Incident during Diversity March in Yerevan
An incident was recorded in Yerevan during a march dedicated to the World Day for Cultural Diversity.
A brawl broke out between the police and a group of young people who were trying to prevent the procession organized by the Women's Resource Centre and Public Information and Need of Knowledge NGOs.
The youth formed a human chain, shouting "These are gays!" "Keep your children away from them!" "We say "no" to sexual perversion."
However, the activists were able to break through the chain and enter the building of the Artists' Union, where an exhibition was organized on the occasion. The police had to chain the area to ban the youth from intruding into the building.
Gohar Shahnazaryan, co-founder of the Women's Resource Centre NGO, said the group did not understand the meaning of the march; therefore they tried to thwart the event.
"They hurled aggressive and insulting comments at the activists who took part in the march," she said noting that the event had no connection with homosexuality.
As Ms. Shahnazaryan said, the organizers wanted to call the attention of relevant bodies to the problems and grave social conditions of refugee women who have been neglected for many years.
