DUSHANBE, June 12, Asia-Plus — President Emomali Rahmon yesterday sent a letter of condolences to his Kyrgyz counterpart, President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, over the death of internationally known Kyrgyz writer and public figure Chingiz Aitmatov, according to presidential press service.
Rahmon named decease of Chingiz Aitmatov irretrievable loss for world literature. He also asked to convey his sincerest sympathies to the family of Chingiz Aitmatov.
Kyrgyz author and public figure Chingiz Aitmatov died in Germany on June 10, aged 79.
Aitmatov first found fame with his 1958 novel “Jamilya,” which was praised by French poet Louis Aragon as the best novel about love. In other books, Aitmatov described life in the Soviet Union. Aitmatov was an advocate of preserving the cultures and languages of non-Russians in the Soviet Union. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Aitmatov”s novels found a new audience in the West and gained popularity in Germany.
Amid the Soviet breakup, Aitmatov entered the diplomatic sphere and served as the Soviet and then Russian ambassador to Belgium from 1990 to 1993. In 1995, he became Kyrgyzstan”s ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands and also represented his home country in the European Union, NATO and UNESCO.
Aitmatov”s 1994 novel, “When Mountains Fall (The Eternal Bride),” won several awards in Russia and Kyrgyzstan.
Kyrgyz authorities proclaimed 2008 the Year of Aitmatov in honor of his 80th birthday.
