Turkish Writer Orhan Pamuk Said To Fear For
His Life, He will Leave Turkey
UPI
Istanbul, Turkey, February 14, -
Turkish novelist and Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk reportedly is in exile in the
United States, living in fear for his life.
Istanbul columnist Fatih Altayli told The Telegraph he heard that Pamuk recently
withdrew $400,000 from his bank account and said he would leave Turkey and would
not be returning to his country any time soon.
After the killing of Hrant Dink, an ethnic Armenian journalist, last month,
Pamuk, 54, told others that he fears for his own safety. The writer angered
Turkish nationalists by acknowledging that under the Ottoman Empire Turks
triggered the deaths of 1 million Armenians a century ago.
With its candidacy to join the European Union
already in trouble because of its Islamic government and the treatment of its
Kurdish minority, Turkey's bid would be hindered more if its most prominent
writer decided he was no longer safe in his homeland, the newspaper said.
In meetings with Western leaders, Abdullah Gul, Turkey's foreign minister,
promised reform of an ambiguous law allowing nationalists to demand punishment
for those they accuse of insulting the Turkish nation.
Gul said Turkey's standing was damaged by Dink's murder and the threat to Pamuk.
