Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
March 10 2006

Official opposes exulting Azeri officer charged with killing Armenian

Baku, March 9, AssA-Irada

The actions of the Azerbaijani officer charged with killing an
Armenian colleague at a NATO course in Budapest in 2004, cannot be
considered as heroism, chairman of the State Committee on Work with
Azerbaijanis Living Abroad, Nazim Ibrahimov, has said.
`Nevertheless, Ramil Safarov needs defense as he is a citizen of
Azerbaijan,’ he told a news conference on Thursday.
Ibrahimov said Armenians present Azerbaijanis to the world community
as `thugs’ when Safarov’s actions are deemed heroic in his country.
Some forces are trying to take advantage of the Azerbaijani officer’s
actions for a political gain, the committee chairman warned.*