Menu
Latest
Menu
Latest
"Stop turning a blind eye to the reality and be brave enough to call things by their names." Farhad Mammedov writes in New Europe.

"Stop turning a blind eye to the reality and be brave enough to call things by their names." Farhad Mammedov writes in New Europe.

17 September 2012

This op-ed by Farhad Mammadov, Director of the Center for Strategic Studies under the President of Azerbaijan is reprinted from the Brussels based newspaper "New Europe".

The issue of Ramil Safarov, the Azerbaijani officer who has been extradited to Azerbaijan and pardoned by the Presidential decree on 31 August 2012, created groundless hysteria and stir around it nowadays. The most important thing is that there is a lot of false information in what international media writes about the release of the Azerbaijani officer, and the background of this story, also the unrevealed reasons forcing the Azerbaijani officer to kill the Armenian officerremains unknown to a large public.

Azerbaijani officer Ramil Safarov and Armenian officer Gurgen Margaryan were attending the NATO-sponsored English-language courses in Budapest in 2004. Gurgen Margaryan and another Armenian officer Ayk Makuchyan, throughout the whole course, have been publicly insulting the Azerbaijani nation, flag and the memory of the victims of Khojaly genocide where Ramil lost his family members as well.

It has to be stressed that being a child, Ramil Safarov witnessed brutal killing of his family members in front of his eyes in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, where he was born, and invasion of his home town followed by a difficult life as an internally displaced person.

Therefore, the crime perpetrated by R.Safarov was not ethnically motivated, as Armenian mass media is trying to propagate, but was a result of open provocations and insults towards the Azerbaijani nation. By pouring the propaganda of "ethnically motivated crime", the Armenian officials try to create an impression that Azerbaijan is a country where the killing of Armenian is justified, and for this reason the international community must not allow Azerbaijan to return its Nagorno-Karabakh region. In reality, few people is aware of the fact that there are more than 30.000 ethnic Armenians currently living safely in Azerbaijan, while there is no single Azerbaijani left in Armenia.

According to the decision of Budapest court, R.Safarov has been convicted to life sentence and served 8.5 years of imprisonment in Budapest. The Azerbaijani Government, after long years of negotiations with the Hungarian authorities on the extradition of R.Safarov to Azerbaijan finally agreed on his extradition on the basis of 1983 Strasbourg Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons.

Upon his arrival to Azerbaijan, R.Safarov was pardoned by the Presidential decree in accordance with the Constitution of Azerbaijan which gives the right to the President to pardon any convicted person. Consequently, there has not been any violation of international or national legislation in the process of extradition and pardoning of R.Safarov. Article 12 of Strasbourg Convention states: "Each party may grant pardon, amnesty or commutation of the sentence in accordance with its Con-stitution or other laws". At the same time, item 22 of article 109 of the Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan states that the President has the right to "grant pardon".

The most deplorable side of this story is that those demanding today the punishment of R.Safarov and blaming Azerbaijan for the release of its officer have not demanded the sentence of the murders of 613 innocent civilians (mostly children, women and elderly persons) brutally killed by the Armenian armed forces in Azerbaijani town of Khojaly, in February 1992. They also failed to make statements on the killing of a 9 years old Azerbaijani boy, Fariz Badalov, who was shot in his head by an Armenian sniper in March 2011 and then 13 years old girl, Aygun Shahmaliyeva died in July 2011 as a result of explosiono f a booby-trapped toy sent via Tovuzchay River from the territory of Armenia.

One also wonders why there is no condemnation for the April 23, 2001 release of Varoujan Garabedian, a terrorist responsible for Orly airport attack in 1983 that killed eight civilians andconvicted to life imprisonment in France, and hisextradition to Armenia where he was not bornand did not have family connections. He was welcomed by then Armenian president Kocharian, and made into a national hero.

No one can explain also why another murderer MonteMelkonian, who was responsible for the assassination of several Turkish diplomats in Europe as well as the innocent civilians in Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, is glorified by the Armenian Government through erecting hismonuments across Armenia. We don't want todraw a parallel between the aforementioned terrorists and officer R.Safarov; also, we do not intend to justify a crime. Our intention is to present a wider picture of the case and factors leading it, which was deliberately kept out of sight.

We wish that those naming this extradition as a "threat to regional peace and security" would finally understand the reality that the regionalpeace and security in our region is threatened by military aggression of Armenia against Azerbai-jan, continued occupation of 1/5 territory of Azerbaijan, and ethnic cleansing of hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijani civilians. So, stop turning a blind eye to the reality and be brave enough to call things by their names.


source: This article is reprinted in full from the Newspaper New Europe as was republished by news.az.

Latest

Editor's choice
Monday Commentary
Monday Commentary: PEACE IN OUR TIME?
Trending

Monday Commentary: PEACE IN OUR TIME?

19 October 2026
Making peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan was never going to be simple, nor easy, nor quick. It is taking time, writes Dennis Sammut in this Monday Commentary. “There is a sense of realism coming from the leaders of the two countries – President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan and prime minister Nikol Pashinyan of Armenia, that frankly, is necessary and welcome”, he writes. At a time when conflicts are raging all over the world – from Ukraine to the Gulf, from Africa to South Asia, the prospect that Armenia and Azerbaijan had finally, after decades of conflict that left thousands of dead and many more displaced, decided on embarking on a journey of peace was welcomed. Peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan can be top-down up to a point. Both leaders have spent political capital preparing for a peace deal. But both are aware that their people are not ready for peace yet. In fact, in Armenia, most of the elite are negative toward a peace deal with Azerbaijan. Pashinyan needs time to persuade his countryfolk. That is why 2031 is realistic. Ilham Aliyev runs a tighter shop, but he is also not immune to public opinion. Every time someone hits a landmine in Karabakh, which unfortunately happens often, peace comes into question. Which is why Aliyev chooses to sound hardline, more often than not. In pursuing the peace agenda, both Aliyev and Pashinyan need to proceed cautiously. But they are right in making peace the central issue in their agenda. It is the main issue, and the one that will define them in history. So forward, cautiously but resolutely! In pursuing the peace agenda, Aliyev and Pashinyan need to be supported clearly and unambiguously. There are too many people in Baku and Yerevan who are sitting on the sides, waiting. The international community is not doing enough. It is time to be counted. Otherwise, the spoilers will win, and the region will go back to its bad habits. (Click the image to read the full commentary).
Dennis Sammut
Editor's choice
News
Ukraine Peace Talks Set to Expand as Russia and Europe Clash Over Post-war Security
Trending

Ukraine Peace Talks Set to Expand as Russia and Europe Clash Over Post-war Security

13 November 2026
Ukraine and Russia could see European countries join the next round of peace negotiations, following talks between US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Thursday (November 12). However, conflicting positions over European military involvement, Ukraine’s territorial future and the continent’s security arrangements highlight the difficulties facing the diplomatic process. Speaking after the meeting, Witkoff said European participation would be an important development, describing the countries concerned as key partners. Kushner also indicated that Washington had noticed a shift in European attitudes and believed their involvement would not obstruct progress. In a statement published on X, he said the expanded discussions would address broader European security arrangements alongside territorial disputes between Russia and Ukraine. The US envoys subsequently travelled to Dublin, where they met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a European summit. Zelenskyy welcomed the possibility of European participation and expressed hope that the negotiations would include measures to reduce tensions and establish ceasefires. He also reiterated the importance of European representation in decisions concerning the continent’s security. Moscow, however, has offered a more cautious interpretation of the proposed expansion. Putin's aide, Yuri Ushakov, suggested that European countries should first reconsider their military assistance to Kyiv, arguing that their current actions demonstrated an unwillingness to pursue peace. Putin similarly called on Washington to work with its European allies to establish whether they genuinely wanted peace or continued confrontation with Russia. The Russian president also rejected the prospect of European peacekeeping troops being deployed to Ukraine following a potential agreement, describing such a presence as a continuation of the war. His position reflects wider disagreements over the future European security architecture, with Moscow seeking discussions on the continent's broader security arrangements, while European leaders insist that such negotiations cannot replace a settlement of the war. Simultaneously, Zelenskyy raised concerns about disruptions to Starshield, the US-made satellite communications service used by Ukrainian forces. He described Washington’s discussions with Moscow about Europe's future security as unusual and warned against decisions that could undermine Ukraine's sovereignty. Despite the diplomatic activity, fighting continued. Russian drone attacks killed two people in Ukraine's Sumy region and injured five in Rivne, while a separate attack in Russia's Belgorod region killed one person and injured four. Ukrainian agricultural company Kernel Holding also suspended operations at all its oilseed extraction facilities following repeated Russian attacks.

Popular

Editor's choice
Monday Commentary
Monday Commentary: European-Azerbaijan relations need an intensive and multifaceted dialogue that is frank and honest
Trending

Monday Commentary: European-Azerbaijan relations need an intensive and multifaceted dialogue that is frank and honest

7 September 2026
Last week I visited Baku, Azerbaijan. My visit was relatively short, but very intensive, and had many meetings with stakeholders and colleagues. When I arrived in Baku first time in 1996,  Azerbaijan was a different country: weak, poor, and shaken by defeat in war. For thirty year the Karabakh issue dominated the agenda: the political agenda but also the popular mindset. Now, thirty years later, Azerbaijan has returned to Karabakh, and peace with Armenia is on the horizon. It is a new era for Armenia-Azerbaijan relations, for the South Caucasus, but also for Europe.  But we cannot be complacent: the Peace agreement has been initialed but not signed; borders remain closed; TRIPP is ambitious but remains an idea; and there are spoilers who want to turn the clock back. We must not allow them, and in this Europe and Azerbaijan must work together. Europe’ vanguard organization is the European Union – it is a free union of 27 member states; it is a strong global economic force, and increasingly a diplomatic and military force too. But it remains “work in progress” and can often appear dysfunctional. It often lacks collective and institutional memory. In its dealings with Azerbaijan the EU has made many mistakes – not least opening the delegation here late – in 2008. It sometimes appears condescending. Some utterances from the European Parliament and from some quarters in some member states are not understandable even for me. They irritate the Azerbaijanis, but serve no other purpose But Azerbaijan has also not handled relations with the EU well. It has failed to respond when the hand of friendship reached out; and it confused irritating actions, sometimes by well-meaning people; sometimes by outright spoilers, with strategic action. In short, EU-Azerbaijan relations have suffered from a lack of proper dialogue. This dialogue must be frank, honest and multi-faceted involving different segments of society on both sides.   Is Azerbaijan Europe? When Azerbaijan applied to join the Council of Europe in the 1990s, there were some who opposed, saying this was not Europe. I was one of the people who argued that Armenia and Azerbaijan may be on the periphery of the continent geographically, but were European in essence. Certainly their elites. During the discussion on 4 September in Baku, my friend Farhad Mammedov, mentioned that Azerbaijan is not interested in joining the EU, and was now close to the Central Asian countries in the 5 plus 1 format. Neither things mean that Azerbaijan is not Europe. There are several European countries that are not in the EU, and do not want to be, for example Norway and Switzerland. Iceland has recently voted to stay out of the EU. The UK was a member and left. Europe is bigger than the EU, and the holding of the European Political Community summit in Baku in 2027 proves that. Despite all the rhetoric, I never heard the president of Azerbaijan  saying that Azerbaijan is not Europe, nor have I heard any European president say it either. Not wanting to join the EU and forging close relations with neighbouring regions does not make Azerbaijan any less European. It is only logical that when Europeans talk to Azerbaijan they talk like family. The conversation is often frank. It must also be honest, and Europeans need always to remember this too. A frank, honest and multi-faceted dialogue A frank, honest and multifaceted dialogue will contribute to relations between Azerbaijan and the rest of Europe: it will avoid misperception, which unfortunately is very common on both sides; it will provide a forum where problems can be discussed and resolved, and it will increase mutual trust, so that together common problems can be addressed. (click image to read the full Monday Commentary)
Dennis Sammut
Editor's choice
Monday Commentary
Monday Commentary: “The barren rocks of Aden” and “These lands of Yemen are so ruthless”
Trending

Monday Commentary: “The barren rocks of Aden” and “These lands of Yemen are so ruthless”

21 September 2026
There are two early 20th-century tunes that mark foreign attempts to occupy and “pacify” Yemen. The Scottish tune “The barren rocks of Aden” marks the mobilisation of Highland soldiers, enlisted to be deployed to the Yemeni port of Aden, that in 1837 became the last colony to be incorporated into the British Empire. The tune talks of the harshness of the terrain, but is celebratory, It was even played as a farewell tune to Sir William Luce at the parade in Sharjah celebrating his end as “British Viceroy” in the Middle East in 1966. The second tune is an Anatolian lament. As Ilker Sezer reminded us this weekend, in his weekly feature on “Turkiye Today”, it “mourns the tragic fate of Ottoman soldiers dispatched to the harsh, remote deserts of Yemen during the fall of the empire, young men who marched away from their villages and never returned home. Most of their names, and numbers, were never recorded. Yet, their fate left a mark on the Turkish psyche.” Subsequent invaders have discovered that Yemen is a grave that cannot be overcome by the strength of modern technology, and that whilst Yemeni society is splintered and divided, building a reliable alliance with Yemeni factions is difficult. These are the harsh lessons facing Saudi Arabia, as the Kingdom faces its biggest challenge in its modern history. The leadership of the Kingdom now has to respond decisively. At stake is their very credibility. This is likely to be a long and messy conflict. Saudi military objectives need to be focused: to box in the Houthis rather than destroy them. This is likely to include: (a) regaining territory lost on the Red Sea coast; (b) control over Bab el Mandeb Strait; (c) some kind of cordon sanitaire on the Saudi-Yemeni border; and if things go well (d) the capture of Sanaa. All this would not eliminate the Houthi problem, but it will contain it. In the end the Saudis will have to continue managing Yemen with a mixture of carrot and stick. For the moment, the stick is likely, but the carrot cannot be forgotten either. (click the image to read the Monday Commentary in full)
Dennis Sammut