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HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH ACCUSES AZERBAIJAN'S GOVERNMENT OF MISTREATING WRITER
Calgary Herald, Canada
Feb 12 2013
By Aida Sultanova And Peter Leonard, The Associated Press
BAKU, Azerbaijan - Human Rights Watch accused the government of
Azerbaijan on Tuesday of intimidating a writer at the centre of a
public row over his depiction of violence between Azerbaijanis and
Armenians.
The New York-based group said that foreign governments should urge
oil-rich Azerbaijan to investigate what it described as threats
against Akram Aylisli.
Aylisli's novel "Stone Dreams" is set in part during the wake of
a bitter war in the 1990s between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the
disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. The book makes allusions to
instances of mob violence by Azerbaijanis against helpless Armenians.
Many see the work as a condemnation of the Azerbaijani people.
The Azerbaijani government has long laid all the blame for the war
on Armenia.
In a decree stripping the 75-year-old writer of state honours and
his monthly $1,270 pension, President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan said
that Aylisli was trying to cast Azerbaijanis in an inhumane light.
On Monday, outspoken pro-government lawmaker Hafiz Hajiyev told local
media he is offering a $12,700 reward to anybody that would cut off
Aylisli's ear.
Police spokesman Ehsan Zahid said the threat would be investigated,
even though nobody has yet made a formal complaint to the authorities.
"Nobody, regardless of their position in society, or their social,
political, religious and ethnic identity, has any right to mete out
their own justice," Zahid said.
People have protested outside Aylisli's home, and copies of his books
have been burned. The writer's wife and son have both been dismissed
from their jobs amid widespread public acrimony.
Human Rights Watch said Aylisli's son was compelled to resign his
position as a senior official in the customs agency this month. His
wife was likewise made to quit her job at a public library, said HRW.
"The Azerbaijani authorities have an obligation to protect Akram
Aylisli," Hugh Williamson, the Europe and Central Asia director at
Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. "Instead, they have led
the effort to intimidate him, putting him at risk with a campaign of
vicious smears and hostile rhetoric."
The war over Nagorno-Karabakh has left a legacy of deep-seated hatred
between the former Soviet republics. Leaders frequently trade barbs,
and minor cross-border clashes have resulted in many fatalities since
the cease-fire was officially declared in 1994.
Last week, Aylisli told The Associated Press that he intended his novel
to serve as a call to peace between the bitterly opposed countries and
that he hoped an Armenian writer would write a similar work. "I didn't
think it would be so politicized. I wanted to show that Azerbaijanis
and Armenians are not enemies," he said.
Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry and the presidential administration
didn't respond to telephone calls Tuesday seeking comment about the
author's treatment.
Leonard reported from Almaty, Kazakhstan.
http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Human+Rights+Watch+urges+Azerbaijans+government+ce ase/7952127/story.html
Calgary Herald, Canada
Feb 12 2013
By Aida Sultanova And Peter Leonard, The Associated Press
BAKU, Azerbaijan - Human Rights Watch accused the government of
Azerbaijan on Tuesday of intimidating a writer at the centre of a
public row over his depiction of violence between Azerbaijanis and
Armenians.
The New York-based group said that foreign governments should urge
oil-rich Azerbaijan to investigate what it described as threats
against Akram Aylisli.
Aylisli's novel "Stone Dreams" is set in part during the wake of
a bitter war in the 1990s between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the
disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. The book makes allusions to
instances of mob violence by Azerbaijanis against helpless Armenians.
Many see the work as a condemnation of the Azerbaijani people.
The Azerbaijani government has long laid all the blame for the war
on Armenia.
In a decree stripping the 75-year-old writer of state honours and
his monthly $1,270 pension, President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan said
that Aylisli was trying to cast Azerbaijanis in an inhumane light.
On Monday, outspoken pro-government lawmaker Hafiz Hajiyev told local
media he is offering a $12,700 reward to anybody that would cut off
Aylisli's ear.
Police spokesman Ehsan Zahid said the threat would be investigated,
even though nobody has yet made a formal complaint to the authorities.
"Nobody, regardless of their position in society, or their social,
political, religious and ethnic identity, has any right to mete out
their own justice," Zahid said.
People have protested outside Aylisli's home, and copies of his books
have been burned. The writer's wife and son have both been dismissed
from their jobs amid widespread public acrimony.
Human Rights Watch said Aylisli's son was compelled to resign his
position as a senior official in the customs agency this month. His
wife was likewise made to quit her job at a public library, said HRW.
"The Azerbaijani authorities have an obligation to protect Akram
Aylisli," Hugh Williamson, the Europe and Central Asia director at
Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. "Instead, they have led
the effort to intimidate him, putting him at risk with a campaign of
vicious smears and hostile rhetoric."
The war over Nagorno-Karabakh has left a legacy of deep-seated hatred
between the former Soviet republics. Leaders frequently trade barbs,
and minor cross-border clashes have resulted in many fatalities since
the cease-fire was officially declared in 1994.
Last week, Aylisli told The Associated Press that he intended his novel
to serve as a call to peace between the bitterly opposed countries and
that he hoped an Armenian writer would write a similar work. "I didn't
think it would be so politicized. I wanted to show that Azerbaijanis
and Armenians are not enemies," he said.
Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry and the presidential administration
didn't respond to telephone calls Tuesday seeking comment about the
author's treatment.
Leonard reported from Almaty, Kazakhstan.
http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Human+Rights+Watch+urges+Azerbaijans+government+ce ase/7952127/story.html