Well, this was disturbing.
G'day, navel-gazing Americentrics curious folks who do occasionally read the international news! Now look at this. It does look scary, doesn't it? Looks like a shitty political thriller movie, doesn't it? Well, except it's all over the news these days. (Well, don't know about your news, anyway).
Now some context. Ahmed Dogan has been a very controversial person in our politics, perhaps the most controversial. He's called "the grey cardinal of Bulgarian politics".
First he was a dissident leader who participated in the resistance of the ethnic Turks to communist persecution. Then he formed a liberal centrist party in the first years of democracy, which was essentially an ethnic party of the Bulgarian Turks (the Constitution explicitly prohibits the forming of parties based on religious or ethnic principle, but still he was allowed to create it). His party has stayed a major factor in our politics to this day, thanks to the stable electorate of the ethnic Turks. And he has been the longest-serving party leader in the country, his party essentially being a one-man party.
But then he went in bed with the Socialists (former communists) and helped them rule the country for long years and turn it into a pseudo-mocracy (practically oligarchic kleptocracy). And he became the Godfather of BG politics. Info started to surface that he had been an agent of the state services during communist times from day one, reporting on his fellow ethnic Turks. And his party had been a lab creation of the commies/Socialists designed to hold the Turks in control. Meanwhile, he became one of the most hated oligarchs in Bulgaria, living large, owning big mansions and even openly maintaining a circle of friendly corporations financing his party. The mayors from his party dominated the regions with large Turk population, and turned them into feudal fiefdoms controlled by Dogan. He created such an aura of invincibility around himself that he was probably the most feared person in the country. He's been arrogant enough to openly announce that his party is being held up by a "circle of firms", thus telling some uncomfortable truths about the Bulgarian political reality (because most parties do have such corporate circles behind them). He became even more hated in the political circles for speaking that hard truth. Maybe because he said "I'm running things in this country, you hear me?"
With the emergence of nationalist parties and the defeat of the Socialists on the last elections, he lost his direct access to political power but still he kept his economic influence. He's very hated and feared outside his circle, and revered as a demigod within it.
Back to this disturbing incident on the picture. You'd expect the guy with the gun would be a nationalist looking for revenge? But no, he actually turned out to be an ethnic Turk. Speculations place him in the circle of a new Turk party that recently splintered away from Dogan's main Turk party. But to many people the whole gun scene looks a bit fishy. I mean just look at it. The guy is seemingly allowed by the security to walk through the whole hall unchallenged, and approach Dogan, point a gun at him from 5 inches, and never shoot. He doesn't look very enthusiastic about using that gun, does he? If he wanted to kill Dogan, he would've done it three times over. So the speculations now say it was a theatrical plot meant to unite Dogan's electorate through fear at these times of crisis for the party, while making the authorities/security look bad. Which both it did. But I wouldn't want to jump to conclusions so fast, not before all the evidence is out.
In any case, this whole episode is absolutely inexcusable in a society claiming to be walking the steps of democracy. It puts a huge stain on my country's face, which probably instantly erased the international sympathy that emerged from the Hezbollah terrorist act at our seaside from last summer. It's yet another proof that we haven't changed much since the time of Bay Ganyo, and there's still a very long road to walk for us.
Now some context. Ahmed Dogan has been a very controversial person in our politics, perhaps the most controversial. He's called "the grey cardinal of Bulgarian politics".
First he was a dissident leader who participated in the resistance of the ethnic Turks to communist persecution. Then he formed a liberal centrist party in the first years of democracy, which was essentially an ethnic party of the Bulgarian Turks (the Constitution explicitly prohibits the forming of parties based on religious or ethnic principle, but still he was allowed to create it). His party has stayed a major factor in our politics to this day, thanks to the stable electorate of the ethnic Turks. And he has been the longest-serving party leader in the country, his party essentially being a one-man party.
But then he went in bed with the Socialists (former communists) and helped them rule the country for long years and turn it into a pseudo-mocracy (practically oligarchic kleptocracy). And he became the Godfather of BG politics. Info started to surface that he had been an agent of the state services during communist times from day one, reporting on his fellow ethnic Turks. And his party had been a lab creation of the commies/Socialists designed to hold the Turks in control. Meanwhile, he became one of the most hated oligarchs in Bulgaria, living large, owning big mansions and even openly maintaining a circle of friendly corporations financing his party. The mayors from his party dominated the regions with large Turk population, and turned them into feudal fiefdoms controlled by Dogan. He created such an aura of invincibility around himself that he was probably the most feared person in the country. He's been arrogant enough to openly announce that his party is being held up by a "circle of firms", thus telling some uncomfortable truths about the Bulgarian political reality (because most parties do have such corporate circles behind them). He became even more hated in the political circles for speaking that hard truth. Maybe because he said "I'm running things in this country, you hear me?"
With the emergence of nationalist parties and the defeat of the Socialists on the last elections, he lost his direct access to political power but still he kept his economic influence. He's very hated and feared outside his circle, and revered as a demigod within it.
Back to this disturbing incident on the picture. You'd expect the guy with the gun would be a nationalist looking for revenge? But no, he actually turned out to be an ethnic Turk. Speculations place him in the circle of a new Turk party that recently splintered away from Dogan's main Turk party. But to many people the whole gun scene looks a bit fishy. I mean just look at it. The guy is seemingly allowed by the security to walk through the whole hall unchallenged, and approach Dogan, point a gun at him from 5 inches, and never shoot. He doesn't look very enthusiastic about using that gun, does he? If he wanted to kill Dogan, he would've done it three times over. So the speculations now say it was a theatrical plot meant to unite Dogan's electorate through fear at these times of crisis for the party, while making the authorities/security look bad. Which both it did. But I wouldn't want to jump to conclusions so fast, not before all the evidence is out.
In any case, this whole episode is absolutely inexcusable in a society claiming to be walking the steps of democracy. It puts a huge stain on my country's face, which probably instantly erased the international sympathy that emerged from the Hezbollah terrorist act at our seaside from last summer. It's yet another proof that we haven't changed much since the time of Bay Ganyo, and there's still a very long road to walk for us.