Niente vendette, presidente Erdoğan

Il 15 luglio 2016 in Turchia c'è stato un tentato golpe. A organizzarlo è stata una parte delle Forze armate autoproclamatasi Consiglio di pace turco, che citava fra le motivazioni del colpo di stato l'erosione del secolarismo, lo smantellamento delle regole democratiche, il mancato rispetto dei diritti umani e la perdita di credibilità del paese a livello internazionale. I dissidenti sono stati sconfitti dai militari lealisti e accusati dal governo di legami con il leader religioso in esilio Fethullah Gülen, acerrimo nemico del presidente Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Più di trecento persone sono state uccise e oltre 2.100 sono rimaste ferite durante il golpe, a cui è seguita una impressionante ondata di arresti, non meno di semila, contro almeno 2.839 soldati e 2.745 magistrati. 15mila dipendenti del Ministero dell'Istruzione sono stati sospesi e a 21mila docenti è stata revocata la licenza per l'insegnamento negli istituti privati; inoltre sono stati arrestati 42 giornalisti, accusati dal governo di essere fedeli a Gülen.

Scrittori, giornalisti e scienziati di tutto il mondo stanno firmando questa petizione, per chiedere al governo turco di fermare il pugno di ferro contro stampa e opposizione, cominciando dalla liberazione del noto romanziere Ahmet Altan, e di suo fratello Mehmet Altan, scrittore e docente di economia:

Noi firmatari facciamo appello ai democratici di tutto il mondo, così come a quanti tengono al futuro della Turchia e della regione in cui essa ha un ruolo di primo piano, perché si oppongano alla persecuzione con cui il governo sta colpendo le menti e gli scrittori più brillanti del paese solo perché ritenuti non allineati.

Questa lettera è conseguenza del tentato golpe del 15 luglio 2016, fortunatamente fallito e represso in poche ore. Se il popolo turco non avesse resistito a questo attacco contro le istituzioni democratiche avremmo avuto anni e anni di miseria e sofferenza.

Era comprensibile che dopo il golpe il governo avrebbe imposto temporaneamente lo stato di emergenza. Tuttavia, un colpo di stato fallito non dovrebbe diventare un pretesto per una caccia alle streghe dal sapore maccartista, né lo stato di emergenza andrebbe gestito con così scarso rispetto dei diritti fondamentali, della legalità processuale o addirittura del buon senso.

Come scrittori, docenti universitari e difensori della libertà di espressione siamo molto turbati nel vedere colleghi che conosciamo e rispettiamo incarcerati in nome di leggi emergenziali. Giornalisti come Şahin Alpay, Nazlı Ilıcak o la scrittrice Aslı Erdoğan sono stati fieri paladini della democrazia e oppositori del militarismo o di qualunque altra espressione del potere tirannico.

Particolare indignazione ha destato in noi la notizia dell'arresto, durante un blitz all'alba dello scorso 10 settembre, del noto romanziere Ahmet Altan, e di suo fratello, Mehmet, scrittore ed eminente professore di economia. I due sono accusati di aver lanciato messaggi subliminali per radunare i sostenitori del golpe durante uno show televisivo andato in onda il 14 luglio, la sera prima del colpo di stato fallito.

Ahmet Altan è uno dei maggiori scrittori turchi, autore di successo di romanzi tradotti in varie lingue e con milioni di copie vendute in tutto il mondo. Per cinque anni è stato anche caporedattore del quotidiano liberale Taraf, che si è battuto per il diritto all'informazione del popolo turco. Nell'arco della sua carriera Ahmet Altan ha ricevuto varie denunce: negli anni Novanta per aver cercato di far solidarizzare una parte di lettori turchi con la minoranza curda, o più recentemente per aver tentato di costringere il primo ministro a presentare le sue scuse per il massacro di Roboski del 2011, quando morirono 34 civili durante un attacco aereo. L'ultima volta che si è presentato davanti a una corte di giustizia è stato il 2 settembre scorso, con l'accusa di aver diffuso segreti di stato sulla base di un'incriminazione in larga parte copiata da due casi totalmente diversi.

Mehmet Altan è professore all'Università di Istanbul, nonché opinionista che in numerosi libri si è battuto per ricostruire un'identità turca basata non sulla razza o sulla religione, ma sul rispetto dei diritti umani. Come suo fratello e altri ora in carcere, la sua colpa non è quella di aver appoggiato un colpo di stato, ma quella di saper muovere delle critiche puntuali all'attuale governo, i cui progressi iniziali per l'estensione della democrazia sono ora cancellati da un brusco ritorno al passato.

Facciamo dunque appello al governo turco perché ponga fine alla persecuzione ai danni di importanti scrittori e acceleri il rilascio di Ahmet e Mehmet Altan, così come di tanti altri colleghi accusati ingiustamente.

Héctor Abad, Writer.
Daron Acemoğlu, Professor of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Dogan Akhanli, Writer, PEN Germany.
Meena Alexander, Poet, writer ; Distinguished Professor of English, Hunter College and CUNY Graduate Center in the PhD program in English.
Monica Ali, Writer.
Professor Rosental Calmon Alves, Knight Chair in Journalism & UNESCO Chair in Communication ; Director, Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas, University of Texas at Austin.
Gillian Anderson, Film, television, theatre actress.
Kwame Anthony Appiah, Philosopher, cultural theorist and novelist.
Chloe Aridjis, Writer, Mexico / United Kingdom.
Ingeborg Arlt, Writer, PEN Germany.
John Ashbery, Poet.
Margaret Atwood, Writer.
Michael Augustin, Poet, translator, Germany.
Thomas Bachmann, Author.
Çiğdem Balım, Senior lecturer, Indiana University.
Etienne Balibar, Philosopher ; Professor Emeritus, University of Paris-Ouest ; Anniversary Chair in Modern European Philosophy, Kingston University, London.
Hans Jürgen Balmes, Editor, S. Fischer Verlage.
Russell Banks, Writer.
Peter Barbey, Publisher, The Village Voice.
Julian Barnes, Writer.
Robert Barnett, Senior Research Fellow and Director, Modern Tibetan Studies, Columbia University.
Jürgen Baurmann, Professor Emeritus, University of Wuppertal, Germany.
John Berger, Writer.
Sara Bershtel, Publisher, Metropolitan Books / Henry Holt.
Johann Bihr, Head of the Eastern Europe & Central Asia desk, Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
Clifford Bob, Raymond J. Kelley Endowed Chair in International Relations, Duquesne University.
Eric Bogosian, Actor, playwright, novelist and historian.
Mirko Bonné, Writer.
Vera Botterbusch, Filmmaker, photographer, writer.
Patrick Boucheron, Professor, History, Collège de France.
Olivier Bouquet, Professor, History, University of Paris VII.
Hamit Bozarslan, Professor, History, EHESS.
Warren Breckman, Rose Family Endowed Term Chair, Professor of History, University of Pennsylvania.
Breyten Breytenbach, Writer, South Africa / France.
Daphné Breytenbach, Independent journalist, France.
Lisette Buchholz, Publisher, persona verlag.
A.S. Byatt (Dame Susan Duffy), Novelist, poet, Booker Prize winner.
Jamie Byng, Publisher, Canongate Books.
Simon Callow, Actor, musician, writer and theatre director.
Peter Carey, Writer.
Nick Cave, Musician, author, screenwriter.
Baltasar Cevc, Lawyer, Erlangen, Germany.
Ying Chan, Journalist, Winner of CPJ International Press Freedom Award.
Roger Chartier, Professor, History, Collège de France.
Frances Dal Chele, Photographer.
Noam Chomsky, Linguist ; Institute Professor of Emeritus, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Claus Clausen, Publisher, Tiderne Skifter, Denmark.
Nathalie Clayer, Professor, History, EHESS.
Jonathan Coe, Novelist.
JM Coetzee, Nobel Laureate in Literature.
Professor Dominique Custos, Centre for Research on Fundamental Rights and the Evolution of Law (CRDFED), University of Caen, France.
Burak Çopur, Political Scientist, University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany.
Sophie Dahl, Writer.
Christophe Deloire, Secretary-General, Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
Ariel Dorfman, Novelist, playwright ; Walter Hines Page Research Professor Emeritus of Literature, Duke University.
Costas Douzinas, Professor of Law, University of London.
Tanja Dückers, Writer.
Horst Eckert, Writer.
Scott Ellsworth, Author ; lecturer, Department of Afroamerican and African Studies, University of Michigan.
Jean Louis Fabiani, Professor, Humanities, EHESS.
Catherine Farin, Editor, S. Fischer Verlage.
Rita Felski, Professor of literature, University of Virginia and University of Southern Denmark.
Elena Ferrante, Writer.
Sandro Ferri, Publisher, edizioni e/o, Europa editions.
Sascha Feuchert, Vice-President and Writers-in-Prison-Commissioner of PEN Germany ; Professor of Literature, University of Giessen.
Stephen Frears, Film director.
Maureen Freely, Writer ; President of English PEN.
Uwe Friesel, Writer and translator ; Member of International PEN / First President of the German Union VS.
Neil Gaiman, Writer.
Rebeca García Nieto, Writer, Spain.
Marcel Gauchet, Philosopher, EHESS ; publisher of Le Debat.
Graeme Gibson, Novelist.
Mario Giordano, Writer.
Maurice Godelier, Professor of Anthropology, EHESS, Paris.
Jordan Goodman, Honorary Research Fellow in the Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine at College, London .
Professor Anthony T. Grafton, Historian, Princeton University.
Roland Greene, Mark Pigott KBE Professor in the School of Humanties and Sciences, Professor of English and Comparative Literature, Stanford University.
Constanze Güthenke, Associate Professor of Greek Literature, Faculty of Classics, University of Oxford.
Ulla Hahn, Writer.
Matt Haig, Novelist and journalist.
Anton Harber, Caxton Professor of Journalism at University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg and chair of the Freedom of Expression Institute.
David Hare, Playwright.
Josef Haslinger, President, PEN-Centers, Germany.
Chris Hedges, Author, Pulitzer Prize Winner.
Amy Hempel, Short story writer and journalist.
Wolfgang Hermann, Author, Austria.
Uwe-Karsten Heye, Writer.
Jim Hicks, Executive Editor of the Massachusetts Review ; Professor at University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Kathy High, Interdisciplinary artist, curator, scholar.
Adam Hochschild, Journalist, historian.
James Hollings, Senior Lecturer in Journalism, Massey University Wellington, New Zealand.
Nick Hornby, Writer.
Violaine Huisman, Director of Humanities, Brooklyn Academy of Music.
Mark Lee Hunter, Investigative journalist, Paris.
Zehra İpşiroğlu, Author ; Professor of Theatre Studies, University of Duisburg-Essen.
Ayesha Jalal, Mary Richardson Professor of History ; Director, Center for South Asian and Indian Ocean Studies, Tufts University.
Gabriela Jaskulla, Writer and journalist.
Amy Edith Johnson, Columbia University.
Joachim Kalka, Writer and translator.
Karin Karlekar, Director of Free Expression At Risk Programs, PEN America.
A.L. Kennedy, Writer.
Tanja Kinkel, Writer.
Hubert Klöpfer, Publisher and member of PEN Germany.
Laurens van Krevelen, Writer and publisher, The Netherlands.
Barbara Krohn, Writer.
Hari Kunzru, Novelist and journalist.
Hanif Kureishi, Writer.
Olivia Laing, Writer and critic.
Jean-Manuel Larralde, Professor of Public Law, University of Caen, Normandy.
Camille Laurens, Writer.
Marie Lecomte-Tilouine, Director of research at CNRS, France.
Joanne Leedom-Ackerman, Vice President of PEN International.
Jo Lendle, Publisher, Carl Hanser Verlage.
Wolf Lepenies, Professor, Sociology, Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin; Freie Universität.
Mark Lilla, Writer, Professor of Humanities, Columbia University.
Antoine Lilti, Professor, History, EHESS.
Professor Christoph Lindenmeyer, Author and journalist ; member of PEN-Center Germany.
Clementina Liuzzi, Literary agent.
Gert Loschütz, Writer.
Gila Lustiger, Writer, Germany / France.
Jonas Lüscher, Writer ; member of PEN-Center Germany.
Lindsay Mackie, Board member of English PEN and chair of its Readers and Writers Programme.
Alberto Manguel, Writer, Director of the National Library of Argentina.
Anthony Marx, President and CEO of The New York Public Library ; former president of Amherst College.
Frédérique Longuet Marx, Maître de conférences en sociologie à l'Université de Caen.
Hisham Matar, Writer.
Claudia Mattalucci, Professor, Anthropology, University of Milan-Bicocca.
Tom McCarthy, National affairs correspondent, The Guardian.
Ian McEwan, Novelist and screenwriter.
Jay McInerney, Novelist.
Maureen N. McLane, Professor of English, Director of Honors, New York University.
Norbert Mecklenburg, Professor of Literature, University of Cologne.
Allan Megill, Professor of History, University of Virginia.
Maria Meinel, Translator.
Laurent Mignon, Associate Professor of Turkish ; Fellow of St Antony’s College, Oriental Institute, University of Oxford.
Rick Moody, Writer.
Luiza Franco Moreira, Poet ; Professor and Chair, Department of Comparative Literaure at Binghampton University.
Paul W. Morris, Director of Literary Programs at PEN American Center.
Dirk Moses, Professsor, History, University of Sydney.
Glenn W. Most, Professor of Classics, Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa ; The University of Chicago, Committee on Social Thought.
Madhusree Mukerjee, Writer.
Neel Mukherjee, Writer.
Enrique Murillo, Editor, Los libros del lince.
Herta Müller, Nobel Laureate in Literature.
Sten Nadolny, Novelist.
Azar Nafisi, Writer.
Ralf Nestmeyer, Author, historian.
Mary Ann Newman, Translator.
Steve Newman, Associate Professor, Director of Graduate Studies, Department of English, Temple University.
Thandie Newton, Actress.
Dr. Bui Hanh Nghi, Author.
Dr. Wulf Noll, Writer.
Olivier Nora, Publisher, Editions Grasset.
Françoise Nyssen, Publisher, Actes Sud.
Andrew O’Hagan, Novelist.
Hans-Christian Oeser, Literary Translator, Member of PEN.
Osman Okkan, Turkish-German Forum of Culture.
Michael Ondaatje, Novelist and poet.
Sandra Ozzola, Publisher, edizioni e/o, Europa editions.
Erol Önderoğlu, Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Turkey.
Cem Özdemir, Chairman and Member of Parliament, Alliance 90/ The Greens, Germany.
Orhan Pamuk, Nobel Laureate in Literature.
Christian Parenti, Author, investigative journalist.
Tim Parks, Writer.
Philip N. Pettit, Historian, Philosopher, Princeton University; Australian National University.
DBC Pierre, Writer.
Angela Pimenta, Columnist and president of Projor (The Institute for Development of Journalism), São Paulo.
Philip Pullman, Writer.
Justin Quinn, Writer, translator ; Associate Professor, University of West Bohemia, Czech Republic.
Eduardo Rabasa, Writer.
Marie-Joëlle Redor-Fichot, Professor of Public Law, University of Caen, Normandy.
Daniel Rondeau, Writer; former ambassador.
Professor Michael Rothberg, 1939 Society Samuel Goetz Chair in Holocaust Studies, UCLA.
Frederick J. Ruf, Professor, Department of Theology, Georgetown University.
Alan Rusbridger, Journalist, Principal of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford and the former editor-in-chief of The Guardian.
Salman Rushdie, Writer ; Winned of the Booker Prize for Fiction and the Booker of Bookers prize.
P. Sainath, Author, journalist.
Professor Philippe Sands QC, University College London and Matrix Chambers.
Gisèle Sapiro, Professor of Sociology at the EHESS and Research Director at the CNRS, Vice-President of the EHESS for International Relations.
Aram Saroyan, Poet and novelist.
Roberto Saviano, Journalist, writer.
Rafik Schami, Syrian-German writer.
Anya Schiffrin, Director (IMAC) at the School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University.
Prof Dr. Wilfried F. Schoeller, Author, literary critic, professor of 20th Century Literatute, Literary Criticism Media, University.
Eugene Schoulgin, Vice President, PEN International.
Lynne Sharon Schwartz, Writer.
Professor Salvatore Settis, Art Historian, President of Louvre Museum’s Scientific Board ; Former President of Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa.
Elif Shafak, Writer.
Jayeeta Sharma, Associate Professor of History, University of Toronto.
Peter Sillem, Editorial Director, S. Fischer Verlag.
Shelly Silver, Associate Professor, Visual Arts Program, Columbia University.
Dan Simon, Founder and publisher, Seven Stories Press.
Laura M. Slatkin, Professor, Classical Studies, New York University.
Ali Smith, Writer.
Marie-Carmen Smyrnelis, Historian, EHESS.
Lorin Stein, Editor of The Paris Review.
Juliet Stevenson, Stage and screen actress.
Klaus Stiller, Writer.
Tom Stoppard, Playwright and screenwriter.
Ulrich Straeter, Writer and publisher.
Leander Sukov, Author, Germany.
Johann P. Tammen, Poet and editor, Member of PEN.
Adam Thirlwell, Writer.
Emma Thompson, Actress, comedian, writer.
Uwe Timm, Writer, Germany.
Ilija Trojanow, Writer, translator, publisher.
Özgür Türesay, Senior Lecturer, Applied School of Advanced Studies, 4th Section, Section of historical and philological sciences.’’
Anja Utler, Writer, Germany.
Regula Venske, General Secretary, PEN Germany.
Charles V Wait, President, CEO and chairman of the board of The Adirondack Trust Company, Saratoga Springs, New York ; Director of the New York Bankers Association.
Immanuel Wallerstein, Yale University.
Günter Wallraff, Writer.
Irvine Welsh, Novelist and playwright.
Herbert Wiesner, Literary Critic, Member of German PEN Centre, Berlin.
Michel Wieviorka, Professor of Sociology, EHESS.
Dr. Thomas Wohlfahr, Director of Literature Workshop, House for Poetry, Berlin.
Felicia Zeller, Writer.

Cartoon by Enrico Bertuccioli/CartoonMovement

Traduzione di Laura Bortoluzzi