BUDAPEST. – Hungary’s Armenian community petitioned to the country’s MFA in connection with Budapest municipal authorities’ plan to put up the monument of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk—founder of the Rep. of Turkey—in the Hungarian capital city on September 29, Vice Chairman Nikoghos Hakobyan of the “Armenian National Autonomy of Hungary” Organization told Armenian News-NEWS.am. 

In his words, the petition notes that, against the backdrop of the scandal in connection with Ramil Safarov’s extradition, the placing of such monument will not be in Hungary’s interests.

Hakobyan added that the Hungarian MFA promised to clarify the situation. “We intend to do everything not to permit the setting up of Ataturk’s statue,” he stated.

Armenian News-NEWS.am reported earlier that Ramil 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 lieutenant Gurgen Margaryan, in his sleep, during a NATO Partnership for Peace program in Budapest back in 2004.

As expected, Ramil 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 Serzh Sargsyan announced on August 31 that Armenia is suspending its diplomatic ties with Hungary.    

Ramil Safarov’s pardoning is condemned by virtually all international organizations.