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Writing a novel about Armenian massacre in Azerbaijan was aimed to
repent for our deeds. Akram Aylisli
13:44, 2 February, 2013
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 2, ARMENPRESS: Political protests have become a
frequent phenomenon in Azerbaijan. Literary protests, not so much.
But a new novel by a respected Azerbaijani writer prompted angry
demonstrations this week, with angry crowds gathering outside a Baku
apartment block, shouting "Shame!" and setting photos of the author,
Akram Aylisli, alight.
The protesters' complaints were hardly aesthetic. Few, in fact,
appeared to have read the book, "Stone Dreams," which has not been
published in Azerbaijan and only recently appeared, in translated
form, in the Russian literary journal "Druzhba narodov", reports
Armenpress referring to rferl.org.
Instead, it's the subject matter of the novel that's raising tempers.
In particular, "Stone Dreams" looks at the conflict over
Nagorno-Karabakh. The Armenian-majority separatist region, located
within Azerbaijani territory, was the source of a brutal six-year war
in the 1980s and '90s and remains the subject of simmering tension
between Baku and Yerevan.
Azerbaijan and Armenia see the conflict in vastly different terms,
with each side blaming the other for the bulk of the atrocities.
"Stone Dreams" turns that equation on its head, with Aylisli
portraying brutal campaigns by his fellow Azerbaijanis against
Armenians -- including the notorious January 1990 massacre in Baku,
Agulis and Khojali in which Armenians were beaten, murdered by the
dozens, and expelled from the cities.
Akram Aylisli in an interview given to Kulis.az stated that in 1988,
when the first version of his novel about Agulis was published, he
warned that they should not start a fight against the Armenians, as
they may lose it. `And what did we gain in the result of the war? I
was factually right,' he noted. The Azerbaijani writer also drew
attention to the impossibility of holding a dialogue with the
Armenians of Karabakh due to the hostile propaganda against them.
`We will have another variant if no Armenian will be left there. But
it is impossible. As for Agulis, there really occurred a massacre in
that village in 1919. This is a history, a fact. Any aged resident of
Agulis can attest it, because they saw it with their own eyes. My
uncle, my mother, my grandmother saw this. As for the publication of
the updated version of novel, it is my protest against the current
politics. It is not directed against the people. Tomorrow we will have
to make it up with the Armenians. We are doomed to it. In connection
with the events in Sumgait, we must bravely talk about every fact of
injustice and call a spade a spade. If not the writer then the people
of Azerbaijan will have to do it. The novel was aimed at showing
repentance for our deeds,' the Azerbaijani writer stated.
repent for our deeds. Akram Aylisli
13:44, 2 February, 2013
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 2, ARMENPRESS: Political protests have become a
frequent phenomenon in Azerbaijan. Literary protests, not so much.
But a new novel by a respected Azerbaijani writer prompted angry
demonstrations this week, with angry crowds gathering outside a Baku
apartment block, shouting "Shame!" and setting photos of the author,
Akram Aylisli, alight.
The protesters' complaints were hardly aesthetic. Few, in fact,
appeared to have read the book, "Stone Dreams," which has not been
published in Azerbaijan and only recently appeared, in translated
form, in the Russian literary journal "Druzhba narodov", reports
Armenpress referring to rferl.org.
Instead, it's the subject matter of the novel that's raising tempers.
In particular, "Stone Dreams" looks at the conflict over
Nagorno-Karabakh. The Armenian-majority separatist region, located
within Azerbaijani territory, was the source of a brutal six-year war
in the 1980s and '90s and remains the subject of simmering tension
between Baku and Yerevan.
Azerbaijan and Armenia see the conflict in vastly different terms,
with each side blaming the other for the bulk of the atrocities.
"Stone Dreams" turns that equation on its head, with Aylisli
portraying brutal campaigns by his fellow Azerbaijanis against
Armenians -- including the notorious January 1990 massacre in Baku,
Agulis and Khojali in which Armenians were beaten, murdered by the
dozens, and expelled from the cities.
Akram Aylisli in an interview given to Kulis.az stated that in 1988,
when the first version of his novel about Agulis was published, he
warned that they should not start a fight against the Armenians, as
they may lose it. `And what did we gain in the result of the war? I
was factually right,' he noted. The Azerbaijani writer also drew
attention to the impossibility of holding a dialogue with the
Armenians of Karabakh due to the hostile propaganda against them.
`We will have another variant if no Armenian will be left there. But
it is impossible. As for Agulis, there really occurred a massacre in
that village in 1919. This is a history, a fact. Any aged resident of
Agulis can attest it, because they saw it with their own eyes. My
uncle, my mother, my grandmother saw this. As for the publication of
the updated version of novel, it is my protest against the current
politics. It is not directed against the people. Tomorrow we will have
to make it up with the Armenians. We are doomed to it. In connection
with the events in Sumgait, we must bravely talk about every fact of
injustice and call a spade a spade. If not the writer then the people
of Azerbaijan will have to do it. The novel was aimed at showing
repentance for our deeds,' the Azerbaijani writer stated.