{"id":272871,"date":"2016-05-27T14:01:35","date_gmt":"2016-05-27T10:01:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.epress.am\/?p=272871"},"modified":"2017-06-15T22:43:05","modified_gmt":"2017-06-15T18:43:05","slug":"lgbt-activist-speaks-out-on-homophobia-in-armenia-says-country-needs-anti-discrimination-law-video","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/epress.am\/en\/2016\/05\/27\/lgbt-activist-speaks-out-on-homophobia-in-armenia-says-country-needs-anti-discrimination-law-video.html","title":{"rendered":"LGBT Activist Speaks Out on Homophobia in Armenia, Says Country Needs Anti-Discrimination Law (Video)"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are LGBT individuals in Armenia, with their rights and issues, but their voices remain largely unheard, Kyle Khandikyan<\/span><\/a> who came to Armenia in 2015 as a volunteer with Birthright Armenia told Epress.am, speaking about public attitudes towards LGBT+ people in the country and the discrimination he recently faced for being gay.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am Armenian, but because of my homosexuality, I’m not accepted by my community. Your compatriots tell you that ‘people like you should be burnt or murdered,’ which, to me, is horrible and unacceptable. We are a nation that is well aware of what hatred can lead to, so these calls to violence are unacceptable to me. We survived genocide, which should have at least taught us something; but we’ve still got a lot to learn,\u201d Khandikyan said.<\/p>\n

The 23-year-old U.S.-born Armenian expounded his views on the subject in an article entitled \u201cExplain to Me Why and How I Should Be Proud to Be Armenian,\u201d after the publication of which he was kicked out of \u201cBekor\u201d amateur folk dance group and told by its artistic director Harut Baghdasaryan that he had \u201cno right\u201d to dance Armenian dances because he was gay. Additionally, the instructor told Khandikyan that \u201csuch people\u201d should be stoned.<\/p>\n

According to Khandikyan, he had written his article on homophobia and transphobia with the intention of \u201cgiving people a little shake;\u201d to \u201cmake them a little mad so that they understand my anger.\u201d Initially, Khandikyan added, he had had no particular desire to speak out about his homosexuality, but the discrimination he faced at Baghdasaryan’s hands made him change his mind since he believes that he is \u201cnot the only one\u201d affected by the issue.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are all obliged to speak up about injustice, and although it’s extremely hard to be a part of this nation as a homosexual, I still love these people. I love even those who hate me,\u201d Khandikyan said.<\/p>\n

Speaking about the differences between societal attitudes towards LGBT people in Diaspora and Armenia, he stressed that young diasporic Armenians were more tolerant, while older people, including those who’ve arrived in the USA from Armenia and the Middle East, tend to display discriminatory attitudes.<\/p>\n

The lack of an Armenian law<\/span><\/a> protecting members of the LGBT+ community and other minorities, Khandikyan added, also contributes to the problem; \u201cEverybody’s human rights, independent of their nationality, should be protected in Armenia.\u201d<\/p>\n