More than two-dozen prominent Armenians in the Diaspora have signed a statement supporting equality and justice for all in Armenia. Among the signatories are poet Diana Der Hovanessian, filmmaker Atom Egoyan, actor and producer Arsinée Khanjian, musician Serge Tankian, and photographer Scout Tufankjian. This array of Armenian artists, intellectuals and professionals felt moved to release … Continue reading
Giorgi Margvelashvili, the winner of a landslide vote on Sunday to elect the country’s next President, believes that “the objective of a democratic state is to protect the rights of every citizen.” In a written response to a series of questions posed by the voter information website Prezidenti.ge, Margvelashvili outlined his views on various issues, including … Continue reading
A group of peaceful activists staged a protest in Yerevan today during a “High Level Conference on Combating Racism, Xenophobia and Intolerance in Europe” organized by the Council of Europe. The conference takes place in the framework of the Armenian Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (CoE). According to the CoE website, the … Continue reading
According to Mamikon Hovsepyan, the head of Pink Armenia, about 10 LGBT Armenians a year let them know of being exempted from serving in the army by the MoD order under the article 8(b) (‘mental health problems’). Of course, the real number of such exemptions could be much higher, as many people simply “do not … Continue reading
(Reposted from Unzipped blog, 8 Sep 2013) Surprise. Shock. U-turn… Yet if we look at the bigger picture, including developments of last few months, this turn of events will not seem that surprising. First sign that we are going to witness what we eventually witnessed, i.e. Armenia president announcing (3 September 2013) country’s intention to … Continue reading
In a provocative speech to the UN General Assembly on September 25, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili read out a long condemnation of Russia’s politics in the former Soviet space. Saakashvili warned UN delegates that the Russian-backed Eurasian Union was being shaped by “ex-KGB officers in Moscow” and was primarily a tool to maintain influence over … Continue reading
(Special to the Armenian Weekly) YEREVAN (A.W.)—In May 2013, Armenia’s Parliament adopted the law on “Equal Rights and Equal Opportunities for Men and Women.” For the past two months, adoption of this piece of legislation has been the topic of an extremely frenzied debate. The discussion became even more heated during the last two weeks of August, … Continue reading
A 53-year-old gay man has been found dead in Azerbaijan’s capital city of Baku, according to reports. The body of the man, who has been named by police as M Namiyev, was found last night on the side of Sumgayit Highway, in the Baku suburb of Bilacari. (Read more) Continue reading
Pinknews.com is reporting that a 53-year-old, openly gay man was murdered on the side of a Baku highway – more than a week after Azerbaijan’s first “mini” gay Pride rally on September 7. The rally went by without incident and, if confirmed, would be the first gay parade in a Muslim country, not to mention … Continue reading
In what is believed to be the first ever pride celebration in Azerbaijan, a group of gay marchers recently paraded a “mini rally” through the capital city Baku, with no arrests, reports of harassment, or violence at the demonstration. Oxu news reports that the event, organised by gay rights activists Ruslan Baluxin, took place “in … Continue reading
The Iron Closet 