Turkish Nobel-winning writer Pamuk slams 'repression'
AFP
ISTANBUL- Turkey's Nobel Prize-winning novelist Orhan Pamuk on Wednesday denounced what he called the "repressive" approach of Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government, saying it was the cause of violent unrest.
Pamuk, 60, a major cultural figure known for novels such as "Snow" and "My Name is Red", threw his weight behind protesters who have been rallying for six days against Erdogan.
"This insensitive policy is no doubt part of the ever more authoritarian and repressive attitude of the government," he wrote.
A campaign against the project erupted into general protests across Turkey after police tear gassed peaceful protestors last week in the park next to Istanbul's central Taksim Square.
Pamuk has repeatedly clashed with the state in Turkey.
His Nobel Prize in 2006 caused a stir, coming a year after he broke a taboo in Turkey by saying in a magazine interview that "one million Armenians and 30,000 Kurds were killed" there during the First World War.
On Wednesday he praised the protesters for defending the park, a popular historical landmark as well as one of the last green spots in the city.
"Seeing that they will not easily give up their memories gives me hope for the future," he wrote.
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