Azerbaijani writer: Azerbaijan is back to 1937

• Friday, February 8, 12:51

"For more than two weeks, the media controlled by Azerbaijani authorities has led a campaign of moral terror against me because of my novel 'Stone Dreams'. All this is taking place on a scenario possible only in 1930s. People having no idea of my novel speak against me as they were told to do that. I was born in 1937 and I am well aware what was happening then. It seems to me that something similar is happening to me now", Azerbaijani writer and author of the novel "Stone Dreams" Akram Aylisli told Golos Rossii newspaper.

President Ilham Aliyev signed an order to deprive writer Akram Aylisli of the title "People's Writer" and personal pension of the President of the Azerbaijan Republic, overnight. The authorities of Azerbaijan with participation of the TV Channels, parliament and politicians have launched a campaign of harassment against the writer Akram Aylisli for his novel "Stone Dreams." The novel by Aylisli caused a negative reaction, and caused a non-ethical campaign of
pressure on the writer and his family. 

The writer says that his novel aims to tell everyone that Armenians and Azerbaijanis can co-exist. "They should read my novel to understand that there is nothing to punish me for. I am suffering for my people.  They say I have allegedly introduced my people as aggressive and bellicose. But it is an absurd. I did everything on the opposite.  Azerbaijanis want peace. The novel starts with a situation when an Azerbaijani tries to save an old Armenian from being killed. How can such a novel insult and humiliate the Azerbaijan people?" Aylisli told the newspaper.

"Then follows a chain of thoughts about what happened before and how we could avoid that. The novel tells about nothing except an emotional and vulnerable man that found himself in a very hard situation. But he had strong heart and strong belief and fought for human ideals. Persecution against a writer for such novel is not normal. Our ordinary citizens say that we can live together with Armenians. While official authorities are stirring up hatred. This novel is against official policy that organizes persecutions against my peaceful creative ideas aimed at rapprochement of our peoples. They do not do what they should do," the Azerbaijani writer said.