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Institute for War and Peace Reporting, UK
IWPR Caucasus Reporting #656
Sept 8 2012
Axe-Murderer Pardon Hardens Azeri, Armenian Attitudes
Celebrations in Baku and outrage in Yerevan as convicted killer is
welcomed back to Azerbaijan.
By Shahin Rzayev, Naira Melkumyan - Caucasus
Hungary's decision to repatriate an Azerbaijan officer convicted of
murdering an Armenian studying on the same course abroad has caused
outrage in Armenia, worried foreign diplomats and baffled analysts.
In 2004, Safarov killed Armenian officer Gurgen Margaryan with an axe
at a NATO school in Hungary where they were both studying English.
Convicted by a Hungarian court, Safarov was sentenced to life in 2006.
On August 31, however, he was sent back to Azerbaijan on the
understanding, Hungarian officials said, that he would serve out his
sentence there.
Instead, Safarov received a pardon from Azerbaijan's president Ilham
Aliyev when he arrived in Baku. On arrival, he was welcomed by Defence
Minister Safar Abiyev, promoted to the rank of major, awarded a new
flat and given 45,000 manats - about 57,000 US dollars - in army back
pay for the eight years he spent in prison.
In Armenia, an enraged President Serzh Sargsyan immediately suspended
diplomatic ties with Hungary, accusing the country of betraying
justice in exchange for a loan from Azerbaijan.
Russia, France and the United States, the three countries that act as
the OSCE's Minsk Group intermediaries in the long-running
Armenian-Azerbaijan stand-off over Nagorny Karabakh, expressed
disquiet at the decision, saying it could endanger the already fragile
peace in the region.
`We are expressing our deep concern to Azerbaijan regarding this
action and seeking an explanation. We are also seeking further details
from Hungary regarding the decision to transfer Mr. Safarov to
Azerbaijan,' US State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said. `We
condemn any action that fuels regional tensions.'
His comments were echoed closely in Russia, which expressed `deep
concern'. Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said, `We
believe that these actions by Azerbaijan, as well as those of the
Hungarian authorities, run counter to efforts agreed to at
international level... to reduce tension in the region.'
President Aliyev offered only a brief explanation of the pardon,
saying merely that it was in line with national legislation.
Azerbaijani defence ministry spokesman Eldar Sabiroglu went further in
a statement referring to Safarov's release as a `victory for justice
and Azerbaijani diplomacy'. Sabirov accused the `enemy' - Armenia - of
responding with `hysterics'.
Most Azerbajanis appeared delighted by their government's decision.
When Safarov's return was announced, crowds of young people gathered
to celebrate in parks and streets in the centre of Baku.
In the Akhundov garden, near the city mayor's office, a dozen young
men waving flags and holding pictures of Safarov chanted anti-Armenian
slogans while police looked on.
`I think it's absolutely right that Ramil was freed,' said Iskander
Atazade, one of the students out celebrating. `I don't consider him a
hero, but he repaid a small part of a very big debt.'
In Armenia, the reaction was one of fury.
A small group of protesters gathered outside the Hungarian embassy,
hurling tomatoes and shouting abuse.
Protesters suggested that Safarov had been prompted to carry out the
killing by the `massive anti-Armenian propaganda spread by the
authorities' as the Karabakh dispute unfolded.
`By issuing a pardon this, the Azerbaijani state is officially
admitting that it does not regard the murder of Armenians as a crime,'
Gagik Baghdasaryan, a history teacher in Yerevan, said.
Widespread criticism of Armenia's foreign ministry for failing to
block Safarov's repatriation was cut short when President Sargsyan
announced that ties with Budapest were being cut.
`With this decision, they [Hungary and Azerbaijan] have sent a message
to murderers that murder committed for religious or ethnic reasons can
go unpunished,' he said. `I cannot tolerate this. The Republic of
Armenia cannot tolerate it. The Armenian people will not forgive it.'
Richard Giragosian, head of the Centre of Regional Studies in Yerevan,
said the real danger coming out of the Safarov case was that it risked
reigniting conflict.
`The likelihood of a resumption of war has increased. You have to
understand that Azerbaijan has become unpredictable - you have to
expect anything from a country that can forgive murder,' he said.
In Azerbaijan, Hikmet Hajizade, a former ambassador to Russia who now
heads the Far Monitoring think-tank, said any change in the dynamics
had to be an improvement.
`The talks process is at a dead-end and all these meetings of
presidents, the Minsk Group and so on are no more than a pretence,' he
said. `The Safarov case might at least give an electric shock to the
process and bring this half-dead body out of a coma. In any case,
nothing could be worse than what we have now.'
Azerbaijanis who follow the foreign media were concerned that granting
Safarov a pardon had badly damaged their country's reputation.
`This is what happens when the public isn't allowed to do anything.
They are angry,' said Khadija Ismailova, a journalist with Radio
Liberty. `I think Safarov did something terrible. He created lots of
problems for Azerbaijan. But people who are victims of occupation
think he is a hero because he did something. He acted wrongly, but he
did act. `
Tom de Waal, a veteran observer of the South Caucasus now at the
Carnegie Endowment in Washington, was baffled as to what might have
prompted Aliyev to take what he called a `deeply provocative' step.
`It is a worrying indication of the quality of advice that President
Ilham Aliyev is receiving from his inner circle,' he wrote in a
comment piece for the BBC. `Over the past few years, the government in
Baku has spent tens of millions of dollars of its new oil revenues
promoting the image of Azerbaijan as a new, modernising, dynamic
country. The effect has been quite successful, with results ranging
from Azerbaijan joining the UN Security Council to Baku hosting
feel-good events such as the Eurovision Song Contest.
`All that PR work now has to contend with a contrary image of the
government welcoming home an axe-murderer.'
As for Hungary, officials insisted they had received firm promises
from Azerbaijan that Safarov would see out his term. Armenians,
however, pointed to news reports a week before his release that
Budapest - hard hit by financial crisis in Europe - was looking to
borrow money from Azerbaijan.
Responding to rumours that it had investments in Hungary, the State
Oil Fund of Azerbaijan issued a statement denying that it held
securities or other financial instruments in that country.
Shahin Rzayev is IWPR's Azerbaijan country director. Naira Melkumyan
is a freelance journalist in Armenia.
http://iwpr.net/report-news/axe-murderer-pardon-hardens-azeri-armenian-attitudes
IWPR Caucasus Reporting #656
Sept 8 2012
Axe-Murderer Pardon Hardens Azeri, Armenian Attitudes
Celebrations in Baku and outrage in Yerevan as convicted killer is
welcomed back to Azerbaijan.
By Shahin Rzayev, Naira Melkumyan - Caucasus
Hungary's decision to repatriate an Azerbaijan officer convicted of
murdering an Armenian studying on the same course abroad has caused
outrage in Armenia, worried foreign diplomats and baffled analysts.
In 2004, Safarov killed Armenian officer Gurgen Margaryan with an axe
at a NATO school in Hungary where they were both studying English.
Convicted by a Hungarian court, Safarov was sentenced to life in 2006.
On August 31, however, he was sent back to Azerbaijan on the
understanding, Hungarian officials said, that he would serve out his
sentence there.
Instead, Safarov received a pardon from Azerbaijan's president Ilham
Aliyev when he arrived in Baku. On arrival, he was welcomed by Defence
Minister Safar Abiyev, promoted to the rank of major, awarded a new
flat and given 45,000 manats - about 57,000 US dollars - in army back
pay for the eight years he spent in prison.
In Armenia, an enraged President Serzh Sargsyan immediately suspended
diplomatic ties with Hungary, accusing the country of betraying
justice in exchange for a loan from Azerbaijan.
Russia, France and the United States, the three countries that act as
the OSCE's Minsk Group intermediaries in the long-running
Armenian-Azerbaijan stand-off over Nagorny Karabakh, expressed
disquiet at the decision, saying it could endanger the already fragile
peace in the region.
`We are expressing our deep concern to Azerbaijan regarding this
action and seeking an explanation. We are also seeking further details
from Hungary regarding the decision to transfer Mr. Safarov to
Azerbaijan,' US State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said. `We
condemn any action that fuels regional tensions.'
His comments were echoed closely in Russia, which expressed `deep
concern'. Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said, `We
believe that these actions by Azerbaijan, as well as those of the
Hungarian authorities, run counter to efforts agreed to at
international level... to reduce tension in the region.'
President Aliyev offered only a brief explanation of the pardon,
saying merely that it was in line with national legislation.
Azerbaijani defence ministry spokesman Eldar Sabiroglu went further in
a statement referring to Safarov's release as a `victory for justice
and Azerbaijani diplomacy'. Sabirov accused the `enemy' - Armenia - of
responding with `hysterics'.
Most Azerbajanis appeared delighted by their government's decision.
When Safarov's return was announced, crowds of young people gathered
to celebrate in parks and streets in the centre of Baku.
In the Akhundov garden, near the city mayor's office, a dozen young
men waving flags and holding pictures of Safarov chanted anti-Armenian
slogans while police looked on.
`I think it's absolutely right that Ramil was freed,' said Iskander
Atazade, one of the students out celebrating. `I don't consider him a
hero, but he repaid a small part of a very big debt.'
In Armenia, the reaction was one of fury.
A small group of protesters gathered outside the Hungarian embassy,
hurling tomatoes and shouting abuse.
Protesters suggested that Safarov had been prompted to carry out the
killing by the `massive anti-Armenian propaganda spread by the
authorities' as the Karabakh dispute unfolded.
`By issuing a pardon this, the Azerbaijani state is officially
admitting that it does not regard the murder of Armenians as a crime,'
Gagik Baghdasaryan, a history teacher in Yerevan, said.
Widespread criticism of Armenia's foreign ministry for failing to
block Safarov's repatriation was cut short when President Sargsyan
announced that ties with Budapest were being cut.
`With this decision, they [Hungary and Azerbaijan] have sent a message
to murderers that murder committed for religious or ethnic reasons can
go unpunished,' he said. `I cannot tolerate this. The Republic of
Armenia cannot tolerate it. The Armenian people will not forgive it.'
Richard Giragosian, head of the Centre of Regional Studies in Yerevan,
said the real danger coming out of the Safarov case was that it risked
reigniting conflict.
`The likelihood of a resumption of war has increased. You have to
understand that Azerbaijan has become unpredictable - you have to
expect anything from a country that can forgive murder,' he said.
In Azerbaijan, Hikmet Hajizade, a former ambassador to Russia who now
heads the Far Monitoring think-tank, said any change in the dynamics
had to be an improvement.
`The talks process is at a dead-end and all these meetings of
presidents, the Minsk Group and so on are no more than a pretence,' he
said. `The Safarov case might at least give an electric shock to the
process and bring this half-dead body out of a coma. In any case,
nothing could be worse than what we have now.'
Azerbaijanis who follow the foreign media were concerned that granting
Safarov a pardon had badly damaged their country's reputation.
`This is what happens when the public isn't allowed to do anything.
They are angry,' said Khadija Ismailova, a journalist with Radio
Liberty. `I think Safarov did something terrible. He created lots of
problems for Azerbaijan. But people who are victims of occupation
think he is a hero because he did something. He acted wrongly, but he
did act. `
Tom de Waal, a veteran observer of the South Caucasus now at the
Carnegie Endowment in Washington, was baffled as to what might have
prompted Aliyev to take what he called a `deeply provocative' step.
`It is a worrying indication of the quality of advice that President
Ilham Aliyev is receiving from his inner circle,' he wrote in a
comment piece for the BBC. `Over the past few years, the government in
Baku has spent tens of millions of dollars of its new oil revenues
promoting the image of Azerbaijan as a new, modernising, dynamic
country. The effect has been quite successful, with results ranging
from Azerbaijan joining the UN Security Council to Baku hosting
feel-good events such as the Eurovision Song Contest.
`All that PR work now has to contend with a contrary image of the
government welcoming home an axe-murderer.'
As for Hungary, officials insisted they had received firm promises
from Azerbaijan that Safarov would see out his term. Armenians,
however, pointed to news reports a week before his release that
Budapest - hard hit by financial crisis in Europe - was looking to
borrow money from Azerbaijan.
Responding to rumours that it had investments in Hungary, the State
Oil Fund of Azerbaijan issued a statement denying that it held
securities or other financial instruments in that country.
Shahin Rzayev is IWPR's Azerbaijan country director. Naira Melkumyan
is a freelance journalist in Armenia.
http://iwpr.net/report-news/axe-murderer-pardon-hardens-azeri-armenian-attitudes