site.btaThousands of Guests from Bulgaria, Abroad Mark Anniversary of Peaceful Protests in Dzhebel

Thousands of guests from Bulgaria and abroad gathered in Dzhebel on Monday to mark the anniversary of the peaceful protests against the forced name changes of Bulgarian Turks in 1989. Turkish Ambassador to Bulgaria Mehmet Sait Uyanik, Consul General at the Consulate in Plovdiv Korhan Kungeru, several MPs of MRF – New Beginning and other politicians, as well as Kardzhali Regional Governor Nikola Chanev and many mayors took part in the commemoration.

On May 19, 1989, Bulgarian Turks protested on the square in Dzhebel against being forced to take Bulgarian names and demanded the return of their Turkish names, the free practice of the Muslim religion, a lift of the ban on speaking Turkish, and the release of political prisoners and others. In the following ten days, demonstrations were held in 71 villages in Bulgaria, with some protests resulting in deaths and injuries after clashes with law enforcement. On May 29, 1989, Todor Zhivkov, Chairman of the State Council of the People's Republic of Bulgaria and General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party, said in a statement on National Radio and National Television that Bulgarian Turks could choose their homeland and if they thought it was Turkey, they should leave Bulgaria. That marked the beginning of the mass exodus of Bulgarian Turks in the coming months, called the "Great Excursion". From June 3 to August 21, 1989, when the Bulgarian border with Turkey was open, some 360,000 Bulgarian Turks left the country.

In his speech on Monday, the Turkish Ambassador said that the peaceful resistance in Dzhebel on May 19, 1989 is a turning point in the struggle for identity and freedom of the Turks in Bulgaria. "Thanks to this heroic struggle, our compatriots continue to exist today as equal and worthy citizens of Bulgaria,” Uyanik said, adding that the torch of freedom was lit here on that day, which was a turning point in the political history of Bulgaria and the countries of Eastern Europe under totalitarian regimes. “The unprecedented struggle for identity and freedom, which was started by the heroic people of Dzhebel, played the most critical role in the end of the communist regime, in Bulgaria’s transition to democracy and in the liberation of all Bulgarian citizens,” he emphasized.

Dzhebel Mayor Nedzhmi Ali recalled that last year on May 19, he stated that Dzhebel has a serious readiness for major projects, for which we would seek funding. At present, funding has already been found for all of the projects. Some of them have been implemented, and others are in the final stages, he noted. He singled out dozens of kilometres of newly tarmacked roads, the construction of numerous children's and sports grounds, and the modernisation of water supply and sewage infrastructure.

Kardzhali Regional Governor Nikola Chanev said that Dzhebel once showed the world what division between people can lead to. He stressed that Dzhebel is part of the new history of Bulgaria, which is a history in which there is no place for violence and trampling on human dignity. "Instead there is a place for solidarity, integrity, development and mutual respect," Chanev underscored.

Kardzhali Mayor Erol Myumyun, who is also Deputy Chair of MRF – New Beginning, called for political maturity to let the party govern the country with MRF – New Beginning leader Delyan Peevski as prime minister.