-----Original Message----- From: Elias.Karagiannis at spg.org <Elias.Karagiannis at spg.org> Subject: re: Albania: the real story
>
>I would like to ask Elena about the situation of the Turkish/Moslem
>minority in Bulgaria and the impact of war on its treatment?
There are distinct minorities of ethnic Turks who are Moslem (who identify
themselves as such), Turkish-speaking Moslem Roma, who tend to identify
themselves as Turks but are looked down at by the first group, Bulgarian
speaking, Orthodox Roma, and Bulgarian-speaking Moslem Bulgarians (Pomaks).
There are seldom communications, intermarriages, etc between these groups. I
have not got the statistics with exact figures handy (there is no
informartion in the general yearly edition of the National Statistics
Institute, and in my e-mail in response to your request I offered to check
these things, if you need precise information).
>Any thoughts
>Elena?
Just personal impressions. Hardly valid for anything more as where I live
(Rousse) and work (Veliko Turnovo) a really small percentage of the
population belongs to these minorities. Compact masses live in central
Bulgaria, and, most of all, in Southern Bulgaria, in rural areas. So I have
had very few contacts, apart from one of my very good friends and students
(probably 2-3-4 students per group of 15). There is no tension on purely
ethnic basis; and the "higher" up the social ladder you go, the less it
seems to matter (but, for example, my friend who is a doctor was prevented
to specialise in gynaecology because she is ethnic Turk; that became
possible after '89; there used to be restrictions, tacit, about people from
minorities being admitted to military schools, journalistic colleges, law
schools, etc - apart from shop-window cases). I would never have known that
if it weren't for my contacts with her. Yet, although there's no open
hostility, the situation is far from idyllic as the compact masses, most of
which live and work in rural areas, seldom get opportunities to get good
education, apart from elementary literacy (school is obligatory till 16
y.age); there's widepsread unemployment; and they are economically much less
well-off than the average; a lot of people are still prejudiced, without
being hostile (two-ways). Again this is just a personal impression. I
wouldn't say there is change in the situation compared to before the war.
The Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) is supported by a significant
portion of the minorities.
Try checking these
Confidence in Parties and Politicians (there's a breakdown into ethnic
groups, educational background, etc)
http://gallup.mobiltel.bg/politics/politics.htm
Elections and Electoral Behaviour
http://gallup.mobiltel.bg/electoral/electoral.htm
Government. Current Political and Economic Situation http://gallup.mobiltel.bg/current/current.htm
NATO Issues http://gallup.mobiltel.bg/nato/nato.htm
An interesting debate seems to have been hushed in January ab status of minorities in relation to the Framework Convention on national minorities. I scarecely remember any details, and have found just this on my hard disk (summary of an article in newspaper PARI / MONEY, 29/01/99)
********** BSP: No Minorities Exist In Bulgaria
(Pari, 29-JAN-99)
THE REALITIES in Bulgaria, historical and contemporary, alike, provide unambiguous testimony to the fact that despite the differences in the ethnics, culture, language and religion on the Bulgarian territory, no national minorities have been shaped out, the declaration of the parliamentary Left, read in parliament, states. The Socialists firmly insist on the acceptance of an interpretation declaration upon ratifying the Framework Convention on national minorities. Just like there is an explanatory report attached to the Convention which is an authentic and mandatory interpretation for all Europe there has to be a declaration to ensure the authentic Bulgarian understanding of the convention. BSP expects to hear a clear and reasonable position on the Framework Convention. The government, Leftists say, cannot be a passive watch-dog and transfer its responsibilities to the Consultative Committee on national security which is under the supervision of the president. The parliamentary left stated they will not participate in pseudo-consultations. The parliamentary chair Yordan Sokolov scheduled another date for holding the consultations on 1 February. " Unfortunately, I only have the list of articles that reflected that debate in national press - haven't really read more than a couple. If you ARE really interested, I could give them a good go within the next two weeks.
And here's a recent press release that might be of interest to you (it came out on BTA, on o4/08/99; sorry, don't have the URL but they have the link on hri.org - it's in the free news): ***********BULGARIA-US DELEGATION
Bulgaria is the most important country on the Balkans not
only because of its proximity to Kosovo, but also because of the
progressing political and economic reforms in the state and
because of the strong support, which the country gave to NATO.
This is why the US delegation's Balkan tour started from
Bulgaria, Jeffrey Gedmin, Executive Director of New Atlantic
Initiative told journalists Wednesday after meeting with
President Peter Stoyanov. Representatives of the US organization
are here since Tuesday. The delegation of prominent journalists,
politicians, political analysts and financiers is visiting at the
invitation of the Atlantic Club in Bulgaria. The objective of
the tour is to familiarize the delegation with the political and
economic consequences for the Balkans from the war in Yugoslavia,
said Gedmin. Together with the US and West Europe, the region
must take the right decision about the postwar reconstruction, to
play a leading role in the process, he added. Gedmin quoted
President Stoyanov as saying that in order to secure lasting
peace and stability on the Balkans not only certain countries in
certain cases, but all countries in the region should work
together. The Bulgarian president would the best lobbyist for
this country abroad, he added in response to a journalist
question. Earlier on Wednesday the US delegation met with the
leadership of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF, of the
ethnic Turks). They discussed the Bulgarian model of ethnic
peace in the country, which is good for the whole Balkans, MRF
leader Ahmed Dogan said after the meeting. The impressions of
the US guests, according to Ahmed Dogan, will play a big role in
finding the formula for the reconstruction of Southeastern Europe
as a whole in the context of the Stability Pact. Probably the
right MRF assessments in connection with the Balkan problems and
the role of the Movement in the formation of the Bulgarian ethnic
model, which is very highly assessed, are the reasons why the
guests wished to meet with the leadership of this particular
political force, said Dogan in response to a BTA question.
I don't think this helps much. Let me know what do u need more details about. Best wishes Elena P.S. Did you get the mail ab university, computers, Thessaloniki Balkan St centre, and the above one? The ISP had an eclipse some time last wek.