Author: Andres-Papazian

AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT HAD NO LEGAL RIGHT TO PARDON SAFAROV – EXPERT

PanARMENIAN.Net
August 31, 2012 – 17:59 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev did not possess
any legal right to pardon the Armenian officer’s murderer Ramil
Safarov, an Azeri expert says.

According to professor Khanlar Alikperov, whose comments appeared on
Contact.az website, in compliance with the article 82.3 of Azerbaijan’s
criminal code, life sentence can be replaced by a 25-year prison
term only.

“Thus, President Aliyev did not have the right to pardon a person
who had been sentenced to life. The best what he could do for the
convict is to cut the service term to 25 years,” Alikperov says.

From: A. Papazian

CALLS FOR PROTESTS AGAINST RAMIL SAFAROV’S EXTRADITION

tert.am
31.08.12

Social network users are actively discussing the extradition of
Ramil Safarov, who murdered the Armenian officer Gurgen Margaryan in
Budapest, in 2004.

Safarov has been extradited to Azerbaijan and granted pardon by
President Ilham Aliyev.

Facebook users are actively discussing the event. A number of groups
are calling for protesting against the injustice.

The Hayazn Union intends to hold a protest in front of Armenia’s
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, tomorrow, a Facebook group told Tert.am.

The Hayazn Union issued a statement, which reads: “On August 31,
Ramil Safarov, an Azerbaijani officer who brutally murdered the
Armenian officer Gurgen Margaryan, has been extradited from the
Budapest prison to Baku and granted pardon there. The Armenian side
shares the responsibility for that as it has not attached proper
importance to the matter and is now unable to do anything.”

In its statement, the union announces its intention to hold a protest
in front of Armenia’s foreign office and organize a march to the
Consulate of Hungary and hold a protest.

One more group calls for holding a rally in Zakyan Str., where the
Hungarian Consulate is located.

From: A. Papazian

HUNGARIAN MINISTRY OF JUSTICE COMMENTED ON SAFAROV’S EXTRADITION

ARMENPRESS
31 August, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, AUGUST 31, ARMENPRESS: “Armenpress” news agency received an
exclusive comment by the Ministry of Public Administration and Justice
of Hungary on occasion of extradition of Ramil Safarov. Armenpress
fully presents the comment:

“Ramil Sahib Safarov, an Azerbaijani national imprisoned in Hungary
since 19 February 2004, sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering
Gurgen Margaryan, an Armenian national, has requested – pursuant to the
1983 Strasbourg Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons – his
transfer to Azerbaijan in order to serve his sentence in Azerbaijan.

Both Azerbaijan and Hungary are parties to the Convention, which was
promulgated by Act No. of 1994 by the Hungarian Parliament.

Under the Convention, a person sentenced in the territory of a Party
may be transferred to the territory of another Party, in accordance
with the provisions of the Convention, in order to serve the sentence
imposed on him. To that end, such a person may express his interest
to the sentencing State or to the administering State in being
transferred under the Convention. The competent authorities of the
administering State shall continue the enforcement of the sentence or
convert the sentence, through a judicial or administrative procedure,
into a decision of that State. In case of continued enforcement the
administering State shall be bound by the legal nature and duration
of the sentence as determined by the sentencing State.

According to the information provided by the Ministry of Justice of
Azerbaijan, under the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan the act for which
the sentence was imposed constitutes a criminal offence that may be
punished by life imprisonment.

Persons sentenced to life imprisonment may, at the earliest, be
conditionally released after serving a period of twenty-five years.

The Ministry of Justice of Azerbaijan has further informed the
Ministry of Public Administration and Justice of Hungary that Ramil
Sahib Safarov’s sentence will not be converted but will immediately
be continued to be enforced, according to the Hungarian judgment.

Since the conditions specified in the Convention for the transfer of
sentenced persons have been met in Ramil Sahib Safarov’s case, his
transfer has been authorized by the Minister of Public Administration
and Justice and Ramil Sahib Safarov has today been transferred to
Azerbaijan.

Under the Convention, the enforcement of the sentence shall be governed
by the law of the administering State and that State alone shall be
competent to take all appropriate decisions.

In 2010 eleven sentenced persons, in 2011 seven sentenced persons
while in 2012 eight sentenced persons were and have been transferred
abroad from Hungary under the Convention,.

Hungary does act and is, in Ramil Sahib Safarov’s case as well, acting
in compliance with the rules of international law” is mentioned in
the comment.

From: A. Papazian

ELECTIONS 2012 – A VIEW FROM WITHIN

hetq
18:01, August 31, 2012

The Civilitas Foundation is pleased to announce the publication of
its new mid-year report dedicated to the May 6, 2012 parliamentary
elections in Armenia. The report, entitled ELECTIONS 2012 – A VIEW
FROM WITHIN is the product of discussions and consultations by those
who have watched this election and those who came before as observers,
journalists, analysts and citizens. Like the annual reports themselves,
the purpose is to provide context and information to explain events
and trends, intentions and actions.

Most of all, the attempt is to provide a long-view and some
perspective on policies, for those in government, those wishing
to enter government, or for civil society actors or others in the
public sector. By presenting information on the changing electoral
environment, the changing electoral processes and the observations and
conclusions of local and international monitors, this report may help
serve to better understand what did and didn’t happen and what can
be expected in the all-important 2013 presidential election to come.

Finally, this report does not pretend to assess the integrity of the
process nor the legitimacy of the outcome. The details of the day
are available elsewhere. This report attempts to present a general
view of the context and the processes – a view from within.

The Civilitas Foundation, has, since its establishment, published
an annual report on the state of Armenia’s political and economic
development, as well as a look at regional events and developments
during the previous years. Thus, in 2008, Civilitas published ARMENIA
IN 2008 – CRISIS AND OPPORTUNITY, followed by ARMENIA IN 2009 –
PROMISE AND REALITY, ARMENIA IN 2010 – A YEAR OF UNCERTAINTY and
ARMENIA IN 2011 – WITHOUT ILLUSIONS.

CIVILITAS FOUNDATION

From: A. Papazian

AUTHOR ANTONIA ARSLAN TO SIGN HER NEW BOOK

asbarez
Thursday, August 30th, 2012

Antonia Arslan

GLENDALE-Antonia Arslan, the author of The Road to Smyrna, will
speak about her book on Thursday, September 27, 2012 at 7 p.m. at
the Glendale Central Library Auditorium, 222 East Harvard Street. The
lecture is in English & Armenian. Gohar Sahakyan will be translating
the lecture and the following Q&A session for Armenian speakers in
the audience. Admission is free; seating is limited. Library visitors
receive 3 hours FREE parking across the street at The Market Place
parking structure with validation at the Loan Desk.

Antonia Arslan is an Italian author and academic of Armenian origin.

She was born in Padova, Italy. In 2004 she stunned the literary world
with her first novel La Masseria delle Allodole, which was translated
as The Skylark Farm into twenty languages. She is the winner of over
twenty literary awards, including the Passate Edizioni Premio (PEN)
award, the Premio Manzoni, and the Premio Stresa di Narrativa awards.

She has since published La Strada di Smirne (2007), Il cortile dei
Girasoli Parlanti (2011), and a third Armenian novel, Il libro di Mush
(The Book of Mush, 2012).

The setting of The Road to Smyrna (La Strada di Smirne): It is 1916.

The Armenian homeland in Anatolia is barren. The last of that ancient
people is marching to Der Zor. Shushanig Arslanian and her four
children are hiding in a cellar in Aleppo after their dramatic escape.

Yerwant Arslanian is in Padova, organizing their transportation to
Venice. The war is still raging, and going very badly for the Ottomans.

The program is sponsored by the Library, Arts & Culture Department,
the Friends of the Glendale Public Library and the Center for Armenian
Remembrance in cooperation with Abril Books.

From: A. Papazian

HRANT MARKARYAN: “SYRIAN ARMENIAN COMMUNITY DOESN’T PARTICIPATE IN CLASHES AND REMAINS NEUTRAL”

14:33 . 30/08

ARF-D Bureau Representative Hrant Markaryan said the information
that the Syrian Armenians have taken arms and are protecting their
districts and houses together with the Syrian army, is exaggerated. He
said this in his talk to Azatutyun Radio Station.

“I think the information is exaggerated. The reality is that
with limited possibilities they are trying to keep the Armenian
institutions, their houses away from district hooligans, criminal
elements, to secure their flats and houses against them. But they
don’t participate in the conflict,” Markaryan said.

According to him, the Syrian Armenians are the citizens of that
country, they may have different positions, they can support either
the authority or the opposition, but the community as a whole remains
neutral in all this”in the sense that it cannot accept the war,
the fight as a way out of the situation and it, separately, must not
attempt to become a target for one of the sides”.

He said, it is regretful, that Armenians also die in the war actions,
but one must pay attention to the fact that in Syria, fortunately,
there is no anti-Armenian movement or anti-Armenian act.

As to the information about threats voiced by the Syrian opposition
in address of the Syrian Armenian community, Hrant Markaryan expressed
an opinion “that was a group of the opposition and the opposition as a
whole denied that information and said it has no connection with them.”

From: A. Papazian

HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER: ARMENIA MUST PREVENT RAMIL SAFAROV’S EXTRADITION TO AZERBAIJAN BY ALL MEANS POSSIBLE

arminfo
Thursday, August 30, 15:04

Armenia must prevent Ramil Safarov’s extradition to Azerbaijan by
all means possible. To recall, Safarov viciously killed a sleeping
Armenian officer Gurgen Margaryan in Budapest in February 2004.

Larisa Alaverdyan, the first Ombudswoman of Armenia, Executive Officer
of the Fund Against Legal Outrage, ex-parliamentarian from Heritage
Party, made such statement in a press conference in Yerevan, Thursday.

“Safarov’s extradition is quite probable, as Hungary is experiencing
negative political processes starting from transition from democratic
to authoritarian government up to economic crisis. In such situations,
countries often resort to the forms of economic assistance. Taking
advantage of its possibilities, Baku traditionally uses corruption
methods to ‘redeem’ Safarov,” she said.

Recently Armenian mass media cited Hungarian newspapers reporting
that Azerbaijan is expected to buy Hungarian government bonds in the
amount of 2-3 bln EUR. Analysts say that Baku may use that deal to
achieve Safarov’s extradition. In this light, 80 Armenian public and
non-governmental organizations and public figures have united and
addressed a statement to the Hungarian authorities urging them not
to allow Safarov’s extradition to Azerbaijan.

Alaverdyan is sure that the Defense, Justice and Foreign Ministries
of Armenia must immediately make official requests to the relevant
structures in Hungary to verify reliability of the reports of Armenian
and Hungarian mass media on the negotiations for Safarov’s extradition.

“If the extradition process is launched, the Armenian party will no
longer be able to stop it. If extradited, Safarov will be set free as
he enjoys glory in Azerbaijan and has become an example to follow,”
Alaverdyan said.

For her part, Nazeli Vardanyan, the lawyer representing Gurgen
Margaryan’s family in Budapest, said that Safarov fulfilled
Azerbaijan’s state order by killing Margaryan. She said that
Azerbaijan even opened an Embassy in Budapest and representatives
of the Azerbaijan and Turkish embassies in Hungary were present at
all the trials. The Azerbaijani authorities were trying to soften
Safarov’s sentence by all means possible. The lawer said that there
is no precedent of extradition of convicts for such heavy crime.

Nevertheless, the Armenian public must be vigilant and not rely on
lack of such practice.

To recall, on February 19 2004, R. Safarov viciously axed sleeping G.
Margaryan in Budapest. Both the officers were undergoing an English
language course under the NATO PfP program. On April 13 2006 the First
Instance Court of Budapest sentenced Safarov to life imprisonments
without the right to pardon for 30 years. In February 2007 the Court
of Appeal left the verdict unchanged. President of Armenia Robert
Kocharyan decreed awarding Gurgen Margaryan with Gallantry Medal
posthumously.

From: A. Papazian

EUROPEAN MOVEMENT INTERNATIONAL: ARMENIANS HAD THE RIGHT TO DEFEND THEMSELVES IN THE WAR DECLARED BY AZERBAIJAN

Panorama.am
30/08/2012

Armenians had the right to defend themselves in the war declared
by Azerbaijan because the Armenians were 85% of the people in
Nagorno-Karabakh, Diogo Pinto, secretary-general of the European
Movement International in Brussels, writes in his article on the
Euractiv.com website.

Armenia, being a nation of Christians, and Azerbaijan, being a
Turkic-speaking and/or a Muslim country, was not the reason for the
war, writes the author.

“In my opinion, Azerbaijan declared war because the Armenians in the
enclave decided that they wanted self-rule. At the time the Soviet
Union was created, the Armenians were the only people in the enclave
and at the time the Soviet Union was collapsed, the Armenians were 85%
of the people in the enclave; that is, the ultimate majority.

Therefore, the Armenians had the right to defend themselves. I hope
the solution be found quickly before Azerbaijan be emboldened again
to restart the war based on the build-up of the arsenal of weapons
bought by the easy money from sale of oil,” writes Diogo Pinto.

From: A. Papazian

TURKEY IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY POSSIBLE ATTACK AGAINST ARMENIAN SYRIANS

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 09:58:42 – 30/08/2012

The arms and ammunition that Turkey provides abundantly to the
opposition forces in the Syrian crisis are passing very easily in the
hands of extremist fundamentalist elements that have entered Syria
from other countries. This fact is a cause of deep concern amongst
the Christian minorities of Syria.

The threatening declarations against Armenians and members of
other Christian minorities in Syria, that coincide with information
concerning violent acts, demonstrate the seriousness of the situation.

The Assembly of the Armenians of Europe expresses its concern for
the dangers threatening the life and the well being of the unarmed
and peaceful Christian population of Syria and declares:

The present Turkish government, heir of the Ottoman government that was
responsible for the genocide of the Armenians and their forced exile
from their ancestral lands, is continuing the traditional racist policy
of all Turkish governments and will be held immediately responsible
for any undesirable violation of the rights of the Armenian and other
Christian minorities of Syria. We warn the Turkish government as
to the results of their policies and we call them to stop fomenting
religious hatred and passions in Syria.

We appeal to the President of the European Parliament, Mr. Martin
Schulz, to the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign
Affairs and Security Policy, Ms Catherine Ashton and the European
Commission to adopt immediate measures in order to prevent the dangers
that threaten the Armenian and other Christian communities of Syria,
dangers that are sometimes caused by the direct or indirect policies
of a number of European governments.

We also appeal to the General Secretary of the United Nations, Mr. Ban
Ki Moun, to adopt the proper measures in order to put an end to the
dangerous Turkish policy of arming extremist elements in Syria.

The Assembly of the Armenians of Europe expresses its solidarity
to all the efforts of the UN officials to stop the further loss of
human lives, to care for the thousands of refugees and to promote a
peaceful solution of the crisis.

August 29, 2012

Assembly of the Armenians of Europe

Uppsala, Sweden

From: A. Papazian

AIDE AUX ARMENIENS DE SYRIE

Publie le : 30-08-2012

Info Collectif VAN – – ” Bien que ce soit un
peu tard, au lieu de propager des idees politiques qui ne tiennent
pas de debout, la diaspora devrait plutôt se concentrer pour fournir
d’urgence une aide humanitaire très necessaire aux Armeniens syriens.

Il est encourageant de constater que des organisations armeniennes ont
commence a lever des fonds pour repondre aux besoins des Armeniens
de Syrie. Allant plus loin, dans quelques pays, des organisations
sociales, religieuses et politiques ont forme des coalitions pour
distribuer l’aide necessaire d’une facon coordonnee. On espère
que ces groupes feront rapidement des declarations sur les besoins
specifiques des Armeniens de Syrie, la somme qui doit etre levee et le
mecanisme pour distribuer les fonds. ” Le Collectif VAN vous livre la
traduction de l’editorial en anglais du journaliste armeno-americain
Harut Sassounian, paru dans The California Courier le 30 août 2012.

Il est temps d’agir : les Armeniens de Syrie ont besoin de votre aide
de toute urgence

Par Harut Sassounian Editeur de: The California Courier Editorial de
Sassounian du 30 août 2012

Des analystes et des experts autoproclames ont beaucoup trop parle de
la crise tragique qui a lieu en Syrie, et ils ont reussi a diffuser
de la desinformation, mettant ainsi en danger la securite de la
communaute armenienne.

Bien que ce soit un peu tard, au lieu de propager des idees politiques
qui ne tiennent pas de debout, la diaspora devrait plutôt se concentrer
pour fournir d’urgence une aide humanitaire très necessaire aux
Armeniens syriens.

Il est encourageant de constater que des organisations armeniennes ont
commence a lever des fonds pour repondre aux besoins des Armeniens
de Syrie. Allant plus loin, dans quelques pays, des organisations
sociales, religieuses et politiques ont forme des coalitions pour
distribuer l’aide necessaire d’une facon coordonnee. On espère que ces
groupes feront rapidement des declarations sur les besoins specifiques
des Armeniens de Syrie, la somme qui doit etre levee et le mecanisme
pour distribuer les fonds.

En absence d’une grande structure de la diaspora, qui representerait
tous les Armeniens du monde entier et gèreraient leurs problèmes
collectifs, chaque communaute essaie de former son propre groupe
de coordination. Dans quelques cas, plusieurs commissions mixtes
sont etablies dans la meme communaute, chacune traitant un problème
specifique. Pour eviter des redondances, il serait preferable de
former une seule commission mixte dans chaque communaute, avec des
sous-comites s’occupants de tâches distinctes.

De plus, deux organismes pan-armeniens pourraient jouer un rôle
essentiel dans cette crise humanitaire – l’un situe en dehors de la
Syrie et l’autre a l’interieur du pays, en charge de la coordination
et de la distribution de l’aide humanitaire provenant de toutes les
sources :

1) L’entite a l’exterieur de la Syrie – qui doit encore etre formee –
coordonnerait non seulement l’aide de la diaspora et de l’Armenie,
mais plus important encore, une aide securisee des gouvernements,
des organisations internationales (Nations Unies, Conseil ~cumenique
des Eglises) et des organisations non gouvernementales.

2) L’entite pan-armenienne recemment creee en Syrie est composee de
toutes les organisations caritatives et religieuses armeniennes. Elle
est chargee de communiquer les besoins de la communaute au monde
exterieur, de receptionner l’aide fournie et de la distribuer aux
Armeniens dans tout le pays.

Si une evaluation complète des vastes besoins de la communaute
syro-armenienne n’a pas encore ete faite, il est clair que des millions
de dollars sont necessaires pour fournir de la nourriture, de l’eau,
des soins medicaux, du carburant, de l’electricite aux milliers de
familles necessiteuses et des cours aux etudiants dans le besoin.

Il est imperatif que l’aide soit partagee entre toutes les personnes
vivant dans des quartiers armeniens ou près de ceux-ci, independamment
de leur affiliation ethnique ou religieuse.

Afin d’effectuer une telle levee de fond a une echelle mondiale,
le Hayastan All-Armenian Fund devrait envisager cette annee, de
consacrer son telethon au secours syro-armenien. On devrait demander
aux principaux donateurs et organisations de faire des contributions
genereuses, afin de preserver la presence historique armenienne en
Syrie, qui est anterieure au genocide. Le Hayastan All-Armenian Fund
a deja pris une première mesure en ouvrant un compte bancaire special
a Erevan pour solliciter des donations pour la Syrie, et a ce jour,
la somme recueillie s’elève a 50 000 dollars. Ce montant a ete depense
pour l’evacuation par avion des enfants d’Alep, afin qu’ils viennent
en colonie de vacance en Armenie.

Les fonds devraient etre aussi leves de toute urgence, pour fournir
un logement et des frais de subsistance aux Syriens qui sont recemment
partis en Armenie, que ce soit sur une base provisoire ou permanente.

Ce n’est pas le moment de debattre de ce choix difficile qui est
d’aider les Armeniens a rester en Syrie ou a demenager, puisque leur
survie meme est en danger. Tout le monde doit respecter les v~ux et
les appreciations des Armeniens syriens et soutenir leurs decisions
personnelles. Après tout, puisque leurs vies ne tiennent qu’a un fil,
leurs choix ne doivent pas etre mis en doute. Ce n’est pas non plus le
moment de rendre des jugements sur la qualite et la quantite d’aide
fournie par le gouvernement armenien aux refugies syro-armeniens. De
telles evaluations pourront etre effectuees a une date ulterieure,
une fois que la tempete sera calmee.

Finalement, bien que l’aide financière soit le besoin le plus urgent,
il est egalement important de faire passer le message aux Armeniens
syriens qu’ils ne sont pas seuls dans cette periode de grand besoin !

Ils faudrait leur faire ressentir que les Armeniens et les personnes de
bonne volonte dans le monde, se soucient sincèrement de leur bien-etre
et mettent tout en ~uvre pour assurer leur survie.

Un message compatissant et rempli de tant d’espoir est essentiel, non
seulement pour les Armeniens syriens, mais pour tous les Armeniens
du monde. La douleur d’une communaute quelle qu’elle soit doit etre
partagee par tous les Armeniens. Ils devraient se depecher de venir
en aide a la communaute frappee, parce qu’ils sont tous membres d’une
grande famille. Cet esprit de soutien mutuel prouverait a toutes les
communautes armeniennes, qu’en cas de malheur, elles ne seront pas
abandonnees a leur destin tragique.

Etant donne la situation sinistre des Armeniens en Syrie, mettons de
côte toutes les autres considerations et hâtons-nous de leur porter
secours !

©Traduction de l’anglais C.Gardon pour le Collectif VAN – 30 août
2012 – 07:00 –

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From: A. Papazian