E/CN.4/1990/46 page 55 B. Consultations 94. In carrying out his mandate, the Special Rapporteur had meetings in Lisbon with government representatives, members of non-governmental organizations, representatives of various religious communities and private persons. He visited Geneva for consultations at the Centre for Human Rights from 16 to 30 June and from 9 to 15 November 1989. During these consultations, he had meetings with representatives of various Governments, non-governmental organizations and religious communities. 95. During his first visit to Geneva, the Special Rapporteur held informal meetings with the representatives of Bulgaria and Turkey in connection with the emigration of a large number of Bulgarian Muslims of Turkish ethnic origin from Bulgaria to Turkey. A letter he had sent in this regard to the Government of Bulgaria on 26 June 1989 is reflected in paragraph 28 above. 96. According to the Bulgarian representative, the emigration was the result of new Bulgarian legislation liberalizing the travel of Bulgarian citizens abroad and had been prompted by Turkish propaganda arousing curiosity as to the living conditions existing across the border. The Bulgarian representative admitted that some abuses might have taken place in some provinces, particularly with respect to the changing of names of Turkish origin. He added that, although human rights matters were involved, the main problem was of a political nature, thus requiring a political solution. He also stressed the willingness of his Government to hold bilateral negotiations with the Government of Turkey. 97. The representative of Turkey stated that the mass exodus from Bulgaria that had been taking place since the beginning of June 1989 was the result of the inhumane policies of assimilation and repression carried out by the Bulgarian Government against its Muslim minority since the end of 1984. He added that, following the repression of peaceful demonstrations staged by Muslim Bulgarians in May 1989, the Bulgarian authorities had resorted to their deportation in large numbers. Thus hundreds of thousands of men, women and children had been forced to emigrate to Turkey, leaving behind their land, homes, possessions, and in many cases even their relatives. The representative of Turkey said that it was his Government's desire that the forced emigration of Muslim Bulgarians come to an end and that the human, religious and minority rights of Muslim Bulgarians be restored. He added that his Government was interested in negotiating with Bulgaria a comprehensive agreement on emigration, in order to safeguard the rights as well as the family unity of those Muslim Bulgarians who had already arrived in Turkey, and to enable all those who wished to emigrate to Turkey in the future to do so in an orderly manner and without having to relinquish their social and property rights in Bulgaria. 98. In his informal meetings with the representatives of Bulgaria and Turkey, the Special Rapporteur expressed his concern about the massive emigration of Muslim Bulgarians to Turkey and the reasons that allegedly had led to the exodus. As he had already stated in his report to the fourty-fourth session of the Commission on Human Rights (E/CN.4/1988/45), some of the measures applied by the Government of Bulgaria with regard to the country's Muslim minority, such as the changing of names, were in contradiction with the basic principles of freedom of conscience and religion. However, he stressed that the limitations on the exercise of the religious rights and freedoms of the