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French Armenians Stage Protests as Aliyev Visits Paris
http://www.mirrorspectator.com/2012/09/19/french-armenians-stage-protests-as-aliyev-visits-paris/
News | September 19, 2012 10:00 am
PARIS (ArmeniaNow) - The Armenian community of France is organizing
large- scale protest against the visit of Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliyev to Paris, accusing him of carrying out a genocidal policy
manifested in the latest act of pardoning a confessed killer of an
Armenian.
Aliyev arrived in the French capital on Monday to attend the opening
of an Islamic art exhibition at the Louvre Museum. He was also
scheduled to meet with French
officials, including President Francois Hollande.
Meanwhile, the country's sizable Armenian community held a rally
Tuesday in front of the Azerbaijani Embassy in Paris to express their
indignation at both Azerbaijan's `genocidal policies' and the decision
of France to host Aliyev.
Spokespersons for Armenian organizations in France said they believe
that France should not encourage the anti- Armenian regime of
Azerbaijan. They point at Aliyev's decision to pardon Ramil Safarov, a
man who hacked to death an Armenian student at NATO-sponsored lan-
guage courses in Budapest, upon his extra- dition from Hungary last
month, as more proof that Nagorno-Karabagh cannot be part of
Azerbaijan. That decision led to offi- cial Yerevan's severing ties
with Budapest and demanding a clear stance of the inter- national
community to condemn the `Azerbaijani-Hungarian deal.' France, too,
voiced concerns over the possibility of the Safarov affair `seriously
undermining the negotiating efforts' in the Karabagh settlement that
it spearheads along with the United States and Russia.
`Granting pardon to the murderer by the Azerbaijani president is clear
encouragement of barbarism and anti-Armenianism. These events are the
continuation of the genocidal logic of the Azerbaijani regime,
which is getting armed more and more for the full destruction of the
Armenians of Nagorno- Karabagh,' the Coordination Council of Armenian
Organizations of France (CCAF) said in a special press release on the
occasion. `To receive Aliyev in these conditions means to support his
anti-Armenian policy. Ilham Aliyev, who disregards international
rights, should not be received in the Elysee Palace. Aliyev, whose
regime demolished the Armenian cultural heritage, in particular 4,000
Armenian stone crosses in Old Jugha, [Nakhijevan, which is an exclave
ruled by Azerbaijan] should not be received in the Louvre.'
A protest against the Azeri president's visit was also held on Monday
in Marseilles by representatives of the local Armenian community.
Demonstrations were also staged in Marseille and Provence, in
connection with Aliyev's visit to France, Nouvelles d'Arménie monthly
of France reports.
The protesters stated that French President François Hollande on
Tuesday would receive that person who released Ramil Safarov and
declared him a hero, once Safarov was extradited by Hungary.
Close to 200 Marseille residents joined numerous political and
religious figures. In their speeches, the local government
representatives expressed their resentment over the current situation
and called upon the French President to do everything possible to
restore justice.
Safarov, a lieutenant in the Azerbaijani military, was extradited on
August 31 from Hungary, where he was serving a life sentence - and
with no expression of either regret or remorse - for the premeditated
axe murder of Armenian Lt. Gurgen Margaryan, in his sleep, during a
NATO Partnership for Peace program in Budapest back in 2004.
As expected, Safarov's return to Baku was welcomed, as was his act of
murder, by the officials of president Ilham Aliyev's government and
much of Azerbaijani society, and the Azerbaijani president immediately
granted him a pardon.
And Armenia's President Serge Sargisian announced on August 31 that
Armenia is suspending its diplomatic ties with Hungary.
Safarov's pardoning has been condemned by virtually all international
organizations. (News.am contributed to this report.)
http://www.mirrorspectator.com/2012/09/19/french-armenians-stage-protests-as-aliyev-visits-paris/
News | September 19, 2012 10:00 am
PARIS (ArmeniaNow) - The Armenian community of France is organizing
large- scale protest against the visit of Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliyev to Paris, accusing him of carrying out a genocidal policy
manifested in the latest act of pardoning a confessed killer of an
Armenian.
Aliyev arrived in the French capital on Monday to attend the opening
of an Islamic art exhibition at the Louvre Museum. He was also
scheduled to meet with French
officials, including President Francois Hollande.
Meanwhile, the country's sizable Armenian community held a rally
Tuesday in front of the Azerbaijani Embassy in Paris to express their
indignation at both Azerbaijan's `genocidal policies' and the decision
of France to host Aliyev.
Spokespersons for Armenian organizations in France said they believe
that France should not encourage the anti- Armenian regime of
Azerbaijan. They point at Aliyev's decision to pardon Ramil Safarov, a
man who hacked to death an Armenian student at NATO-sponsored lan-
guage courses in Budapest, upon his extra- dition from Hungary last
month, as more proof that Nagorno-Karabagh cannot be part of
Azerbaijan. That decision led to offi- cial Yerevan's severing ties
with Budapest and demanding a clear stance of the inter- national
community to condemn the `Azerbaijani-Hungarian deal.' France, too,
voiced concerns over the possibility of the Safarov affair `seriously
undermining the negotiating efforts' in the Karabagh settlement that
it spearheads along with the United States and Russia.
`Granting pardon to the murderer by the Azerbaijani president is clear
encouragement of barbarism and anti-Armenianism. These events are the
continuation of the genocidal logic of the Azerbaijani regime,
which is getting armed more and more for the full destruction of the
Armenians of Nagorno- Karabagh,' the Coordination Council of Armenian
Organizations of France (CCAF) said in a special press release on the
occasion. `To receive Aliyev in these conditions means to support his
anti-Armenian policy. Ilham Aliyev, who disregards international
rights, should not be received in the Elysee Palace. Aliyev, whose
regime demolished the Armenian cultural heritage, in particular 4,000
Armenian stone crosses in Old Jugha, [Nakhijevan, which is an exclave
ruled by Azerbaijan] should not be received in the Louvre.'
A protest against the Azeri president's visit was also held on Monday
in Marseilles by representatives of the local Armenian community.
Demonstrations were also staged in Marseille and Provence, in
connection with Aliyev's visit to France, Nouvelles d'Arménie monthly
of France reports.
The protesters stated that French President François Hollande on
Tuesday would receive that person who released Ramil Safarov and
declared him a hero, once Safarov was extradited by Hungary.
Close to 200 Marseille residents joined numerous political and
religious figures. In their speeches, the local government
representatives expressed their resentment over the current situation
and called upon the French President to do everything possible to
restore justice.
Safarov, a lieutenant in the Azerbaijani military, was extradited on
August 31 from Hungary, where he was serving a life sentence - and
with no expression of either regret or remorse - for the premeditated
axe murder of Armenian Lt. Gurgen Margaryan, in his sleep, during a
NATO Partnership for Peace program in Budapest back in 2004.
As expected, Safarov's return to Baku was welcomed, as was his act of
murder, by the officials of president Ilham Aliyev's government and
much of Azerbaijani society, and the Azerbaijani president immediately
granted him a pardon.
And Armenia's President Serge Sargisian announced on August 31 that
Armenia is suspending its diplomatic ties with Hungary.
Safarov's pardoning has been condemned by virtually all international
organizations. (News.am contributed to this report.)