Author: nina hovnanian

LA SUISSE AURAIT PROPOSE SA MEDIATION ENTRE LA HONGRIE ET L’ARMENIE POUR RETABLIR LES RELATIONS DIPLOMATIQUES
Krikor Amirzayan

armenews.com
mercredi 5 septembre 2012

Janos Martonyi, le ministre hongrois des Affaires etrangères a indique
hier que la Hongrie a accepte la proposition de la Suisse pour regler
ses litiges avec l’Armenie et reprendre les relations diplomatique.

Selon la chaine d’information Bloomberg, au sujet du non-respect des
promesses de l’Azerbaïdjan, le chef de la diplomatie hongroise dit
” c’est inadmissible et nous devons condamner “. J. Martonyi ajoute
que ” l’Azerbaïdjan a failli a sa promesse en graciant Safarov et
ne tenant pas compte des garanties donnees par Bakou “. Lors de
son sejour en Suisse, le ministre suisse des Affaires etrangères
a propose sa mediation avec l’Armenie afin de renouer les liens
diplomatiques entre Budapest et Erevan. Le chef de la diplomatie
hongroise ajoute egalement que ” la Hongrie a agi selon les règles
et lois internationales et pour cette decision elle n’a beneficie
d’aucune contrepartie economique. Pour nous, il est très important
que les Armeniens comprennent que la Hongrie les a toujours considere
(les Armeniens) comme des amis “.

BUDAPEST MAKES A BAD MISTAKE

The Day Weekly Digest
Sept 6 2012
Ukraine

Baku’s pardon of an Azerbaijani officer who killed an Armenian
colleague. Consequences

By Mykola SIRUK, The Day

These days another round of tension between Yerevan and Baku is caused
by Hungary’s extradition of Ramil Safarov, an Azerbaijani officer who
killed an Armenian officer with an ax in 2004 and who was instantly
pardoned in Azerbaijan. Safarov was sentenced to life in Hungary for
this murder, but was extradited to Azerbaijan as part of a convention
signed by Baku and Budapest that provides for serving a term in
the convict’s home country. On arriving home Safarov was suddenly
pardoned by President Ilham Aliyev. Azerbaijani news agencies report
that Safarov has returned to the army after being promoted to major.

Yerevan was outraged by Baku’s pardon and President Serzh Sargsyan
ordered diplomatic relations with Hungary severed. He noted that
Budapest had made a serious mistake by extraditing Safarov. There
are no diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia. The
Hungarian deputy foreign minister told the Azerbaijani ambassador
that Budapest considers Safarov’s pardon to be unacceptable and
condemns the decision. The National Security Council’s spokesman, Tommy
Vietor, stated on Friday that the Azerbaijani President’s decision is
“contrary to ongoing efforts to reduce regional tensions and promote
reconciliation. The United States is also requesting an explanation
from Hungary regarding its decision to transfer Safarov to Azerbaijan.”

Baku countered that the decision was made in accordance with the law.

The President’s spokesman, Fuad Aleskerov, declared that “Ramil Safarov
was pardoned in keeping with the Constitution and legislation, with
an eye to the convention on transfer of convicts.”

The Day asked experts on Azerbaijan and Armenia for comment.

SEVERE RHETORIC WILL CONTINUE BUT WITHOUT MILITARY ACTION

Farid KAKHRAMANOV, independent journalist, Baku:

“Severe rhetoric will continue, but there will be no military action.

The international mediators will not allow it. The OSCE Minsk Group
(the US, the Russian, and the French ambassadors as co-chairmen) met
with the Armenian foreign minister in Paris on Sunday (these diplomats
have been responsible for the settlement of the Karabakh issue since
1992). The Azerbaijani foreign minister has flown to Paris. I hope
that the international mediators and world centers of power will do
everything they can lest there be military action and escalation on
the fronts.”

Armenia’s outrage was predictable, wasn’t it?

“Many in Armenia, including ranking officials, were involved in crimes
against Azerbaijani civilians during the hostilities in Karabakh
in 1992. A criminal case has been opened and there are the names of
high-ranking officials of the Armenian leadership, even the defense
minister who was directly involved in the hostilities. As for the
transfer of the Azerbaijani officer, it was done in accordance with
a European convention.”

Secret arrangements are said to have been made between Budapest and
Baku, that the Hungarian government knew about the pardon, and that
in return for his extradition the Azerbaijani government would buy
Hungarian government shares worth 2 billion dollars.

“These are allegations. There is no formal confirmation. Besides,
they wouldn’t have anything to do with this transaction. Azerbaijan is
actively investing in former socialist republics that are experiencing
financial hardships; also, in Serbia, Croatia, and Montenegro.”

Some experts believe that the new round of tension between Baku
and Yerevan plays into Moscow’s hand, considering that Moscow wants
Armenia to be a member of the Eurasian Union.

“I don’t think that Russia has some special intentions in this case.

Armenia remains independent of Russia and Moscow isn’t likely to need
special leverage.”

Anyway, this case isn’t likely to help settle the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict.

“That’s right. One can expect mounting confrontation in both
societies. On the other hand, the Azerbaijani officer’s extradition
may help the general understanding that this dead-ended, frozen
conflict is really dangerous, that any wrong move or collision can
aggravate the situation. For as long as this Azerbaijani territory
is occupied, there will remain the threat of another war. This
issue must be settled. The Madrid Principles proposed by the OSCE
Minsk Group include the withdrawal of troops from the vicinity of
Nagorno-Karabakh and granting it a temporary status until the final
solution to the problem is found. The mediators believe this would
move the issue off the ground, but Armenia rejects this option.”

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan has declared that his country
doesn’t want another war, but that it is prepared to fight and win the
battle. Is Azerbaijan prepared to fight to liberate the abovementioned
territories?

“Such statements have been made on more than one occasion. Considering
that part of its territory is occupied, Azerbaijan is building up its
potential. However, its political leadership has repeatedly stressed
that peaceful means haven’t been exhausted. Also, compared to 1992, the
balance of military forces in the region has changed in Azerbaijan’s
favor. Owing to large oil revenues, this country can spend more on its
defenses. On the other hand, there is military rhetoric, of course,
but Azerbaijan will continue to rely on peaceful means of solving
this problem.”

THERE IS LITTLE LIKELIHOOD OF WAR IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS

Emil DANELYAN, analyst, journalist, Yerevan:

“Few in Armenia believe that Hungary didn’t know about the Azerbaijani
officer’s pardon. Most are convinced that money played its part.

Several days before his extradition there emerged information to
the effect that Azerbaijan plans to buy Hungarian bonds worth some
two billion dollars. The Hungarian prime minister visited Baku two
months ago and the Azerbaijani side mentions arrangements having been
made. I don’t think that the Hungarian side was sure that the convict
wouldn’t be pardoned.”

What consequences can this case have for the bilateral relationships
and settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict?

“Pardoning the Azerbaijani officer will have a negative effect on
the talks with the OSCE Minsk Group, even if these talks didn’t stand
much of chance anyway. Now this chance has become smaller.

This case can also be bad for the relations between Armenia and the
EU, particularly in terms of Eastern Partnership. So far there has
been no response from Brussels or from big EU countries. Armenia may
find its participation in the Eastern Partnership process frozen,
specifically in regard to the Association Agreement that is showing
good progress in the FTA sphere, including simplified visa procedures.

The [Armenian] government has worked in that direction rather actively,
being interested in stepping up the process. And this considering
that Russia has been pressuring Armenia for the Eurasian Union
membership in the past several months (this union being Vladimir
Putin’s brainchild). Even though Armenia was in a delicate situation,
its government managed to continue moving in the European direction.

“If the European response disappoints the Armenian government’s
expectations, it may fold up its European plans and do a complete
about-face on Russia, even Iran. There is a great deal of public
pressure in Armenia, so the government has to do something about it.

In the absence of response from Europe this situation can have serious
geopolitical consequences.”

What do you expect from Russia, considering that it hasn’t made any
statements in regard to this case?

“A number of analysts have been wondering about Russia’s silence. It
is playing its own geopolitical game and serving its own interests. It
would be naive to expect any reaction from Russia in the absence of
one from Europe. Few in Armenia expect Putin’s administration to lend
a moral helping hand or at least take a purely ethical stand. Europe
is where most hopes are being placed, what with humane values and
human rights being often discussed there. We believe that Russia is
content to watch this situation take its current course because there
is the opportunity of Armenia’s about-face on Russia, considering
the traditionally strong military and economic ties between the
two countries, although our government has been trying to practice
differentiated approaches on the international arena, moving in the
Western direction, upholding cooperation with NATO and EU. Now the
situation can change.”

Your President said his country doesn’t want another war, but is
prepared to fight and win. Does this mean that Armenia is prepared
for war with Azerbaijan?

“Armenia will never start a war, although tensions on the front may
increase. There have been skirmishes and men got killed. Skirmishes
may become more frequent, but there is little likelihood of war,
even on a small scale, in the next couple of months. But the overall
atmosphere will be much tenser.

ARMENIAN GOVERNMENTAL AND NEWS WEB SITES UNDER DDOS ATTACK

Mediamax
Sept 6 2012
Armenia

Yerevan/Mediamax/. Today, the web sites of some Armenian ministries
and online media have undergone a large-scale DDos attack.

In particular, the web sites of Armenpress.am, Panorama.am and Aysor.am
news agencies have been periodically attacked throughout the day;
Lragir.am is currently unavailable.

The websites of some ministries have also been attacked and don’t
function: Mil.am of the Ministry of Defense, Moh.am of the Ministry of
Health, Minenergy.am of the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources,
Edu.am of the Ministry of Science and Education and Mes.am of the
Ministry of Emergency Situations.

Mediamax, Armenia
Sept 6 2012

Ramil Safarov’s case to be discussed at Euronest Parliamentary Assembly

Yerevan/Mediamax/. Member of the European Parliament Dimitar Stoyanov
is going to discuss the extradition and pardoning of Ramil Safarov
within the Parliamentary Assembly of the Eastern Partnership Euronest.

Dimitar Stoyanov said this in his interview to Mediamax.

“I am going to discuss the issue with my colleagues, particularly with
Kristian Vigenin, who is Co-President of the Euronest Parliamentary
Assembly and Chairman of the EP Delegation to the Euronest PA. As
you know, Euronest delegation adopts reports on the developments
with partner-countries. I will table an amendment on this report
which will mention this case as a bad example from the part of the
EU member-state,” he said.

Dimitar Stoyanov said the Hungarian government has made a mistake by
extraditing Ramil Safarov to Azerbaijan.

“Transferred convicted persons are not forgone to be pardoned and
freed. It’s a duty for each EU member-state to serve as an example
for all other states, especially our partners – Eastern Partnership
countries. They should give an example that the rule of law and court
decisions are above everything else,” the Bulgarian member of the
European Parliament Dimitar Stoyanov said.

PACE PRESIDENT CONCERNED BY THE SERIOUS DETERIORATION IN RELATIONS BETWEEN ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN FOLLOWING THE DECISION TO PARDON RAMIL SAFAROV

States News Service
September 5, 2012 Wednesday

The following information was released by the Parliamentary Assembly
of the Council of Europe (PACE):

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,
Jean-Claude Mignon, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the
Council of Europe (PACE), said today. 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, Mr Mignon concluded.

ARMENIA STEPS UP PROTESTS OVER AXE-KILLER PARDON

Agence France Presse
September 5, 2012 Wednesday 3:58 PM GMT

Armenia on Wednesday stepped up criticism of Hungary and Azerbaijan
for the extradition from Budapest to Baku and subsequent pardoning
of a Azerbaijani soldier who axed an Armenian to death.

“We condemn the behaviour of the Hungarian authorities and suspend
official relations at the parliamentary level,” said a statement
endorsed by the Armenian parliament at an extraordinary session.

The statement said that Hungary’s move, which has inflamed tensions
between ex-Soviet foes Yerevan and Baku, could “create a precedent
encouraging crimes against Armenians on ethnic grounds”.

Yerevan has already cut diplomatic ties with Budapest after Azerbaijani
serviceman Ramil Safarov was extradited last week from Hungary,
where he had been serving a life sentence for hacking an Armenian
officer to death in 2004.

Safarov was immediately pardoned and promoted to the rank of major
after returning home Friday to a hero’s welcome, in defiance of
assurances from Baku to Budapest that he would serve out his term
in Azerbaijan.

Parliament in Yerevan said Baku had threatened regional security amid
the ongoing conflict over the disputed territory of Nagorny Karabakh,
which Armenia-backed separatists seized from Azerbaijan in a war in
the 1990s that killed some 30,000 people.

“The atmosphere of hatred towards Armenians, rooted at a state level
in Azerbaijan, again proves that Nagorny Karabakh cannot be part of
Azerbaijan in any form,” the parliament statement said.

The president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe,
Jean-Claude Mignon, added his voice to concerns raised by the United
States, the European Union and Russia over the case, saying it risked
destabilising the region.

“I join the international condemnation of the ‘glorification’ of the
terrible crime which Mr Safarov has committed,” he said in a statement.

Armenia meanwhile appeared to reject an offer from Switzerland to
assist in relations with Hungary.

“I do not think that mediation is needed. What are needed here are
precise steps from the Hungarian authorities,” Armenian foreign
ministry spokesman Tigran Balaian told AFP.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have not signed a peace deal since the 1994
Karabakh ceasefire and there are still frequent gun-battles along
the frontline.

ARMENIAN CHESS PLAYERS WIN THE GERMAN TEAM

20:41 . 06/09

Our men’s team held another victory in the 9th round of the World
Chess Olympiad ongoing in Istanbul. They had a 2.5/1.5 win over the
German team.

After Vladimir Hakobyan’s and Levon Aronyan’s victories, Sergey
Movsisyan ended in a draw and Gabriel Sargsyan lost, playing black.

This important victory of our team is joyous, but, unfortunately it
doesn’t bring us closer to the gold medal. China, which is one of
the main rivals, held a victory over Philippine’s team.

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY ADOPTS A STATEMENT CONDEMNING THE ACTIONS OF HUNGARY AND AZERBAIJAN

05.09.2012

Under the Article 70 of the RA Constitution, on the initiative of
the deputies of the National Assembly an extraordinary session of
the RA National Assembly was held on September 5 on the initiator’s
established agenda.

There was one item on the agenda of the extraordinary session:
the RA NA Statement on transferring to Azerbaijan by the Hungarian
authorities the criminal, who killed the Armenian officer Gurgen
Margaryan during the NATO courses in Budapest in February 2004 and
the pardon given to him by the Azerbaijani President.

The Chairman of the NA Standing Committee on Foreign Relations Artak
Zakaryan presented the draft statement.

The speaker said that the working group, which was created by the
decision adopted during the consultation held by the NA President Hovik
Abrahamyan with participation of the NA political forces two days ago,
has elaborated the draft. Artak Zakaryan also said that there were
disagreements on some items of the statement, to which the deputies
would probably touch upon during the exchange of thoughts, and the
final text of the statement would be adopted as a result of debates.

Before turning to the NA deputies’ exchange of thoughts on the issue
under debate the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Eduard
Sharmazanov presiding over the NA session, said that on July 4 the NA
deputy Ruben Hayrapetyan had applied for resignation to the President
of the National Assembly. Under the Article 13 of the RA Law “NA
Rules of Procedure,” if the deputy does not take back his application
on resignation within 15 days in written form, a protocol is made up
with NA President’s signature on suspending his authorities and sent
to the Central Electoral Commission within 5 days.

The National Assembly continued the debates on the draft statement. 29
deputies have been registered for exchange of thoughts.

All speakers condemned the behaviour shown by the Hungarian
authorities, Azerbaijan’s illegal step, its unleashed anti-Armenian
animosity, the violation of human rights guaranteed by international
legal documents and the atmosphere of hatred rooted by Azerbaijan
towards the Armenians at state level. The Azerbaijani President’s
decree on releasing as a rough violation “On Convicts’ Extradition.”

Some deputies made proposals on making amendments in the draft
statement.

Vahan Hovhannisyan proposed to express distinct and rough position on
Azerbaijan’s arbitrariness by violating international legal norms for
non “adequate” assessments of the international influential structures
and include in the statement the recommendation on Azerbaijan’s
responsibility of impeding the peaceful negotiations.

Edmon Marukyan asked to propose conditions to Hungary, and in case
of their fulfillment the diplomatic relations with it can be restored.

According to Karen Avagyan, we should include the issue of making
Nagorno Karabakh again participant in the negotiations, as well as
suspending the membership of Azerbaijan to the UN.

Koryun Nahapetyan, Chairman of the Standing Committee on Defense,
National Security and Internal Affairs, proposed to initiate
an additional protocol of the CoE Convention “On the Convicts’
Extradition” in order to prevent and exclude such cases in general.

The deputy proposed to apply to the European Court.

The deputy of the RPA faction Hayk Babukhanyan proposed to apply
to the European Union and NATO with the request of suspending the
partnership relations and programmes with Azerbaijan.

In their speeches the deputies deemed important as a component of
parliamentarism the possibility of making a statement. The MPs also
underlined the necessity of national and ideological consolidation.

Touching upon the text of the statement representative of the Heritage
faction Alexander Arzumanyan noted the National Assembly should be
more “radical”in the wordings, as did the Head of the country, who
voiced rather sharp assessments, as the case was unprecedented. In
his opinion, the National Assembly should urge the Head of the country
to discuss the expediency of recognition of Nagorno Karabakh.

The deputy of the RPA faction Khosrov Harutyunyan proposed to
include characteristics on the current government of Hungary in the
NA statement.

Artashes Geghamyan made a proposal on the statement, opining that
the RA parliament should enjoy all the assessments sounded by the
Head of the republic on the case in the recent days.

The NA President Hovik Abrahamyan proposed to continue and cover the
agenda of the extraordinary session without interval.

As a result of voting, the parliament adopted the NA President’s
proposal.

The RA Minister of Justice Hrayr Tovmasyan and Foreign Minister
Edward Nalbandian introduced their views on the NA draft statement
and created situation.

In Hrayr Tovmasyan’s word, the steps to be taken will be consistent
and balanced, and the community would be informed on them.

Edward Nalbandian noted that on the Armenian party’s initiative on
August 28 there were meetings in the Foreign Ministry of Hungary,
where they had ensured that such step was excluded.

The NA factions introduced their stances and proposals on the draft
statement.

In the opinion of Rubik Hakobyan, Head of the Heritage faction,
the draft statement is weak: we shall make amendments and specify
the claims.

Aghvan Vardanyan presented the view of the ARF faction, and noted
they would vote for the draft statement.

The Head of the Rule of Law faction Heghine Bisharyan, Levon Zurabyan
from the Armenian National Congress (ANC) faction, Stepan Margaryan,
from the Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP), Galust Sahakyan, Head of
the RPA faction said that their factions would vote for the draft
statement.

The RA NA President Hovik Abrahamyan delivered a speech on the draft
statement:

Artak Zakaryan, member of the Working Group, delivered a final speech.

Touching upon the sounded proposals were of editing nature.

The NA draft statement was adopted with 96 for and 1 against votes.

The National Assembly ended the work of the extraordinary session.

TO UNDERSTAND A NATION ONE SHOULD LOOK AT WHO THAT NATION MAKES A HERO OF
Lena Badeyan

“Radiolur”
06.09.2012 18:06

To understand a nation one should look at who that nation makes a
hero of: this is an excerpt from a psychological study. Psychologist
Karien Nalchajyan and Presidnet of the Assembly of Azerbaijani Armenian
Grigory Ayvazyan tried to assess today what the glorification of a
murderer can result in.

While Karine Nalchajyan sees a danger of war, Grigory Ayvazyan says
there is no link between the two. According to the latter, it is
the negotiation process that reduces the vigilance of Armenians and
results in tragic events.

The recent developments around the killer of Armenian officer Gurgen
Margaryan can be flexibly used in the Karabakh peace process, Karine
Nalchajyan told reporters today.

In the current situation even the psychologists should get involved
in the work to correctly present the psychology of nations to the
international community, she said.

According to Nalchajyan, the recent events have exerted certain
psychological influence on Armenians. “The feeling of pain unites
people,” she said.

THE STEP OF THE HUNGARIAN GOVERNMENT IS SIMPLY UNACCEPTABLE, ARMENIAN PRESIDENT SAYS

armradio.am
06.09.2012 16:52

It’s astonishing how the cynically Azerbaijan makes a hero out of
the murderer, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said at a joint press
conference with NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

“This is an unacceptable and condemnable phenomenon, which is a
serious blow to the objectives of the Partnership for Peace program
and a threat to the regional security in the South Caucasus. In this
situation no one has the moral right to keep silent and neglect what
has happened. It deserves an unequivocal universal condemnation,”
President Sargsyan said.

“The step of the Hungarian government is simply unacceptable,” he said,
adding that the Hungarian authorities could not fail to predict that
Safarov would be released.

President Sargsyan expressed gratitude to all Hungarians, who
demonstrated high morality and expressed support to the Armenian
nation.

“Within this context I would like to touch upon another issue. We
have warned our partners on many occasions that the formulations in
official document and public statements on Nagorno Karabakh that do
not express the real essence of the negotiation process are dangerous
first of all because they encourage Azerbaijan’s non-constructive
and maximalist position of Azerbaijan. I’m confident that it’s this
political correctness” that has served a basis for Azerbaijan’s
posture and actions,” Serzh Sargsyan stated.