Author: Kanayan Tamar

ASSOCIATED PRESS: AZERBAIJAN’S PRESIDENT DEFENDS KILLER’S PARDON

Panorama.am
07/09/2012

Below, we present an article by The Associated Press, which is
reprinted by a large number of news agencies around the world.

“Azerbaijan’s president on Friday vehemently defended his pardon
of a military officer who murdered an Armenian officer with an ax,
a decision that has drawn strong international criticism.

Last week’s pardon of Ramil Safarov has aggravated tensions between
the two countries and raised concerns about resumption of fighting
over a separatist region of Azerbaijan that has been under Armenian
control since 1994.

Safarov killed the Armenian in 2004 while both were in Hungary on
a NATO language course. He was sentenced to life imprisonment, but
Hungary repatriated him, saying Azerbaijan promised that he would
serve out his sentence at home.

But Safarov was pardoned immediately by Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliev upon his arrival in Azerbaijan’s capital of Baku. He was even
promoted from lieutenant to major and given back wages for the years
he spent in Hungarian custody.

Aliev told a news conference Friday the pardon was allowed by the
constitution and that “the decision to pardon him is correct from
the legal viewpoint and is well-founded.”

The U.N.’s top human rights official, meanwhile, strongly criticized
the pardon for Safarov.

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay’s spokesman, Rupert
Colville, told reporters Friday in Geneva that “ethnically motivated
hate crimes of this gravity should be deplored and properly punished.

He added the U.N. hopes this won’t harm efforts to end the dispute
between ex-Soviet neighbors Azerbaijan and Armenia over the
Nagorno-Karabakh territory.

Aliev’s pardon of Safarov has angered Armenia and raised concerns
about a possible resumption of hostilities.”

HUNGARIAN PM: IT IS IN HUNGARY’S INTEREST TO STAY OUT OF THE CONFLICT BETWEEN ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN

arminfo
Friday, September 7, 19:46

Hungary had not only acted in good faith when it repatriated the
Azeri convicted for murdering an Armenian, but did so according to
European legal and civilized norms, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor
Orban told public radio in an interview broadcast on Friday.

Orban told Kossuth Radio that the events surrounding the current
dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia were not about Hungary but
about two other countries. “This dispute is not about us … this is
not our conflict, this is not Hungary’s interest.”

He added that it was in Hungary’s interest to “stay out of this
conflict, and this is now the case.”

Hungary can be proud of its cabinet, which followed transparent
European legal practice well known to all, Orban said. If a state
guarantees in writing that they will continue the sentence of a
criminal convicted in Hungary, then Hungary will transfer the person.

“If we get a written statement, then we will fulfil the request,”
Orban said.

Ramil Safarov, an Azeri officer sentenced by a Hungarian court to
life in jail for brutally killing an Armenian officer in Budapest
in 2004, was extradited to Azerbaijan on Aug 31 and pardoned by the
Azeri President once back home.

THE SITE ARMINFO HAS RECENTLY BEEN ATTACKED BY AZERBAJIANIAN HACKERS!

arminfo
Friday, September 7, 18:59

Dear visitors!

ArmInfo’s website is undergoing a strong attack by Azeri hackers! If
you have problems visiting it, you may find ArmInfo’s news on ArmInfo’s
Facebook page or on commonspace.eu.

ARMENIAN CB REVOKES MIGOM SYSTEM’S LICENSE

tert.am
07.09.12

Armenia’s Central Bank (CBA) has revoked the license issued to the
Migom system for operating in Armenia.

Since 2008, without any explanations, the system has repeatedly
blocked the access for a number of banks operating in Armenia.

The CBA believes that Armenian financial organizations’ cooperation
with the system threatens the country’s financial stability.

ESTONIA’S ARMENIANS RALLY AGAINST AZERI ASSASSIN SAFAROV RELEASE

PanARMENIAN.Net
September 7, 2012 – 17:52 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Disgruntlement over Hungary’s decision to allow a
convicted Azeri criminal to serve his sentence at home was expressed
among Estonia’s Armenian community of 1,500, ERR reported.

About 100 Armenians staged a protest on September 6 outside an Armenian
church in Tallinn over the return of Ramil Safarov to his homeland,
where he was promptly pardoned by the president of Azerbaijan.

Safarov was convicted of the murder of an Armenian who attended NATO
English courses in Budapest in 2004.

Armenia broke off diplomatic relations with Hungary after the pardon.

About 100 Azeri expats staged a counterprotest at Azerbaijan’s embassy
in Tallinn the same day.

ARMENIAN NATIONAL ASSEMBLY’S SPECIAL SESSION GAVE NOTHING – NEWSPAPER

news.am
September 06, 2012 | 08:29

YEREVAN. – Armenian National Assembly’s (NA) special session on
Wednesday, which was devoted to Ramil Safarov’s extradition to
Azerbaijan and his being granted pardon there by President Ilham
Aliyev, was held in an “exceptionally” patriotic climate, 168 Zham
daily reports.

“Numerous MPs delivered speeches condemning what had transpired,
calling for unity, and some were also criticizing the MFA for inaction.

As a result of the ‘heated’ session that lasted until the evening,
NA adopted-by a vote of 90 ‘for’ and one ‘against’-a statement which,
by its content, virtually does not differ from the assessments and
calls that were made in the past several days.

That is, NA’s yesterday’s session and this statement added nothing, for
the most part. In the meantime, NA, as the state’s primary political
institution, at least should have decided on Armenia’s next courses
of action in this situation, [and] their succession. In that case,
convening a special session would have had some meaning.

But, yesterday, NA yet again just ratified that the President decides
everything in Armenia and the parliament simply plays the role of
‘democratic hollowness,'” 168 Zham writes.

AZERBAIJAN ENCOURAGES HATRED AND FASCISM TOWARDS ARMENIANS – LETTER

tert.am
06.09.12

The acting foreign minister of the Nagorno-Karabakh (NKR) Republic,
Vassily Atajanyan, has addressed a letter to OSCE Chairman-in-Office,
Ireland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Eamon Gilmore.

He has expressed concerns over the extradition and pardon of Ramil
Safarov, criticizing the Azerbaijani authorities for failing to meet
any commitment.

His full letter is below:

“I state with regret that the official Baku again undertakes actions
to undermine the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement peace process.

The extradition to Azerbaijan and the subsequent presidential decree of
pardon for Ramil Safarov, who was convicted and sentenced to life in
prison in Hungary for the murder of a man asleep, is another proof of
the fact that Azerbaijan implements and encourages the policy of hatred
and fascism towards Armenians at a state level, which is a continuation
of the Armenian pogroms and slaughter in Sumgait, Baku, Kirovabad,
Maragha and many other towns and villages populated by Armenians.

Azerbaijan has once more demonstrated that it is not going to meet
any commitments, including international ones, and its primary goal
is perpetration of another genocide against the Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic (Artsakh) and annihilation of its population. Thereupon, the
correctness of the path chosen by the people of Nagorno Karabakh on
building an independent, democratic and powerful state is reconfirmed”.

The OSCE and its separate members will condemn Azerbaijan and will
undertake corresponding measures aimed at putting a constraint on that
country to abandon the destructive policy and the ideology of Nazism.

For our part, we reconfirm our commitment to the peace settlement
of the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict and at the same time state that
we are able to defend our country and in case of encroachment on its
freedom and independence we will be able to rebuff the aggressor”

PROTEST RALLIES IN FRONT OF HUNGARIAN DIPLOMATIC REPRESENTATIONS IN GREECE (PHOTOS)

tert.am
06.09.12

Protest rallies were conducted on September 5 in front of Hungarian
diplomatic representations in Greece’s capital Athens and town of
Thessaloniki against the decision of the Hungarian authorities to
extradite murderer of the Armenian officer to Azerbaijan.

According to Armenian Azat or paper, the rallies have been organized by
the Greek branches of Armenian Revolutionary Federation-Dashnaktsutyun
and Ramkavar Liberal party.

In Thessaloniki the Armenians gathered in front of Holy Mother Mary
Armenian church and moved to the building of the Hungarian consulate.

A representative of the diplomatic representation received the
Armenian delegation and promised to hand the letter of the protestors
to the consul.

On the same day a rally was organized in Athens headed by 22 young
people arrived in Greece from Nagorno Karabakh.

The demonstrators stopped in front of Hungary’s embassy where advisor
to the ambassador received a three-member delegation. The embassy’s
official took the letter of the protestors and promised to convey it
to relevant Hungarian bodies. Members of the delegation also expressed
their discontent over extradition of murderer of the Armenian officer
to Azerbaijan.

AFFAIRE SAFAROV : VALERIE BOYER INTERPELLE LAURENT FABIUS

Publie le : 06-09-2012

Info Collectif VAN – – La depute UMP de la 1ère
circonscription des Bouches-du-Rhône, Adjointe au Maire de Marseille
deleguee a la Politique de la Ville, Valerie Boyer interpelle le
Ministre des Affaires etrangères suite a l’affaire Safarov qui a
suscite une vive emotion au sein de la communaute armenienne. Voici
le texte de sa question ecrite.

Madame Valerie Boyer attire l’attention de M. le Ministre des
Affaires Etrangères sur les relations diplomatiques qu’entretient
la France avec l’Azerbaïdjan au regard des evenements recents qui
ont provoque une vive emotion non seulement auprès de la communaute
armenienne mais egalement dans l’ensemble des pays occidentaux. Le 31
août 2012, l’Azerbaïdjan obtenait l’extradition de Hongrie de Ramil
Safarov condamne a une peine de prison a perpetuite pour le meurtre
particulièrement barbare de l’officier armenien Gourguen Markarian.

Alors qu’il avait ete garanti a la Hongrie que Ramil Safarov purgerait
sa peine en Azerbaïdjan, c’est en heros qu’il a ete accueilli dans son
pays. Immediatement gracie par le President Aliev, promu au rang de
major, dote d’une maison et paye de son salaire pour les huit annees
passees en Hongrie, le criminel Safarov a en realite ete remercie et
glorifie par l’Azerbaïdjan pour avoir assassine un armenien.

L’Azerbaïdjan a une nouvelle fois demontre que ses intentions a l’egard
de la Republique d’Armenie ne sont pas a l’apaisement mais bien a la
provocation. Dans ce contexte, elle le remercie de bien vouloir lui
faire connaître les intentions du gouvernement quant a l’avenir de
ses relations diplomatiques avec l’Azerbaïdjan et particulièrement en
ce qui concerne l’accueil sur notre territoire de dignitaires azeris
tels que le Ministre des Affaires etrangères Elmar Mamedyarov invite
par la diplomatie francaise le 3 septembre 2012, soit quelques jours
après le retour triomphal de Ramil Safarov dans son pays.

Lire aussi :

L’Azerbaïdjan menace la paix regionale en glorifiant un crime raciste

Azerbaidjan : grâce octroyee a M. Safarov

Grâce de l’assassin Ramil Safarov : Obama preoccupe

Affaire Safarov: Washington demande a Budapest de s’expliquer

L’Armenie suspend ses relations diplomatiques avec la Hongrie

Affaire Safarov : monstruosite a tous les etages

La Hongrie presente une protestation a l’Azerbaïdjan

L’argent derrière extradition par la Hongrie d’un officier azeri
emprisonne pour le meurtre sauvage d’un armenien

Haut-Karabakh: Budapest et Bakou ont porte atteinte au règlement
du conflit

” L’affaire Safarov ” menace la stabilite

Retour a la rubrique

22 RESSORTISSANTS AZERBAIDJANAIS POURSUIVIS POUR ESPIONNAGE AU PROFIT DE L’IRAN
Stephane

armenews.com
mercredi 5 septembre 2012

Vingt-deux ressortissants azerbaïdjanais ont ete juges mardi sur des
accusations de collaboration secrète avec la Garde revolutionnaire
iranienne, ont rapporte les medias locaux.

Le procès a debute a huis clos au tribunal des crimes graves dans la
capitale azerbaïdjanaise de Bakou, où les suspects sont accuses en
vertu du code penal du pays de ” trahison grave ” et ” acquisition
illegale, transfert et possession d’armes a feu et munitions “.

Tous ont ete arretes plus tôt cette annee lors des operations
effectuees par le ministère de la Securite nationale.

Le 14 mars 2012, le ministère de la securite nationale a declare dans
un communique que les autorites ont arrete 22 personnes qui ont ete
recrutes par la Garde revolutionnaire iranienne et ” se sont engage
a l’espionnage contre l’Azerbaïdjan “.

Le groupe a commence ses operations dans le pays en 1999 et tous les
membres ont acquis des armes pour commettre des attentats terroristes
contre des diplomates et hommes d’affaires etrangers, a declare
le communique.

Les agents de securite ont saisi des armes et d’explosifs lorsque
les suspects ont ete arretes.

Selon le droit penal azerbaïdjanais, la sanction pour ” trahison grave
” peut aller d’un emprisonnement de 10 ans a une condamnation a vie.