BY ARDAN ZENTURK
STAR- Is it mere coincidence that young people from immigrant families living in the poor suburbs of Paris fought with the police and set cars on fire? No, because as soon as politicians like Nicolas Sarkozy, whose presidential campaign is based on the hatred of others, have a say in Europe's future, more serious developments follow. Georgi Koritarov, a leading Bulgarian journalist I spoke with at a café in Sofia, talked about the right-wing politicians who appeal to his country's nationalism. He said that Bulgaria faces problems created by right-wing parties which can't produce modern ideologies or adapt to the present day and so desperately take refuge in nationalism. He added that nationalism in Bulgaria comes from right-wing politicians' impotence and directly threatens Turkey. You could use these remarks and apply them to just about my country with a few changes. However, Nadejda Mihailova, known as the strong foreign minister who carried Bulgaria to the European Union, said that he was against religious and ethnic discrimination in society. He said that rapid changes and openings for minority movements lie at the root of rising nationalism in Europe and Bulgaria. Mihailova added that if a minority movement seems to be moving towards blocking the rights of the majority, nationalism rises in response.
This situation is not only based on unqualified politicians who argue that they talk on behalf of majorities and use nationalism to score political points. At the same time, it comes from the majority's criticism of never-ending requests from those who consider themselves a `minority,' and who produce ethnic-based policies and always request tolerance. Actually, something Hasan Aziz, the mayor of the Bulgarian town of Kircali, said shows that Turks living in Bulgaria understood this very well. Aziz said that the EU would never support a party which produces an ethnic policy. He added that Bulgaria's Movement for Rights and Freedoms doesn't want to be known as a Turkish movement, but as a political party embracing Bulgaria. Let's think about this. All these discussions took place in a city in Bulgaria, a country which doesn't fight terrorism and constantly have to bury fallen soldiers. Bulgaria is a unitary state which successfully took its multicultural situation to its Parliament and joined the EU. The Movement for Rights and Freedoms led by Ahmet Dogan is a Bulgarian government coalition partner. On the other hand, Bulgaria is experiencing a process where this Turkish movement is turning into a Bulgarian party. In this regard, this is a very important experiment for Turkey.