After three years in which it seemed that the Movement for Rights and Freedoms has been isolated from political power, now the movement is again in a good situation to remind everybody of its existence. The assassination in Burgas, the trial against the Muslim clerics in Pazardzhik and the tension in the world, driven by, as it was called, the shift of the Arab Spring into an Arab Fall, all create a good atmosphere for playing the ethnic card again. In this series of event, of course, one must include the upcoming parliamentary elections. However, the main thing was the trial against imams, who last week was described by the party as an attempt to undermine the religious peace. This gives it the chance to re-enter the main role of a defender of minorities.
According to the Movement the accusations of the prosecution are unsupported and lead to ethnic and religious intolerance, intentionally inciting old fears. The process is described as unacceptable reminiscences of yesteryear totalitarian period, said the party. It seems that even if Ataka disappears as a parliamentary force, the Movement’s leader Dogan may again have an enemy that can legitimate him in front of the part of society.
And it will not be just any party or particular personalities but the increasingly intolerant Bulgarian institutions.
It is questionable whether it is useful the trial to become an arena for partisan passions, but this was inevitable. Perhaps because the party and experts such as Antonina Zhelyazkova criticized the validity of the evidence provided by the prosecution, one should see a warning that something is wrong. In a statement read at the parliamentary rostrum, the Movement condemned attempts to provoke islamophobia and urged the media not to provide a platform to deliberate and unsubstantiated allegations expressed in the language of hate. According to the Movement a longtime refusal to give accreditation for the Islamic Institute forces imams to go to study in Saudi Arabia.
Temporary awakening of repressed ethnic passions in Bulgaria can probably be explained with poverty, which unfortunately is getting worse. Money sent to Bulgaria by Islamic foundations may be a major factor for the migration of some Muslims to the more radical religious movements. As well as for the attracting of new fans, especially among minorities. Paradoxically, poverty is just part of the explanation why
Bulgarians and Turks lived many years in peace and without much pressure – they were rather trying to make ends meet and had no time and desire to fight with each other.
Otherwise, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms has always demonstrated, at least publicly, sensitivity to ethnic issues. Lyutvi Mestan recently left the studio of Panorama show outraged by the words of the leader of VMRO Karakacanov that people who preach against the state make young Muslims women to dress up like penguins. Such kind of dialogues on national media are warning of impending, if not trouble – at least a risk of having troubles. And it is imperative to recognize that if we are not careful to each other another, unpleasant issues may appear that supposedly were avoided in the years of the country’s endless transition.
