Author: Badalian Vardan

PEOPLE HOLD UP PLACARDS AS THEY PROTEST OUTSIDE HUNGARY’S PARLIAMENT IN BUDAPEST

Reuters

Sept 4 2012

People hold up placards as they protest outside Hungary’s Parliament
in Budapest September 4, 2012. Thousands of protesters rallied against
the government’s decision to extradite soldier Ramil Safarov, who
was sentenced to life in prison for the 2004 killing of an Armenian
officer during NATO training in Hungary. Local blogs and newspapers
had speculated that Budapest’s release of Safarov – which led Armenia
to suspend diplomatic relations with Hungary – might be linked to a
debt sale or some other bilateral economic deal. REUTERS/Laszlo Balogh
(HUNGARY – Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS)

ARMENIAN HACKERS HIT AZERBAIJAN …AND AZERBAIJAINI HACKERS RETALIATED
By Jeff Goldman

eSecurity Planet

Sept 4 2012

Armenian hackers recently took down several Web sites in Azerbaijan,
including the president’s Web site, the site for the Azerbaijani
Supreme Court, and several news sites, to protest the government’s
recent issuing of a pardon to a Azerbaijani soldier who had killed
an Armenian with an axe in 2004.

“Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev issued an order that killer Ramil
Safarov ‘should be freed from the term of his punishment’ directly
after he arrived earlier on a plane from Budapest, where he had
been serving a life sentence for the 2004 murder. … Safarov hacked
Armenian officer Gurgen Margarian to death with an axe at a military
academy in Budapest, where the servicemen from the ex-Soviet neighbor
states were attending English-language courses organised by NATO,”
AFP reports.

“Safarov was flown to Baku and freed, despite Azerbaijan’s assurances
that his life sentence would be enforced,” BBC News reports.

ArmeniaNow’s Gohar Abrahamyan reports that cyber attacks were launched
in both directions. “Information Security expert Samvel Martirosyan
told ArmeniaNow that a group of Armenian hackers has attacked 15 Azeri
websites of highest importance,” Abrahamyan writes. “To retaliate,
Azeri hackers have attacked Armenian websites. ‘This is the biggest
cross-fire in the Armenian and Azerbaijan cyber war of the recent
years. Both sides have been attacking for the past two years: DDoS
attacks, when a website simply becomes ‘not accessible’ and when the
site is hacked and injected with unrelated content,’ says Martirosyan.”

“A group of hackers calling themselves the ‘Azerbaijani Defacers’ took
down the Armenian president’s official website today,” The Hurriyet
Daily News reports. “The group claimed they carried out the attack on
Serzh Sargsyan’s site to counter the hacking of numerous Azerbaijani
websites by Armenian hackers in recent days.”

FURTHER FALLOUT FROM ARMENIAN – AZERBAIJANI – HUNGARIAN CONTROVERSY OVER PARDONED KILLER

The Sofia Globe

Sept 4 2012
Bulgaria

Posted Sep 4 2012 by The Sofia Globe staff in Bulgaria, CEE, News

About 50 people from the Armenian community in Bulgaria held a protest
outside the Hungarian embassy in Sofia on September 4 2012 against
Budapest’s decision to transfer to Azerbaijan military officer Ramil
Safarov, convicted of the 2004 murder of Armenian lieutenant Gurgen
Margaryan.

On his arrival in Baku on August 31, Safarov was pardoned
byAzerbaijan’s president and given a hero’s welcome.

The protestors in Sofia submitted a letter of protest to the Hungarian
embassy, saying that the behaviour of the Hungarian authorities was
disgraceful. The protestors chanted “shame on Hungary”, according
to local media reports. They plan new protests outside the embassy,
most probably on September 11 when a football match between Bulgaria
and Armenia is due.

As the Voice of America reported, on August 31 Hungary sent Safarov
back to Azerbaijan.

Safarov was given a life sentence in 2006 by the Budapest City Court
after he confessed to hacking to death Markaryan while the Armenian
was sleeping.

The incident happened while both were in Hungary for a 2004 language
course of the Nato military alliance.

Yet, as soon as Safarov arrived at the Baku airport, he received an
official pardon from Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev.

In a short statement, the president said he had decreed that Safarov
“should be freed from the term of his punishment.”

Safarov told reporters that he regards his freedom as a “restoration of
justice.” He said that he is “very happy” and that “it is difficult
to find words” to express his feelings. Safarov said he wants to
“express gratitude to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief [President]
Ilham Aliyev and everyone who supports him.”

In a September 3 statement, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton
and Commissioner Stefan Fuele said that they were “concerned” by the
news of Sarafov’s pardon.

The statement said that Safarov was transferred from Hungary to
Azerbaijan on August 31 on the basis of an Azerbaijani request,
in the framework of the Convention of Strasbourg on the Transfer of
Sentenced Persons of March 21 1983, to serve the rest of his sentence.

“EU representatives are in contact with the relevant authorities and
will continue to follow the situation closely,” the statement said.

“In the interest of regional stability and on-going efforts towards
reconciliation, the High Representative and Commissioner Fuele
reiterate their call on Azerbaijan and Armenia to exercise restraint,
on the ground as well as in public statements, in order to prevent
an escalation of the situation.”

Armenia severed all diplomatic relations with Hungary after the pardon
of Safarov.

The Hungarian government has since been at pains to explain itself
and limit the damage, the Budapest Times reported on September 4.

According to the Hungarian foreign ministry, the extradition was
in line with the European Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced
Persons signed in Strasbourg.

The state secretary for foreign affairs and foreign trade at the prime
minister’ office Peter Szijjarto said that on September 2, the foreign
ministry had given the Azerbaijani ambassador in Budapest a diplomatic
note, describing the events following the extradition of the murderer
as “unacceptable” and “condemning” them. The Hungarian government
was dismayed to learn that Safarov had been pardoned, Szijjarto said.

RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY DEEPLY CONCERNED ABOUT SAFAROV’S PARDON

Mediamax
Sept 3 2012
Armenia

Yerevan/Mediamax/. Official representative of the Russian Foreign
Ministry, Alexander Lukashevich, said today that “Russia is deeply
concerned about the reports that Azerbaijani serviceman Ramil Safarov
was granted pardon.”

“It is with deep sorrow that Russia has heard the reports that
Azerbaijani serviceman Ramil Safarov, who was sentenced to life in
prison by the Hungarian court for the brutal murder of an Armenian
officer in Hungary in 2004, was granted pardon, and that the Hungarian
authorities decided to extradite him to Azerbaijan,” Lukashevich said.

“We think that the actions of Azerbaijani and Hungarian authorities
run counter to internationally coordinated actions, first of all taken
by the OSCE Minsk Group, aimed at decreasing tensions in the region.

We also expect that relevant assessment of the given situation will
be provided to OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs in the nearest future,”
the Russian official stated.

HUNGARIAN AUTHORITIES ACTED LIKE PROSTITUTE – KARABAKH MP

news.am
September 03, 2012 | 20:07

STEPANAKERT. – Azerbaijani murderer Ramil Safarov’s extradition
by the Hungarian authorities to Azerbaijan is a classic example of
political prostitution, Nagorno-Karabakh MP Sergey Ghazaryan told
Armenian News-NEWS.am.

His comments came in response to the agency’s request how legal
and moral was the decision by the Hungarian authorities regarding
extradition of Safarov.

“Undoubtedly, there is no legal or moral point in it, as due to the
deal the murderer is free and carries no punishment required by the
court. The extradition decision by the Hungarian authorities is a
classic example of political prostitution,” he said.

Commenting on the fact that Safarov is almost a hero in Azerbaijan,
the MP said that the step by the Azerbaijan’s President will impact
on the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process. Ghazaryan said that Safarov’s
release is a consequence of crimes which did not get their condemnation
and punishment, including the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Turkey,
massacres in Shushi [Karabakh], Sumgait and Baku [Azerbaijan], as
well as aggression against peaceful population in Karabakh.

As for the Karabakh negotiation process, it should be reviewed.

SAFAROV EXTRADITION, PARDONING EVENTUALLY CONDEMNED BY RUSSIA

PanARMENIAN.Net
September 3, 2012 – 16:40 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Russian Foreign Ministry has eventually issued
a statement, commenting on Hungary’s extradition of assassin Ramil
Safarov, who was granted pardon on his arrival to Azerbaijan.

“Russia, as OSCE Minsk Group co-chair, is deeply concerned over
Baku’s pardon of lieutenant Ramil Safarov, sentenced to life in
prison for murdering an Armenian officer, as well as the Hungarian
leadership’s decision to extradite him to Azerbaijan,” spokesman for
Russian Foreign Ministry Alexander Lukashevich commented.

“The actions of Azeri and Hungarian leadership run counter to
international efforts to decrease regional tensions,” the spokesman
said in the statement.

“We’ll be expecting OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs’ assessment of the
situation in near future,” the statement said.

IRAQI DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER TO VISIT ARMENIA

ARMENPRESS
3 September, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 3, ARMENPRESS: Armenian Ambassador Extraordinary and
Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Iraq had a meeting with Iraqi Deputy
Prime Minister Rowsch Nuri Shaways. As information and public relations
department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Armenpress, in the
course of the meeting the interlocutors envisaged the issues pertain
to the visit to Armenia as well as issue of cooperation field. Shaways
stated he expects his visit to Armenia will prompt to the development
of Armenian- Iraqi political and economic relations. On the same
day Muradyan met Saleh Muhamed al-Mutlaq, Deputy Prime Minister of
Iraq. The interlocutors touched upon development prospects between
Armenia and Iraq. Exchange of interstate situation and regional issues
took place.Muradyan also met Iraqi Foreign Affair Deputy Minister
Lubeyd Abaii. The sides discussed issues pertain to Iraqi Embassy
opening in Yerevan. High estimating the initiative the Iraqi high
ranking official told he will step up efforts to realize the idea.

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CYBER WAR: ARMENIA RETALIATES FOR SAFAROV’S PARDON BY HACKING OFFICIAL AZERI WEBSITES
By Gohar Abrahamyan

ArmeniaNow
03.09.12 | 16:31

The August 31 extradition and further pardon of Azeri murderer
Ramil Safarov serving a life sentence in Hungary for killing an
Armenia officer has been met with many acts of protest, including
cyber attacks.

Information Security expert Samvel Martirosyan told ArmeniaNow
that a group of Armenian hackers has attacked 15 Azeri websites
of highest importance. To retaliate, Azeri hackers have attacked
Armenian websites.

“This is the biggest cross-fire in the Armenian and Azerbaijan cyber
war of the recent years. Both sides have been attacking for the past
two years: DDoS attacks, when a website simply becomes ‘not accessible’
and when the site is hacked and injected with unrelated content,” says
Martirosyan, adding that Azeri cyber attackers have hacked around 40
Armenian websites, and the Armenians – some 20 Azeri websites, however
Armenian hackers have targeted mostly state-government and news sites.

“Our experts have hacked president.az and, in fear of infiltration
Azeris shut down the site for more than a day. Next were the
official websites of Azerbaijan’s tourism and culture ministry,
communication and transport ministry, and of public TV companies,”
details Martirosyan.

According to him, Azeri cyber attacks have mostly failed to hack
Armenian news sites, they have been able to hack only GALA TV’s and VEB
TV’s websites (which recovered shortly after). Armenians have hacked
the websites of four main information agencies, and as a result one
of them (Vesti.az) lost its server hosting.

Armenian cyber experts have placed photos of Safarov, his victim
Gurgen Margaryan or Armenian national hero Monte Alexanyan with
captions saying “Like Nation, Like Heroes”.

There was news circulated on Facebook social network that today
Armenian hackers have attacked the official website of the Azeri
Supreme Court.

REACTION TO SAFAROV RELEASE: HUNGARY SAYS AZERIS RENEGED ON PROMISE
By Gohar Abrahamyan

ArmeniaNow
03.09.12

An image of axe-murdered Armenian officer Gurgen Margaryan (archive
photo)

Heated discussions blaze among Armenians on various levels condemning
the extradition to Azerbaijan, pardoning, and promotion in military
rank of the Azeri soldier who murdered an Armenian soldier 8 years
ago during a “Partnership for Peace” seminar in Budapest.

Enlarge Photo Benedek Zsigmond

Ramil Safarov was found guilty of premeditated murder and was sentenced
to life in prison in April 2006, after confessing to brutally hacking
to death 26-year-old Armenian Lieutenant Gurgen Margaryan while the
Armenian slept in his dormitory room. Margaryan and Safarov were in
Hungary for a NATO-sponsored Partnership for Peace English language
courses in February of 2004. The Azeri president pardoned Safarov a
day after his return to the country on August 31.

The murderer was hailed as a “national hero,” was awarded the rank
of major, and was provided with an apartment and salary due for more
than eight years.

Meanwhile, the Hungarian government has issued a statement essentially
saying that Baku is guilty of violating international law, and that
Hungry had received assurances from Azeri officials that Safarov
would not be eligible for parole for at least the next 17 years. A
copy of communication from August 15 by the Azeri foreign ministry
affirms that such promises were made.

The same day of Safarov’s extradition, Armenia’s President Serzh
Sargsyan severed diplomatic ties with Hungary, recalling the Armenian
ambassador.

Saturday, September 1, saw civil protests in front of the Armenian
foreign ministry and Hungarian Consulate in Yerevan.

A Hungarian Armenologist of Armenian descent Benedek Zsigmond
speculated during a Monday meeting with the press that Hungary is in
a huge economic crisis and Azerbaijan has committed to cover Hungary’s
3-billion-euro debt.

“The deal hasn’t even happened yet. Hungary was well aware of the
perils of Safarov’s extradition. They knew he would be released,
that’s why it had demanded guarantees and the Azeri Defense Ministry
had promised that Safarov would continue serving his term in Baku,”
said Zsigmond.

Hungarian citizens have created a group on Facebook titled “Armenia,
forgive us for our Prime Minister”, earning the support of more than
9,000 people in two days.

The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin’s press service reports that
Cardinal Peter Erdo, Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest and Primate
of Hungary, has sent a letter to Catholicos of All Armenians His
Holiness Karekin II voicing support to the Armenian people over the
extradition and release of Azeri assassin.

Some Hungarian mass media report that on Sunday the Hungarian foreign
minister met with the Azeri Ambassador in Budapest and gave him a
diplomatic note stating that Hungary condemns Azerbaijan’s actions
of pardon and awards to Safarov.

30 MILLION KURDS ARE LOOKING BEYOND THEIR OWN BORDERS TOWARDS INDEPENDENCE

The Economist – 18 August – On August 12, rebels from the Kurdistan
Workers’ Party (PKK) kidnapped Huseyin Aygun, a prominent opposition
MP, as he toured the mainly Kurdish eastern province of Tunceli. He
was released 48 hours later, but the rebels got their desired
publicity by abducting an MP right under the authorities’ noses. `They
did it for propaganda purpose, they did me no harm,’ declared Mr Aygun
before passing on his captors’ `desire for peace’.

Yet peace does not seem to be on the PKK agenda. Over the past month
the group has increased its violence. It tied down the army for two
weeks in a mountain enclave near Semdinli. It killed two soldiers in
the Aegean resort of Foca. Hardly a day now passes without news of
another PKK attack.

The spike in terrorist activity may be linked to the August 15th
anniversary of its 28-year-old armed campaign for Kurdish independence
(the PKK says it would now settle for autonomy). Yet Turkey’s prime
minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, puts the blame on Syria’s president,
Bashar Assad. Mr Erdogan says Mr Assad has resumed the support for the
PKK that ended when Turkey threatened to go to war against his father
in 1998. Mr Erdogan’s critics retort that he is himself to blame.
Turkey’s firm support for Syria’s rebels has won Mr Assad’s enmity
along with that of Iran, home to several PKK camps.

Last month Mr Assad ceded control of a string of mainly Kurdish towns,
prompting Turkey to send more troops to the border. Whether he acted
out of spite or necessity, the effect has been the same. The
Democratic Union Party (PYD), a PKK offshoot, promptly established
control, hoisting the Kurdish flag over Syrian government buildings
along with large posters of the imprisoned PKK leader, Abdullah
Ocalan. Perhaps a third of the PKK’s fighters are Syrian Kurds, whose
hawkish commander, code-named Bahoz Erdal, is thought to have
masterminded the recent attacks.

Yet fears of a semi-independent PKK-administered Kurdish state in
Syria, which could gobble up chunks of Turkey, are overblown. Syria’s
estimated 3m Kurds are scattered across the country. The majority
Sunni Arabs are unlikely to concede to demands for regional autonomy.
Turkey is also leaning on the Iraqi Kurdish leader, Masoud Barzani,
who has brokered a deal between the PYD and its rivals, united under
the banner of the Kurdish National Council. Although the deal calls
for power-sharing, the PYD calls the shots. Mr Barzani is keen to
maintain his new-found alliance with the Turks not least because
Turkey is the sole outlet for the Iraqi Kurds’ substantial oil wealth.
Last month Turkish trucks began carrying the oil, prompting a furious
response from Iraq’s Shiite prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, who
accused Turkey of encouraging Kurdish separatism.

The irony of this outburst was not lost on the Iraqi Kurds, who were
long shunned by Turkey because their experiment with self-rule seemed
a threat to Turkish unity. Amid booming trade ties, there is growing
talk of an informal confederation between Turkey and the Iraqi Kurds.
Mr Erdogan is even said to have given Mr Barzani personal guarantees
of defence against aggression by Baghdad.
If Turkey would only grant its 14m Kurds some of the rights enjoyed by
their cousins in Iraq, the PKK’s terrorist tactics and antediluvian
Marxist doctrine would surely lose its appeal. The trouble is that,
buoyed by the Arab spring, the region’s 30m Kurds are increasingly
looking beyond their own borders towards an independent state uniting
them all.