According to the author, “the Turkish president is in decline. He can no longer limit anyone’s voice. Thank God, fortunately it falls.”
An interview with the Financial Times and the journalist Laura Pitel was given by Orhan Pamuk, the Nobel Prize-winning Turkish writer who has divided public opinion in Turkey with his work, but also with the critical stance he has taken towards Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Many years ago, Pamuk received strong backlash from his countrymen for commenting on the Armenian Genocide committed by the Ottoman Empire.
His comments, in 2005, led him to trial, as he was considered to have insulted the Turkish element. The international outcry and support for the Turkish author was such that the trial was never completed.
Today he is once again in trouble as he is accused of insulting the Founding Father Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in his book “Plague Nights”.
He denies these accusations and categorically denies that he intended to insult Kemal Atatürk – after all, such an insult in Turkey can lead him to prison. The aim of the book is to explore in a broader way the process of creating a nation through fiction.
Although he denies the specific accusations, in his interview with the Financial Times he admits that he will not hesitate to speak about the political situation in the country when asked.
According to the author “the Turkish President is in decline. He can no longer limit anyone’s voice. Thank God, fortunately it falls.”
As Orhan Pamuk underlines, “the country has witnessed a continuous decline in its level of well-being. The pound has weakened while the inflation rate has reached 80%. This is scandalous and indicative of what can happen when a person stays in power for 20 years and becomes more and more authoritarian, makes irrational decisions and destroys the welfare of the nation.”
The author adds that what is being discussed more than anything else is how the president will react to this “free fall” recorded by his popularity: “The polls say he will lose. But will he accept something like that?’
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I am currently a news writer for News Bulletin247 where I mostly cover sports news. I have always been interested in writing and it is something I am very passionate about. In my spare time, I enjoy reading and spending time with my family and friends.
