ANKARA (Reuters)–A Turkish court has ordered that copies of a book on Kurdish history by an American professor be seized for promoting so-called ethnic separatism–the book’s publishers said on Wednesday.
"This decision gives prosecutors the right to go to book stores and seize copies of the book–although they don’t always do that," Nihat Tuna–general manager of publishing house Iletisim–told Reuters.
The book–called "A History of Kurdish Nationalism: Its Roots and Development," was written by Wadie Jwaideh–a professor of Iraqi origin in the United States–and translated into Turkish. Late last year–1,500 copies were published.
Turkey frequently imposes tight curbs on freedom of expression on books or articles related to Kurdish issues as part of its battle against separatist rebels fighting for Kurdish self-rule in the southeast.
But hopes for democratic reform are rife after a European Union decision to give Turkey member candidate status and a slackening of violence after the capture of Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan last year.
The publishers have appealed against the court order.