According to Freedom House's most recent survey of conditions in Bulgaria, roughly nine per cent of the country's population are ethnic Turks (Freedom in the World 1999). In the 1996 Ethnologue report, Turkish speakers were said to be concentrated in "Kurdzhali Province and neighbouring areas of South Bulgaria, along the Danube, and various regions of East Bulgaria" (p. 472).

Ethnic Turks were said to have held a large rally in Djebel in May 1999 in order to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the first organized demonstration against the communist government (BTA 19 May 1999). More than 1,000 ethnic Turks were also reported to have gathered in Plovdiv in March 1999 to greet Turkish President Suleyman Demirel (ibid. 24 March 1999). According to a 22 March 1999 BBC report, during his state visit President Demirel "praised Bulgaria's treatment of its ethnic Turkish minority."

Although the Bulgarian constitution prohibits political parties formed along religious, ethnic or racial lines, a predominantly ethnic Turkish political party, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS or MRF), "operates freely and is represented in parliament" (Freedom in the World 1999). In an article published by the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) on 31 March 1999, DPS leader Ahmed Dogan was reported to have declared at a public rally that Bulgaria is now an example of ethnic tolerance, and that "the Bulgarian model for solving ethnic issues was achieved through dialogue and understanding."

However, following the party's defeat on 23 October 1999 in a municipal election in Kurdzhali, where a large proportion of the population are ethnic Turks (AP 28 Oct. 1999), the DPS accused the ruling Union of Democratic Forces and opposition Bulgaria Socialist Party of manipulating and rigging the election in the town (BTA 25 Oct. 1999). However, according to a 28 October 1999 report by the Associated Press, many ethnic Turkish voters in Kurdzhali may have decided to back parties other than the DPS in the hope of obtaining "more economic support from the central government."

A number of news reports published in 1999 referred to tensions between the regional governor for Kircaali, Plamen Ivanov, and local mayors of ethnic Turkish origin, who had called upon Prime Minister Kostov to dismiss him (BTA 27 May 1999; ibid. 25 May 1999; ANA 26 May 1999). According to a 26 May 1999 report by ANA, Governor Ivanov was said to have used "bureaucratic pressure methods" on ethnic Turkish mayors, and "even threatened some of them." In a 25 May 1999 article by Trud, Kurdzhali Mayor Rasim Musa was reported to have stated that Governor Ivanov's behaviour "smacks of nationalism," and that he was "creating an atmosphere of fear of police" in municipalities governed by ethnic Turkish mayors.

Following a public statement by Adem Kenan, the leader of the unregistered Turkish Democratic Party, that two autonomous Turkish regions should be established in Bulgaria, he was questioned and warned by the prosecutor general's office to end his "unlawful activity" (BTA 3 May 1999; ibid. 10 May 1999; ibid. 5 May 1999). In a separate incident, Kenan was ordered by the Bulgarian security service in Razgrad to hand over several hundred Turkish flags he had brought into the country from Turkey (BTA 3 May 1999).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

Anatolia News Agency (ANA) [Ankara, in English]. 26 May 1999. "Turks Declare Kircaali Governor Persona non Grata." (FBIS-WEU-1999-0527 26 May 1999/WNC)

Associated Press (AP). 28 October 1999. Veselin Zhelev. "Bulgarian Turks Lose Faith in Ethnic Party." (NEXIS)

British Broadcasting Corporation. 22 March 1999. "Turkish President Praises Bulgaria's Treatment of Ethnic Turkish Minority." http://news2.thls.bbc.co.uk/ [Accessed 4 Nov. 1999]

Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) [Sofia, in English]. 25 October 1999. "DPS in Kurdzhali Protests Against Election Result." (FBIS-EEU-1999-1025 25 Oct. 1999/WNC)

_____. 27 May 1999. "Kurdjali, Southern Bulgaria, district governor..." http://www.b-info.com/ [Accessed 10 Nov. 1999]

_____. 25 May 1999. "'Sega' Says the Prosecutor's Office..." http://www.b-info.com/ [Accessed 10 Nov. 1999]

_____. 19 May 1999. "Bulgaria-Ethnic Turks." http://www.b-info.com/ [Accessed 10 Nov. 1999]

_____. 10 May 1999. "The Entire Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria must..." http://www.b-info.com/ [Accessed 10 Nov. 1999]

_____. [Sofia, in English]. 5 May 1999. "Turks' Party Leader Unrepentant After Warning by Prosecutors." (BBC Summary 7 May 1999/NEXIS)

_____. 3 May 1999. "Unregistered Party Leader Wants Autonomous Regions in Bulgaria." http://www.b-info.com/ [Accessed 10 Nov. 1999]

_____. 31 March 1999. "Ahmed Dogan-Bulgaria-Ethnic Tolerance." http://www.b-info.com/ [Accessed 10 Nov. 1999]

_____. 24 March 1999. "Turkish President in Bulgaria." http://www.b-info.com/ [Accessed 10 Nov. 1999]

Ethnologue: Languages of the World. 1996. 13th ed. Edited by Barbara F. Grimes. Dallas: Summer Institute of Linguistics.

Freedom in the World: The Annual Survey of Political Rights & Civil Liberties. 1998-1999. 1999. Edited by Adrian Karatnycky et al. New York: Freedom House. http://www.freedomhouse.org/survey99/ [Accessed 12 Nov. 1999]

Trud (BTA) [Sofia, in Bulgarian]. 25 May 1999. "DPS Mayors Protest to Kostov Against Oblast Administrator." (FBIS-EEU-1999-0525 25 May 1999/WNC)