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Proposition de résolution - B7-0429/2012Proposition de résolution
B7-0429/2012
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MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on Azerbaijan: the case of Ramil Safarov

11.9.2012 - (2012/2785(RSP))

with request for inclusion in the agenda for a debate on cases of breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law
pursuant to Rule 122 of the Rules of Procedure

Véronique De Keyser, Edit Herczog, Liisa Jaakonsaari, Mitro Repo, Csaba Sándor Tabajdi, Kinga Göncz on behalf of the S&D Group

See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B7-0428/2012

Procédure : 2012/2785(RSP)
Cycle de vie en séance
Cycle relatif au document :  
B7-0429/2012
Textes déposés :
B7-0429/2012
Textes adoptés :

B7‑0429/2012

European Parliament resolution on Azerbaijan: the case of Ramil Safarov

(2012/2785(RSP))

The European Parliament,

- having regard to its previous resolutions on the situation in Azerbaijan;

 

- having regard to EP President Martin Schulz's statement of 5 September 2012 on the pardoning of Ramil Safarov in Azerbaijan;

 

- having regard to the joint statement of 3 September 2012 by EU High Representative Catherin Ashton and Commissioner Štefan Fülle on the release of Ramil Safarov;

 

A.      Whereas the decision of Azeri President Ilham Aliyev to pardon Ramil Safarov, the Azeri soldier sentenced in Hungary in 2006 to life imprisonment for the "premeditated and extremely cruel" assassination, using a hatchet, of the Armenian soldier Guyen Margaryan in 2004 during a joint partnership training session with NATO;

 

B.       Whereas this pardon was accorded after the transfer of the convict from Hungary to Azerbaijan, on the basis of the terms of the Strasbourg Convention of 1983, in order for him to complete his sentence;

 

C.       Whereas Azerbaijan asked for the transfer several times over the last years, demand always rejected;

 

D.       Whereas in his country, the convict was promoted and received an apartment and the equivalent of eight years of salary in arrears;

 

E.        Whereas the Hungarian authorities could not ignore that Ramil Safarov is considered a hero in Azerbaijan, given that the assassination is linked to the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan;

 

F.      Whereas these decisions scorn the judgement of the Hungarian, but cannot be considered as strictly bilateral between Hungary and Azerbaijan, and between Hungary and Armenia, given its negative impact on security in the south Caucasus;

 

G.      Whereas these events have taken place when the conflict of Nagomo-Karabach is not solved;

 

H.       Whereas the decision taken by President Aliyev is likely to increase regional tension and goes against the efforts of the European Union and OSCE to promote a peaceful solution based on the norms of international law, reconciliation and working together;

 

I.        Whereas the Armenian President has declared that he is prepared for armed confrontation;

 

J.        Whereas there is no alternative for a peaceful and negotiated political solution to the conflict over Nagorno-Karabach;

 

K.      Whereas the European Union provides financial assistance to Azerbaijan in the framework of neighbourhood policy, and has given 19, 5 million Euros to Azerbaijan to help reform its judicial system;

 

L.       Whereas on the 31st of August 2012 the Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan announced that Armenia is suspending its diplomatic relations with Hungary;

 

 

 

1.       Stress the importance of rule of law and respect for commitments taken;

2.        Deplores the decision of President Aliyev to pardon a murderer condemned by the justice in a Member State of the European Union;

3.      Deplores the hero welcome that Ramil Safarov was accorded in Azerbaijan;

 

4.       Expresses its deep concern and regret for the damage the pardon and any attempts to

glorify the crime have done to the peace process and trust between the sides;

5.        Expresses its concern for the significant risk of further escalation in the relations

between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

 

6.        Acknowledge that this issue puts at risk further progress in the implementation of the

Eastern Partnership agenda;

 

7.      Calls on the parties to the conflict over Nagomo-Karabach to act with restraint, avoid inflammatory rhetoric and any action that could lead to further escalation of tensions and the resumption of armed conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan

 

8.        Express its support to the ongoing efforts of the EEAS, the EU Special Representative

for the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia and the Member States, to defuse

tensions and to work towards ensuring that there is progress towards peace in the

region;

 

9.        Confirm its support to the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group to help Armenia and

Azerbaijan find a peaceful resolution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

 

10.      Calls on the Azerbaijani authorities, in the interest of regional stability and on-going efforts towards reconciliation, to reconsider their position in line with the international standards of justice, human rights, rule of law and the ethos of the European Union;

 

11..    Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the governments of Azerbaijan and Armenia.