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CELEBRATIONS IN BAKU AND OUTRAGE IN YEREVAN AS CONVICTED KILLER IS WELCOMED BACK TO AZERBAIJAN.
Institute for War & Peace Reporting
IWPR Caucasus Reporting #657
Sept 7 2012
UK
By Shahin Rzayev, Naira Melkumyan - Caucasus
Hungary's decision to repatriate an Azerbaijani 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, Ramil 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?utm_source=critsend&utm_medium=email&utm _campaign=57646_crseng
Institute for War & Peace Reporting
IWPR Caucasus Reporting #657
Sept 7 2012
UK
By Shahin Rzayev, Naira Melkumyan - Caucasus
Hungary's decision to repatriate an Azerbaijani 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, Ramil 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?utm_source=critsend&utm_medium=email&utm _campaign=57646_crseng