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WIKILEAKS: YOVANOVICH ON ARMENIA'S OPPOSITION RALLY
Tert.am
25.08.11
The famous whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks has released a cable
unveiling the contents of former US Ambassador Marie Yovanovich's
letter to the US Department of State.
The cable, dated May 2009, addresses an opposition rally led by
ex-president Levon Ter-Petrosyan, currently the leader of the
opposition Armenian National Congress (ANC).
"Under the shadow of a heavy police presence, the opposition led by
ex-President Levon Ter-Petrossian (LTP) held its second rally of the
year on May 1. LTP accused President Sargsian of being willing to
pay any price - even denial of the "genocide" - to remain in power,
as evidenced by his support for the April 22 joint statement with
Turkey regarding normalization of relations.
The rally came on the eve of the May 2 kick-off of the campaign for
Yerevan's first-ever municipal election on May 31. Despite opposition
claims that tens of thousands attended the event, Emboffs assessed
the crowd size at six-to-eight thousand," reads the cable.
Yovanovich further speaks of roadblocks, a measure imposed by the
police to prevent population of regions to travel to capital Yerevan
for rallies. The diplomat notes particularly that the police chief
denied the report, saying that they had been conducting routine
searches for illegal weapons.
"The national police recently announced a month-long special campaign
against illegal weapons, which correlates almost exactly with the
election campaign period. The timing suggests a pretext for widespread
searches and vehicle stops aimed at suppressing the opposition,"
Yovanovich said in her notes.
"In contrast with the large turnouts at LTP's campaign and protest
rallies in 2008, the May 1 event paled in comparison. Although the
road blocks likely prevented regional supporters from attending the
rally, LTP's traditional base of support has always been in Yerevan -
where people were free to come and go on May 1 and where warm weather
and a holiday made conditions ideal for a large turnout. Although
one can never rule out the wily ex-president, slackening attendance
at his rallies suggests that his supporters might be losing faith
in his chances to win an election in the current political climate,"
she says in conclusion.
Tert.am
25.08.11
The famous whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks has released a cable
unveiling the contents of former US Ambassador Marie Yovanovich's
letter to the US Department of State.
The cable, dated May 2009, addresses an opposition rally led by
ex-president Levon Ter-Petrosyan, currently the leader of the
opposition Armenian National Congress (ANC).
"Under the shadow of a heavy police presence, the opposition led by
ex-President Levon Ter-Petrossian (LTP) held its second rally of the
year on May 1. LTP accused President Sargsian of being willing to
pay any price - even denial of the "genocide" - to remain in power,
as evidenced by his support for the April 22 joint statement with
Turkey regarding normalization of relations.
The rally came on the eve of the May 2 kick-off of the campaign for
Yerevan's first-ever municipal election on May 31. Despite opposition
claims that tens of thousands attended the event, Emboffs assessed
the crowd size at six-to-eight thousand," reads the cable.
Yovanovich further speaks of roadblocks, a measure imposed by the
police to prevent population of regions to travel to capital Yerevan
for rallies. The diplomat notes particularly that the police chief
denied the report, saying that they had been conducting routine
searches for illegal weapons.
"The national police recently announced a month-long special campaign
against illegal weapons, which correlates almost exactly with the
election campaign period. The timing suggests a pretext for widespread
searches and vehicle stops aimed at suppressing the opposition,"
Yovanovich said in her notes.
"In contrast with the large turnouts at LTP's campaign and protest
rallies in 2008, the May 1 event paled in comparison. Although the
road blocks likely prevented regional supporters from attending the
rally, LTP's traditional base of support has always been in Yerevan -
where people were free to come and go on May 1 and where warm weather
and a holiday made conditions ideal for a large turnout. Although
one can never rule out the wily ex-president, slackening attendance
at his rallies suggests that his supporters might be losing faith
in his chances to win an election in the current political climate,"
she says in conclusion.