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BUDAPEST: COORDINATED POLITICS: INTERVIEW WITH HAYK DEMOYAN
Magyar Narancs
Sept 6 2012
Hungary
Interview with Hayk Demoyan - representative of the Armenian defence
ministry during the trial of Ramil Safarov in Budapes in 2004-2006
Kovácsy Tibor [translated from Hungarian]
Question: Sardar Calaloglu, an Azeri oppositonal politician found it
regrettable, that Safarov was given a hero's welcome by the Azeri
authorities. He thinks however, that the verdict against him was
extremely harsh in the Budapest trial. It was not accepted as an
extenuation that he as a child had to witness the massacre of his
family members by Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh. What is your opinion
about the Budapest trial?
HD: I was a representative of the Armenian defence ministry at the
court hearings in Budapest between 2004 and 2006. I can say that
despite all Azerbaijani attempts to interfere in the process by all
illegal means, first of all representing army officier as a person
with post-traumatic syndroms and changing initial testimonies of
Safarov, Hungarian judge Andras Vaskuti brilliantly lead the case
and in my opinion the verdict was very much adecvate for the murder
commited against the person who was asleep and who never instigated or
humiliated Safarov (the case proved that despite of all Azerbaijani
attepts to create something new for the defence of Safarov). Before
the murder Safarov confessed that he had met with Armenians in Turkey
while studying there, so any referances to the family members who
suffered during the Karabakh war was baseless, especialy taking into
account the initial testimonies of Safarov. Shortly after the murder
he didn't mentioned about the family members and his motivations,
but told to interrogator that he was trained to kill a man using
various instruments at the Turkish Special forces' military bases,
located on the territory of Turkish occupied Northern Cyprus.
Question: Is the welcome, the promotion etc. of Safarov a simple
populist gesture, an act claimed or desired by the Azeri population
or a provocation addressed to Armenia?
HD: The Azerbaijani society has very anti-Armenian stance. Everything
Armenian or associated with Armenia is regarded as an anathema. This
is not the populist expressions but the result of state orchestrated
and carefully inplemented policy which targets Armenians as a part
of internal and external policy. Welcoming and heroisation of Safarov
could be regarded as an apex of the anti-Armenian sentiments expressed
by the Azerbaijani leaders and society.
Question: What is your personal opinion about the decision of the
Hungarian government? Did the Hungarian authorities ever contact the
Armenian ones about this issue?
HD: I think before passing the decision about extradition of Safarov
it would be correct to consult with the Armenian counterparts. This
is not just ethical and moral issue, but a political one with heavy
concequenses, and subsequent developments proved the objectivity of
this statement.
Question: Is the Armenian reaction - the severing of diplomatic ties -
accepted by the Armenian opposition, intellectuals and civil society?
HD: In majority yes, it was accepted positivly, since the Safarov
case was very sensitive issue for nearly every Armenian. And this
is the first case of severing diplomatic relations with a state for
independent Armenia.
Question: Which are the deeper roots of the conflict between Armenia
and Azerbaijan? Does it originate from the fact, that Azeris are
Turkic people? Does it have any rapport with the 1915 Genocide?
HD: Azerbaijanis are a nation with Turkic background and for Armenian
popular memory they are associated with Turks of Asia Minor. The
popular slogan for Turkish and Azerbaijani leaders is â~@~^One nation,
two states". I think this shows all, including the referances to the
Genocide memory still very central in memory of Armenians.
Question: How is this whole problem evaluated by the Azeri side?
HD: As I said the majority of the Azerbaijanis is very anti-Armenian.
Exceptions only prove the general trend and mood.
Question: Is the Armenian-Azeri conflict a main concern of the Armenian
public opinion?
HD: It is one of the main issues touching the everyday life and
anxieties of the Armenians both in Armenia and in Diaspora.
Question: As far as I know, there are continuing efforts by the civil
society, by NGOs of both sides to facilitate the peace between the two
countries. Are these now threatened by the extradition and pardonning
of Safarov?
HD: The pardoning decree of the Azerbaijani president for Safarov
symply crashed even the modest possibilities to come close for both
socities. It was so cinical and abmoral that for long time there will
be no any talks and hints for peace and reconciliation.
Question: Are there different or even contradicting ideas among
Armenian politicians, intellectuals concerning the future of
Armenian-Azeri relations?
HD: No, we are speaking about the national concencus in regard of
Karabakh problem and its possible settlement. Pogroms, war crimes,
and ethnic cleansing of Armenians in Karabakh and Azerbaijan during
1988-1994, created the danger of commiting new genocide, this time,
by Azerbaijani government. To prevent this, Armenians were forced to
resist back. Humiliating defeat of Azerbaijan during the Karabakh
war is the result of the Azerbaijani permanent attempts of ethnic
cleansning. So in this case we can not speak about any contradicting
ideas among the Armenian intellectuals and Armenians in general.
[translated from Hungarian]
http://magyarnarancs.hu/â~@~Kkulpol/â~@~Kosszehangolt-politika-hayk-
demoyan-ormeny-genocidium-â~@~K81587
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Magyar Narancs
Sept 6 2012
Hungary
Interview with Hayk Demoyan - representative of the Armenian defence
ministry during the trial of Ramil Safarov in Budapes in 2004-2006
Kovácsy Tibor [translated from Hungarian]
Question: Sardar Calaloglu, an Azeri oppositonal politician found it
regrettable, that Safarov was given a hero's welcome by the Azeri
authorities. He thinks however, that the verdict against him was
extremely harsh in the Budapest trial. It was not accepted as an
extenuation that he as a child had to witness the massacre of his
family members by Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh. What is your opinion
about the Budapest trial?
HD: I was a representative of the Armenian defence ministry at the
court hearings in Budapest between 2004 and 2006. I can say that
despite all Azerbaijani attempts to interfere in the process by all
illegal means, first of all representing army officier as a person
with post-traumatic syndroms and changing initial testimonies of
Safarov, Hungarian judge Andras Vaskuti brilliantly lead the case
and in my opinion the verdict was very much adecvate for the murder
commited against the person who was asleep and who never instigated or
humiliated Safarov (the case proved that despite of all Azerbaijani
attepts to create something new for the defence of Safarov). Before
the murder Safarov confessed that he had met with Armenians in Turkey
while studying there, so any referances to the family members who
suffered during the Karabakh war was baseless, especialy taking into
account the initial testimonies of Safarov. Shortly after the murder
he didn't mentioned about the family members and his motivations,
but told to interrogator that he was trained to kill a man using
various instruments at the Turkish Special forces' military bases,
located on the territory of Turkish occupied Northern Cyprus.
Question: Is the welcome, the promotion etc. of Safarov a simple
populist gesture, an act claimed or desired by the Azeri population
or a provocation addressed to Armenia?
HD: The Azerbaijani society has very anti-Armenian stance. Everything
Armenian or associated with Armenia is regarded as an anathema. This
is not the populist expressions but the result of state orchestrated
and carefully inplemented policy which targets Armenians as a part
of internal and external policy. Welcoming and heroisation of Safarov
could be regarded as an apex of the anti-Armenian sentiments expressed
by the Azerbaijani leaders and society.
Question: What is your personal opinion about the decision of the
Hungarian government? Did the Hungarian authorities ever contact the
Armenian ones about this issue?
HD: I think before passing the decision about extradition of Safarov
it would be correct to consult with the Armenian counterparts. This
is not just ethical and moral issue, but a political one with heavy
concequenses, and subsequent developments proved the objectivity of
this statement.
Question: Is the Armenian reaction - the severing of diplomatic ties -
accepted by the Armenian opposition, intellectuals and civil society?
HD: In majority yes, it was accepted positivly, since the Safarov
case was very sensitive issue for nearly every Armenian. And this
is the first case of severing diplomatic relations with a state for
independent Armenia.
Question: Which are the deeper roots of the conflict between Armenia
and Azerbaijan? Does it originate from the fact, that Azeris are
Turkic people? Does it have any rapport with the 1915 Genocide?
HD: Azerbaijanis are a nation with Turkic background and for Armenian
popular memory they are associated with Turks of Asia Minor. The
popular slogan for Turkish and Azerbaijani leaders is â~@~^One nation,
two states". I think this shows all, including the referances to the
Genocide memory still very central in memory of Armenians.
Question: How is this whole problem evaluated by the Azeri side?
HD: As I said the majority of the Azerbaijanis is very anti-Armenian.
Exceptions only prove the general trend and mood.
Question: Is the Armenian-Azeri conflict a main concern of the Armenian
public opinion?
HD: It is one of the main issues touching the everyday life and
anxieties of the Armenians both in Armenia and in Diaspora.
Question: As far as I know, there are continuing efforts by the civil
society, by NGOs of both sides to facilitate the peace between the two
countries. Are these now threatened by the extradition and pardonning
of Safarov?
HD: The pardoning decree of the Azerbaijani president for Safarov
symply crashed even the modest possibilities to come close for both
socities. It was so cinical and abmoral that for long time there will
be no any talks and hints for peace and reconciliation.
Question: Are there different or even contradicting ideas among
Armenian politicians, intellectuals concerning the future of
Armenian-Azeri relations?
HD: No, we are speaking about the national concencus in regard of
Karabakh problem and its possible settlement. Pogroms, war crimes,
and ethnic cleansing of Armenians in Karabakh and Azerbaijan during
1988-1994, created the danger of commiting new genocide, this time,
by Azerbaijani government. To prevent this, Armenians were forced to
resist back. Humiliating defeat of Azerbaijan during the Karabakh
war is the result of the Azerbaijani permanent attempts of ethnic
cleansning. So in this case we can not speak about any contradicting
ideas among the Armenian intellectuals and Armenians in general.
[translated from Hungarian]
http://magyarnarancs.hu/â~@~Kkulpol/â~@~Kosszehangolt-politika-hayk-
demoyan-ormeny-genocidium-â~@~K81587
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress