Minorities in the Balkans
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Minorities in the Balkans
（Report / Minority Rights Group, no. 82）
Minority Rights Group, 1989
Available at 8 libraries
Note
Includes bibliographical references
Description and Table of Contents
Description
Turks have lived in Bulgaria since the 14th century, but their situation has changed greatly since the emergence of the modern Bulgarian state in the late 19th century. This is a report on Bulgaria's repressive treatment of its 10% Turkish minority, especially since 1984. In September 1970 Bulgaria ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Yet in late 1984, the forced assimilation of the ethnic Turkish minority began in earnest, in line with a declared policy of making Bulgaria a "unified socialist nation". Inhabitants of Turkish villages were forced to change their Islamic names to ones deemed more Bulgarian. The speaking of Turkish was banned, mosques shut and Islamic practices prohibited. Sporadic protest greeted these actions, and hundreds were arrested and imprisoned. More widespread protest began in early 1989, with mass participation in demonstrations and hunger-strikes. The authorities responded with force, martial law was imposed and many Turks were killed. Intimidation was followed by expulsion, and it is believed that as many as 200,000 Turks have now been forced to leave Bulgaria.
Thousands more are now opting for a new life in Turkey, having given up hope of any future for themselves and their families in Bulgaria. The author of this report calls for the safeguarding of human rights in Bulgaria, the enforcing of international conventions on freedom and aid for Turkish refugees. He concludes by listing the addresses of those authorities to whom people concerned with furthering these aims may present their views.
by "Nielsen BookData"