What Is the Connection Between the Education Minister and Karabina? Gevorg Petrosyan

Member of the National Assembly from the "Prosperous Armenia" faction Gevorg Petrosyan addressed the Istanbul Convention and the positions of heads of departments in a conversation with reporters today.

"We do not have a Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, allowing the minister to indulge himself and discuss sex while leaving aside social security issues," the MP stated.

Petrosyan also referred to the Minister of Education and Science, who, according to him, had honorably received transgender Karabina. "The only move made by the current Minister of Education and Science is that the entire society spoke about this; welcoming that transgender person under honorable circumstances has been the only significant action in the education sector this year—it’s nothing at all. What does the education minister have to do with Karabina, what more could they discuss? I'm interested in that," he said, noting that now, if he wishes to enter the education minister's office, he might have to wait three days, similar to the experience he had with the health minister.

“I contacted the health minister because a citizen alerted me that there was a person who needed to be taken to a psychiatric hospital, but no psychiatric facility would accept him. The health minister responded three days later, apologizing for the delay, stating that he had not been in the country. But if Karabina calls, she will be in their office within three minutes, and this is our misfortune,” he added.

Petrosyan also commented on Justice Minister Rustam Badasyan’s statement regarding marriages of the third sex, and news about their adoptions, during which the latter urged journalists to inquire about how many children were adopted by same-sex couples in the event of the convention's acceptance. The MP countered, saying, “I tell him the exact opposite. Years later, he will call me and say, ‘You were right to criticize us; we did not know what was coming.’”

When asked whether state-level concessions are being made to pressures from Europe, from where funds are received, Petrosyan responded, “I cannot make such an accusation; as sharp as I may speak, I can’t make a statement detached from reality and claim that the government receives grants from Europe, and that’s why Karabina feels like a fish in water. However, it is possible that there are people, perhaps officials, who remain silent because they have a straitjacket.”