Turkish Novelist Orhan Pamuk Wins Nobel

When the Nobel Committee in Stockholm announced its decision to honor Orhan Pamuk with the Prize for Literature on Thursday morning, outpourings of praise for the Turkish novelist and his moving, lyrical work came from all over the world. But one set of congratulations was notable for its absence: those of Pamuk’s own government. Turkey has been fighting Pamuk over the past years, indicting him for the crime of “insulting Turkishness.” Pamuk’s offense was to criticize Turkey’s leaders for not acknowledging that Turks committed genocide against Armenians and Kurds during World War I. In a recent crackdown which also ensnared the novelist Elif Shafak, the Turkish government has attempted to curb artists and intellectuals with liberal and provocative views which contradict those of the government. If Turkey continues its bid for EU accession, it will face increased pressure to do away with penal measures that repress the speech of its greatest thinkers. In selecting Pamuk, the Nobel Committee has chosen not just an outstanding novelist, but an eloquent dissident. – YaleGlobal