այնուամենայնիվ չեմ դիմանում, ստեղ էլ եմ գցում՝
FOUR HUMMERS: A THEME AND VARIATION
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¶4. (SBU) THE FLAGSHIPS OF YEREVAN’S HIERARCHY OF NUMBERS ARE
YEREVAN’S LARGEST AND MOST CONSPICUOUS AUTOMOBILES: THE FOUR
HUMMER HUMVEES. GAGIK TSAROUKIAN (DODI GAGO), OWNER OF
MULTI GROUP AND YEREVAN’S FIRST HUMMER (AND NOW ALSO,
YEREVAN’S FIRST ROLLS ROYCE) HAS DE FACTO EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS
TO THE VARIOUS POSSIBILITIES USING 08 XX 008 (XX
REPRESENTING THE VARIOUS POSSIBLE LETTER COMBINATIONS) FOR
HIS, HIS FAMILY’S, HIS STAFF’S AND HIS SECURITY GUARD’S
CARS. SIMILARLY, SAMVEL ALEKSIAN (LFIK SAMO), A PROUD OWNER
OF YEREVAN’S SECOND HUMMER AND ARMENIA’S SUGAR MONOPOLY, HAS
RESERVED 06 XX 006 AND VARIATIONS THEREOF FOR HIS FRIENDS
AND FAMILY. RUBEN HAYRAPETIAN, A.K.A. NEMETS (GERMAN) RUBO
OWNS YEREVAN’S THIRD HUMMER, THE GRAND TOBACCO COMPANY AND
THE PLATES 05 XX 005. A FOURTH HUMMER, OWNED BY PRESIDENT
KOCHARIAN’S SON, BEARS THE PLATE 07 UU 007, THOUGH IN A NOD
TO DEMOCRACY (OR PERHAPS, JAMES BOND) VARIATIONS OF THE 007
PATTERN ARE STILL AVAILABLE TO THE WELL-CONNECTED FOR USD
2,000 – 3,000, PAYABLE TO THE HEAD OF THE TRAFFIC POLICE.
ու առհասարակ
դոդի գագո չէ, այլ պարոն ծառուկյան։
ու տենց
<!--more This cable was coordinated with Embassy Ankara.-->
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This cable was coordinated with Embassy Ankara.
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¶1. (SBU) Summary: After briefly basking in the reflected<br /> glow of last week’s exciting UEFA Champion’s League Final in<br /> Istanbul between Milan and Liverpool, corporate sponsor<br /> Mastercard has found itself dealing with a public relations<br /> nightmare in recent days following public criticism of<br /> inclusion in its match city guide of critical commentary<br /> about both Turkey and its revered founder, Mustafa Kemal<br /> Ataturk. The offending passages, first publicized in the<br /> liberal Islamist daily “Zaman,” addressed the issue of<br /> Turkish-Kurdish relations and the Armenian tragedy of 1915.<br /> Mastercard briefly closed its office following death threats<br /> against its General Manager, and has since officially<br /> apologized, noting that the offending material had not been<br /> reviewed by any company officials, but instead emanated from<br /> the “Lonely Planet,” which produced the bulk of the<br /> publication. The public reaction, which has also included<br /> calls for a boycott of the company by Turkish NGO’s and the<br /> threat of public prosecution from the Istanbul Governor,<br /> highlights once again how close to the surface core<br /> nationalist reflexes and taboos are in the post-December 17th<br /> environment. End Summary.
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¶2. (SBU) Shortlived Honeymoon: Mastercard officials, whose<br /> biggest problem last week was the deluge of calls they were<br /> receiving seeking tickets to the May 25th Milan-Liverpool<br /> match, faced a more serious crisis on May 30 when “Zaman”<br /> newspaper published extracts from the city guide the company<br /> distributed to its VIP guests and journalists. In the<br /> “Lonely Planet” produced publication, which was written by an<br /> Istanbul-based British journalist, brief reference was made<br /> to the issue of minorities in Turkey, with sections covering<br /> both the Kurds and the Armenians. The breezy narrative noted<br /> that “Ataturk banned any expression of Kurdishness in an<br /> attempt at assimilation,” adding that major battles and<br /> atrocities followed in the 1920s and 1930s, with the deaths<br /> of more than 30,000 coming since 1984. On the equally<br /> sensitive Armenian issue, the guide noted that while most<br /> Armenians had remained loyal to the Ottoman Empire, some had<br /> rebelled, engaging in terrorism that set off a powerful<br /> anti-Armenian backlash and the “widespread massacre of<br /> innocent Armenians in Istanbul and elsewhere.”
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¶3. (SBU) Harsh Reaction: The publication sparked harsh<br /> reaction from most quarters, with Istanbul Governor Guler<br /> denouncing the “insult” to Turkey and warning that “such a<br /> sponsorship firm needs to be more cautious.” He added that<br /> officials would investigate the publication and determine if<br /> it constituted a criminal offense. NGO’s were also quick to<br /> leap on the bandwagon, with the Consumers’ Union calling for<br /> a boycott of the company if it did not officially apologize.<br /> Turkish sports officials also expressed disappointment with<br /> the publication. More worryingly, anonymous callers phoned<br /> in death threats, and nationalist groups indicated that they<br /> would organize protests, resulting in closure of Mastercard’s<br /> office early this week and the provision of extra security<br /> for General Manager Ozlem Imece.
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¶4. (C) Damage Control: Since the story broke on May 30,<br /> Mastercard has been engaged in damage control. In an initial<br /> announcement on May 30, the company admitted its mistake and<br /> noted it had contacted the “Lonely Planet” to demand the<br /> removal of “erroneous information” from the guide. When this<br /> did not quell the furor, the company went further a day later<br /> and officially apologized. In a public statement, General<br /> Manager Imece observed that she had not known of some of the<br /> material that was to be included in the publication, and was<br /> “deeply shocked” by it. Privately she has told us that the<br /> company was blind-sided by the furor, having been focused on<br /> security for their VIP guests last week. This, she said, was<br /> something that “no one expected.”
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¶5. (C) Comment: Given the sensitivities that exist here,<br /> inclusion of any material on topics such as Turkey’s minority<br /> policy or the Armenian tragedy in a sporting guide was in<br /> retrospect a serious mistake. The harsh, instinctive<br /> reaction, however, shows the heightened sensitivities and<br /> hair-trigger nature of public discourse here since the<br /> December 17th EU decision. Post RSO has reached out to<br /> Mastercard, which is an active member of the OSAC Advisory<br /> Council, to ensure that they are satisfied with the police<br /> response they have received and to provide assistance if<br /> needed. End Comment.<br /> ARNETT
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