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Sat, May 26 2012
European Parliament to debate Bulgaria's proposed referendum on Turkish newscasts
An autocue in Turkish in the Bulgarian National Television studio broadcasting the 5pm daily 10-minute news bulletin in that language, the subject of a long-running campaign by ultra-nationalists Ataka to have it stopped.
Photo: Tsvetelina Angelova
The group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) is to insist on putting on the January 2010 agenda of the European Parliament the plan to hold a referendum in Bulgaria on whether to continue news bulletins in Turkish on Bulgaria's public broadcaster.
The issue arose when, on December 15 2009, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boiko Borissov and ruling party GERB publicly endorsed ultra-nationalist party Ataka's campaign for a national referendum on the special daily news bulletin in Turkish.
The news bulletin is 10 minutes long and has been broadcast five days a week at 5pm since 2000.
"The Bulgarian Government should come to its senses. By supporting the idea of Bulgaria's Ataka ultra-nationalist party for holding such a referendum on minority issues, it is only logical that the majority will overcome," Bulgarian-language Dnevnik daily quoted ALDE leader Guy Verhofstadt as saying on December 17 2009.
According to Verhofstadt, Bulgaria risked being confronted with basic provisions of European and international law and with the country's obligations to protect minorities and their languages.
"Shutting down the news bulletin could lead to tension in Bulgarian society and could harm the country's image abroad," Verhofstadt said.
Bulgaria's Movement for Rights and Freedoms party, customarily described by Bulgarian media as representing Bulgarian Muslims, is a member of ALDE.
On December 17 2009, Turkey's foreign ministry said that it was closely following the issue and hoped it could be solved through dialogue.
The same day, Borissov had a phone conversation with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on the issue. Bulgarian President Georgi Purvanov described the referendum plan as a trap into which Borissov had fallen.
The issue arose when, on December 15 2009, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boiko Borissov and ruling party GERB publicly endorsed ultra-nationalist party Ataka's campaign for a national referendum on the special daily news bulletin in Turkish.
The news bulletin is 10 minutes long and has been broadcast five days a week at 5pm since 2000.
"The Bulgarian Government should come to its senses. By supporting the idea of Bulgaria's Ataka ultra-nationalist party for holding such a referendum on minority issues, it is only logical that the majority will overcome," Bulgarian-language Dnevnik daily quoted ALDE leader Guy Verhofstadt as saying on December 17 2009.
According to Verhofstadt, Bulgaria risked being confronted with basic provisions of European and international law and with the country's obligations to protect minorities and their languages.
"Shutting down the news bulletin could lead to tension in Bulgarian society and could harm the country's image abroad," Verhofstadt said.
Bulgaria's Movement for Rights and Freedoms party, customarily described by Bulgarian media as representing Bulgarian Muslims, is a member of ALDE.
On December 17 2009, Turkey's foreign ministry said that it was closely following the issue and hoped it could be solved through dialogue.
The same day, Borissov had a phone conversation with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on the issue. Bulgarian President Georgi Purvanov described the referendum plan as a trap into which Borissov had fallen.
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Foreign Minister: Bulgaria will not hold a referendum on Turkish news bulletins
We can’t have such a referendum because we will become the laughing stock of Europe, Zheleva said.
Bulgarian PM backtracks on referendum on Turkish broadcasts
I supported Ataka because I need their support in Parliament, Boiko Borissov says.
Ankara closely monitoring referendum on Turkish news in Bulgaria
We expect the Bulgarian Government to make the necessary efforts to deal with the matter through dialogue and within the framework of democratic laws and human rights, Turkey's foreign ministry says
Bulgarian President: Prime Minister was tricked on the Turkish news referendum
I hope the Borissov realises that, President Georgi Purvanov says.
GERB, Ataka join forces on holding referendum on news in Turkish
This is the most democratic way to deal with the issue once and for all, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boiko Borissov says
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No worries . Referendum or not , the turkish news have no place on Bulgarian TV and will be unplugged next year.
Holding referendum when the result is clear beforhand is stupid.
The Bulgarian Public Chanal 1 should simply stop
immediatly the turkish broadcast-
faité acompli.
Well, I agree with IVAN and Jon Mills. Bulgaria has shown a great tollerance to any foreign minority, but the situation with a Turkish broadcast on a public channel raises serious issues. In some parts of Bulgaria Turkish language is the key spoken language in schools and on the street and the matter of having a Turkish broadcasts on the mainstream public Bulgarian TV channel should be a matter of national policy, not party politics.
The EP does not like nationalisitic parties and this is fine, but a Dutch view on a Balkan problem does not bring solutions [...]
Read the full comment in this case, as to my experience Flemish and French speaking groups in Belgium for example show such levels of mutual intollerance, which we do not have in Bulgaria. So, let us not politicise the matter further, there should not be a space for a Turkish broadcast on BNT, may be a private channel can take on this and make money of it or find a format for it in commercial context as mentioned before in the above comments. Let's hope that Mr Borisov will defend Bulgaria's long-term nationalinterests in this context as he has done that so far with the country's energy policy. UK does not do referendums often and I know why, some matters can be decided upon with the existing political and parliamentary powers. The BNR brodcasts in foreign languages, the Sofia Press and other multi-langauge press agencies, the mature multi-channel TV and cable TV market in Bulgaria offer plenty of opportunity for a regular access to Turkish language media for whoever wants it.
На ви сега Европейски съюз! На ви сега български суверенитет сведен до нула! Вчера ви затваряха Козлодуй! После ви затваряха мандрите. Още се влачат да ви разбиват и Българската православна църква! Утре ще ви наложат и македонците да разкъсат България!
Циганите ви се качват на гърба без да можете да кажете гък! Няма дамине мното врем и турците ще подкокоросат българските мюсюлмани - турци и помаци - да започнат да тероризират българите помежду им както направиха в Югославия, за да я разсипят!
Това ви поднесе Петър Стоянов когато крещеше от покривите за нов,
[...]
Read the full comment /> за цивилизован избор! Та този цивилизован избор сега ви излиза през носа.
С
Probably Switzerland would have a referendum. They hold them for just about everything. I may not agree with Boiko about this but Europe has no right to tell Bulgaria what it should or should not do. Thin end of the wedge! I'm now coming around to supporting Boiko......state meddling over paid euro bureaucrats
Obviously as Turkish is not a 'legal'language in Bulgaria, nor is Turkey a member of The EU, then it is up to the Public Broadcast authorities whether to continue or not.
The subject matter is not actually relevant. What is being tested here is the right of the government or any political group to dictate what is broadcast to the public, and how it is broadcast. (Revisiting the glory days of communism perhaps).
I suggest that given the number of foreign residents in Bulgaria, and the Bulgarian public having or studying foreign [...]
Read the full comment languages - this would be an excellent chance for the private broadcast companies to have short bulletins of the news in Turkish, English, German and French. Just think of the advertising and product placement revenue they could achieve in this slot to provide a service to residents, tourists and visitors.
At the same time the media can be showing the government how things should be done in a modern democracy.
I would like Borissov to tell us: (i) how much this referndum will cost and (ii) how much this news bulletin costs annually to run.
I would bet that that the former bill will probably be about ten times the latter.
I would also like him to cite ANY international precedent for a national referendum on a television programme's existence.
Borissov has his merits compared to other Bulgarian politicians but here he is really showing the limits of his abilities, unfortunately not just to the Bulgarian electorate but [...]
Read the full comment the whole of Europe.