Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka says writers should defend human freedoms with language


GYEONGJU, North Gyeongsang Province ― Nobel laureates and writers on Monday stressed the importance of freedom of speech and their members who are currently imprisoned, at the opening of the 78th International PEN Congress in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province.

One PEN International member in Beijing, Jiao Guobiao, has been prevented by the Chinese government from attending the literary event in Gyeongju, said PEN International president John Ralston Saul during a press conference.

The former associate professor of journalism at Peking University is currently under police surveillance to prevent him from leaving his house, according to Saul. Nobel laureates Wole Soyinka and Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio also attended the press meeting along with the PEN International president.

“He is not in jail, he has not been charged with anything; he is a citizen of China, and a member of Chinese Independent PEN Center,” Saul told reporters.

“There is no reason why he should be prevented from coming here.”

A London-based international association of writers, International PEN has been hosting the congress, which consists of networking and literary events and lectures, in different cities around the world. Its 78th edition kicked off in Gyeongju on Monday.

First founded in 1921, the organization promotes the freedom of speech and expression.

“We don’t have an army, we don’t have banks, we don’t have bureaucracy, we don’t have any power,” Saul told reporters.

“The interesting thing is here we are we have nothing except language. That’s all we’ve got. And I’m saying this to you as writers ― if language is not more powerful than the armies, banks or governments and bureaucracies, then why are there 850 of our members in prison? Why is this simple scholar being surrounded by the police if somehow the word, the language is not more powerful than anything these people have?”

This year’s edition of the congress focuses on issues of media, literature and human rights.

A group of writers who have defected from North Korea are expected to join PEN International and open their own PEN center. There are currently 143 PEN centers around the world in 114 different countries.

The PEN International members will also try to adopt a historic declaration on Digital Rights, in hopes of bringing ethical parameters into the new world of technology and communications, Saul said. Once the congress votes to pass the declaration, the declaration will be made public at the closing ceremony.

“This will be a very historic declaration, the first of its kind in the world,” Saul said.

“And I guess it will be called the Gyeongju Declaration. It will be named for the place where it was voted on if it’s accepted.”

Meanwhile, Soyinka, who was born and educated in Nigeria, was asked about the ongoing unrest and instability in his home country.

“State terror, or religious terror, or ideological terror ― terror is terror,” Soyinka told reporters.

“One cannot stand aside simply because a group with a minority interest wants to impose its will on the public. And when such a group is trying to start a war, not against the state, but against the people, then the writer, as one of the people, must defend not only himself but the people as well. Beyond that, I don’t see any special (duties) for the writers. They are using their tools, the language, to try to defuse the arrogance of such a minority.”

When asked about writing for international readers, and his view on personal narratives versus universal ones, Soyinka said he likes to answer “specific” questions.

The writer criticized a number of cases in which a man with a religious affiliation marries a girl under age 10, claiming his religion allows him to. Soyinka called such a marriage “sex trafficking.” He also criticized Europeans who criticized African cultural customs by calling a coming-of-age woman dancing with her breasts exposed “barbaric” ― when she’s only celebrating, by choice, the transition to adulthood.

“I don’t like the idea of universal values versus relative values. It’s too general,” he said.

“I would like to ask specific questions, like do you think this ‘culture’ should be preserved at all costs or not? Does it flout your value? Or does it flout, does it degrade the value of that particular individual or that class or group to which he or she belongs?”

The 78th PEN International congress continues until Saturday.

By Claire Lee (dyc@heraldcorp.com)