Legislation aimed at preventing domestic violence in Armenia has been scuttled after opponents charged that it is a European attempt to undermine traditional Armenian values.
In a full-page ad in The New York Times, 23 Diaspora personalities from around the world appealed to their compatriots to make “a long-term commitment toward collectively advancing” Armenia.
Countries in the Caucasus, that sensitive borderland between East and West, are wondering what to expect from Donald Trump, the United States’ choice for president.
In the Armenian capital of Yerevan, where a group of anti-government gunmen took over a police station last Sunday, more sympathy seems to be with the hostage-takers themselves.
One of the members of the Founding Parliament movement that stormed the police building in Yerevan’s southern Erebuni district said the “rebellion” is also aimed at forcing President Serzh Sarkisian to step down.
The statement said the attackers are holding several hostages in the Erebuni police station, adding that “negotiations are under way to release them peacefully.”
Women’s rights advocates argue that both the justice and law enforcement system in this predominantly patriarchal, South Caucasus country still fail to address domestic violence as an actual crime.
During public events for the pope in both the capital, Yerevan, and the northern town of Gyumri, police arrested political activists demanding the release of alleged political prisoners or blocked their attendance at liturgies and prayer services.
Displays of affection between men, such as kissed greetings and walking with arms locked, is customary in this otherwise macho neck of the woods, and accounts for more than one awkward moment with Western visitors.