The front of D.I.Y. covered in graffiti two weeks after it was firebombed, Yerevan, Armenia
© Onnik James Krikorian 2012
Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso has just published my latest article on aborted plans to introduce legislation to prohibit ‘gay propaganda’ that might result in the ‘distorted understanding’ that gay and heterosexual relations are ‘socially equivalent’ in Armenia. The move follows the introduction of similar legislation in Russia.
“We live in Russia’s shadow,” Mamikon Hovsepian, head of the PINK Armenia NGO was quoted by media as saying. A few days later, Radio Free Europe reported that the bill was withdrawn by the police due to undisclosed ‘shortcomings’ and because such issues are ‘not a priority’ for them at present.
Others, such as prolific Armenian LGBT blogger Mika Artyan, were not convinced. “I didn’t even manage to write a post on the already withdrawn gay propaganda bill, but will do so post factum as this is not the end of story,” he tweeted. He also told Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso that he believes only international media coverage of the proposed legislation, as well as domestic ridicule, prevented it from being taken further.
[…]
[…] although the Constitution provides for the protection of sexual minorities, with homosexuality decriminalized in 2003 and the government signing the United Nationals Declaration on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity five years later, there is no legislation that specifically prohibits hate speech or protects members of the LGBT community from discrimination. Indeed, argue activists such as Artyan, playing on the phobias of the population can be convenient for the government in distracting attention away from other problems. The proposed legislation came in the wake of successful public protests to prevent a rise in bus fares.
“Armenia decriminalized gay male sex only because of that requirement by the Council of Europe,” he told Osservatorio, “but it was the last South Caucasus state to do so even if the first to sign some other groundbreaking documents in support of LGBT rights. The potential is there, […] but change will depend on the development of democracy and human rights in general.”
As mentioned in the article, it comes after quite a few high profile examples of homophobia in the country and the wider region. Last year, for example, a gay-friendly bar in Yerevan was firebombed by ultra-nationalists, and earlier this year as many as 20,000 Orthodox believers went on a pogrom-like rampage in Tbilisi in response to attempts by a handful of LGBT activists to hold an anti-homophobia event.
In a scene akin to a medieval witch-hunt, elderly women holding stinging nettles sought to thrash homosexuals, and priests wielded wooden stools to beat and smash anyone or anything they could find.
Two priests were among just a handful of people arrested. But human rights groups and local civil society organizations are concerned that the government is unable, or unwilling, to rein in Church power.
In the two decades since the country declared independence, the power and influence of the Georgian Orthodox Church appears to have increased.
Some activists are saying that Georgia risks resembling little more than a theocracy, while LGBT groups are already reporting a spike in the number of cases of harassment and assault.
The gay-friendly D.I.Y. bar a week before it was firebombed, Yerevan, Armenia
© Onnik James Krikorian 2012
The Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC) has some interesting if alarming data on homophobia in the region:
LGBTQ issues are difficult to discuss throughout the South Caucasus. For example, this year’s International Day against Homophobia on May 17th was not without challenges in Georgia. An anti-homophobia rally in Tbilisi was violently met with thousands of anti-gay protesters, including some Orthodox priests, who succeeded in breaking through police barricades, beating and throwing stones at people thought to be supporting the rally. Similarly, in Armenia, LGBT rights activists were also met with protesters during the commemoration of the World Day of Cultural Diversity on May 21st in 2012. This blog shows that it remains difficult to discuss LGBTQ issues in the South Caucasus region, mainly due to conservative ideals in the region.
The 2011 CB asked one question regarding attitudes towards homosexuality-“Please tell me whether you think homosexuality can be justified or not?” The question was recoded from 10-point scale into 5-point scale, where the highest number indicated “can always be justified” and the lowest number indicated “can never be justified”. The majority in each country felt that homosexuality could never be justified (96% in Armenian, 84% in Azerbaijan and 87% in Georgia). […]
[…] In all three countries, attitudes towards homosexuality are relatively similar between geographic areas, sex and age groups. All of the data between groups are within the margin of sampling error of ±3. At least 4 out of 5 adults in Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan feel that homosexuality can never be justified in rural and urban areas and the capital. The same can be said for both men and women, and for people in the 18-35, 36-55, and 56+ age groups alike. Therefore, unlike in many other countries, attitudes towards homosexuality are relatively similar across geographic areas, sex and age groups.
Although there are many issues of concern in the region, it seems hard not to conclude that gay rights are fast becoming the new human rights, especially in Armenia and Georgia where previous concerns such as freedom of assembly and protest are currently not as serious as they used to be.
For more on LGBT issues in the region it’s worth following @unzippedblog on Twitter.
