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A tragedy remembered. Budapest marked low point in troubled relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and remains a highly sensitive issue.

A tragedy remembered. Budapest marked low point in troubled relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and remains a highly sensitive issue.

30 September 2013

A monument to Gurgen Margaryan, an Armenian officer killed by an Azerbaijani officer, Ramil Safarov, while both were on a NATO training course in Budapest in 2004, was unveiled in Yerevan on Saturday.
The inauguration of the monument coincided with the birthday of the Armenian officer who would have turned 35 on September 26. Margaryan's mother and British parliamentarian, Baroness Cox inaugurated the monument.

News.am reported that the ceremony was attended by representatives of the Defence Ministry, students of a school bearing Gurgen Margaryan's name, public figures and representatives of diplomatic missions

In her address, Lady Cox said she, being a mother, shares the feelings of the Margaryan family. She talked about how she was shocked by the reports of the murder of a sleeping man, and later when Ramil Safarov was pardoned in Azerbaijan after his extradition from Hungary.

Comnmonspace.eu political editor said that "the Budapest tragedy marked a low point in the troubled relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and remains a highly sensitive issue in different ways in both countries.The unveiling of the monument will bring some closure to the family of the deceased. In time both societies will need to examine the incident and the conditions that caused it and other tragedies over the last twenty five years. When the dust of battle settles a healing process is going to be necessary before both societies can return to normality. The unveiling of the monument to Margaryan helps to remind everybody of how much work needs to be done."

source: commonspace.eu with news.am
photo: Monument toGurgen Margaryan unveiled in Yerevan on 28 September 2013 (picture courtesy of news.am).

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