Part III: Criminal church: Georgian Orthodox Church incited and led anti-gay attacks in Tbilisi

“The head of the Georgian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Ilia II, has called for calm after violence that erupted after aggressive anti-gay protesters, led by Orthodox clergy, thwarted a rally by a small group of gay rights activists to mark the International Day Against Homophobia on May 17.”

Really, Patriarch Ilia? So, first you incite violence by your actions and by Georgian Orthodox church priests leading the attack towards gay rights event participants. And then, post factum, you “call for calm” and continue: “We distance from violence,” Patriarch Ilia II said in a televised remarks on Friday evening.”

I do not think so. You can’t so easily “distance from violence”. You and your church are acting so outside the law.

Let’s look at the selection of photos below that truly made me speechless. I want to pretend that these are the images from nightmares, or films, or from completely different era. But these are the images from the heart of “modern Tbilisi”.

*picture by © Onnik Krikorian 2013

And this animated picture clearly shows a Georgian priest, 'servant of God', attacking bus escorting LGBT activists:

*ready to attack... with "taburetka" (source: liberali.ge)

Here are other eyewitness accounts: 17 May, IDAHO: – Georgian society showed its embedded ‘hospitality’ and ‘tolerance’

*Women in front of old Parliament building holding nettle. 

They were told that nettle is not a weapon so they could use them to hit homosexuals. (source)  

*Bringing stinging nettles to a rally to beat any LGBT activists with... (*picture by © Onnik Krikorian 2013)

*Young girl asking everybody to give her a bottle or stone to throw towards activists. 

She was really excited  and happy to be part of the violent demonstration, finally! (source)  

Another eyewitness account: The Day That God Died (read also her blog post a day before: Before the Battle)

Pretty telling title of the New York Times piece: Crowd Led by Priests Attacks Gay Rights Marchers in Georgia

"They wanted to kill all of us,” said Irakli Vacharadze, the head of Identoba, the Tbilisi-based gay rights advocacy group that organized the rally. Nino Bolkvadze, 35, a lawyer for the group who was among the marchers, said that if they had not been close to the buses when the violence began, “we would all have been corpses.”

Civil.ge: Amnesty International has called on the Georgian authorities to investigate the violence and bring to justice those responsible: “It is becoming a dangerous trend in Georgia to condone and leave unpunished the acts of violence against religious and sexual minorities if they are perpetrated by the Orthodox religious clergy or their followers. It is simply unacceptable for the authorities to continue to allow attacks in the name of religion or on the basis of anyone's real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity,” said John Dalhuisen, Europe and Central Asia Programme Director at Amnesty International.

Giga Bokeria, Secretary of National Security Council criticised those Orthodox clergy, who led anti-gay protesters and said: “Any cleric, who commits violence or calls for violence in a dangerous situation, is committing a crime, according to the Georgian legislation. I hope there will be people in the Church who will say this. But, unfortunately, in today’s developments ‘moral’ initiative was in the hands of those, who preach hatred and commit violence. These people should be punished in accordance to the law.”
***
To sum up: on 17th May 2013, the Georgian Orthodox Church displayed itself like a typical outlaw, like some kind of terrorist group or similar. And to conclude, few more reactions, as posted on Twitter:
‏
@CrazyPsyKO: The Taliban and the Orthodox zealot-priests on the streets of #Tbilisi, #Georgia today have rather more in common than beards.

‏@onewmphoto: After yesterday's shameful homophobic mob rule, Georgia's future will now be determined by whether the Church's obscene power is challenged.

@onewmphoto: One thing's for sure. The Georgian Church has proven itself to be the main obstacle to Georgia's democratization. This needs to be addressed

Part I: Victory for homophobes. Defeat for Georgia

Part II: LGBT activists under attack in Tbilisi: Georgian police and politicians

Armenia: video against anti-LGBT bullying in schools - Words hurt | Բառերը խոցում են

Video against anti-LGBT bullying in Armenia schools prepared by Teen Liars and PINK Armenia. Extremely important topic. Happy to see that Teen Liars and PINK Armenia work closely to raise the issue and (hopefully) subsequently tackle it.

Anti-LGBT bullying, stigmatizing and harassment in schools can have heavy consequences.
Ուսումնական հաստատություններում ԼԳԲՏ անձանց պիտակավորումը, ծաղրանքը, ճնշումներ գործադրելն առաջացնում է ծանր հետևանքներ:

 

First Memorandum by the Regional Network Against Homophobia (Middle East, North Africa, Balkans, South Caucasus)

“The Regional Network Against Homophobia”, established in May 2011 with the participation of LGBTIQ organizations and initiatives in the Middle East, North Africa, the Balkans and Caucasus, is declaring its first Annual Memorandum on how the year of 2012 looked concerning the LGBTIQ people’s human rights in 18 countries: Albania, Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Egypt, Georgia, Greece, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Macedonia, Montenegro, Palestine, Serbia, Tunisia and Turkey.

“Memorandum 2013” has been prepared in dedication to May 17, International Day Against Homophobia. The Network stands against homophobia and transphobia but also against sexism, nationalism, militarism and religious conservatism that perpetuate the heterosexist ideology.

This Memorandum is a true summary of the large scale of homophobia and transphobia which ranges from criminalisation and executions to condemning LGBTIQ society in the name of religion, morality or even “fighting capitalism”.

[For the full text of the Memorandum - see Kaos GL and PINK Armenia]

We call upon our governments to take their responsibilities and our demands very seriously and start acting by the international law with ensuring a protection of the LGBTIQ rights and ensure an effective amendment and implementation of the legislations.

WE DEMAND

-Respect, protection and fulfillment of the human rights of LGBTIQ people

-The right to live a safe life in dignity

-The decriminalization of homosexuality

-Adequate legal protection from hate crimes and hate propaganda

-Support for the LGBTIQ human rights defenders and civil society groups, with programmatic and financial assistance

-Non-discriminatory education on sexuality, sexual orientation and gender identity, and training of teachers and school personnel on homophobic and transphobic bullying in all schools

-Informal education and continuous informing of general population on homophobia, transphobia and heterosexism

-Training of law enforcement personnel to deal respectfully and effectively with homophobic and transphobic violence

-Protection of LGBTIQ people from discrimination at workplace

-Establishing information channels for coordination and working contexts for cooperation of the state institutions and LGBTIQ organizations and groups for developing, improving and implementation of the non-discrimination policies regarding the LGBTIQ people

-Efficient legal protection in sport against of any kind discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation

-Equality in access and support for participation in sport of all including gender identity and sexual orientation on all levels

The struggle to end discrimination against LGBTIQ people is a global challenge, and one that is also a priority in promoting human rights. This challenge is easier to be achieved, if it is fought with united forces, not just on national but also on a regional and global level. Therefore, we all have signed this document seeking for support from everywhere. The fight for human rights violated somewhere is a responsibility to everyone from everywhere.

We want our countries to remember the responsibility they have for the LGBTIQ society and we call upon our governments to protect a whole category of people living and seeking for the respect of their rights.

WE CONDEMN

Albania

• Hate speech and incitement to hatred by public figures from politics and media
• Having to struggle everyday to push for institutions to properly condemn such cases of discrimination

Algeria

• Criminalization of homosexual acts and cross-dressing
• Existence of no civil rights laws that prohibit unfair discrimination or harassment on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity

Armenia

• Attacks of nationalist groups on LGBTIQ and feminists events
• Hate speech being propagated by members of Parliament and mass media

Azerbaijan

• Police abuses against gays, mainly male sex workers
• Usage of homosexuality by state-controlled media outlets as a tool to harass and discredit critics of the government and opposition journalists

Bosnia and Herzegovina

• Frequent and increasing hate crimes, violence and threats against LGBTIQ persons and activists
• Lack of proper regulation of legal gender recognition of transgender and transsexual persons as well as  inadequate and complicated legal procedures for this recognition

Croatia

• Violence, hate speech and discrimination in sport that has been repeatedly re-surfacing in sport vanes, locker rooms and sport institutions through fan slurs and violence, stereotyping by coaches and sport officials

Egypt

• The attack of several extremist groups against the LGBTIQ  people
• The homophobic discourse of the government and media
• Sexual and bodily interventions by The Muslim Brothers

Georgia

• Religious and nationalist attacks on the LGBTIQ society
• Eviction of LGBTIQ persons from media and social spheres

Greece

• The targeted attacks in Athens and other Greek cities by organized teams of far-right thugs on LGBTQI persons in the public space
• The lack of official recognition of organized far-right violence against LGBTQI persons
• Lack of official recognition and adequate legal protections for sexual orientation and gender identity
• The disregard of LGBTIQ rights on the excuse of the economic crisis

Iraq

• The use of criminal or personal status laws in order to criminalize non-conforming sexual and gender identities and formations in Iraq
• The misuse of Iraqi LGBTIQ rights in order to encourage foreign interference and an erasure of their culture and peoples

Israel

• The use of Palestinian LGBTIQ struggle to pinkwash the image of Israel and hide the reality of racist polices, apartheid and occupation

Lebanon

• Sexual and bodily interventions and arrests on the grounds of morality and ethics
• Anal and vaginal examination as a form of validation of conducting adultery and determining sexual orientation/activity
• The lack of will by the police and Ministry of Justice to protect LGBTIQ people from arbitrary arrests based on sexual orientation and gender identity as civil society and public health syndicates recommended

Macedonia

• The attacks on the LGBTIQ human rights defenders
• The attacks on  the LGBTI Support Center
• The homophobic campaign by the government and media

Montenegro

• The attacks on LGBTIQ persons, as well as civil society activists engaged in promoting and protecting LGBTIQ rights in the field

Palestine

• Not only the oppression of the LGBTIQ society by the Israeli regime, but also the siege of lives by Islamist groups as well as seculars in the name of “morality”

Serbia

• The constant tyranny of the hooligans every time there is an intent for organizing a pride or any other event with LGBTIQ context

Tunisia

• Discrimination based on gender
• The penalization of homosexuality
• Hate crimes and insecurity experienced by the LGBTIQ society
• The practice of anal test by police

Turkey

• Complete negligence of LGBTIQ reality in social, labor, educational and legal spheres
• Hate speeches by government representatives and conservative media
• The use of “unjust provocation” factor in hate murder cases which reduces the punishment and therefore awards the offenders
• Refusal of addressing LGBTIQ reality in the Constitution, Anti-Discrimination Bill and the absence of a Hate Crime legislation 

PINK Armenia: Rainbow flashmob to mark IDAHO in Yerevan

Since 2010, PINK Armenia, together with other activists and partners, organises RainbowFlash to mark the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia. The idea of flashmob is to release rainbow-coloured balloons as a show of determination for a peaceful fight against homophobia and transphobia. Activists are invited to participate, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

This year the flashmob took place on 17 May 2013, 6pm, in Yerevan's Tumanyan park where small group of activists released the rainbow balloons. The event was not publicised in advance and took a form of a proper flashmob, also considering last year events when Diversity march was attacked by neo-nazi style thugs.

Pictures below via PINK Armenia Google+ page.

Epress.am reported on Rainbow flashmob too (with more pictures).

Part II: LGBT activists under attack in Tbilisi: Georgian police and politicians

“Police did a good job”, says Minister of Justice. The reality is they failed to protect the rights of citizens and gave in to the priest lead mob. According to the Public Defender Ucha Nanuashvili, the police failed to take “proper measures” to secure holding of a rally by gay rights activists.

“Considering the sheer number of counter demonstrators, their violent actions and the risk to human safety, Transparency International Georgia considers the police's strategy as wholly inadequate.”

A group of six civil society and watchdog organisation said in a joint statement that "the police failed to take measures to prevent violence, that erupted after thousands of Orthodox activists thwarted gay rights rally in downtown Tbilisi, and accused law enforcement officer of being reluctant to secure holding of rally against homophobia."

It says that the police lacked coordination and their actions to protect anti-homophobia rally from attacks of counter demonstrators were often meager.
“Impression was that the Interior Ministry was more focused on safe evacuation of [anti-homophobia rally] participants from the scene, instead of protecting the rally itself. The police did not show enough efforts to provide security of the participants in the process of the rally,” the statement reads.
“Attitude of police towards participants of rally against homophobia and transphobia was especially alarming. Observers confirm that in conversations between each other policemen were referring to the participants of the rally cynically and derogatively and to some extent were sympathizing with counter demonstrators. Such stance was also felt in their actions,” the statement says. 

Earlier, Georgia PM was highly praised (including on this blog) for standing up for the rights of all citizens, regardless of sexual orientation. But head of parliamentary majority (PM’s coalition) was quick to put blame on LGBT activists and their “donors” and effectively sided with the mob: “Earlier today on Rustavi 2 the Leader of Parliamentary Majority, Davit Saganelidze, stated that Identoba and their donors are responsible for the violent developments that erupted today at the the International Day Against Homophobia: "they, who arranged this provocation, who were sitting in the buses calmly and are responsible for what happened".

Here is a video of the mob attack towards bus escorting LGBT activists. Video shows clearly of what was happening towards those who “were sitting in the buses calmly”. Disgusting, nauseous display of hatred in the heart of Tbilisi. Approved by some politicians, as above.
 

Good to see at least some police did their job. Here is a video form inside the yellow bus.
 

Georgia’s serving president Saakashvili condemned acts of anti-gay violence in Tbilisi. And now this issue turned into a matter of political battles between Saakashvili and Ivanishvili camps, blaming each other for “provocations” and violence that happened.

"This is a shameful and alarming day for the whole of Georgia and Georgian society. Violent offenders who attacked and severely beaten people planning to express their protests against violence are enemies of Georgia's freedom and statehood. They are offenders and must be punished," National Security Council Secretary Giga Bokeria said on 17 May. "The key problem is the climate in the country.” He then continued that some of the participants in counter-demonstration and their leaders were the ones who were "detained previously for violence but released later from prisons as political prisoners".

PM Ivanishvili said that those who committed violence will be held responsible. Until I see this happens, including priests who were leading the attacks, I will not believe his words on equality and rights of citizens.

PM Bidzina Ivanishvili has condemned violence, that erupted after anti-gay protesters, led by Orthodox clergy, thwarted a rally against homophobia in downtown Tbilisi, and vowed that perpetrators “will be dealt with according to the law”. PM Ivanishvili’s English-language written statement reads: “The right to gather peacefully and to freely express one's opinion is fundamental to our democracy. Every Georgian citizen benefits fully and equally from this right. Acts of violence, discrimination and restriction of the rights of others will not be tolerated, and any perpetrators of such acts will be dealt with according to the law.”

Part I: Victory for homophobes. Defeat for Georgia

Part III: Criminal church: Georgian Orthodox Church incited and led anti-gay attacks in Tbilisi

Part I: Victory for homophobes. Defeat for Georgia

The International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, marked annually on 17 May, turned into a “National Day FOR Homophobia” in Georgia capital Tbilisi.

Local LGBT rights group planned a silent 30 mins flashmob, in order to draw attention to discrimination and other problems faced by LGBT people in Georgia. Yet, despite promises on PM level to protect the rights and freedoms of citizens, they got attacked by homophobic thugs led by Georgian Orthodox church priests (!). By thousands (as per some estimates, up to 20K) of them. And this day will be remembered more as the day when hate occupied Tbilisi, and medieval instincts and rituals rather than rule of law prevailed.

*picture by © Onnik Krikorian 2013

And this happened in a country that is considered a ‘champion of democracy’ in the region, being ahead of neighbouring Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia on effectively all indicators. Under the facade of "democracy" - we witnessed Middle Ages in Georgia.

*screenshot - via PublicPost

According to the Ministry of Health, 28 people were injured as a result of violence. “Healthcare Minister, Davit Sergeenko, said that 14 of them, including one journalist, were hospitalized. Injuries are not life-threatening, he said.”

Reflecting the events, Making Connection blog writes: “We Are All Georgian LGBT Rights Activists”.

This, a day after ILGA-Europe published its 2013 Rainbow Europe package reviewing the situation of LGBTI people in Europe, giving Georgia the highest grade among the three South Caucasus countries.
And this, a day after the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest, where Finland's entrant Krista Siegfrids sang "Marry Me" and kissed one of her female back-up singers "to make a statement about the lack of legal recognition of same-sex marriages in Finland." (As far as I know, the song contest was broadcast in Georgia.) [...]
Incidentally, tomorrow is also the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest in which Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia will be competing. How great would it be if Georgia's entrants, following in the footsteps of Finland's entrant, ended their performance with a "same-sex kiss" or at least made some comment condemning the acts of the violent anti-gay rights protestors today? 

Yes, 17th May 2013 was a victory for homophobes. But it was ultimately the day of defeat for Georgia.

Part II: LGBT activists under attack in Tbilisi: Georgian police and politicians

Part III: Criminal church: Georgian Orthodox Church incited and led anti-gay attacks in Tbilisi

Armenia - at the bottom of Europe re human rights protection of its LGBT citizens

Ahead of the International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO), leading European gay rights group ILGA-Europe launched its Rainbow Europe package reviewing the human rights situation and assessing what life is like for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex (LGBTI) people in Europe in 2013.

According to the Rainbow map and accompanied score sheet, countries have been assigned scores based on the level of legal human rights protection for LGBT people.

The Rainbow Map covers the legal and policy situation with regards to 6 thematic categories (Equality and non-discrimination; Family; Bias motivated speech / violence; Legal gender recognition; Freedom of assembly, association, and expression; and Asylum). The main rule is that sexual orientation and gender identity (or equivalent) need to be clearly referred to in the respective law or policy; or that lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex people are treated equally in law or by the state. For the purposes of this map, a law or policy is taken to exist once it is adopted by the respective parliament. 

Published also a comprehensive qualitative annual review report containing separate chapters on each country that gives more detailed background about the situation.

Only 3 countries among 49 European countries have a one-digit score: Russia (the lowest 49th place with 7%), Armenia (48th place with 8%) and Azerbaijan (47th place with 8%). 

Shameful.

And with such credentials, Armenia assumed today chairmanship of the Council of Europe for six months.

[below is Armenia Score Sheet in English and Armenian]

Respects: Georgia PM Ivanishvili publicly supports rights of LGBT citizens ahead of IDAHO rally in Tbilisi

Georgia PM Bidzina Ivanishvili is the first and so far the only (effectively) head of state in the South Caucasus who publicly voiced his support for equal rights of all citizens regardless of sexual orientation.

Says Georgia PM Bidzina Ivanishvili, commenting on upcoming rally in downtown Tbilisi by gay rights activists to mark the International Day Against Homophobia on 17th May: “I have said for multiple times previously that sexual minorities are the same citizens as we are… The society will gradually get used to it. I know there is part of the society which fails to accept it. There are law enforcement agencies in our state and we will do everything in order to protect rights of any minority group and that will be the case in this situation too.”

Pretty groundbreaking statement in a region where homophobia is widespread. In a region where officials, e.g. in Armenia, publicly and without consequences support and justify anti-gay attacks.

My respects to PM Ivanishvili. As a friend of mine commented on Facebook: “So while they're passing anti gay laws in Russia... Georgia's moving into the 21st century.”

Civil.ge reports that on the same day a parallel rally is also planned by anti-gay, Orthodox activists.

Asked how the authorities would act in a situation when there are threats against planned gay rights rally, Ivanishvili responded: “We will protect the rights; [planned two parallel] rallies will probably be distanced from each other; I can’t tell you specifics how it will be done, but there are police, which will stand in the middle and will not allow [anyone] to obstruct others.”  

Asked about his opinion on same-sex marriage, Ivanishvili responded that it was not an issue right now in Georgia and there was no need “to put the cart before the horse.
 


Civil.ge reminds that the first-ever march of a small group of rainbow flag-waving gay activists in Georgia, where anti-gay prejudice runs deep, was held last May. But at the time the march ended in a scuffle with an Orthodox group, which blocked activists' way not allowing them to continue procession. [picture above from 2012 IDAHO in Tbilisi - by InterPressNews, via Civil.ge]

In solidarity with LGBT activists in Tbilisi, Georgia

Identoba, LGBT rights organisation in Georgia, is planning to organise a peaceful action on 17th May – International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO).

IDAHO has a specific local importance for Georgia. In 2012, Tbilisi IDAHO march was attacked by religious fundamentalists. Several activists were verbally and physically assaulted. The government didn't launched an investigation.

In order to draw attention to the problems faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Georgia, LGBT activists, Identoba and other human rights defenders are planning a 30 minute silent flashmob. The flashmob will start on 13.00 in front of the former parliament building in Tbilisi. All participants will be asked to wear a t-shirt with one of the colours of the rainbow. The participants will be holding posters deploying the discrimination experiences by LGBT individuals in the country.  More details about the campaign on: http://identoba.com/idaho

Norwegian Helsinki Committee calls Armenia authorities to adopt anti-discrimination legislation and tackle hate crime

Read also: DIY watershed: one year on since gay friendly bar firebombed in Armenia capital Yerevan

*via the Norwegian Helsinki Committee

One year after the bombing of the DIY pub and violent counter demonstrators attacked a Diversity March in Yerevan, Armenia still suffers from widespread intolerance and discrimination of minorities. The legislation does not include hate crime with intent towards gender and sexual minorities, and the government fails to protect the rights of these citizens. Media is more often used as a tool to build up under prejudice and intolerance, and homophobic statements are frequently used by stakeholders to gain popularity.

- The Norwegian Helsinki Committee is concerned with the development in Armenia, and supports local civil society activists in their struggle for tolerance and respect of all groups in the country, says Secretary General of the NHC Bjørn Engesland.

Women, LGBT-persons, ethnic and religious minorities are under increased pressure in the homogenic society. Any alternative behaviour is subject to public scrutiny from the neighbours to the authorities and might be seen as a threat to the national ideal of a masculine head of the family, ready to defend his motherland from the many enemies around.

Several state officials were justifying the hateful crime after the bombing of the DIY pub, including the spokesperson of the ruling Republican Party. Later the same month, a discreet march devoted to the UN World Day of Cultural Diversity was attacked by a large group of violent thugs, supported even by priests in their traditional black cloaks. The thugs were additionally provoked by the way the event was portrayed in the media as a gay parade. The police were initially protecting the participants of the march, but later advised the attackers of where they had taken refuge. [...]

The Norwegian Helsinki Committee joins the local activists in the aim to remove homophobia and intolerance in Armenia, and urge the Armenian authorities to

- Include civil society activists in the process to develop effective anti-discrimination legislation that also addresses intent and hate-crimes against all minority groups;

- Widely discourage homophobic and intolerant statements by public figures and derogatory terminology in the media;

- Prosecute offenders of hate crime and protect representatives of minority groups and their defenders. 

On 14-15 May, international experts and stakeholders will gather in Oslo for a two-day conference on right-wing extremism and hate crime directed towards minorities in Europe and beyond. The conference is arranged by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the NHC urge everybody who have an interest in the theme to watch the conference live via web here or get updates from the conference on Twitter using the hashtag #REHC2013

#nohate Roundtable discussion on hate culture in Armenia 1 year on following DIY firebombing

Read also: DIY watershed: one year on since gay friendly bar firebombed in Armenia capital Yerevan

*source: PINK Armenia

Exactly one year ago, on May 8th, 2012, three young men bombed DIY pub in Yerevan, which was

followed by scores of state officials justifying the hateful crime. In connection with this, on May 8, 2013 at 12:00 pm, Ani Plaza Hotel hosted “Hate Culture in Armenia: One Year Later”, a round-table discussion organized by concerned citizens with the support of Human Rights House – Yerevan.

The discussion began with activist Lala Aslikyan presenting a chronology of events that took place before and after the bombing. “DIY pub opened its doors in April of 2011 and was subject to frequent threats and attacks by groups of young fascists just a few months after its opening. Attackers would constantly destroy property, break bottles and glass, and spit on the premises,” said Lala. “At 5:00am on May 8th, 2012 five young men bombed the pub. A few days later, extremists graffitied the walls of the pub with images and symbols of fascism. Although the suspects were arrested, one suspect was bailed out shortly after and police released the other after he promised not to leave the country.”

Lusine Ghazaryan presented the legal process of the case, emphasizing that what happened was a hate crime because the act was aimed at destroying not only property, but to intimidate and threaten the owner of the pub as well as the safety of her supporters. “The criminals were charged under Article 185 of the criminal code, which does not include hate crimes,” said Lusine. Adding that this case might have great strategic importance, as it can bring significant positive changes in the law to include intent.

Mamikon Hovsepyan of PINK Armenia spoke about institutionalized homophobia and how every time there are elections, political parties draw attention to LGBT people and use homophobia as a means to gather an electorate since a majority of the population is homophobic. “They target specific people and last year after the parliamentary elections the target was Tsomak”, said Mamikon.

Human rights defender Arthur Sakunts noted, “the structure of the government is monopolized, which creates fertile ground for the emergence of different forms of discrimination to which religious organizations, LGBT individuals, women, ethnic minorities, foreign citizens and anyone else who is somehow different from the ruling majority are subject to. The solution to this problem is Article 1 of the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia which states that Armenia is a sovereign, democratic, social state governed by the rule of law”.

Round-table participant Yura Manvelyan, editor of Epress.am said, “The mass media has created an image of the enemy: Turks, Jehovah’s Witnesses, homosexuals, and feminist activists. The journalist is the only connection between the editor and the microphone. Therefore, the journalist has control of how they want to create the story and twist it around. Usually journalists perpetuate hate culture through their own stereotypes and prejudices.”

DIY watershed: one year on since gay friendly bar firebombed in Armenia capital Yerevan

One year on... since neo-nazi thugs attacked gay friendly bar DIY in downtown Yerevan. Below are my reflections of what has happened since the event that should have sent shockwaves... Yet let’s see what has since changed.

DIY, the bar: no longer exists. While there are still gay friendly places in Yerevan, no longer there is a place (venue) that I can call *home*. Instead, a disgusting “Patriot Pub” full of ultra-nationalist hateful sh*t opened next door. Everything that DIY stood against.

The firebombers: still at large. The investigation took a year (!) to complete, and now the case is in the court. I wonder what exactly they were ‘investigating’, while everything was recorded and at least direct perpetrators are known and bailed out. The date of hearings is expected to be announced.

LGBT people in Armenia: they became less visible, less vocal. Do not expect any public actions in near future, not even to express protest by marking the anniversary of DIY firebombing. [There was a roundtable discussion on 8 May in Yerevan about culture of violence re DIY, I will post more about it separately, but this is not what I am referring to.] More people, including some prominent LGBT Armenians, left the country.

Diaspora: only very few individuals and groups (such as AGLA NY, GALAS, petition) publicly and unequivocally condemned the attack and government’s and legal system’s inaction to protect rights of its LGBT citizens and held those responsible for the hate crime.

International community: Despite some strong wording condemning the attack and condemning the endorsement of anti-gay attacks by some officials (US, UN, Council of Europe, EU), no REAL actions taken to ensure that respect for human rights, including LGBT rights, is an essential obligation reinforced by Armenia’s international partners before country's authorities and ruling regime. EU wasn’t even able to stage the gay themed Parada film screening despite previously widely advertised.

MPs, politicians of ruling Republican party and ARF Dashnaktsutyun party who endorsed the attack: spokesman for the ruling Republican party, deputy speaker of the Armenian parliament Eduard Sharmazanov [ԷՇ = Էդուարդ Շարմազանով] (example: Terrorists as ‘national heroes’? Armenia ruling Republican party spokesman and MP explicitly support firebombers of DIY bar in capital Yerevan and encourage anti-gay attacks), MP from the ARF Dashnaktsutyun party Artsvik Minasyan (example: MPs of ARF Dashnaktsutyun party bail out neo-nazi attacker of DIY bar. Dashnak MP Artsvik Minasyan supports arson attack, effectively encouraging terrorism in Armenia) + many more. Not only they didn’t get fired or demoted from their political or party positions, but continue with active public engagements and high profile within their respective parties.

Pretty grim, eh?! I am sorry that I can’t write more positive stuff and share with you stories of progress in Armenia. I can’t write how this case was a wake up call for Armenians. How this case shocked the society. How Armenian government and parliament adopted comprehensive anti-discriminatory legislation, and how hate crime definition was introduced into the criminal code to refer to crimes based on sexual orientation too. I am really sorry, I can’t share with you any of these stories. Because they never happened. Reality sucks big time pretty much in all spheres of life in Armenia.

But I want to end with a positive note, nevertheless.

Positive note: DIY case helped me to discover so many awesome people whose existence I would never be aware of otherwise. People, regardless of their sexual orientation, political affiliations who stood up for their LGBT friends, fellow citizens. People who detest and ready to fight the culture of violence and for human rights in Armenia. This was a watershed moment for me.

[For more background and posts on DIY, check DIY label on this blog]

"Speak up!": PINK Armenia’s anti-bullying message to mark Day of Silence

On the occasion of Day of Silence, PINK Armenia hold a press conference where they outlined the problem of bullying in Armenia’s educational institutions in particular, starting with anti-LGBT bullying and with other instances of bullying too.

Says Nvard Margaryan of PINK Armenia: “In various countries of the world, starting from 1996, the third Friday of April is celebrated as The Day of Silence. The main purpose of The Day of Silence is to focus public attention on discrimination and degrading treatment against LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) people and other social groups throughout educational institutions. Moreover, this day is meant to eliminate and prevent such phenomena in an effort to establish safer educational institutions for everyone, regardless of students’ sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, ethnic origins, religion, appearance, social and other personal characteristics”.
Then she presented cases and personal stories, which were collected by PINK's staff members.

Here is a fragment of the press conference (AM) detailing cases of anti-LGBT and other bullying in Armenia.



And below is a video “Speak up” (AM with English subtitles), released by PINK Armenia, with real life stories and an important message to convey.

US State Department highlights LGBT discrimination in Armenia, DIY bombing and officials’ endorsement of anti-gay attacks

US State Department published its annual country-specific human rights reports, including Armenia related. In the chapter that highlights discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, the report specifically describes firebombing of gay friendly DIY bar in downtown Yerevan, attacks on Diversity march, as well as endorsement by ARF Dashnaktsutyun party and ruling Republican party MPs and officials, including vice-speaker of Armenian parliament, spokesman of ruling Republican party Eduard Sharmazanov and prominent ARF Dashnaktsutyun MP Artsvik Minasyan.

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source: USA Department of State

Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

No antidiscrimination laws apply to sexual orientation or gender identity. Societal attitudes toward LGBT persons remained highly negative, with society generally viewing homosexuality as an affliction. Societal discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity negatively affected the employment, family relations, and access to education and health care of sexual minorities.

On May 8, three men firebombed the DIY Bar in Yerevan, a popular spot for activists who promoted equal rights for women and minorities, including LGBT persons. Although there were no injuries, the bar was destroyed. Police were summoned but arrived 12 hours after firefighters extinguished the fire. The bar owner identified three suspects, of whom police arrested two, the brothers Hampig and Mkrtich Khapazyan. Legislators from the opposition Armenian Revolutionary Federation, Artsvik Minasyan and Hrayr Karapetyan, posted bail for one suspect and police released the other after he promised not to leave the country. A number of other National Assembly members, including Eduard Sharmazanov and Hovhannes Sahakyan from the ruling Republican Party, praised the actions of the Khapazyan brothers as a justified defense of the Armenian nation. Vandals spray-painted swastikas and threats against the owner of the destroyed bar on May 17 and 21.

Also in May the efforts of several NGOs to hold a “diversity march,” which local nationalists dubbed a gay parade, were thwarted by youths who shouted antigay slogans and tried to block the entrance to a building where a diversity exhibition was scheduled. Police ensured that there was no violence between the marchers and the nationalists and that the marchers were able to enter the exhibition while the protesters remained outside. The NGOs alleged that those who attempted to block the march were the same persons as those involved in the DIY bar bombing.

Openly gay men were exempt from military service, purportedly because of concern fellow service members would abuse them. However, the exemption required a medical finding, based on a psychological examination, that an individual had a mental disorder; this information was stamped in the individual’s personal documents.

According to human rights activists, sexual minorities were frequent targets for humiliating discrimination in prisons, where they were forced to perform degrading labor and were separated from the rest of the prison population.

Aregnazan or Magical World: queer, Armenian, futuristic video-animation - re-interpreting Ghazaros Aghayan fairytale (fundraising)

The Queering Yerevan Collective’s Indiegogo fundraising campaign is nearing its end, with only 6 days left at the time of this posting. It’s an experimental video project by Arpi Adamyan and Melissa Boyajian called AREGNAZAN OR MAGICAL WORLD. This is a unique collaboration between two outstanding artists from Yerevan and Boston respectively, who reconstruct and reinvent Armenian writer Ghazaros Aghayan’s fairytale, originally written in 1887, in a completely new way.

You can find out more about the project here: http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/magical-world

Please, read artists' description below and make contribution to this queer, Armenian, futuristic video-animation, where the evil witch is replaced with an oligarch.


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Aregnazan or Magical World is an adaptation of an Armenian epic fairytale by Ghazaros Aghayan. This olden day fairytale takes place near the base of Mount Ararat, a symbolic mountain to the Armenian people. The story begins with a father and his 3 children, 2 of which are beautiful girls. And the 3rd child, Aregnazan, was the most beautiful, but good spirits decided to hide the sex of Aregnazan until a day when it would need to be revealed for the greater good of the world. Aregnazan's father chooses to raise Aregnazan like his 2 daughter's, and dress them all in girl's clothes. However, Aregnazan disliked playing girl's games and learned how to ride a horse and use weapons. After the children grew up the father realized that there was future for them and that he must send 1 of his children out to fight for the king. He devises a test for them and disguises himself as a masked thief in an attempt to test the strength and will of his children. Aregnazan wins the test and leaves on a journey to save the king from a bear, defeat an evil witch who has imprisoned the citizens of the stone city, and save the ailing princess.

We are interested in adapting the story because of the unique representation of gender of Aregnazan within the story's beginning. However, the story remains very patriarchal and sexist in it's glorification of masculinity and lack of agency with the female characters. Aregnazan does not become a true hero in the story until completely transforming into a man. And of course the tropes of the sick princess, lovesick and waiting for her prince to save her as well as the wicked evil witch are also examples.

Our fantastical video animation is about Aregnazan's journey to self-discovery, redefining of traditions, love and revolution! Our piece is very important because it is offering an alternative narrative and representation of gender within Armenian culture! While our adaptation will still be following the journey of Aregnazan, Aregnazan's gender remains fluid throughout the story and will never become a man. Our version will also be reversing the roles of the weak female characters to be strong. The piece will make connections with socio-economic conditions of present day Armenia by replacing the evil witch with an oligarch, a symbol of the small very wealthy group of men that have monopolies on most of the resources of Armenia while a staggering portion of the population is unemployed. Some of the things Aregnazan encounters on their journey are a fight on a dangerous bridge, a meeting with a cyborg woman and a girl that can fly, and a revolutionary scene in the sleeping city!

The piece will not follow in a cut-and-dry filmic narrative fashion. The scenes contain performative actions between the characters that give reference to Armenian traditions and literature and reinterpret and queer their meanings. The performative gestures in some scenes can be likened to a choreographed dance of actions.  The video and animation will be layered together in post-production editing to make the already fantastical atmosphere even more stunning!

If you have not done so already, please visit our Indiegogo page and make a contribution to our project!

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/magical-world

Analysis: Nationalism and Sexuality in Modern Armenian Discourse

Good analysis by Marine Margaryan of PINK Armenia and Tamar Shirinian, PhD candidate in cultural anthropology. Few quotes below. For article in full: read Hetq Online (Armenian, English)

[re: DIY firebombing and attack on Diversity march] “If we comprehensively analyze this situation and the details of the events of the past year and the concrete incidents that took place, it becomes clear that the root of the problem is not nationalist organizations or their work in opposition toward LGBT people. Rather, we can consider these organizations as tools - mechanisms of a larger chain which are directed towards the public to strengthen the discourse of the authorities. Furthermore, LGBT issues have never been in this kind of agenda within our public before, and this is the result of the problem’s artificial escalation. The manipulation of LGBT issues through nationalist forces acts as one of a few mechanisms, through which authorities mobilize public, which is then naturally used to establish and secure power.”

“When public attention is focused on LGBT issues, authorities can guarantee that it will be able to distract away from dangerous topics and take social discourse toward their desired directions. It must be noted that this technique used by the state is not a new one. The target group being used can change.”

“Here we can cite Kagarlitsky (2006) who argues that fascism as an ideology comes about at a time when it is possible to create an illusion for the masses that they can solve poor social conditions by subjecting themselves to nationalist prejudice.”

[re: cancelling Parada film screening] “The discussion around LGBT issues in this manner creates a problem not only for human rights defenders, activists and anybody who advocates for LGBT peoples’ rights but also for international organizations who cannot even find a space to show a film. This should indicate to all of the various institutions that provide support to Armenia, financial and otherwise, for promoting democracy and human rights reforms to properly monitor the state’s actions, otherwise the work done by international organizations can be considered inconsistent and ineffective.”

Louna: Armenian Russian LGBT friendly "protest rock sensation"

Awesome. I did not know about this band until reading this article on Advocate: Meet Russia's Female-Fronted Protest Rock Sensation ["The Russian punk rock band Louna, and their sexy butchy lead singer Lou Gevorkian, talk about gay life in Russia, their beef with Madonna, and the masks we all wear."]

"Louna is widely considered the most successful rock band of the modern protest movement in Russia (though Pussy Riot has certainly gotten all the press internationally). [...]  Now Gevorkian and her Louna bandmates have found themselves with a larger audience, significant portion of which is queer girls. In fact, when we asked if Gevorkian was a lesbian, through a translater and publicists in Russia and the U.S., she was perplexed. She reminded us that while commonplace in America, such questions aren't usually asked in Russia, where there's been a crack down on anything promoting homosexuality. Still she and her bandmates, Vitaly Demidenko and Ruben “Rou” Kazarian, were eager to talk about their new album Behind a Mask (which has many songs that could speak to LGBT issues), their growing LGBT fanbase, and why punk rock is a lesbian thing in Russia."

I dig a bit further, and her full name is Lousine Gevorkyan. She is originally from Kapan (Armenia).

Wikipedia: Lusine «Lou» Gevorkyan (Russian: Лусинэ Геворкян, Armenian: Լուսինե Գևորգյան,
born February 21, 1983) is a lead singer of Russian nu metal bands Tracktor Bowling and Louna. Gevorkyan was born in Kapan. She was one of the founding members of the Russian band Sfera Vliyaniya, but she left this group one year after the establishment. Later, she was picked as the lead singer of another project, Tracktor Bowling, that became one of the most popular metal bands from Russia. In 2008, she founded one more group, Louna, and at the moment Lusine appears in both.



Another Armenian in the band is Rouben Kazarian / Kazariyan (Rou). According to Louna website, he is "the quiet maestro of Louna. Rouben holds a PhD in Political Science, is fluent in Korean, English and Russian, and is the composer of almost every hit song in the history of Louna."

He is working at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences as a staff researcher for the Korean Department. Here is what he had to say re human rights in Russia, religion and church in an interview posted on The Pit:

Rou: [...] we agreed that we would address the most pressing and sharp social issues in our lyrics. It was just natural, given the fact that the situation in the country began to actively stagnate, human rights were regularly violated, and those in power increasingly distanced themselves from solving social problems while at the same time plundering the country. We have been really angry about it and unfortunately nothing in our country has changed since Louna’s first day. [...] One of our strong and common convictions in Louna is atheism. We do not have anything against the beliefs that people have, but we are definitely against the Church as a form social organization and control. Unfortunately despite the advances in science, technology and knowledge the XXI century still has brought back the relics of the dark ages – religion has returned with a vengeance in Russia and in the world. That is an obvious result of the lack of education in our consumer driven society. Religion is a convenient tool to breed docile and unthinking people easily controlled and manipulated. Business is our statement against all this. Mama is a different story. This is how we see our fans and first of all ourselves coming to what we are now. I think the best way for me to describe Mama would be to cite Bon Jovi: “Welcome to wherever you are, this is your life. You’ve made it that far”
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Back to the interview with the Advocate re LGBT rights and being gay in Russia. I do not agree with Lou that "There’s really not any real social problems as such as long as you don’t scream about it on every street corner." This is exactly THE indication of the problem. But I agree with her about marginalising and scandalising LGBT related culture and people, and using it by politicians & co to distract people from real issues. Similar things happening in Armenia too.

Advocate: You’ve done some work with LGBT groups. What does it mean to be gay this day and age in Russia?
Gevorkian: There’s really not any real social problems as such as long as you don’t scream about it on every street corner. It’s true that same-sex marriage is prohibited in Russia, but it doesn’t mean you can’t be together. However, the pop music industry has marginalized LGBT culture in Russia in the eyes of ordinary people by making them seem vulgar and laughable. It makes gays seem like freaks in the eyes of ordinary people. The church has tried to turn this around to their favor by making it a problem. I, on the other hand, really think that the scandalous attention given to such things serves only to distract people from political and economic problems. It’s like the situation when Madonna performed in Russia a few months ago. The politicians wanted to sue her for spreading gay propaganda when she voiced her support of LGBT issues during her show. By doing this they sparked another cheap scandal in order to make it look like they are doing something, like they’re doing their jobs. They use their power to show people that they are in control and that they make the rules.

Advocate: Lou, do you or any of your bandmates have a gay following?
Gevorkian: Of course, I have quite a lot of lesbian fans here. They are my friends. We always share our problems and emotions with each other. They’re just normal people who listen to rock. I don’t divide people between sexual minorities or majorities. I’m only interested in the human qualities of a person. Your heavy metal punk sound isn’t generally a genre that’s thought to have many gay fans. Is that assumption wrong?
Kazarian: I agree. And as I said earlier, gay culture [in Russia] is basically coming from richer people who are not into rock music. But you’ll find many lesbians listening to rock music. Besides that, we tend to play heavier than usual rock, and that probably appeals even less to the LGBT audience. I think that is a common prejudice. The LGBT community is definitely a minority in every country, but fans of really heavy music — like death metal, grindcore, hardcore etc — are a minority, too. So we’re ready to try to fix that injustice.
Gevorkian: As far as I know in Russia there are lots of girls who have homosexual relations who love rock and punk music.

TIME: Gay Marriage Revolution

A-M-A-Z-I-N-G .

...and totally inspiring.

TIME's cover story "chronicles how, thanks to a massive shift in public opinion, gay marriage went from inconceivable to inevitable in less than two decades."

TIME's new issue, featuring the story, 'How Gay Marriage Won,' hits newsstands Friday. Two couples who were photographed to illustrate the story appear on two separate covers this week. See more portraits from TIME's cover shoot. 

*Cover photographs by Peter Hapak.

Attack against gay friendly DIY bar and disruption of diversity march feature in the UK Foreign Office "travel advice to Armenia"

For the first time, updated "travel advice to Armenia" by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO)  features attack against gay friendly DIY bar in Yerevan and disruption of diversity march by neo-nazi groups and elements.

In May 2012 a gay-friendly bar in downtown Yerevan was attacked and a diversity march in central Yerevan was disrupted by nationalist groups. See Local Laws and Customs.

Under the Local Laws and Customs, British Foreign Office continues:

Homosexuality was decriminalised in 2003 but is still viewed with disapproval by many Armenians. Local LGBT groups occasionally suffer from verbal and physical harassment. Although same sex couples are often seen holding hands and kissing in public, this is common in Armenian culture, and is not necessarily an indicator of sexual orientation. You should be discreet.

Soviet prisoners: criminal tattoo as "secret code language"

I posted about Russian Criminal Tattoo encyclopaedia and related small exhibit of photographs "Bodies As Text" in London.

The photo above I spotted recently in Saatchi gallery (London) as part of broader exhibit of Russian (ex-Soviet) art.

More about the author Sergei Vasiliev here: "Taken between 1989 and 1993, Sergei Vasiliev’s photographs of Soviet prisoners document the secret code language of criminals in the USSR, evidence of a gritty spirit of picaresque resistance within a violently repressive culture."

Report: young guy committed suicide in Armenia region Kotayq due to “unrequited gay love story”

Reports say (shamshyan.com) that young guy (25 yrs old) committed suicide in Armenia region Kotayq due to unrequited love to another guy (20 yrs old) who he was communicating with via Odnoklassniki social network.

Reports of suicide are sadly not uncommon in Armenia. Normally, we hardly ever know the reason why people commit suicide. Of course, this report is difficult to confirm, and there may be additional factors too but some sources say that it’s true... Interestingly, perhaps this is one of the rarest occasions that not only the alleged reason of suicide was mentioned, but that reason was “unrequited gay love story”.

Very sad...