Orhan Pamuk, the Turkish Nobel laureate, was in London to promote his new book, other colors. He was accompanied by his daughter and his translator Maureen Freely who was also hrand dink’s friend.
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Hoorah! Turkey has dropped the charges against Orhan Pamuk!

Turkey took advantage of a legal misunderstanding to drop its case.

The Times has great coverage.

This case was becoming an embarrassment for the Government, in Europe, at home, everywhere. The way they resolved it today was really through a convenient misunderstanding. The court trying Pamuk went to the Ministry of Justice asking permission to try him. The ministry said: actually, you don’t need permission from us. The court took that to mean that there was no case for him to answer and the trial collapsed.

The AP says that the lawyer that brought the case against Pamuk isn’t happy:

Nationalist lawyer Kemal Kerincsiz, who pushed for the trial of Pamuk, said he would appeal the court decision.

“It is a scandal,” Kerincsiz said by telephone. “Orhan Pamuk must be punished for insulting Turkey and Turkishness, it is a grave crime and it should not be left unpunished.”

[Shudder]

A few weeks back at Onnik’s London presentation I met a great young American Diasporan, Emily Artinian. Emily is an artist who makes limited edition artist’s books and text based art, exploring different aspects of literature and textual theory. This past summer she lived in Yerevan as an artist in residence at NPAK (Armenian Centre for Contemporary & Experimental Art). I love NPAK - it is a great space for a lot of good work being done.

While at NPAK Emily published ‘From Ararat to Angeltown’, a large format book about post-Soviet Armenian literature and the Yerevan based writers’ group Bnagir (Beware - the site is NOT in Unicode.) The book is in Armenian and English on corresponding pages.

Table of Contents: Love by Violet Grigorian; Yerevan is a Big City by Mariné Petrossian; Brotherhood by Vahan Ishkhanyan; Of Cats and Dogs by Gohar Nikoghosyan; Landslide by Vahram Martirosyan (the first two chapters of the novel); Love at Every Sight by Karen Karslyan.

Emily says the the works are amazing!

Also included are excerpts from transcripts of Emily’s discussions with the group during her 2004 artist’s residency in Armenia. This text highlights the difficulties of publication facing progressive writers in this ex-Soviet republic, difficulties that are a result of limited cultural acceptance at home, limited economic resources, and also a lack of connections to publication and distribution organisations in the west.

You can order the book on Emily’s site.

And, check out Emily’s site for more information about her work.

I’ve made it. I have a few posts to load and a lot of photos. Internet in cafes is painfully slow. I may have access to a dial up connection soon though.

People seem generally peaceful. Lots of thoughts about Baku - it is quite nice!

More later!

Great summary of Pamuk’s week at this blog by an activist living in Turkey (not sure of her nationality though.) She also has this post from a few months ago.

Before we get too down on Orhan Pamuk, here’s an update:

“I repeat, I said loud and clear that 1 million Armenians and 30,000 Kurds were killed in Turkey, and I stand by that,” Pamuk told a news conference in Frankfurt, where he is due to receive a major literary award on Sunday.

Turkey’s most prominent writer said he had not used the word “genocide” to describe the mass killings of Armenians in 1915. “Whether it should be called ‘genocide’ or ‘mass murder’… or something else, has to be decided by experts.”

source

Don’t get me wrong, I still love his writing, but Pamuk took a stand this week and stated that he never used the term “Genocide” when discussing the events occuring to Armenians.

But on Saturday night, he went on CNN-Turk television to say: “I did not say, we Turks killed this many Armenians. I did not use the word ‘genocide’.”

Personally, I don’t think it was the use or lack of use of the G-word that mattered in this case, rather, a prominent Turkish author has acknowledged time and time again that many many Armenians were killed. For others, the G-word matters, I know.

Guardian article

Pamuk didn’t win.

The Nobel Prize in Literature for 2005 is awarded to the English writer Harold Pinter

“who in his plays uncovers the precipice under everyday prattle and forces entry into oppression’s closed rooms”.

Winning the Nobel may have saved Pamuk from going to jail. Oh well, there’s always next time.

On Thursday (the 13th), it’ll cost you a pretty penny — or more specifically, £12 — for the honor of hearing renowned foreign correspondent Robert Fisk discuss his new book, titled The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East. And then you’ll even be allowed to ask him some questions. Institue of Education’s Logan Hall, 20 Bedford Way. 7pm (doors at 6:30).

Londonist

Fisk has written about Armenian issues quite a bit.

I love Orhan Pamuk. As soon as his books come out, I buy them and read them immediately. I just finished Istanbul - another amazing work by a fantastic author. I loved him before he came out for the Armenians. That was just icing on the cake.

As Hovakim can attest, I’m always bothering other people to read his works and have been for years. As of late I’ve been introducing him as the “author who will win the Nobel Prize this year.”

And then I read this: Nobel Prize Committee ‘Split’ Because of Genocide Author

The secretive group of intellectuals who award the Nobel Prize for literature have delayed their decision for at least a week amid reports of a split over honouring the controversial Turkish author, Orhan Pamuk.

For the first time in at least 10 years, the literature prize was announced neither in the run-up to, nor in the same week as the four other main Nobel awards — medicine, physics, chemistry and peace. Each marks the pinnacle of achievement in its field and is worth 10 million Swedish kronor.

The suspected row over Mr. Pamuk — which is officially denied — comes amid revelations about the secretive workings of the committee that, since 1901, has chosen Nobel winners. The literature award is now due to be announced on Thursday.

Mr. Pamuk’s latest novel, “Snow”, has been widely acclaimed for addressing Turkey’s internal clash of cultures. His earlier work, “My Name is Red”, established his literary prowess. But the author is controversial for an assertion he made in a newspaper interview earlier this year that the Turkish state was guilty of a 20th century genocide against Armenians and Kurds. He faces trial for the comments.

Observers of the Nobel process say that, given that the European Union has decided to begin talks on Turkey’s entry without condemning the Pamuk trial, some members of the Swedish Academy, which chooses the literature laureate, feel politically exposed.

“If the Pamuk row is real, the academy’s reluctance is not based on a fear of being political, or controversial,” said Svante Weyler of Nordstedts publishers, “but on concern that literature must not be overshadowed by politics.”

Others believe a split in the academy over Mr. Pamuk could be based a long-entrenched principle of avoiding fashions and fads. Mr. Pamuk is widely acclaimed but, at the age of 53, is considered on the young side. “The Nobel Prize must never go to the book of the season. It exists to reward a life’s work,” said poet and literary critic Eva Strom.

The suspected row over Mr. Pamuk bears the hallmarks of the “Rushdie affair” — a conflict whose impact can still be felt in the Swedish Academy today.

In February 1989, author and academy member Kerstin Ekman called on her fellow elders to issue a statement condemning the fatwa against Salman Rushdie. They refused, prompting Ms. Ekman and author Lars Gyllensten to resign from the Nobel selection process.

The remaining 16 academy members are understood at this stage to have reduced their choice to two candidates. The winner will be chosen by majority vote.

Some observers have suggested the delay in announcing the prize might not be related to Mr. Pamuk, and that academy members may be grappling with a non-fiction candidate or an essayist.

I hope that he wins and that his win will put more pressure on Turkey, as the EU has been doing lately via Mr. Pamuk.

A curious story courtesy of the BBC:

William Shakespeare may have been born in the English town of Stratford-on-Avon but, as the actor Gareth Armstrong discovered at a theatre festival in Armenia, some literary giants belong to the world….

…Convinced that I held the ace in this particular pack, I stood and spoke of my pride in coming from the country which could claim Shakespeare as her own. He was Britain’s greatest poet, greatest playwright and most illustrious son. I proposed a rousing toast: “To William Shakespeare”.

I encountered a mild hostility to my laying claim to the writer in whose name we were toasting the afternoon away. There was polite assent but little enthusiasm. Had what I said lost something in translation? A German participant, who would be troubling Hamlet’s Ghost later in the week, firmly echoed my toast to William Shakespeare. He even quoted some of Hamlet’s lines in a German translation by Schlegel, which he promised us was as good as the original. Then a Polish lady, whose show dealt with the wretched women in the life of Richard III, made a similar claim for her mother tongue.

Finally an Armenian actor who, like me, was exploring the enigma of Shylock, claimed that the translations of the poet Havhannes Hovhannesyan were unsurpassed.

What I had encountered was a mild hostility to my laying claim to the writer in whose name we were toasting the afternoon away. The accident of where Shakespeare was born - and therefore the language he wrote in - gave me no special claim to his heritage. His genius was quite simply - universal.

As far as I know, no other country has ever hosted a festival of one-person plays about Shakespeare.

It took an Armenian to dream that up.

The online journal “Inside Higher Ed” has published an interview with Yektan Turkyilmaz.

Some highlights:

The interrogators’ questioning in the initial few days of my arrest was entirely devoted to my research, my political views and connections with Turkish intelligence and state officials. The concept of “scholar” is meaningless to them. According to them, as the investigator put it, “all scholars are spies.” All my friends and contacts in Yerevan (most of whom have nothing to do with the books found in my suitcases) have not only been interrogated by the KGB but were also harassed and threatened. They were all told that I was a Turkish spy. My friends who were at the airport with me were threatened not to let anyone, especially my family, know about my arrest. (When my sister contacted them via phone they denied that they were with me at the airport! For that reason my family did not know about my situation for 15 hours.)

KGB officials’ mentality — a mixture of the Soviet way of thinking and nationalism with xenophobic overtones — played a crucial role in making the decision to detain me. Unfortunately, in today’s Armenia (like many other ex-Soviet republics), there isn’t adequate political control over KGB. I should also underline that there is an ongoing fight between pro-democracy advocates and pro-Russia Soviet-style rule. For me, it is relieving to know that I have received a good deal of support from the pro-democracy politicians and large segments of the Armenian society, which is very important.

according to Regnum, the Malatya-Sebastia court issued a two-year suspended sentence to Yektan Turkyilmaz and he was set free in the courtroom. His books were confiscated.

Earlier, the prosecutors demanded a 4 year sentence for him.

Hopefully, he will have better luck crossing the border this time.

RFE/RL reports today that Yektan Turkyilmaz still sits in a Yerevan jail awaiting trial. He had a visit from his mother recently. Also of note, Bob Dole has jumped on the bandwagon.

Turkyilmaz’s local lawyers said:

“After all, books like that are available for sale in Armenia,” one of his Armenian attorneys, Vartuhi Elbakian, told RFE/RL.

“Yektan bought them without violating the law,” argued the other lawyer, Hrair Ghukasian.

From Dole’s letter:
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A lot of people know that I collect Soviet children’s books, especially Armenian hekiatner (fairy tales).

Today I stumbled across McGill University’s online guide to Soviet children’s literature from the 1920s and 1920s. It is a lot of fun to look through.

I also collect Soviet propaganda posters, especially those directed at youth. Here’s a nice one from one of McGill’s books:

Enjoy!

I recently ordered a new Caucasus cookbook. I really like this one. It was easy to make the foods in the book and I like that it included different dishes from all over the region.

Here’s my review:

What a great looking book. My mouth watered as I looked at the cover.

Kay Shaw Nelson is a student of Russian studies - thereby someone who really did research in the countries that this book covers and not just a compiler of other people’s information. She even gives some reviews of places to eat in-country! She did a nice job of including literary references and short stories about some of the dishes. I’m no chef and I was able to make most of the items with ease. The tasks are easy to follow and replacements for some ingredients not easily found outside of the Caucasus are included.

Caucasus food has great flavor and uses herbs and spices masterfully. It is healthy and tasty. There are many vegetarian options as well.

Some of my favorites: page 165 rice-filled tomatoes, page 203 lavash (this actually tasted like lavash!), page 256 tan, page 42 cucumber-yogart dip, page 79 green beans and eggs.

I thought it was better than the Cusine of Armenia book that I reviewed here.

Azg reports that the Georgian President, Mikheil Saakashvili, will arrive in Yerevan today to accompany the French-Armenian singer, Charles Aznavour, to Tbilisi. Aznavour will later travel to Akhaltskhe in the mainly Armenian populated Georgian region of Samtskhe-Javakheti. Aznavour’s father, Misha, was born in the town.

Hopefully the Georgians will be better organized than Armenians were. When Aznavour arrived at Yerevan’s Zvartnots airport, a friend describes the scene as a disgrace and yesterday’s book signing organized by the youth wing of the ruling Republican Party was apparently a disaster.

While in Armenia, however, Aznavour was at least decorated by the Armenian President, Robert Kocharian, with the Order of the Fatherland a week after the same honor was awarded to the US billionaire, Kirk Kerkorian. Aznavour also presented the Matenadaran with an ancient manuscript bought at auction and attended the opening ceremony of a water pipeline in the Aragatsotn region that was partially financed by the “Aznavour for Armenia” charity.

The Armenian News Network Groong has posted a transript of an interview with journalist and writer Thomas Goltz. The interview on the subject of the BTC was broadcast on National Public Radio on 25 May. For those of you that don’t know, Goltz was based in Azerbaijan during the Karabagh conflict and is author of the excellent “Azerbaijan Diary.” He has also been organizing motorcycle rides along the route of the BTC. In 2002, I had the opportunity to join the ride on the Tbilisi-Ceyhan leg of the journey but unfortunately, had to bow out because of delays in Baku. I’m still kicking myself.

BLOCK: One of the arguments in favor of the pipeline has been that it will increase or enhance regional stability. How would it do that?

Mr. GOLTZ: Well, that’s the song that Washington wants to sing about this. I’m not sure if that’s accurate or not. In history and across the world, find me a so-called peace pipeline. What it does do, however, is bring a certain amount of stability to every one of the countries along the route. In addition to the sort of trickle-down of jobs associated with either digging trenches or monitoring the pipeline, obviously there are things like the Oil Fund that has been set up in Azerbaijan to ensure that some of this revenue that accrues from Azeri crude will actually be seen by future generations.

http://groong.usc.edu/news/msg113549.html

The audio version of the interview is available here.

There’s also some pics from Goltz’s Oil Odyssey motorcycle journey here as well as a whole chapter on Kelbajar from Azerbaijan Diary here.

I’ve just posted a Macromedia Flash version of some of my work on Lachin, the strategic town that links Armenia with the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabagh. As most of you know, the town that was once inhabited by Azeris and Kurds was captured in 1992 and is now being settled by Armenians. It is also now known as Berdzor and part of the newly created Kashatagh district.

This work is part on an ongoing project on Karabagh that also includes the ceasefire, landmines and UXO, refugees and IDPs etc. The Macromedia Flash Gallery can be viewed online or downloaded here.

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Upon my first day back from a FLEX conference and mini-vacation, I found myself in nearly a foot of snow. Coincidentally, one of my main activities while enjoying the sunny Gulf of Mexico was reading the book Snow by Orhan Pamuk.

Pamuk is no longer the up-and-coming author that I started to enjoy a few years ago. Many critics think that he is going to win the Pulitzer this year for Snow.

Why does Snow matter? More after the jump.
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