Bulgarian Turks in the period of democracy(1989-2011)

Turks have lived in the Balkans for centuries and have left permanent monuments.They adopted a just rule in the Balkans for centuries which left a positive effect on the people of the region and which led the people of the region to adopt Turkish and Islamic culture. Turks settled in all parts of the Balkans and they are seen most densely in Bulgaria. With the onset of land losses of the Ottomans, there have been migratory movements of huge amounts for more than a century from the newly independent countries in the Balkans to Turkey. The migration of Turks from Bulgaria started with its acquisition of princedom with the Berlin Treaty. Although the agreements between Turkey and Bulgaria in later periods secured some rights of minority Turks in Bulgaria, the pressures exerted on Turks encouraged migrations. With the communist regime, the pressures on, and assimilation of, Turks were elevated, and in 1980 the communist regime started to change the names of Turks into Christian names. The series of migration took place for over one century. ?The great migration? was also added in 1989. Hundreds of thousands of Turks had to migrate to Turkey. In 1989, the communist bloc dissolved, and the communist regime was replaced by democracy in Bulgaria. In this process, Turks started to gain their democratic rights. Bulgaria, which changed sides and where multi-party system was introduced, has now been a member of the EU and NATO.In the democratic period, Turks still experience pressures and are misperceived. Although Turks have some problems in their religious life, they have had some positive results through the works of the office of the head mufti of Bulgaria since the end of 1989. In this period, Turks have published several newspapers and magazines. Turks who naturally cannot get rid of the effects of the past experiences are represented in different parties since 1989. The MRF party, made up of mainly by Turks, has been the third biggest political party in Bulgaria.Key Words: Bulgarian Turks, immigration, office of the head mufti, Turkish press