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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
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