OF CHESS CHAMPIONS AND AXE MURDERERS
BY ARA KHACHATOURIAN
Monday, September 10th, 2012 | Posted by Ara Khachatourian
Armenian chess champions greeted by President Sarkisian (left);
Azerbaijan’s hero axe-murderer Ramil Safarov
The streets of Yerevan thundered with cheers and jubilation Monday
night as throngs of residents flocked to the streets to welcome
Armenia’s National Chess team which had retuned from Istanbul where
it had beat the Hungarian team to win gold and clench the title of
world champion.
Fireworks lit up the Yerevan sky and social media was buzzing with
excitement and pride as our national heroes came home victorious.
Under normal circumstances, the chess victory would still have been
a source of pride and excitement, but would not have had historic
implications. However, under the dark cloud of the Ramil Safarov
incident, Armenia’s victory in Istanbul against Hungary and last
week’s absurd images from Baku, where Azeris celebrated the return
of an axe-murderer as hero turned irony into pathos.
It was indeed ironic that Armenia was left to battle Hungary in the
chess finals. Victory was even sweeter, since Armenia has suspended
all relations with Hungary over its decision to extradite the Azeri
soldier Ramil Safarov who brutally killed Armenian officer Gourgen
Margaryan in 2004. It was also poignant to hear the Armenian national
anthem in Istanbul
The recent developments have, once again, put into perspective the
crux of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and highlighted the gains and
losses that have played out during the course of the war and the
ensuing peace process.
What began as a democratic movement under Glasnost and Perestroika
for Armenians demanding their rights, turned violent when Azerbaijan
began a wave of brutal massacres and pogroms in Sumgait, Kirovabad,
Baku, Shahumian and Getashen. When Armenians were under relentless
Grad missile attacks they banded to fight a war imposed on them
and emerged victorious. Modern day heroes were born and hundreds
joined the pantheon that boasts selfless individuals who have put the
survival of the nation first. Azeris retreated without heroes and 20
years later live in squalor as a few in Azerbaijan reap the benefits
of its oil wealth. They were forced to create heroes, namely Haydar
Aliyev, who is the architect of the current regime that thrives on
and perpetuates hatred and brutality.
During the peace negotiations, Azerbaijan has continued to threaten
war, kill innocent civilians, and domestically stifle those who have
advocated change in favor of criminals and bandits. Official Baku,
through its president, has said that every Armenian is the state’s
enemy and must be dealt with accordingly.
While Armenia has not been without its own troubles in the continued
quest to protect human rights and justice, it has never officially
called for the destruction and murder of an entire race.
Decades ago as the world watched the brutal pogrom of Armenians with
the same tacit “concern” as expressed when Safarov was extradited and
then pardoned, the great human rights advocate and activist Andrei
Sakharov said that the Karabakh conflict is “matter of prestige”
for Azerbaijan, while for Armenians it is “a matter of life and death.”
So many deaths, including that of Gurgen Margaryan’s could have been
prevented had the international community, especially the US, Russia
and Europe, did not sit idly by and exert pressures in their absurd
efforts to advance so-called parity in the name of advancing peace.
The Karabakh conflict resolution process is at a crossroads now.
Azerbaijan’s blatant support and glorification of an Armenian killer
should not go unpunished by the stakeholders who claim to have
the region’s best interests at heart. Their “concerns” should have
turned to anger and condemnation when in the days following Safarov’s
extradition, Azerbaijan continued its sub-human policies and elevated
the axe-killer to a hero.
The US continues to say that it is looking for answers from Baku,
and the NATO secretary general last week guardedly asked for an
explanation and instead got the middle finger from Ilham Aliyev.
However late in the game, it is time for the international community to
recalibrate its position and begin to not ignore bellicose statements
and acts by Azerbaijan and view them as a threat to not only to
Armenia and Armenians, but their own efforts at establishing peace
in the region.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei
Lavrov on Monday pledged to work to diffuse tensions between Armenia
and Azerbaijan on the sidelines of the upcoming United National General
Assembly. One way to ensure that their efforts hold any credence is
to use the pulpit of the General Assembly to loudly condemn Azerbaijan
and any other nation that promotes hatred, murder and glorifies those
who commit them as a state policy.
Two neighboring countries welcomed national heroes to their
midst. As the world watched, a definitive picture has emerged that
magnifies-in no uncertain terms-the contrast between civilized
people and barbarians: A nation proudly welcoming a group that for
several weeks has been representing his country in an international
competition and is returning a hero having leveraged sportsmanship,
acumen and conviction and another nation proudly welcoming a person who
wielded an axe, viciously and brutally murdering another human being.
http://asbarez.com/105313/of-chess-champions-and-axe-murderers/