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Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk said to fear
for his life, he will leave Turkey
15.2.2007
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February 15, 2007
Istanbul, Turkey, February 14, -- Turkish
novelist and Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk reportedly
is in exile in the United States, living in fear for
his life.
Istanbul columnist Fatih Altayli told The Telegraph
he heard that Pamuk recently withdrew $400,000 from
his bank account and said he would leave Turkey and
would not be returning to his country any time soon.
After the killing of Hrant Dink, an ethnic Armenian
journalist, last month, Pamuk, 54, told others that
he fears for his own safety. The writer angered
Turkish nationalists by acknowledging that under the
Ottoman Empire Turks triggered the deaths of 1
million Armenians a century ago. |
Turkish novelist and Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk |
With its candidacy to join the European Union
already in trouble because of its Islamic government
and the treatment of its Kurdish minority, Turkey's
bid would be hindered more if its most prominent
writer decided he was no longer safe in his
homeland, the newspaper said.
In meetings with Western leaders, Abdullah Gul,
Turkey's foreign minister, promised reform of an
ambiguous law allowing nationalists to demand
punishment for those they accuse of insulting the
Turkish nation.
Gul said Turkey's standing was damaged by Dink's
murder and the threat to Pamuk.
UPI
** The use of the term "Kurdistan" is vigorously
rejected due to its alleged political implications
by the Republic of Turkey, which does not recognize
the existence of a "Turkish Kurdistan" Southeast
Turkey.
Others estimate as many as 40 million Kurds live in
Big Kurdistan (Iraq, Turkey, Syria, Iran, Armenia),
which covers an area as big as France, about half of
all Kurds which estimate to 20 million live in
Turkey.
The Kurdish flag flown officially in Iraqi Kurdistan but
unofficially flown by Kurds in Armenia. The flag is
banned in Iran, Syria, and Turkey where flying it is
a criminal offence"
Southeastern Turkey:
North Kurdistan (
Kurdistan-Turkey) wikipedia
First world war
massacres | Related
issue:
Armenian Genocide by Turkish Muslims against
Christians
Turkey faces international pressure to recognise
that more than 1 million Armenians were massacred
during a 1915 campaign of ethnic cleansing by
Ottoman Turks. Turkish officials claim that most
deaths were caused by hunger and disease.
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