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I would be morally broken, if I had thought that I am somehow humiliating the Azerbaijani people, in an interview with the “Russian Reporter” portal stated Akram Aylisli, prominent Azerbaijani writer and author of a book about the Armenian massacres called "Stone Dreams". The article said that Akram Aylisli met with a reporter on the street: "He was a short, stout man, kind of cozy, in a jacket. You would never think that he was walking there around knowing that they would pay $12,000 for his ears."

Replying to a question whether he was afraid of walking at the streets, the writer said, "Frankly, I barely decided to stay, my heart is not so good. I have lived till 75 and I can give my life to the one who needs peace, human warmth, good relations between neighbors. "

Akram Aylisli, passed his hand over the modestly furnished apartment and noted that his family would not like to lose all its possessions. "For them rapprochement of nations is an abstract notion. For me this matter is a life and death matter, if I die without seeing these two nations together, then I do not want to die like that. When I wrote, I thought to myself, I will not publish it yet. And then I decided, no matter how costly it will be, we should still oppose the things that still happen. The man, who came into this world, must give to the world what God has given to him," he said.

Replying to the question whether it was necessary to go into politics Aylisli noted that "apparently this story was to happen." "Without this persecution the book would have no effect. This, apparently is not depending on me, on the authorities, the life itself is constructed in this way. According to the physics law too, the action appears only when there is counteraction. Though, I was surprised from all of this. The most surprising is that the Armenians now treat us much better than it was before this humble thing," the writer said, noting that he wrote the book not for the Armenians but for the Azerbaijanis.

Commenting on the opinion that by his book he had "insulted" the people of Azerbaijan the writer said, "If I doubted that I have somehow humiliated my people, I would, probably, be broken myself. They want me to say two good words about the Armenian and three about the Azerbaijanis. I had no other worries to keep the balance of opinion! I describe a person, how he perceives. A mentally frail man, who is almost at the edge of madness from this life. He also suffers terribly because he still remembers what he had been told in his village. "

The writer noted that his book is a tragedy of man, when all around him are against his state of mind against his view to the future.
"Brothers, let us recognize that we have done bad things! Only then we can expect for something good. God knows what they did not say: let's see Akram’s blood, though they knew perfectly well that I'm a thoroughbred Turk. That I would like to receive a Nobel Prize. Have I brought goods to a market? But the most annoying thing was that they were saying all of these on behalf of the people. Some cabinet rat teaches me what the people think," he said.

According to the writer, if a referendum is held in Azerbaijan, the vast majority will be for establishment of good relations with the Armenians. If ideologists firmly say that it is necessary to establish good relationships - in the evening, the people will think differently, he said.

"As a child I have heard only good things from my grandmother, mother and uncle about the Armenians. Those who have never seen the Armenians are much more nationalist than those who lived together with them. Rarely anyone would say a bad word – those are half-baked ideologists, not normal, villagers. In villages there have been such demagogues too, Shukshin has described them perfectly," said the writer.

Commenting on the correspondent’s words that "the country has gone crazy and people do not want to understand anything," Aylisli replied, "The man embitters if he by some sense feels the truth, but has to accept the lie for truth."

He also noted that Aliyev is not the owner of the lands; he is only the oil boss. "We fight with the Armenians for the land, while no one needs this land. It turned out that this is not what people wanted to fight for. What to do, perhaps the God or Shaitan needed this, I do not know," concluded the writer.

Akram Aylisli 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, Aylisli 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” Aylisli 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 Aylisli in Azerbaijan and called on the authorities to fulfill their obligations.