Bulgarian public split about Turkish broadcast

18/12/2009

Opinions swirl as to whether the country should fund a Turkish-language news bulletin on national TV.

By Balkanblog for Southeast European Times -- 18/12/09

Volen Siderov, leader of the Bulgarian ultra-nationalist party Ataka. [Getty Images]

Prime Minister Boyko Borisov announced his GERB party will endorse the ultranationalist Ataka's campaign to scrap a Turkish news bulletin on Bulgarian National Television (BNT), causing an uproar.

For five years, Ataka has been pushing to scrap BNT's ten-minute daily news bulletin in Turkish, broadcast since 2000. It has collected 48 parliamentary signatures required for a referendum.

The initiative has sparked widespread debate, and the public appears split on the issue.

State Commission for Protection against Discrimination head Kemal Eyup said a referendum would divide Bulgarian society, and test ethnic relations.

Approximately 10% of Bulgaria's population is Turkish, making it the largest minority group.

MPs from the Socialist opposition say the referendum -- which could cost up to 10m euros -- is unnecessary. The country, they argue, should focus instead on pressing economic issues.

Others, such as the right-wing Union of Democratic Forces (UDF), want to add an unrelated question to the referendum, concerning plans to build a second nuclear power plant in Belene.

Meanwhile the issue is gaining international attention. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan called Borisov for an explanation, while the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe insists on putting the issue up for debate in the European Parliament next year.

"We don't want the matter being exploited against Bulgarian Muslims or by them. That's why I support the idea of solving the issue with a referendum, as this is the most democratic way," Borisov said.

Most bloggers aren't buying it.

Journalist Ivan Bedrov argues it is an issue of tolerance. "It is the politicians' responsibility to initiate the right solutions, even if they are disliked by the majority. … They would not call a referendum for and against taxes, because they know the result," he writes. Also, as a matter of principle, "BNT uses taxpayer money and the Turks in Bulgaria are also taxpayers."

Speaking for many, Димитър argues the question is "whether Turkish is an official language. It is not! Period." Based on that fact, he argues, "There are private television stations that they should broadcast news on, not on the national one."

Prominent Bulgarian literati Edvin Sugarev counters by citing another language used on national television. "Is sign language official? If not, why is there news in sign language?" The answer is obvious -- "only in that way can a basic human right be preserved, the right to be informed."

To drive home the point, Sugarev adds, "In Hungary, there are 10,000 Bulgarians in total, but they have national minority status and publish a journal in Bulgarian with money from the Hungarian government."

Dian Lane agrees but asks a fundamental question, "What if every ethnicity in Bulgaria desires to be represented on the air, will their demands be satisfied?"

According to former parliament member Borislav Cekov, Bulgaria risks contravening international agreements it has signed. But politicians have made a deal, he suggests. -- "in exchange for the government's support of the referendum, Ataka will support the government's scandalous project to freely tap internet and telephone communications … and to deflect public opinion from the lack of effective anti-crisis policy."