In a significant number of member states, including Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, the Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” and Turkey, NGOs report that schools do not provide any information about homosexuality or if so only biased, incorrect information. Such schoolbooks and teaching materials tend to present incorrect information not reflecting the WHO de-classification of homosexuality. In Moldova, for instance, according to NGO reports, at the Medical University homosexuality is taught as a disease from text books written when it was still criminalised.
- Хотите в Европу?
- Дааа!!!!!
- Хотите европейские зарплаты?
- Даааааааа!!!!!
- Хотите свободно перемещаться по странам Евросоюза?
- Дааааааааааааа!!!!!
- Хотите хорошие дороги и полицию, которая не берет взяток?
- Дааааааааааааааааааа!!!!!
- Готовы соблюдать права человека?
- А как же!
- Права абсолютно всех граждан?
- Безусловно!
- Разрешите проведение гей-парада в этом году? Примите закон о дискриминации, в том числе сексуальных меньшинств?
- Эээ... А это обязательно? Понимаете, у нас выборы на носу – люди могут не понять...
Еврокомиссия требует от Молдовы принятия закона о дискриминации – это одно из условий либерализации визового режима. Молдова взялась условие выполнить, но тут и проявилась вся либеральность наших «либеральных» правителей. В коридорах власти проект закона уже получил неформальное название «закон о п...сах», и чиновники посмеиваются над тем, кто в итоге будет вынужден поставить свою подпись под проектом.
Наши либералы лишь до тех пор либералы, пока им это удобно и вписывается в их систему координат. Они прекрасно говорят об европейских ценностях и правах человека, но тут же притупляют взгляд и краснеют, когда кто-то вслух произносит слово «гей» или «лесбиянка». Они и за права женщин, и за права религиозных меньшинств, и за права инвалидов, но вот с гомосексуалами как-то неудобно получается: вроде бы и за их права надо выступать, так ведь никто не поймет. «Да и что я, не мужик, в конце концов? – думает новоиспеченный депутат. – Еще чего, этих п...сов продвигать».
Закон в итоге пройдет - европейцы настаивают. Но для любого молдавского чиновника от этого вообще ничего не изменится: гей так и останется «п...сом», а права гомосексуалистов - чем-то из области фантастики. Но ведь так любимая всеми Европа на этом и основывается: права человека означают права абсолютно каждого. Но ведь у нас на носу выборы – люди могут не понять...
P.S. Уже появились гражданские "активисты", которые собираются создавать черный список чиновников, поддерживающих закон о дискриминации (а значит и гомосексуалов, по их мнению). Вот из-за таких "активистов" и политиков мы еще долго будем ждать маршрутки Кишинев-Брюссель.
Cograts to Germany. Lena was not among my top favourites, and I still think Germany was overrated, but I can see her appeal. She was incredibly charming and different, you know, Björk-like different. In fact, I quite fancy going to Berlin for Eurovision 2011. No doubt, would be fun. Fingers crossed, nothing will change my plans.
I thought Denmark was OK but overrated too. I liked Romania. Funny, entertaining, very Eurovision-y. Could not stop smiling during their performance.
Overall, I thought entries who participated in semi-s performed worse during the final, except Belgium, Turkey, Moldova and Romania.
During the show, which I was watching with a big crowd in London’s Soho, we did not notice anything unusual during Spain’s performance. And then were surprised to see a repeat of their performance towards the end. Only at home, watching the recording of Eurovision, I noticed that stage intrusion by someone from the audience (Jimmy Jump). It took a short while till he was taken away by the security. (video below) That was the reason why they allowed Spain to repeat their performance. Fair enough.
I am impressed how the Spanish singer and team on stage ignored the intruder, and continued singing and dancing, as if nothing happened. Well done. I liked Spain. It was sweet, and took me back to childhood memories.
Armenia, Azerbajan and Georgia: What I said in my previous post, still stands. Plus... Safura looked tired and lacking energy. Graham Norton, British TV presenter, called Eva “the sexiest babe” and suggested a Miss Caucasus title :)
Actually, Graham Norton mentioned a right word re Georgia entry: “they slightly overproduced it”. And I think this was true for all three South Caucasus countries.
But hey, that’s the glory of Eurovision, isn’t it? :) Otherwise, what will we bitch about. I have to confess, this whole ‘analysing’ thing re Eurovision is very entertaining for me.
As per Twitter reports, at some point “Armenia” (or “Armenian”/”Armenien” - what was with that spelling?) and “Apricot Stone” were trending.
Btw, I won a bet with a friend of mine. I bet that Armenia won’t give 12 points to Russia. Also, on Twitter, when asked who I think Armenia might give its 12 points for, I replied: "very difficult to predict this year. Might be Georgia, Ukraine... not sure" (yes, it was Georgia)
I liked Norwegian male presenter Erik Solbakken. He was a star. Funny and charming. He was particularly impressive and hilarious when after the show - announcing that 15 mins voting time interval - started changing clothes live while doing all sorts of tricks.
I loved very much that Euro flashmob dance part. Was great seeing and feeling Europeans throughout the continent - beyond the EU formal borders - united in fun. See, it is possible. Yes, we can!! :)))
One more thing - do not trust or take too serious bookmakers or Google predictions, or readers’/fan poll results. Treat it as part of the entertainment, and take it easy. They are easily manipulated. If you want to get a general idea on trend and changing preferences, follow Eurovision related websites, blogs and forums (e.g. esctoday, oikotimes, escdaily, escnation forum).
Below is the official Eurovision final Top Ten (surprised Iceland did not make it; would prefer to see here Moldova too, loved their show and that sax player was very funny):
Germany
Turkey
Romania
Denmark
Azerbaijan
Belgium
Armenia
Greece
Georgia
Ukraine
I was live tweeting my immediate impressions along with watching the 1st semifinal of Eurovision 2010. Below I’ll try to sum up some of the main points.
Here we are. Never thought I would make this confession during Eurovision. Yes, yes, yes, I did fall in love with the Belgian singer Tom Dice. While he may not be your typical Eurovision entry, it was a class act all the way: song, performance, singer. He did not need complicated weird shows on stage or supporting dancers or back vocals. It was a one-man performance, and I loved it.
Here are @bbceurovision preferences:"Personally speaking, I really like #Ireland, #Romania, #Iceland, #Finland & #Armenia! :)" #Eurovision
Then there was an immediate commentary by BBC re Russia performance: "3 minutes of misery - Lost and Forgotten" :)
Before Russia, Moldova did quite a bit of cheering up. I remember their performance with a smile on my face. It was light and entertaining.
Albania delivered a typical Eurovision performance, no more, no less, and it was not bad at all.
Then there was a turn for another typical Eurovision + typical Greece all-male performance. All men were hot, except for singer. He did sing OK, though. It was Hoppa, or Oppa :)))
I even managed spotting someone who would we normally call “qyartu” in Armenian. Watch out for that guy in black glasses during Macedonia’s entry.
When Iceland took the stage, all tweets were about associations with volcanic eruption and whether Europe “will forgive Iceland”:
@bbceurovision: And finally tonight, another one of the favourites, Hera Bjork from Iceland. Will Europe forgive the volcano?
Icelandic representative was pretty good, and as they passed through to the final, I may safely assume that Europe did indeed forgive for the volcanic ash chaos, well, at least for the occasion.
Before the results of voting were announces, I indicated my faves from the 1st semi: Belgium, Greece, Albania, Iceland, Moldova. I could not decide re Serbia (too distracted by his haircut).
I was pleased that all my faves are through to the final.
Oh, and did I already mention this?! Belgium singer + Greece dancers = hot Eurovision.
And now, to make sure you’ll keep up the sexy mood till Thursday’s 2nd semi, watch this brief preview of Kylie Minogue’s All The Lovers video. Can’t wait to see the full version. Looks sexy ;)
My favourites were France, Sweden, Moldova and Estonia. I am pretty OK with Norway's win, which was predictable.
To be honest, for me Iceland's entry was unremarkable and a bit boring. I think the most overrated entries this year were Iceland and Azerbaijan.
Interestingly, an acquaintance of mine, a UK music industry expert, who was always extremely critical re Armenia Eurovision entries in past, SMS-ed me saying she was impressed with Inga & Anush...
Anyway, ending in top ten was not that bad considering the choice of music, although potentially, with such a talent, they could have done so much better... *** Jonathan Ross loves Armenia entry
Either you hate it or love it. There was no middle ground in online discussions re Inga and Anush look and make up. I am among those who think they deserve compliment re their look. Yes, I do think they looked different and sexy.
Here is an opinion expressed on Twitter which I loved:
If all the women in Armenia are a sexy as the one on #eurovision then I am emigrating there tomorrow. ;o) http://twitter.com/chief1981/status/1820616585 *** Inga and Anush toned down their make up
According to this tweet which refers to Armenian conservatism, after criticism in Armenia of their extensive make up following the 1st semi-final, Inga and Anush toned it down a bit.
There was a different kind of ‘contest’ going on between Armenia and Azerbaijan during the Eurovision song contest. A propaganda and pretty childish ‘war’ which was apparent only to those 2 countries and may have some consequences. For details:
Maxim Anmeghichean is Moldovan of Armenian origin. He is a Programmes Director at ILGA-Europe (Europe’s main gay rights group).
After graduating from Moldovan State University with dual-degrees in journalism and communication sciences, Max has devoted all of his professional life to the LGBT movement. He led the team that created the LGBT movement in Moldova; developing it into a respected and powerful national and regional organization.
Nationally, he has served on the NGO Council, the National AIDS Network, and on the board of the National Youth Council. As an ILGA-Europe board member for the past three years, he chaired the committee to develop the organization's Eastern European strategy, lobbied before the Council of Europe and the European Union and was instrumental in fundraising efforts. In his new post, Max's priorities are to lobby for LGBT rights in Eastern Europe before the OSCE, Council of Europe and EU, develop programs for the transgender community, build advocacy capacity and, as if that's not enough to keep him busy, fundraising!
On 6 March 2009, Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State, participated in a meeting with young Europeans hosted by the European Parliament. Max was one of the participants.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was pretty excited by the fact that Max was wearing a T-shirt saying “I love Hillary”, so she said she simply had to take a question from him. And Max used this chance perfectly by posing a question on how the US foreign policy in the field of sexual rights and LGBT issues is going to change under a new administration.
Whatever one may think of Hillary Clinton, wearing a T-shirt saying “I love Hillary” was a very smart move by Maxim Anmeghichean, to be noticed and heard. Well done, Max, you are an inspiration for many.
Max stood up and said: "My name is Max. I am from Moldova, and I am a gay rights activist. In seven countries in the world homosexuals are sentenced to death and many more to prison. A lot of gay men around the world die because of the HIV AIDS policies that the Bush administration had that did not allow to spend money on prevention for men who have sex with men. How do you see the foreign policy of the United States changing in the coming years in the field of human rights and in particular sexual rights and gay and lesbian rights?"
Ms Clinton said that it is unfortunate and unfair that discrimination against gay and lesbian people still exists around the word and sometimes is even condoned or protected by the states: "Human rights is and always will be one of the pillars of our foreign policy. And in particular, the persecution and discrimination against gays and lesbians is something that we take very seriously. It is terribly unfortunate, as you just recited, that right now in unfortunately many places in the world violence against gays and lesbians, certainly discrimination and prejudice are not just occurring but condoned and protected.” She went on to say that it will be one of the priorities for the administration to tackle the issue and some changes in the policy on HIV prevention have already started. She also expressed a hope that she will witness the day when any type of discrimination, including on the ground of who one loves, will be abolished: "I can only hope that we all live long enough to see the end to this kind of discriminatory treatment and recognition that human rights are the inalienable rights of every person no matter who that person loves."
Financial Times Brussels Blog called Max’s Q&A with Hillary Clinton “the best moment” of the meeting. "Clinton’s performance was brilliantly executed in that she pitched her message at exactly the level the European audience wanted. They wanted to hear an American talk like a European, and that’s what they got."
Full coverage of this meeting is available on the European Parliament’s website (Max’s question stars around 11:10:43)
Amnesty International supporters staged 'Eurovision Pride Contest' at the London Gay Pride parade on 5 July 2008, awarding symbolic 'nul points' to countries with poor gay rights record.
"Love Is A Human Right" - that was the main message.
Sirusho's Qele, Qele (Eurovision 2008 entry from Armenia) was among only few selected Eurovision songs from previous years to accompany the Amnesty's float during the Gay Pride parade in central London.
P.S. If Armenia related similar poster was there too, I would have carried it, but Amnesty chose as an example of Eurovision countries with poor gay rights record only Turkey, Russia, Belarus, Moldova, Lithuania and Estonia. This list has to be much longer (unfortunately!).
Being deprived of possibilities (for now) to hold similar events at home, LGBT representatives from all three South Caucasus countries - Armenia, Azebaijan and Georgia, will participate in what organisers call the "first time in Moldovan history LGBT community will have legal public manifestation".
Sunday, 11 May 2008 within VII LGBT Pride in Moldova "Rainbow over the Dniester" LGBT community will go on pubic manifestation on the the central square of Chisinau. The aim of the action is to support adoption of anti-discrimination law in Moldova.
During three previous consecutive years public authorities was banning public manifestations on various pretexts. This year after we applied to the City Hall to inform the authorities about planned public manifestation within the Pride we got the information, which gave us hope. The representative of the City Hall informed us that now according to the new law “About public manifestations” we have right to organize public manifestation in the format we indicated and for this we do not need permission of the authorities. As we were informed for holding this manifestation this year we only need to have with us the document saying that our application is registered at the City Hall. A couple of days in advance we have to call City Hall to confirm our event and to check if it does not coincide with any other events.
The public manifestation will be held under the slogan “All different – all equal” and it coincides with the celebration of the 10th anniversary of GenderDoc-M work in Moldova. The manifestation will take place on Sunday, 11 May from 11 till 12 a.m. The route of the manifestation is planned to start at the National Library and head to the Central Square of the City. We do hope that this year LGBT community will be able to benefit from the new law and nobody will ban it as previous years.
The other events of this year Pride will start on 8 May with laying flower to the monument of the victims of repressions and will be closed on Sunday, 11 May with excursion to Moldovan historical places. Other important events are official Pride opening ceremony, where symbolical marriage ceremony and concert of Moldovan pop stars and pride closing ceremony with international contest «Miss Flawless Queen-2008». [...]
On 9 May will take place “Day against homophobia and xenophobia”. This day in the club «Star Track» for the first time will be showed documentary «SILENTIO» about LGBT discrimination in Moldova, and “Here’s looking at you, boy!” telling how gay movie started. Here also Art Evening with participation of Russian poetess Marina Chen will take place. At the end of the day the artificial cranes made by volunteers of the women’s program will fly to heaven. [...]
At the international conference “10 years of struggle: experience, lesions learned and future perspectives for LGBT Movement in CIS countries” results achieved by GenderDoc-M during the first 10 years of work will be summarized. The discussion on consolidation of LGBT movement in CIS countries [post-Soviet states] will take place within the conference.
One of the important events will be Safer Sexual Behavior Promotion Party, which will take place at disco club “Cazanova”. Sexual education is one of the priorities of the work of our organization.
Prides in Moldova – are cultural festivals of LGBT community. The aim of these events is to inform society about diversity and to increase visibility of LGBT community in our society. Prides get together big number of people not only form the LGBT community but also people who support LGBT movement (parents, friends etc) from Moldova and abroad. This year we have guests from Sweden, Canada, Russia, Romania, Belgium, Israel, Ukraine, Belorussia, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
“The real violence… the violence that I realised was unforgivable is the violence that we do to ourselves, when we are too afraid to be who we really are.” #Sense8
Մարտիրոս Սարյան: "Իմ կարծիքով, մեզ՝ որպես արևելյան ժողովրդի, չափազանց կպատշաճեր բազմագույն դրոշը, որն ի հայտ է բերում ինքը` չքնաղ և հավերժ գեղեցիկ ծիածանը:"(source)
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