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Theme: Turkey

Editorial

The Words Behind Bars

It was an obvious decision to devote this PEN/Opp to Turkey. Since July 2016 we have seen a steady stream of writers...

Text: Elisabeth Åsbrink September 21 2017
Fiction

A slaughterhouse for the law

”I am not threatening Erdoğan, I am warning him. I tell him not to wish for civil war. I am saying the same thing today. Civil war is terrifying. Is it a crime to say this?”

Text: Ahmet Altan September 22 2017
Article

Action for truth

Nadire Mater, writer and journalist, one of the most important persons in the struggle for freedom of speech and human rights in Turkey, portrayed by Stefan Lindberg.

Text: Stefan Lindberg September 21 2017
Fiction

Freedom or sunshine

”I removed the foil paper from the box of Akhtamar cigarettes that I had in my pocket and started writing my will on the scuffed paper. I was handcuffed and trembling with fear.”

Text: Pınar Öğrenci September 21 2017
Fiction

Requiem

Some of those outside are within the country. In a sense, they are “inside” too. Their houses could be raided any moment, they or their families could be detained, their passports could be confiscated...

Text: Tuba Çandar September 21 2017
Article

When President Erdoğan was officially accused of genocide.

”Erdoğan is suspected of committing serious crimes, he may be responsible for massacres. He is accused of ordering the killing of civilians and people because of their membership in the Kurdish...

Text: Elisabeth Åsbrink September 21 2017
Article

Art on trial

The work of art published above is the reason why the artist and writer, Zehra Doğan, is now in prison for terrorist...

Text: Hanna Nordell September 21 2017
Fiction

Milkman or the police

I have been a journalist for 37 years. This is the hardest period of my professional career. I was a journalist under...

Text: Can Dündar September 21 2017

Theme: Cambodia

Fiction

Oh ... Howling Dog

1/ In the soundless night, wildlife’s cries are being heard. All those cries are rhythmic like a melody. Sounds through...

Text: Nol Dara April 18 2017
Fiction

Cycle of Life

Tararith Kho is one of Cambodia’s most influential young literary profiles. Full of initiative he started the magazine Nou Hach Literary Journal, which he later abandoned after experiences of threat...

Text: Tararith Kho April 18 2017
Article

Balancing act

There is a widespread misunderstanding that Cambodia does not have any serious-minded literature. According to Teri Yamada, professor of Asian studies, it is instead the infrastructure of publication...

Text: Teri Yamada April 18 2017
Article

Pippi Longstocking in Cambodia

The Swedish writer Astrid Lindgren’s character Pippi Longstocking has in Cambodia become a feminist role model for women of all ages. The publisher Huot Socheta eagerly awaits the effects Pippi might...

Text: Huot Socheata April 18 2017
Article

Trees of Life

The indigenous people of Cambodia still live in close proximity to the tropical rainforests so vital for humanity at large, but which are now speedily being cut down. According to Alexandra Kent...

Text: Alexandra Kent April 18 2017
Fiction

Morning glory

"They took men and women out to the killing fields in separate groups, at different times, to have them killed. She is the only survivor from one of these occasions. She says that she was part of a...

Text: Anna Mattsson April 18 2017
Article

A nation built on the rule of song

The great era of national anthems is over but anthems can still narrate a nation’s history. David Chandler, writer and professor emeritus at Monash University, allows the anthems of Cambodia to paint...

Text: David Chandler April 18 2017
Article

Fight for free speech finds new avenues

The regime in Cambodia almost completely controls traditional media. Free radio stations and social media have instead become important arenas for opinion forming. Jens Rosbäck has long been engaged...

Text: Jens Rosbäck April 18 2017

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