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SHAHIN RZAYEV: MURDERING AN ARMENIAN MAKES HIM A HERO IN AZERBAIJAN
Gulf Today
http://gulftoday.ae/portal/d4e2241e-a12b-4bf9-a065-90797879950d.aspx
Sept 13 2012
UAE
Hungary's decision to repatriate an Azerbaijani military officer
convicted of murdering a member of the Armenian military has caused
outrage in Armenia, worried foreign diplomats and baffled analysts.
In 2004, Ramil Safarov killed Armenian officer Gurgen Margaryan with
an axe. Both were attending a Nato-run military academy in Hungary
where they were studying English.
Convicted in 2006 by a Hungarian court, Safarov was sentenced to life
imprisonment. On Aug. 31, however, Hungarian officials announced that
he would be repatriated to Azerbaijan where he would serve out the
remainder of his sentence.
Instead, Safarov received the equivalent of a hero's welcome upon
his return. He was granted a full pardon by President Ilham Aliyev
when he arrived in Baku and promoted to the rank of major by Defence
Minister Safar Abiyev, Not only that, he received about $57,000 from
the military - back pay for the years he had spent in prison.
Armenia's reaction was explosive. President Serzh Sargsyan immediately
suspended diplomatic ties with Hungary, accusing the country of
betraying justice.
Russia, France and the United States, the three countries that act
as 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 Safarov to Azerbaijan,"
US State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said. "We condemn any
action that fuels regional tensions."
Russian 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."
Azeri officials so far have declined to explain what prompted the
decision to release Safarov. Defence ministry spokesman Eldar Sabiroglu
said only that the release was "victory for justice and Azerbaijani
diplomacy." But the general public in Baku seemed to approve the move,
whatever its motivation. "I think it's absolutely right that Safarov
was freed," said Iskander Atazade, a student attending one of the
numerous celebrations marking the officer's return.
In Armenia, the reaction was somewhat different. Protesters gathered
outside the Hungarian embassy, hurling tomatoes and shouting insults.
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."
Officials in Hungary have also been reluctant to explain what prompted
the prisoner transfer.
But the financially troubled nation has denied allegations that it
was attempting to curry favor with the Baku regime in order to obtain
a sizeable loan on favourable financial terms.
Gulf Today
http://gulftoday.ae/portal/d4e2241e-a12b-4bf9-a065-90797879950d.aspx
Sept 13 2012
UAE
Hungary's decision to repatriate an Azerbaijani military officer
convicted of murdering a member of the Armenian military has caused
outrage in Armenia, worried foreign diplomats and baffled analysts.
In 2004, Ramil Safarov killed Armenian officer Gurgen Margaryan with
an axe. Both were attending a Nato-run military academy in Hungary
where they were studying English.
Convicted in 2006 by a Hungarian court, Safarov was sentenced to life
imprisonment. On Aug. 31, however, Hungarian officials announced that
he would be repatriated to Azerbaijan where he would serve out the
remainder of his sentence.
Instead, Safarov received the equivalent of a hero's welcome upon
his return. He was granted a full pardon by President Ilham Aliyev
when he arrived in Baku and promoted to the rank of major by Defence
Minister Safar Abiyev, Not only that, he received about $57,000 from
the military - back pay for the years he had spent in prison.
Armenia's reaction was explosive. President Serzh Sargsyan immediately
suspended diplomatic ties with Hungary, accusing the country of
betraying justice.
Russia, France and the United States, the three countries that act
as 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 Safarov to Azerbaijan,"
US State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said. "We condemn any
action that fuels regional tensions."
Russian 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."
Azeri officials so far have declined to explain what prompted the
decision to release Safarov. Defence ministry spokesman Eldar Sabiroglu
said only that the release was "victory for justice and Azerbaijani
diplomacy." But the general public in Baku seemed to approve the move,
whatever its motivation. "I think it's absolutely right that Safarov
was freed," said Iskander Atazade, a student attending one of the
numerous celebrations marking the officer's return.
In Armenia, the reaction was somewhat different. Protesters gathered
outside the Hungarian embassy, hurling tomatoes and shouting insults.
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."
Officials in Hungary have also been reluctant to explain what prompted
the prisoner transfer.
But the financially troubled nation has denied allegations that it
was attempting to curry favor with the Baku regime in order to obtain
a sizeable loan on favourable financial terms.