 Nobel prize laureate Orhan Pamuk, the Turkish star of this year's Cairo International Trade Fair, is a man of great foresight. He symbolises the modern, liberal, Western-oriental Turkey -- though not in the Ataturk sense. He is keen to stress that Turkey ought to be a secular, less nationalistic ally-inclined and more humanist nation. He abhors zealotry and bigotry, be it in a religious or a nationalist sense. His views were sadly corroborated this week with the tragic assassination of an Armenian in Istanbul. The world mourns, and hopes for a better, more compassionate Turkey, a more sympathetic world. parent page (25 - 31 January 2007, issue #829) |