The Forgotten 1989 Ethnic Cleansing of Bulgarias Turks Tomasz Kamusella University of St Andrews University of Glasgow Central and East European Studies Research Seminar, Wednesday, December 9, 2015, 4pm Bucharest, December 1989 Warsaw, February 1989 End of Communism in Central Europe: A Standard Story Grassroots revolution (mass opposition) > delegitimation of the communist regime > end of communism (aka regime change) End 1: Round Table (peacefully negotiated change): Poland, Hungary, East Germany End 2a: Revolution (largely peaceful overthrow of the regime): Czechoslovakia End 2b: Revolution (violent overthrow of the regime): Romania, Albania (End 3: Breakup of the state: post-Soviet & post-Yugoslav states) In Bulgaria: A Palace Coup? Or Goliamata Promena (Big Change)? A Communist Relieving Another Communist of Power November 10, 1989: Petar Mladenov (left) taking power over from Todor Zhivkov When Did the End of Communism Begin in Bulgaria? November 10, 1989: A near-conclusion of the end of communism? If the thesis holds, what was the beginning of this end? I propose that what triggered this end of communism in Bulgaria was the mass expulsion of 360,000 Bulgarian Turks (& Muslims) between late May and late August 1989 (Goliamata Ekskurziia, Big Excursion official & quite mendacious /euphemistic name of this tragedy) The transition from the end of communism (Nov 10, 1989) to the beginning of democracy lasted till the first free elections (June 1990) and to the election of the first non-communist president (August 1990) I propose that the political, social and economic context of the period was conditioned by the return of c 150,000 expellees between August 1989 and September 1990 Fall of Communism in Bulgaria April 1989May-Aug 1989Nov 10, 1989 Muslim Protests Expulsion of Turks (Muslims) Zhivkov deposed Aug 1989-Sept 1990 Return of Expelees Beginning of Democracy in Bulgaria Nov 10, 1989 Dec 89/Jan 90 Jan-Mar 1990 Jun 1990Aug 1990Oct 1991 Zhivkov deposed Ahmed Dogan freed MRF founded Political and human rights returned to Turks & Muslims Free parliamenta ry elections Non- communis t president First non- communist government Coalition with the MRF MRF Movement for Rights and Freedoms Democratization in Bulgaria: The Main Factors Determining Its Character Aug 1989-Sept 1990 Return of Expelees Dec 1989-Nov 1990 Anti-Turkish & anti-Muslim demonstrations The Missing Picture The tragedy when it was happening NEVER made it to the front page of any international or national newspaper, (EXCEPT in Turkey & Yugoslavia) Daily Politika, Belgrade, Page 1 July 7, 1989 A Criticism of the Thesis Roumen Avramovs Criticism: Communism would have collapsed in Bulgaria even if the Turks had not been expelled I agree, it was Gorbachev, his reforms and their aftermath that in an unintended manner caused the fall of communism and the breakup of the Soviet bloc, and then of the Soviet Union But I propose that the end of communism would have been completely different in Bulgaria, if the Turks had not been expelled. The expulsion of 0.36 m Turks and the subsequent return of almost half of them decided on the very shape and dynamics of the end of communism in Bulgaria and on the character of the transition to democracy. To a large degree these events continue to shape the Bulgarian politics and democracy to this very day Who Remembers This Expulsion? That is NOT Kosovo in 1999 That is NOT Bosnia in That is NOT Nagorno- Karabakh in These are NOT Syrian refugees in 2015 Forgetting NOT a single scholarly article, let alone a monograph on the 1989 expulsion (ethnic cleansing) of Bulgarian Turks (Muslims). Why? NO entry or article on the expulsion in standard works on ethnic cleansing Refugee Crisis in Turkey, Summer 1989 NB: NOT Syrian refugees in 2015 Low-Key, Non-Analytical Publications in Turkey 89 G Bulgaristanda Aznlk Politikalar ve Trkiyeye Zorunlu G Editrler Neriman Ersoy-Hacsaliholu Mehmet Hacsaliholu Why Is It Important to Remember? Looking Back Without Knowing & Understanding the 1989 Expulsion (Ethnic Cleansing) It is Impossible to Grasp the Dynamics of the Late Cold War History in Europe 1989 Expulsion of Bulgarian Turks was the largest and most intensive ethnic cleansing in Europe during the Cold War between the wrapping up of the Potsdam expulsions (population transfers) in 1950/52 and the fall of communism (1989) / breakup of the Soviet Union (1991) / beginning of the end of Yugoslavia in 1991 The only ever mass expulsion across the Iron Curtain. Q: Why didnt it trigger off a war between NATO & the Warsaw Pact? Right to Homeland: The expulsion was followed by the first-ever return of a large proportion (1/3) of the expellees (the return of expellees to Kosovo was only the 2 nd case of such a return) Why Is It Important to Remember? Bulgaria (1) Bulgarias only mass dissident movement was that of the Turkish (Muslim) minority It was the Turks (Muslims) and their leaders who decisively triggered off the end of communism in Bulgaria and conditioned its character, alongside the very shape of the transition to democracy If this proposition holds, Ahmed Dogan is Bulgarias Wasa or Havel. A Dogan is Bulgarias only dissident of note who was imprisoned and was not a member of the Communist Party. (In comparison, Bulgarias 1 st non-communist President, Zhelu Zhelyev was never imprisoned and never created any mass dissident movement.) Ahmed Dogan or Zhelyu Zhelyev? Why Is It Important to Remember? Bulgaria (2) 1989/90 rapprochement with the Turks/Muslims marks the end of the Bulgarian national revolution in search of an ethnolinguistically and ethnoconfessionally homogenous Bulgaria without any minorities The Turkish/Muslim party MRF (Movement for Rights & Freedoms) is postcommunist Bulgarias only party that did not splinter, disappear, or transformed into another party. For over a quarter of a century it has consistently either participated in Bulgarian governments as a coalition member or exerted an effective influence on the ruling coalition through the parliament. A Dogan is the sole Bulgarian politician who constantly and decisively influenced Bulgarian politics between 1984/89 and 2013 As such the MRF and its leader (till 2013) A Dogan can be considered the sole pillar of stability of Bulgarian politics after 1989, and even of Bulgarian national statehood Why Is It Important to Remember? Bulgaria (3) Todor Zhivkov ( ), who ruled communist Bulgaria between 1954 and 1989, is personally responsible for the 1989 expulsion. The 1989 expulsion was an act of ethnic cleansing. It has not become known as such, because the very term ethnic cleansing emerged later, around 1993 in the course of the wars of Yugoslav succession Thus, it must be finally recognized that the 1989 expulsion was ETHNIC CLEANSING Therefore, T Zhivkov was an ethnic cleanser on a par with Slobodan Miloevi or Radovan Karadi Only Zhivkov Was an Ethnic Cleanser? Not Only Zhivkov: Other Ethnic Cleansers (1) Stanko Todorov Chairman, Parliament, Grisha Filipov PM, ; member, State Council, Milko Balev Secretary, Central Committee, Bulgarian Communist Party, Not Only Zhivkov: Other Ethnic Cleansers (2) Petar Mladenov President 1990 Andrei Lukanov PM, 1990 Georgi Atanasov Last Communist PM Dobri Dzhurov Defense Minister Why Is It Important to Remember? Bulgaria (4) Boyko Borisov was a Communist Party member before 1989, and an admirer and the main body guard of T Zhivkov in the 1990s Boyko Borisov, former Bulgarian PM and current Bulgarian President applauds the ethnic cleanser T Zhivkov as our Great Daddy One would think that it is unacceptable in democratic Europe to openly praise an ethnic cleanser For instance, nowadays, no Serbian PM would publically praise S Miloevi, like no German Chancellor would praise Hitler The only European statesman publically praising an ethnic cleanser and genocidaire is Russian President Vladimir Putin, who openly and lavishly praises Stalin Borisov & Celebrating Zhivkov, mid- 1990s Cult of Personality Continues Till Zhivkovs Death in 1998 Funeral, 1998 Boyko Borisov: Bulgarian President (since 2014), Former PM ( ) From Zhivkov to Borisov?: Bloggers Commentrepublika/msg353461/?PHPSESSID=f451dd9b4a4685d0b c8#msg ZhivkovBorisovZhiv-Bor Zhivkov Monuments in Pravets: Commemmorating an Ethnic Cleanser? Two new monuments, unveiled in 2001: Zhivkovs 90 th Birthday I used all the power I had for the good of my nation Cult of Zhivkov Continues in Todays Bulgaria Celebrations in Pravets, 2002 Zhivkovs 100 th Birthday in 2011, Pravets Why Is It Important to Remember? Bulgaria (5) Current Bulgarian Historical Memory of 1989: Goliamata Promena (Big Change) was brought about by dissidents (such as Zhelyu Zhelev), like in Poland, Hungary or Czechoslovakia It is unjustifiable writing out the Turks (Muslims), the 1989 ethnic cleansing & A Dogan from Bulgarian and European history Significant Correction Needed: THREE GOLIAMATAS (BIG ONES) Goliamata Promena (Big Change) was triggered off, carried out and solidified by the Turkish (Muslim) mass dissident movement headed by Ahmed Dogan, by the Goliamata Ekskurziia (Big Excursion) ETHNIC CLEANSING OF 1989 and by the Goliamoto Zavrashtane (Big Return) Why Is It Important to Remember? Turkey Despite the 1989 expulsion no war between Turkey and Bulgaria, between NATO and the Warsaw Pact About 0.3 m Bulgarian Turks enjoy dual Turkish and Bulgarian citizenship and move freely between both countries for work, education & leisure Bulgaria is the only postcommunist country in Europe whose citizens do not require a visa to enter Turkey The largest Turkish minority (of 0.7 m) in the post-Ottoman Balkans continues to live in Bulgaria On the other hand, 0.37 m Bulgarian-born Turks reside in todays Turkey Why Is It Important to Remember? Yugoslav Hypothesis (1) The 1989 ethnic cleansing in Bulgaria was widely reported and commented on in the Yugoslav press and mass media Neither the West (NATO, US, Western Europe) nor the East (Soviet Union) reacted to the expulsion beyond some low-key protests and appeals Ergo, national leaders of various ethnicities in Yugoslavia on the cusp of a breakup must have thought the West would not react to expulsions (ethnic cleansing) when they would carry them out (after the breakup of the SU, the East didnt count) They were right, NATO intervened in Bosnia only as late as 1995 Miloevi & Karadi were surprised, because the West unilaterally changed the rules of the game. Why Is It Important to Remember? Yugoslav Hypothesis (2) T Zhivkov died peacefully in 1998 NINE years after the 1989 Ethnic Cleansing Intl Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia was founded in : 33 persons indicted 1999: Slobodan Miloevi indicted No criminal case was ever begun against T Zhivkov (or other 1989 ethnic cleansers), let alone an indictment of crimes against humanity by any international institution was Ergo, in Europe some ethnic cleansers can do what they want with impunity, and praise is lavished on them by democratically elected EU Presidents & PMs LEST WE FORGET?