AMED -11.10.2007 Author Mehmed Uzun, considered a founder of Kurdish literature, died of stomach cancer Thursday in Amed (Kurdistan) in hospital sources said. He was 54.Uzun, who spent 28 years in exile as a political refugee in Sweden.
Uzun was diagnosed with stomach cancer more than two years ago while still in Sweden, and received treatment there and in Amed, where he was hospitalized Monday after his health deteriorated sharply, sources close to him said. In addition to seven novels and a volume of poetry penned in his native Kurdish, the prolific Uzun also wrote novels and essays in Swedish and Turkish. He was a member of the executive board of the Swedish Writers' Union and of the Swedish PEN Club. He will be buried in Amed on Saturday.