Speaking to the Russian periodical Timeout Moscow ahead of a visit to the Russian capital planned for Aug. 27, Pamuk shared his opinion on various issues in Turkey. In an interview published under the headline “I am trying to explain Turkey to Turks,” Pamuk emphasized that his main target is the Turkish audience and not foreigners.
He also shared his opinions on Turkey's structural makeup. He said it was wrong to believe, as some circles in Turkey do, that the only way to protect Turkey's laicism is through the active intervention of the military into politics. “Unfortunately, there is a mountain of difference between the understanding of laicism supported by the military right now and the laicism introduced by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.” Referring to this situation as a “Turkey's paradox,” he said it was wrong to interpret laicism as requiring the continued intervention of the military into political life. “The people understand this. This is why they showed their protest against the military's intervention in the last election by voting for an Islamic party. The reason why the majority votes for Islamic parties is the extreme intervention of the military in politics,” he said.
He stated that Turkey was being ruled by shady forces. “This country is not being administered by rational and orderly laws. We all know, and we all read in newspapers, that organized crime and murderers are functioning under the protection of certain forces. The people, the governors and even the prime minister say that we unfortunately haven't established the rule of law in our country. We all know that there are many problems in the laws of Turkey and that the military intervenes in political affairs to an extreme extent,” he noted. Pamuk also stated that there was no freedom of expression in Turkey, adding: “I would like to see the day concepts such as freedom of expression, the supremacy of democracy and the rule of law are actualized in our country. This is why I support Turkey's European Union membership. If Turkey could do all these on its own, then we wouldn't need the EU.”
