Keep Us Strong WikiLeaks logo

Currently released so far... 97115 / 251,287

Articles

Browse latest releases

Browse by creation date

Browse by origin

A B C D F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z

Browse by tag

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
ETRD EAGR ETTC EAID ECON EFIN ECIN EINV ELAB EAIR ENRG EPET EWWT ECPS EIND EMIN ELTN EC ETMIN EUC EZ ET ELECTIONS ENVR EU EUN EG EINT ER ECONOMICS ES EMS ENIV EEB EN ECE ECOSOC EK ENVIRONMENT EFIS EI EWT ENGRD ECPSN EXIM EIAD ERIN ECPC EDEV ENGY ECTRD EPA ESTH ECCT EINVECON ENGR ERTD EUR EAP EWWC ELTD EL EXIMOPIC EXTERNAL ETRDEC ESCAP ECO EGAD ELNT ECONOMIC ENV ETRN EIAR EUMEM ENRGPARMOTRASENVKGHGPGOVECONTSPLEAID EREL ECOM ECONETRDEAGRJA ETCC ETRG ECONOMY EMED ETR ENERG EITC EFINOECD EURM EENG ERA EXPORT ENRD ECONEINVETRDEFINELABETRDKTDBPGOVOPIC EGEN EBRD EVIN ETRAD ECOWAS EFTA ECONETRDBESPAR EGOVSY EPIN EID ECONENRG EDRC ESENV ETT EB ENER ELTNSNAR ECHEVARRIA ETRC EPIT EDUC ESA EFI ENRGY ESCI EE EAIDXMXAXBXFFR EETC ECIP EIAID EIVN EBEXP ESTN EING EGOV ETRA EPETEIND ELAN ETRDGK EAIDRW ETRDEINVECINPGOVCS EPEC ENVI ELN EAG EPCS EPRT EPTED ETRB EUM EAIDS EFIC EFINECONEAIDUNGAGM EAIDAR ESF EIDN ELAM EDU EV EAIDAF ECN EDA EXBS EINTECPS ENRGTRGYETRDBEXPBTIOSZ EPREL EAC EINVEFIN ETA EAGER EINDIR ECA ECLAC ELAP EITI EUCOM ECONEFINETRDPGOVEAGRPTERKTFNKCRMEAID EARG ELDIN EINVKSCA ENNP EFINECONCS EFINTS ECCP ETC EAIRASECCASCID EINN ETRP EAIDNI EFQ ECOQKPKO EGPHUM EBUD ECONEINVEFINPGOVIZ ENERGY ELB EINDETRD EMI ECONEFIN EIB EURN ETRDEINVTINTCS EIN EFIM ETIO ELAINE EMN EATO EWTR EIPR EINVETC ETTD ETDR EIQ ECONCS EPPD ENRGIZ EISL ESPINOSA ELEC EAIG ESLCO EUREM ENTG ERD EINVECONSENVCSJA EEPET EUNCH ECINECONCS ETRO ETRDECONWTOCS ECUN EFND EPECO EAIRECONRP ERGR ETRDPGOV ECPN ENRGMO EPWR EET EAIS EAGRE EDUARDO EAGRRP EAIDPHUMPRELUG EICN ECONQH EVN EGHG ELBR EINF EAIDHO EENV ETEX ERNG ED
KMDR KPAO KPKO KJUS KCRM KGHG KFRD KWMN KDEM KTFN KHIV KGIC KIDE KSCA KNNP KHUM KIPR KSUM KISL KIRF KCOR KRCM KPAL KWBG KN KS KOMC KSEP KFLU KPWR KTIA KSEO KMPI KHLS KICC KSTH KMCA KVPR KPRM KE KU KZ KFLO KSAF KTIP KTEX KBCT KOCI KOLY KOR KAWC KACT KUNR KTDB KSTC KLIG KSKN KNN KCFE KCIP KGHA KHDP KPOW KUNC KDRL KV KPREL KCRS KPOL KRVC KRIM KGIT KWIR KT KIRC KOMO KRFD KUWAIT KG KFIN KSCI KTFIN KFTN KGOV KPRV KSAC KGIV KCRIM KPIR KSOC KBIO KW KGLB KMWN KPO KFSC KSEAO KSTCPL KSI KPRP KREC KFPC KUNH KCSA KMRS KNDP KR KICCPUR KPPAO KCSY KTBT KCIS KNEP KFRDCVISCMGTCASCKOCIASECPHUMSMIGEG KNNB KGCC KINR KPOP KMFO KENV KNAR KVIR KDRG KDMR KFCE KNAO KDEN KGCN KICA KIMMITT KMCC KLFU KMSG KSEC KUM KCUL KMNP KSMT KCOM KOMCSG KSPR KPMI KRAD KIND KCRP KAUST KWAWC KTER KCHG KRDP KPAS KITA KTSC KPAOPREL KWGB KIRP KJUST KMIG KLAB KTFR KSEI KSTT KAPO KSTS KLSO KWNN KPOA KHSA KNPP KPAONZ KBTS KWWW KY KJRE KPAOKMDRKE KCRCM KSCS KWMNCI KESO KWUN KPLS KIIP KEDEM KPAOY KRIF KGICKS KREF KTRD KFRDSOCIRO KTAO KJU KWMNPHUMPRELKPAOZW KEN KO KNEI KEMR KKIV KEAI KWAC KRCIM KWCI KFIU KWIC KCORR KOMS KNNO KPAI KBWG KTTB KTBD KTIALG KILS KFEM KTDM KESS KNUC KPA KOMCCO KCEM KRCS KWBGSY KNPPIS KNNPMNUC KWN KERG KLTN KALM KCCP KSUMPHUM KREL KGH KLIP KTLA KAWK KWMM KVRP KVRC KAID KSLG KDEMK KX KIF KNPR KCFC KFTFN KTFM KPDD KCERS KMOC KDEMAF KMEPI KEMS KDRM KEPREL KBTR KEDU KNP KIRL KNNR KMPT KISLPINR KTPN KA KJUSTH KPIN KDEV KTDD KAKA KFRP KWNM KTSD KINL KJUSKUNR KWWMN KECF KWBC KPRO KVBL KOM KFRDKIRFCVISCMGTKOCIASECPHUMSMIGEG KEDM KFLD KLPM KRGY KNNF KICR KIFR KM KWMNCS KAWS KLAP KPAK KDDG KCGC KID KNSD KMPF KPFO KDP KCMR KRMS KNPT KNNNP KTIAPARM KDTB KNUP KPGOV KNAP KNNC KUK KSRE KREISLER KIVP KQ KTIAEUN KPALAOIS KRM KISLAO KWM KFLOA
PHUM PINR PTER PGOV PREL PREF PL PM PHSA PE PARM PINS PK PUNE PO PALESTINIAN PU PBTS PROP PTBS POL POLI PA PGOVZI POLMIL POLITICAL PARTIES POLM PD POLITICS POLICY PAS PMIL PINT PNAT PV PKO PPOL PERSONS PING PBIO PH PETR PARMS PRES PCON PETERS PRELBR PT PLAB PP PAK PDEM PKPA PSOCI PF PLO PTERM PJUS PSOE PELOSI PROPERTY PGOVPREL PARP PRL PNIR PHUMKPAL PG PREZ PGIC PBOV PAO PKK PROV PHSAK PHUMPREL PROTECTION PGOVBL PSI PRELPK PGOVENRG PUM PRELKPKO PATTY PSOC PRIVATIZATION PRELSP PGOVEAIDUKNOSWGMHUCANLLHFRSPITNZ PMIG PREC PAIGH PROG PSHA PARK PETER POG PHUS PPREL PS PTERPREL PRELPGOV POV PKPO PGOVECON POUS PGOVPRELPHUMPREFSMIGELABEAIDKCRMKWMN PWBG PMAR PREM PAR PNR PRELPGOVEAIDECONEINVBEXPSCULOIIPBTIO PARMIR PGOVGM PHUH PARTM PN PRE PTE PY POLUN PPEL PDOV PGOVSOCI PIRF PGOVPM PBST PRELEVU PGOR PBTSRU PRM PRELKPAOIZ PGVO PERL PGOC PAGR PMIN PHUMR PVIP PPD PGV PRAM PINL PKPAL PTERE PGOF PINO PHAS PODC PRHUM PHUMA PREO PPA PEPFAR PGO PRGOV PAC PRESL PORG PKFK PEPR PRELP PREFA PNG PGOVPHUMKPAO PRELECON PINOCHET PFOR PGOVLO PHUMBA PRELC PREK PHUME PHJM POLINT PGOVPZ PGOVKCRM PGOVE PHALANAGE PARTY PECON PEACE PROCESS PLN PRELSW PAHO PEDRO PRELA PASS PPAO PGPV PNUM PCUL PGGV PSA PGOVSMIGKCRMKWMNPHUMCVISKFRDCA PGIV PRFE POGOV PEL PBT PAMQ PINF PSEPC POSTS PHUMPGOV PVOV PHSAPREL PROLIFERATION PENA PRELTBIOBA PIN PRELL PGOVPTER PHAM PHYTRP PTEL PTERPGOV PHARM PROTESTS PRELAF PKBL PRELKPAO PKNP PARMP PHUML PFOV PERM PUOS PRELGOV PHUMPTER PARAGRAPH PERURENA PBTSEWWT PCI PETROL PINSO PINSCE PQL PEREZ PBS

Browse by classification

Community resources

courage is contagious

Viewing cable 07NICOSIA115, ARMENIANS IN CYPRUS: FITTING IN BEATS FALLING OUT

If you are new to these pages, please read an introduction on the structure of a cable as well as how to discuss them with others. See also the FAQs

Understanding cables
Every cable message consists of three parts:
  • The top box shows each cables unique reference number, when and by whom it originally was sent, and what its initial classification was.
  • The middle box contains the header information that is associated with the cable. It includes information about the receiver(s) as well as a general subject.
  • The bottom box presents the body of the cable. The opening can contain a more specific subject, references to other cables (browse by origin to find them) or additional comment. This is followed by the main contents of the cable: a summary, a collection of specific topics and a comment section.
To understand the justification used for the classification of each cable, please use this WikiSource article as reference.

Discussing cables
If you find meaningful or important information in a cable, please link directly to its unique reference number. Linking to a specific paragraph in the body of a cable is also possible by copying the appropriate link (to be found at theparagraph symbol). Please mark messages for social networking services like Twitter with the hash tags #cablegate and a hash containing the reference ID e.g. #07NICOSIA115.
Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
07NICOSIA115 2007-02-07 09:12 2011-08-24 01:00 UNCLASSIFIED Embassy Nicosia
VZCZCXRO0315
OO RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHNC #0115/01 0380912
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 070912Z FEB 07
FM AMEMBASSY NICOSIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7501
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK IMMEDIATE 0770
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS IMMEDIATE
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 NICOSIA 000115 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM PREF CY TU
SUBJECT: ARMENIANS IN CYPRUS:  FITTING IN BEATS FALLING OUT 
 
REF: A. NICOSIA 111 
     B. NICOSIA 52 
 
1.  SUMMARY:  Successful for four hundred years in 
maintaining their unique culture, language and religion, 
Cyprus's Armenians -- who enjoy "official religious group" 
status under the Republic's 1960 convention -- nonetheless 
seek closer ties to the majority Greek Cypriot population. 
As such, Armenian Cypriots would willingly accept 
conscription into the Greek Cypriot National Guard, claims 
community leader Vartkes Mahdessian, "provided that certain 
conditions are met."  Mahdessian, a non-voting Member of 
Parliament, also has urged his flock to master the Greek 
language and become active in mainstream G/C politics in 
hopes of bettering their lot.  RoC census data reveal that 
Armenian Cypriots in the government-controlled area number 
approximately 3,000.  The true figure is higher, Mahdessian 
believes, owing to recent immigration from Armenia proper. 
Natives and newcomers have not mixed well, threatening 
community unity short-term.  Political parties of the right 
traditionally could count on the community's votes, but a 
mixed-blood Armenian's success within DIKO and Communist 
AKEL's lobbying of the immigrant population has brought the 
group toward the center.  Armenian Cypriots support the 
concept of a bi-communal, bi-zonal re-unified Cyprus, 
Mahdessian confirmed, but are leery of living amidst Turkish 
Cypriots, a product of historic animosity between "mother 
countries" Turkey and Armenia.  END SUMMARY. 
 
--------------------------------- 
Long a Tile in the Cypriot Mosaic 
--------------------------------- 
 
2.  Armenians began arriving on Cyprus in the early 1600s, 
revealed Mahdessian in a January 25 meeting with Poloffs. 
Attracted by commercial opportunities, itinerant tradesmen 
established a presence in the island's then-largest cities, 
Nicosia, Famagusta, and Larnaca.  Historically urban unlike 
the agrarian Maronites (Ref B), Armenians were dispersed 
throughout the island prior to the 1974 conflict; all crossed 
south in the population exchanges that followed.  Official 
RoC census data report their population totals 3,000. 
 
3.  The actual figure was higher, Mahdessian asserted, 
although by what factor was anyone's guess.  The last 15 
years had witnessed a wave of immigrants, ethnic cousins 
fleeing economic hardship in Armenia proper or other parts of 
the former Soviet Union.  Many had settled in rapidly 
emptying Cypriot villages in the hinterlands, taking 
agricultural jobs no Cypriot would touch.  Some attended 
church services in the towns and had integrated into the 
native Armenian  Cypriot community, but others, mostly 
illegal, remained cloistered.  His community was thus 
divided, Mahdessian fretted. 
 
4.  Four hundred years living amidst the Greek- and Turkish 
Cypriot communities had not robbed the Armenian Cypriots of 
their identity, he continued.  Most considered Armenian the 
mother tongue, and, despite intermarriage, frequented 
Armenian churches primarily.  The RoC funded separate 
elementary schools for Armenian children, a welcome gesture, 
believed Mahdessian.  Finally, they retained their historic 
flair for commerce, as members of his community had excelled 
in businesses both large and small in Cyprus. 
 
------------------------------------------ 
Inter-communal Relations Good, Not Perfect 
------------------------------------------ 
 
5.  In general, Armenian and Greek Cypriots coexisted 
peacefully and related well, Mahdessian thought. 
Nonetheless, discrimination did occur.  During the race for 
the DIKO party presidency, for example, unknowns, perhaps 
supporters of rival Nikos Kleanthous, planted rumors that 
half-Armenian candidate Marios Karoyian was less sympathetic 
to the national cause.  Karoyian's clear victory was proof, 
Mahdessian asserted, that most G/Cs thought favorably of 
their Armenian compatriots.  Others, however, criticized his 
group for seeking government assistance not available to the 
mainstream.  "They cite the fact that in 1960 we chose to 
align ourselves with the Greek Cypriot side.  What were we 
supposed to do?" he wondered, "Side with the Turks?  With our 
history?" 
 
6.  From his perch as community leader, Mahdessian sought not 
only to preserve his community's separateness, but also to 
strengthen its economic well-being.  To succeed it was vital 
that Armenians interact with Greek Cypriot society.  So, 
while many Armenians attended ethnic elementary schools and 
 
NICOSIA 00000115  002 OF 003 
 
 
international high schools, he encouraged Armenian students 
to study Greek on "the native track," not as a foreign 
language.  With pride he described how his efforts had won 
changes to the curriculum for Armenian Cypriot students at 
the English School, one of Nicosia's toniest. 
 
7.  Armenian Cypriot parents of means had turned to the 
English School and others due to the 2004 decision to shutter 
the Melkonian Armenian School.  Once a source of pride that 
helped forge a shared identity, Melkonian's closure had 
shaken his community, Mahdessian lamented.  He thought poor 
management, not weak demand, had forced the shut-down.  As 
private schools were big business in Cyprus, with parents 
willing to spend upwards of $10,000 per year, Melkonian might 
have survived, Mahdessian argued, had it offered a 
"two-track" curriculum for Armenian and non-Armenian 
students.  He did not hide his hopes that someday the school 
might re-open (Note:  Media February 4 reported that Cyprus's 
Supreme Court had dealt a blow to Mahdessian's hopes by 
overturning an earlier RoC decision to preserve the property 
on historic grounds, thus paving the way for the site's 
eventual redevelopment. End Note.) 
 
-------------------------------- 
Conscription Opt-Out Soon to End 
-------------------------------- 
 
8.  In recent years, the Greek Cypriot National Guard has 
faced difficulty filling its conscript billets.  One element 
of the GCNG plan to meet staffing gaps lay in ending the 
exemption from compulsory military service that Cyprus's 
recognized religious groups enjoy (Ref A).  Armenian Cypriots 
benefited greatly from the security the state provided, 
Mahdessian admitted, and their youth would serve if called. 
"Military service might even improve our standing in the 
community.  We're not against it, per se," he reasoned.  But 
the discrimination Armenian Cypriots had endured in 1992-94 
-- the only time community members had been drafted -- showed 
that an altered GCNG conscription regime was imperative. 
Mahdessian was drafting a letter to RoC President Tassos 
Papadopoulos that highlighted his community's concerns and 
offered suggestions on how Armenian Cypriots might better 
serve in the National Guard. 
 
9.  Topping his list was the recommendation that Armenians 
first enter service in 2008, not 2007, allowing those youth 
who already had finalized plans for work or university to 
continue.  Mahdessian hoped their conscripts might attend 
basic training as a group, reducing the odds of being singled 
out for mistreatment on account of ethnicity. 
Armenian-descent draftees ought serve in big cities to allow 
them to practice their religion, since the community had no 
facilities in rural, remote areas.  Finally, Mahdessian 
thought Armenian Cypriot officer candidates would lose ground 
because due to weakness in written Greek; he would urge the 
government to weigh language/communication test scores with 
this in mind.   He hoped Papadopoulos would respond favorably 
to the missive, but seemed resigned to the opposite outcome. 
 
------------------------------------------ 
Recent Arrivals Change Community's Dynamic 
------------------------------------------ 
 
10.  Despite their contributions to the Republic's economy, 
filling menial jobs unacceptable to Cypriots, recent arrivals 
from Armenia proper rarely slept soundly, Mahdessian 
contended.  "(Minister of Interior Neoklis) Sylikiotis is 
after them all," he continued, "as if they were Pontians, Sri 
Lankans or Filipinos."  Acknowledging that most 
recently-arrived Armenians were illegal, like members of the 
aforementioned groups, Mahdessian nonetheless argued their 
shared bloodlines with an official religious minority group 
made their cases special.  "We're going to work on this with 
the Ministry," he pledged. 
 
11.  The presence of the Armenian migrants was changing 
politics within his community, Mahdessian contended. 
Armenian Cypriots traditionally had tilted right, supporting 
Democratic Rally (DISY) candidates in presidential and 
parliamentary elections; Communist AKEL, Cyprus's largest 
party, enjoyed little support.  AKEL was making inroads, 
however, deploying its numerous Russian speakers to recruit 
the newcomers, many of whom grew up in the FSU.  Were they to 
gain legal status and eventually naturalize, they could 
greatly alter voting patterns, Mahdessian believe. 
 
12.  Another factor bringing Armenian Cypriots to the 
political center was Marios Karoyian's political success, a 
source of pride within the community.  DIKO was President 
 
NICOSIA 00000115  003 OF 003 
 
 
Papadopoulos's party, he noted, and no Armenian Cypriot 
before had reached such political heights.  Mahdessian hoped 
younger community members would follow Karoyian's path and 
seek leadership positions in mainstream Greek Cypriot 
parties.  He estimated the current Armenian Cypriot voter 
breakdown at 40 percent DISY, 40 percent DIKO, 10 percent 
AKEL, and 10 percent split between Cyprus's smaller parties. 
 
13.  Despite voting "no" on the 2004 Annan Plan referendum -- 
at a rate below the Greek Cypriots' 67 percent -- the 
community generally favored a bi-zonal, bi-communal model for 
a re-unified Cyprus, Mahdessian reported.  Armenian Cypriots 
seemed in no hurry to live side by side with T/Cs, however. 
"Many Armenians went north after the checkpoints opened in 
2003, but the novelty soon wore off," he claimed.  Perhaps 
due to historic animosity between the mother countries, his 
constituents felt uncomfortable in the Turkish 
Cypriot-controlled areas and now rarely visited. 
 
--------------- 
Looking Forward 
--------------- 
 
14.  COMMENT:  While half the size of the Maronite community 
(Ref B), the Armenian minority has better prospects for 
survival in Cyprus.  Helping their cause is the absence of 
enclaved north of the Buffer Zone.  With four villages deep 
in the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" and thus 
vulnerable to T/C or Turkish aggression, Maronites sometimes 
stake wishy-washy positions anathema to the Greek Cypriot 
majority; Armenians hold no such divisions of loyalty. 
Immigration from Armenia has buoyed their numbers and 
provided needed new blood, friction with the old guard 
notwithstanding.  Marios Karoyian's success has brought 
visibility to the community and pride to its members.  The 
"enemy of my enemy" factor also contributes -- Greek Cypriots 
commiserate and empathize with Armenians, as both feel 
victimized by Ankara.  Finally, community leaders here, like 
their counterparts in Lebanon and Syria, have adopted a 
pragmatic approach to surviving alongside the majority group, 
evidenced lately by Mahdessian's decision on military 
service.  END COMMENT. 
SCHLICHER