Revival Process

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The Revival Process or the Process of Rebirth (Bulgarian: Възродителен процес, romanized: Vazroditelen protses) refers to a policy of forced assimilation practiced by the socialist Bulgarian government in the 1980s. The policy involved the ethnic cleansing of Bulgaria's ethnic Turkish minority, which eventually culminated in the forced expulsion of 360,000 ethnic Turks in 1989.

Repressions

Bulgaria's about 900,000 ethnic Turks, at that time representing 10% of the country's population, were to assimilate by changing their Turkish names, including their deceased ancestors', to "Bulgarian" names. Exercising their Turkish customs and language as well as Islamic faith were also prohibited. The name-changing campaign was carried out between late 1984 and early 1985.[1] The repressions lasted unabated from 1984 through 1989 under the communist government of Todor Zhivkov. Those who refused were subjected to persecution, including imprisonment, expulsion and internment in the then reactivated infamous Belene labor camp, situated on an island in the Danube river.[2][3]

In 1984, the Bulgarian Government initiated an assimilation campaign in which Turks were forced to change their Turkish names for Bulgarian names.[1][4] By March 1985 the Bulgarian Government announced the Bulgarisation had been completed and the Bulgarian Turks were provided with several newly issued documents for identification.[1] The Turkish minority rebelled and protests ensued against the forced assimilation and by 1989 the Bulgarian Government came to the conclusion that an emigration of the Turkish population into Turkey was to be encouraged actively.[1]

1989 ethnic cleansing

Migration to Turkey

In early 1989, in some areas with large ethnic Turkish populations severe clashes with fatalities occurred, following which the Chairman of the Bulgarian state council Todor Zhivkov addressed to population encouraging Bulgarian Turks to settle to Turkey.[1] Shortly after his address, the border with Turkey was opened on 29 May 1989 exclusively for the country's Turks and Muslims and over 360,000 left Communist Bulgaria for Turkey between 30 May 1989 and 22 August 1989.[5][6] Turkey eventually closed the border to prevent a further immigration of Bulgarian Turks. [1] Faced with difficulties settling in Turkey, within the first three months of their arrival 40,000 Turks and Muslims returned to Bulgaria. This process continued and by the end of 1990 about 150,000 people have returned to Bulgaria suggesting a largely voluntary character of the migration. [7]

This 1989 expulsion of the Bulgarian Turks to Turkey had been the largest case of ethnic cleansing[8] in Europe since the expulsion of Germans living east of the Oder-Neisse line during 1944-1950, as agreed at the Potsdam Conference. On 11 January 2012, the Bulgarian Parliament officially recognized the 1989 expulsion as ethnic cleansing.[9] However, some Bulgarian mainstream parties have been rebuked for their continued neglect and disregard for the events of 1989.[10]

Migration to Western countries

In addition to the mass migration waves to Turkey, many Bulgarian Turks also sought refuge in Western Europe, especially in Austria,[11] Germany,[11] and Sweden.[11] Many also found refuge in Australia,[11] Canada,[12] England,[12] and the United States.[12]

Aftermath

On the 10 November 1989 Zhivkov was forced to resign[1] and the new Bulgarian Government restored the right to have Turkish names.[13]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Welle (www.dw.com), Deutsche. "Recalling the fate of Bulgaria's Turkish minority | DW | 24.12.2014". DW.COM. Retrieved 2021-04-18.
  2. ^ The Policies of the Bulgarian Communist Party towards Jews, Roma, Pomaks and Turks (1944-89) Archived 2007-09-26 at the Wayback Machine (Bulgarian). By Ulrich Büchsenschütz. International Center for Minority Studies and Intercultural Relations, 2000. Retrieved 26 May 2012.
  3. ^ These Events Need to be Discussed in the History Textbooks (Bulgarian). Dr. Mihail Ivanov (Interview). Mediapool. 22 March 2009. Retrieved 26 May 2012.
  4. ^ Eminov, Ali (1997). Turkish and Other Muslim Minorities in Bulgaria. Psychology Press. pp. 86–87. ISBN 978-0-415-91976-0.
  5. ^ Clyde Haberman (15 August 1989). "Flow of Turks Leaving Bulgaria Swells to Hundreds of Thousands". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  6. ^ Tomasz Kamusella. 2018. Ethnic Cleansing During the Cold War: The Forgoten 1989 Expulsion of Turks from Communist Bulgaria (Ser: Routledge Studies in Modern European History). London: Routledge, 328pp. ISBN 9781138480520
  7. ^ "Защо българските турци се завръщат в началото на 90-те години на ХХ в."
  8. ^ 27 години от „Голямата екскурзия“ – комунистическият план за етническо прочистване. 2016. http://www.faktor.bg/bg/articles/politika/na-vseki-kilometar/-27-godini-ot-golyamata-ekskurziya-komunisticheskiyat-plan-za-etnichesko-prochistvane-74482
  9. ^ ДЕКЛАРАЦИЯ осъждаща опита за насилствена асимилация на българските мюсюлмани. 2012. http://www.parliament.bg/bg/declaration/ID/13813 ; Bulgarian MPs Enforce 'Revival Process' Official Condemnation. 2012. http://www.novinite.com/articles/140018/Bulgarian+MPs+Enforce+%27Revival+Process%27+Official+Condemnation
  10. ^ T. Kamusella. 2020. Between Politics and Objectivity: The Non-Remembrance of the 1989 Ethnic Cleansing of Turks in Communist Bulgaria. Journal of Genocide Research.
  11. ^ a b c d Maeva, Mila (2008), "Modern Migration Waves of Bulgarian Turks", in Marushiakova, Elena (ed.), Dynamics of National Identity and Transnational Identities in the Process of European Integration, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, pp. 227–229, ISBN 9781847184719
  12. ^ a b c Hillgren, Johanna (2009), 20 år sedan bulgarienturkarna kom, Hallands Nyheter, retrieved 8 May 2021, De flesta av flyktingarna tvingades återvända men få av dem finns i dag kvar i Bulgarien. De har istället flytt på nytt och sökt ett liv i västländer som Kanada, England, USA, Turkiet eller Tyskland.
  13. ^ Refugees, United Nations High Commissioner for. "Refworld | Chronology for Turks in Bulgaria". Refworld. Retrieved 2021-04-18.

External links

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