AGLA NY Elects New Officers

Posted on June 1, 2011 by Veken Gueyikian

Dear AGLA NY members and friends,

Please welcome Alex Sarkesian and Michael Yagliyan as the new Co-Presidents of AGLANY!

Alex and Michael have both been active and dedicated members of AGLA NY for the past few years and I am delighted they have both volunteered to lead the organization as it continues to grow and strengthen in the coming year.

If you are interested in getting more involved and helping Alex and Michael in the coming year as active members of our organization, please email Alex and Mike through this form and let them know.

I would like to thank everyone for their support and help over the past two years that I have had the honor of serving as AGLA NY President.

We are planning some great events this year in addition to our participation in the 2011 NYC pride parade and our annual Armenian Christmas party, so be sure you are on our mailing list to get all the updates.

AGLA NY Armenian Christmas Party – Jan 21

Posted on January 4, 2011 by AGLA NY

Come Celebrate the New Year and Armenian Christmas with AGLA NY at our Annual Armenian Christmas Party on Friday January 21st.

This year’s party is being hosted by 2 of our wonderful members who will be opening up their home for the occasion!

When: Friday January 21st, 8PM
Where: 104 Green Street, #2, (Greenpoint) Brooklyn, NY 11222 (view map)

Please bring what you would like to drink

Please RSVP on Facebook or email us to let us know if you’re coming!

Ianyan Magazine Explores the Stigma of being Gay & Armenian

Posted on May 12, 2010 by Veken Gueyikian

Ianyan magazine has posted the first article in a series about what it means to be LGBT and Armenian.

Written by Liana Aghajanian the first installment focuses on Stigma and explores issues of homophobia, religion, & HIV/AIDS in the Armenian diaspora as well as Armenia.

In the article, AGLA NY member Alex Sarkesian talks about his experience of Homophobia within the Armenian Church.

“I’ve been to events that were sponsored by the church where they talk about how homosexuality is wrong,” he said. “Even if you’re around, they’re ok with saying how horrible it is to be gay.”

Click here to read the entire article at ianyanmag.com

We did it! AGLA NY Successfully Fundraises for WOW Collective Book

Posted on February 1, 2010 by Veken Gueyikian

Our Kickstarter Project to fund the publishing of “Two Years in Correspondence”, a new book by the Women-Oriented Women’s Collective in Armenia has been a huge success and has raised over $2,000. The money raised for this project will be used to help create, design, publish, and distribute this book of letters and correspondence from the group.

The level of support for the project has been amazing and we are proud to have helped the WOW Collective raise the funding to make this project a reality.

Follow updates on this project and others at Queering Yerevan.

Thank you everyone for helping us make this possible. We are happy to see there are soo many people willing to support projects for and/or by LGBT Armenians.

Join Us On Facebook

Posted on January 9, 2010 by AGLA NY

Our new facebook page is now even easier to find.

Visit us and become a fan at facebook.com/aglany.org

You can also follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/aglany

If you are not already on our email mailing list, please click here to subscribe here.

Inclusive Foundation Leader Released

Posted on December 29, 2009 by Veken Gueyikian

Via Pink Armenia we have learned that IGLA-Europe is reporting that Paata Sabelashvili, board member of ILGA-Europe’s Executive Board and a leader of the Inclusive Foundation in Georgia, has been released and is now recovering after nearly two weeks detention.

Martin K.I. Christensen, Co-Chairs of ILGA-Europe’s Executive Boards, said:

“There are a few questions still to be answered by the Georgian authorities. We are concerned that the raid on the office of the Inclusive Foundation which took place on 15 December 2009 was disproportionate and humiliating. We are very concerned with the way the police forces treated the staff of the Inclusive Foundation and with the damage they cause to the office. The other worry is that Georgian police still monitors the office and that other leaders of the Inclusive Foundation, Tinatin Japaridze and Eka Agdgomelashvili, continue to be under police surveillance. We call on the Georgian authorities to immediately end intimidation and any surveillance of the Inclusive Foundation office and its staff.”

Georgian Police Attack LGBT Organization & Arrest Leader, Paata Sabelashvili

Posted on December 24, 2009 by Veken Gueyikian

The Armenian Gay and Lesbian Association of New York (AGLA NY) is very troubled by the news that Georgian Police have attacked the office of the Georgian LGBT group Inclusive Foundation and arrested the head of the organization, Paata Sabelashvilli (pictured left).

Dedicated to establishing a democratic Georgia, “where sexual orientation and gender self-expression would not be the ground for discrimination,” the Inclusive Foundation is an important voice in the Caucasus, which is still plagued by homophobic public policies and severe brutality against LGBT people in general.

In a statement issued today, ILGA-Europe said it was “shocked” by the conduct of the Georgian police, “which had clearly homophobic motives.” The group called for the immediate release of Mr. Sabelashvili. AGLA NY joins its voice in the international call for the release of the LGBT leader.

ILGA-Europe continues:

“The information we have received from Georgia indicates that the police acted disproportionately and completely ignored basic rule of law. Moreover, we are extremely concerned about the safety of Paata Sabelashvili, who is not allowed any contact with the outside world.”

The following is Inclusive-Foundation’s appeal to the Georgian government and all international organizations. Please circulate this letter to everyone you know.

Continue reading →

Happy Pride!

Posted on June 28, 2009 by Veken Gueyikian

AGLA-Pride-tshirt

Presentation on Homophobia in Armenia

Posted on March 11, 2009 by AGLA NY

We’ve posted a video from last month’s presentation on Homophobia in Armenia and already within hours the homophobes have started to lash out against the video. Please visit the video on YouTube and post comments of support for greater awareness about issues of homophobia in Armenia and the global Armenian community.