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Armenia Suspends Relations with Hungary
President Sarkisian addresses the foreign diplomatic corps on Friday
YEREVAN—President Serzh Sarkisian suspended all relations with Hungary Friday in the aftermath of that country’s decision to covertly extradite an Azeri officer who brutally murdered an Armenian soldier in 2004 during a joint NATO military retreat, reported the presidential press service.
After meeting with Armenia’s National Security Council, Sarkisian convened a meeting of the foreign diplomatic corps to convey Armenia’s anger and its decision to immediately suspend relations with Hungary.
Lt. Ramil Safarov sentenced to life in prison in Hungary for hacking to death Armenian officer, Lt. Gurgen Markarian, was sent back to Azerbaijan Friday and, despite assurances, was immediately pardoned and freed by Azeri President Ilham Aliyev.
Safarov was given a life sentence in 2006 by the Budapest City Court after he confessed to killing Markarian while both were in Hungary for a 2004 NATO language course.
Hungary returned the 35-year-old Safarov to Azerbaijan only after receiving assurances from the Azerbaijani Justice Ministry that Safarov’s sentence, which included the possibility of parole after 25 years, would be enforced.
In very terse remarks, Sarkisian condemned Hungary for the transfer and also criticized the international community for not responding to apparent warnings by Armenia, which adhered to international calls to not politicize the case.
In an earlier meeting with Armenia’s National Security Council, Sarkisian announced that he has instructed the defense ministry to place all troops on high alert and urged the National Assembly to convene an emergency session. He also announced that he has a “special assignment” for the head of Armenia’s National Security Service Gorik Hakpyan.
Below is the text of Sarkisian’s remarks to diplomats as presented by the presidential office without edits:
Distinguished Ambassadors:
Unfortunately today we invited you to the President’s Office on an extraordinary occasion. As you should know, an officer of the Azeri military who had killed Armenian officer Gurgen Margaryan, was transferred to Azerbaijan. The President of Azerbaijan – and we have been warning about it – has immediately granted pardon to him.
This has happened because the Government of Hungary, a member State of the European Union and NATO, has made a deal with the authorities of Azerbaijan.
I do not want to revisit the circumstances of the murder of Gurgen Margaryan; you are very well aware of them. As the trial had demonstrated, the horrendous manslaughter took place only because Gurgen Margaryan was an Armenian.
Immediately after this crime had been perpetrated the Hungarian authorities as well as our partners – EU and NATO member States, were continually urging us to refrain from politicizing that process. We were continually urged to trust the judiciary of Hungary, a member State to those important alliances.
We have been closely following all the developments around that criminal. This issue has been discussed during each and every meeting with the President, Speaker of the Parliament, Foreign Minister and Ambassador of Hungary, and we have been assured on numerous occasions that such a transfer or a return of a criminal to Azerbaijan was excluded. We have received that same response to our requests during our contacts just a few days ago with the representatives of the Hungarian Foreign Ministry and Parliament. But as a result of perfidious developments the murderer has turned up in Baku and got released.
I have nothing to say about Azerbaijan – just plainly nothing. That country speaks about itself with the actions it takes, and I am not the one to explain those steps.
Ambassadors, Ladies and Gentlemen:
With their joint actions the authorities of Hungary and Azerbaijan have opened the door for the recurrence of such crimes. With this decision they convey a clear message to the butchers. The slaughterers hereafter are well aware of impunity they can enjoy for the murder driven by ethnic or religious hatred.
I CAN NOT TOLERATE THAT.
THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA CAN NOT TOLERATE THAT.
THE ARMENIAN NATION WILL NEVER FORGIVE THAT.
I officially announce that as of today we suspend diplomatic relations and all official contacts with Hungary.
We expect a precise and unambiguous response by all our partners with regard to this incident.
Anyone who tolerates this, will tomorrow be held responsible to history.
Half-measures and circumlocution are not acceptable.
We will judge the attitude of our partners towards the security of the Armenian nation by their response to this incident.
I request you urgently to convey this as my personal message to the Heads of your States and Governments.
That is all I wanted to say. I do not know if Q&A will make sense or not? I think it won’t since what happened can hardly be accommodated by a reasonable mind. A country that considers itself developed and civilized does not have the right to behave this way and it well deserves proper assessment by its partners.
A more complete response would be to no longer participate in NATO peacekeeping or any other NATO operations.Didn’t this incident happen during a nato training session?
Who cares about the mess they made in Afganistan or elsewhere. Why would we risk any armenian life to get a stupid medal. let us deal with our own problems first.
They probably don’t fully appreciate our contribution anyways.
The Hungerians seem to have some awakenning regarding their racial ties & alligences to the huns & turks
They knew exactly what they were doing
Shame on them.
I will never forgive the Hungarians for this. The day they sent Safarov back to Azerbaijan marks the beginning of a new historic enmity between two nations that previously were never enemies (although I have been hostile towards Hungary ever since Jobbik made their anti-Armenian statements).
We will not forget this.
Dear Armenians:
While most of you seem incredulous at Hungary’s skulduggery here, I’m shocked at the vituperative outrage of most of you. Hungarians, as Kevork duly notes, speak a Turkic language, something of an anachronism in Europe, but are noted for being a very “civilized” and “advanced” people. Indeed, these far-seeing people even brought in the German “Saxons” (among the most “civilized” of them all); and it should be recalled that from Brasov, a German town, came Urban, the cannon-maker who provided Sultan Mehmed II the weapon he admitted needing to take Constantinople in 1453. Now the world hasn’t been the same since, has it? Then again, in later years, they provided the celebrated Hapsburg dynasty, which provided us all the Great War, did it not?
But I digress. This is/was a NATO thing, isn’t it? Reading the headlines here, I see that Obama is “disappointed” about all this. I’ll bet he is! After all, have 10 centuries not taught “y’all” (speaking from Biden’s words of wisdom) how to play the role of sufferers for the Sultanate, and silent sufferers at that? Have you so soon forgotten? What is this world coming to, when I read of ideas like blowing up Clinton’s pipeline? What’s next? Deserting the NATO mission (whatever it is) in Afghanistan? Turning aside from NATO’s “peacekeeping” mission in Kosovo, where armed soldiers have to “defend” themselves from unarmed civilians who cannot be made to understand that KFOR is there to bring them the blessings of “the rule of law”, (or certain parts of it, anyway). All of this while Armenia is being slammed daily by an Azerbaijani ambassadorial mission in Belgrade, all under NATO’s watchful eyes, of course? What if the Armenian “peacekeepers” just handed their weapons over to the north Kosovo Serbs and left; or better still, set up their own border crossing or two to “augment” NATO’s efforts? Could it actually transpire that even the authorities in Yerevan are finally waking up to realize that the Western establishment (news and print media, the State Department, CIA, and the US military establishment) is not their friend?
What happened was typical Western/NATO style provocation followed up by typical Turkic behavior. Armenia reserves the right to have the rabid animal in question killed. I hope Russia’s special services can provide Yerevan with some assistance with that regard.
Nevertheless, this was a great opportunity to again show our Hollywood-struck peasantry in Armenia and in the diaspora the true face of not only Turkic peoples but that of the political West as well. Don’t fool yourselves into thinking this is an isolated incident involving only Hungary. The British did something very similar with the Lockerbie bomber couple of years ago.
The point being, Western leaders are of the type that would sell their mothers and daughters into prostitution to make a quick profit. The Western world today is totally devoid of culture, morality, nationality, family and God. Western Globalism has turned westerners into animals.
Western leaning idiots in Yerevan need to come to the realization that Armenia’s future lies with Russia. Closer and deeper cooperation with the Russian Federation and the Islamic Republic of Iran is Armenia’s only way forward in the Caucasus. Anyone that does not agree with this is either an agent of the West or an idiot.
Therefore, official Yerevan needs to -
Shut down any NGO in Armenia that is operating with funds being brought from European or American sources.
Shut down any “news” organization that is not homegrown and funded by domestic sources.
Stop using English as the second language in the republic (Armenian youth would be better off learning Russian, German, French… and why not Persian, Chinese and Hindi).
Cut ties with Brussels and NATO (they are falling apart away).
Cut ties with Globalist institutions such as the IMF and USAID (they pose an immense danger to the healthy and well being of developing nations).
Finally, cut ties with Washington (has been and will always be an anti-Armenian vipers nest)…
Now is the time to throw Aliyev from UNSC and recognize the indepedence of NKR. Nobody wants to live with snakes; after all, they bite, and therefore, make themselves dangerous!
WHERE IS EU, WHERE IS USA THE STAUCH ALLY OF AZERYS, WHERE IS THE HUMAN RIGHTS,
ARMENIA HAS BEEN SOLD DOWN THE RIVER BY HUNGARY , THE MORAL PROSTITUTES OF EUROPE.
SHAME SHAME SHAME
THIS MURDERE SHOULD BE LIQUIDATED SOON
Hungarians are turanians. They have a kinship with turks. Heroic Hungarians of Armenian decent have defended Hungary againt the Ottomans, Austrians and Soviets. Shame on Hungarians who have chosen turkish values (barbarism) and not European values. Hungary must demand the return of the cowardly axe murderer or cut off diplomatic relations with azerbaijan.
No need for apologies and crocodile tears.. Hungary made its choice. The only way Hungary can atone for this crime is to officially recognize Artsakh as part of Armenia they day Armenia itself has the guts to do so.
And since Hungary most likely won’t do this, they can consider at least me their enemy.
Long. live. Armenia.
<<Shame on Hungary who considers itself to be part of the so called “civilized” world<<
I'm not sure it does.
Sorry Armenia. We are ashamed of our government. We protested.
http://index.hu/belfold/2012/09/04/egymillioan_az_ormenyek_bocsanataert/
http://hvg.hu/itthon/20120904_Millasok_kerik_az_ormenyek_bocsanatat
Sorry from Hungary
Hi Armenians
I am a Hungarian and like most of my countrymen I am deeply sorry about the stupid actions of our Primeminister, he acted alone not with the blessing of Hungarian people who show in our protestes in Hungary and USA alongside Armenians and online that we have no alliance with Turks and we support Armenians against Azerbaijans actions .
Some one said here we speak a Turkic language please be infromed that is incorrect we speak a finno-ugrian language , we are not Turanian we are European Christian country and we fought against the Ottomans for a few hundred years to keep them and their religion out of Europe.
Do not judge Hungarians by this stupid Primeminister or by one or 2 extremist dumb guys from Jobbik they do not represent Hungary.
Hungarian Pfrofessor speaking Armenian and Appologises for what Priminister did….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoXDB1DDAIA&feature=related
https://www.facebook.com/SorryArmenia
https://www.facebook.com/HungariansLoveArmenians?refid=8&_ft_
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