Dimitar Stoyanov, MEP: We WILL ban Turkish-language news!
Понеделник, 25 Януари 2010
“I hope the whole mess with Jeleva does not have an adverse effect on the activities of the European Parliament,” said MEP Dimitar Stoyanov of the nationalist party Ataka.
Interview: V. Vassilev
- Ataka vowed to support the Cabinet reshuffles proposed by PM Boyko Borisov. Do you also back Meglena Plugchieva’s candidacy for the EBRD?
- Plugchieva is applying for this job of her own volition. This is not a state-backed bid. Anyone can apply for any job they wish.
- The right wing parties are upset that Borisov did not ask their opinion on Cabinet reshuffles. Was Ataka asked for their views?
- The prime minister and his party GERB hold responsibility for all reshuffles. We have offered our support in principle. If they proposed such changes we should back them. I worked with Ms. Jeleva for two years and in this time we cooperated well on many mutual initiatives. We supported her candidacy, but unfortunately this campaign was aimed at our government through her.
- Did her withdrawal cause ruckus within the EP?
- Voting on the new EC is doubtless the most important aspect of the EP’s work. In the last elections the European socialists suffered heavy losses, while the liberals lost 20 deputies. There was a certain vengeance in the context of the EC vote. The socialists and liberals took advantage of their positions and attacked a candidate and VP of the EPP to flex their muscles. Obviously they are losing ground in the EU as a whole.
- Why was the affair with Turkish-language news on our national television covered up?
- In the last five years since Ataka was formed we have fought consistently against Turkish news. With just 21 deputies in the Bulgarian Parliament all we can do is hope for support from the other parties. If we don’t receive such support we cannot succeed in taking the news off the air. As Ataka leader Volen Siderov (Stoyanov’s stepfather) said, someday we WILL succeed in getting them banned!
- Bulgarians are very fond of Turkish soap operas. Is this the case in other countries?
- I have observed a consistent tendency that involves active Turkish politics aimed at EU accession in the past 2 years. You can see huge billboards advertising Turkey as a destination throughout cities like Paris and Rome. I saw a large print ad in the National Geographic this month of Turkey with an article about how heavenly this country is. I am sure these soap operas are part of the efforts to market Turkey as an EU member. Televisions will buy Turkish products because they are cheaper. This propaganda is consecutive and consistent and I hope common sense prevails in Europe.
- What is your view on compensation for the properties of Bulgarian refugees in Turkey?
- I naturally support this idea. The first person who raised this issue was Volen Siderov. Bulgaria and Turkey signed a memorandum almost a century ago, under which Turkey is bound to pay a certain sum for these properties. Turkey fails to fulfill this engagement and because of this does not deserve to be part of the European justice system and family.
- The opposition has accused Ataka of accepting all of Borisov’s decisions unconditionally…
- We have a dialogue with GERB on many issues and are in the process of consolidating our stances. We set out our positions on the more important matters. An example is the new bill on higher education. The chairman of the parliamentary committee on education is from Ataka. They are working in close cooperation with the ministry of education in order to achieve the best result.
- Under what conditions might your friendship with GERB end?
- When one enters a partnership they don’t usually look at what could end it but how to stabilize it. Our partnership is based on the fact that the two previous Cabinets will never return to power.
- How does Ataka view the president’s role in politics today?
- Georgi Parvanov wants to play an important role in Bulgarian government. He is being a populist as usual. When the previous government was in power he didn’t make a sound. He did not talk about budget surplus effects or economic stagnation. Now he realized we need more public spending and that budget deficit can be a good thing. If it wasn’t countries like the US and Japan would not have one!
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