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NOBEL PRIZE FOR PAMUK GETS MIXED REVIEWS IN TURKEY
By Vincent Boland in Ankara
Financial Times, UK
Oct 12 2006
Turkey reacted with a mixture of pride and cynicism on Thursday to
the awarding of the Nobel prize for literature to Orhan Pamuk, the
country's most controversial novelist.
In literary and academic circles the announcement that Mr Pamuk had
become the first Turkish person ever to win a Nobel prize was greeted
with joy. "He is a representative of modern Turkey," said Cengiz Aktar,
an academic in Istanbul. "He will probably now become the conscience
of modern Turkey."
But nationalists who have accused Mr Pamuk of being unpatriotic
said the award was a political gesture by the Swedish Academy. Kemal
Kerincsiz, leader of a group of ultra-nationalist lawyers that brought
charges against Mr Pamuk, said he was ashamed at the award.
"The prize that was given was not a source of pride. As a Turkish
citizen I am ashamed," he said.
Less than a year ago Mr Pamuk, whose elegantly descriptive yet
melancholic books partly focus on how modern Turkey deals with
its past, was on trial in Istanbul for "insulting Turkishness". At
issue were remarks he made about the need for Turkey to confront
its historical role in the massacres of Armenians and Kurds in the
last century.
The comments enraged a section of hardline nationalist opinion and
led to a chaotic trial that caused violent scenes on the streets and
was eventually abandoned. Importantly, he was not acquitted and for
many of critics he is still on trial.
Adding to the political significance of the award to a Turk, and
to Turkish sensitivities about Armenian claims of genocide during
the collapse of the Ottoman empire, the Nobel prize was given to Mr
Pamuk on the day the lower house of the French parliament voted to
make denial of the genocide claim a crime. The vote has infuriated
many Turks, who blame Mr Pamuk, among others, for stoking the debate
against Turkey abroad.
Other writers have been prosecuted in Turkey this year under a clause
in the penal code that is aimed at stifling criticism of the state
and its institutions. The European Union, which Turkey wants to join,
is urging Ankara to amend or abolish the law, a move that is made
more unlikely by the French parliamentary vote.
Mr Pamuk said he was honoured by the Nobel award, given by the Swedish
Academy and worth SKr10m ($1.35m) ([email protected]) (£730,000).
Writers' clubs in Turkey said it would raise the profile of Turkish
literature.
Mr Pamuk is feted as his country's most widely read writer, read
as much abroad as at home. He is also something of a celebrity in
literature circles in Europe and the US.
Erda Gocnar, assistant professor at Duke University, said the court
case against Mr Pamuk became an international cause celèbre because
"it was really about a struggle over Turkey's political identity as
an EU and Muslim country".
Others, however, questioned the political dimension of awarding the
prize to Mr Pamuk within months of his trial. Suat Kiniklioglu, head
of the Ankara office of the German Marshall Fund of the US, said:
"A lot of people in Turkey, including me, will think it was awarded
not for his artistic merits but because of his remarks about Armenia,
which did great damage to the perception of Turkey."
As well as looking at how Turkey's past is mirrored in the present,
Mr Pamuk's books, including Snow and My Name is Red, address the
clash between east and west inside the country. He has won numerous
other awards, both in Turkey and abroad.
The Swedish Academy said it had given Mr Pamuk the award because "in
the quest for the melancholic soul of his native city [Istanbul], he
has discovered new symbols for the clash and interlacing of cultures".
Horace Engdahl, the academy's head, said Mr Pamuk understood the
reasons why he won the award. "I believe this will be met with delight
by all readers and lovers of novels," Mr Engdahl said.
"But it can naturally give rise to a certain amount of political
turbulence. That is not what we are interested in."
--Boundary_(ID_VQ7PIayIEAQXcrzc1Ro5Gg)- -
By Vincent Boland in Ankara
Financial Times, UK
Oct 12 2006
Turkey reacted with a mixture of pride and cynicism on Thursday to
the awarding of the Nobel prize for literature to Orhan Pamuk, the
country's most controversial novelist.
In literary and academic circles the announcement that Mr Pamuk had
become the first Turkish person ever to win a Nobel prize was greeted
with joy. "He is a representative of modern Turkey," said Cengiz Aktar,
an academic in Istanbul. "He will probably now become the conscience
of modern Turkey."
But nationalists who have accused Mr Pamuk of being unpatriotic
said the award was a political gesture by the Swedish Academy. Kemal
Kerincsiz, leader of a group of ultra-nationalist lawyers that brought
charges against Mr Pamuk, said he was ashamed at the award.
"The prize that was given was not a source of pride. As a Turkish
citizen I am ashamed," he said.
Less than a year ago Mr Pamuk, whose elegantly descriptive yet
melancholic books partly focus on how modern Turkey deals with
its past, was on trial in Istanbul for "insulting Turkishness". At
issue were remarks he made about the need for Turkey to confront
its historical role in the massacres of Armenians and Kurds in the
last century.
The comments enraged a section of hardline nationalist opinion and
led to a chaotic trial that caused violent scenes on the streets and
was eventually abandoned. Importantly, he was not acquitted and for
many of critics he is still on trial.
Adding to the political significance of the award to a Turk, and
to Turkish sensitivities about Armenian claims of genocide during
the collapse of the Ottoman empire, the Nobel prize was given to Mr
Pamuk on the day the lower house of the French parliament voted to
make denial of the genocide claim a crime. The vote has infuriated
many Turks, who blame Mr Pamuk, among others, for stoking the debate
against Turkey abroad.
Other writers have been prosecuted in Turkey this year under a clause
in the penal code that is aimed at stifling criticism of the state
and its institutions. The European Union, which Turkey wants to join,
is urging Ankara to amend or abolish the law, a move that is made
more unlikely by the French parliamentary vote.
Mr Pamuk said he was honoured by the Nobel award, given by the Swedish
Academy and worth SKr10m ($1.35m) ([email protected]) (£730,000).
Writers' clubs in Turkey said it would raise the profile of Turkish
literature.
Mr Pamuk is feted as his country's most widely read writer, read
as much abroad as at home. He is also something of a celebrity in
literature circles in Europe and the US.
Erda Gocnar, assistant professor at Duke University, said the court
case against Mr Pamuk became an international cause celèbre because
"it was really about a struggle over Turkey's political identity as
an EU and Muslim country".
Others, however, questioned the political dimension of awarding the
prize to Mr Pamuk within months of his trial. Suat Kiniklioglu, head
of the Ankara office of the German Marshall Fund of the US, said:
"A lot of people in Turkey, including me, will think it was awarded
not for his artistic merits but because of his remarks about Armenia,
which did great damage to the perception of Turkey."
As well as looking at how Turkey's past is mirrored in the present,
Mr Pamuk's books, including Snow and My Name is Red, address the
clash between east and west inside the country. He has won numerous
other awards, both in Turkey and abroad.
The Swedish Academy said it had given Mr Pamuk the award because "in
the quest for the melancholic soul of his native city [Istanbul], he
has discovered new symbols for the clash and interlacing of cultures".
Horace Engdahl, the academy's head, said Mr Pamuk understood the
reasons why he won the award. "I believe this will be met with delight
by all readers and lovers of novels," Mr Engdahl said.
"But it can naturally give rise to a certain amount of political
turbulence. That is not what we are interested in."
--Boundary_(ID_VQ7PIayIEAQXcrzc1Ro5Gg)- -