Esteemed Presidents and Members of the Centers of International P.E.N.

I have taken over the presidency of the Turkish PEN Center. I feel excited and, I am honoured to be in this big family in which diverse, genuine and wonderful voices and personalities reside side by side.

Writing is the hope of being able to change the world, and a promise made for the whole mankind to be able to achieve eternity. However, today, at the beginning of the 21st Century, our civilization is still not rid of racial and linguistic discrimination, the violation of human rights and freedom of expression, and not rid of the barriers set before the word. What is more important is that, we are under threat of great disasters that are caused by the destruction of nature in a hazardous way, more than ever.

Like all the laborers who have undertaken the task of writing in the world, like all the translators, editors, and the authors who use their pens on behalf of promoting the freedom and happiness of mankind, and like all those who continue to believe in the unifying and constructive power of literature, which also has the capability of dividing and distributing shares among people, we, the writers and PEN members who live in Turkey, cherish the idea of establishing strong connections with PEN and its principles in order to bring our voices together, and express our anxiety about the future loudly. Thus, our voices will turn into a big chorus that will be heard from all the corners of the World, and thus we will remain, no matter what the conditions are. We will never give up defending the universal human values, nor cease writing. We write with the aspiration and hope of creating a world that will befit the self-respect of the human being, a world in which there will be more justice, more freedom and peace.

I and my colleagues who work for the Turkish PEN Center would like to convey our most sincere feelings of respect and affection from Turkey to all the esteemed writers and presidents of the Centers of the member countries of International P.E.N.

With my best regards

June 8, 2009  Istanbul

İNCİ ARAL

PRESIDENT TURKISH PEN CENTER