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Mogilyane honours victims of assimilation campaign

Photo: BTA

The 40th anniversary of protests by Bulgarian Turks against the so-called "revival process" (a forced assimilation campaign during communism in which people of Turkish descent were ordered to change their names and adopt Bulgarian ones - ed) was commemorated with a large rally near the village of Mogilyane.

Among those present at the rally were representatives of the four main parties in Turkey, Ankara's Consul General in Plovdiv Korhan Kungeru and Mustafa Kara of the Turkish Embassy in Sofia, BTA reported. In his speech, the leader of the Democracy, Rights and Freedoms (DPS) parliamentary group, Jevdet Chakurov, remembered 17-month-old Türkan, the youngest innocent victim of the name change campaign, 16-year-old Mümün from the village of Raven, 17-year-old Sezgin and many other victims of the forced assimilation campaign. 

On 26 December 1984, the authorities violently dispersed a demonstration by the people of Mogilyane. When the Bulgarian militia opened fire on the demonstrators, a stray bullet hit a 17-month-old Turkish girl, killing her. Her death provoked a strong reaction from the Turkish community. A fountain was later built in Türkan's memory.

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