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HUNGARIAN PARTIES SLAM GOVT OVER SAFAROV EXTRADITION
PanARMENIAN.Net
September 4, 2012 - 15:09 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenia severed all diplomatic relations with
Hungary last Friday following the extradition of the Azerbaijani
army officer Ramil Safarov, who was convicted of murder in Hungary,
The Budapest Times said.
Safarov killed an Armenian roommate in 2004 during a course of
studies organised by NATO in Budapest and was given a life sentence
in Hungary. Back in his homeland Safarov was immediately pardoned by
the country's president and has been celebrated as a national hero.
The Hungarian government has since been at pains to explain itself
and limit the damage.
According to the Hungarian Foreign Ministry, the extradition was in
line with the European Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons
signed in Strasbourg. The state secretary for foreign affairs and
foreign trade at the prime minister' office Peter Szijjarto said that
on Sunday the foreign ministry had given the Azerbaijani ambassador
in Budapest a diplomatic note, describing the events following
the extradition of the murderer as "unacceptable" and "condemning"
them. The Hungarian government was dismayed to learn that Safarov
had been pardoned, Szijjarto said.
The Azerbaijani authorities had assured Hungary that Safarov would
serve the remaining part of the sentence that he had begun in Hungary
in his homeland. The diplomatic note also refers to a promise made
in a letter by the deputy justice minister of Azerbaijan dated 15
August 2012, according to which the convicted murder could hope to
be released on conditional parole no earlier than 25 years after
commencing his prison sentence, Szijjarto said.
The reality was very different: on day of his extradition, Safarov,
described in Hungary as an "axe murderer", was pardoned by Azerbaijani
president Ilham Aliyev, promoted as a soldier and given a rapturous
welcome by the people. What is more, he was granted a new flat and
the assurance that he would receive his pay retroactively. The same
day Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan announced that his country was
severing relations with Hungary. Irate Armenians protested outside
the Hungarian consulate in Yerevan and burnt a Hungarian flag.
There were also protests in Hungary itself.
The largest opposition party, the Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP)
said that it was also waiting for an explanation of the events. At a
Socialist party event on Sunday in Siofok Socialist MP Zsolt Molnar
called for foreign minister Janos Martonyi to resign. Molnar, who
is chairman of the parliamentary committee for national security,
also demanded that Martonyi give answers at the next meeting of the
committee as to why and how the extradition came about and whether
consideration had been given to the safety of Hungarians living
in Armenia.
Former prime minister Ferenc Gyurcsany's party, the Democratic
Coalition (DK), went one step further and took to the streets. It
swiftly repurposed a demonstration taking place in any case against the
government's education policy and marched from the state secretariat
for education to the justice ministry. DK party chairman Gyurcsany
adroitly linked the two topics: "A government that is willing to
hawk the honour of the country for 30 pieces of silver and release a
murderer from deserved execution of a prison sentence, is hardly in a
position to introduce ethics teaching in schools", Gyurcsany said. His
remark was an allusion to reports in the weekly news magazine HVG
that Azerbaijan had pledged to buy Hungarian government bonds with a
value of as much as EUR 3 billion in exchange for handing over Safarov.
Gyurcsany told journalists that the Azerbaijani authorities had also
appealed to his government to hand over Safarov. However, since it had
been clear that Safarov would immediately be released in his homeland
and celebrated as a hero, his government had refused the request,
Gyurcsany said. He noted that Orban must have been aware of the
likely consequences in the absence of guarantees that the convicted
murderer would continue to serve his sentence in his homeland, such
as a promise from the Azerbaijani president.
Democratic Coalition deputy chairman Csaba Molnar accused the
government of having "turned the honour of the Hungarians into goods
for sale" and "brought shame on the country". He accused Prime Minister
Viktor Orban of "preferring to beg money from the devil" than to reach
an agreement with the European Union and the International Monetary
Fund. Candles were lit at the end of the demonstration in memory of
the Armenian officer Gurgen Margaryan, who was axe murdered in his
bed in 2004.
PanARMENIAN.Net
September 4, 2012 - 15:09 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenia severed all diplomatic relations with
Hungary last Friday following the extradition of the Azerbaijani
army officer Ramil Safarov, who was convicted of murder in Hungary,
The Budapest Times said.
Safarov killed an Armenian roommate in 2004 during a course of
studies organised by NATO in Budapest and was given a life sentence
in Hungary. Back in his homeland Safarov was immediately pardoned by
the country's president and has been celebrated as a national hero.
The Hungarian government has since been at pains to explain itself
and limit the damage.
According to the Hungarian Foreign Ministry, the extradition was in
line with the European Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons
signed in Strasbourg. The state secretary for foreign affairs and
foreign trade at the prime minister' office Peter Szijjarto said that
on Sunday the foreign ministry had given the Azerbaijani ambassador
in Budapest a diplomatic note, describing the events following
the extradition of the murderer as "unacceptable" and "condemning"
them. The Hungarian government was dismayed to learn that Safarov
had been pardoned, Szijjarto said.
The Azerbaijani authorities had assured Hungary that Safarov would
serve the remaining part of the sentence that he had begun in Hungary
in his homeland. The diplomatic note also refers to a promise made
in a letter by the deputy justice minister of Azerbaijan dated 15
August 2012, according to which the convicted murder could hope to
be released on conditional parole no earlier than 25 years after
commencing his prison sentence, Szijjarto said.
The reality was very different: on day of his extradition, Safarov,
described in Hungary as an "axe murderer", was pardoned by Azerbaijani
president Ilham Aliyev, promoted as a soldier and given a rapturous
welcome by the people. What is more, he was granted a new flat and
the assurance that he would receive his pay retroactively. The same
day Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan announced that his country was
severing relations with Hungary. Irate Armenians protested outside
the Hungarian consulate in Yerevan and burnt a Hungarian flag.
There were also protests in Hungary itself.
The largest opposition party, the Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP)
said that it was also waiting for an explanation of the events. At a
Socialist party event on Sunday in Siofok Socialist MP Zsolt Molnar
called for foreign minister Janos Martonyi to resign. Molnar, who
is chairman of the parliamentary committee for national security,
also demanded that Martonyi give answers at the next meeting of the
committee as to why and how the extradition came about and whether
consideration had been given to the safety of Hungarians living
in Armenia.
Former prime minister Ferenc Gyurcsany's party, the Democratic
Coalition (DK), went one step further and took to the streets. It
swiftly repurposed a demonstration taking place in any case against the
government's education policy and marched from the state secretariat
for education to the justice ministry. DK party chairman Gyurcsany
adroitly linked the two topics: "A government that is willing to
hawk the honour of the country for 30 pieces of silver and release a
murderer from deserved execution of a prison sentence, is hardly in a
position to introduce ethics teaching in schools", Gyurcsany said. His
remark was an allusion to reports in the weekly news magazine HVG
that Azerbaijan had pledged to buy Hungarian government bonds with a
value of as much as EUR 3 billion in exchange for handing over Safarov.
Gyurcsany told journalists that the Azerbaijani authorities had also
appealed to his government to hand over Safarov. However, since it had
been clear that Safarov would immediately be released in his homeland
and celebrated as a hero, his government had refused the request,
Gyurcsany said. He noted that Orban must have been aware of the
likely consequences in the absence of guarantees that the convicted
murderer would continue to serve his sentence in his homeland, such
as a promise from the Azerbaijani president.
Democratic Coalition deputy chairman Csaba Molnar accused the
government of having "turned the honour of the Hungarians into goods
for sale" and "brought shame on the country". He accused Prime Minister
Viktor Orban of "preferring to beg money from the devil" than to reach
an agreement with the European Union and the International Monetary
Fund. Candles were lit at the end of the demonstration in memory of
the Armenian officer Gurgen Margaryan, who was axe murdered in his
bed in 2004.