Ertugrul Ozkok: Bulgaria's EU accession: Letter from a jealous neighbor
Güncelleme Tarihi:
I wonder if we are really aware of this: that starting from January 1, 2007, the word "neighbor" becomes a completely different thing for a Turk and a Bulgarian. This is due to the fact that along with the first day of the new year, a Bulgarian's perspective of his Turkish neighbor will begin to change.
When I looked at the important newspapers in Turkey on the first day of the new year, the lack of headlines referring to Bulgaria's EU accession made me say to myself "I wonder if this is a sort of 'new year's neglect'?" Or, I wondered, was our collective melancholy leading us to ignore the entire thing? Because the fact of the matter is, this January 1 marked an historical moment for the region of the world in which we are located. Our western borders are now completely bordering the EU. Bulgaria and Romania entered the EU on January 1, as the bloc's 26th and 27th members. And now a Bulgarian or Romanian citizen can enter Turkey on an EU identity card. And sometime in the future, Turkish citizens will only be able to enter Bulgaria or Romania on a Schengen visa.
Doesn't this tell you something? It sure tells me something.
There is a family I know in Turkey who emigrated here from Bulgaria years ago. They arrived in Turkey sometime near the end of the 1980's, when the Bulgarian government was trying to force ethnic Turks to change their names to Bulgarian names in Bulgaria. This family that I know never went back. They forgot completely about their Bulgarian passports. But recently, they went and retrieved their passports. And they became, at the same time, EU citizens. I think about when it is that my country too will become a part of that geography.
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On January 1, I stared for a long time at a map of Europe. Starting in England, the blue indicating Europe now has spread all the way to our borders. In the middle of this growing spot of blue, there is only one empty spot, a spot which sits there like a rotten tooth: the former Yugoslavia. Yes, this part of the map does have a different color. The fact is though, it used to be that the state which existed there deserved to join the EU far in advance of either Bulgaria or Romania. But a tragic ethnic war brought this area of the region to the state it finds itself in now. All countries which are home to different ethnic groups should look at the former Yugoslavian state, and try to understand this open air museum of tragedies as well as possible. This warning includes us too....
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When I last went to Bulgaria, there were many people I met who were earning between 100 and 200 dollars a month as salary. Next to Bulgarian cities, Turkish cities like Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Antalya, Bursa and others seemed like developed European metropoli. As former Turkish leader Ozal opened Turkey's doors to liberal economy policies, countries like Bulgaria were living the period of communist collapse. When Ozal applied to the EU for full membership for Turkey, the walls had still not come crashing down. With its highways, telecommunications network, shopping centers, and factories, Turkey was the shining star of the region. But now we are the Purgatory of civilization. Our western borders are completely EU, while our other side is....well, we all know.
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But which way should we look now, and how much should we hurry? First of all, place a picture of Saddam hanging from a rope in front of you. And then, place the photos of your children and grandchildren before you. And by the way, if your beliefs are so strong that they guide you like horse blinders, take a deep breath and go out onto the street and look around....You don't need a guide. It's just so clear where we are all going.....
January 1 is the most historical date on our western borders since the Balkan War.