Epress.am News from Armenia
Former Armenian President Levon Ter-Petrossian (LTP) announced his candidacy for president at an Oct. 26 outdoor rally of some 20,000 supporters who gathered despite light rain in Yerevan’s Freedom [Liberty] Square, writes then US Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM) to Armenia Joseph Pennington in an unclassified US cable sent on Oct. 31, 2007, and released by WikiLeaks on Aug. 30, 2011.
“Blasting the authorities for over 90 minutes, LTP called the ruling regime a kleptocracy, and suggested that President Kocharian was involved in the 1999 assassination of Armenian leaders. LTP also contended that the ruling regime now accepted the kind of phased resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh [conflict] that LTP had advocated in 1997–98, and which Kocharian had branded as defeatist at that time. LTP has won the mantle of preeminent opposition candidate. He now faces a steep uphill battle to convince voters and overcome political obstacles,” reads the summary.
Pennington notes that embassy officials at the rally informally queried citizens to gauge their reaction to Ter-Petrossian’s announcement.
“Some citizens didn’t know there had been a rally, or thought LTP had already announced during the summer. Most agreed with LTP’s assessment that corruption has spun out of control, and that the ruling regime has become too authoritative for their tastes. Yet while most acknowledged LTP was no saint either, they said that at least LTP — unlike Kocharian or Prime Minister Sargsyan — had had to cope with factors out of his control, like the pains of early independence and the Soviet collapse, wars in Nagorno Karabakh and neighboring Georgia, and closed borders with Turkey and Azerbaijan. We detected sympathy in these statements, even a bit of nostalgia. Others we spoke with said they were so irate over recent price hikes in foodstuffs that they would not vote for Sargsyan. Many we queried said they were still undecided who to vote for, or wouldn’t vote at all. Almost all noted, however, that LTP has ‘a chance’ to become president again.”
The cable also mentions an “impromptu meeting” two days prior to the rally at which senior Ter-Petrossian advisers told US embassy officials “that the Oct. 23-24 detention of LTP supporters had revealed the real extent of concern the ruling regime has over LTP’s presidential bid. They also said the rally would be the first concrete opportunity to gauge public opinion on LTP’s political re-emergence after being forced out of office a decade ago. Criticizing the authorities’ abuse of power, they added that LTP would have to take his campaign to the streets to overcome the media blackout imposed by the authorities. They complained that not one of the country’s 17 TV media outlets would publicize the rally, despite offers to all to pay for the advertising. They said LTP’s visits to all of Armenia’s administrative regions in the last several months were conducted to reconnect with his traditional centers of support. They acknowledged that LTP still does not have the opposition camp fully behind him, but generally viewed his campaign as gathering momentum.
“They urged the United States government to pay great attention to the 2008 presidential election, as they contended it did in Ukraine and Georgia, and hold the authorities accountable for a free and fair vote. They said LTP supporters would not accept the results of a tainted vote, and that they would ‘sit in the streets’ until a free election is held.”
Pennington ends the cable by stating that the large attendance at the rally proves that Ter-Petrossian remains a “vaunted political figure in Armenia.”
“His fierce public criticism of the authorities — the second time in two months — illustrates the seriousness with which he is approaching the campaign. Although some of the issues he raised clearly resonate with the person on the street, whether it be corruption or being left out of Armenia’s impressive economic growth, it is still too early to gauge Armenians’ receptivity to a second LTP era. Given the obstacles the authorities are already placing in LTP’s path, his campaign remains very much of an uphill climb. LTP’s fiery entrance into the race, however, appears to have shaken up the seemingly apathetic Armenian body politic.”