Showing posts with label arthur baghdasaryan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label arthur baghdasaryan. Show all posts

Saturday, 9 April 2011

Police chief Alik Sargsyan, national security “hOrinats Yerkir” Arthur Baghdasaryan, and US State Department human rights report on LGBT discrimination in Armenia

Armenia

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

Societal attitudes towards homosexuality remained highly unfavorable, with society generally viewing homosexuality as an affliction.

Persons who were openly gay were exempted from military service, purportedly because of concern they would be abused by fellow servicemen. However, the actual exemption required a medical finding via psychological examination that gays possessed a mental disorder, which was stamped in their documents and could affect their future.

According to human rights activists, lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgender persons experienced some of the most humiliating discrimination in prisons, where they were forced to do some of the most degrading jobs and separated from the rest of the prison population.

Societal discrimination based on sexual orientation continued to be a problem with respect to employment, family relations, and access to education and health care for sexual minorities.

In an interview with the Iravunk biweekly that appeared in the newspaper's December 24 to 27 edition, Artur Baghdasarian, secretary of the National Security Council that advises the president on national security matters, answered a question on homosexuality stating that, "Such conduct does not fit in with our society. Family and Armenian traditions prevail for people who were the first to adopt Christianity. Those unnatural things are unacceptable to us. I am against limitations of human rights in general. However, I consider homosexuality is extremely dangerous for Armenia." [Unzipped: Gay Armenia - read also “Unnatural” national security ‘top’/‘bottom’ Arthur Baghdasaryan says homosexuality “extremely dangerous” for Armenia]

In an interview in the Hraparak daily on December 6, National Police Chief Alik Sargsyan answered a question on the gathering of homosexuals in one of Yerevan's central parks, stating that, "We try to take them to such a place where they won't be seen, but they like to appear in public. We do not practice any violent measures, do not violate human rights, it is their business, but in our city, it is not appropriate for people…I cannot bear them physically." [Unzipped: Gay Armenia - some of my relevant posts re Alik Sargsyan]

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Reports on Georgia and Azerbaijan
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Relevant post from 2010: US State Department human rights report: "Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity" in Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan

Monday, 27 December 2010

“Unnatural” national security ‘top’/‘bottom’ Arthur Baghdasaryan says homosexuality “extremely dangerous” for Armenia


You will hardly find people in Armenia who take Arthur Baghdasaryan and his party - part of the governing coalition - “Orinats Yerkir” [‘Rule of Law’] (or as people call it “hOrinats Yerkir” - word play in AM - turning ‘Rule of Law’ into ‘Made-up’/‘Fake’/‘Invented’/‘Fictitious’...) with respect or seriousness. But he & party have been successfully and regularly used by others. Basically, this is the main calling of the man and his party - being used.

Answering to the query by Armenian homophobic tabloid Iravunk re “flourishing of sexual deviants” in Armenia, Arthur Baghdasaryan, in his capacity as a secretary of Armenia’s National Security Council (!), said he is “against limitations of human rights, in general” but considers homosexuality as “extremely dangerous” for Armenia. He called homosexuality “unnatural” and “unacceptable” for Armenians as the first nation to accept Christianity, with “traditional values”.
Zhamanak daily, via Armenia Today: Тема гомосексуализма стала своего рода поводом для отвода глаз от более серьезных внутриполитических и социальных проблем.

Как пишет оппозиционная газета «Жаманак», «Иравунк» обратился к секретарю Совбеза Армении Артуру Багдасаряну за комментариями на тему «Распространение и процветание  лиц, имеющих сексуальные отклонения».  Исходя из статуса секретаря Совбеза, Артур Багдасарян дал следующие комментарии: «Подобное поведение не пристало армянской нации. Для народа, первого принявшего христианство, семья и традиционные ценности являются приоритетом. Неестественно все то, что неприемлемо. Я против  ограничения прав человека в целом, но гомосексуализм считаю крайне опасным для Армении». [...]
I am not going to discuss the ridiculousness of asking such question, and asking it to the national security official, implying both with the question and with the answer that gays are ‘threat to the national security’. (you can’t expect anything less from Iravunk tabloid, it has to be ridiculous, pseudo-patriotic etc.etc.)

But...

Yes, it is “unnatural” that losers and political prostitutes such as Arthur Baghdasaryan continue heading the National Security Council in Armenia. This is indeed “extremely dangerous” for Armenia. Depending on the direction of the wind blow, he would sell everything and everyone, himself including. And he is very cheap. Putting it Twitter way - it’s #Fail all the way through.

There is a good quote (RU) for people like Arthur Baghdasaryan in the article by Zhamanak daily re above.
via Armenia Today (cont.): В этом вопросе, пишут авторы публикации, интересна не позиция Багдасаряна,  а тот факт, кого заинтересовало его мнение конкретно по этому вопросу и почему именно сейчас. «Вся суть в том, что у Армении есть множество проблем – конституционных, правовых, политических, экономических и социальных, и в подобных условиях поднятие вопроса сексуальных меньшинств на уровне секретаря Совбеза как минимум странно. Странно с той точки зрения, что главной угрозой национальной безопасности Армении являются отнюдь не сексуальные меньшинства, а политические меньшинства, в число которых входит и сам Артур Багдасарян. Именно эти политические меньшинства, выступая в роли приложения властей, пытаются перевести внимание общественности с реальных угроз национальной безопасности, на искусственные вымышленные угрозы. Раз уж вопрос дошел до морали, естественного и неестественного, то в реальности угрозой номер один для Армении является тот факт, что для многих политических деятелей, в том числе и Артура Багдасаряна, стало естественной деятельностью обманывать народ, ругать власти самым жестоким образом, а потом лезть в задницу властей.  Именно в этом и состоит главная угроза, именно это наносит удар по обществу,  системе моральных ценностей, а также демографической картине Армении, поскольку пополняемая подобными политиками власть вынуждает многих покинуть страну. Вместо того, чтобы говорить о христианстве, следовало бы оглянуться в прошлое и выяснить, сколько христианских заповедей было нарушено одной подписью 29 февраля 2008 года (в эту ночь был организован разгон митинга, что впоследствии спровоцировало акцию 1 марта, в результате которой были жертвы – ARMENIA Today.)», - пишет газета «Жаманак».
Remind me what Armenia president Serj Sargsyan claimed in his latest speech? Something about the adherence to European values “from the produce displayed in the shop window and up to the state and legal structure”... Here is a quote (official English version of his speech) from president.am:
“When we talk about strengthening democracy, firm implanting of the European standards, these are not just slogans or idle words meant for other audiences. It is Armenia which needs them foremost, not Europe. This is our conscious course and our conviction. European democracy and rule of law are demands of our society, confirmed firmly on many occasions - at the elections, in criticizing the political forces, or in encouraging the same forces. 
The European standards - from the produce displayed in the shop window and up to the state and legal structure, must become exemplary for us. Today, the issue of becoming a full member of the European Union is not yet on our foreign policy agenda, however I would like to repeat that the European rules of the game and European standards must take roots in our country because these are high and time-tested standards. We need these standards to make considerable progress, to change lives of our citizens and to build up the organizational strength of our society.”
Yeah, sure, with such a ‘dream-team’ of ‘devotees’ to European values....

*source of photo: Photolur, via A1+ (from my archive: Disgrace of the Day - Arthur Baghdasaryan)