[LINK] "Divide and Bind"

[rfmcdonald]

Bulgarian television journalist Boyko Vassilev an article up at Transitions Online examining the decidedly tumultuous Bulgarian-Turkish relationship.

Yes, Bulgaria and Turkey have a long history. Its central fact is a number: 500, the years of – how to call it? Ottoman or Turkish? Presence? Domination? Rule? Or was it a yoke, as the 19th-century writer Ivan Vazov saw the period in his classic novel, Under the Yoke. “This is a Bulgarian issue,” Pamuk told a press conference before our interview, seeming genuinely surprised by the question from a reporter.

But it’s not only “the yoke” that sticks between Bulgarians and Turks. Contemporary history also matters. In the mid-1980s Bulgaria’s communist leadership changed the names of the Muslim population, including ethnic Turks, Roma, and Bulgarian Muslims (Pomaks). The shameful campaign, called the “revival process” was supposedly meant to encourage them to “rediscover” their Bulgarian roots. Instead, resistance broke out, blood was shed, and around 300,000 Turks left Bulgaria. The common life was poisoned, and the country’s international reputation was ruined. Even Mikhail Gorbachev’s Soviet Union did not back its Bulgarian comrades.

Then 1989 came and Muslims got back their names. Some of the refugees returned. And a party, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS), was born. The philosopher and political prisoner Ahmed Dogan became, and remains, its leader. It was this party and this person who shaped the image of the relationship between Bulgarians and Turks in Bulgaria.

[. . .]

Could the famous Bulgarian ethnic model of tolerance and integration after 1990 crumble? No, but the ground is not entirely solid, either. Another coincidence proved that. On the last day of Pamuk’s visit, Ataka supporters clashed with Muslims in front of the Sofia mosque during Friday prayers. This act was immediately condemned by all parties and pundits – and exposed as part of Ataka’s preparations for October presidential and local elections. Yet the issue is inflammatory – and yes, it builds on historical memory.

The question is whether the Bulgarian public will be tempted to recall that memory right now. It would be premature to expect that Ataka will win the election points it is expecting. Christian citizens found each other on Facebook and brought flowers to the mosque; the Facebook group grew. Another group demanded that Ataka leader Volen Siderov be prosecuted for inciting ethnic and religious hatred.

Historians pointed out that Turkey is the neighboring country to enjoy the longest period of peace with Bulgaria. Commentators remind that the two countries are now NATO allies. Though there are open questions, like calls to compensate the descendants of Turkey’s 1913 expulsion of Bulgarians from Thrace, the bilateral itinerary is not one of conflict. Yes, Bulgarians have painful memories, but they also eagerly spend their holidays in Antalya, shop in Istanbul, and, most tellingly, watch Turkish soaps. Last year, the second-most watched show on Bulgarian TV, behind only the football World Cup final, was one of these serials. And Bulgarians read Pamuk, one of the best-selling writers here.