Truck Drivers Block Bulgarian-Turkish Border in Protest
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File photo BGNES
Over one hundred representatives of small and medium truck carrier companies have blocked Monday morning the Kapitan Andreevo checkpoint on the Bulgarian-Turkish border.
The blockade started at 9:30 am and has been triggered by the ongoing dispute regarding one-time permits for drivers the two countries issue and exchange.
The checkpoint is now closed for trucks, but buses and automobiles are going through. There are no reported tensions and conflicts.
Drivers and their employers decided to stage the blockade despite the Sunday decision of the Bulgarian Association of International Transport Carriers to not organize it until the bilateral meeting between Bulgarian and Turkey, planned for February 21, is held.
However, smaller transport companies argue that their trucks have been already blocked at the border for 10 days and they cannot wait this long as the huge incurred losses will push them to bankruptcies.
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Dear Bulgarian Transporters,
Dear Friends,
As I have already mentioned during my interviews with the Turkish media published on last Sunday (9.2.2014), we had been working together, in a friendly manner, until very recently.
Now, I would like to ask you, "What is the problem?"
You have already been dominating 80 % of the road freight transport operations between Bulgaria and Turkey, whereas, we, as Turkish hauliers, have been conducting only 20 % of such movements.
You are currently allowed to enter Turkey with your empty trucks for 17.500 trips.
You have already been performing about 40.000 trips under ECMT Licenses to carry Turkish export goods to European countries.
What is really the problem?
Have you ever asked it to yourself:
- What are we waiting for now?
- Whom do we serve?
- Who could take advantage of this current situation?
- Who will be the ultimate beneficiary of this situation?
- Who will be the loser at the end?
With my kind regards and best regards,
?etin NUHO?LU
UND President
Increase 1000-fold the fees for Turkish trucks crossing Bg and Greek territory so that the Turksih trade with the West, Albania, FYROM and so one become iunprofitable. Of course that means reciprocal actions of the Turks, meaning the Bg and Greek companies crossing Turkey will go bankrupt but Bg and Gr trade through Turkey is nothing compared to the one with the West, Ukraine, Russia.
But who has the guts in Bg or Greece to do should a thing?
Unloyal ethnic minorities in Bulgaria (Turks, Gypsy-speaking and Turkish-speaking Muslim Roma with Turkish national awareness) should be treated by Croatian standards. The Western 'Powers' should not discriminated Bulgaria against Croatia and let it expell the same percentage of the above-mentioned non-loyal ethnic communities' members as the percentage of Croatia Serbs expelled and currently still not returned. Muslim Gypsies with non-Turkish ethnic identification cannot be expelled unfortunately but they are few. How can we prove the former are un-loyal? Well there are the OFFICIAL territorial claims by Erdogan towards Ludogorieto and Kyrdzalijsko. This is enough. A interesting is that the part of Ludogorieto having belonged to Greater Romania is claimed by both Romania and its former Muslims masters currently allies the Turks. Check Romania presidents (Traian Basescu) very recent declaration in Turkey in favor of speeding up Turkey's EU accession. Also check Ljutvi Mestan's interview for Romanian news agency Agerpres with anti-Bg statements.
Of course nothing will be done and Bg will end up being split among Turkey, Ro and FYROM
