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Armenia fumes over Hungary's `deal' with Azerbaijan to hand over axe-murderer
News | 02.09.12 | 11:17
By Suren Musayelyan
ArmeniaNow Deputy Editor
Anti-Hungarian protests were held in Yerevan over the weekend after
official Budapest extradited a confessed murderer of an Armenian army
officer to Azerbaijan where he was immediately pardoned by the
country's president.
Armenia was quick to suspend diplomatic relations and all official
ties with Hungary on Friday accusing the Eastern European country's
government of striking a deal with Azerbaijan in allowing Ramil
Safarov to be taken back home. Safarov was serving a life sentence in
a Budapest jail after being found guilty of murdering Armenian officer
Gurgen Margaryan while he was asleep in 2004. Both men were taking
part in NATO's English-language courses in Budapest. Under the verdict
passed on him, Safarov was not eligible for pardon for at least 30
years.
`With these joint actions, Hungary's and Azerbaijan's authorities have
cleared the way for a repeat of such crimes. They are sending a
message to murderers. They [murderers] know now that a murder
committed on the basis of religious or ethnic hatred can go
unpunished,' Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan told foreign envoys in
Yerevan on August 31 shortly after discussing the matter at the
meeting of the National Security Council.
He urged the foreign diplomats to communicate Armenia's resentment
over Hungary to the leaders in their countries and said Yerevan
expected clear reactions from them.
The U.S. reaction came shortly, with Azerbaijan and its president
Ilham Aliyev being the main targets of criticism.
`President Obama is deeply concerned by today's announcement that the
President of Azerbaijan has pardoned Ramil Safarov following his
return from Hungary,' Tommy Vietor, a spokesman for the U.S. National
Security Council, said in a statement late on Friday. `We are
communicating to Azerbaijani authorities our disappointment about the
decision to pardon Safarov. This action is contrary to ongoing efforts
to reduce regional tensions and promote reconciliation.'
`The United States is also requesting an explanation from Hungary
regarding its decision to transfer Safarov to Azerbaijan,' the
official added.
The Hungarian Ministry of Justice and Public Administration, which
formally authorized Safarov's repatriation, said earlier that the
decision was in line with international conventions.
Earlier, the Armenian National Congress of America, the largest
American advocacy group in the United States, demanded an official
reaction from Obama and urged Armenian Americans to send similar
petitions to the White House.
Meanwhile, Russia and France, the other two countries co-heading the
OSCE Minsk Group, have so far been tightlipped on the development.
The foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan were due to meet with
the Minsk Group co-chairs in Paris on Sunday. The issue is likely to
be on the agenda of the talks. It is also expected to come up during
the visit of NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen to the
region next week. (Hungary is a member of NATO as well as the European
Union).
Meanwhile, representatives of different political groups and youth
organizations staged protests near the consulate of Hungary in
Yerevan, throwing tomatoes and coins at it, burning the images of
Ramil Safarov and then a Hungarian flag. A protest was also held near
the Foreign Ministry building near Republic Square, with its
participants demanding a resignation of Foreign Minister Edward
Nalbandyan over his failure to prevent the developments.
Armenia's Ministry of the Diaspora, meanwhile, issued a call on
Armenians worldwide to show their anger and resentment over Hungary's
conduct by staging protests and campaigning otherwise.
Meanwhile, Safarov, 35, received a hero's welcome at home where he was
promoted to the rank of major, also receiving hefty material benefits
from the government of Azerbaijan.
Many experts in Armenia believe the kind of attitude shown by the
authorities in Baku to Safarov is a heavy blow to the current
negotiations over the future of Nagorno-Karabakh and delays the
prospect of peace in the region indefinitely. Some political groups in
Armenia have even called on the government to withdraw from the talks
and start a formal process on the recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh as
an independent state.
News | 02.09.12 | 11:17
By Suren Musayelyan
ArmeniaNow Deputy Editor
Anti-Hungarian protests were held in Yerevan over the weekend after
official Budapest extradited a confessed murderer of an Armenian army
officer to Azerbaijan where he was immediately pardoned by the
country's president.
Armenia was quick to suspend diplomatic relations and all official
ties with Hungary on Friday accusing the Eastern European country's
government of striking a deal with Azerbaijan in allowing Ramil
Safarov to be taken back home. Safarov was serving a life sentence in
a Budapest jail after being found guilty of murdering Armenian officer
Gurgen Margaryan while he was asleep in 2004. Both men were taking
part in NATO's English-language courses in Budapest. Under the verdict
passed on him, Safarov was not eligible for pardon for at least 30
years.
`With these joint actions, Hungary's and Azerbaijan's authorities have
cleared the way for a repeat of such crimes. They are sending a
message to murderers. They [murderers] know now that a murder
committed on the basis of religious or ethnic hatred can go
unpunished,' Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan told foreign envoys in
Yerevan on August 31 shortly after discussing the matter at the
meeting of the National Security Council.
He urged the foreign diplomats to communicate Armenia's resentment
over Hungary to the leaders in their countries and said Yerevan
expected clear reactions from them.
The U.S. reaction came shortly, with Azerbaijan and its president
Ilham Aliyev being the main targets of criticism.
`President Obama is deeply concerned by today's announcement that the
President of Azerbaijan has pardoned Ramil Safarov following his
return from Hungary,' Tommy Vietor, a spokesman for the U.S. National
Security Council, said in a statement late on Friday. `We are
communicating to Azerbaijani authorities our disappointment about the
decision to pardon Safarov. This action is contrary to ongoing efforts
to reduce regional tensions and promote reconciliation.'
`The United States is also requesting an explanation from Hungary
regarding its decision to transfer Safarov to Azerbaijan,' the
official added.
The Hungarian Ministry of Justice and Public Administration, which
formally authorized Safarov's repatriation, said earlier that the
decision was in line with international conventions.
Earlier, the Armenian National Congress of America, the largest
American advocacy group in the United States, demanded an official
reaction from Obama and urged Armenian Americans to send similar
petitions to the White House.
Meanwhile, Russia and France, the other two countries co-heading the
OSCE Minsk Group, have so far been tightlipped on the development.
The foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan were due to meet with
the Minsk Group co-chairs in Paris on Sunday. The issue is likely to
be on the agenda of the talks. It is also expected to come up during
the visit of NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen to the
region next week. (Hungary is a member of NATO as well as the European
Union).
Meanwhile, representatives of different political groups and youth
organizations staged protests near the consulate of Hungary in
Yerevan, throwing tomatoes and coins at it, burning the images of
Ramil Safarov and then a Hungarian flag. A protest was also held near
the Foreign Ministry building near Republic Square, with its
participants demanding a resignation of Foreign Minister Edward
Nalbandyan over his failure to prevent the developments.
Armenia's Ministry of the Diaspora, meanwhile, issued a call on
Armenians worldwide to show their anger and resentment over Hungary's
conduct by staging protests and campaigning otherwise.
Meanwhile, Safarov, 35, received a hero's welcome at home where he was
promoted to the rank of major, also receiving hefty material benefits
from the government of Azerbaijan.
Many experts in Armenia believe the kind of attitude shown by the
authorities in Baku to Safarov is a heavy blow to the current
negotiations over the future of Nagorno-Karabakh and delays the
prospect of peace in the region indefinitely. Some political groups in
Armenia have even called on the government to withdraw from the talks
and start a formal process on the recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh as
an independent state.