Bulgaristan Türk Öyküsünde Türk Aydını Ve Etnik Temizlik Süreci
The Representation of the Turkish Intellectual and his/her Response to Ethnic Cleansing in the Short Stories of Turkish Writers from Bulgaria

Summary/Abstract: The assimilation politics of the Bulgarian Communist regime reaches its summit in the 1984-89 period when it acquires the dimension of ethnic cleansing. The present study focuses on the response of Turkish intellectuals to these practices and the representation of this response in the short stories of Bulgarian writers from Turkish origin. The research encompasses four short stories by three authors: “Consciousness in Riot” and “Blackboard Words” by Islam Beytullov, “There were Traitors too” by Sabri Tatov and “Bread Knife” by Ahmet Timişev. Their analysis shows that Turkish intellectuals can be divided into three groups on the basis of their response to the government’s assimilation policy: 1. Open rebellion, 2. Mask of conformity, and 3. Collaboration with the authorities. The research demonstrates that even when characters collaborate with the regime, they are loyal to their ethnic identity and their behavior is motivated by the pressure of the totalitarian government.

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