Orhan Pamuk awarded The Sonning Prize, French Legion of Honor

PanARMENIAN.Net - On October 26, Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk received The Sonning Prize, Denmark's highest cultural award, for his contribution to European culture in a ceremony at the University of Copenhagen, AFP reported.

"To think that my novels, my essays might inspire in some small way be a part of this great culture is a happiness matched only by the honor of receiving this great prize," he said in his acceptance speech.

The award comes with a one-million-kroner (134,000-euro, $173,000) cheque and follows Pamuk's Nobel Literature Prize in 2006.

Pamuk has been a vocal critic of issues that have long been national taboos in Turkey such as the Armenian Genocide, and the ongoing Kurdish conflict in the southeast.

He has been the focus of a campaign backed by Reporters Without Borders for greater freedom in Turkey after becoming a victim of laws that restrict writers' ability to criticize the country.

According to Today's Zaman, The Sonning Prize was followed by France’s Légion d’honneur Pamuk was honored on October 29.

Praising Pamuk’s literary works, French Minister of Culture and Communication Aurélie Filippetti said the renowned writer's works have been translated into many languages and are read by millions of readers.