Human Rights

Council asks: Defaming the Armenian national identity?

Wednesday, July 04, 2012
By: Nevin Öztop
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has written a Declaration on the latest attack on LGBT friendly bar in Armenia and it was presented by the Swedish MP, Jonas Gunnarsson. 28 MPs from different counties signed this including Sweden, UK, Czech Republic, Spain, Slovenia, Canada, Monaco, Norway, Denmark, Italy, Croatia, Albania, Switzerland, Serbia and Austria.
 
Below is the Declaration:
 
Homophobic violence openly condoned by certain Armenian members of Parliament
 
This written declaration commits only those who have signed it
 
On May 8 an LGBT friendly bar in Yerevan was firebombed. Two of the arsonists have been arrested.
 
Certain Armenian MPs have openly condoned the arson attack. One is reported to have stated that the attack was completely “right and justified”, and to have claimed that those who support the rights of LGBT Armenians "are perverting our society, are defaming the Armenian national identity." Two others paid the bail of one of the arsonists. One of these MPs is reported to have asserted that the arsonists "acted in accordance with our society’s values and national ideology", although adding that "it was wrong to cause material damage".
 
We call upon the Armenian authorities to publicly repudiate such statements, to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice and to put in place measures to protect LGBT people from violence and discrimination and to counteract homophobic and transphobic attitudes in society, in accordance with the Committee of Ministers Recommendation on measures to combat discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity.
 
Signed:
 
GUNNARSSON Jonas Sweden SOC
ACKETOFT Tina Sweden ALDE
ALONSO José Antonio Spain SOC
ANDERSON Donald United Kingdom SOC
AXELSSON Lennart Sweden SOC
CONNARTY Michael United Kingdom SOC
ČRNAK MEGLIČ Andreja Slovenia SOC
DAVIES Geraint United Kingdom SOC
DAVIES Don Canada
DOBBIN Jim United Kingdom SOC
FISCHEROVÁ Jana Czech Republic EDG
GARDETTO Jean-Charles Monaco EPP/CD
HÄGG Carina Sweden SOC
HÄRSTEDT Kent Sweden SOC
HAUGLI Håkon Norway SOC
JÁUREGUI Ramón Spain SOC
JENSEN Mogens Denmark SOC
LUNDGREN Kerstin Sweden ALDE
MEALE Alan United Kingdom SOC
MOGHERINI REBESANI Federica Italy SOC
MULIĆ Melita Croatia SOC
OHLSSON Carina Sweden SOC
PERNASKA Lajla Albania EPP/CD
RECORDON Luc Switzerland SOC
SHERIDAN Jim United Kingdom SOC
SYDOW Björn, von Sweden SOC
VILLUMSEN Nikolaj Denmark UEL
VUČKOVIĆ Nataša Serbia SOC
WURM Gisela Austria SOC
 
Source:
http://assembly.coe.int/ASP/Doc/XrefViewHTML.asp?FileID=18940&Language=EN#footnote-1630122
 
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