page_title: Albanians in Turkey
section_title: Third Phase: 1945-2000s
hierarchical_section_title: Albanians in Turkey / History / Migration and formation of the Albanian diaspora in Turkey / Third Phase: 1945-2000s
caption_attribution_description: English: İlhan Cavcav, the Chairman of Gençlerbirliği SK in Ankara.
context_page_description: Albanians in Turkey are ethnic Albanian citizens and denizens of Turkey. They consist of Albanians who arrived during the Ottoman period, Kosovar/Macedonian and Tosk Cham Albanians fleeing from Serbian and Greek persecution after the beginning of the Balkan Wars, alongside some Albanians from Montenegro and Albania proper. A 2008 report from the Turkish National Security Council estimated that approximately 1.3 million people of Albanian ancestry live in Turkey, and more than 500,000 recognizing their ancestry, language and culture. There are other estimates however that place the number of people in Turkey with Albanian ancestry and or background upward to 5 million.
context_section_description: The third phase of Albanian migration to Turkey involves the post-world war two period until 1999. Albanian migrants during this era originated from Yugoslavia, in particular Kosovo during the 1950s–1970s often due to discrimination and or pressure exhibited by the state on Albanians to declare themselves Turkish and migrate to Turkey. After the Second World War and the Yugoslavia-Albania split, Yugoslav authorities attempted to downplay links between Albanians of Albania and Kosovo and to implement a policy of "Turkification" that encouraged Turkish language education and emigration to Turkey among Albanians. In 1953, an agreement which revived the 1938 convention was reached between Yugoslav President Josip Broz Tito and Mehmet Fuat Köprülü, the foreign minister of Turkey that promoted the emigration of Albanians to Anatolia. 
  Forced migration to Turkey increased and numbers cited by Klejda Mulaj for 1953-1957 are 195,000 Albanians leaving Yugoslavia and for 1966, some 230,000 people. Numbers cited by Tim Judah estimate that between 1952-1967 some 175,000 Muslims emigrated from Yugoslavia and though many were Macedonian speaking Muslims (Torbeš), Bosniaks and ethnic Turks, the majority of migrants were Albanians. Historian Noel Malcolm placed the number of Albanians leaving for Turkey at 100,000 between 1953-1966. Factors involved in the upsurge of migration were intimidation and pressure toward the Albanian population to leave through a campaign headed by Yugoslav police chief Aleksandar Ranković that officially was stated as aimed at curbing Albanian nationalism. Kosovo under the control of Ranković was viewed by Turkey as the individual that would implement "the Gentleman's Agreement." The situation ended in 1966 with the removal of Ranković from his position. Many of these Albanians from Yugoslavia settled in urban centres such as İzmir, Gemlik and Aydin. With the fall of communism, some Albanians arrived from Albania to Turkey after 1992. In 1999, some Albanians arrived to Turkey fleeing the conflict in Kosovo. Albanians from this third group have mainly settled in large urban centres located in western areas of Turkey.
caption: İlhan Cavcav, businessman and chairman of Gençlerbirliği football club
exif: {}