Home 5 News 5 Letter from Frankfurt: freedom of speech has a difficult challenge as author pulls out

Letter from Frankfurt: freedom of speech has a difficult challenge as author pulls out

by | Oct 20, 2021 | News

It has been a dramatic few hours at the Frankfurt Book Fair.  The screen writer, activist and author Jasmina Kuhnke, whose father was Senegalese and whose mother is Croatian, cancelled her appearance at the fair because of the presence of the German New Right publisher Jungeuropa.  She had been due to talk about her debut novel Black Heart.  She said simply that the Frankfurt Book Fair was “no place for Nazis”.

It is understood that she was particularly annoyed that the events space ‘the blue sofa’, where she due to speak, is right across from Jungeuropa’s stand.

Founded in 2016, Jungeuropa is run by Philip Stein who has a leading position in One Percent, a network for members of the German New Right, an extreme right-wing nationalist movement.  At Frankfurt the publisher has a large photograph of one of the dark moments in French history adorning its stand.  It shows far right protesters rioting on Place de la Concorde in 1934, near the seat of the French Assembly.  It looks like an eerie precursor to the storming of the Capitol in Washington in January 2021.  The police shot and killed 15 demonstrators during the disturbance.

Responding to Kuhnke’s decision, the Frankfurt Book Fair and the German Booksellers and Publishers Association issued a joint statement. “We regret that individual authors have decided not to appear at Frankfurter Buchmesse. Their voices against racism and in support of diversity will be missed at the book fair.

“With our own programming and that of our partners, we send clear signals for a diverse society and take a stand in favour of interacting with others in a tolerant, respectful way. In doing so, we clearly distance ourselves from extreme positions. Frankfurter Buchmesse has always been a place for discourse where questions of human rights, freedom of speech and expression, and how to respond to extremism have been addressed.

“Freedom of expression and publication are, for us, paramount. They are the basis for engaging in a free exchange in our democracy and for having a book fair at all. Frankfurter Buchmesse and the German Publishers & Booksellers Association are committed to promoting freedom of speech and freedom of the press worldwide. That is why it is also clear for us that publishers who operate within the law can exhibit at the book fair, even if we do not share their views. In our constitutional democracy, banning publishing houses or their publications is the role of the courts and not individual actors like Frankfurter Buchmesse.

“Ensuring the safety of participants at the book fair is our top priority. The fair is organised based on a comprehensive security plan that makes it possible for everyone to visit the fair safely.”

Recent News

08Jul
Bibliotheca Alexandrina Celebrates Knowledge

Bibliotheca Alexandrina Celebrates Knowledge

Amid a vibrant cultural atmosphere, the Bibliotheca Alexandrina inaugurated the 20th edition of its International Book Fair, which will run until 21 July 2025. This milestone edition sees broad participation from Egyptian and Arab publishing houses, organized in collaboration with the General Egyptian Book Organization and the Egyptian and Arab Publishers Association.   Marking two […]

08Jul
Boualem Sansal’s Sentence Causes Global Protest

Boualem Sansal’s Sentence Causes Global Protest

The International Publishers Association (IPA) has called the continuing detention of the Franco-Algerian author Boualem Sansal’s an “afront to freedom of expression”. This week a court in Algeria upheld Sansal’s five-year prison sentence.  The author was charged in March under Algeria’s anti-terrorism laws and convicted of “undermining national unity”. Kristenn Einarsson, Chair of the IPA’s […]

07Jul
New Era for Intellectual Property in UAE Academia

New Era for Intellectual Property in UAE Academia

Building on its growing international presence in intellectual property protection while reinforcing the UAE’s standing as a regional and international hub in this field, the Emirates Reprographic Rights Management Association (ERRA) has announced the signing of the country’s first-ever blanket reprographic rights licensing agreement with Heriot-Watt University Dubai. This pioneering step sets a new benchmark […]

Related Posts

Boualem Sansal’s Sentence Causes Global Protest

Boualem Sansal’s Sentence Causes Global Protest

The International Publishers Association (IPA) has called the continuing detention of the Franco-Algerian author Boualem Sansal's an “afront to freedom of expression”. This week a court in Algeria upheld Sansal's five-year prison sentence.  The author was charged in...

New Era for Intellectual Property in UAE Academia

New Era for Intellectual Property in UAE Academia

Building on its growing international presence in intellectual property protection while reinforcing the UAE’s standing as a regional and international hub in this field, the Emirates Reprographic Rights Management Association (ERRA) has announced the signing of the...

A New Identity Marks a Global Vision

A New Identity Marks a Global Vision

In a testament to its long-standing commitment to culture and knowledge, e& continues its partnership with the International Prize for Arabic Children’s Literature. First launched in 2009 by the UAE Board on Books for Young People (UAEBBY) under the name “Etisalat...

Previous Next
Close
Test Caption
Test Description goes like this