ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the Turkish population in the region of Shumen in north-eastern Bulgaria and provides an understanding of aspects of Turkish minority political organization at the local level, the factors giving rise to the rapid mobilization of a politicized minority. The October 1991 elections provide a point of entry for a discussion of ethnic politics and politicized ethnicity. The Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) is frequently accused by political opponents of using intimidation to maintain the unity of the party and to prevent Turkish candidates from running on other slates or as independents. Virtually all formal political activity among ethnic Turks is expressed within the MRF. So the Bulgarians and the Turks have an uneasy accommodation, but so does the MRF with its constituency. The general thrust of the MRF message is that only through unity can the Turks and Moslems survive in a sea of potentially hostile forces.
