TEHRAN – The chairman of the German Publishers and Booksellers Association, Heinrich Riethmuller, has said that the organizers of the Frankfurt Book Fair did not intend to offend Iran by the Salman Rushdie invite.

“We do not wish to offend our Iranian clients and partners. This event with Salman Rushdie is one of thousands of events that will take place in Frankfurt this year,” Riethmuller stated in letter to the Tehran Publishers and Booksellers Association.

The organizers of the event had invited Rushdie to give the keynote address “On the significance of freedom of expression for authors and the book industry” at the book fair’s opening press conference on October 13.

Earlier last week in a letter sent to Riethmuller, Tehran Publishers and Booksellers Association (TPBA) Director Mahmud Amuzgar asked him to convince the organizers of Frankfurt Book Fair to cancel their plans for Rushdie’s speech.

Shortly afterwards, Iran’s Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance announced a boycott of the fair following the organizers’ refusal to cancel the plan for Rushdie’s speech.

“We invited Salman Rushdie as an author to present his new book on the day before the fair. This event will take place in the Congress Centre of the Maritim Hotel, next to the Fair,” Riethmuller noted in the letter published by TPBA on its website.

“The Frankfurt Book Fair is a platform for freedom of speech and expression, and we therefore offer everyone in Frankfurt the opportunity to showcase their books and present their culture to the world,” the letter continues.

“We are very pleased that Iran’s culture and book market have had such a strong and important presence at the Frankfurt Book Fair now for many years, which we see as a sign of a good professional partnership.

“We would be very grateful if you would attend the Frankfurt Book Fair and present the richness of Iran’s culture and book market in 2015,” the letter concludes.

The Frankfurt Book Fair will be held from October 14 to 18.

Photo: German Publishers and Booksellers Association Chairman Heinrich Riethmuller

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