Posted on December 6, 2019 at 9:28 AM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek
Author Peter Handke, the controversial winner of this year’s Nobel Prize in Literature, has broken his media silence to criticize reporters.
Handke, who had said in October that he wouldn’t speak to journalists again, said at a press conference today that he preferred anonymous hate mail to their questions.
Reuters reported that the author was “visibly trembling” when he deflected a question about whether he acknowledged that the Srebrenica massacre had truly happened.
And when another reporter asked what he would say in response to a planned protest in Stockholm on Tuesday, when the Nobel Prize is formally awarded to him, Handke responded, “Tell me — perhaps I need your advice,” according to the Associated Press.
Ever since he was revealed as the prize winner, controversy has trailed him for his views on the Balkan Wars, in particular, his past comments in support of convicted war criminal Slobodan Milošević and his attendance of Milošević’s funeral.
Also today, Swedish Academy member Peter Englund announced that he would boycott the Nobel ceremonies to protest Handke’s win.
Journalist Peter Maass noted on Twitter that Englund is the only member to have firsthand experience in Bosnia, home country to the massacre that Handke has previously denied.
The Swedish Academy chooses the Nobel winners after a separate committee compiles the nominees.
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Categories: Today in Books