US embassy cable - 05YEREVAN84

C O N F I D E N T I A L YEREVAN 000084 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/CACEN 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/19/2014 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, AM 
SUBJECT: ARMENIANS UNITED IN PROTESTING USG STATEMENT THAT 
N-K IS "CRIMINALLY SECESSIONIST" 
 
Classified By: Amb. John M. Evans for reasons 1.4 (b, d). 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1. (C) The Armenian body politic has come together to protest 
Assistant Secretary Elizabeth Jones' comments on 
Nagorno-Karabakh as reported in the January 14 edition of the 
Moscow Times.  The story dominated media coverage on a day 
when the other big news in the bilateral relationship was the 
send-off for GOAM contribution to Coalition efforts in Iraq 
(septel).  GOAM officials expressed private dismay at what 
they referred to as unfortunate timing and objected strongly 
to the characterization of "criminal secessionists."  In 
addition to press and television commentaries condemning A/S 
Jones' statement (media reaction septel), students and the 
youth wings of both opposition and governing coalition 
political parties protested against the comments.  End 
Summary. 
 
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TIMING UNFORTUNATE 
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2. (C) The Ambassador met privately with Minister of Defense 
Serzh Sargsian and spoke to Deputy Foreign Minister Tatul 
Markarian to address GOAM concerns, highlighting A/S Jones' 
full statements.  Despite their public restraint, MFA 
Americas Desk Officer Lilit Toutkhalian told us that senior 
GOAM officials viewed A/S Jones' comments as a slap in the 
face, and were complaining privately that they had taken the 
unpopular step to send troops to Iraq "for nothing."  Some, 
she continued, were so emotional as to assert that the U.S. 
was behaving in an "ungrateful manner." 
 
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WELL-ORGANIZED PROTEST WITH BROAD SUPPORT 
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3. (SBU) Students and young party activists from more than 
thirty groups and representing all the major government and 
opposition parties protested against A/S Jones' statement in 
front of the Embassy January 19.  Despite inclement weather, 
roughly 1000 young protesters gathered at Opera Square and 
marched up the street to protest in front of the Embassy at 
1:00 p.m. local time.  The students were well-organized, with 
professional-quality banners in English and Armenian saying, 
"Shame on Elizabeth Jones,"  "Karabagh:  Democracy, Peace and 
Freedom," "Keep Your Hands Off a Free Karabakh," and "No 
Double Standard."  The protesters, aged 16 to 26, were 
energetic and mostly male, taking advantage of the fresh snow 
to throw snowballs at each other and playing to the 
television cameras. 
 
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COMMENT 
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4. (C) The coincidence of the departure of the Armenian 
non-combatant contingent to Iraq, which produced excellent 
local media coverage and the report in the Moscow Times was 
unfortunate, and has produced a negative public and official 
reaction that we will have to deal with; however, the 
essentially strong relationship that the United States and 
Armenia enjoy -- and such facts as that the United States, 
provides humanitarian assistance to Karabakh -- will enable 
us to weather this storm.  The Ambassador found that even 
Defense Minister Sargsian, an ardent Karabakhi, was mollified 
when he saw the full text of Assistant Secretary Jones' video 
conference and had it pointed out to him that it was the 
secessionist areas bordering on Russia that were at the 
center of her attention. 
EVANS