Newspapers that Used Anti-Semitism to Vilify Ter-Petrossian were Sponsored by Sargsyan: US Cable

Beginning in mid-May, pro-government print media and state-run Public Television have made outlandish anti-Semitic and anti-Masonic accusations against former president and current opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrossian (LTP).  Most of the accusations appear to be harsher versions of previous allegations that surfaced right before and after Armenia’s disputed February presidential election. The small, pro-government Armenian Jewish community has expressed deep concern over the attacks, given the fact that anti-Semitic rhetoric has not been an issue in Armenia before, wrote then US Embassy in Armenia Charge d’Affaires Joseph Pennington in a US cable dated Jun. 18, 2008, but released by Wikileaks on Aug. 26, 2011. Pennington notes that he intends to raise this issue with Armenian officials at the upcoming visit of then head of Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Assistant Secretary David Kramer.

The US cable notes that “the first accusations appeared in late May in the pro-government Russian-language Golos Armenii (Voice of Armenia) and Armenian-language Hayots Ashkhar (Armenian World) dailies, both with circulations under 3,500. [Armenian] President [Serzh] Sargsyan reportedly sponsors both outlets, and in the past the two have had ties with the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutuun) political party,” which was then part of the four-party ruling coalition.

“The accusations that appeared in several scathing articles portray LTP as a traitor to Armenia, claiming his true allegiance lies to the West — particularly to Israel and the Freemasons. In an identical article published in both papers entitled ‘Levon Hakob Ter-Petrosan or Levon Frayim Pliskovsky — Armenian National Congress or Jewish Congress?’ the author questions LTP’s loyalty by speculating on his alleged conspiratorial meeting with a wealthy Russian Jewish businessman in January where he presumably got the businessman to give him USD 100-200 million for his presidential campaign. The author then alleges that ‘the Jewish-Masonic lobby spent USD 65-70 million’ on the same campaign.

“On June 12 Hayots Ashkhar published an interview with Samvel Karapetyan, a noted Armenian historian and architecture critic, who asserted that LTP is not an opposition leader but a traitor, since he made speeches under the Israeli flag. He asserted that people don’t call LTP a traitor because they are afraid of his masters — Washington and Tel Aviv.”

The cable also includes an opinion from Armenia’s Jewish community, noting that the community is seriously concerned particularly as such anti-Semitism might have “the backing of the people in power”:

“Rimma Varzhapetyan, head of Armenia’s Jewish community, told Emboffs that she is distressed about the articles, calling them ‘a provocation and a kindling of anti-Semitism’ in a country with no such record of similar attacks. She added that ‘I am afraid to think that this has the backing of the people in power.’ Varzhapetyan said that she has no plans for a public response, though she believes it is incumbent upon the GOAM [Government of Armenia] to condemn the hateful rhetoric. She noted with concern that people are starting to believe these malicious lies, including some of her acquaintances.”

At the end of the cable, Pennington makes the following observation:

“The emergence of anti-Semitism as a crude political tool appears to be new in Armenia’s political arena. Its use by pro-government print media, and its airing on Public Television, suggests it is being condoned and even orchestrated by the current authorities, who are employing it to weaken the opposition leader challenging their rule. Introducing such a phenomenon in a country without an anti-Semitic history, even for politically expedient reasons, is dangerous and irresponsible.”

Photo of Levon Ter-Petrossian (on the right, pictured above) by Onnik Krikorian.