VZCZCXRO5609
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHNP RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSL RUEHSR RUEHVK
RUEHYG
DE RUEHYE #0518 2051257
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 241257Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY YEREVAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9323
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS YEREVAN 000518 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O.12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL GE AM
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR DISCUSSES PUBLIC COUNCIL WITH CHAIR MANUKIAN 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED.  NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION. 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The Armenian Public Council, created by the GOAM 
to serve as an interface between government bodies and the public, 
will review and advise parliament on every draft law prior to 
legislative consideration, council chairman and former Prime 
Minister Vazgen Manukian told the Ambassador.  Public interest in 
the council has been intense, according to Manukian, though the body 
will need to overcome significant skepticism if it is to overcome 
its early reputation as a convenient tool of the government in 
steering "public debate."  END SUMMARY. 
 
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ADVISE AND DISSENT? 
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¶2. (SBU)  Ambassador met with the Chairperson of the Armenian Public 
Council, Vazgen Manukian, on July 17 to discuss the composition and 
purpose of the new advisory body.  President Sargsian created the 
Public Council, comprised of representatives of political and 
non-governmental organizations, as a forum for dialogue with the 
opposition and other segments of society in order to defuse tensions 
following Armenia's March 2008 election.  Manukian, a former Prime 
Minister (1990-1991) and Minister of Defense (1992-1993) became 
Chairman of the Public Council on May 31. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Manukian asserted that, although the council will serve 
only an advisory role, it could prove influential.  The 36-member 
council (one-third appointed by the President, one-third delegated 
by NGOs, with the remaining third elected by the first two groups) 
will review every draft law prior to consideration by parliament and 
will have a representative in every parliamentary committee.  The 
council's most notable contribution to date was its recommendation 
to the President that he grant amnesty to those arrested in 
connection with the 2008 post-presidential-election violence. 
(COMMENT: It is widely held that Sargsian directed the 
recommendation of the council so that he could claim he was 
responding to the "public" rather than opposition and international 
pressure.  END COMMENT) 
 
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ENTHUSIASM BORN OF ALIENATION 
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¶4. (SBU) The level of interest in the Public Council has been 
surprising, according to Manukian.  Over a period of two months, 
1,530 delegates from over 900 NGOs participated in the process of 
electing the NGO representatives to the council, he noted.  Manukian 
attributed this enthusiasm to popular alienation with both the 
government and the opposition.  "The majority don't love the 
authorities, but LTP (opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrossian) is not 
an alternative for many either," he said.  "Since 1995, not a single 
election result has been accepted by the populace, but many believe 
in the council," he added. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Beyond its most basic structure, the Public Council is very 
much a work in progress, according to the chairman.  It could take 
its direction from the President (as with the amnesty); from the 
council's commission experts; or from the public.  In the near term, 
he foresees the council weighing in on a wide range of issues, from 
recommending wholesale reforms to law enforcement and judicial 
structures, to advising on the expansion of small aircraft aviation, 
to advancing the public dialogue concerning rapprochement with 
Turkey (a position he said he would strongly, publicly support). 
For further clarity in defining the aims and methods of the body, 
Manukian said he hoped he could learn from the experiences of 
similar bodies in other countries, including in the U.S. 
 
¶6. (SBU) COMMENT: Although a respected political figure, Manukian's 
political influence is modest these days.  Critics say he has been 
co-opted in chairing a body meant to give political cover to actions 
the President wants to take anyway, e.g., the amnesty.  And while 
many acknowledge the Public Council could play a useful role, thus 
far it has elicited more skepticism that this is yet another Russian 
tool imported to manage Armenia's democracy than hope that it will 
prove a useful mechanism to increase the role of the people in 
governing Armenia.  END COMMENT 
 
YOVANOVITCH