UNA ECO IN ITALIA DELLA PERSECUZIONE DELLE POPOLAZIONI MUSULMANE E DI LINGUA TURCA NELLA BULGARIA DEGLI ANNI CINQUANTA
An Echo in Italy Regarding the Persecution of the Muslim and Turkish Speakers in Bulgaria During the First Years of the Communist Rule (1946 – 1954)

Summary/Abstract: After the Communist takeover in Bulgaria, the new regime declared itself in favour of all minorities and inter-ethnic equality and fraternity. The new constitution had many provisions regarding minority protection and in particular guaranteed the right to mother tongue education and free development of culture for all national minorities.However, the deep social transformations organised by the new political system caused, amongst the Bulgarian Muslims, a huge emigration movement directed mainly towards the Turkish Republic.This movement was reported and analysed in its causes and effects by the Italian scholar Enrico de Leone.In the present paper has been illustrated the political actions of the Communist Government towards Bulgarian citizens of Turkish or Muslim origin during the first years of its rule.These actions, having the objective of a total assimilation firstly of the Bulgarian speaking Muslims (mainly belonging to the Pomaci minority) and of the very numerous Turkish minority of Bulgaria, has caused one of the most significative exodus of population after the Second World War.

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