusho" prior to her 
performance -- and eventual fourth-place finish -- at the late May 
Eurovision Song Contest.  The segment then detailed the newspaper 
articles:  it showed the captions of their offensive doctored 
photographs of LTP wearing an enormous yarmulke (with a Star of 
David on the top just in case the yarmulke was too subtle for some 
of its readers); the presenter read selected excerpts from the 
articles; then it showed H1's February 27 news coverage -- almost in 
its entirety-- that zoomed in on the Israeli flag flown at some of 
the LTP-led post-election opposition rallies (reftel); and ended 
with showing captions from a website entitled "The Grand Lodge of 
Armenia."  According to USAID's Media Programs implementer, the show 
captured an audience of nearly 100,000 households, or 23 percent of 
those watching television at the time. 
 
------------------------------- 
NOTED SCHOLAR ADDS FUEL TO FIRE 
------------------------------- 
 
 
¶8. (SBU) On June 12 Hayots Ashkhar published an interview with 
Samvel Karapetian, a noted Armenian historian and architecture 
critic, who asserted that LTP is not an opposition leader but a 
traitor, since he made speeches under the Israeli flag.  He asserted 
that people don't call LTP a traitor because they are afraid of his 
masters -- Washington and Tel Aviv.  Karapetian also suggested that 
Alexander Arzumanian, Armenia's jailed former Foreign Minister, 
would have been named Foreign Minister in the Sargsian 
administration if his Amcit wife were not Jewish.  (Note: Post has 
no idea whether or not she is, but the statement smacks of an 
anti-Semitic smear tactic.  End note). 
 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
THE JEWISH COMMUNITY IS PERPLEXED...AND WORRIED 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶9. (SBU)  Rimma Varzhapetian, head of Armenia's Jewish community, 
told Emboffs that she is distressed about the articles, calling them 
"a provocation and a kindling of anti-Semitism" in a country with no 
such record of similar attacks.  She added that "I am afraid to 
think that this has the backing of the people in power." 
Varzhapetian said that she has no plans for a public response, 
though she believes it is incumbent upon the GOAM to condemn the 
hateful rhetoric.  She noted with concern that people are starting 
to believe these malicious lies, including some of her 
acquaintances.  They have reacted to her remonstrations about the 
anti-Semitic articles by attributing her objections to the fact that 
she is Jewish. 
 
¶10. (SBU) Varzhapetian also spoke about the community's recent 
failed initiative to create a tree-lined Israeli alley.  The plan 
had been to plant 60 trees in a Yerevan street with which to mark 
and honor Israel's 60th anniversary.  She said that then-PM Sargsian 
and Parliament Speaker Tigran Torosyan refused this request without 
explanation.  She noted that in spite of the rejection, the Jewish 
community still held a significant celebration of Israel's 
independence, which she claimed received no media coverage 
whatsoever. 
 
---------------- 
POST'S REACTIONS 
---------------- 
 
¶11. (SBU) Post has responded to the anti-Semitic articles in several 
ways.  This has included mention of the attacks in the 2008 
International Religious Freedom Report, and reaching out to the 
Jewish community and like-minded diplomatic missions to forge a 
common front against Armenian media's promulgation of anti-Semitic 
rhetoric.  Post also plans to raise the issue with senior-level 
officials during DRL A/S Kramer's June 23-25 visit.  Post 
contemplated lodging a complaint with the National Media Ethics 
Board until it learned that out of the 31 media outlets that signed 
the joint Code of Conduct for Media governing the board, neither 
Hayots Ashkhar nor Golos Armenii are members, nor is Public 
Television.  (Note:  In late February, post raised the issue of the 
inflammatory DVD and Public Television coverage before and after the 
election with the Armenian government's Director of Ethnic and 
Religious Minority Affairs.  Regrettably, this person resigned her 
 
YEREVAN 00000497  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
post in early March, in protest of the fatal March 1 crackdown 
against the LTP-led opposition, and post never got an official 
response.  End note.) 
 
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COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶12. (SBU) The emergence of anti-Semitism as a crude political tool 
appears to be new in Armenia's political arena.  Its use by 
pro-government print media, and its airing on Public Television, 
suggests it is being condoned and even orchestrated by the current 
authorities, who are employing it to weaken the opposition leader 
challenging their rule.  Introducing such a phenomenon in a country 
without an anti-Semitic history, even for politically expedient 
reasons, is dangerous and irresponsible.  Post will say as much 
during A/S Kramer's discussions on the topic.  End comment. 
 
 
PENNINGTON