The Political Participation of Turkish Minority in Bulgaria and the Public Reaction

Öz

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.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Balkans, Turkish Minority, Bulgaria, Political Parties.

Bulgaristan'daki Türk Azınlığın Siyasi Katılımı ve Halk Tepkisi

Öz

Toplam nüfusun yaklaşık % 10’unu oluşturan Bulgaristan'daki Türk azınlık, 1908'de Bulgaristan'ın bağımsızlığından beri ciddi asimilasyon teşebbüsle-ri ile karşılaşmış ve göçe zorlanmıştır. 1980ler'de komünist lider Zhivkov’un lider-liğindeki “diriliş süreci”, uluslararası antlaşmalardaki azınlık haklarını ihlal ede-rek bu konuda had safhaya ulaşmıştır. Ancak, komünizmin çöküşüyle birlikte Bulgaristan, 1990lar'da başlayan bir geçiş sürecine girmiş ve bu süreç azınlıklar için yeni bir aşamayı oluşturmuştur. Avrupa-Atlantik kurumlarıyla bütünleşmeye yönelik dış politika, Bulgaristan’daki azınlıklara yönelik tutumları da etkilemiş-tir. O zamandan beri Bulgaristan, çoğulcu bir topluma doğru adım atmaya başla-mıştır. Azınlık haklarıyla ilgili bazı sorunlar varsa da, Türk azınlık, diğer Bul-gar vatandaşlar gibi özgürlüğüne sahiptir. 1990’da resmî olarak Ahmet Doğan tarafından kurulan Haklar ve Özgürlükler Hareketi, Türk azınlığının sesi ol-muştur. Söz konusu parti, koalisyon hükümetlerinde yer almıştır. Ancak, emsalle-ri İttifaki-UDRM ve MRF gibi o da radikal Bulgar milliyetçilerinin ana hedefle-rinden biri olmuştur. Partiyi yasaklama ve seçimlere katılımını engelleme gibi te-şebbüsler, 1992'de Anayasa Mahkemesi’nin kararı ile sonuçsuz kalmıştır. Bu makalede, barışçıl bütünleşmede etkin bir rol oynayan Haklar ve Özgürlükler Hareketi’nin rolü incelenmekte, Türk azınlığının siyasal katılımı ve temsili ile Bulgaristan'da milliyetçi çevrelerde ayrılığa yol açan etkenler değerlendirilmektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Balkanlar, Türk Azınlık, Bulgaristan, Siyasal Partiler

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