Author: nina hovnanian

AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT SAYS ACCUSATIONS IN “SAFAROV CASE” UNGROUNDED

ITAR-TASS
September 10, 2012 Monday 10:05 PM GMT+4
Russia

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said the accusations against
country in the so-called Ramil Safarov case are ungrounded.

“Some international entities and politicians have come up with
ungrounded accusations against Azerbaijan. They are unfounded.

Everything was done by law and in accordance with the adopted European
conventions,” Aliyev said on Monday, September 10, when visiting a new
settlement built for forced migrants affected by the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict.

Aliyev criticised the Council of Europe and said that this organisation
“has repeatedly put forth ungrounded accusations Azerbaijan”.

“I know this because I led the delegation of our country to the Council
of Europe for three years. They put pressure on us in order to make
us free criminals. I remember that one of them was a criminal who
was released on the insistence of the Council of Europe. But several
months later he committed a new crime and killed a whole family. And
now the same Council of Europe that demanded a release of that person
is accusing me of pardoning Ramil Safarov,” the president said.

He mentioned the case of Anders Breivik who had been sentenced to 21
years in prison for killing almost 80 people. “He got a punishment of
three months for each of the killed persons. How can that be possible?

Why do they keep silent?” he said.

“All this cannot and will never affect my will, opinion and actions,”
Aliyev said.

Safarov, an Azerbaijani army officer who had been serving a life
sentence in Hungary for the brutal 2004 murder of an Armenian officer
in Budapest, was transferred from Hungary to Azerbaijan on August
31 on the basis of an Azerbaijani request under the Convention of
Strasbourg on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons of March 21, 1983,
to serve the rest of his sentence.

On August 31, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev made the decision
to pardon Safarov.

Jean-Claude Mignon, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the
Council of Europe (PACE), said the international scandal involving
the so-called “Safarov case” may have “very negative consequences”
for already-strained relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

“I join the international condemnation of the ‘glorification’ of the
terrible crime which Mr Safarov has committed, and for which he has
been condemned by a court in a Council of Europe member state,” he
said. “His liberation is unacceptable, and I am extremely disappointed
by the abusive use of a Council of Europe legal instrument in this
affair.”

“This scandalous liberation is having very negative consequences
on the already-strained relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan,
and also risks destabilising the situation in the region. I call on
the Azeri authorities to reconsider their position, in line with the
standards and the ethos of the Council of Europe,” Mignon concluded.

Catherine Ashton, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign
Affairs and Security Policy, and Stefan Fule, European Commissioner
for Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy, also voiced concern about
the release of Safarov.

ARMENIAN PROSECUTOR GENERAL: “IT’S A PITY THAT THERE’S A NATION ON THIS PLANET WHOSE CITIZEN IS GLORIFIED FOR AXING A SLEEPING MAN”

Mediamax
Sept 10 2012
Armenia

Yerevan/Mediamax/. Armenian Prosecutor General Aghvan Hovsepyan
said today that Ramil Safarov was not pardoned but was acquitted
in Azerbaijan.

Aghvan Hovsepyan noted that “in fact, this was not a pardon but
acquittal, since only in case of acquittal the convicted person
receives the salary for years he has spent in prison, a house and
becomes a hero.”

According to Prosecutor General, the President of a country has
not right to grant pardon to a person who was sentenced by another
country’s court.

“The President of Azerbaijan has made a rough mistake violating the
law of his own country,” said Aghvan Hovsepyan, adding that only the
court, not the President, is allowed to acquit a person.

“It’s a pity that there is a nation on this planet whose citizen is
glorified for axing a sleeping man,” said Aghvan Hovsepyan.

HEAD OF HUNGARIAN DIPLOMATIC AGENCY SAYS LEAKED FOREIGN AFFAIRS REPORT SUGGESTS AZERI PRESIDENT MISLED HUNGARY

Politics.hu
Sept 10 2012
Hungary

A restricted document issued by the Hungarian Institute of
International Affairs (MKI), leaked by news website nol.hu on Friday,
indicates that Hungarian authorities were misled by Azerbaijan in
connection with the handover of the Azeri officer who killed an
Armenian officer in Hungary eight years ago.

The MKI’s head Botond Zakonyi said the leaking of the document,
which analysed the diplomatic situation, had been “unfortunate”. The
Institute, a government agency for foreign affairs, regularly issues
such reports on key affairs of Hungarian diplomacy, he added.

The document, according to nol.hu, stated that Prime Minister Viktor
Orban had met Azeri President Ilham Aliyev to discuss the repatriation
of the prisoner. The president had promised him that the life-sentenced
Ramil Safarov would be kept behind bars. Safarov was pardoned and
released on arrival to this homeland. Hungary condemned the release in
a diplomatic note two days later, but Armenia nevertheless suspended
diplomatic relations with Hungary over the case.

The MKI report concluded that Hungary had been misled by the Azeri
president, nol.hu reported, citing a copy of the document. It added
that Hungary was surprised by Safarov’s release and needed 24 hours to
formulate an official government position on the matter. The report
added that Azerbaijan had tried to give the false impression there
had been an agreement with Hungary on Safarov’s release.

“Azerbaijan is much more important to Hungary at the moment than vice
versa,,” the report said, adding that for this reason Budapest would
not openly say that the Azeri president had misled Orban.

The MKI suggested that Hungary should pursue a communcations strategy
which made it plain that the release had been made without Hungary’s
consent. “We must speak of a misunderstanding,” the report said.

The report said it was clear that relations between Hungary and
Armenia would be icy for a period of time but it added that in the
medium-term relations could be revived through hard work.

Safarov was convicted in Hungary in 2006 for murdering the Armenian
Gurgen Margaryan two years earlier. The two men attended a NATO
English-language course together. Safarov was sentenced to life
and sent to prison in Hungary but requested getting transferred to
Azerbaijan. On returning to Azerbaijan, Safarov got an immediate
pardon by his country’s president and welcomed as a hero.

PASHINYAN RECALLS EPISODE FROM HAYRAPETYAN’S LIFE

07:54 pm | Today | Politics

Armenian MPs today refrained from answering whether Republican MP
Ruben Hayrapetyan would give up his seat in parliament or not.

“I shall speak to you after Hayrapetyan recalls his resignation,”
said Armen Rustamyan, an MP of the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation-Dashnaktsutyun.

Tigran Urikhanyan, Spokesman for the Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK),
does not find it correct to interpret the actions of his colleagues,
especially those that have nothing to do with his party.

Eduard Sharmazanov, Vice-Speaker of the Armenian National Assembly
and Spokesman for the Republican Party of Armenia (HHK), did not even
want to comment on the interview conducted by Nouvelles d’Armenie
with Ruben Hayrapetyan.

Earlier, Ruben Hayrapetyan announced his intention to recall the
resignation and wait until the investigation into the circumstances
surrounding the death of military doctor Vahe Avetyan was completed.

Hayrapetyan’s statements do not instill faith in Nikol Pshinyan,
a lawmaker from the Armenian National Congress (HAK).

“In one of his press conferences, Ruben Hayrapetyan expressed readiness
to debate with HAK representatives but as you saw he refused to
do it during a live broadcast. This is only a small episode from
Hayrapetyan’s biography. I do not think that the topic is so important
as to be discussed,” said Mr. Pashinyan.

While defending his Republican colleague, HHK MP Mkrtich Minasyan
said Hayrapetyan always took decisions inspired by the principles of
common sense.

“I have a high opinion about Hayrapetyan, his human qualities,
dignity and if he has decided to wait till the end of the trial,
it means he has reasons to behave so,” he said.

Ruben Hayrapetyan is expected to resign over the public uproar over
the death of Armenian army physician Vahe Avetyan at his Harsnakar
restaurant.

On July 17, Vahe Avetyan, head of ENT (ear-nose-throat) department
at the Defense Ministry’s Yerevan garrison hospital, and his friends
[also army doctors] were subjected to violent beating at Hayrapetyan’s
Harsnakar Restuarant. After a 12-day fight for his life, Avetyan died
in hospital on July 29 without regaining consciousness. Following the
tragedy, civil activists, NGOs and ordinary citizens organized protests
demanding to evoke Ruben Hayrapetyan of his parliamentary mandate.

FESTIVE EVENT IN HONOR OF OUR OLYMPIC CHAMPIONS’ GLORIOUS VICTORY

ARMENPRESS
10 September, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 10, ARMENPRESS: The festive concert on the occasion
of Armenian chess players’ glorious victory at Independence Square
has already begun. Our Olympic champions have already arrived to the
Independence Square with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan. Armenpress
reports that thousands of fans and compatriots greeted our champions
with exclamations and applouses. Representatives of Armenian
show business have also come to Independence Square to greet our
champions. There will be a state reception in the presidential
residence in honor of our champions after the concert.

40th Chess Olympics hosted in Istanbul, Turkey. By the final results
of the 11 rounds the Armenian Chess Men team achieved the Chess
Olympus for the third time. The second place is occupied by the
Russian team.Armenia’s “golden” team has participated in the World
Olympiads since 1992. Armenians were the best players in 2006 in
Turin and 2008 in Dresden Olympiads. The chess team of Armenia is
one of the exceptional teams, which managed to become an incessant
Olympic champion twice.

SWITZERLAND HOLDS PROTEST ACTION AGAINST EXTRADITION OF AZERI MURDERER – PHOTO

September 10, 2012 | 17:21

BERN. – The Armenian community organizations held a protest action
near the Hungarian Embassy in Bern on Sept. 8 in connection with
the extradition of the Azeri murderer Ramil Safarov from Hungary
to Azerbaijan.

Over 100 Armenian community as well as Swiss society representatives
participated in the protest action. They condemned the decision
by the Hungarian authorities and demanded the Swiss authorities to
clarify their approach to the actions of the Hungarian and Azerbaijani
authorities.

After the protest, a delegation was sent to the Embassy and an open
letter was handed over from the Armenian-Swiss community expressing
despair and concern about the decision of the Hungarian authorities
and condemning the Azerbaijani policy for pardoning and making a hero
of a murderer.

HUNGARIAN EUROPE SOCIETY DECLARATION ABOUT SAFAROV EXTRADITION

Panorama.am
10/09/2012

The Hungarian government has caused an international scandal by
sending home a nationalist Azerbaijani soldier who had been convicted
and sentenced to life imprisonment for brutally murdering an Armenian
soldier in Budapest in 2004, the Hungarian Europe Society’s declaration
says.

This unscrupulous decision done in the hope of securing financial
support might not only destroy friendship with Armenia, but might
even rekindle the frozen conflict in the Caucasus. The Hungarian
government apparently does not care about these consequences.

The feeling of outrage and shame is hardly affected by the uncertainty
of whether the government knew in advance that the criminal
sentenced to life imprisonment would be welcomed as a hero in Baku,
or truly made a miscalculation and falsely believed the promise of an
authoritarian regime. In order to clarify the truth and to identify
those responsible, it is necessary to set up a parliamentary committee
of inquiry, as was done after a scandal ensued from the sale of arms
to Croatia after the regime-change in Hungary.

The “axe-gate” scandal also demonstrates the serious failure of the
Hungarian government’s “adventurer policy” of moving away from the
West and opening up to the East without any principles. For the past
two long years, many political steps of the Orban government have
essentially contradicted the European Union’s value system. That is why
we are looking forward to the position of the EU Council of Foreign
Ministers as well as to the definite, fast action and investigation
of the European Parliament regarding this unprecedented case, says
the declaration, posted on the organization’s website.

“LITTLE SINGERS OF ARMENIA” RETURN HOME AFTER A 40-DAY TOUR TO JAPAN
Alisa Gevorgyan

“Radiolur”
10.09.2012 17:05

The “Little singers of Armenia” choir directed by Tigran Hekekyan has
returned home after a 40-day tour across Japan. The series of concerts
in 18 cities of Japan was dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the
Armenian-Japanese relations and the 500th anniversary of Armenian
printing, as well as the proclamation of Yerevan as World Book Capital
2012 by UNESCO.

The Armenian choir of little singers was invited by the famous
Japanese Min-On Concert Association. The audience in Japan was
impressed by the complex and diverse repertoire of the choir, the
brilliant performance of the Armenian children, the interpretation
of Japanese works. Youths of both Japanese and Armenian nations sang
shoulder to shoulder a Japanese favorite classic Furusato (Homeland),
Tigran Hekekyan told reporters today.

The final concert at the famous Tokyo-City was really impressive.

Armenian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Japan Hrant
Poghosyan said after the concert: “The children did a great work to
deepen the cultural cooperation between the two countries. During
their tour the Armenian Embassy was receiving a number of calls from
people in Japan interested in visiting Armenia. This was truly a
great achievement.”

FORMER MP DALLAKYAN TO REPRESENT PREZ IN PARLIAMENT
Grisha Balasanyan

hetq
16:08, September 10, 2012

Former MP Victor Dallakyan, who served 17 years in Armenia~Rs
parliament, will be returning to the legislature in a new capacity –
as representative of the Armenian president.

Dallakyan told reporters that the new appointment had been sometime
in the making and that he would be also serving as Deputy Chief of
Staff for the RA President.

He said the new post provides wide powers to implement changes to
the by-laws of the National Assembly.

Dallakyan said he would be representing the views of the president
in the legislature and that he would be coordinating the conclusions
regarding government and National Assembly legislative initiatives.

He said that he would be cooperating with all parliamentary factions
and that he would be following the press in order to gauge public
opinion regarding a variety of issues.

ARMENIA SAYS IT WON’T TAKE PART IN CHESS OLYMPIAD IN BAKU
By Suren Musayelyan

ArmeniaNow Deputy Editor
10.09.12 | 12:50

Armenia repeated over the weekend its decision not to send its
chess players to Baku after the Azerbaijan capital was chosen by
international chess’s governing body, FIDE, to hold one of the
upcoming Olympiads.

On Saturday, the day before Armenia won the World Chess Olympiad in
Istanbul, Turkey, the city also hosted an FIDE congress where it was
decided to grant Baku the right to host the 2016 Olympiad. Before
that the FIDE Executive Committee demanded that Azerbaijan provide
security guarantees to delegations of all countries, including Armenia,
which it eventually received at the ministerial level.

Azerbaijan’s Sport Minister Azad Rahimov assured the chess body that
the security of the Armenian chess players would be guaranteed on
the state level.

“If necessary, the Armenian chess players will be provided with
special security,” the official said, according to Azerbaijani media.

Armenia still deems the assurances are too little, as things stand now,
to risk the security of its nationals in Azerbaijani soil.

The tense relations between the two neighboring South Caucasus nations
aggravated earlier this month after a controversial extradition of a
convicted murderer of an Armenian to Azerbaijan by Hungary. Armenia
believes the move is more proof of the bitter hatred that exists in
Azerbaijan towards Armenians after ethnic clashes in the late 1980s
and the bloody war over Nagorno-Karabakh in 1991-1994.

FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, meanwhile, said the conflict
between Armenia and Azerbaijan could be settled by 2016 and so it
shouldn’t stand in the way of Baku’s bid.

“In 1996 we organized an Olympiad in Yerevan. Why not organize it in
Baku in 2016?” said the FIDE chief, adding that he had visited both
Armenia and Azerbaijan to discuss the matter with both countries’
presidents.

“This Olympiad will be in four years’ time and during this time the
Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict may be settled. So, let’s play chess!”

added Ilyumzhinov.

Meanwhile, former world champion Garry Kasparov, a half-Armenian and
native of Baku, too, said he might visit Baku during the 2016 event
if the Karabakh conflict had been solved by that time. But the citizen
of Russia excluded his attendance of the Baku Olympiad otherwise.

“Maybe the parties will settle the issue till 2016. In that case I
will think it over,” he told Azerisport.com in Istanbul.

Kasparov is expected to make a bid to become FIDE president in
elections scheduled for 2014.