Over 2000 protest Azeri President’s visit to France

PanARMENIAN.Net - More than 2000 gathered in front of the Azerbaijan’s embassy in Paris Tuesday, Sept 18 to protest Azeri President Aliyev’s visit to France, according to Asbarez.

Earlier in the day, Aliyev met with French President Francois Hollande, who told him to work hard to restore Armenia’s confidence and pursue the Nagorno Karabakh peace process within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group, reported the official presidential Web site.

The protesters called on the French government to press Aliyev to immediately incarcerate Ramil Safarov, the axe-murderer who killed Armenian soldier Gurgen Margaryan in 2004 during a NATO Partnership for Peace mission in Budapest.

Safarov, who was tried and found guilty, was serving a life sentence in Budapest before Hungary agreed to extradite him to Baku on August 31. Upon setting foot in Azerbaijan, Safarov was pardoned and promoted to the rank of major in the Azeri army.

Bureau of the Armenian Cause in France (BFCA/ANC France) executive director Hratch Varjabedian reported that several French Parliament members representing the entire French political spectrum turned out for the protest and joined their voices with French-Armenian community.

The demonstration and the Armenian community’s opposition to Aliyev’s visit was widely covered by the French press.