BBC Radio 4, 10 April 2010
Presented by journalist and translator Maureen Freely, The Ambassador's
Reception recounted the visit to the Turkish Republic of Arthur Miller and Harold Pinter in 1985. They had
been invited to the country by Dr. Mehmet Ali Dikerdem on behalf of PEN, the international writers' association. Dikerdem's
father Mahmut was a victim of a show trial staged by the military government, having already spent four years in prison;
and Mehmet Ali wanted to try and raise awareness amongst foreigners about what was happening. This was no easy task: for
most diplomats - particularly in the United States - the Turkish Republic remained an important ally in the Cold War against
Soviet Russia, and they were not keen to put that relationship in jeopardy by investigating Turkey's policies too closely.
Miller and Pinter were greeted in Istanbul airport by the academic Gündüz Vassaf
and the young Orhan Pamuk. In a memoir published to celebrate Miller's 80th birthday (1996), Pinter recalled that he had lost
one suitcase in transit, and had to borrow socks off his fellow-dramatist: "Bloody good ones they were too." The writers subsequently
met several writers their relatives who had suffered at the hands of the military junta for expressing their views. Many of
them spoke for the first time about their experiences in The Ambassador's Reception. The painter Orhan Taylan had
been in prison since 1982; his then wife Melek found Miller to be cool and detached in his opinions, while Pinter remained
exuberant, talking to many people at the same time about different subjects. While the dramatists' presence was welcomed by
several intellectuals, they attracted criticism from the Turkish media. Melek quoted from a front-page article published
in the mass-circulation newspaper Milliyet on 27 March 1985, which accused them of trying to spread poison about
the Turkish Republic amongst the foreign community.
Nonetheless, as a distinguished dramatist, Miller was invited to dine at the American
Ambassador's residence in Ankara. Pinter came along too as his running-mate. Things did not go particularly well: the conservative
journalist Nazlı Ilıcak, who had been briefly imprisoned by the junta from 1980 to 1983, knew that there was
torture in Turkey, but was also violently anti-leftist. She told Pinter to mind his own business; this was a Turkish
problem that could be solved by Turks alone. In her view Pinter had come to listen to what leftists told him and subsequently
put it into a profitable play. Not surprisingly Pinter took this as an insult and threw it back in her face.
When the dinner was finished, Ambassador Strausz-Hupe, an arch-conservative
appointee of President Reagan, thanked his guests and talked about developing democracy in Turkey. Looking
straight at Pinter, he emphasized the fact that all points of view were welcome in the country, regardless of what the dramatist
might think. Miller responded by saying that hundreds of intellectuals were currently imprisoned in the Turkish
Republic for their thoughts: "Where does that leave our understanding of democratic values?" The Ambassador thanked him for
his speech and the dinner ended. Pinter went to look at the paintings in the hall, but the Ambassador followed him
and accused him of not understanding the political realities of the situation: "Don't forget, the Russians are just over
the border. You have to bear in mind the political reality, the diplomatic reality, the military reality." Pinter's response
was short and to the point: "The reality I've been referring to [...] is that of electric current on your genitals."
The Ambassador drew himself up to his full height observed to Pinter that "you are a guest in my house," turned
on his heel and walked away. Pinter observed to Miller that "I think I've been thrown out," to which Miller replied: "I'll
come with you." The entire experience, according to Pinter, was "one of the proudest moments of my life."
The incident might have seemed insignificant in itself, but The Ambassador's
Reception suggested that it had major repercussions. Miller and Pinter's visit achieved its purpose by raising awareness
of what was going on in the Turkish Republic, as well as embarrassing the American government. On 28 March 1985 an article
appeared in the New York Review of Books, signed by Susan Sontag and Robert Brustein (amongst others), calling
for the release of the director Ali Taygun, who had been imprisoned for over two years for belonging to a movement called
the Turkish Peace Association, which had been declared subversive by the military junta. We heard extracts from
Taygun's letters, praising Miller and Pinter for their efforts in making Turkish writers aware that they were
not alone; there were writers in other countries who thought in similar ways, giving their Turkish counterparts
the courage to speak out. Strength emerged out of solidarity.
The Ambassador's Reception reminded us of just how difficult it has been
for many writers and intellectuals to express their opinions in a context dominated by three military coups (1960, 1971
and 1980). The producer was Gemma Newby.
