Pamuk: I am not crying for Europe

Europe has broken many hearts in Turkey, especially the hearts of those who believed in joining the European Union, Turkish Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk told the Spanish daily El Pais.

"First of all, the statements of Sarkozy and Merkel, then the economic crisis and the fact that Turkey was not much affected by the financial crisis of 2008 (in fact, the economy here is experiencing its boom!), made Turkey's European perspective difficult to implement," Pamuk said, adding :

"I am not crying for Europe."

"There should certainly be added the feeling of anger towards Europe", says Pamuk and makes an interesting observation: "Turkey is no longer rushing towards Europe and I am not crying because of that! Europe is still a kind of dream of the upper class. However, the economic boom visibly reduced European euphoria. Because the desire to join Europe is in most cases initiated by the economy, not by politics or institutionalization," reports Al Jazeera Balkan.

The Kurdish question is Turkey's main problem. The government does not know how to approach this problem more tolerantly and moderately, and in the context of solving the current problem, it is using old methods again

"First of all, military power has been reduced. And this is something that brings unrest among the nationalist bourgeoisie, which for many years supported the army as a protector of secularism. Despite this, more than half of the Turkish population believes in such a state structure. I, however, think that the Kurdish issue is Turkey's main problem. The government does not know how to approach this problem more tolerantly and moderately, and in the context of solving the current problem, it is using the old methods again."

Pamuk states that in his country there is not only a bourgeoisie in Istanbul, but that there is also a new upper class, which comes from Anatolia:

"There is a new bourgeoisie, which is more conservative and has a pronounced religious dimension, which supports the ruling Justice and Prosperity Party (AK Party). And this makes the Istanbul bourgeoisie feel a little uneasy. However, one must not lose sight of the fact that in the last decade , with that same party in power, Turkey has become much richer and more successful, and so has Istanbul and its bourgeoisie. And that bourgeoisie has used its Westernization for years to legalize personal wealth. So it's understandable that the current state of affairs makes her a little nervous. "