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Deutsche Welle, Germany
Sept 1 2012
Tension escalates between Armenia and Hungary
Hundreds of protesters burnt flags outside the Hungarian consulate in
the Armenian capital, Yerevan. The extradition of a prisoner to
Azerbaijan has fueled tension in the Caucasus.
The AFP news agency reported that several hundred angry demonstrators
burned a flag and threw eggs and tomatoes outside the Hungarian
consulate on Saturday.
They were upset with Hungarian authorities for sending a prisoner who
had murdered an Armenian national back to his native Azerbaijan, where
he was pardoned.
Azerbaijani Lieutenant Ramil Safarov had been serving a prison
sentence in Hungary, where he had killed an Armenian officer while
both were attending a training course at a military academy in the
capital, Budapest, in 2004.
The Armenian solder confessed that he had hacked the victim to death
in revenge for his comments allegedly insulting Azerbaijan. The
murderer was then sentenced to life in prison by a Hungarian court and
extradited now, after having served eight years of his sentence.
Instead of having him serve out his sentence, Azerbaijan pardoned the
murderer upon his return, reinstated him to the army and promoted him
to the rank of major.
This prompted Armenia to cut diplomatic ties with Hungary, accusing it
of having struck a deal to secure energy deliveries from oil-rich
Azerbaijan, with which it has been developing close economic ties.
The latest flare-up highlights tensions in the volatile Caucasus
region. Relations between neighboring Armenia and Azerbaijan, two
former Soviet republics, are tense.
They fought a war over the disputed region of Nagorny Karabakh in the
1990s, when Armenian-backed separatists had seized the region from
Azerbaijan. The fighting left some 30,000 people dead.
Despite a cease-fire in 1994, there has not been a final peace deal,
and firefights still erupt frequently along the Karabakh frontline
despite international mediation efforts by Russia, France and the
United States under the auspices of the OSCE.
US President Barack Obama has reacted to the latest developments and
said he was "deeply concerned" about Azerbaijan's actions.
This criticism was rejected by Azerbaijan, which has insisted the
pardon of the soldier was in line with a European legal convention on
extradition.
http://www.dw.de/dw/article/0,,16214354,00.html
Sept 1 2012
Tension escalates between Armenia and Hungary
Hundreds of protesters burnt flags outside the Hungarian consulate in
the Armenian capital, Yerevan. The extradition of a prisoner to
Azerbaijan has fueled tension in the Caucasus.
The AFP news agency reported that several hundred angry demonstrators
burned a flag and threw eggs and tomatoes outside the Hungarian
consulate on Saturday.
They were upset with Hungarian authorities for sending a prisoner who
had murdered an Armenian national back to his native Azerbaijan, where
he was pardoned.
Azerbaijani Lieutenant Ramil Safarov had been serving a prison
sentence in Hungary, where he had killed an Armenian officer while
both were attending a training course at a military academy in the
capital, Budapest, in 2004.
The Armenian solder confessed that he had hacked the victim to death
in revenge for his comments allegedly insulting Azerbaijan. The
murderer was then sentenced to life in prison by a Hungarian court and
extradited now, after having served eight years of his sentence.
Instead of having him serve out his sentence, Azerbaijan pardoned the
murderer upon his return, reinstated him to the army and promoted him
to the rank of major.
This prompted Armenia to cut diplomatic ties with Hungary, accusing it
of having struck a deal to secure energy deliveries from oil-rich
Azerbaijan, with which it has been developing close economic ties.
The latest flare-up highlights tensions in the volatile Caucasus
region. Relations between neighboring Armenia and Azerbaijan, two
former Soviet republics, are tense.
They fought a war over the disputed region of Nagorny Karabakh in the
1990s, when Armenian-backed separatists had seized the region from
Azerbaijan. The fighting left some 30,000 people dead.
Despite a cease-fire in 1994, there has not been a final peace deal,
and firefights still erupt frequently along the Karabakh frontline
despite international mediation efforts by Russia, France and the
United States under the auspices of the OSCE.
US President Barack Obama has reacted to the latest developments and
said he was "deeply concerned" about Azerbaijan's actions.
This criticism was rejected by Azerbaijan, which has insisted the
pardon of the soldier was in line with a European legal convention on
extradition.
http://www.dw.de/dw/article/0,,16214354,00.html