Pamuk in Trouble?

Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk faces criminal charges in Turkey over statements he made about the Armenian genocide to a Swiss newspaper. Pamuk’s statements (that “30,000 Kurds and over 1 million Armenians had been killed in Turkey”) are considered controversial in Turkey, the only country that continues to deny the genocide and in fact alleges that it was the Armenians who exterminated the Turks.

It’s particularly ironic that Pamuk should be molested about this, since his latest novel, Snow, features several references to the genocide. Given Pamuk’s worldwide reputation, and Turkey’s desire to join the EU, it’s unlikely that the charges will actually be followed up, but we’ll keep an eye on this story.

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