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AZERI BARBARITY ONCE AGAIN FUELED NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT. EUROPEAN VOICE
http://armenpress.am/eng/news/693107/azeri-barbarity-once-again-fueled-nagorno-karabakh-conflict-european-voice.html
18:52, 13 September, 2012
If you were president of a country aspiring to build closer ties
with the EU, would you lobby the court of an EU country to lighten
the sentence on one of your citizens for a savage murder? And, having
secured his repatriation after eight years, would you break a promise
to an increasingly important customer by pardoning the murderer? As
Armenpress reports this is how Andrew Gardner , the editor of European
Voice, has started his article on the extradition of Safarov which
brought to the tension of Nagorno-Karabakh settlement issue.
Gardener writes ,, For Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliev, the answer
ti the above mentioned questions is 'Yes'. On 31 August, Hungary
returned Ramil Safarov, an army lieutenant, to Azerbaijan, on the
understanding that he would serve at least 25 years for murdering
an Armenian soldier with an axe at a NATO-sponsored Partnership for
Peace event in Budapest in 2004. Instead, he was not just pardoned,
but given eight years' back-pay, promotion and a free flat - all
this despite imminent visits by a European commissioner and NATO's
secretary-general." Gardener highlights that Safarov affair has brought
more attention to the supposedly 'frozen' conflict between Armenia and
Azerbaijan - over Nagorno-Karabakh - than it has received in years. The
three members of the Minsk Group created by the Organization and
Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), charged since 1994 with
resolving the status of Nagorno-Karabakh, expressed "deep concern"
and condemned "any attempts to glorify the crime". The US publicly
stated that it was asking Hungary for an "explanation".
Russia went further, saying: "These actions of the Azeri as well as
Hungarian authorities contradict internationally brokered efforts.
Editor also notes that Hungary denies any suggestion that it traded
Safarov for financial support. But, if truly enraged by Aliev's
conduct, Hungary could choose to raise the issue's profile within the
EU. So far, there is no hint that it is doing so. Both countries are
increasing defence spending, Azerbaijan in particular. It doubled its
purchases last year, the fastest increase in the world. Azerbaijan
has the fancy weaponry, but may not know how to use it, says Freizer.
Armenia may calculate that if war is inevitable, better to fight sooner
rather than later. the EU has left Nagorno-Karabakh off the agenda
of its Eastern Partnership, and that it now needs to be brought in.
From: Baghdasarian
http://armenpress.am/eng/news/693107/azeri-barbarity-once-again-fueled-nagorno-karabakh-conflict-european-voice.html
18:52, 13 September, 2012
If you were president of a country aspiring to build closer ties
with the EU, would you lobby the court of an EU country to lighten
the sentence on one of your citizens for a savage murder? And, having
secured his repatriation after eight years, would you break a promise
to an increasingly important customer by pardoning the murderer? As
Armenpress reports this is how Andrew Gardner , the editor of European
Voice, has started his article on the extradition of Safarov which
brought to the tension of Nagorno-Karabakh settlement issue.
Gardener writes ,, For Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliev, the answer
ti the above mentioned questions is 'Yes'. On 31 August, Hungary
returned Ramil Safarov, an army lieutenant, to Azerbaijan, on the
understanding that he would serve at least 25 years for murdering
an Armenian soldier with an axe at a NATO-sponsored Partnership for
Peace event in Budapest in 2004. Instead, he was not just pardoned,
but given eight years' back-pay, promotion and a free flat - all
this despite imminent visits by a European commissioner and NATO's
secretary-general." Gardener highlights that Safarov affair has brought
more attention to the supposedly 'frozen' conflict between Armenia and
Azerbaijan - over Nagorno-Karabakh - than it has received in years. The
three members of the Minsk Group created by the Organization and
Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), charged since 1994 with
resolving the status of Nagorno-Karabakh, expressed "deep concern"
and condemned "any attempts to glorify the crime". The US publicly
stated that it was asking Hungary for an "explanation".
Russia went further, saying: "These actions of the Azeri as well as
Hungarian authorities contradict internationally brokered efforts.
Editor also notes that Hungary denies any suggestion that it traded
Safarov for financial support. But, if truly enraged by Aliev's
conduct, Hungary could choose to raise the issue's profile within the
EU. So far, there is no hint that it is doing so. Both countries are
increasing defence spending, Azerbaijan in particular. It doubled its
purchases last year, the fastest increase in the world. Azerbaijan
has the fancy weaponry, but may not know how to use it, says Freizer.
Armenia may calculate that if war is inevitable, better to fight sooner
rather than later. the EU has left Nagorno-Karabakh off the agenda
of its Eastern Partnership, and that it now needs to be brought in.
From: Baghdasarian