YEREVAN (Armenpress)—On the 10th anniversary of Gurgen Margaryan’s death, on Wednesday, a march in his memory began near his monument on Leningradian Street in Yerevan and went on to the Yerablur Military Pantheon. Hundreds of Armenian citizens paid tribute to the memory of the Armenian officer first near his statue, then at the Yerablur Military Pantheon. As Armenpress reports, the Armenian Minister of Defense Seyran Ohanian characterized Gurgen Margaryan’s assassination as a one-time genocide.
Ohanian said, “10 years have passed and we came together here to pay tribute to the Armenian officer. Our officer was killed for just being an Armenian and the criminal himself confessed that he was preparing to kill an Armenian.”
10 years have passed since the murder of Armenian officer Gurgen Margaryan, who was brutally killed by Azerbaijani criminal Ramil Safarov. Although Ramil Safarov had to face the Hungarian justice system, Azerbaijani petrodollars and “caviar diplomacy” managed to set the murderer free a few years later.
On January 11, 2004, Margaryan left for Budapest, Hungary, to participate in a three-month English language course which was part of NATO’s Partnership for Peace program. On February 19, he was axed, while asleep, by his fellow Azerbaijani participant, Lieutenant Ramil Safarov. The murder took place at 5 am, while the victim was asleep.
After he killed Margaryan, Safarov went forward with his plan to murder another Armenian officer, Makuchyan, but discovered his door was locked.
A postmortem concluded that Safarov had delivered sixteen blows to Margaryan’s face, nearly severing his head from his body.
A briefing given by the Hungarian police added that Margaryan had also been stabbed several times in the chest.
Safarov, who was sentenced to life imprisonment, was transferred back to his home country on August 31, 2012, under an extradition agreement. Although Azerbaijan formally pledged that the life sentence handed down to him in Hungary would be directly continued when he was returned to his homeland, the Azerbaijani president granted him a pardon and formally recognized him as a “national hero” upon his arrival.
Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian announced the same day that Armenia suspended diplomatic relations with Hungary.
A ‘regretful mistake’
The president of the Hungarian Honorary Consular Corps György Suha told Armenpress that the extradition of Safarov was a “regretful mistake.”
“Armenian-Hungarian relations and friendship have historic value,” Suha said. “It is very important to us to restore diplomatic relations with Armenia. Armenia is a friendly country and we have a general history and share common values.”
According to Suha, the extradition of Ramil Safarov was a political decision and did not have any legal background. “We should solve diplomatic issues diplomatically and find urgent solutions for the restoration of relations,” said Suha.
An event dedicated to the 10th anniversary of the death of Gurgen Margaryan will be held on February 19 at the Armenian Cultural Center of Hungary. Members of the Armenian community will place flowers by the cross-stone near the Danube River. Later, the Hungarian public activists, who paid a visit to Armenia after Safarov’s extradition and apologized to Margaryan’s parents, will speak at the Armenian Cultural Center of Hungary.
This is very sad issue. eye for eye hand for hand ,justice has not been served yet. sorry to say that noboady can take care this son of a donkey. what happen to all thoese lopas talkers tapov tgerk. namusov , tasibov adatov. you are lions in your house but a chiken outside your house. get serious
Gurgen Margaryan’s brutal murder at the hands of the azeri coward ramil safarov is one of many thousands of painful demonstrations that evidence why no Armenian citizens can ever be forced to live under the azeri and turkish yoke.
From an artificial nation of barbarians that was only created a century ago like azerbaijan I expect his kind of criminality. But equally harsh condemnations are warranted for the United States and NATO, which sponsored the course when Lt. Margaryan was murdered, as well as for the EU, which ALLOWED its province Hungary to release convicted axe murderer safarov back to azerbaijan after azerbaijan paid Hungary a large bribe. These are the criminal nations and international organizations of the west which are always preaching “democracy” and “rule of law” and “ending corruption” in newly emerging republics like Armenia and Russia. All that lofty rhetoric about “human rights” flew out the window for NATO and the EU when it came to justice for Lt. Margaryan and for Armenia after the azeris and turks pulled out their blood-drenched checkbooks. Just like the French, British, Italians, Germans, and Austrians a century earlier, today’s western leaders have no qualms about standing by while Armenians are murdered under European watch, and then happily turning around and doing “business” with the murderers.
Let’s not kid ourselves, any Armenian today who is actively promoting American, EU, and/or NATO agenda’s inside Armenia today is ultimately a traitor, and is merely setting the stage for Armenians to once again be betrayed by the West in the future and suffer more death and destruction.
R.I.P. Gurgen Margaryan. I’m sorry NATO and the EU did not have the decency to punish the criminal who murdered you. The Armenian nation will not let your killing be in vain.
Hate syndromes of Turkic tribes toward indigenous people of Armenian Highlands started, when their criminal ancestors, managed to transfer their vicious genes toward Turkified Axerbaijani brain washed Tatar-Turks population!
Unfortunate, this newly crowned Sultan of Axrbaijan, using his people as pawns, hiding his corruption habits from them, and implementing, and encouraging hate crimes toward Armenians, in order to secure a long, dictatorial regime in his oily Sheikhdom!
The murder of Gourgen Margaryan in Budapest in the center of Europe was the order of azari terrorist president Elham Alieve’s criminal mission, which demonstrate Turkish Barbarian inferior nature by spilling the
blood of an innocent human being, because of his Armenian identity,& violating honor & dignity of host nation
international rule of law & all human values in the service of Turkish expansionist pipe dream cover up repeatedly calling for azarbaijani crooked territorial integrity,Where as Artsakhi people enjoy with there freedom & liberty, those blessings will never be compromised, terrorist Alieve needs to understand , if commited mistake, will be smoked.
The Azerbaijani President granted Safaroiv pardon and recognized him as a National Hero.
The extradiction of Safarov was a great mistake, that caused armenia to suspend diplomatic relations with Hungary. Let me reminde everyone that in 1849- armenian blood was sacrificed for hungary.
In my piont of view, the only way to restore healthy diplomatic relations with Hungary is to open a new chapter and György Suha must recomend that the Hungarian government officialy apologizes to All Armenians for it’s mistake.