Ismail Besikçi and Ragip Zarakolu are honorary Member of the Kurdish PEN

KurdishMedia.com
21/01/2005

Ismail Besikçi becomes the Honorary Member of the Kurdish PEN Centre

Bremen, Germany, 20th January, 2005: The Kurdish PEN Centre is honoured
to announce its decision concerning the outstanding Turkish sociologist,
writer and human rights activist Mr. Ismail Besikçi. After receiving his
approval, at the Board meeting of the 9th January, 2005, Ismail Beºikçi
was unanimously chosen as the Honorary Member of the Kurdish PEN Centre.

Ismail Besikçi’s persistent support of the rights of the Kurds and his
numerous scholarly works revealing the need to modernise and democratise
the Kurdish society cost him years of imprisonment in Turkey.

Ismail Besikçi’s academic approach and personal courage are
characteristics of the open-minded and free intellectuals who are able
to inspire minds and hearts. He enjoys therefore a high respect amongst
the Kurds and their friends.

The Kurdish PEN Centre wishes to encourage further translations of
Ismail Besikçi’s books into Kurdish as well as other languages to make
his research finding widely available.

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Ragip Zarakolu becomes the Honorary Member of the Kurdish PEN Centre

Bremen, Germany, 12th January, 2005: The Kurdish PEN Centre being an
internationally recognised body supporting Kurdish literary and
linguistic rights is happy to name the outstanding Turkish writer and
publisher and the Turkish PEN Centre member Mr. Ragip Zarakolu its
Honorary Member.

In doing so, the Kurdish PEN Centre reflects its appreciation of Ragip
Zarakolu’s courageous support of the rights of the Kurdish people and
points out its disapproval of numerous trials against him as a writer
and publisher. We share Ragip Zarakolu’s view that Armenian, Greek,
Jewish, Kurdish, Turkish and other regional languages and literatures
are equally valuable for the mankind. In terms of cultural life there is
no and shall be no hierarchy – only diversity. Acting as a real promoter
of the Kurdish literature, Ragip Zarakolu’s publishing house publishes
books both about the Kurds and in Kurdish.

We are honoured to have amongst us a person whose life and peaceful
struggle pave a way for a brighter future for various literary
traditions and people belonging to them.

Dr. Zorab Aloian, Secretary

Navenda PENa Kurd, Dresdner Bank, Konto-Nr. 4 757 403 00, Blz.: 700 800 00

The Kurdish Centre of
INTERNATIONAL P E N
A World Association of Writers
NAVENDA PEN A KURD
Kurdisches PEN – Zentrum e. V.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress