HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH DEMANDS TO STOP WITCH-HUNT AGAINST AZERBAIJANI WRITER AKRAM AYLISLI
MOSCOW. February 12, 2013: The Azerbaijani government should
immediately end a hostile campaign of intimidation against writer Akram
Aylisli. Aylisli recently published a controversial novel depicting
relationships between ethnic Azeris and Armenians in Azerbaijan.
Foreign governments and intergovernmental organizations of which
Azerbaijan is a member should speak out against this intimidation
campaign. They should urge the authorities to immediately investigate
those responsible for threats against Aylisli, and to respect freedom
of expression.
“The Azerbaijani authorities have an obligation to protect Akram
Aylisli,” said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at
Human Rights Watch. “Instead, they have led the effort to intimidate
him, putting him at risk with a campaign of vicious smears and
hostile rhetoric.”
Aylisli, a member of the Union of Writers of Azerbaijan since the
Soviet era, is the author of Stone Dreams. The novel includes a
description of violence by ethnic Azeris against Armenians during the
1920s, and at the end of the Soviet era, when the two countries engaged
in armed conflict. Aylisli told Human Rights Watch that he saw the
novel as an appeal for friendship between the two nations. The novel
was published in Friendship of Peoples, a Russian literary journal,
in December 2012.
Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a seven-year war over Nagorno-Karabakh,
a primarily ethnic Armenian-populated autonomous enclave in
Azerbaijan. Despite a 1994 ceasefire, the conflict has not yet reached
a political solution. Against the background of the unresolved nature
of the conflict, Aylisli’s sympathetic portrayal of Armenians and
condemnation of violence against them caused uproar in Azerbaijan. An
escalating crescendo of hateful rhetoric and threats against Aylisli
started at the end of January 2013, culminating in a February 11 public
statement by Hafiz Hajiyev, head of Modern Musavat, a pro-government
political party. Hajiyev publicly said that he would pay AZN10,000
[US$12,700] to anyone who would cut off Aylisli’s ear.
“Azerbaijan’s authorities should immediately investigate and hold
accountable anyone responsible for making threats against Aylisli,
and ensure his personal safety,” Williamson said.
On January 29, officials from the Yeni Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan’s ruling
party, publicly called on Aylisli to withdraw the novel and ask
for the nation’s forgiveness. Aylisli told Human Rights Watch that
two days later, a crowd of about 70 people gathered in front of his
home, shouting “Akram, leave the country now,” and “Shame on you”,
and burned effigies of the author. Witnesses told Human Rights Watch
that police were present but made no effort to disperse the crowd. No
damage was done to Aylisli’s home.
In a speech about Aylisli’s book, a high level official from
Azerbaijan’s presidential administration said that, “We, as the
Azerbaijani people, must express public hatred toward these people,”
a comment that appeared aimed at Aylisli.
During a February 1 session, some members of Azerbaijan’s parliament
denounced Aylisli, called for him to be stripped of his honorary
“People’s Writer” title and medals, and demanded that he take a DNA
test to prove his ethnicity. On February 7, President Ilham Aliyev
signed a decree stripping Aylisli of the title, which he had held since
1998, and cutting off his presidential monthly pension of AZN1000
[US$1,270], which he had drawn since 2002. Aylisli learned of the
presidential decree from television news.
In the wake of the public vitriol, Aylisli’s wife and son were fired
from their jobs. On February 4, a senior officer at Azerbaijan’s
customs agency forced Najaf Naibov-Aylisli, Aylisli’s son, to sign
a statement that he was “voluntarily” resigning from his job as
department chief. Aylisli told Human Rights Watch his son had received
no reprimands during his 12 years on job.
“My son had nothing to do with politics,” Aylisli said. “In fact he
always advised me not to write about politics and never agreed with
my political views.”
On February 5, Aylisli’s wife, Galina Alexandrovna, was forced to sign
a “voluntary” statement resigning from her job at a public library,
following an inspection announced several days before.
Public book burnings of Aylisli’s works, some organized by the ruling
party, have taken place in several cities in Azerbaijan.
“The government of Azerbaijan is making a mockery of its international
obligations on freedom of expression,” Williamson said. “This
is shocking, particularly after Azerbaijani officials flocked to
Strasbourg last month to tout the government’s human rights record
at the Council of Europe.”
The European Court of Human Rights has issued numerous rulings
upholding the principle that freedom of speech also protects ideas
that might be shocking or disturbing to society. In a judgment handed
down against Azerbaijan, in a case that dealt speech related to the
Nagorno Karabakh conflict, the court said, “[F]reedom of information
applie[s] not only to information or ideas that are favorably received,
but also to those that offend, shock or disturb” (Human Rights Watch).
From: Baghdasarian
http://azerireport.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3872&Itemid=53