International Scandal Threat: Vardan Ghukasyan in the British Press

The newspaper "Zhoghovurd" reports: Former mayor of Gyumri and current MP of the Rule of Law faction Vardan Ghukasyan has made headlines in the international press. During parliamentary hearings organized by the Permanent Commission on Human Rights and Public Issues, Ghukasyan suggested sending representatives of the LGBT community to the Netherlands as a punishment, following an uproar surrounding a transgender speech at the National Assembly.

“Send them to the Netherlands. We want women to be women, and men to be men. You cannot mix men with women,” he stated. The prominent British newspaper "The Guardian" quoted this part of Ghukasyan's remarks. His comments regarding the Netherlands have caused discontent among some circles in that country, particularly at a time when there have been various initiatives to strengthen Armenian-Dutch relations, especially post-revolution, which are still ongoing.

Of course, Vardan Ghukasyan is well known in Armenia, and many regard his statements with humor. However, the same cannot be said for foreign countries where Ghukasyan is accepted as a representative of the legislative body, a member of the second political force in parliament. This means that, despite not recognizing him, he is taken seriously abroad and may even offend some.

Indeed, the Prosperous Armenia party has a role to play here, needing to temper its MPs and explain the potential consequences of such statements. The secretary of the Prosperous Armenia faction, Arman Abovyan, however, declined to comment on the behavior of their faction member in an interview with "Zhoghovurd".

It is worth noting that this is not the first time Ghukasyan has made such statements about the Netherlands in public speeches, but this time his words have been cited by an international reputable media outlet.

After all of this, as sources from "Zhoghovurd" claim, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has become involved. An official letter has been sent to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Ararat Mirzoyan, emphasizing the possible negative consequences of such statements by MPs on interstate relations.

For more details, refer to today's issue of the newspaper.