Sargsyan Remains Focused on Punishing his Enemies: Pennington

On May 15, 2008, visiting US Assistance Coordinator for Europe and Eurasia Tom Adams, accompanied by Deputy Coordinator Daniel Rosenblum and CDA, met with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan for nearly 90 minutes, in which Adams stressed “concerns in Washington” about Armenia backsliding on democratic reform in the wake of February’s “dubious presidential election” and subsequent violence and crackdown on the opposition. This was noted in a confidential cable written by then US Charge d’Affaires in Armenia Joseph Pennington on May 20, 2008, and recently published by whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks.

During the meeting, Adams stressed the link between serious reforms and levels of US assistance to Armenia, including the continuation of Armenia’s Millennium Challenge Program (MCC), “which was established as a reward for good governance.”

“Adams said that while the MCC Executive Board is unlikely to take decisive action on Armenia’s MCC program at its upcoming meeting in June, a Board decision to suspend the program in September is entirely possible if negative trends are not reversed,” reads the cable, noting that Sargsyan, though well aware of the program’s conditionality, nevertheless said that there has been “no backsliding” by Armenia on economic reform, “citing continued high GDP growth rates and positive assessments of Armenia by international credit agencies.”

Pennington notes that during the meeting, Sargsyan defended the recent parliamentary and presidential elections, attributing the current tension in the country to “an unwillingness of supporters of former President Levon Ter-Petrossian (LTP) to accept the election results, and their efforts and “months-long” plan to ‘take power by force’.” Sargsyan, however, did acknowledge that the authorities could’ve handled the events of Mar. 1–2 “in a way that avoided loss of life.” He said neither he nor former President Robert Kocharian wanted violence, but “strongly defended” Kocharian, saying he “did what needed to be done by declaring a State of Emergency” and arresting opposition supporters.

He denied that anyone was being held for political reasons, asserting that those who committed crimes “must serve sentences”:

“As to political detainees, Sargsyan said ‘I really don’t know who you mean.’ He claimed that all suspects accused of less serious crimes have been released, including people close to LTP. But ‘people who have committed serious crimes cannot be released’ just because there is political pressure, he argued. ‘They have committed crimes, and they must be sentenced for this’.”

Sargsyan apparently then “launched an attack” against US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RL) for biased coverage, claiming it “had conducted ‘500 interviews during the election campaign,’ none of which painted the authorities in a positive light. Repeating a claim made by Kocharian’s staff last December, Sargsyan alleged that the head of RL’s Armenia Service in Prague is ‘from the LTP team.’  The President acknowledged that the State Department does not have a direct role in RL programming, but added that ‘if Radio Liberty is the US idea of free media, then we have a different view.’ Adams countered that the best way to combat negative media is to allow more media outlets to flourish. Sargsyan responded that ‘there is probably no country where the print media is freer than in Armenia.’ ‘Anyone in Armenia can start up a newspaper within a matter of days,’ he said, ‘and can print anything he wants.’ The President acknowledged that newspapers had been shut down during the State of Emergency, but again defended this as a ‘necessary measure’.”

The Armenian president, according to the cable, then expressed determination to tackle corruption,  especially in the State Tax Service and Customs Administration:

“After assuming a defensive posture throughout most of the meeting, Sagsian finally acknowledged that the Government ‘does not have the trust of the people.’ The problem, he said, is the people’s perception of law enforcement. ‘When we try to make the tax system more fair, fight corruption, and enforce the law, people will be even more unhappy.’ Sargsyan predicted that more Armenians would be dissatisfied in the coming months, as reforms proceed in these areas. ‘That is not something we like, of course, but we need to solve problems.’ After foreshadowing positive changes, however, Sargsyan returned to bashing the opposition: ‘Even if LTP had only won 35,000 votes instead of 350,000, we would still have this problem. This was their intention from the beginning’.”

The meeting concluded with Sargsyan agreeing with Adams on the need for a new US ambassador in Yerevan. However, he made no commitment to US officials’ longstanding request for the official registration of the National Democractic Institute, which, according to the cable, has operated in a legal gray area for the past two years.

The cable concludes with Pennington’s comments:

“As a barometer of the President’s commitment to serious democratic reform, this meeting was a disappointment. Although Sargsyan seems genuinely energized to make an effort to clean up corruption at the tax and customs services — something that appears to be moving along well — he is decidedly defensive when it comes to democracy and freedom. Even a small, symbolic gesture such as NDI registration seems beyond his reach. On the larger issues such as political detainees and restoring democratic freedoms, Sargsyan is downright defiant. The President remains focused on punishing his enemies and pinning responsibility for all Armenia’s ills on the opposition. Our message to Sargsyan was that there is still time to turn things around, and that we want to help him do that. So far, the President does not seem to share our sense of urgency.”