VZCZCXRO6092
RR RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHNP RUEHROV RUEHSL RUEHSR
DE RUEHYE #0865/01 3490644
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 150644Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY YEREVAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9856
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORPORATION WASHINGTON DC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 YEREVAN 000865 
 
SIPDIS 
 
G/TIP FOR AMBASSADOR CDEBACA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/14/2019 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL KTIP KWMN TU AM
SUBJECT: DEPUTY PM DISCUSSES TRAFFICKING, INVITES AMB 
CDEBACA TO ARMENIA 
 
REF: A. YEREVAN 832 
     ¶B. YEREVAN 771 
 
YEREVAN 00000865  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
Classified By: AMB Marie L. Yovanovitch, for reasons 1.4 (b,d). 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶1. (C) On November 25 Ambassador Yovanovitch met with Deputy 
Prime Minister Armen Gevorgian to discuss Armenia's current 
anti-trafficking efforts.  The Ambassador emphasized that 
Armenia needed to continue the positive momentum it had 
achieved with its improved ranking last year, and that now 
was not the time for Armenia to rest on its laurels.  The 
Ambassador pressed the corruption case of the escaped 
trafficker Anush Zakharyants, stating that the December 2008 
launch of a new criminal investigation was a major reason 
behind Armenia's improved ranking, and that Washington 
expects the corrupt officials involved to be identified, 
prosecuted, and punished.  The Deputy PM stated that Armenia 
was committed to registering new progress in combating 
trafficking and that trafficking had become an increasingly 
important issue for the government.  Gevorgian thought that 
"mentalities" about trafficking have begun to change for the 
better, and he previewed that the government would approve 
new criminal codes making it easier for law enforcement 
structures to prosecute and punish trafficking and that the 
anti-trafficking budget would be increased in 2010.  He also 
welcomed a visit by Ambassador CdeBaca, saying it would help 
his efforts to further galvanize high-level government 
attention to combating trafficking, and said that he was 
interested in better cooperation with Turkey on trafficking 
cases.  END SUMMARY. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
"MOVING OFF THE TIER TWO WATCH LIST CAN BE DANGEROUS ..." 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
 
¶2. (C) On November 25 the Ambassador invited Deputy Prime 
Minister Armen Gevorgian to lunch to discuss, among other 
things, Armenia's current anti-trafficking efforts.  (Note: 
Gevorgian is the Chairperson of Armenian's Ministerial 
Council to Combat Trafficking in Persons.  End Note.)  The 
Ambassador recounted to Gevorgian her recent trip to 
Washington and meeting with the Department's new Ambassador 
to Combat Trafficking, Luis CdeBaca, and Ambassador CdeBaca's 
caution that "moving off the Tier Two Watch List can be a 
dangerous time for countries" lest they think they can rest 
on their laurels.  Ambassador Yovanovitch stressed the 
importance of Armenia sustaining its recent momentum, and 
highlighted the outstanding corruption case of the escaped 
Uzbek trafficker Anush Zakharyants, stating that the December 
2008 launch of a new criminal investigation was one of the 
major factors behind Armenia's improved ranking.  (Note:  The 
Prosecutor General's special assistant confidentially 
informed PolFSN on December 7 that Zakharyants might have 
been recently located in Kazakhstan -- where there is an 
outstanding Interpol warrant out for her arrest--and that 
Armenia is preparing an extradition request for her return. 
End Note.)  The Ambassador said Washington is closely 
following the developments in the case, and expects Armenia 
to eventually identify, prosecute, and punish those officials 
responsible for the 2006 escape.  The Ambassador shared with 
Gevorgian Ambassador CdeBaca's 2006 prosecution of an ICE 
immigration inspector involved in trafficking in persons, and 
noted that while it was hard for him to do, it was the right 
thing to do -- and what Washington hoped Armenia would do on 
the Zakharyants case. 
 
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TRAFFICKING INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (C) The Deputy PM assured the Ambassador of the GOAM's 
commitment to continued progress in combating trafficking. 
He noted that in two days' time he was convening the 
Ministerial Council on Trafficking where the Council would 
discuss draft amendments to the criminal code making it 
easier for law enforcement to prosecute and punish 
trafficking crimes.  He also previewed that the Cabinet of 
Ministers on November 26 would review a government decree 
(executive order) that would make it easier for the 
government to redirect anti-trafficking funding to other 
trafficking projects in the event of allocation conflicts. 
(Note:  Gevorgian was referring to 2009 budget funding 
allocated by the GOAM to co-fund the operations of an NGO 
shelter for victims of trafficking that went unspent once the 
NGO informed the GOAM it did not need the funds.  Because of 
 
YEREVAN 00000865  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
the rigidity of the spending process, the GOAM was unable to 
reroute these funds to other anti-trafficking programs.  End 
Note.) 
 
¶4. (C) Gevorgian thanked the Ambassador for the USG's 
constant attention and support of Armenia's anti-trafficking 
efforts, and opined that it had played the key role in making 
trafficking a priority issue for the GOAM.  He said "it 
wasn't the case four years ago that trafficking was so 
frequently discussed in the government" as it is today.  He 
added that both President Sargsian and Prime Minster Sargsian 
(no relation) had separately noted Armenia's improved State 
Department ranking, and he believed it was this ranking that 
had helped him increase the anti-trafficking funding in the 
2010 budget.  Gevorgian said it was "a huge fight" with other 
agencies to increase this funding, and that he had a hard 
time convincing his colleagues that foreigners "not only 
observe what we do with legislation, but how we provide 
concrete resources" to combat trafficking.  Gevorgian said he 
hopes to lobby in 2010 for a single line item allocation in 
the 2011 budget for anti-trafficking programs in general that 
could later be divided up and spent merely with government 
decrees, a process that would help him spend trafficking 
monies more easily. 
 
¶5. (C) Gevorgian opined that "mentalities" about trafficking 
inside law enforcement structures (police, prosecutors, 
judges) have dramatically changed for the better in the last 
couple of years, as witnessed by more aggressive prosecutions 
and stiffer punishments for trafficking. He acknowledged, 
however, that there is still room for progress, and predicted 
that "if we continue at this pace, in two to three years" 
Armenia's increasingly tough stand against trafficking will 
become a "permanent" phenomenon.  Gevorgian said he was also 
delighted to see expanded cooperation and increased 
confidence between law enforcement and NGOs on trafficking 
issues. 
 
-------------------------------- 
WELCOMES AND NEEDS CDEBACA VISIT 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (C) When Ambassador Yovanovitch mentioned that she had 
invited Ambassador CdeBaca to Armenia to discuss Armenia's 
anti-trafficking efforts, Gevorgian said the GOAM would be 
"delighted" to receive and work with Ambassador CdeBaca. 
Gevorgian then stated that "the visit will be useful for me 
and for other officials, as such a visit will show 'them' 
(other high-ranking GOAM officials) the continued attention 
of the international community" to Armenia's trafficking 
efforts.  The Deputy PM added that such a visit would be of 
particular help to him on the funding front, and that he 
would ask Ambassador CdeBaca to stress "in front of my 
colleagues" the importance of Armenia dedicating its own 
financial resources to combating trafficking. 
 
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ZAKHARYANTS CASE -- NO NEW DEVELOPMENTS 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (C) Gevorgian said he had no new information on the status 
of the criminal investigation into the Zakharyants case.  He 
said Gevorg Kostanian, one of President Sargsian's legal 
advisers, was in charge of overseeing the GOAM's handling of 
the investigation.  Gevorgian pledged to obtain a progress 
report for the Ambassador next time he meets with Kostanian. 
(Note:  During the Embassy's December 10 reception honoring 
International Human Rights Day, the Ambassador hand-delivered 
a letter to Prosecutor General Aghvan Hovsepian in which she 
conveyed the USG's continued interest in the case and our 
expectation that the corrupt officials involved in the 2006 
escape be identified, prosecuted, and punished. The letter 
noted the launch of the criminal investigation in December 
2008, and the US government's hopes that it would result in a 
positive conclusion in the near future.  End Note.) 
 
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YES TO ANTI-TIP COOPERATION WITH TURKEY 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶8. (C) The Ambassador noted that the police and the MFA had 
recently approached the Embassy to support Turkish-Armenian 
law enforcement cooperation on an alleged trafficking case 
involving the ethnic Armenian/naturalized Turkish citizen 
Gohar (Kilinc) Kirakosyan residing in Trabzon, Turkey.  The 
Ambassador told Gevorgian that she had discussed the request 
with the Prosecutor General and Minister of Justice 
(reftels), and both said they welcomed anything the US 
embassies in Yerevan and Ankara could do to support 
 
YEREVAN 00000865  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
cooperation on the case.  The Ambassador said it was 
important that the case be a solid one, and that Armenia be 
prepared for full disclosure of the case materials before the 
embassies get involved as advocates for cooperation. 
Gevorgian responded that he was for greater cooperation with 
the two main destination countries for Armenian trafficking 
victims of sexual exploitation -- the UAE and Turkey -- and 
that he would try to help move the process along with both. 
On Turkey, however, he said he would have to consult with 
Presidet Sargsian first to ensure he didn't have any issues 
with Armenian law enforcement fully engaging their Turkish 
counterparts.  (Note:  Post has anecdotally heard that all 
cross-border initiatives with Turkey initiated by Armenian 
entities must be vetted by the Presidency.  To date, we have 
no indications that the Presidency has rejected anything. 
End Note.) 
 
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COMMENT 
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¶9. (C) Post has no doubt that the driving force behind 
Armenia's campaign to improve its anti-trafficking posture in 
the last 18 months is Deputy Prime Minister Gevorgian.  As 
soon as he assumed office in April 2009, and also assumed the 
Chairmanship of the newly established Ministerial Council to 
Combat Trafficking, the GOAM dramatically changed its course 
and became more proactive, allocating multiple funding 
streams for anti-trafficking in its annual budget, getting 
law enforcement to be more aggressive in prosecuting and 
punishing trafficking, and finally instituting a National 
Referral Mechanism.  We agree with Gevorgian that a visit by 
Ambassador CdeBaca would help galvanize even greater 
high-level attention for anti-trafficking efforts, and at a 
pivotal moment when government and law enforcement 
mentalities are finally changing for the better in 
recognizing trafficking as a real problem.  Against this 
backdrop, Post hopes that Ambassador CdeBaca will consider 
Deputy Prime Minister Gevorgian's invitation to visit 
Armenia, as we think such a visit could accomplish a great 
deal--not only on the funding, resources, and political will 
front, but also in impressing upon the Armenians the 
importance of finally punishing the corrupt officials in the 
Zakharyants case. 
YOVANOVITCH