Orhan Pamuk: From now on, I will watch my words

Author Orhan Pamuk, talking about how his renowned novel "Snow" had created a problematic relationship between him and Turkey, said in an interview this week with the German Allgemeine Zeiting newspaper, "I have to be more careful about what I say from now on." Having been chosen to receive this year's prestigious German Publishers' Peace Award, Pamuk said in the interview that he also thought German readers played a big role in his selection for the award, and that he was surprised, as his books had not sold well in Germany previously. Most of the people opposed to Pamuk have never read his booksReferring to the controversy he stirred up with his comments on Turkey's history with the Armenians and the Kurds, Pamuk noted that from hereonin he would have to measure his words much more carefully. Pamuk also said he thought that the people who were opposed to him and his books generally hadn't actually read his books, but got their views from reviews of his books carried in nationalistic newspapers. Orhan Pamuk also noted that he fully supported Turkey's approach to the West, but that at the same time, he was very much against the suppression or erasing of Ottoman history. Pamuk said he was in favor of an EU membership for Turkey, but that he would feel betrayed by the process if it were to end in a "privileged partnership," a proposal supported by Germany's Angela Merkel, and many other European politicians.  Pamuk supports EU membership, warns Ottoman history should not be forgottenPamuk attested in the interview that most Turks are not interested in an EU membership simply for political or economic reasons, but in order to gain rights on par with what Europeans enjoy. He then noted that Europe's seeming indecision on the subject of Turkey was generating suspicion and ambiguity in Turkey, and that this, on the other hand, was strengthening anti-Western and anti-democratic forces within his country. Â