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HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS DEMAND AZERBAIJAN PROTECT AUTHOR
Europe Online Magazine, EU
Feb 13 2013
Europe13.02.2013By our dpa-correspondent and Europe Online
Moscow (dpa) - Azerbaijan must take steps to guarantee the safety of
noted author Akram Aylisli, the subject of a campaign of intimidation,
urged international human rights groups.
Aylisli, 75, was recently stripped of his honorary "People's Writer"
title and government pension, amid the fallout over his novel about
Nagorno-Karabakh, a region claimed by Azerbaijan but controlled
by Armenia.
The novel, Stone Dreams, is about two Azeri men in Nagorno-Karabakh
trying to stop people from attacking their Armenian neighbours,
set in the 1920s and at the end of the Soviet era.
The Frankfurt-based International Society for Human Rights and the
New York-based literary group PEN said the Azerbaijani government is
responsible for Aylisli's welfare.
PEN said that while the book has not yet been published in Azerbaijan,
a Russian translation was available in December in the Russian literary
journal, Druahba naradov (Friendship of the Peoples).
Since January, Aylisli has been repeatedly threatened and copies of
his book have been burned, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said. Some of he
public book burnings in several cities of Azerbaijan were organized
by the ruling party.
On Monday, Hafiz Hajiyev, head of pro-government party Modern Musavat,
said that he would pay 12,700 dollars to anyone who would cut off
Aylisli's ear.
HRW said that on January 29, officials from the ruling Yeni Azerbaijan
party demanded that he withdraw the novel and ask for the nation's
forgiveness.
"The government of Azerbaijan is making a mockery of its international
obligations on freedom of expression," HRW said.
Azerbaijan and Armenia have long disputed the status of
Nagorno-Karabakh, an ethnic Armenian enclave that obtained de facto
independence from Baku in a 1994 ceasefire agreement.
Yerevan supports the territory's independence while Baku considers
it a renegade province. dpa wo ncs ar Author: Wolfgang Jung
http://en.europeonline-magazine.eu/human-rights-groups-demand-azerbaijan-protect-author_264338.html
Europe Online Magazine, EU
Feb 13 2013
Europe13.02.2013By our dpa-correspondent and Europe Online
Moscow (dpa) - Azerbaijan must take steps to guarantee the safety of
noted author Akram Aylisli, the subject of a campaign of intimidation,
urged international human rights groups.
Aylisli, 75, was recently stripped of his honorary "People's Writer"
title and government pension, amid the fallout over his novel about
Nagorno-Karabakh, a region claimed by Azerbaijan but controlled
by Armenia.
The novel, Stone Dreams, is about two Azeri men in Nagorno-Karabakh
trying to stop people from attacking their Armenian neighbours,
set in the 1920s and at the end of the Soviet era.
The Frankfurt-based International Society for Human Rights and the
New York-based literary group PEN said the Azerbaijani government is
responsible for Aylisli's welfare.
PEN said that while the book has not yet been published in Azerbaijan,
a Russian translation was available in December in the Russian literary
journal, Druahba naradov (Friendship of the Peoples).
Since January, Aylisli has been repeatedly threatened and copies of
his book have been burned, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said. Some of he
public book burnings in several cities of Azerbaijan were organized
by the ruling party.
On Monday, Hafiz Hajiyev, head of pro-government party Modern Musavat,
said that he would pay 12,700 dollars to anyone who would cut off
Aylisli's ear.
HRW said that on January 29, officials from the ruling Yeni Azerbaijan
party demanded that he withdraw the novel and ask for the nation's
forgiveness.
"The government of Azerbaijan is making a mockery of its international
obligations on freedom of expression," HRW said.
Azerbaijan and Armenia have long disputed the status of
Nagorno-Karabakh, an ethnic Armenian enclave that obtained de facto
independence from Baku in a 1994 ceasefire agreement.
Yerevan supports the territory's independence while Baku considers
it a renegade province. dpa wo ncs ar Author: Wolfgang Jung
http://en.europeonline-magazine.eu/human-rights-groups-demand-azerbaijan-protect-author_264338.html