Fazıl Say case is another shame
First I’ll give the background. Yesterday, on April 15, Turkish Culture and Tourism Minister Ömer Çelik joined the British Culture, Media and Sports Secretary Maria Miller in launching the London Book Fair, as Turkey is the “Market Focus” country this year. Ankara has been preparing for this particular activity for months, with Turkish Ambassador to London Ünal Çeviköz and British Ambassador to Ankara David Reddaway working to realize this project for over a year now. Çelik was escorted by Turkey’s European Union Affairs Minister Egemen Bağış for the launch and a number of prominent Turkish publishers and authors, including Elif Şafak (or Shafak as she prefers) - who is a new rising star of Turkish literature abroad - were there. It should have been a big event for the cultural atmosphere in Turkey, and perhaps the government would like to be proud of the level of Turkish democracy that had led to the use of freedoms and the enrichment of cultural diversity.
More:MURAT YETKİN - Fazıl Say case is another shame
