Name Change Move Protested by Turks
An estimated 4,000 Turks demonstrated outside the Bulgarian Embassy on Saturday to protest what they said were that nation’s attempts to force its Turkish minority to adopt Bulgarian names and customs.
No injuries or arrests were reported.
The Bulgarian government has reportedly ordered its Turkish minority to drop their Turkish names and customs as a means of integrating them more fully into the Bulgarian population.
But opponents of the government’s move claim it involves religious persecution, and there have been allegations of Turks being killed for refusing to obey the government’s edict.
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