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HERO'S WELCOME FOR AXE-MURDERER ROILS ARMENIA-AZERBAIJAN RELATIONS
By Petra Hadju
Washington Times
Sept 17 2012
BUDAPEST - Long-standing tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia
have escalated after an Azeri army officer who murdered an Armenian
officer was given a hero's welcome on returning home after eight
years in prison in Hungary last month.
"There is already a war of words, and I am very much concerned that
a further stepping up of negative rhetoric will lead to violent
clashes or even a new war," said Ulrike Lunacek, an Austrian member
of the European Parliament's EU-Armenia, EU-Azerbaijan and EU-Georgia
committee, which is calling for the murderer to be imprisoned and
his hero status revoked.
In 2006, Azeri army Lt. Ramil Safarov was sentenced to life in prison
for killing Armenian army Lt. Gurgen Margaryan with an axe in 2004
at a military academy in the Hungarian capital of Budapest. The
soldiers were attending English-language courses as part of NATO's
"Partnership for Peace" program.
On Aug. 31, Safarov was extradited to his home country of Azerbaijan.
He was met at the airport in Azerbaijan's capital, Baku, by thousands
of admirers who brought him flowers, and he appeared draped in the
Azeri flag.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev announced that Safarov "should be
freed from the term of his punishment." The soldier also was promoted
to the rank of major, and received back payments of his salary to
cover the period since he was first arrested in 2004.
"These nations [Azerbaijan and Armenia] regard each other as
arch-enemies," said Andras Lederer, a former consultant with
International Republican Institute in Georgia who worked on conflict
management projects with Azeri and Armenian civil organizations. "If
one country's soldier kills the enemy's soldier, he becomes a hero.
There is no surprise in this."
"Now the local media is filled with stories about how powerful Aliyev
is - that he could save their hero and bring him back home," Mr.
Lederer added.
On Thursday, the European Parliament adopted a resolution condemning
Azerbaijan for bestowing hero status on Safarov.
The situation has roiled tensions over Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed
territory that is home to about 140,000 Armenians. Under Soviet rule,
Moscow gave the land to Azerbaijan in 1923.
A six-year war erupted over the region's sovereignty in 1988, killing
thousands. Nagorno-Karabakh now is a semi-autonomous region occupied
by Armenian troops and its own defense forces.
Observers say the Safarov case marks a major set back for peace talks
mediated by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
(OSCE) since 1994.
"Armenia is forced to toughen its stance and perhaps pull out from
the talks," said Lilit Gevorgyan, an analyst at IHS Global Insight,
an economic intelligence firm. "Many in Armenia argue that, if someone
who beheads a sleeping man becomes a hero just because he killed an
Armenian or [the] Azeri president declares Armenian people in the
world their No. 1 enemy, there is no way 140,000 Armenians can be
put back under Baku's control."
"It seems the mediators are running out of options and there is only
one path left - a military solution," she added.
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan was quick to warn his Azeri
counterpart that his country is prepared for such an eventuality.
"We don't want a war, but if we have to, we will fight and win," he
said in comments published on his website to mark Nagorno-Karabakh's
independence on Sept 2. "We are not afraid of killers, even if they
enjoy the protection of the head of state."
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/sep/17/welcome-killer-roils-armenia-azerbaijan-relations/
From: A. Papazian
By Petra Hadju
Washington Times
Sept 17 2012
BUDAPEST - Long-standing tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia
have escalated after an Azeri army officer who murdered an Armenian
officer was given a hero's welcome on returning home after eight
years in prison in Hungary last month.
"There is already a war of words, and I am very much concerned that
a further stepping up of negative rhetoric will lead to violent
clashes or even a new war," said Ulrike Lunacek, an Austrian member
of the European Parliament's EU-Armenia, EU-Azerbaijan and EU-Georgia
committee, which is calling for the murderer to be imprisoned and
his hero status revoked.
In 2006, Azeri army Lt. Ramil Safarov was sentenced to life in prison
for killing Armenian army Lt. Gurgen Margaryan with an axe in 2004
at a military academy in the Hungarian capital of Budapest. The
soldiers were attending English-language courses as part of NATO's
"Partnership for Peace" program.
On Aug. 31, Safarov was extradited to his home country of Azerbaijan.
He was met at the airport in Azerbaijan's capital, Baku, by thousands
of admirers who brought him flowers, and he appeared draped in the
Azeri flag.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev announced that Safarov "should be
freed from the term of his punishment." The soldier also was promoted
to the rank of major, and received back payments of his salary to
cover the period since he was first arrested in 2004.
"These nations [Azerbaijan and Armenia] regard each other as
arch-enemies," said Andras Lederer, a former consultant with
International Republican Institute in Georgia who worked on conflict
management projects with Azeri and Armenian civil organizations. "If
one country's soldier kills the enemy's soldier, he becomes a hero.
There is no surprise in this."
"Now the local media is filled with stories about how powerful Aliyev
is - that he could save their hero and bring him back home," Mr.
Lederer added.
On Thursday, the European Parliament adopted a resolution condemning
Azerbaijan for bestowing hero status on Safarov.
The situation has roiled tensions over Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed
territory that is home to about 140,000 Armenians. Under Soviet rule,
Moscow gave the land to Azerbaijan in 1923.
A six-year war erupted over the region's sovereignty in 1988, killing
thousands. Nagorno-Karabakh now is a semi-autonomous region occupied
by Armenian troops and its own defense forces.
Observers say the Safarov case marks a major set back for peace talks
mediated by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
(OSCE) since 1994.
"Armenia is forced to toughen its stance and perhaps pull out from
the talks," said Lilit Gevorgyan, an analyst at IHS Global Insight,
an economic intelligence firm. "Many in Armenia argue that, if someone
who beheads a sleeping man becomes a hero just because he killed an
Armenian or [the] Azeri president declares Armenian people in the
world their No. 1 enemy, there is no way 140,000 Armenians can be
put back under Baku's control."
"It seems the mediators are running out of options and there is only
one path left - a military solution," she added.
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan was quick to warn his Azeri
counterpart that his country is prepared for such an eventuality.
"We don't want a war, but if we have to, we will fight and win," he
said in comments published on his website to mark Nagorno-Karabakh's
independence on Sept 2. "We are not afraid of killers, even if they
enjoy the protection of the head of state."
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/sep/17/welcome-killer-roils-armenia-azerbaijan-relations/
From: A. Papazian