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ARMENIA, AZERBAIJAN AND HUNGARY: THE AXEMAN GOETH
The Economist
Sept 6 2012
Hungary frees an Azeri axe-murderer. Armenia is furious
Sep 8th 2012 | BUDAPEST | from the print edition
THE return home to Azerbaijan of Ramil Safarov, who killed a sleeping
Armenian fellow-student with an axe in Budapest in 2004, has prompted
the region's biggest diplomatic storm for a decade. Claiming to
be enraged by Azeri suffering in the war with Armenia a decade
earlier, Mr Safarov murdered Gurgen Margarjan while both men were at
a NATO English-language course for military officers from non-member
countries. He received a life sentence, which would normally mean 25
years behind bars.
But on August 31st Hungary sent Mr Safarov home, on the understanding,
it claims, that he would serve the rest of his sentence in prison
there. On arrival in Baku, he was hailed as a national hero: pardoned,
given his back pay and promoted.
Armenians are furious. The government has cut diplomatic relations
with Hungary. It claims officials in Budapest had repeatedly brushed
off concerns about Mr Safarov's possible release. Angry protesters in
Yerevan, the Armenian capital, burned the Hungarian flag and pelted
the consulate with tomatoes. (Other missiles in the region are more
lethal: skirmishes between Azeri and Armenian forces on the ceasefire
line have cost more than 60 lives in the past two years.)
President Serzh Sargsyan said Armenia was ready to fight if need be:
"We are not afraid of killers, even if they enjoy the protection of
the head of state." One possible retaliatory move would be for Armenia
to recognise the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh, an Armenian-run
autonomous territory also claimed by Azerbaijan. That would certainly
doom an already moribund peace process.
America said it was "extremely troubled" and would be seeking
explanations from Budapest and Baku. Russia, which is Armenia's
military ally and protector, spoke of its "deep concern".
Hungarian media and opposition scent a dirty deal behind the scenes.
They say Azerbaijan had promised to buy ~@3 billion ($3.8 billion)
of bonds from the cash-strapped Hungarian government in exchange for
Mr Safarov's release. Officials on all sides deny this. But Hungary's
protests at the Azeri action were notably late and limp. The prime
minister, Viktor Orban, did visit Azerbaijan in June. An opposition
leader and former prime minister, Ferenc Gyurcsany, says while in
office he rejected a deal offered by the Azeris. He accused the
government of "selling the country's honour for 30 pieces of silver".
Oil-rich Azerbaijan, with three times Armenia's population and a much
stronger army, seems ready to ride out the storm. Some Azeris also
cry double standards: members of Armenian terrorist organisations who
committed crimes in the Soviet era are treated as national heroes in
Armenia now, they say.
The incident casts light on Hungary's cack-handed leadership. The
foreign ministry is known for its shrewd diplomats; during the Libyan
conflict last year the Hungarian embassy in Tripoli was one of a
handful to stay open and was representing some 50 states by the end.
But it seems that the Safarov affair was masterminded by Mr Orban
and Peter Szijjarto, the minister for external economic relations.
Hungary's woeful dealings with the IMF are their responsibility, too.
The case highlights the EU's struggle to stay credible both with
wayward members such as Hungary, and with its eastern neighbours. It
has just pledged [email protected] to reform Azeri justice and migration. That
counts as small change by the standards of some other deals.
http://www.economist.com/node/21562199
From: A. Papazian
The Economist
Sept 6 2012
Hungary frees an Azeri axe-murderer. Armenia is furious
Sep 8th 2012 | BUDAPEST | from the print edition
THE return home to Azerbaijan of Ramil Safarov, who killed a sleeping
Armenian fellow-student with an axe in Budapest in 2004, has prompted
the region's biggest diplomatic storm for a decade. Claiming to
be enraged by Azeri suffering in the war with Armenia a decade
earlier, Mr Safarov murdered Gurgen Margarjan while both men were at
a NATO English-language course for military officers from non-member
countries. He received a life sentence, which would normally mean 25
years behind bars.
But on August 31st Hungary sent Mr Safarov home, on the understanding,
it claims, that he would serve the rest of his sentence in prison
there. On arrival in Baku, he was hailed as a national hero: pardoned,
given his back pay and promoted.
Armenians are furious. The government has cut diplomatic relations
with Hungary. It claims officials in Budapest had repeatedly brushed
off concerns about Mr Safarov's possible release. Angry protesters in
Yerevan, the Armenian capital, burned the Hungarian flag and pelted
the consulate with tomatoes. (Other missiles in the region are more
lethal: skirmishes between Azeri and Armenian forces on the ceasefire
line have cost more than 60 lives in the past two years.)
President Serzh Sargsyan said Armenia was ready to fight if need be:
"We are not afraid of killers, even if they enjoy the protection of
the head of state." One possible retaliatory move would be for Armenia
to recognise the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh, an Armenian-run
autonomous territory also claimed by Azerbaijan. That would certainly
doom an already moribund peace process.
America said it was "extremely troubled" and would be seeking
explanations from Budapest and Baku. Russia, which is Armenia's
military ally and protector, spoke of its "deep concern".
Hungarian media and opposition scent a dirty deal behind the scenes.
They say Azerbaijan had promised to buy ~@3 billion ($3.8 billion)
of bonds from the cash-strapped Hungarian government in exchange for
Mr Safarov's release. Officials on all sides deny this. But Hungary's
protests at the Azeri action were notably late and limp. The prime
minister, Viktor Orban, did visit Azerbaijan in June. An opposition
leader and former prime minister, Ferenc Gyurcsany, says while in
office he rejected a deal offered by the Azeris. He accused the
government of "selling the country's honour for 30 pieces of silver".
Oil-rich Azerbaijan, with three times Armenia's population and a much
stronger army, seems ready to ride out the storm. Some Azeris also
cry double standards: members of Armenian terrorist organisations who
committed crimes in the Soviet era are treated as national heroes in
Armenia now, they say.
The incident casts light on Hungary's cack-handed leadership. The
foreign ministry is known for its shrewd diplomats; during the Libyan
conflict last year the Hungarian embassy in Tripoli was one of a
handful to stay open and was representing some 50 states by the end.
But it seems that the Safarov affair was masterminded by Mr Orban
and Peter Szijjarto, the minister for external economic relations.
Hungary's woeful dealings with the IMF are their responsibility, too.
The case highlights the EU's struggle to stay credible both with
wayward members such as Hungary, and with its eastern neighbours. It
has just pledged [email protected] to reform Azeri justice and migration. That
counts as small change by the standards of some other deals.
http://www.economist.com/node/21562199
From: A. Papazian