Tweet
PROTESTS AND VANDALISM AS AZERI DICTATOR VISITS FRANCE
http://www.reporter.am/go/article/2012-09-24-protests-and-vandalism-as-azeri-dictator-visits-france-
Published: Monday September 24, 2012
At the Armenian protest. Jean Eckian
Paris - More than 900 French of Armenian descent expressed their
dissatisfaction with the visit of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev
in Paris on September 18, only days after he pardoned an axe murderer
who killed his sleeping Armenian classmate at a Budapest dormitory.
Protesters gathered in front of Azerbaijan embassy included members
of the French National Assembly and Senate Francois Rochebloine,
Rene Rouquet, Francois Pupponi, Philippe Kaltenbach and Valerie Boyer.
Boyer, the author of the bill condemning of the Armenian genocide
denial, called the axe murderer affair is "Azerbaijan's crime against
Armenia" and "a violation of the international law."
The leaders of the Armenian organizations of France, Ara Toranian,
Mourad Papazian (CCAF), Harout Mardirossian (CDCA), Hratch Varjabedian
( BFCA) and Yeriche Gorizian (Nor Seround), condemned vigorously the
presence of the "dictator Aliyev" on French ground. They also called
for self-determination of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Among slogans, the crowd shouted "Aliev the fascist, out of France!",
"Safarov in prison!" and "Karabakh belongs to us."
Aliyev visited Paris for inauguration of the Arts of Islam exhibit
the Musee du Louvre, a $131 million project for which Azerbaijan
- together with France, Kuwait, Morocco, Oman and Saudi Arabia -
provided partial funding, reported Agence France Press.
"Azerbaijani money is dirty money, this is money from a terrorist
and dictatorial state," Hratch Varjabedian, the head of the French
Bureau of the Armenian Cause, said at the protest.
Aliyev also had a private meeting with members of MEDEF, the French
business association, and was received by President Francois Holland,
in spite of vociferous protests of the Armenian organizations of
France.
In a written statement, the French presidency said that Hollande
"called on Azerbaijan to take the necessary measures to re-establish
a climate of confidence with Armenia," reported the RFE/RL Armenian
Service. In a September 3 statement, the French Foreign Ministry
said that Aliyev's pardon and promotion of the axe murderer "risks
seriously damaging the negotiation efforts and the establishment of
a climate of trust between the parties" to the Karabakh conflict.
Meantime, about 150 Azerbaijanis and Turks - including some who
reportedly arrived from Germany and The Netherlands - held a protest
near the Armenian embassy in Paris.
And overnight, on September 17-18, the Armenian booth at the Top Resa
2012 International Travel Market exhibit was vandalized, the National
Competitiveness Foundation of Armenia reported in a press release. The
booth was subsequently restored with additional security added.
http://www.reporter.am/go/article/2012-09-24-protests-and-vandalism-as-azeri-dictator-visits-france-
Published: Monday September 24, 2012
At the Armenian protest. Jean Eckian
Paris - More than 900 French of Armenian descent expressed their
dissatisfaction with the visit of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev
in Paris on September 18, only days after he pardoned an axe murderer
who killed his sleeping Armenian classmate at a Budapest dormitory.
Protesters gathered in front of Azerbaijan embassy included members
of the French National Assembly and Senate Francois Rochebloine,
Rene Rouquet, Francois Pupponi, Philippe Kaltenbach and Valerie Boyer.
Boyer, the author of the bill condemning of the Armenian genocide
denial, called the axe murderer affair is "Azerbaijan's crime against
Armenia" and "a violation of the international law."
The leaders of the Armenian organizations of France, Ara Toranian,
Mourad Papazian (CCAF), Harout Mardirossian (CDCA), Hratch Varjabedian
( BFCA) and Yeriche Gorizian (Nor Seround), condemned vigorously the
presence of the "dictator Aliyev" on French ground. They also called
for self-determination of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Among slogans, the crowd shouted "Aliev the fascist, out of France!",
"Safarov in prison!" and "Karabakh belongs to us."
Aliyev visited Paris for inauguration of the Arts of Islam exhibit
the Musee du Louvre, a $131 million project for which Azerbaijan
- together with France, Kuwait, Morocco, Oman and Saudi Arabia -
provided partial funding, reported Agence France Press.
"Azerbaijani money is dirty money, this is money from a terrorist
and dictatorial state," Hratch Varjabedian, the head of the French
Bureau of the Armenian Cause, said at the protest.
Aliyev also had a private meeting with members of MEDEF, the French
business association, and was received by President Francois Holland,
in spite of vociferous protests of the Armenian organizations of
France.
In a written statement, the French presidency said that Hollande
"called on Azerbaijan to take the necessary measures to re-establish
a climate of confidence with Armenia," reported the RFE/RL Armenian
Service. In a September 3 statement, the French Foreign Ministry
said that Aliyev's pardon and promotion of the axe murderer "risks
seriously damaging the negotiation efforts and the establishment of
a climate of trust between the parties" to the Karabakh conflict.
Meantime, about 150 Azerbaijanis and Turks - including some who
reportedly arrived from Germany and The Netherlands - held a protest
near the Armenian embassy in Paris.
And overnight, on September 17-18, the Armenian booth at the Top Resa
2012 International Travel Market exhibit was vandalized, the National
Competitiveness Foundation of Armenia reported in a press release. The
booth was subsequently restored with additional security added.