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Ministry of Education has decided to withdraw from school textbooks works written by Azerbaijani writer Ekrem Eylisli the author of the much-talked-of novel “Stone dreams” which is about the massacre of Armenians in Nakhijevan. As the site Veteninfo.az reports, the decision was made “on demand” of literature teachers, who allegedly sent a lot of letters to the Ministry.

Head of books and publishing department of the Education Ministry of Azerbaijan Faig Shahbazli said in an interview to modern.az that the teachers’ claims will be satisfied. "While forming the textbook, Ekrem Eylisli was a popular writer, and had titles. We then did not know that his next steps will cause problems for the educational process. All works of Ekrem Eylisli will be removed from the textbooks while republishing them. I think it will be meanness to leave his works in the textbooks. Ekrem Eylisli has nothing to do in Azerbaijani textbooks,” said an official from the Ministry of Education.

Ekrem Eylisli is national writer (since 1998) and Honored Artist of Azerbaijan, holder of the highest order of Azerbaijan “Istiglal” (2002) and the order of “Shokhrat” for his outstanding merits in the literature of Azerbaijan. Recently, on the website of Russian magazine “Friendship of Nations” was published his novel titled “Stone Dreams” in which the author describes the massacres of Armenians in Baku in 1990 and in Nakhichevan in 1919. The author in his novel speaks positively about the Armenian people and their culture. The novel “Stone Dreams” also contains criticism over the former Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev and the tyranny of the system created by him.

After publication of the novel, Eylisli was exposed to severe pressures in Azerbaijan; the pro-governmental youth held rally in front of his house, his issue was discussed in the parliament of Azerbaijan, MPs suggested to burn his books and to deprive him of citizenship and deport from Azerbaijan. Many people “blamed” Eylisli in his Armenian origin, etc. President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev deprived him of personal pension and the title of National Writer, and accused him of “purposefully distorting the history of Azerbaijan” and “in distorting realities about history of Azerbaijan in an inappropriate way.”

The leader of the pro-governmental party ”Modern Musavat” Hafis Hajiyev announced that he would pay about 10 Euros to the one who will cut the ear of the writer. Only after the intervention of the media, the politician was “warned” by the Interior Ministry of Azerbaijan about the illegality of such appeals.

The U.S. Department of State and the OSCE Office in Baku condemned persecution of Eylisli in Azerbaijan and called on the authorities to fulfill their obligations.