Epress.am News from Armenia
Two days before the May 12, 2007 parliamentary election in Armenia, US Charge d’Affaires Anthony Godfrey sent a confidential cable to the US State Department where he notes the rise of criticism of the US by two pro-government newspapers, Hayots Ashkar and Golos Armenii. The cable was released by Wikileaks on Aug. 30, 2011.
“In the weeks leading up to the May 12 parliamentary election, two pro-government newspapers regularly published articles highly critical of the United States and other Western missions and NGOs. Hayots Ashkhar and Golos Armenii newspapers have denounced the United States for interfering in Armenia’s internal affairs, claimed that international organizations such as the National Democratic Institute (NDI) are promoting a ‘color revolution,’ and criticized a British official for his comments during a private meeting with an opposition leader. The newspapers, both rumored to receive funding from the head of the governing Republican Party, Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan, had been less critical of the United States in recent years, but appear to have returned to their previous stances. This may well reflect the ruling elite’s discomfort with the success of election support programs,” reads the summary of the cable.
Godfrey notes that both publications were at one time considered to be anti-US, but had “gradually moderated such criticism”; however, it seems that in recent months, both newspapers seem to have resumed “the role of ‘attack dogs,’ presumably on behalf of the ruling party elite.”
Godfrey notes that the criticism has focused largely on work by Western missions and international agencies in connection with the upcoming elections.
“This shift began in January, 2007, when both papers published remarkably similar articles that characterized the US government’s well-publicized Democracy Support Program, to assist Armenia to hold free and fair elections, as interference in Armenia’s internal affairs.
[…]“The newspapers’ change in attitude towards the United States appears to be linked largely to the upcoming parliamentary elections and concern that foreign election support might hurt the chances of the governing parties. The rumored link between the newspapers and Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan is noteworthy, especially as Sargsyan has recently been making public statements on not only the need for free and fair elections, but also asserting, ‘I don’t remember a case of political pressure from the United States.’ It is judged by most observers that neither of these newspapers could have published these strong criticisms without at least the tacit concurrence, if not the explicit direction, of Armenia’s ruling elite. Consequently, we cannot but believe that these anti-US screeds demonstrate that key Armenian leaders are discomforted by the success of our democratization programs,” writes Godfrey.