Aorapa Nerede Bitfuor?Where does Euro?€ €nd?

CHRISTOPHER HITCHENSThe WosrrinSton Post, in its edition of 30 August| 993, carried the folloving melancholy headline."As Mostar Bridge Crumbles, So Does BosnianDream of Ethnic Unity." The title surmounted astory about the slow dest?uction of the Stari,!lost; that sixteenth-centurt triumph ofOttoman architecture that is now imperilledb€cause it obst?ucts the growth of a "GreaterCroatia" - the twin of "Greater Serbia" in themodern-day l.lolotov-Ribbentrop pact that hasbeen indulged by the fo?ces of old and newEurope.The reporter, ,ohn Pomfret, told the 3tort of acertain ladranko Fink, who as a Croat and aCatholic had served and died in the armed forcesof the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina" On hisgrave-marker in the l.luslim quarter thereapp€aF, by his own request, onlt a picture of thebridge, "l'm fighting for the bridge," he had toldforeign visitors before he was killed. "So I can

iump off it with my buddies again in peace. lt'smy world - the Old Bridge and l.lostar. lf thebridge falls, l.lostar falls with it. lt's our heart."Diving from the bridge was one of the treatunifyint sporE amont l.lostar's four populations- the Catholic, the ]!l uslim, the Orthodox andthe too-seldom stressed secular. By all accountsthe most accomplished diver was Emir Baljic, alocal theatre manager. Where last seen he was(at the ag6 of sixty) a member of a press-gang

"recruited" by the "Croat Defence Council" andforced to fill sandbags and dig trenches in anerposed area of the front line.As matters deteriorated in this way, Pomfretwas compelled to report, there were thoseamong the defenders of the bridge who hadceased to view it as a symbol of transcendence orinternationalism. "This bridge shows the beautyof our Muslim culture", said a local Muslimcommander named Kemal Kemo. "The Croatsdon't haye anything here that can compare. Thusthe logic of cleansing and apartheid ?eaches outto infect even the mentality of its yictims.

Chrlrtoph!rHit hcnrTor4r tc

Watlringron'da

jc,Jmalistto,mUK'no*iftgfotrtle Ndttoq

Prcl€,ftt living in

WdshingtnrL

Washington Porlun 30 Agustos 1993 tarihlisaylsrnda hiiziinlii bir manget vardr. *Mostar

K<ipriisii Qcikerken, Bosna'mn EtnikBirliktelik Dtqn de Q<ikiiyor". Mangetinalunda, yeni ve eski Avrupa kuwetlerininga$dag Molotov-Ribbentrop paktrgergevesinde'Daha Biiyiik Srrbistan"rn ikiziolan 'Daha Biiyiik Hrrvatistan"rngeli$mesine engel oldugu igin gelece$itehlikeye dtgen, 16. yiizyrl Osmanhmimarisinin z{eri Stari Mosfun usul usulgdkiigiinti hikiye ediyordu.Muhabir |ohn Pomfret, Bosna-Hersekordusunda savaqmr$ ve cilmtiE olan hemHrrvat hem Katolik Jadranko Fink'indykiisiinii anlaoyor. Miisliiman bolgesindekimezannln iistiine kendi iste$i iizerineyalmzca kripriiniin resmi konmu$.Oldiirtlmeden <ince yabancr ziyaretgilere*Kdprii igin savagryorum" demiE."Arkadaglarrmla yine huzur iginde k<ipriidensuya adayabilmek igin. Benim dtinyam bu:eski koprii ve Mostar. Kciprt gokerse Mostarda onunla birlikte g6ker. O, bizim candamanmrz." K<iprtiden daLg yapmak,Katolik, Mtisltiman, Ortodoks ve pek nadiranrlan laiklerden olu$an ddrt ayrr ntifusu bir araya getiren onemli bir spordu. En iinlii dalgrg,tartr$masrz yerel tiyatronun miidiirii Emir Baljic'di. Son g<irtildii$iinde (60 ya$nda) *Hrrvat

Salrrnma Konseyi" tarafindan zorla askere ahnmrg ve <in cephenin en korunaksrz yerinde kumguvah doldurup siper kazmakla gdrevlendirilmigti.Igler k6ttye gittikqe diyor Pomfret, koprtiyii savunanlardan bir krsmr artrk onu yiicelmenin yada enternasyonalizmin simgesi olarak g6rmekten vazgcAtiler. Ycirenin Miisltiman kumandaruKemal Kamo, 'Bu kcipni Islam kiiltiiriimtizrin giizelli$ini yansruyor' diyor. 'Hrrvatlann

burada bu kdpriiyle mukayese edilecek bir geyleri yok". Bciylcce temizleme ve rk aynmcrh$r

Avrwpa Nerede Bitiyor?Where does EuroPe end?

CHRISTOPHER HITCHEI{S

mantlgl kurbanlannrn dahi diigiince bigiminesrzmrq oluyor.Pomfret, bu miikemmel yazrlmrg haberindeIvo Andri6'in bagyaprtr "Drina Kopriisii"niiokumug oldu$u konusunda bir ipucuvermiyor. Kitabr okumug olanlara, kdpriilerinve "kapia"nrn yani Visegrad gehrinin tiimhalkr igin bir ortak kullanrm mekAnr, birbulugma yeri olan k<iprii kemerlerinin Balkantarihinde nasrl simgesel bir onemi oldu$unuhaurlatmaya gerek yok. (Visegrad diinyayaadrnr duyurduysa son barbarhkpadamasrndaki'temizlik" harekatryladulrrrdu. )Kendisi de Bosnah bir Srrp olan Andri6'in,gehir ve kopri korkung bir sel tehlikesiyleyiizydzeyken yagananlan anlatrgrnr hatrrlayrn:Tiirhler, Hrrioiyanlar ve Tahudiler bir arayageldiler. Hattn hoSullan w ortoh felaketinajtrhjr bu insanlon bir araya getird.i w higoltnszsa bir aksnmltgma bir inanetdilerinden oltrq.n uryrrtlrne kiiprii 0ldt4.Laikli$in bir segenek olmadr$r d6ne mdek<iprii, zaman iginde birbirine kargrkalkanlanmrg farkhhklan torpiileyipyumu$atmaya yaramayan Srrplar igin birzafer, Mtisliimanlar igin bir iistiinltik simgesiolmaktan grkryor.Mimari mecazlara kargr tetikte olmak gerek.Kimileri agrrr duygusal olduklarr kadarhakikatten de uzaktrrlar (MikhailGorbagov'un Avrupa hayalindeki biiyiik"gatr"srm hatrrlayrn); kimile riyse fesatyiikliidiir (akh baqrnda biri, strekli milli "aileoca$r"ndan soz eden birinden uzak durur). Oysa kopriilerin diyalektik ve iEbirli$ine yonelten

bir ozellikleri vardlr - tek ycinlii ya da tek taraflr koprti olmaz - ve dostlart, hayranlarttarafindan oldu$u gibi diigmanlarr tarafrndan da yargrlarur. Kuzey Irlanda ProtestanKoktencilerinin politik lideri Ian Paisley'in bir gazeteci tarafindan 'koprii kurma'roltiniitistlenmeye ga$rrldr$rnr hatrrlyorum: Cevap olarak aqa$rlayrcr bir tavrrla "Ktipriiler vatanhainleri gibidir. Kargr tarafa gegerler" demigti. Kcipr[ kargrtr tavrr, daha <iz bir bigimde dile

getirilemez. Pekiyi girkin bir kdprii gdren var mrl Yalnrzca iglevsel olduklannda bile simetri

kurallarrna uygun, varhklannr agrklayan dengeye sahiptirler. Kaldt ki tarihte gevreye zararl

Pomfret gave no sign, in his excellent despatch,of having read lvo Andri€'s Bosnian masterpieceThe Brtdge on thc Drino. Those who have readthis book will need no reminding of theemblematic importance of bridges in Balkanhistory, and of the koPioi the meeting-point inthe centre of the span that became commonground for all citizens of the town of ViseSrad.(Visegrad is now known to th€ wider world, if itis known at all, as the site of an early "cleansing"operation in the recent outbreak of barbarism.)Recall how Andri6, himself a Bosnian Serb,evokes a moment when the town, and thebridge, are menaced by a terrifying flood:Turks, Chrlstions and lcws mlngled together. The

force of the clements ond tfte weight of commonmisfonune brought off thesc men together andbridgcd, ot teaia for this one eyenin& the gutf thotdlvidcd onc foith frcm another.Gradually, and in an age when secularism wasnot an option, the b?idge helps to emulsifyentrenched differences. lt ceases, to the Serbs,to be a symbol of conquest. lt ceases, to theMuslims, to be a symbol of superiority.One should be on one's tuard atainstarchitectural metaphors. Some of them aresentimental as well as inexact (recall the great"roof' of l.likhail Gorbachev's purportedEurope) and some are sinister (one is invariablywise to recoil from anyone who is too much

tiven to speaking of the national "heorth"). Butbridtes are known for their dialectical andcooperative character - there is no such thing asa one-way or a one-sided bridge - and can be

iudged by their enemies as well as by their manyfriends and admirers. I well remember hearinglan Paisley, the political leader of Protestantfundamentalism in Northern lreland, beinginvited to take the role of "bridge-builder" by aninterviewer. "Bridgesl" he sneered in reply.

"Bridges are like traitors. They go over to theother side." The anti-bridge position couldhardly have been stated with more economy. Yet

Whcrc doet EurcDe end!

Apruta Nerede Bitiyor?

CHRISTOPHER H|rCHEl{S

dokunan herhalde bir k<iprii olmamrgtrr.Gergi k<ipriiler go$unlukla isimsiz ingaatiggilerine mezar olmuEtur ama birgok biiyiikanrt ya da yatrrrm kadar de$il. Ustelik gimditrafik ve iletiEime agrk kopriilerin birlegtirdigigegitli ugurumlar kadar hig degil.Brejnevcili$in son giinlerinde HelsinkiYurttaglar Meclisi'nin bir toplantrsr igingitti$im ve loanne Landy ve Mary Kaldor'labirlikte bulunma gerefine nail oldulumPrag'da Qek ve Slovak gengleri akgamlanVlatava Nehri iisttindeki kcipriileregekiliyorlardr. Koprii iistiinde insangozaltrndan kurtulur ve orayl terkederken debirden fazla y<in segme Eansrna sahip olur.Orada, biraz idealist bir tavrrla, VargovaPaktr'mn, insan haklan hareketle riyle ,Nato'nun silahsrzlanma ve insan haklarrhareketleri arasrnda bir k<iprii oluEturmaktansciz etmigtik: Oldukga gok saldrnya veerozyona u$ramrg olmasma kargrn okcipriiniiLn kimi kemerleri hili ayakta.Ankara'da gergeklegen bu umut vericitoplantrya ev sahipli$i yapan iilke olanTiirkiye, basrnda genellikle kolaycr bir tavrrla"Dogu ile Bat" arasrnda, ya da "Asya ileAvrupa" ya da "Islam ile Avrupa" arasrndaya da "gagdag diinya ile gagdaElagan diinya"arasrnda bir kdprti olarak nitelendirilir.Galata ve Bo$az k<ipriileri bubasmakahphklann kayna$r olagelmigtir: Amagurasr kesin ki Tiirk perspektifi, kopriiigindeki her ciddi mimara yol gristerecektir.Belgrad tarafindan trrmandrnlan vahget vegaddarlk sava$rrr ele alahm; bunun sadece "Tiirkgiilti$e" mi, yoksa'Islam"a mr, yoksainsanhk ve uygarh$a kargr bir sava$ ml oldu$una Tiirkler karar verecektir. Ve bu konudaTiirklerin sdzii gegerli olacaktrr. Kafkasya'yr tehdit eden korkung padamalar konusunda daTiirklerin s<izii gegerli olacaktrr. En onemlisi de yerel go$unlu$u oluqturan halklarla;Giineydo$u Anadolulu Kiirtler ve Krbnsh Rumlarla yaEanan anlagmazh$rn g<iziimiinde de sonsoz Tiirklerin olacaktrr. Iki durumda da giiglii taraf olan Tiirkler bu duruma ya eski birImparatorluk zihniyetiyle ya da gelece$in demokratik cumhuriyeti zihniyetiyleyaklagacaklardrr. Bu iki kimlik arasrndaki kopriinrin kemeri hAlA inga edilmemiEtir. Bosna'yr

who has ever seen an ugly bridge? Even whenmerely functional, they possess the requirementfor symmetry and poise that redeems them. Andthere has probably never been a bridge that isenvironmentally threatenint. lt is true thatbridges often mark the grave-sites of unnamedconstruction workers. but not to the extent thatmany great monuments and enterprises do, andusually to a lesser extent than did the variousgulfs over which the bridges now conduct trafiicand communications.At an early meeting of the Helsinki CitizensAssembly, in Prague in the closing days ofBreznnevism, where I had the honour of beingpresent with Mary Kaldor and Joanne Landy, itwas to the bridges oy€r the Charles River thatyoung Czechs and Slovaks would repair in theevening. On the bridge one should be free ofsurveillance and free to choose more than onedirection in departing. }ve spoke then, ratheridealistically, of forming a "bridte" between thehuman rights movements of the Yvarcaw Pactand the disarmament and human-rightsmovements of NATO. Despite a good deal ofbattering and erosion, some of the spans of thatbridge survive until now.Turkey, the country where this welcomemeeting is taking place, is often lazily spoken ofin iournalistic accounts as a bridge between"East and \Vest" or between Europe and Asia, orbetween lslam and Europe, or between themodern and the pre-modern worlds. The bridgesat Galata and Bosphorus have been the fount ofclich€ in this respect. Yet clearly the Turkishperspective will be essential to any seriousarchitect in thc bridge business. lf we take onlythe current war of atrocity and aggression that isbeing mounted by Belgrade, it will be for Turksto decide whether this is to count as an offenceagainst "Turkism" only, or against "lslam", oragainst humanity and civilisation. And in this, theTurkish word will count. lt will count, too, in thehorrible outbreaks that threaten in the

Wherc does Euro?e end?

Aprut a Nered.e Bititor?

CHNSTOPHER HITCHEI{S

pargalanmaya ve teca!'rize uSramaya mahkirmeden Avrupa'run tutup Tiirkiye'nin aileiiyeli$ine uygunlu$unu yargrlama ci.iretigosteriyor olmasr birgok Tiirke itici gelebilir.Oysa bagka bir Avrupa daha var. Bosna igin,Salman Riigdii igin, Krirtler igin, I(bns'rnpargalanmasr igin aym gerekgelerle aynrgekilde yiire$i garpan birgok kiigiik k<ipriiylesarmalanmrq bir Avrupa: Almanya'da Tiirkailelerini savunanlar go$unlukla Tiirkdevletine en keskin elegtirileri getirenlerdir.Bu, yalnrzca tek taraflr diigiinen kafalar iginanlagrlmaz bir geligki. Oysa dedi$im gibi, tektaraflr kdprf olmaz.Bu birkag satrn adamak istedi$im merhumEdward Thompson bir keresinde bizdendzgiir ve b<iliinmemig bir Avrupa "zatenvarmrg" gibi dtigtinmemizi ve davranmamrzristemiqti. Bu, hem kafa agrcr hem de pratikbir oneriydi. Qrinkii yaklagan bir gergekligidnceden giziyordu. Aynr cesaret ve hayalgiiciine sahip grkmahyrz. Brrakahm,vandallar, barbarlar, fagitler kitaplan yakrpkopriileri yrksrnlar. Bu onlann do$asrnda var.Oysa bizim de onlann tahminedemeyecekleri bir bilgimiz ve bir giiciimiizvar. Kitap okuyup kitap yayrmlayabiliriz.Kopriilerin planlarr bizde, yeniden ingaederiz. Bu arada, kitaplar yanar, kdpriileryrkrhrken okurlar gibi yazarlar gibidavranabiliriz... tabii bir de mimarlar gibi.

Gaucasus. ?.lost of all, it will count in theresolution of two disputes with local maiorities,the Kurds of southeastenr Anatolia and th€Greeks of Cyprus. Turkey, which has the upperhand in both instances, can decide to act withthe mentality either of a former empire or of afuture democratic republic. The arch of thebridge between these two entities is stillincomplete.It may seem repellent to many Turks that thesame "Europe" which has condemned Eosnia topartition and desecration should dare to iudgeTurkey's fitness for family membership. Butthere is another Europe, filiated by many smallbridges, which cares about Bosnia for the samereason that it cares about Salman Rushdie andabout the Kurds, and about the dismembermentof Cyprus. Those rvho defend Turkish families inGermany are often the sternest critics of theTurkish state. This only appeaE to be acont?adiction in the mind of the one-sided. And,as I my have said, there is no such thing as a one-sided bridge.The late Edward Thompson, to whom I shouldlike to dedicate these few words. oncesummoned us to think and act as if a free andundivided Evrope alreody exined. lt was both aninspiring and an utterly practical iniunction,because it prefigured an imminent reality. }Yehay€ to find the same nerve and imagination. Letthe vandals and Yahoos and fascists burn thebooks and blow up the bridges. lt is their nature.But we have knowledte and power they cannotguess at. YVe can read the books, anddisseminate them. We have the plans of thebridges, and we can rebuild them. In themeantime, as the books burn and the bridgesfall, we can act as if vye were readers and writers- and architects too.