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Of Chess Champions And Axe-Murderers

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  • Of Chess Champions And Axe-Murderers

    OF CHESS CHAMPIONS AND AXE MURDERERS
    BY ARA KHACHATOURIAN

    http://asbarez.com/105313/of-chess-champions-and-axe-murderers/
    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.

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