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Bulgarians demand respect of the human rights for our
Bulgarians in "Greek" Macedonia. We want democracy in Greece for
all citizens.
FOREWORD
When looking at the destiny of enslaved Bulgarians in Aegean Macedonia
and at what they have suffered during the last 90 years two curtains that
tightly screen their past have to be raised.
The first curtain had been dropped by our totalitarian regime which in
the name of misunderstood and foreign international interest blared forth
that our relations with their enslaver Greece were perfect and that "there
were no problems between the two nations and countries".
When one speaks in his or her mother tongue at home on public places and
that is why is being brought into jail - this is no problem. When the
children are told every day that they are pure-blooded Hellenes and are
persuaded to swear before a priest that they will pronounce no word in
their mother tongue any more "the language of our enemies,
Bulgarians" - this is no problem! When the Phanariot priests
preach God's Word in incomprehensible language - this is no problem. When
one madly brave village priest reads a sermon in his mother Bulgarian
tongue and that is why he is brought into jail - this is no problem! When
your compatriots are denationalized, assimilated and killed off - this is
also no problem!
The second curtain had been dropped by the Greek State. It is a relative
of the Berlin wall and still remains untouched. This curtain-wall has
wonder features: from Greece to Bulgaria it allows any Greek to pass
undisturbed whenever and as many times as he wants to come to Nessebar or
Pomorie to pay respect to his or her grandparents. This wall is passed
when teachers from the Greek Ministry of Education want to come. They come
to organize courses on Greek language for some Greek emigrants. It is
passed by some dance groups which show Greek dances and songs. There is
nothing easier for hundreds of Greeks than to come to Sofia and to open
shop, company or bank.
Try however to pass through this wall from Bulgaria to Greece. If you
travel by a luxurious tourist bus on a journey to visit the Acropolis
there will not be any trouble. But if you, as a descendant of Bulgarians
chased from Macedonia, try to visit Voden, Lerin, Kostour or want to see
and know your relatives left there, the wall is bullet-proof. If the
hounds from the Greek consulates become aware that you were born in that
region or that you have relatives there the wall becomes something more
than the Majino line.
Nobody ever will give you a visa. To say nothing of a permission that
you could open a shop, company or bank there. I would never believe my
eyes if the Nevrokop priest Natanail, in spite of the fact that he has
graduated theology in Athens, gets a permission to perform even one
liturgy in Bulgarian language at the Bulgarian church in Lerin while the
Greek church in the Center of Sofia resounds with chants in Greek.
The aim of this booklet is to help these curtains to be pulled down so
that light and fresh air could get in. Let our unhappy compatriots feel
that they are at the threshold of 21 century, that Greece fulfills
honestly and publicly the obligations taken with certain international
contracts and convention and keeps the human rights of its citizens - our
compatriots.
We want nothing more than the Greek state wants for its compatriots for
example in Albania, i.e. the right to speak in their mother tongue, the
right to have their own school and to have the Bulgarian orthodox church.
In the name of the future European home, of peace and understanding in
the Balkans, in the name of Greek's own interests we address to the
orthodox Greek people, to its intellectuals and thinking people with the
appeal: We do not want any territories. We want human rights for our own
brothers in Macedonia. We want democracy in Greece to be valid also for
our compatriots living there.
The sooner this happens and the wall that separates us falls the better
for you, for us, for the coming generations. Please, help us to build
together a new, clear and smart Balkan stage of our new European home!
* * *
As it is known after the Balkan Wars 1912-1913 the biggest part of
Macedonia (52%) was given to Greece. Even till 1988 the Greeks called this
part of Aegean Macedonia "Northern Greece and Thrace".
Since that year the province has the name "Macedonia".
The current roots of the violation of human rights of ethnic Macedonian
Bulgarians in Greece are based on the events that occurred in 1913. At
that time the Greek soldiers committed outrageous atrocities over the
Macedonian population /see below/.
What is happening in these territories nowadays could be read in the
publications of two journalists. The English journalist W. Hild in
his publication "Traveling through Aegean Macedonia" tells
that he has ascertained ,,brutal violence over the local population,
desecration of graves, breaking of grave crosses inscribed with Slav
letters, even erasing the graves and burning the bones". The
Australian journalist Bert Birtles in his book "Exile from
Aegea" published in 1938, states "Greece does not have a
Jewish problem but a Macedonian one. In the name of Hellenization the
local Slav minority is chased and arrested for unimportant reasons.
General Metaxas' policy to inculcate his own national spirit in the
Bulgarian minority brought the changing of the native Bulgarian names with
Greek ones and the prohibition of speaking in mother tongue. These
countrymen who did not obey his orders or those, who tried to oppose were
resettled on Greek islands without any proceedings".
Very little has changed since that time. The disfranchisement of
Macedonian Bulgarians from human rights is not only a memory from the 20s
and the 30s of the last century. It continues even nowadays. During that
time as well as nowadays the assimilation machine works on high
revolutions. The surnames and family names are changed by force,
communication in the mother tongue is prohibited, Bulgarian language is
eliminated forever from schools and churches, the authentic names of
towns, villages and countryside are Hellenisied, there are no newspapers,
books and broadcasting for the local population. The folklore, the style
of living, the customs and the spirit are treated as Greek.
The statements of Mr. Burtles will be confirmed by respective proofs
taken from official Greek documents and published in Greek newspapers and
magazines.
 We
have the facts for the violence over the Bulgarian population in 1912-1913
thanks to the official report of the International Commission for
investigating the causes for conducting of the Balkan Wars, established by
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. In the International
Commission took part: Dr. Josef Redlich from Vienna, Baron Constant
d'Estumel - Senator and Justen Godart - Deputy of French Parliament, Dr.
Walter Schbcking - Professor from Marburg, Germany, Francis Hirst - editor
of the Economist, Dr. H. N. Brailsford - England, Professor Milioukov -
Member of Russian Parliament, Dr. Salomon Dgon - Professor from Columbia
University, USA.
The Carnegie Inquiry was published in English in 1914. The same report was
republished again in 1994 in USA with foreword by the famous American
policy expert M. Cenan.
The republishing of the book became necessary for two reasons. The first
one is the higher interest in Balkan problems as consequence of the war in
Bosnia and Herzegovina. The second one is the organized destroying by the
interested parties of the copies of this report in almost all big
libraries all over the world.
This 415 pages report is accompanied by numerous documents and maps and
with academic precision reveals the truth for the causes and the way the
Balkan Wars 1912-1913 were conducted.
The objectivity of the Commission can be illustrated by a single
example, namely, the storm caused in the European press by the Greek
propaganda against "the Bulgarian atrocities" exerted on
Greek church leaders. The report established that: ,,Unlike the
Bulgarians, the Greeks welcomed most kindly the foreign military
correspondents and provided them with various information. Bulgaria was in
a state of isolation and its telegraphic connections were disrupted. Thus,
for example, the newspaper „ Tan " reported that the Bulgarians had
hanged the Greek Bishop in the village of Doyran. But two months later we
met him in person and spoke to him. A memorial service was held for the
Bishop of Kavala; however, we met him some time later in Kavala. The
correspondent of the above-mentioned paper also claimed to have attended
the funeral of the Bishop in Seres, the latter having been put to cruel
torments before being killed. (See the report of 23 July, from
Livonovo.) That very Bishop was seen by us to perform his church
services." (For references, see the Report, p. 78).
* * *
The tragic fate of Bulgaria, and Macedonia, respectively, was
conditioned by the geopolitical interests of two empires. The
Austro-Hungarian Empire had set itself the task to usurp Bosnia and
Herzegovina in the Balkans in order to get an outlet on the Adriatic Sea.
The same was the purpose of the Serbian Kingdom. And, instead of seeking
for an extension westwards, Serbia was pushed to look for territories to
the south, along the valley of the river Vardar, and with the approval of
Vienna. The British Empire restored Greece which had fallen under Turkish
power. In order to protect its Imperial naval routes, England directed the
Greek authorities to seek for an extension to the north, at the expense of
the Bulgarian Slavonic population. The purpose was to close up the road
for Bulgarians towards the Aegean Sea.
With the collaboration of its protectress, Greece moved to the north,
starting from Epir and Thessalia, and penetrated the Turkish Empire,
establishing Greek colonies on the Bulgarian ethnic territory - both in
the towns and in the seaside villages. The Greek system of state began
penetrating Macedonia with the overall collaboration of the Greek Orthodox
Church.
After the establishing of the Bulgarian Exarchate in 1870, a harsh
struggle began between Greece and the Bulgarian community, aimed at
winning over the national awareness of the population. The Greek Orthodox
Church served as a weapon of the Greek propaganda. The efforts of Greek
propaganda were aimed at the Bulgarian population of Central Macedonia,
i.e. the region bordered by Kostour - Seres to the south and by Ochrid -
Prilep - Stroumitsa - Melnik - Nevrokop to the north. Following Greece's
defeat during its 1897 War with Turkey, the Bulgarian national idea took
over the Greek propaganda. IMARO was successful in overcoming the
Graecoman's influence.
The Ilinden Uprising of 1903 struck the public opinion in Greece. It
caused panic among the Greek state authorities who saw the danger of a
complete failure of their plans for conquering Macedonia. These
authorities were not so much troubled by the development of the military
actions but rather by the overtures made by the Great Powers for a
political settlement of the Macedonian question. In order to exert ifs
influence with a view to achieving an outcome positive for Greece, the
Greek government decided to make use of the disastrous end of the Ilinden
Uprising. The only party to win anything at all from the Uprising was
Greece.
Every textbook in modern history in Greece contains a chaptered titled ,,The
Macedonian Struggle".
In 1904, the Greek government of Theotokis, on the advice of London,
took energetic actions in Aegean Macedonia. A special committee ("Makedoniki
komitato") was established in Athens to organize armed struggle
against the Bulgarian population. Four officers were sent, among them
Pavlos Melas, at present a Greek national hero. The Greek Embassy was
re-structured and competent diplomats were sent there. In accordance with
the preliminary plan for military actions, in 1904, the first Greek armed
detachment was sent to the region of Bitolya, led by the above-mentioned
Pavlos Melas; however, it was defeated near Kostour. According to the
plan, the rebels had to terrorize the Bulgarian population, to support the
Graecomans, and to establish points of support for the new detachments
coming from Greece.
Melas was replaced by A. Santouris with a new group of officers.
Throughout Greece money was raised to support these detachments.
In early 1905 new detachments were recruited (from Cretes - Mani,
Roumeli, etc.) which were generously endowed by the Greek government with
money and armament. On the example of the organized local Bulgarian
population, the Greeks created supportive local forces and, through these
Graecoman's units, organized in 1906 in Salonica military groups of young
Graecomans led by Lieutenant Soumatis. Their purpose was to kill eminent
revolutionaries of IMARO. These activities also involved the governing
bodies of the Greek Church led by the Metropolitan Bishop Germanos
Karavangelis who, together with the consuls Evgeniadis and Stornaris in
Salonica led the invasion of the Greeks against the Bulgarian spirit and
culture in the region of Kostour. The huge amounts of money available were
distributed by two banks in Salonica which were established to serve
special purposes. One of the banks was to transfer the money for bribing
the Turkish pashas and senior officials so that they supported the efforts
of the Greeks in their struggle against the rebellious Bulgarians. In
their struggle against the IMARO revolutionaries, the Greek andarts
(rebels) made use of information provided by the Turkish intelligence
service, and also received frequent help from the Turks. The second bank
financed and assisted the Greek tradesmen throughout Macedonia, who were
boycotted by the Bulgarian population.
In early 1908, the Theotokis government entrusted the leadership of the
operation called ,,The Macedonian Struggle" to Colonel Danglis,
and Baltatsis was appointed Chairman of "Makedoniki komitato".
The commandment was taken over by the General Staff of the Greek Army.
Volunteers were summoned and in the 1907-1908 period the detachments grew
up to several dozens commanded by regular officers and sergeants.
Unfortunately, after the crush of the Ilinden Uprising, the resistance of
the defeated IMARO grew weaker, also because of the internal conflicts
between the Internal Organization and the Supreme Committee. The 1908
revolution of the Young Turks put an end to "The Macedonian
Struggle". The Young Turks proclaimed a general amnesty and
promised equality and civil rights to all nationalities. Under these
circumstances, the internal conflict between Greeks and Bulgarians ceased.
The four-year-long period of struggle proved successful for the Greeks.
The Greek supremacy in the southern part of Macedonia was consolidated and
a strong Greek presence was established in the disputed central region of
Macedonia. The morale of the local population was strengthened up. "The
Macedonian Struggle" indicated quite clearly to the European
powers that the Greeks in Macedonia were to be the most important factor
in the future of the Ottoman Empire. This success was due to the
circumstance that the struggle was carried out with the organized efforts
of the Greeks of Cretes, Thessalia and other provinces, who helped the
local Greek population. That battle involved the whole Greek nation, just
like in the 1811 Greek Revolution and the Cretes Uprising in the late 19th
c.
According to the British histonan Douglas Denkih, yet another
factor contributed for the success of "The Macedonian Battle".
That was the broad- scale propaganda carried out among the local Bulgarian
population by the Greek Orthodox Church. Although non-Greek speaking,
groups of that population helped the Greeks as bearers of the Christian
faith against the Muhammadans.
The leaders of the Greek Orthodox Church supported fervently the actions
of the Greek states In order to illustrate the activities of the Greek
church, a glimpse should be taken of the bitterest enemy of the Bulgarian
spirit - the Metropolitan Bishop Gennanos Karavangelis. Data about
this can be found in his autobiography published by the Salonica Institute
for Studies on the Balkan Peninsula ("Penelopa Delta",
Salonica, 1959). There it says:
1. He was the first and most fervent champion of the emergence of the
andarts (Greek rebels) movement in Macedonia.
2. For 7 years (1900-1907), in his capacity as Metropolitan Bishop of
Kostour, he raised the slogan "Let no Bulgarian remain".
3. Together with the officer from the Greek Army, Captain Vardas, he
inspired and did everything necessary for carrying out the massacres which
shook Bulgaria and the world. The word goes about the assassination of all
the people at weddings in the villages of Zagorichane (region of Kostour)
and Zeieniche (region of Lerin). Here is his own testimony about the
massacre in Zagorichane: "The village had over 600 houses... These
were the worst Bulgarians in my diocese. When Vardas decided to punish
them, he wrote to me and I sent him the names of our people (agents -
author's note), so that he left them alone. In the eve of 30 March 1905,
he hid himself with 300 men in the forest opposite the village. Early in
the morning they entered the village and began shooting... They killed the
people and put their houses to fire. On that day, 79 Bulgarian were
killed. Sixty people were killed in the church where a wedding was held.
The bride, the bridegroom, the priest, and some other people were
slaughtered. Not many of our people suffered because I had given Vardas a
list of their names and they had concealed themselves..."
4. Karavangelis also used the services of hired assassins and paid 5
pounds for each chopped off head of people pointed out by the Metropolitan
Bishop. In the same way, the voyvod Lazar Poptraykov, who was wounded in
the Uprising, was slaughtered by the Graecoman Kote from the village of
Rulya, region of Kostour. Karavangelis paid 50 pounds and put the picture
of the cut head in his office.
5. As a leader of the andarts' movement, he wrote: "The Greek
detachments grew continuously and increased in numbers (he mentions the
names of 30 men of Cretes who were in the lead of the detachments). I kept
regular touch with them through the Consulate in Bitolya and the
Metropolitan Bishops. I personally met them and instructed them to kill
all priests and Bulgarian teachers."
The actions of that Metropolitan Bishop - a true incarnation of the
Satan - was typical of the role of the Greek Orthodox Church in the
struggle against the Bulgarians in Macedonia. The Greek efforts for
overtaking the territory inhabited by Macedonian Bulgarians proved
successful because of the tragic outcome of the 1903 Ilinden Uprising. Our
historiographic literature offers no studies in this respect.
The efforts of the Greeks to avail themselves of the defeat of the
Ilinden Uprising were duly re-paid during the Balkan Wars. Greece achieved
diplomatic success unexpected even by the greatest optimists, by gaining
34,603 sq. km., or 52 per cent of the whole territory of Macedonia, which
comprised the richest and most fertile land which yields two or three
crops annually. Thus hundreds of thousands of Macedonian patriots were
pushed away and a bloody process started of Greek assimilation of the
Macedonian Bulgarians who had remained in their native land.
Branko
Crvenkovski is the moral killer of President Trajkovski and independent
Macedonia
Under
the Leadership of Branko Crvenkovski
Macedonia turn to Belgrade's Colony
Branko
Crvenkovski is the worse choice for Macedonian President
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