“Aravot’s” interviewee is Azerbaijani writer, the author of “35 Letters to My Son” book, Zeynal Ibrahimov.
– In your “35 Letters to My Son” book you write about events which have taken place a quarter of a century before and an inevitable question emerges: why do you write about it now?
– I have written the book still at the beginning of 2015. And why now? Because the time highlighted and cleared the image of what had taken place. And during these years I have followed the processes taking place in Azerbaijan. A time was needed to realize all that as a whole.
– That is, you argue official Baku’s and Azerbaijani society’s viewpoint implying that Karabakh is an Azerbaijani territory and Azerbaijan should do everything to “bring it back”. Which are your arguments?
– Yes, I believe that Karabakh should gain an independence. My arguments are very simple: Bolsheviks have artificially annexed this territory to Azerbaijan. Moreover, during the years of the conflict Azerbaijan has done everything for the impossibility of Karabakh’s existence within Azerbaijan’s territory by establishing fascism and hatred against Armenians in the country.
– The regime formed by father and son Aliyev has acquired features which are characterized as fascism and Nazism by political science. They burnt Aylisli’s book in an open square as they burnt the books written by Jews in Germany in 30s. What destiny will your book have among Azerbaijani society, in your opinion? Will anything change?
– There has been no reaction by Azerbaijani side yet. I do not think that my book can change anything, inasmuch as it speaks not only against the current regime but also the very society which, of course, will reject the majority of what is written. The society has been zombified for very long to be able to perceive my book.
– Then why have you written it?
– I have written what I have seen. If the society is not ready for it, it is not an occasion to remain silent.
– No war is eternal, even the longest war ends with peace. Which is your vision of peace?
– It is right, even 100-year war has ended up with peace. But in the current situation, any attempt of solving the conflict in favor of any of the parties is not realistic, forasmuch it will induce more hatred between the two nations against each other and will become a temporarily extinguished fire which can burn at any moment.
My response might seem an absurd one, but until the Azerbaijani society does not realize that falsifying the history is unrealistic and humiliating under any given authority (I want to emphasize this in particular). And until they accept even the reality which is unpleasant to them that Azerbaijan’s borders are drawn with the help of fantasy and Bolsheviks. Until they realize their real national identity and stop living by the slogan of the “great archaeologist” Heydar Aliyev – “one nation, two states” which humiliates and makes the nation faceless, by replacing only one “big brother” with the other. Until a fair and explicit international investigation is not conducted on Khojalu incidents and the real murderers are not announced. Until the genocide of more than a million native residents of Baku – all nations which were removed from their fatherland is not recognized. Until Azerbaijani society is not conscious that Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Empires has no connection with them, inasmuch as neither Azerbaijani society existed then, nor the state called Azerbaijan, and not even the word “Azerbaijani”. No long-term and stable peace is possible in reality.
I would like to add that no genetic rudiment and moreover, as insisted by Azerbaijani historians, centuries of hatred has been and cannot be in place between Armenians and Azerbaijanis, inasmuch as the first conflict between Armenians and Azerbaijanis was recorded in 1905 alone.
Ami CHICHAKYAN
