Nobelist Handke could be stripped of Austrian citizenship due to Yugoslav passport

The discussion on Peter Handkes' proximity to the former Yugoslavia has no end, and is now questioned whether Handke can continue to have Austrian citizenship.

The Austrian writer, who received the “Nobel” Prize for literature on October 10th, has had a Yugoslav passport, reports online platform “The Intercept”.

If the passport exists and Handkes were granted Yugoslav citizenship, then the writer in 1999 would have lost Austrian citizenship. But according to Der Standard, the time when Handke became Serbian citizens cannot be determined.

The passport, whose authenticity has been confirmed for “der Standard” by Handkes' friend and archive, Hans Widrich, was granted on 15 June 1999 by the Yugoslav Embassy in Vienna. A week earlier, his drama “Die Fahrt my Einbaum oder Das Stuck zum film vom Krieg” was awarded the premiere at Wiener Burgtheater.

Through it, Handke criticised war crimes courts shortly after Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic was charged with war crimes.

Handke himself had given a speech at Milosevqi's funeral in 2006, for which he was criticized.

Recently, photographs of the passport is issued in 1999 were found at the Handke archives in Austria's National Library.

They were removed from the website, but on Tuesday they were returned online.

This is confirmed for “Der Standard” by the director of the literary library, Bernhard Fetz. Photos were taken from his friend's private archive in Salzburg, Hans Widrich, in whose home Handke had lived for eight years.

It is unclear why Handke is equipped with a Yugoslav passport along with Austrians.

Windrich said on Wednesday to “Der Standard” that Handke had given considerable banal reasons for obtaining the Yugoslav passport:

He traveled to Yugoslavia usually accompanied by a Yugoslav friend and became furious when he paid half less for the same hotel room. With the new passport, this problem had been solved”, Widrich said.

Double citizenship in Austria, only in extraordinary cases

In principle, Austrians wishing to become citizens of another state must seek permission from authorities to maintain Austrian citizenship. This is only allowed in special cases.

In the Carinthia Department of State, they said Handke never made such a request.

Is Handke still Austrian?

That question won't answer state authorities”, said Peter Kaiser's office.

It has been confirmed that the naturalisation of Handkes with Yugoslav citizenship would trigger his immediate expulsion from Austria. However, it is not known whether there has been such naturalisation in Yugoslavia.

We only have photos of the passport in the media”, says Kayser.

Handke may have just received his passport, but citizenship was formally never granted. The local administration has already commissioned the local government, Kayser, to investigate the facts.

Should Peter Handke fear a testing procedure?

The Carinthia province has said that “Der Standard” that “currently does not need any action”.

There has been uncertainty Wednesday as to the passport's photo at the National Library online archive.

Widrich, who holds photo rights as a private archive on Wednesday, has requested the removal of photos from the database, where the library has accepted the request for legal reasons.

This is confirmed for “Der Standard” by National Library literary library director Bernhard Fetz.

A little later, the photos are back online: Widrich explained that he personally spoke to Handken if the photos could appear.

The writer has said that he sees no problem in this matter.

But according to his friend Windrich, in any case, the writer today is Austrian, where, according to him, he participates in Austrian Ambassador to Paris's expectations, sends periscope.