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HUNGARY, ARMENIA AND THE AXE-MURDERER: BLUNDER IN BUDAPEST
The Economist
Sept 4 2012
THE return to home and freedom of Ramil Safarov, an Azeri military
officer and convicted murderer, has prompted one of central Europe's
biggest diplomatic storms. It has pulled in Russia, America and the
European Union, and led to a new war of words in one of the world's
most volatile regions.
Safarov used an axe to murder a sleeping fellow student, an Armenian
officer called Gurgen Margarjan, while both men were at a NATO
English-language course in Budapest in 2004. Safarov justified himself
by referring to Armenian atrocities against Azerbaijan in the conflict
of 1988-94. He told the court that Lieutenant Margarjan, an Armenian,
had taunted him about the contested region of Nagorno-Karabakh from
where he was a refugee.
Hungary sent Safarov home, it says, on the understanding that he would
serve the rest of his sentence in prison there. But on arrival in Baku,
he was immediately pardoned, hailed as a national hero and promoted
to major.
Armenia has reacted with fury and has severed diplomatic relations
with Budapest. Angry protestors burnt the Hungarian flag in Yerevan,
the Armenian capital, and pelted the consulate with tomatoes. Serzh
Sarkisian, the president of Armenia, said the country was ready to
fight if need be. "We don't want a war, but if we have to, we will
fight and win. We are not afraid of killers, even if they enjoy the
protection of the head of state."
Patrick Ventrell, spokesman for the U.S. State Department, said that
the United States was "extremely troubled" by the pardon of Safarov
and would be seeking an explanation from both Budapest and Baku.
Russia, which has been deeply involved in efforts to ease relations
between Armenia and Azerbaijan, said that the actions of the Hungarian
and Azerbaijani governments "contradict internationally brokered
efforts" to bring peace to the region.
Hungary condemned the decision to release Safarov and said it had
been misled by the Azerbaijan government. Hungarian officials said
they had received assurances from Azerbaijan that Safarov would be
released on parole only after serving at least 25 years.
The Hungarian media has reported that Azerbaijan has been pressing
Hungary to release Safarov since his conviction. Many scent a dirty
deal behind the scenes, as this poston Hungarian Spectrum, a liberal
blog, outlines. The main theory is that Azerbaijan had promised to
buy state bonds from Hungary in exchange for Safarov's release.
Hungary needs the money. It has been in protracted and so far
fruitless negotiations with the IMF and the European Union for a
stand-by credit arrangement. The Hungarian government is actively
seeking other potential investment partners in Asia and the Middle
East. Mr Orban visited Azerbaijan in June.
Hungarian and Azeri officials dismissed such claims.
On one level, the diplomatic crisis is surprising. Hungary's diplomats
are usually smart, supple and well-informed. During the Libyan crisis,
while most diplomats fled, the Hungarian embassy in Tripoli stayed
open. By the end of the seven-month conflict Budapest was representing
some fifty absent governments. Hungary brokered the release of four
western journalists and even managed to get Talitha von Zam, a Dutch
model and former girlfriend of one of Colonel Gaddafi's sons, out of
the war-zone.
But it seems that the Safarov affair was masterminded by Viktor Orban,
the prime minister, and Peter Szijjarto, the minister for external
economic relations, rather than the foreign ministry.
The extradition also raises questions about the EU's credility. It
has just pledged [email protected] million ($25m) to reform oil-rich Azerbaijan's
justice and migration systems. So far, Catherine Ashton, the EU High
Representative, has expressed only a tepid statement of "concern".
The Economist
Sept 4 2012
THE return to home and freedom of Ramil Safarov, an Azeri military
officer and convicted murderer, has prompted one of central Europe's
biggest diplomatic storms. It has pulled in Russia, America and the
European Union, and led to a new war of words in one of the world's
most volatile regions.
Safarov used an axe to murder a sleeping fellow student, an Armenian
officer called Gurgen Margarjan, while both men were at a NATO
English-language course in Budapest in 2004. Safarov justified himself
by referring to Armenian atrocities against Azerbaijan in the conflict
of 1988-94. He told the court that Lieutenant Margarjan, an Armenian,
had taunted him about the contested region of Nagorno-Karabakh from
where he was a refugee.
Hungary sent Safarov home, it says, on the understanding that he would
serve the rest of his sentence in prison there. But on arrival in Baku,
he was immediately pardoned, hailed as a national hero and promoted
to major.
Armenia has reacted with fury and has severed diplomatic relations
with Budapest. Angry protestors burnt the Hungarian flag in Yerevan,
the Armenian capital, and pelted the consulate with tomatoes. Serzh
Sarkisian, the president of Armenia, said the country was ready to
fight if need be. "We don't want a war, but if we have to, we will
fight and win. We are not afraid of killers, even if they enjoy the
protection of the head of state."
Patrick Ventrell, spokesman for the U.S. State Department, said that
the United States was "extremely troubled" by the pardon of Safarov
and would be seeking an explanation from both Budapest and Baku.
Russia, which has been deeply involved in efforts to ease relations
between Armenia and Azerbaijan, said that the actions of the Hungarian
and Azerbaijani governments "contradict internationally brokered
efforts" to bring peace to the region.
Hungary condemned the decision to release Safarov and said it had
been misled by the Azerbaijan government. Hungarian officials said
they had received assurances from Azerbaijan that Safarov would be
released on parole only after serving at least 25 years.
The Hungarian media has reported that Azerbaijan has been pressing
Hungary to release Safarov since his conviction. Many scent a dirty
deal behind the scenes, as this poston Hungarian Spectrum, a liberal
blog, outlines. The main theory is that Azerbaijan had promised to
buy state bonds from Hungary in exchange for Safarov's release.
Hungary needs the money. It has been in protracted and so far
fruitless negotiations with the IMF and the European Union for a
stand-by credit arrangement. The Hungarian government is actively
seeking other potential investment partners in Asia and the Middle
East. Mr Orban visited Azerbaijan in June.
Hungarian and Azeri officials dismissed such claims.
On one level, the diplomatic crisis is surprising. Hungary's diplomats
are usually smart, supple and well-informed. During the Libyan crisis,
while most diplomats fled, the Hungarian embassy in Tripoli stayed
open. By the end of the seven-month conflict Budapest was representing
some fifty absent governments. Hungary brokered the release of four
western journalists and even managed to get Talitha von Zam, a Dutch
model and former girlfriend of one of Colonel Gaddafi's sons, out of
the war-zone.
But it seems that the Safarov affair was masterminded by Viktor Orban,
the prime minister, and Peter Szijjarto, the minister for external
economic relations, rather than the foreign ministry.
The extradition also raises questions about the EU's credility. It
has just pledged [email protected] million ($25m) to reform oil-rich Azerbaijan's
justice and migration systems. So far, Catherine Ashton, the EU High
Representative, has expressed only a tepid statement of "concern".