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When I first heard the news of the transfer of Mr Safarov to the Republic of Azerbaijan by the Hungarian authorities and his immediate pardon by the Azeri President, my first reaction was deep shame. This has grown when new details pointed to the possibility that the timing was not a coincidence: the Hungarian Prime Ministry might have made a financial deal. Thus I have to start with telling you how I and many of us, ordinary Hungarians, are deeply ashamed and wounded by our Government's decision and how, just like the Armenians, we shall not forget how our name was disgraced. I ask the pardon of my Armenian friends and the international Armenian community on behalf of those who have missed the opportunity so far to excuse themselves.

However, it must also be made clear that we who feel ashamed can be only concerned with this case as a moral issue on behalf of our country. None of us ordinary citizens, and I am sure, not even the Hungarian government, have any intention to make a statement or take sides in the Azeri-Armenian conflict. I believe that the very fact that such a deed - the transfer of a murderer to his country where he was released - could take place shows that the Hungarian politicians, or at least the ones who arranged this transfer, are completely ignorant of the tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan, or, they simply do not care. It is very much likely, as Hungarian leading newspapers point out (like Index), that the transfer was a joint project of the Prime Ministry and the Ministry of Justice, excluding not even the Foreign Ministry but also the Hungarian foreign intelligence agencies or any experts. Thus, it is no wonder, that the present problem might well grow out of ignorance and neglect. It is ironical that the Hungarian government, who declares to follow a national conservative ideology, or at least, it pretends to do so, is so indifferent to other nations' pride.

But this banality, which is deeply wounding for both Hungarians (whose leaders are either ignorant or morally corrupt) and Armenians (Mr Magaryan's brutal death is left unpunished), may open up a larger perspective. Here we may face a clash of interest from numerous sides, mostly politicians. Do not forget, this case is a game between politicians who may believe that they represent their country's (or their own) interest at their best. The Hungarian government may have needed investment; the Azeri politicians wanted a living hero; and the government of Armenia may use this opportunity to call the attention of the international community to their arguments. I would like to warn Armenians, Hungarians and the Azeri people, that whatever they feel or think now, this case is used by political representatives for their own interests, mostly attached to the economic and military equilibrium in Central Asia. This is why suddenly the US and Russia also made their own statements in this matter.

None the less that such situation could be forged is due to the original decision of the Hungarian government. They might have initiated the transfer in accordance with the international law, perhaps even without the (otherwise quite obvious) hope for Azeri money. What seems today important, tomorrow will be overshadowed by other events whose light shall show a new path for understanding. Even so, I would like to reassure Armenians in the world and my personal Armenian friends about my deep shame, as an ordinary Hungarian, and I ask you not to loose the attachment and friendship you cherished towards other ordinary Hungarians. This situation is an outcome of political decisions, in which the people had no word or choice. Do not identify the people with their government - however any government would be quite happy for such an identification.

Adam Mestyan

Adam Mestyan is a Hungarian scholar. He is a specialist in Middle Eastern history, now teaching in the University of Oxford. He is also known in Hungary as a poet and punk-musician. He is not of Armenian origin, the family name 'Mestyan' is of Slavic origin - mesto-jan.