DISCRIMINATION POLICIES THAT LEAD TO FORCED MIGRATION: THE QUESTION OF THE BULGARIAN TURKS WITHIN UNITED NATIONS (1988-1989)
Drenusha KAMBERI, Hava REXHEPI, Gojart KAMBERI
Abstract
On August 21, 1989, Turkey’s decision to close the borders with Bulgaria it was interpreted by the authorities in Ankara as an attempt to force Sofia through dialogue both governments to reach an immigration agreement. Turkey considering itself as the kin state several times tried to sensibilize and prove that ethnic Turks living in Bulgaria experienced continued repression and forced assimilation while Bulgaria perceived those attempts as long-term policy of Turkey in interfering on internal issues of Bulgaria. The confrontations between Turkey and Bulgaria increased with the decision of Turkey to address this problem within United Nations. In the recent academic literature, most of the studies are focused on the internal factors and practices related to the assimilation campaign, for the period 1985-1989. The purpose of this paper, it is to contextualize the arguments used in favor and against internationalization of the question of the Bulgarian Turks through multilateral diplomacy as an instrument used by state authorities in Turkey and Bulgaria. The term Bulgarian Turks it is used in the sense of ethnicity referring to the ethnic Turks living in Bulgaria and having the status of the minority group. In this paper will be analyzed the content of the documents delivered by the Permanent Representatives of Turkey and Bulgaria in UN to the UN Secretary General and UN General Assembly, and the reports of the UN Special Rapporteur appointed in accordance with resolution 1986/20. The paper it is guided by two research questions: What kind of engagement Turkey chose in raising the question of the Bulgarian Turks into UN level? What actions took Bulgaria within UN in negating the accusations for an assimilation campaign?
Pages:
59 - 70