In May 1989, there were disturbances in regions inhabited by members of the Turkish minority. In the so-called "May events" of 1989, emotions reached the boiling point and tens of thousands of Turkish demonstrators took to the streets in the north-eastern and south-eastern provinces. The demonstrations were violently suppressed by police and the military forces. On 6 May, members of the Turkish community initiated mass hunger strikes and demanded the restitution of their Muslim names and civil liberties in accordance with the country's constitution and international treaties signed by Bulgaria. The participants were members of the "Democratic League" and the "Independent Association". The regime responded with mass detentions and the deportation of activists to foreign countries such as Austria and Turkey. Individuals were driven to the Yugoslav, Romanian or Turkish borders, presented with a tourist passport and extradited without even having a chance of contacting their families first. The mass demonstration in major cities and the regions like Razgrad, Shumen, Kardzhali and Silistra continued systematically all through May 1989. According to the Turkish government, 50 people were killed during the clashes with Bulgarian security forces. The Bulgarian government has put the death toll at only 7. of 360,000 Turks to Turkey, which became known as "The Big Excursion". The first wave of refugees was forcefully extradited from Bulgaria. These first deportees consisted of the prisoners of the Belene labour camp, their families and other Turkish activists. People were given 24 hours to gather their luggage before being driven to the border with Turkey in special convoys. Under psychological pressures and fear these were followed by hundreds of thousands. There were also cases were activists of Turkish movements pressured Turks to leave. During the protests in May, the Turkish population effectively abandoned their workplaces in the industrial and agricultural sector. The loss of hundreds of thousands of workers had severe consequences on the production cycle and the whole Bulgarian economy.