US embassy cable - 05YEREVAN1906

UNCLAS YEREVAN 001906 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/CACEN, EUR/ACE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, ASEC, AM 
SUBJECT:  LATEST OPPOSITION PARTY RALLY -- SAME RHETORIC, 
FEWER NUMBERS 
 
 
1. (U) Aram Sargsyan's opposition Republic Party held a 
party meeting and rally October 25 in Yerevan's Matenadaran 
(Manuscript Museum) Square.  The rally was peaceful and a 
modest police force of four officers was stationed at the 
sidelines of the meeting to assist with traffic flow and 
help pedestrians get to the meeting.  At one point, Embassy 
observers counted approximately 1,000 supporters at the 
rally -- a much smaller group than attended similar 
opposition rallies last year.  Sargsyan, along with other 
opposition leaders in attendance, called on citizens to 
boycott or vote "no" during the constitutional referendum 
scheduled for November 27.  As they have in the past, they 
called for an organized public uprising to oust President 
Robert Kocharian from power. 
 
2. (SBU) Aram Sargsyan opened the meeting by blasting the 
GOAM for denying his party the use of public indoor meeting 
facilities for the meeting.  (Note:  A previously scheduled 
series of conferences have occupied the GOAM's meeting 
facilities in downtown Yerevan for the past few days.  We 
are unaware of the details of what, if any, space the GOAM 
offered the Sargsyan as an alternative to an outdoor meeting 
in Matenadaran Square.  End Note.) 
 
3. (SBU) Leaders of almost all Armenian opposition parties 
were present at the meeting.  Speakers, including opposition 
Justice Bloc Stepan Demirchian, claimed that the GOAM would 
tamper with the upcoming referendum balloting, pointing to 
the 2003 Presidential elections as evidence that GOAM 
authorities were incapable of conducting free and fair 
elections.  Comment:  Even though most of the speakers 
acknowledged the importance of the proposed constitutional 
reforms, they made it clear that the November 27 vote is 
their preferred vehicle to rally support for their cause. 
The smaller-than-expected turnout, coupled with the absence 
of opposition figure Artashes Geghamian, suggests that the 
opposition is still struggling to form a common platform 
among the different parties and attract large numbers for 
public events like the October 25 meeting. 
EVANS