Turkish-Armenian Writer Reports Death Threats

Turkish-Armenian newspaper columnist Sevan Nisanyan says he has received hundreds of deaths threats after altering a famous quote from the founder of modern Turkey to make a case for reforms in the country, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reports.

Article Tools
Turkish-Armenian newspaper columnist Sevan Nisanyan says he has received hundreds of deaths threats after altering a famous quote from the founder of modern Turkey to make a case for reforms in the country, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reports.

Nisanyan took a quote from a 1923 speech by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, Turkey's founding father, in which he urged Turkish youth to fight hard for their homeland.

"Your first duty is to preserve and to defend Turkish independence and the Turkish Republic forever," declared Ataturk.

Nisanyan -- an Istanbul-based, ethnic Armenian intellectual -- wrote in an October 29 article published by the "Taraf" daily that, "Your first duty is to be a human being. This is the very foundation of your existence and your future. This foundation is your most precious treasure."

Nisanyan told RFE/RL that his appeal infuriated nationalist Turks and he has since received about 800 e-mails and letters containing verbal abuse and threats to kill him.

sponsored by
Sponsored by ClearKitchen.com -- new products for cooking and entertaining.
Related Articles

Secretary-General mourns death of former Nepalese prime minister

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today paid tribute to Nepal's former prime minister and head of the Nepali Congress party Girija Prasad Koirala, calling his death a “huge loss” both for the country and for its peace process, which ended a decade-long civil war.

No room for racism at this year's soccer World Cup, UN chief says

Marking the 50th anniversary of the massacre of protesters taking a peaceful stand against apartheid in South Africa, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today that there is “no room for racist and xenophobic acts” at this summer's soccer World Cup in the country, the first time the ...
He said "people have gone mad" and added that he believes "the military is behind this uproar."

Nisanyan add that he has appealed to Turkish police for protection.

He said police have been "the more liberal party in [Turkey in] recent years" and "have been friendly and helped me a lot."


Copyright (c) RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
Add to Newsvine Add to Facebook Add to Digg Add to Twitter Add to DeliciousAdd to PropellerAdd to TechnoratiAdd to StumbleUponAdd to FurlAdd to BlinklistAdd to FarkAdd to Reddit
Global RSS
Comments
Your E-mail Address:

Privacy Statement
 


© Copyright Spero, All rights reserved. RSS
Spero News on Twitter
Spero News on Google Buzz
Submit a tip
Advertise
Terms of use
Privacy Policy
Contact
This page took 0.8672seconds to load