'Ignorant questions': Nobel winner Peter Handke refuses to address controversy

New literature laureate tells journalists ahead of prizegiving that it is the wrong moment to question his suppport for Slobodan Milosevic

Nobel literature laureate Peter Handke brushed off questions about his support for the genocidal regime of Slobodan Milosevic at a press conference on Friday, telling gathered journalists that it was not the moment to answer “ignorant” queries.

The Austrian author’s Nobel prize win in October has been widely criticised by writers and politicians over his stance on the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s. A petition signed by almost 60,000 people is calling on the Nobel committee to revoke the award from the “apologist for the ‘butcher of Balkans’ Slobodan Milosevic”. Handke spoke at Milosevic’s funeral in 2006, calling him “a rather tragic man”.

Related: 'A troubling choice': authors criticise Peter Handke's controversial Nobel win

Svenska Akademiens presskonferens med Peter Handke slutade med en hätsk attack mot de närvarande journalisterna.https://t.co/q1O2ETYtML pic.twitter.com/wL7omEyev7

Continue reading...