The young Diaspora Armenia Kyle Khandikian who has returned from the United States to Armenia posted on his Facebook page that he was dismissed from the group by a member of “Karin” folk ensemble, choreographer Harut Baghdasaryan for sexual orientation. He wrote that one of the reasons to come to Armenia was to “reconcile gay and Armenian identities which seem to be enemies.” Dismissing the Diaspora Armenian from the dance classes on the grounds of being a homosexual was strongly condemned by a number of organizations. “PINK” organization appealed to the Ministries of Culture and Diaspora to prevent such discrimination.
Aravot.am asked Diaspora Minister Hranush Hakobyan whether she accept the criticism that we do not openly welcome the homosexuals and are not democratic enough which is an obstacle for Diaspora Armenians to return to the homeland. She replied, “Generally, human rights must be protected in the country, and unfortunately, I would not like intervene in the personal problems of anyone.”
To our observation that it is not just a personal problem, there are many comments, controversial opinions, including criticism underneath the post of this Diaspora Armenian, so whether to have no work to do here, Hranush Hakobyan replied, “If the person does not pervert with his behavior, morals, and activities the place where he appears and performs his professional or amateur activities, then we must create conditions for him to perform. The rest is up to his personal problems, it is a closed box for me and I would never like to go in there.” Whether there is a discriminative attitude towards the homosexuals, Hranush Hakobyan replied, “Every person interprets and perceived your words the way he wants. It is clear that we have more tradition-liking society but in all cases, there are phenomena which are a novelty. There are people who perceive it and there are people who do not perceive, it is a shock for them, they even experience a shock. The perceptions are different, therefore, I can say only one thing that I would not like anyone’s rights to be abused in our country.”
