Ayşe Nur Zarakolu (née
Sarısözen) (9 May 1946 – 28 January 2002) was a
TurkishTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey
, is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in Western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe...
authorAn author is defined both as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created...
, publisher and
human rightsHuman rights refer to the "basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled." Examples of rights and freedoms which have come to be commonly thought of as human rights include civil and political rights, such as the right to life and liberty, freedom of expression, and equality before the...
advocate. She was co-founder, with her husband
Ragıp ZarakoluRagıp Zarakolu is a Turkish human rights activist and publisher who has long faced legal harassment for publishing books on controversial subjects in Turkey, especially on minority and human rights in Turkey.- Biography :...
, of notable Turkish publishing house Belge and in the 1980s became the director of book-distribution company Cemmay, the first woman in the nation to hold such a position. Zarakolu's publications brought her into frequent conflict with
Turkish censorship lawsFreedom of expression in Turkey is regulated by domestic and international legislation, which takes precedence over domestic law according to Article 90 of the Constitution following its amendment in 2004. Turkey, however, ranked 101 in Reporters Without Borders' 2007 Annual Worldwide Press...
; in 1997, the
New York Times identified Zarakolu as "[o]ne of the most relentless challengers to Turkey's
press lawsPress Laws are the laws concerning the licensing of books and the liberty of expression in all products of the printing-press, especially newspapers. The liberty of the press has always been regarded by political writers as of supreme importance...
".
Ayşe Nur Zarakolu (née
Sarısözen) (9 May 1946 – 28 January 2002) was a
TurkishTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey
, is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in Western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe...
authorAn author is defined both as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created...
, publisher and
human rightsHuman rights refer to the "basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled." Examples of rights and freedoms which have come to be commonly thought of as human rights include civil and political rights, such as the right to life and liberty, freedom of expression, and equality before the...
advocate. She was co-founder, with her husband
Ragıp ZarakoluRagıp Zarakolu is a Turkish human rights activist and publisher who has long faced legal harassment for publishing books on controversial subjects in Turkey, especially on minority and human rights in Turkey.- Biography :...
, of notable Turkish publishing house Belge and in the 1980s became the director of book-distribution company Cemmay, the first woman in the nation to hold such a position. Zarakolu's publications brought her into frequent conflict with
Turkish censorship lawsFreedom of expression in Turkey is regulated by domestic and international legislation, which takes precedence over domestic law according to Article 90 of the Constitution following its amendment in 2004. Turkey, however, ranked 101 in Reporters Without Borders' 2007 Annual Worldwide Press...
; in 1997, the
New York Times identified Zarakolu as "[o]ne of the most relentless challengers to Turkey's
press lawsPress Laws are the laws concerning the licensing of books and the liberty of expression in all products of the printing-press, especially newspapers. The liberty of the press has always been regarded by political writers as of supreme importance...
". Issues Zarakolu helped publicize in Turkey include the
Armenian GenocideThe Armenian Genocide , also known as the Armenian Holocaust, the Armenian Massacres and, by Armenians, as the Great Calamity , was the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I...
and
human rights of Kurdish people in TurkeyHuman rights of Kurdish people in Turkey looks at the human rights of Kurds in Turkey.- Education :In Turkey, the only language of instruction in the education system is Turkish....
. Imprisoned multiple times for her publications, she was designated a
prisoner of consciencePrisoner of conscience is a term coined by the human rights group Amnesty International in the early 1960s. It can refer to anyone imprisoned because of their race, religion, color, language, sexual orientation, belief, or lifestyle so long as they have not used or advocated violence...
by
Amnesty InternationalAmnesty International is an international secular non-governmental organisation which defines its mission as "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated." Founded in London in 1961, AI...
, and her legacy continued to face legal challenge in Turkey after her death. She has received multiple awards and honors for her work, and the Human Rights Association of Turkey ( İHD) bestows the Ayşe Zarakolu Freedom of Thought prize in her honor.
Biography
She was born Ayşe Nur Sarısözen on 9 May 1946 in
AntakyaAntakya is the seat of the Hatay Province in southern Turkey, near the border with Syria. In ancient times the city was known as Antioch and has historical significance for Christianity, being the place where the followers of Jesus Christ were called Christians for the very first time...
. A sociologist by education, she entered publishing in 1968 before moving to
Istanbul UniversityIstanbul University is a Turkish university located in Istanbul. The main campus is adjacent to Beyazıt Square.- History :It was founded as an institution of higher education named the Darülfünûn on 23 July 1846; but the Medrese , which was founded immediately after Mehmed II conquered...
in 1970 as head librarian at the Institute of Financial Studies. Zarakolu wed Ragıp Zarakolu and mothered two children. Before her death of cancer in
IstanbulIstanbul is the largest city in Turkey and fifth largest city proper in the world with a population of 12.6 million. Istanbul is also a megacity, as well as the cultural and financial centre of Turkey. The city covers 39 districts of the Istanbul province...
on 28 January 2002, Zarakolu became a notable author, publisher and human rights advocate. In 1976 or 1977, Zarakolu and her husband launched a publishing house, Belge (translated "The Document"), which published books on history and politics as well as poetry, and in the 1980s she also became the director of book-distribution company Cemmay; according to
The Independent, she was "the first woman in Turkey" to hold such a position. In 1998, she helped found the İHD.
Legal battles
While
The Independent suggested that the books published by Belge "in any other country would hardly be controversial", Zarakolu was subject to prosecution in Turkey for her publications, including lengthy imprisonments and fines, and Belge was
fire-bombedFirebombing is a bombing technique designed to damage a target, generally an urban area, through the use of fire, caused by incendiary devices, rather than from the blast effect of large bombs....
in 1995. According to
The New York Times, which in 1997 identified Zarakolu as "[o]ne of the most relentless challengers to Turkey's press laws", books she published "denounce[d] the Government's war against Kurdish guerrillas, accuse[d] the security forces of involvement with death squads and document[ed] mass killings of Armenians in the early years of the century." İHD characterized Zarakolu in 2006 as "one of the vanguards of the fight for the freedom of thought and expression." In press release, the organization noted that not only had she been willing to publish
İsmail Beşikçiİsmail Beşikçi is a Turkish scholar. He is a PEN Honorary Member. He has served 17 years in prison on propaganda charges stemming from his writings about the Kurdish population in Turkey....
's
Kurdistan, an Inter-States Colony in defiance of a ban on the word "Kurd", but that she had "started debate on the question of "Armenian Genocide" which still remains as a taboo in Turkey." She focused attention to the situations and histories of
Kurds in TurkeyEthnic Kurds compose a significant portion of the population in Turkey . Unlike the Turks, the Kurds speak an Indo-European language. The Kurds live across all of Turkey but the majority live to the east and southeast of the country, from where they originate...
,
Armenians in TurkeyArmenians in Turkey have an estimated population of 40,000 to 70,000. Most are concentrated around Istanbul. The Armenians support their own newspapers and schools...
and
Greeks in TurkeyThe Greeks in Turkey constitute a population of Greek and Greek-speaking Eastern Orthodox Christians who mostly live in Istanbul, as well as on the two islands of the western entrance to the Dardanelles: Imbros and Tenedos and also on the Princes' Islands...
. Some specific publications by Belge in Turkey that were subjects of controversy include the poems of
Mehdi ZanaMehdi Zana is a former Kurdish politician.Zana started to work as a tailor in Silvan after he graduated from elementary school. In 1963 he became a member of Workers Party of Turkey . Two years later he became the head of the party's Silvan branch.In 1978 he was elected as the first independent...
,
Les Arméniens: histoire d'un génocide (
The Armenians: history of a genocide) by
Yves TernonYves Ternon is a French historian specializing on historical research of the Jewish Holocaust and the Armenian Genocide. Doctor of history of University Paris IV Sorbonne...
,
The Forty Days of Musa DaghThe Forty Days of Musa Dagh is a 1934 novel by Austrian-Jewish author Franz Werfel based around an event that took place on Musa Dagh in 1915 during the Armenian Genocide in Turkey. The book was first published as Die vierzig Tage des Musa Dagh in German in November of 1933...
by
Franz WerfelFranz Werfel was an Austrian-Bohemian novelist, playwright, and poet.- Biography :Born in Prague , Werfel was the first of three children of a wealthy manufacturer of gloves and leather goods. His mother, Albine Kussi, was the daughter of a mill owner...
, several books by
İsmail Beşikçiİsmail Beşikçi is a Turkish scholar. He is a PEN Honorary Member. He has served 17 years in prison on propaganda charges stemming from his writings about the Kurdish population in Turkey....
, and the essays of Lissy Schmidt, a German journalist who had died while covering conditions in
Iraqi KurdistanIraqi Kurdistan or Kurdistan Region also referred to as Southern Kurdistan as part of Greater Kurdistan is an autonomous, federally recognized region of Iraq...
.
The
Armenian ReporterThe Armenian Reporter is an independent weekly published in English in the United States since 1967. It was established by Edward K. Boghosian in New York City and the first issue appeared on November 2, 1967. Mr. Boghosian sold the newspaper to CS Media, a major Armenian media enterprise, in May...
indicated in 2005 that the number of times Zarakolu was arrested was "more than 30." Imprisoned for her publications four times, Zarakolu was named a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International. In a 2008 interview, her husband indicated that during her imprisonment, Zarakolu had been tortured. In a letter dated 2001, Zarakolu expressed her belief that "The way to prevent yet more genocides, yet more tragedies from happening is through the communal experience of expressing heartfelt repentance for the shame of what has gone before", also indicating that "As far as I am concerned, I have done my duty. I have done something that everyone should do.... And I shall continue to do so, right through to that supreme moment."
After her death in 2002, Zarakolu faced additional charges for publishing the books
Pontos KültürüPontos Kültürü is a Turkish book by Turkish author Ömer Asan. The book was published by Belge Yayınları of Ragip Zarakolu in 1996...
by
Ömer AsanÖmer Şükrü Asan , is a Turkish folklorist, photographer and writer.In 2002, he was charged with allegations that he violated Article 8 of Turkey's Anti-Terror Law by "propagandating separatism" for his book Pontos Kültürü...
and
The Song of Liberty by Hüseyin Turhallı, but charges were eventually dropped. Her son, Deniz Zarakolu, was charged for "inciting revenge or hatred, which could cause people to become dangerous for each other" as a result of the speech he made at her funeral, but he was later acquitted.
Honors
Zarakolu received multiple recognitions from the Turkish Publishers' Association,
Human Rights WatchHuman Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo, Toronto,...
and
International PENInternational PEN, the worldwide association of writers, was founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere...
. In 1998, she was honored by the
International Publishers AssociationThe International Publishers Association is a non-governmental organization founded in 1896 to promote and protect the rights of publishers. It was founded in Paris, France, and is now based in Geneva, Switzerland....
with an inaugural International Freedom to Publish Award at the
Frankfurt Book FairThe Frankfurt Book Fair is the world's largest trade fair for books, based on the number of publishing companies represented, although the Turin Book Fair does attract a wider number of visitors....
; however, Zarakolu's
passportA passport is a document, issued by a national government, which certifies, for the purpose of international travel, the identity and nationality of its holder. The elements of identity are name, date of birth, sex, and place of birth...
had been confiscated by Turkish officials years before, and she was not permitted to attend.
Legacy
The İHD bestows in her memory the "Ayşe Zarakolu Freedom of Thought" prize. In 2004, the
European Court of Human RightsThe European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is an international judicial body established under the European Convention on Human Rights of 1950 to monitor respect of human rights by states...
condemned Turkey for its conviction of Zarakolu in connection to her publication of a book detailing the story of Ferhat Tepe, a murdered journalist.
In 2007, the metropolitan municipality of
DiyarbakırDiyarbakır is the largest city in southeastern Turkey. Situated on the banks of the River Tigris, it is the administrative capital of the Diyarbakır Province with a population of almost 1.5 million...
in southeastern Turkey named the "Ayşenur Zarakolu Free Women's Park Forest" on Dicle Kent Boulevard in her honor. However, they were required to rename the park when the province governor's office objected to the name. The matter was brought before the Regional Administrative Court, which forbid the naming on the grounds that Zarakolu "supported separatist ideas and spread terrorist propaganda both in her own books and in the books she published", though her husband later noted that both the article under which she was convicted and the court that convicted her have been abolished.
Further reading