US embassy cable - 05YEREVAN477

UNCLAS YEREVAN 000477 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT. FOR EUR/CACEN, DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, PGOV, AM 
SUBJECT:  JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES WANT TO DO "MAN'S WORK" 
 
(U) Sensitive but Unclassified.  Please protect 
accordingly. 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1. (SBU) In January, Armenia completed implementation 
of its Law on Alternatives to Military Service, and 22 
members of the Jehovah's Witnesses began work in 
various civilian institutions around the country.  Two 
of the organization's leaders told us, however, that 
many of their members are unhappy with the service's 
structured environment and are unwilling to do the 
"women's work" required by civil service.  Since 
January, two Jehovah's Witnesses refused to do military 
service or its civilian alternative and turned 
themselves into police for prosecution.  The problem 
seems to lie more with expectations and alternatives 
rather than work conditions.  End Summary. 
 
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IMPLEMENTATION COMPLETE 
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2. (SBU) The president of the board and a board member 
of the Jehovah's Witnesses in Armenia, Hrach Keshishyan 
and Levon Markaryan, told us that 22 of the church's 
members had begun working in civilian institutions in 
lieu of military service.  (Note:  With around 7,500 
members, the Jehovah's Witnesses are the only sizable 
group of conscientious objectors in Armenia.  End 
note.)  According to the two leaders, the GOAM offered 
all conscientious objectors in prison the chance to 
apply for non-military service, and it developed clear 
management systems for the program.  Young men who work 
in an alternative to military service assignment 
typically perform sanitation and housekeeping duties in 
a hospital or other care facility.  OSCE workers 
visited six sites and agreed that the programs were 
fully operational and reasonably maintained.  Civilian 
service workers typically eat the same food as the 
patients, and Markaryan described housing as adequate. 
He gave us a copy of a typical work schedule which 
showed ten hours of work, three meals, eight hours of 
sleep, and about three hours for personal use.  Both 
the church leaders and an OSCE representative who spoke 
with us noted that some institutional directors shout 
regularly to gain compliance, but none of the observers 
told us they believed the management is abusive or 
dangerous to workers. 
 
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NO "WOMEN'S WORK" 
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3. (SBU) According to Markaryan, many church members 
serving in civilian positions felt disillusioned with 
the regimented schedule and resented being asked to 
line up once every two weeks to be counted by a 
military officer.  Markaryan complained that the men 
were not given physical labor but sanitation chores 
that he characterized as "women's work."  All eighteen 
members of the Jehovah's Witnesses currently in prison 
did not choose to substitute civilian service for their 
sentence, and since January, two members turned 
themselves in to police for prosecution rather than 
performing military or civilian service.  At one 
location, seven members refused to clean toilets and 
the GOAM eventually charged them with evasion of 
military service.  It is unclear when or if there will 
be a trial; the workers remain at the civilian service 
site. 
 
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COMMENT:  TRADE-OFFS 
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4. (SBU) Members of the Jehovah's Witnesses in Armenia 
have typically served one and a half to two years in 
prison for refusing military service, and according to 
Keshishyan and Markaryan, once the sentence is served, 
members of the church have not faced additional 
penalties.  By contrast, three years of cleaning 
toilets may seem unappealing, and some Armenian 
Jehovah's Witnesses clearly prefer prison to performing 
"women's work." 
EVANS