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Nato Warns Against 'Glorification' Of Azerbaijan Killer

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  • Nato Warns Against 'Glorification' Of Azerbaijan Killer

    NATO WARNS AGAINST 'GLORIFICATION' OF AZERBAIJAN KILLER

    Daily Times
    Sept 7 2012
    Pakistan

    * Rasmussen says pardon hits efforts to settle Nagorno-Karabakh dispute

    BAKU: The head of NATO rebuked Azerbaijan Friday after an Azerbaijani
    soldier who axed to death an Armenian serviceman was pardoned and
    given a hero's welcome following his extradition to Baku.

    Ramil Safarov was pardoned, promoted and financially rewarded after
    arriving in Baku from Budapest, where he had been serving a life
    sentence for killing the soldier from foe Armenia during a NATO
    training session. "The act he committed in 2004 was a crime which
    should not be glorified, as this damages trust and does not contribute
    to the peace process," NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen
    said in a speech during a visit to Baku.

    Rasmussen made the same statement in the Armenian capital Yerevan on
    Tuesday, where public outrage over the case has sparked protests. The
    pardon has inflamed tensions between ex-Soviet foes Armenia and
    Azerbaijan, which are locked in an unresolved conflict over the
    disputed territory of Nagorny Karabakh where they fought a war in the
    1990s. In Baku, Rasmussen warned against renewed hostilities. "Two
    things are clear. First, that there is no military solution. And
    second, the only way forward is through dialogue, compromise and
    cooperation," he said.

    But Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev remained defiant despite the
    NATO leader's comments, which followed similar criticism from
    Washington, Brussels and Moscow. "Armenia is unjustifiably kicking up
    a fuss over Ramil Safarov's pardoning," Aliyev said at a news
    conference with Rasmussen, arguing that the process was legal and
    fair. "Safarov has been extradited in conformity with the European
    Convention (on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons) and his pardoning is
    based on Azerbaijani legislation," he said. The United Nations on
    Thursday also voiced concern about the heightened tensions between the
    regional foes, saying "there is no alternative to a peace settlement"
    over Nagorny Karabakh.

    Yerevan has broken off diplomatic links with Budapest, which had been
    assured by Baku that the killer would serve out his prison term in
    Azerbaijan. Armenia's President Serzh Sarkisian said Thursday that
    "making a hero out of a criminal is unacceptable", accusing Azerbaijan
    of endangering peace. Aliyev's website however has been publishing a
    series of letters from citizens congratulating him for freeing the
    killer. "The extradition and pardoning of national army officer Ramil
    Safarov has filled us, young people, and indeed the entire nation with
    a sense of pride and joy," said one letter from youth club manager
    Kifayat Amirova in the city of Ganja. Safarov's lawyers claimed in
    court that he was traumatised because his family became refugees
    during the Nagorny Karabakh war, and alleged that the man he killed
    had insulted his country.

    Armenia-backed separatists seized Nagorny Karabakh from Azerbaijan
    during the war, which left some 30,000 dead, and the two sides have
    not yet signed a peace deal since the 1994 ceasefire. afp

    http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2012%5C09%5C08%5Cstory_8-9-2012_pg14_1


    From: Baghdasarian
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