| Ayse Nur Zarakolu, Tyrkiet |
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Ayse Nur Zarakulu døde i 2002. Turkey: Freedom of Expression Campaigner, Ayse Nur Zarakolu, Dies of Cancer Ayse Nur Zarakolu, one of Turkey’s most well known and active campaigners for the right to free speech, died in hospital in Istanbul on Monday 28 January. She had been suffering from cancer. For 25 years, Zarakolu, age 56, struggled for the right of the voices of the Kurdish and other minorities in Turkey to be heard, despite the threat to her own liberty. In 1977 she set up the Belge Publishing House which described itself as aiming to “strike down taboos” and “investigate the rights of minorities”. As such it published books tackling such controversial subjects as attacks against the Kurdish minority, a history of anti-Semitism in Turkey and the tense relations between Turkey and Greece. One of the books that led to a two-year prison term for Zarakolu in 1994 was a study of whether the 1915 Armenian massacre was a planned genocide. Zarakolu served several prison terms in 1982, 1984, 1994 and 1996. In 1994, on hearing of the two-year sentence against her, Zarakolu told the court “So, today in Turkey, this is what “democratisation” amounts to! … After me, there are at least 10 other publishers who will soon be put behind iron bars. But they must go on doing their job even if the government impedes them. That is, giving writers all the opportunities they need to express their thoughts. And if the cost of doing this is imprisonment, then so be it.” Throughout the late 90s to date, the Belge Publishing House continued publishing controversial titles, many of which led to Zarakolu being brought before the courts. In 1997 she had over 20 court cases pending against her. Mostly the trials ended in acquittals or fines, although the threat of imprisonment was ever present. The trials must have come with heavy psychological, physical and financial burdens. Only three weeks before her death, Zarakolu was informed that another trial against her would start on 21 March. Her crime? Publishing a book by Huseyin Turhali, The Song of Freedom. The author, a Kurdish lawyer and politician now living in France, fled Turkey for Syria after receiving death threats some years ago, only to be held for a year in a Syrian prison. Even though in severe poor health, Zarakolu remained a champion for free speech to the end. Throughout, International PEN campaigned for an end to the harassment of Zarakolu and the authors of the books she published. Her strength and resilience under the greatest of pressure gained her significant respect among the world community of writers. Ayse Nur Zarakolu leaves behind her husband, writer Ragip Zarakolu, and two sons. Sara Whyatt Programme Director Writers in Prison Committee International PEN 9-10 Charterhouse Buildings, London EC1M 7AT, UK Tel: +44 20 7253 3226 Fax: + 44 20 7253 5711 Email: Denne e-mailadresse bliver beskyttet mod spambots, du skal have Javascript aktiveret for at se den |
