Author: Parkev Tvankchian

Azerbaijan named most anti-LGBT+ country in Europe

Parkev Tvankchian
The Independent (United Kingdom)
Monday 9:15 PM GMT
Azerbaijan named most anti-LGBT+ country in Europe
Campaign group analyses laws and policies across 49 nationsin new ranking
 
by  Zamira Rahim
 
Azerbaijan is the worst place to be gay in Europe, according to LGBT+ rights group ILGA-Europe.
 
The campaigners ranked countries along a scale, in which zero indicated gross human rights abuses and 100 per cent represented the greatest degree of equality.
 
Now in its 10th year, the ranking analysedlaws and policies governing LGBT+ matters across 49 European countries over the past 12 months.
 
Marks were given across 69 individual categories, such as employment rights and marriage equality.
 
Azerbaijan scored just 3 per cent in the survey, while Turkey and Armenia were awarded 5 per cent and 7 per cent each.
 
In 2017 reports emerged of an alleged crackdown on LGBT+ people in Azerbaijan.
 
Human rights groups condemned news ofmass arrests and abuses and urged authorities to release those who were jailed.
 
Azerbaijan's Ministry of Internal Affairs hasresponded to criticism by activists in the past by claiming thatsuch raids arenot a specific attack on LGBT+ people but instead a crackdown on prostitution.
 
The countries that did well in ILGA's ranking include Malta, which came first with 90 per cent.
 
Belgium and Luxembourg were ranked as the second and third best European countries for LGBT+ rights.
 
"Those countries that continue to do really well and go up are those that … clicked quite some time ago that the agenda was more than marriage equality," said Evelyne Paradis, the campaign group's executive director.
 
Due to ashift in the number of categories included in the survey, several countries that had formerly been seen as leaders of LGBT+ equality, such as the UK, saw their overall percentages slip between 2018 and 2019.
 
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Last year, Britain scored 73 per centand was ranked equal with Finland and France at fourth.
 
The UKfell to 66 per cent in the 2019 index, tied at seventh with Portugal.
 
Additional reporting by agencies

Culture: Plays by Iranian writers published in Armenian

Parkev Tvankchian
Tehran Times, Iran
May 8 2019
  1. Culture
May 8, 2019

TEHRAN – Ten plays by Iranian writers have been published in Armenian in a book titled “Contemporary Iranian Plays”, the Iranian Theater Forum announced on Tuesday.

Among the plays are Ali Abedi’s “Horsefly” translated by Georg Asaturian and Milad Akbarnejad’s “Shakespeare in Love 2001” rendered by Emma Begijanian.

The collection also includes Sahra Ramezanian’s “Vazarik Has Died” and Mohammad Yaqubi’s “Winter 66”, both translated by Nune Hovhannisyan.

Hovhannisyan is also the translator of Mohammad Rahmanian’s “Bombardment Hour” and “A Play for You”, both of which have originally been published in a single book.  

The book also carries “Dream Room” by Afruz Foruzandeh, “A Call from Across the Line” by Behzad Sediqi, “The Club-Wielders of Varazil” by Gholamhossein Saedi and “The Wall” by Sharam Karami, all translated by Edward Haghverdian. 

“Contemporary Iranian Plays” has been published by the forum in collaboration with the Writers Union of Armenia.  

Photo: Front cover of the “Contemporary Iranian Plays”.

MMS/YAW

A1+: Armenian PM gives advice to Ukrainian President-elect on how to interact with Russia’s Putin

Parkev Tvankchian

Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan has advised President-elect of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky to be maximally sincere with Russian President Vladimir Putin for interacting with him without obstacles.

“I don’t think he will have difficulties in interaction (with Putin-edit). There is a condition – if you are straight, sincere, with no conspiracies in mind, there will be no difficulties. It’s just necessary to be straight and sincere”, Pashinyan said.

According to him, this is not only about interactions with the Russian President. “I think everybody will appreciate it if he sees that his interlocutor is not trying to deceive him”, PM Pashinyan said, adding that maybe this approach is not so common in international relations and diplomacy, but he always does so.

Earlier Pashinyan congratulated Vladimir Zelensky on being elected President of Ukraine, expressing confidence that the new President will make all efforts to raise Armenian-Ukrainian friendly relations to a new level.

Newspaper: Armenia authorities have major problems in relations with Russia

Parkev Tvankchian
News.am, Armenia
Newspaper: Armenia authorities have major problems in relations with Russia Newspaper: Armenia authorities have major problems in relations with Russia

10:22, 20.04.2019
                  

YEREVAN. – Several days ago, representatives of the United Russia party and of seven other political parties from other countries of the Eurasian Economic Union took part in the Eurasian Conference held in Yerevan at the invitation of Prosperous Armenia Party leader Gagik Tsarukyan, 168hours reported.

“[But] the noteworthy thing is that no representative from the ruling Civil Contract (CC) Party, or from the parliamentary [majority] My Step faction [of Armenia] was invited to that conference.

“This is essentially an important message because [political] party ties have always been used for promoting state ties, forming relations, and the fact that the interaction—in both official and informal formats—with [Armenian] Prime Minister [Nikol] Pashinyan’s party was actually absent by the Russians, once again proves that no matter how much the new [Armenian] authorities are ‘drumming’ about the opposite, nonetheless, there are very major problems, to put it mildly, in [their] relations with the Russians,” 168hours wrote.

Armenian sappers clear 10,000 square meters area in Syria

Parkev Tvankchian
Panorama, Armenia

The sappers of the Armenian humanitarian mission in Syria have resumed the mine-clearing operations in Aleppo after several days of training and technical explorations.

The Armenian Humanitarian Demining and Expertise Center maintains daily contact with the group’s commander Ara Martirosyan, the center said.

According to him, they come across both anti-tank and anti-personnel mines, improvised explosive devices (IEDs) are not few either. Mine clearing operations are carried out in compliance with international standards.

Overall, the Armenian sappers have cleared an area of more than 10,000 square meters so far, the center said. 

Newspaper: Russia sells natural gas to Armenia at higher price than in international market

Parkev Tvankchian
News.am, Armenia
Newspaper: Russia sells natural gas to Armenia at higher price than in international market Newspaper: Russia sells natural gas to Armenia at higher price than in international market

10:17, 13.04.2019
                  

YEREVAN. – The natural gas price continues to drop in the international market, Zhamanak (Time) newspaper of Armenia reported.

“At the moment, the price of [natural] gas fluctuates between 150-160 [US] dollars for a thousand cubic meters. This means that, at the moment, Russia sells [natural] gas to Armenia at a higher price—for 165 dollars—than it is worth in the international market.

“True, Armenia has a one-year [respective] contract with Russia. And if the [natural] gas price rises in the international market, it will not change for Armenia. But the fact remains,” Zhamanak wrote.

Sports: Gymnast Vahagn Davtyan wins bronze at the European Championship

Parkev Tvankchian
Panorama, Armenia
Sport 18:45 13/04/2019 Armenia

Armenian athlete Vahagn Davtyan won bronze at the European Artistic Gymnastics Individual Championship in Szczecin, Poland.

As the National Olympic Committee reported, the Armenian performed the last on the rings and recorded 14,933 points. Another member of the Armenian team Artur Tovmasyan was placed the seventh with a score of14,700. The gold was taken by the representative of Russia Denis Ablyazin.

Il caso-Armenia nelle scuole di Pordenone

Parkev Tvankchian
Il Friuli, Italia
11 aprile 2019

11 aprile 2019

L’associazione “via Montereale” di Pordenone, che quest’anno celebra la sua ventennale attività di sensibilizzazione alla diversità attraverso progetti soprattutto sulle culture lontane, ha promosso quest’anno, in accordo con il Comune di Pordenone, un progetto sull’Armenia, diviso fra scuola e teatro.

Il primo evento è previsto per la mattina martedì 16 alle 12  all’Itsse Mattiussi di Pordenone, dove si parlerà per la prima volta del genocidio armeno, iniziato con l’affacciarsi della Prima Guerra Mondiale e ritenuto il primo genocidio del Novecento e dove persero la vita oltre un milione e mezzo di armeni.

A raccontare la Storia dell’Armenia e del genocidio sarà Ludovica Cantarutti, mentre Chiara Quarin, responsabile del settore “Danze d’oltremare” del sodalizio pordenonese, insegnerà agli allievi alcune danze popolari armene con il supporto tecnico di Laura Giusti.

Il secondo evento riguarda inveceil teatro. Giovedì 18 alle 21, nel Ridotto del Teatro Verdi di Pordenone, si svolgerà, ad ingresso libero, la rappresentazione dell’Atto Unico “Non colpevole”, scritto, diretto ed interpretato da Adriano Marcolini con il supporto di Manuel Bendoni e Silvia Scarabello.

Il progetto è sostenuto anche dalla Fondazione Friuli, dalla BCC Pordenonese, dall’associazione Zizernak di Udine e da Nautilus di Vicenza, sotto la cui egida si sono svolte tutte le rappresentazioni dell’opera in Italia, compresa Pordenone ed Udine.

E’ prevista anche la presenza a Pordenone di una delegazione dello Stato armeno guidata dal Vice Primo Ministro, che incontrerà il Sindaco e le autorità pordenonesi. La scelta del mese di aprile per gli eventi ha un particolare significato, quello di una riflessione a ridosso del 24 aprile, data che segna l’inizio del genocidio.



Armenia, Czech Republic to cooperate in military-technical sphere

Parkev Tvankchian

Armenia, Czech Republic to cooperate in military-technical sphere

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18:22, 9 April, 2019

YEREVAN, APRIL 9, ARMENPRESS. Defense Minister of Armenia Davit Tonoyan and Defense Minister of the Czech Republic Lubomir Metnar have signed an agreement on military-technical cooperation, ARMEN PRESS reports Minister Tonoyan said during a briefing.

According to him, bilateral official cooperation between the two countries started in 2010 and is based on high-level of political relations, friendship of peoples, mutual understanding and common values and approaches and has promising prospects.

“The legal basis of cooperation between Armenia and the Czech Republic is the agreement on military cooperation signed between the two countries in 2010 and the agreement on military-technical cooperation, signed today, stipulates areas of mutual interest, cooperation format and procedures”, he said.

Tonoyan said that during the meeting with his Czech counterpart issues on regional and international security were also discussed. "We also discussed the political high-level relations between the two friendly countries and reaffirmed the general approaches to international and regional security issues. We touched upon the military-political developments in the neighborhood of our states, "he added.

Edited and translated by Tigran Sirekanyan