Abstract
The Political Participation of Turkish Minority in Bulgaria and the Public Reaction
Forming approximately %10 percent of the total population, the Turkish minority in Bulgaria had faced serious attempts of assimilation and forced emigra-tion since Bulgaria?s independence in 1908. But ?The Revival Process? led by Communist leader Zhivkov in 1980s, violating the minority rights envisaged in in-ternational treaties, was its paramount. However, with the fall of Communism Bul-garia entered into transition process starting in 1990s and that meant a new phase for the minority. The foreign policy aim of integration to Euro-Atlantic structures affected Bulgaria?s treatment of minorities. Since then, Bulgaria has stepped forward to become a plural society. Even though there are some problems concerning the mi-nority rights, the Turkish minority is enjoying freedom like other Bulgarian citizens. The Movement for Rights and Freedoms founded officially in 1990 by Ahmet Doğan has become the voice of Turkish minority. The party took place in coalition governments. However, like its counterpart Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania, the MRF has become the main target of radical Bulgarian nationalists. The attempts to prohibit the party and avoid its participation in the elections have been fruitless due to the Constitutional Court?s decision in 1992. This article ex-amines the role of Movement for Rights and Freedoms as a successful way of peace-ful integration, while analyzing the factors causing dissent in nationalist circles of the society in Bulgaria due to the Turkish minority?s political participation and repre-sentation.<
Keywords
Balkans, Turkish Minority, Bulgaria, Political Parties.