IRANIAN INTELLECTUAL URGES TURKISH AUTHORITIES NOT TO DISTORT ISSUES
OF ARMENIANS AND KURDS
TEHRAN, JANUARY 13, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. A literary event
dedicated to the life and literary activity of the Turkish writer
Orhan Pamuk, a Nobel prize winner, took place on January 10 at the
House of Art Critics in Tehran.
According to the newspaper "Aliq", the event was attended by the
Turkish ambassador who in his speech presented Pamuk as just an author
of literary works.
The British literary critic and reporter Christopher Dobleg spoke
about works of Pumuk and the social life of Istanbul in these works,
noting that even reporters and literary critics say that the reason
for awarding a Nobel prize to Pamuk’s novel is his short essay on
massacres of Armenians and Kurds. He said that it is hardly possible
that the Nobel Prize Committee would award a prize to such a great
writer as Pamuk only for political reasons, thus humiliating itself.
(By the way, at the event’s conclusion Dobleg said, in response to
protests of Armenians present, that he did not aim to offend anybody
and he apologized to these Armenians for his speech being perceived
this way).
Then literary critics Reza Seyed Hoseyi and Naser Zeraati spoke, but,
according to "Aliq", the most remarkale speech was that of Javad
Mojabi, an Iranian writer-intellectual. The speech was read by his
wife due to the writer’s absence.
Criticizing the oppression and persecutions of intellectuals and
writers in Turkey (especially pressure put on Pamuk for exposing dark
historical facts), J. Mojabi said: "In his books, as well as outside
the scope of his literature, Pamuk counteracted the realities of his
society, for which he was accused, brought to court and presented as
an enemy of his country’s interests. The authorities want to cover or
distort a reality, of which everybody is aware, they want to put a lid
on a huge and boiling pan. Orhan Pamuk only told them not to deceive
people so much, to apologize to history and heal the wounds inflicted
to it."
At the conclusion of the event, some episodes of the Nobel prize
awarding ceremony and Pamuk’s speech were demonstrated, while Arsalan
Fasih, translator of his books, read some quotations from the writer’s
speech. An extract from Pamuk’s book "My Name is Red" (translated into
Pershian and to be published soon) was read as well.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
