BRITAIN CONDEMNS SECRET RECORDING OF DIPLOMAT’S COMMENTS
By Emil Danielyan

Radio Liberty, Czech rep.
April 26 2007

The British embassy in Armenia condemned on Thursday the secret
recording of a recent conversation between one of its diplomats and
opposition leader Artur Baghdasarian that reportedly centered on the
upcoming parliamentary elections.

Meanwhile, "Golos Armenii," a newspaper sympathetic to the country’s
leadership, published more excerpts from what it described as the
transcript of the meeting held in a popular Yerevan restaurant last
February. It also identified the diplomat in question as Richard Hyde,
the deputy chief of the British mission.

The paper did not specify the name of the "high-ranking embassy
official" who met Baghdasarian in its first report published on
Saturday. It quoted Baghdasarian as saying that the May 12 elections
can already be considered undemocratic and urging the European Union
to harshly criticize their conduct.

Hyde was said to have responded that the Armenian authorities are
very shrewd and cautious in ensuring a desirable outcome of the vote.

"I suppose that they are smarter and wiser than we. And many Europeans
understand that. There has to be some blatant violation in order for
the EU to come up with such a statement," he was quoted as saying.

In a statement, the British embassy admitted that the diplomat
quoted in the report was one of its officials but said his remarks
were distorted. "The British Embassy in Yerevan is dismayed that a
clandestine recording has been made, and recently released in part to
the press, of a conversation between an official of this Embassy and
the leader of an opposition party," it said. "We do not propose to
comment in detail on the gross misrepresentation of a conversation,
details of which appear to have been obtained through dishonest and
deplorable means."

The British mission denied "Golos Armenii" claims that such meetings
constitute an illegal interference in Armenia’s internal affairs,
saying that it maintains contacts with a broad range of Armenian
parties contesting the elections. "This enables us to form as complete
and objective a view as possible of the political process, and is in
line with the normal and accepted practice of any embassy anywhere
in the world," it said.

"It is not, never has been and cannot be, our business to support
the political platform of any specific political party," added the
statement.

The freedom and fairness of the upcoming polls is a major condition
for the success of Armenia’s drive to forge closer ties with the EU
under the European Neighbourhood Policy program. EU officials say
the bloc will now pay greater attention to democratic change in the
South Caucasus state.

Hyde allegedly told Baghdasarian that only three of the eight EU
countries having diplomatic missions in Yerevan — Britain, Germany,
and Poland — are genuinely interested in the freedom and fairness of
the Armenian elections. He was also cited as predicting that two other
prominent opposition leaders, Raffi Hovannisian and Vazgen Manukian,
could boycott the parliamentary elections and concentrate instead on
the presidential ballot due early next year. "This is what I would
do in this situation," the diplomat said, according to "Golos Armenii."

Manukian’s National Democratic Union (AZhM) subsequently opted for
an election boycott.

"Golos Armenii," which has long been rumored to be sponsored by Prime
Minister Serzh Sarkisian, claimed to have received the recording from
unknown individuals, suggesting that they were driven by "patriotic
motives." It said on Tuesday that the National Security Service
demanded and was given a copy of the audio, in an apparent effort to
dispel suspicions that the conversation was secretly recorded by the
Armenian successor to the Soviet KGB.

Baghdasarian’s Orinats Yerkir Party condemned the report on Monday,
saying that it is part of a "well-prepared smear campaign" waged by
the government.