19:32, 12 October 2006

Turkish writer who recognizes genocide of Armenians gets Nobel prize

Orkhan Pamuk, a Turkish writer, has become a 2006 Nobel prize winner in the area of literature, reports the Novosti news agency.

Pamuk, aged 54, was initially regarded as one of the most probable candidates for getting the world's most prestigious literary prize amounting to $1.37 million.

Before that, the writer drew down anger of the Turkish authorities on himself by stating in an interview that about one million of Armenians and thousands of Kurds had been killed by Turks. He meant the events of 1915-1918 and the 1980's and 1990's, respectively. Later Pamuk made numerous similar statements, although he underlined that he had never used the word "genocide" in describing the relations of Turks and Armenians. The author of a number of world bestsellers ran the risk of getting three years of imprisonment.

Officially, Turkey still refuses to recognize the events of 1915 as genocide of Armenians. Ankara also refuses to recognize as genocide the events which followed the insurrections of Kurds in the 1980's and 1990's.