The winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, the Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk expressed his satisfaction that the party of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose government he described as a reign of terror, was defeated in the local elections in Istanbul.
"The country is in fear. Everyone who criticizes the government ends up in prison. I am angry about that. But the local elections show that Turkey is slowly returning to the old paths of glory. We finally got Istanbul back. We won in Istanbul," Pamuk said in Tuesday evening in a conversation with citizens in Sarajevo organized by the publishing house Bajbuk (Buybook).
Ekrem Imamoglu, the candidate of the opposition, secular Republican People's Party (CHP), won the Istanbul mayoral rerun on Sunday, a major blow to President Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
Pamuk expressed his belief that the government wanted to 'steal the elections with tricks'.
"They lost so many votes because they cheated. The Turkish people want their ballots and votes. I'm happy that I saw that two days ago. People fought back," said one of the world's leading writers, the Hina agency reported.
Pamuk also expressed his understanding of why the European Union has refused to admit Turkey to its membership for years.
"Turkey has not done its job regarding minorities and freedom of speech. There is no more freedom of speech in Turkey. How can you be angry with the EU when you imprison writers," Pamuk wondered.
He emphasized that the Turkish people want democracy, not a reign of terror.
Orhan Pamuk was born in Istanbul in 1952, and in 2006 he received the Nobel Prize for Literature. His books have been translated into 62 world languages and sold more than two million copies.
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