TURKISH WRITER FACING TRIAL DENIES CALLING KILLINGS OF ARMENIANS A GENOCIDE
Associated Press Worldstream
October 16, 2005 Sunday
ANKARA, Turkey
A Turkish novelists who could face prison over charges he insulted
his country has defended himself, insisting he did not describe the
killings of Armenians in the early 20th century as a genocide.
Orhan Pamuk, one of Turkey’s best-known writers, is to go on trial
on Dec. 16 and could face up to three years in prison for comments
on the killings of Armenians and Kurds. The United States and the
European Union have called on Turkey to drop charges to ensure freedom
of expression.
“I did not say, we Turks killed this many Armenians,” Pamuk told
private CNN-Turk television late Saturday. “I did not use the word
‘genocide’.”
Turkish prosecutors filed charges against Pamuk after he told a Swiss
newspaper in February that “30,000 Kurds and 1 million Armenians were
killed in these lands and nobody but me dares to talk about it.”
He was referring to Kurds killed during Turkey’s two-decade conflict
with autonomy seeking Kurdish guerrillas, branded as a terrorist group
by the U.S. and EU, and to Armenians killed around the time of World
War I.
Armenians say that 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks,
which Armenians and several nations around the world recognize as a
genocide. Turkey denies that the mass killings were genocide, saying
the death toll is inflated and Armenians were killed in civil unrest
as the Ottoman Empire collapsed.
Asked about the numbers of people killed that he referred to in his
interview with the Swiss newspaper, Pamuk said “they were spontaneous
remarks.”
“There are martyred Turkish soldiers among those 30,000 to 35,000
killed people. Let’s express our respect to them,” Pamuk said,
complaining that he has become a victim of a “defamation campaign.”
The EU, which Turkey aspires to join, has said it will be watching
closely when Pamuk goes before a judge in December.
Pamuk’s books, which include the internationally acclaimed “Snow” and
“My Name is Red,” have been translated into more than 20 languages
and the novelist has received numerous international awards.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress