Risto Stefov - Articles, Translations & Collaborations

[stoiche]

they should get a class action going agains't the greek govt for forcing people to change their names.Im sure they would win.

In a Greek court?

[momce]

A Kangaroo court? shit that country makes me sick to my stomach, greece

[stoiche]

A Kangaroo court? shit that country makes me sick to my stomach, greece

could you imagine dealing with a Greek court...they would not make your life easy.

[momce]

I wouldnt step foot in a greek court. I have too much honour.

[George S.]

eu court or whatever except in greece.

[momce]

They should go for a full package against greece all grievances, financial, human rights etc. I think the TROIKA is using cannabilising the country as a whipping stick to keep these pukes in order actually. I have no idea why the world puts up with that creature greece.

[makedonche]

If I may suggest an international class ation for "Social Genocide" in the international court ( not that they would respect any decisions anyway)

[momce]

Someone should present it to interested EU parties that greece is trying to avoid by claiming past injuries against(Germany etc..)

[makedonche]

Someone should present it to interested EU parties that greece is trying to avoid by claiming past injuries against(Germany etc..)

The EU is only interested in getting more suckers for it's defunct union!

[George S.]

Noose – Chapter 4



By Stoian Kochov

Translated and edited by Risto Stefov

[email protected]

January 16, 2013



Sadness, love and war.


1.



Finally the time had come. We were lying on a thick layer of ferns in the dark. The only light shining was the last remnant of coals glowing in the fireplace and giving out small flickers of flame. Rula entered the underground barracks quietly and, while leaning on a peeled beechwood post, began to poke at us with a long stick, attempting to wake us up from our deep sleep. This was the first time in months that I had seen Rula in these barracks and when I fully awakened, what did I see? Her back part was as tight as a drum and her body was elongated like a Russian birch.



“Hey wild boys, I am back!” she announced. Her eyes were shining, reflecting the glowing embers from the fireplace and her sweet cheeks were shimmering with the contours of her face being emphasized by the small flickering flames emanating from the fireplace. Whatever the truth may have been, from her visit to our barracks, from the gentle tapping of her feet, from the mysterious look on her face, one could feel the immense sadness built up in her.



“Hey, look, the General came to visit us,” said Spiros, who wanted to court her before Rula was married, but we all knew that she had turned him down with the words, “You old rooster, you too want me to be your bride?” Now she was treating him with an apparent irony: “It seems that by habit, the old rooster is the first to crow,” she said. We all cracked up laughing; even those still not quite awake joined us in the laughter. Stunned, Spiro was left with his mouth wide open. He then retorted with visible anger: “Do you know what Plato said?” he asked. “Love is a mix of honey and poison; sometimes it’s sweet but more often it’s poisonous. Maybe you ate all the honey off of the general and now you came for me.”



Rula looked at him and said, “Do you know who my husband is?” “I am guessing. Someone like me who was bypassed by love...?” answered Spiros. “No, but you should know that love is like a virus; everyone gets it as it goes around, the General had it when he was young, during his high school days. He had no passion for it anymore, now he enjoys talking. No one can put a word in edgewise because he constantly talks. He loves to joke around and rewards loyalty. He demands recognition from all his subordinates even on an emotional level. If you don’t care for his style, you will be set aside and you had best quit your position because you will be going nowhere. I quit my position because I am brave,” concluded Rula.



Spiros was an agile man just over thirty years old. He had just completed a course in Marxism and was on the list to be appointed political commissar. The Party had given him permission, from the highest echelons, to work on confidential matters, but now everyone bypassed him, even in their conversations. He had brown hair, a longish face with a week-old beard. Most of the time he wore baggy khaki pants and an English sweater. He kept a packet of wound dressings and medicines in his large pocket and hung a “Mills” hand grenade on his pant belt, knowing that this made him a trusted and faithful soldier in the ranks of Markos’s Partisans.



God had given Spiro the gift of quick thinking, so after Rula had finished speaking he mumbled: “Is that why you abandoned him? I know a person cannot change overnight, but you, you managed to change, it seems that you even changed your appearance.” Rula replied to him without getting angry: “I wonder if there is anyone crazy enough to say what they really think? Sometimes I think that civilization, as we know it, would fall apart if we all were truly honest. But with the General, there is always something new to learn because of his extensive experience. People say, “For a person to have a new vision for the future it is necessary for them to have a true picture of the past.”


With some irony, Spiros relied: “What experience are you talking about, is this not his first marriage? If this truly is his first marriage, what is the best advice he gave you?”



Rula looked at him suspiciously and said: “There are many things. You have to be aware of your position and of the situation. That’s what helped me with my career. For example: you Spiros, an old rooster, what could you possibly give a woman; a fighter of DAG (Democratic Army of Greece)...? God forbid, not just love? Are you thinking of a woman now, in this deadly war? If you are then there are many things for you to consider. First you have to find a woman who will love you, a lot. And you have to love her just as much. You know that unmarried men live shorter lives than women, but married men have less desire to live. Now describe for me your first disappointment in love.”



Spiros replied: “People disappoint me, not love. As of yet, I have not found true love. I want a woman who will forget her mistakes because it makes no sense for both of us to remember the same things.”



Rula smiled and said: “This is the worst line I’ve ever heard from an old bachelor. You need to understand once and for all that a woman marries hoping to change the man and if she does not succeed, then she will accept the man for who he is. Understand that a person who knows how to love is a happy person! You are lucky to have someone to love you! Don’t you think you are lucky to be loved? But you, in your life you only love yourself. To love someone else is the greatest joy. But you, old rooster…”



Feeling a bit challenged, Spiros interrupted: “What would you do if your man turned you down?” Pleased with what she had already said to Spiros, Rula replied: “I would apologize for his imperfections. And you too can do the same if you look in the mirror, but here in the mountains, there is no such convenience. What remains now is for us to make up; we are what we are.”



“How does the General know you’re in love with him?” asked Spiros. “It goes without saying,” replied Rula. Even though Spiros knew she would exaggerate, he asked her anyway: “Did he give you that revolver as a gift? Is this the best time of your life? You have become a gun slinger!” And then suddenly, filled with terrible jealousy towards the General, Spiros, while kneeling and hugging Rula by the shoulder, said: “Kiss me!” Rula suddenly pulled away and coldly said: “Please, get away from me!”



After a moment of awkward silence, Rula continued: “Yes, he gave me the gun. He also gave me a frame for a picture. He did that because he knows how passionate I am about him.” Surprised, Spiros said: “That’s very egoistic of him, don’t you think? Perhaps he felt a bit insecure and was afraid that you might forget him, or, God forbid, leave him? Don’t you think that such gifts are a bit selfish?” “And what kind of gift would you think would be more thoughtful?” she asked. “Diamonds perhaps?” he replied “One might throw a few diamonds around because ‘diamonds are a woman’s best friend’, right?”



Rula calmly replied: “Yes, but with this gift he certainly wanted me to frame a picture of him, taken in his general’s uniform, so that I could keep it among my most intimate things. Oh my old rooster, when the love is gone, I will have the frame to remind me of my love, also of my fears and hopes. It will be a very enjoyable gift with which to discuss the philosophy of life and its original illusions. The General says: ‘The rules of life are inexplicable, but taking steps towards building a communist society, removes the torments from the working class.’ He believes that ‘our most important job is to fight against capitalism. Do you understand me?’ the General would often ask and then add: ‘There is everything in this world, but each should live their own life and not cry because they don’t own this or that. One day, as a communist society, we will be happy to have the things we are now fighting for and if not us then our future generations’…” concluded Rula.



“The General firmly believes in that,” piped up Margarita, standing there with her face frozen in horror. She then stared at us as she stormed out the Barracks exit. Leonidas, Andonis and I kept our mouths shut. I remember Leonidas’s words: “It is wrong for a person to create pain and suffering for another person. A person must not use violence, not even on plants and living creatures.” Leonidas was lying there beside me and was listening. He was educated and belonged to a family of priests, he had also taught theology in high school. They mobilized him by force, he was not here of his own will. Leonidas always kept details of his private life secret, saying: “I don’t want to create a mystery about my personal life; it would be easier for me if I could just convince you that I am against war.”



Leonidas then added: “When I think of Rula loving that impotent general, that strange male creature, I am ashamed of her and her illusions. Rula in her assessment is completely blind, but she is probably doing this with the thought of saving her head while the war goes on... She wants to outlive the war with her beauty. That’s the impression I got from her the first night she slept in the General’s barracks, not thinking about the past and full of hope and free thoughts. Her dreams are light and placid like the dreams of a bird.



Leonidas raised his eyebrows in amazement, shook his head and continued: “Life in these most violent, brutal times is trying for a young girl. Then you have these ideological criminals taking advantage of young people. Here, in these times, a person will face their past, present and future. And those who get by would have understood nothing. Besides, this is not the time for understanding but for getting by.”


While I listened to this sad and incomprehensible philosophical interpretation, I thought to myself: “How many roads must a man travel before he feels (effect in the psyche) like a man?”



From the war and Party Chronicles



Based on decisions made by the Central Committee at the Third Plenum held from September 12th to the 15th, and on decisions made by the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Greece (CPG) from December 12th, 1947 to December 23rd, 1947, the Provisional Democratic Government of Greece was established. The same government resigned on October 15th, 1949. Konitsa, a town in Epirus was chosen to be the seat of this government and as claimed by Zahariadis, its General Secretary, recognition would be secured: “We will take the city Konitsa, we will create a government and they will most certainly recognize us.”



The unsuccessful battles to take Konitsa lasted from December 24th, 1947 to January 4th, 1948 delivering huge losses to DAG. Unable to establish Konitsa as his seat, Zahariadis decided to establish the Provisional Democratic Government of Greece in Prespa in a town called Asamati located in the Republic of Macedonia, then Yugoslavia. As for his Headquarters, Zahariadis chose a pre-war harbour building belonging to the Port Authority. The arrival of the members of the government was assisted by UDBA (State Security Bureau) Colonel Slobodan Krstikj-Ucho, a Yugoslav officer in the Yugoslav National Army.



The Provisional Democratic Government of Greece originally consisted of eight members with Markos Vafiadis as its President. The other seven members were Yannis Ioannidis, Petros Rusos, Miltiadis Porfirogenis, Petros Kokalis, Vassilis Bardzhiotas, Dimitrios Vlandas and Leonidas Stringos. Also, twenty five officers were promoted to the rank of colonel in DAG, by decree. But not a single member of the government or DAG officers was Macedonian. The Provisional Government was not only a single party government it was also a single nation government consisting exclusively of Greek communists, even though 50-60% of its strength was Macedonian.



REACTIONS: The Greek Royalist government requested that the United States and Great Britain warn the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries of the consequences if they were to recognize the Provisional Democratic Government of Greece. Aware of the consequences of such recognition, the U.S. government promptly reacted and on December 30th, 1947 issued a request to Eastern European countries not to recognize the Provisional Government, warning them that if they did there would be serious consequences. The United Nations Commission for the Balkans also advised its member nations not to recognize the Provisional Democratic Government of Greece.





Глава 4

Тага, љубов и војна



1.

Најпосле, ете го тој час. Налегнати сме на многуслојниот папрат, а во огништето дотлеаните цепеници одвај од нив се јарчи едно пламенче. Рула влезе нечујно и кацна над оголениот буков трупец и со долга прачка не пробудува, не буди од длабокиот сон.

Прв пат по неколку месеци ја видов во земјанката и, кога се расонив добро, што да видам: задницата и беше цврста како тапан, а телото извишено како руска бериоза

-Ви дојдов на гости, еј диви момчиња!

Во нејзините очи болскаа жарчињата и лесното пламенче што и ги истакнуваше контурите на симпатичното лице.

Што и да беше вистинито, од нејзиното доаѓање во нашата земјанка, од лесното прекрстување на нејзините нозе, од таинственоста на нејзиното лице, можеше да се почувствува огромната напластена тага.

-Еј, генералката дошла да не види, - рече Спирос кој, пред да се омажи Рула, најмногу и се додворуваше, ама сите знаевме дека таа го одбиваше со зборовите:

-А море, старо петлиште, и ти посакуваш да ти бидам невеста.

Но сега му се обрати со видлива иронија:

-Изгледа по навика, стариот петел прв пропејува. И сите гракнавме да се смееме, па дури ни се придружија и уште недобро расонетите. Спирос остана со зината уста.

Тој рече со бележита лутина:

-Знаеш што рекол Платон: “љубовта е машавина од мед и отров: понекогаш е слатка, а најчесто отров”. Ти да не го изеде медот попрва од генералот, па им се врати.

Рула му одговори:

-Знаеш ли кој ми беше маж?

Претпоставувам. Некој како мене што го одминала љубовта…

-Не, туку треба да знаеш дека љубовта е како жолтица; сите треба да ја поминат, но тој ја поминал во гимназиските години. Тој сега е чуден: другите не можат да дојдат до збор, зашто само тој зборува, сака да се шегува и да ги наградува само лојалните. Кај потчинетите бара признание дури и на емотивен план. Ако не го прифатите неговиот стил, може да бидете ставени настрана или да се откажете од зависноста. Јас се откажав, затоа што сум храбра.

Спирос беше пргав човек на триесетина и некоја година и тукушто имаше завршено курс по марксизам и беше на листата за назначување на политкомери. Имаше дозволи од највисоките партиски инстанции за работа на доверливи работи, но сега секој го одминуваше во разговорот. Имаше кафеава коса, долгнавесто лице со еднонеделна млада брада. Носеше вреќести панталони со каки боја и блуза од англиско потекло. Во големиот џеб имаше пакетче со преврски и лекови. На ременот од панталоните имаше закачено рачна бомба “милс”, а знаеше дека тоа го прави како одан и верен војник на маркосовите партизани.

Спирос, како што го дал Господ брз во мислата, гледа и нестрпливо, промрмори:

-Затоа го напушти? Знам дека мажот не се менува преку ноќ. Тебе некако ти успеа дури да го промениш и својот изглед.

Рула му одговори без лутина:

-Се прашувам дали има некој што е доволно луд да го каже тоа што навистина го мисли. Понекогаш мислам дека цивилизацијата, каква што ја познаваме, ќе се распадне доколку сите бидеме сосем искрени.

Но со него има што да се научи поради долгогодишното искуство. Народот вели “За да има човек нова визија за иднината, веројатно е неопходно да има вистинска слика и за минатото”.

Спирос и дофрли иронично:

-Какво искуство, кога велиш дека со тебе му е прв брак? Ако навистина му е прв брак, кој е најдобриот совет што си го добила од него?

Рула го погледна напреку:

-Има многу работи. Треба е да сте свесни за положбата и ситуацијата. Тоа ми послужи да го искористам за мојата кариера. На пример: ти Спирос, стари петелу, што би и дал на една жена – борец на ДАГ?... Не дај Боже, да не и дадеш жешка љубов!

Сега, во оваа смртоносна војна ти текна за жена. Ти многу работи не сфаќаш. За среќа мажот треба толку да го сакаш, а тој треба жената многу да ја сака и да не се обидува да ја разбере. Ти знаеш дека неженетите мажи живеат пократко од жените, ама затоа женетите имаат помала желба за живот.

Опиши го првото твое љубовно разочарување.

Спирос и одговори:

-Љубовта не ме разочарала, туку луѓето. Љубената не сум ја нашол, се уште. Жена која треба да ги заборави своите грешки, зашто нема смисла двајцата да паметат исти работи.

Рула се насмевна и рече:

-Најголемата лага што сум ја слушнала досега од старо беќариште. Ти треба еднаш да разбереш дека жената се мажи со надеж дека ќе го промени мажот, ама ако тоа не и успева, тоагаш ќе сфати каков маж има.

Разбери дека е среќен оној што умее да сака! Нели е среќа да бидеш сакан? Но ти во животот си се сакал само себе. Да сакаш друг, тоа е најголема среќа. Ама ти, стар петелу.

Спирос се почувствува предизвикан и и рече:

-Што би направила ако момчето те изневери?

Рула, задоволна од ова што го откри кај Спирос, му одговори:

-Би му се извинила поради својата несовршеност. А тоа можеш и ти да го сториш ако се погледнеш во огледало, но тука, во планината, такво удопство немаме. Останува само да се помириме; какви сме такви сме.

-Како знае генералот дека си вљубена во него?

-Се ми оди од рака.

Спирос, иако знаеше дека претерува, сепак ја праша:

-Тој ти го подари револверот? И овој период во животот ти е најубав? Си станала пиштолџија!

И сега одеднаш беше исполнет со страшна љубомора кон генералот и рече:

-Бакни ме еднаш, - клекнувајќи и прегрнувајќи ја преку рамото. Но Рула се истргна и со студен глас му рече:

-Те молам, тргни се!

Рула рече:

-Да, тој ми го подари револверот. Но ми подари и рамка за фотографија. Тоа го стори кога сфати колкави беа мојата страст и емоциите што ги имав спрема него.

Спирос беше изненаден:

-Тоа е многу егоистично од негова страна, нели? Можеби почувствувал некаква несигурност и се исплашил дека ќе го заборавиш или, не дај боже, ќе го оставиш?

Зар не ти се чини дека таквиот подарок е многу самобендисан? А со што може најмногу да те извади од такт? Еден дофрли “дијамантите се најдобар пријател на жените”.

Рула смирено рече:

-Да, со овој подарок сигурно сакал да ме натера да ја ставам неговата фотографија на која беше сликан со генералската униформа во таа рамка и да ја имам постојано меѓу моите најинтимни работи.

Ех мој стари петелу, кога љубовта ја нема, токму во таа рамка останува да се врамат тајните на љубовта, на стравот и надежта.

Со него е мошне пријатно и да се расправа за филозофијата на животот. Има оригинални илузии. Генералот вели:

‘Правилата на животот се необјасниви, но чекорејќи кон комунистичкото општество, сите маки на човекот (на работничката класа) ќе се решат’.

Смета дека: ‘најважната работа е борбата против капитализамот.

Ме сфаќате?’ ќе прашаше тој. ‘Се има на овој свет, и треба да го живееш своето, а не да плачеш затоа што не си свој или немаш ова или она. Затоа што се бориме, веруваме дека еден ден ќе му се радуваме на комунистичкото општество или, ако не ние, тогаш идните генерации.’

Во тоа цврсто верува генералот, - рече Маргарита. Таа беше на нозе – лицето и беше вледо и во ужас. Сега се загледа во нас тргнувајќи накај излезот од земјанката.

Јас, Леонидас и Андонис не отворивме уста. Се сетив на зборовите на Леонидас: “Човек не смее да му создава болка или друг вид страдања на друг човек. Човек не треба да користи насилство, дури ни над растенијата и над кое и да било живо суштество”. Леонидас лежеше до мене и слушаше. Тој беше воспитан и потекнуваше од попска фамилија, ама и учел на високата школа по теологија. Го имаа мобилизирано и не беше по своја волја дојден тука со нас.

Секогаш ги држеше во тајност деталите од својот приватен живот и велеше: “Не сакам да создавам некаква мистерија околу мојот личен живот, туку едноставно, толку полесно ќе можам да ве убедам дека јас сум против војната”.

Леонидас рече:

-Кога ќе помислам дека Рула го љуби тој импотентен генерал, таа чудна машка креатура, се срамам од неа и од нејзините илузии. Рула во своите оцени е сосем слепа, но веројатно тоа го прави со мисла дека сака да спаси глава додека да помине ова зло…

Таа сака да ја живее војната од својата убавина. Тоа и го доживеа, кога првата ноќ Рула беше заспана во земјанката на генералот, не мислејќи на минатото, со надеж и со слободни мисли. Нејзиниот сон бил лесен и беспокоен, како сон на птица.

Леонидас зачудено ги крена вежите.

Ја вртеше главата и рече:

-Животот во овие најбурни, брутални и најпресудни времиња за една млада девојка, што може да се очекува од вакви идеолошки злосторници над младите луѓе. Тука човек ќе се соочи со минатото, со сегашноста и со иднината. И тие што се снаоѓаат, ништо не сфаќаат. Меѓутоа, ова не е време на сфаќање туку на снаоѓање.

Додека го слушав ова тажно и никако сфатливо филоовско толкување, се прашував во себе:

“Колку патишта мора да изоди човекот пред да му се обрати (каква и да било сила на психата) како на човек?”



Од воената и партиската хроника



Врз основа на решенијата на Третиот пленум на ЦК од 12-15 септември и на ПБ на ЦК на КПГ од 2. 12. 1947 година, на 23. 12. 1947 година е формирана Привремената демократска влада на Грција (ПДВГ), а се самораспушти на 15 октомври 1949 година.

Седиштето на Владата требаше да биде во грчкиот град Коница во Епир, како што тврдеше генералниот секретар Захаријадис велејќи дека признавањето е обезбедено: “…Ќе го заземеме градот Коница, ќе формираме влада и веројатно ќе не признаат”.

Борбите за освојување на градот се одвиваа од 24 декември 1947 до 4 јануари 1948 година.

Единиците на ДАГ водеа тешки борби, со големи загуби, за да го освојат овој град, но безуспешно. Поради тоа, не се оствари формирањето на влада во овој град. Но формирањето на ПДВГ не изостана, се формира во Преспа, во Асамати (Н.Р. Македонија – Југославија), во зградата на предвоената пристанишна капетанија.

Доаѓањето на членовите на Владата во Преспа го обезбедуваше потполковникот на УДБ Слободан Крстиќ-Учо, Југословен, офицер на ЈНА. Владата првобитно беше составена од осум члена и тоа: за претседател беше поставен Маркос Вафијадис, а за членови: Јанис Јоанидис, Петрос Русос, Милтијадис Порфирогенис, Петрос Кокалис, Василис Барџиотас, Димитриос Вландас и Леонидас Стрингос. Исто така, со декрет се унапредени 25 лица во чин полковници на ДАГ, но ни во владата ни меѓу овие офицери, кои претставуваа военополитички фактор на ДАГ, нема ниту еден Македонец.

ПДВГ (во планина) беше еднопартиска и еднонационална, односно беше составена исклучиво од Грци комунисти. И покрај тоа што повеќе од 50-60% од силите на ДАГ беа Македонци.

Реакции:

Грчката влада побара од САД и од Велика Британија да ги предупредат Советскиот Сојуз и источноевропските земји за последиците од нивното признавање на ПДВГ.

Свесна за последиците од признавањето на ПДВГ, американската влада веднаш реагира. На 30 декември 1947 година интервенира кај источноевропските земји да не ја признаат ПДВГ, предупредувајќи ги дека, ако го сторат тоа, ќе има сериозни последици. Балканската комисија на ООН побара од државите-членки на ООН да не ја признаат ПДВГ.

[Soldier of Macedon]

99% of "ski" terminations are as a result of Yugoslav communist criminal misadventure.

After WWII, some opted for the 'ski' suffix, others didn't, right or wrong, both had their reasons for doing so at the time. Even if there was government insistence (is there any evidence of official endorsement?), it would have had to be coupled with acceptance on the part of individuals, family heads and/or communities. Otherwise all of the republic would have surnames with a 'ski' ending. As it turned out, the 'initiative' was met with only partial success. In a larger historical context, the consistent application of formal and specific suffixes to Macedonian surnames is a relatively recent development. The same applies for other Balkan peoples.

Thus your real surname is not Naumovski or Naumovic but Naumov.

Before any of the above it would have been something as simple as Naum.

Sandanski is an extremely rare and atypical example.

Surnames that end in 'ski' may not have been as common in Macedonia, but they certainly weren't foreign to the Macedonian language.

The funniest irony is that "ski" surnames were actually far more common in Bulgaria prior to 1945 than on the territory of the Republic of Macedonia.

Unless you're in possession of church and state records from 1945 and prior, you're in absolutely no position to make that call.

The only irony greater than the above is the Skis insisting on Macedonians from the Aegean to change their surnames back when the Skis themselves have no intention of doing so themselves.

Those from the Aegean who still carry their slave names should change them back to Macedonian surnames. Those from the republic didn't have the 'ski' ending forced upon their entire population with the aim of eradicating their Macedonian identity. So the situations differ. For the former the change should be a matter of necessity, for the latter a matter of choice.

How many ways can you say "hypocrisy"?

In the year 1869, a Bulgarian Literary Society was founded in Romania. Some of its members were called Vasilaki Mihailidi, Petraki Simov, Kostaki Popovich and Gavril Krastevich. Today, descendants of those people and their lackeys harp on about surnames to Macedonians. A perfect example of hypocrisy.

[George S.]

years ago i needed to go to my birthplace bitola to get my birth certificate for marriage purposes.Lo & behold we got one after paying about $25.I looked at it both parents were
ending in ski & ska my name had ov.I thought why is this some idiot must want to bulgarise us.So i had to pay a court tax $15 to change it to ski.There are other errors of substituting
n for m,f for v etc.So the example naumov means family of naum.Naum would have been a grand father or great grandfather.The ski means son of the ov the family of naum ,naumovski,Where as ska means daughter of the family ov,ska daughter,

[The LION will ROAR]

One Hundred Years of Occupation

A nice summary of Macedonia 100 year Occupation..
I don't have a link to it. was sent to me as an attachment..
if anyone does have it please post here..


One Hundred Years of Occupation By Risto Stefov


Lecture - presented for the Historical Society in Toronto on January 27, 2013
In spite of the Macedonian people having risen in 1903 to fight for their freedom and to create an
Independent Macedonian state, only ten years later, Macedonia was brutally invaded, occupied and
partitioned by its neighbors Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria; a partition validated by the European Great
Powers on August 10, 1913 by the Treaty of Bucharest.
Why did this happen? What were the factors leading up to it? And who wanted this to happen?
In the past I have done lectures where we looked at events and how they unfolded. Today, in this lecture, in
addition to looking at “how” events unfolded, we will also look at “why” events unfolded, “who” was
behind them and “what” were their aims. We will look at a number of events in chronological order
keeping in mind how all this fits in the bigger picture. What I will say today, for some, will be new, unusual
and probably never heard of before.
Now let us look at the “theme” of this lecture – the word “occupation”. What does it mean and how does it
apply to Macedonia.
According to the Oxford dictionary of current English, occupation in this sense means: “Being occupied by
armed forces of another country…” Well, armed forces belonging to Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria did
invade and occupy Macedonia in October 1912 and have been there ever since. That is, until 1991 when the
Serbian army left the Serbian occupied part of Macedonia and that part became the independent Republic
of Macedonia. Sadly the parts of Macedonia awarded to Greece, Bulgaria and Albania are still occupied to
this day.
But what “really” happened in Macedonia and to the Macedonian people in the last 100 years was more
than just an “occupation”. It was more than just armies entering a region and laying claims to it. It was a
deliberately perpetrated act to forcibly grab Macedonian lands and to destroy the Macedonian identity and
culture. It was a deliberate act which, according to the Oxford dictionary, can be interpreted as:
“Genocide!” Yes Genocide, intentionally perpetrated against the Macedonian culture and against the
Macedonian nation.
If this is hard to believe or hard to accept that Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria intentionally committed
genocidal acts against the Macedonian culture and against the Macedonian people, then ask yourselves this;
Did Macedonians exist in Macedonia when it was brutally invaded, occupied and partitioned in 1912 and
1913 by Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria?
YES they did! How do we know? Among other things, from historical evidence left behind!
Yes! We all know that Macedonians existed in 1912, 1913. In fact the whole world knew that Macedonians
existed even before that because they read about them in their newspapers. The entire world read about the
1903 Ilinden Uprising and how the Macedonian people were struggling to free themselves from Ottoman
oppression! Today we have hundreds of newspaper clippings from that time, from practically every major
newspaper in the world, which, without a doubt, proves that Macedonians existed in 1903, only a decade
before Macedonia was brutally invaded, occupied and partitioned by Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria.
Unfortunately today both Greece and Bulgaria claim that Macedonians don’t exist? If that is true then what
happened to them? Where did they all go? Did they all vanish? Were they all assimilated?”


Knowing that Macedonians did exist in 1903, on account of all those newspaper reports, then why did the
Great Powers allow Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria to invade, occupy and partition Macedonia and suppress
the existence of the Macedonian culture? Is that in itself not genocide?
So, what did Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria do with the Macedonians they inherited in 1913? Well, from
what history has shown, they assimilated some, they exiled some and they killed some, by the tens of
thousands and by the hundreds of thousands at every opportunity! History is full of such examples.
And what do we call acts like changing people’s names by force, prohibiting people from speaking their
mother tongue, for some the only language they spoke? How do we define acts such as these? Are they not
cultural genocide?
And let us not forget the harsh punishments associated with enforcing these acts, especially the law of
prohibiting the use of the Macedonian language!
Did you know that while the sons of Macedonians in Greece fought the Italians in the Albanian frontier
during World War II and sacrificed themselves to preserve the integrity of Greece and to keep the Greeks
safe, their fathers were sent to jail by the Greeks, to the Greek islands, for speaking Macedonian at home?!
What do we dare call that?!
Now let us ask ourselves this: “What possible reasons could Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria have to commit
cultural genocide against the Macedonian people? Why couldn’t they just leave the Macedonian people
alone?”
Well, to understand why they did this, we need to go back in time and take a look at events that led to it.
At some point in time during the 19th century, after Nationalism came to exist and after ordinary people
started being loyal to nations, the idea of modern homogeneous countries with permanent and solid borders
was born.
Even though nationalism was popular and adopted by many countries, it was very rare that a country would
be homogeneous meaning that all the people within its borders would belong to a single nation. In practical
terms there would always be people belonging to other nations; or what we today call “minorities”.
In those days it was NOT desirable to have minorities in one’s country and there were strong attempts by
authorities to homogenize the population by assimilating the minorities into the majority. It was believed
that if all the people living within the borders of a country belonged to the same nation there would be no
differences between the people to divide them and this would make the country stronger.
This however, also had an opposite effect. In other words, if we were to take all the people inside a country,
inside a set of borders and break them down to their “ethnic components” and allow them to exist as such,
that country would become weak and eventually break up. Yugoslavia was a good example of this. When
Yugoslavia was first created the people were told that they were all “Slavs” and therefore brothers and
sisters “bradstvo edinstvo”. But as the country matured and people discovered who they really were,
Yugoslavia evolved first to the Kingdom of the Serbians, Croatians and Slovenes, then to Federal
Yugoslavia with five republics and eventually to six independent states; Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia,
Macedonia, Kosovo and Montenegro.
So, 19th century philosophy dictated that it was preferable to have one country, one nation and one people
because that way the country would be strong. So governments and authorities strived to assimilate the
minorities into the majority and create one homogeneous nation inside each country. Unfortunately, this
was done under brutal circumstances without giving regard to the destruction of cultures.
With some countries, like Greece and Bulgaria, this practice has continued to this day because they still
believe that their countries will weaken and break apart, like Yugoslavia, if they recognize all the
ethnicities living inside their borders.
So, how does all this fit with Macedonia and with its 100 year occupation? Well, let us look at the region’s
history and see what took place that led to this.
As we know, the Balkan Region for more that 2,000 years, since Philip II’s time, was a single, large
borderless unit occupied by several consecutive Empires, the Ottoman Empire being the last to occupy it.
Then, during the 19th century, it was broken up and made into several smaller modern countries.
The Great Powers of the 19th century were well aware that the Ottoman Empire, compared to themselves,
was weakening and would eventually collapse. But even though that part of the region, as a large
landscape, protected the West from Eastern invasions, they still did not want it to exist as a single political
unit because they felt it would always be a threat to them. So they preferred to see it broken up. But, if the
Ottoman Empire were to break up what would become of its pieces? This essentially gave birth to what
later came to be known as the “Eastern Question”. In other words, “What kind of countries would replace
the Ottoman Empire?”
The Ottoman Empire was very weak and any one of the Great Powers could have dealt it a death blow. But
because all the Great Powers, except for Russia, had investments in it, no one alone dared touch it because
they knew the others would retaliate. So to avoid conflict between themselves, the Great Powers refrained
from directly interfering in Ottoman affairs. In the long term however they used their proxies, Greece,
Serbia and Bulgaria to do their dirty work.
At one point in the mid 1870’s, Russia lost patience with the slow pace of Ottoman decay and decided to
attack it. But as expected, the other Great Powers intervened and, in a humiliating way, kicked Russia out
of the Balkans. So even though Russia came out victorious, all its sacrifices were in vain.
Some analysts believe that this humiliation created animosities between Russia and the other Powers which
lasted through the First and Second World Wars and subsequently sparked the Cold War.
But what many people don’t know is that this Russian-Turkish War was not exclusively fought by Russians
alone. There were also Macedonians and other Balkan people that participated in it.
Many of the Macedonian refugees who fled the Ottoman Empire, for various reasons including to avoid
persecution for their participation in uprisings, eventually, through Austro-Hungary, found their way to
Russia. Russia at the time created a zone of colonies on its southern European frontiers where it settled all
refugees and immigrants fleeing Ottoman oppression. It was these colonies that provided Russia with its
best fighters. The colonies formed their own Macedonian battalions led by Macedonian commanders and
these men were Russia’s fiercest fighters because they believed they were fighting for their own homeland.
One thing the then Great Powers would agree on was that they did not want the Ottoman Empire to be
replaced with a single large state. A single large State would be potentially dangerous to them in the future.
So they all agreed that the Ottoman Empire had to break up into smaller components. They also agreed that
these components would need to be polarized so that they hated each other and there would be no chance of
them ever uniting. They also needed to be of equal size so that no one component would have the ability to
dominate or swallow any of the others if war was to break out between them.
The one thing that the Great Powers could not agree on was who was going to have influence over which of
these components. This is because the Great Powers themselves were in competition with each other for
dominance of the region.
As the Ottoman Empire began to crumble at its edges, the Great Powers assisted in every way they could,
including helping the smaller nations establish and define themselves.
Here is an example of how the Great Powers influenced these new countries and turned them into their
proxies.
The British under Canning’s leadership created a policy to head off Russia’s advance, not by direct
opposition, but by liberating and creating national States out of the component parts of the Ottoman
Empire. Such States could then be relied upon to withstand Russian encroachment on their independence.
The creation of the Kingdom of Greece was the immediate outcome of Canning’s policy.
By the turn of the 20th century, Serbia, Greece and Bulgaria were already sovereign countries with
supposedly “homogeneous” populations and looking to expand their territories.
By the turn of the 20th century all that remained of the Ottoman Empire in Europe was the internal core
which consisted mostly of Thrace, Macedonia and Albania.
With Macedonia being the largest and main component of the European part of the Ottoman Empire, the
question on everyone’s mind was “What will happen to Macedonia and to the Macedonian people” after
the Ottoman Empire completely crumbled? This gave birth to what we today call “The Macedonian
Question”.
But as we are now discovering, “The Macedonian Question”, at a diplomatic level and in the halls of
secrecy had already been answered. The Great Powers and Royals of the time had by now already decided
that there would be no Macedonia and the Macedonian territories would be awarded to the Greek, Serbian
and Bulgarian kingdoms looking to expand their territories.
So, at some point in time after the Russian-Turkish War, which ended in 1878, the European Great Powers,
primarily Britain and France, made a decision not to help Macedonia become an independent state and that
the Macedonian territory would be divided and awarded to Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria. But the division
would have to be done along “national lines”. Remember, the Great Powers believed in the strength of
homogeneous nations, especially in their proxies!
So those three harmless words “along national lines” brought great misery to the Macedonian people that
has lasted to this day and is still ongoing in Greece and Bulgaria.
The Great Powers wanted small, equal sized and homogeneous states out of the ashes of the multi-lingual,
multi-ethnic, multi-religious, multi-cultural Ottoman Empire and these new upstart Balkan States were
going to do just that, create the homogeneity if they had to, at any cost, even if they had to destroy the
entire ancient Macedonian culture.
As we know today, the Greeks, Serbians and Bulgarians of that time knew that no “ethnic” Greeks,
Serbians, or Bulgarians lived in Macedonia. How could they, when the Greek, Serbian and Bulgarian
identity did not form through its natural course. How could there be when these identities were thrust upon
these Balkan people practically overnight by the Great Powers. One day these people were Christians and
citizens of a 500 year old Ottoman Empire. The next day they were told that they were Greeks, Serbians
and Bulgarians. These people, however, through education and intense propaganda, quickly adapted to their
new identities.
In Macedonia however, Macedonians already knew that they were Macedonian and the children of
Alexander the Great, as they called themselves on many occasions. So fooling the Macedonians into
believing that they were Greeks, Serbians and Bulgarians, all at the same time, was not going to be an easy
task. But that did not stop our neighbours from trying!
Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria first tried using propaganda to convince the Macedonians that they were
Greeks, Serbians and Bulgarians. When that didn’t work they tried opening churches and classifying people
by church affiliation. When that did not work they tried opening schools and educating the young to be
good Greeks, Serbians and Bulgarians. When that did not work they sent armed hoodlums to frighten the
Macedonians into becoming Greeks, Serbians and Bulgarians.
At some point in time the three, Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria, had decided that the best criteria for
classifying Macedonians as Greeks, Serbians and Bulgarians would be by their Church affiliation.
Towards the end of the 19th century Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria were allowed to establish their own
“National” churches inside Macedonia. The Macedonians also tried to establish a Macedonian church but
they were not allowed by the Ottoman authorities mainly because of protests from the other churches who
did not want a Macedonian church to be established.
In those days, under Ottoman rule, the church was the ultimate authority over the nation similar to what
governments are today.
And because there was no Macedonian Church the Macedonian Christians could only belong to the Greek,
Serbian, or Bulgarian Church. So, if a person belonged to one of these churches they were assumed to
belong to the “national” identity associated with that Church.
So in our neighbors’ estimation “not having a recognized Macedonian church meant no Macedonian
identity existed”. This idea was neatly packaged by Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria and sold to the entire
world. Today we have uncovered numerous census reports released by Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria that say
“NO” Macedonians lived in Macedonia before, during and after 1903! Now we know why. Because these
census reports were based on church affiliation and not on ethnicity!
Naturally, these “assigned identities” to the Macedonians were fluid and people did switch from one
Church to another. This too was reflected in the countless census statistic reports released in those days by
Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria. People switched “church affiliation” for various reasons depending on which
Church offered them better perks, which Church offered them more benefits, which Church offered their
children better education and later, which Church exerted more pressure or made stronger threats on their
lives.
By the turn of the 20th century the Macedonian people felt they had had enough. They had had enough of
the Ottomans who were taxing them to starvation so that they could pay their debts to Western European
banks. And they had had enough of their neighbours meddling in their affairs. So, they decided it was time
to do something. They decided to plan a rebellion!
Macedonia’s neighbors however would not relent until they possessed Macedonia for themselves as they
were promised by the Great Powers and did everything in their powers to achieve that. They even went as
far as sabotaging the Macedonian rebellion being planned.
Because of time constraints during this lecture, I will present you with only one example of how one of
Macedonia’s neighbors interfered in the Macedonian plans for the Ilinden Uprising.
It was no secret that after the San Stefano Treaty in 1878, Bulgaria wanted all of Macedonia for itself and
sought ways to get it. To achieve this, Bulgaria created the External or supremacist or as we call it,
Vrhovist Macedonian Revolutionary Organization with aims to free Macedonia from the Ottomans and
Annex it to Bulgaria. It was called external because it was headquartered in Sofia, Bulgaria.
Those aims however had to be hidden from the public for a couple of reasons. One, Bulgaria was not
allowed to politically or militarily interfere in Ottoman affairs and two, the vast majority of the Macedonian
people wanted a free and independent Macedonia and would not favour the idea of a Macedonia to be
annexed by Bulgaria.
But a closer look at this Vrhovist organization’s activities reveals that it was created not to help but to
weaken the real or Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization by interfering in its affairs and by
confusing and dividing the Macedonian people.
Bulgaria knew that the fall of the Ottoman Empire was imminent and it believed that if it occupied
Macedonia first, before Greece or Serbia, it would have Russia’s support and better leverage for negotiating
a bigger slice of Macedonian territory. Unfortunately at that time Bulgaria was not militarily strong enough
to attack and defeat the Ottoman Empire on its own. But it figured that if there was a clash between the
Macedonian people and the Ottoman authorities it would weaken the Ottoman Empire. And at the same
time if the Macedonian people failed to liberate themselves then this would open opportunities for Bulgaria
to charge in, attack and defeat the weakened Ottoman Empire, occupy Macedonia and pretend it was done
in order to save the Macedonian people from Ottoman backlash and retaliation.
But in order for this to work, the Macedonian people would have to fail in their attempt to liberate
themselves.
To ensure that that would happen, Bulgaria had to, one, instigate the Macedonian people to start a rebellion
and, two, make sure the liberation was a failure.
A failed liberation attempt would prompt retaliation from the Ottoman Empire and that would give
Bulgaria a reason to militarily invade Macedonia without too many consequences or severe retaliation from
the Great Powers.
But, how could Bulgaria ensure that the rebellion would fail?” By forcing the Macedonian people into a
rebellion before they were ready!
And why would the Macedonian leadership agree to take part in a rebellion before the people were ready?
Well, no one said it was going to be easy. That is why Bulgaria made many promises;
1. It promised the Macedonian leadership help. Bulgaria assured the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary
Organization that it would supply it with guns and the moment the rebellion started, it promised that it
would order the Bulgarian army to attack the Ottoman Empire. Bulgaria did deliver on the guns but failed
to deliver on ammunition. So the guns were as good as useless.
2. It promised not to interfere in internal affairs. But, unbeknownst to the Macedonians, the Bulgarians
made sure that the Macedonians would remain weak. Every time the Bulgarians felt that the Macedonians
were getting strong, they would, in some small way, betray them to the Ottomans.
3. It forced an early Uprising. When the Bulgarians could not convince the Macedonian leaders to start the
uprising willingly, they took matters into their own hands. The Bulgarians had the Ottomans arrest the top
Internal Macedonian Revolutionary leaders and then sent their own Vrhovist leaders to replace them.
The Bulgarians, some say the Bulgarian king himself, provided the Ottoman authorities with a list of all the
names of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization central leaders and in February of 1903,
almost all of them were rounded up, arrested and jailed. Only a few managed to dodge the authorities.
Gotse Delchev was among the few who were not caught.
No sooner had the arrests been made than members of the Vrhovist organization were sent from Bulgaria to
replace the jailed Macedonian leaders. The Vrhovists met in Solun and on their own decided to start the
uprising. The news of the uprising created great confusion among the unprepared regional leadership. A
second meeting was called to review the details of the Solun meeting. The second meeting was to take
place in Smilevo on May 3, 1903.
Gotse Delchev was against starting an early uprising because, as the supreme commander of the
Macedonian forces, he was well aware of the fact that the Macedonians were not ready to start an Uprising
and win. When Delchev became aware of the Solun meeting he was furious and wanted to rush to Smilevo
in person and convince the delegates that it would be suicidal to start an uprising at this point in time when
most of the regions were not ready.
On his way to Smilevo, Delchev was ambushed in Banitsa and killed!
Was this a coincidence? The entire Ottoman army had been looking for Delchev for months and could not
find him. Let me say this: He managed to dodge the Ottoman authorities since he joined the Internal
Macedonian Revolutionary Organization and also managed to dodge them while everyone else was caught.
So, how was it that he was suddenly not found, but killed? I can tell you this: History has shown that it was
by no coincidence that Delchev was killed on his way to Smilevo. He was killed because he was preparing
to stop the 1903 uprising from taking place.
So let us ask ourselves: “Was Delchev not a patriotic Macedonian? Did Delchev not want Macedonia to be
liberated?” If he was and if he did then why would he want to stop the uprising from taking place? Unless,
of course he believed that an early uprising would not succeed and would destroy the Macedonian people’s
chance of liberating themselves?! Delchev was a smart man and knew exactly what was going on and that
is exactly why he was murdered!
The Smilevo meeting took place without Delchev and even though 80% of the district Chiefs reported that
their districts were NOT ready for an early uprising, the uprising took place anyway. And as we know it
was not only a disaster, it changed the course of the Macedonian peoples’ history forever!
And in the end, all Bulgarian promises turned out to be false. As for Bulgaria invading Macedonia after the
uprising collapsed; Bulgaria was told by Russia to “stay out” because if it invaded Macedonia at this point,
it would not only lose Macedonia but it might also lose its own territory.
In fact, the Great Powers ordered all of Macedonia’s neighbours to stay out of Macedonia during the
Uprising and just observe while the Ottoman army pummeled the Macedonian people to death. The Great
Powers also stayed out and watched from the distance, from their ships in the Aegean Sea, while
Macedonian villages burned like candles in the dark of night.
The Great Powers were well aware that the Macedonian people had risen to fight for their freedom and to
create a Macedonian state, but decided not to help them, not to become involved. Had the Macedonians
succeeded in their fight, perhaps there would be a united Macedonian state today and Macedonia would not
have been divided. But failing to gain their independence convinced the Great Powers that the Macedonian
people were not worth saving. So thanks to Bulgarian interference the Macedonian people not only lost
their chance at independence and creating their own country, but at the same time became prey for Greece,
Serbia and Bulgaria.
Now it was no longer “if” but “when” Macedonia was going to be invaded, occupied and partitioned by its
neighbours. Immediately after the failed Macedonian uprising, all three countries intensified their
preparations for war and in 1912 the three jointly invaded Macedonia, in what is now termed the First
Balkan War, and drove the Ottomans out. When the three couldn’t decide how to divide Macedonia, they
fought each other for more territory. When Romania got involved the Great Powers stepped in and put an
end to the fighting by the 1913 Treaty of Bucharest.
It would appear from what we know so far, that there were no safeguards or arrangements put in the 1913
Treaty of Bucharest regarding the rights of the Macedonian people that came with the lands. In other
words, the 1913 Treaty of Bucharest says nothing about the people living on the Macedonian lands granted
to Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria. It was left up to the three occupiers to decide their fate.
Before I finish with this example, let me say this:
We are all proud of the idea that the Macedonians, our forefathers, created the first Republic in Europe but
do we, for a moment, think what it means? Our forefathers tried to create a Republic during a time when
every country in Europe, including the Great Powers, were kingdoms. If you understand what that means
you will understand that creating a Republic in the middle of the most powerful kingdoms in the world was
like entering a bear’s den blindfolded; like attempting to bring communism into a powerful capitalist state!
It was NOT the thing to do in those days!
What kind of impression do you think our forefathers left in the minds of the Great Powers when they
decided to create a Republic in the middle of all those kingdoms? Think about it! And did they really think
the Great Powers were going to help them? What a blunder!
Soon after Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria consolidated their power over Macedonian territory, through their
military occupying forces, they told the people that only Greeks lived in the Greek occupied part; Serbians
lived in the Serbian occupied part and Bulgarians lived in the Bulgarian occupied part of Macedonia.
Anyone who did not agree with that was told to “pick up what they could carry and leave”.
Subsequent to that the Greeks were claiming that people left voluntarily, but many people interviewed later
testified that they were driven out by force for various reasons including for being affiliated with the
Bulgarian Church or for fighting in the Ilinden Uprising.
The Greeks also expelled many Macedonians because they were Muslims. Even though these people
insisted that they were Macedonians and not Turks, they were expelled anyway.
After World War I in 1919 at the Treaty of Versailles, the European Great Powers ratified the principles of
the 1913 Treaty of Bucharest and the three occupiers Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria were basically given the
right to do whatever they wanted with their part of Macedonia and with the people they inherited with it.
And so they did.
By the Neuilly Convention, signed on November 27, 1919 between Greece and Bulgaria, Greek authorities
rounded up 80,000 Macedonians, mainly because they were affiliated with the Bulgarian Church, and
expelled them to Bulgaria. While Bulgaria forced out about 25,000 Macedonians because they were
affiliated with the Greek Church.
Then came the Treaty of Lausanne signed in July, 1923 after the Greek-Turkish war ended. This Treaty
called for the compulsory exchange of populations between Greece and Turkey. Through this Treaty
Greece forcibly exiled 354,000 ethnic Macedonians because they were Muslim by religion and imported
1.1 million Christian Turkish colonists from Asia Minor of whom they settled 660,000 in Macedonia. This
in fact changed Macedonia’s demography for the first time in Macedonia’s history.
Now it seems, official Greek policy is to call these colonists “autochthonous Macedonians” while they
deny the real Macedonians their rights and identity. Greek propaganda now claims that a population of 2.5
million “pure Macedonians” live in “Greek Macedonia”; this includes their former Prime Minister
Karamanlis who is in fact an Asia Minor colonist.
Then came the erasure of everything that pointed to a Macedonian existence. Both Greece and Serbia
developed policies to change people’s names and make them sound more Greek and Serbian. The Greeks
enacted laws that renamed all the Macedonian people’s names, toponyms and place names and made them
Greek sounding. The Greeks also burned all the Macedonian Bibles written in Kiril and Metodi’s Old
Macedonian alphabet and painted Greek letters over the Macedonian Cyrillic script on church icons and
other relics. The Greeks also desecrated Macedonian cemeteries by removing and destroying headstones
and by plowing over them. They literally destroyed all evidence of a Macedonian existence.
They also attacked the Macedonian language, the only living thing remaining that was proof of a
Macedonian existence. The harshest measures taken against the Macedonian language were during the
Metaxas dictatorship years after Metaxas came to power on August 4, 1936. During that time the Greek
regime strongly opposed the use of the Macedonian language and harshly punished and jailed those
speaking it in public or in private.
The Greek regime showed its true cruelty towards the Macedonian people when it sent many Macedonians
to prison in the Greek island prison camps for simply speaking their native mother tongue; the only
language they knew.
All three; Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria interfered in Macedonian affairs all through World War II and
throughout the Greek Civil War; too many incidents to mention here. Perhaps I can talk about those in
another lecture.
But the final insult against the Macedonian people came when Greece, in the 1980’s, introduced the law on
repatriation which allowed only “Greeks by birth” to return back to their place of origin!
And who exactly are these Greeks by birth? Here again Greece has used an “ambiguous expression” and
some legal maneuvers to basically exclude whoever it wants. But we all know this ambiguity was created
to weed out the Macedonians.
Allow me to explain.
After all the population exchanges took place, about which I mentioned earlier, Greece announced to the
world that “only Greeks now live in Greece”. In the late 1920’s Greece released demographic statistics
claiming that 98% pure Greeks and 2% Muslim Greeks lived in Greece. This was not a joke!
So, according to these statistics, basically everyone who lived in Greece, say after 1930, was pure Greek.
That means that everyone who left Greece during the Greek Civil War in 1949 was also Greek. So why
would Greece need a law to repatriate “only Greeks by birth” if everyone in Greece was Greek in the first
place? And who were these “other” people who were not Greeks by birth that Greece did not want back?
By claiming to have “98% pure Greeks and 2% Muslim Greeks” living in Greece, Greek authorities
whitewashed the idea of any “other” ethnicities living in Greece. On the surface this looked like 100%
Greeks live in Greece. A normal person would interpret this to mean that Greece was 100% homogeneous
because the entire Greek population was “ethnically” Greek. And that is exactly how Greece wanted people
to think!
But looking into their statement a bit deeper one would notice the word “Muslim” which in fact implies
“religious affiliation”. The word “pure” is a bit strange but not if we replace it with “Orthodox”. Orthodoxy
can be viewed as a pure religion.
The word “Greek” is a bit confusing because there was no such thing as an “ethnic” Greek at that time. In
fact there was no ethnic or national Greek identity prior to the creation of the Greek state in 1829. So at that
point in time the idea of someone being “Greek” could have meant a number of things. A Greek citizen
could be Greek. A person speaking the so-called Greek language could be considered to be Greek. A
person living inside Greece’s borders could be called a Greek. A person with a Greek sounding name could
be a Greek. And so on.
By claiming to have “98% pure Greeks and 2% Muslim Greeks” living in Greece the Greek authorities in
effect meant that “98% of the population living inside the current borders of Greece are Orthodox Christian
and 2 % are Muslim”, which says absolutely nothing about the “ethnic composition” of the population
inside Greece. In other words Greece doesn’t say it, but it wants you to think that 100% “ethnic Greeks”
live in Greece. So the stats Greece released in the late 1920’s reflected the country’s “religious affiliation”
and NOT its ethnic composition!
You can see here how Greece is using ambiguity to basically include and exclude whoever it wants.
Legally, here Greece can argue that a person cannot possibly be Greek if they don’t have a Greek name or
if they claim to be born in a village that does not have a Greek name! So, all those who changed their Greek
names back to their Macedonian names while outside of Greece were not allowed to return. In other words,
you can’t possibly have a Macedonian name if you were born in Greece.
How did I arrive at this conclusion you ask?
Well, when I knew nothing about all this, being very curious about how Greece came to have 100% pure
Greeks, I decided to look into it. My first task was to verify that indeed 98% pure Greeks and 2% Muslim
Greeks live in Greece.
Now, I have to admit that I don’t know everyone in Greece but I do know everyone from my village which
since 1913 has been part of Greece. So if my village is part of Greece then the people living in it should
belong to one of the “official” Greek categories “pure Greeks” or “Muslim Greeks”.
But to my surprise I could not find a single “ethnic Greek” in my village. Of all the people I asked if they
were “Greek” not one said they were! Those who did say they were Greeks turned out to have Macedonian
parents or grandparents so in fact they were not “ethnic” Greeks.
No, this can’t be right! I was explicitly taught this in school and I know institutions, governments,
Churches, Priests, etc. don’t openly lie when they can be challenged! So I thought it had to be some kind of
trick!
I then expanded my inquiry and began asking other people, from other villages to identify the Greeks in
their village. I did this with many villages and with many people I know. But in the end I failed to find any
ethnic Greeks living anywhere in Greek occupied Macedonia! I found Turkish Asia Minor colonists,
Vlachs, Albanians, a lot of Macedonians… But not a single ethnic Greek! No one could prove that they
were “ethnic” Greek!
So, who are these “elusive” ethnic Greeks and where could they be found?
Now I became really curious and started to look for “ethnic” Greeks south of Mount Olympus and there too
I could not find a single ethnic Greek with a history that stretched beyond the existence of the Modern
Greek state.
I was not the only one either. In my research I found over 200 authors, all of them westerners, who felt that
Greece and the Greeks were a new creation that never existed before.
I will read you a quote from one of those authors who loves Greece but loves the truth even more:
“Further back still beyond the War of Independence, when the modern nation-state of Greece came into
being for the first time, the whole concept of Greece as a geographical entity that begins to blur before our
eyes, so many and various were its shapes and meanings. But if geography can offer us no stable idea of
Greece, what can? Not race, certainly; for whatever the Greeks may once have been, ...., they can hardly
have had much blood-relationship with the Greeks of the peninsula of today, Serbs and Bulgars, Romans,
Franks and Venetians, Turks, Albanians,..., in one invasion after another have made the modern Greeks a
decidedly mongrel race. Not politics either; for in spite of that tenacious western legend about Greece as
the birthplace and natural home of democracy, the political record of the Greeks is one of a singular
instability and confusion in which, throughout history, the poles of anarchy modulated freedom has very
rarely appeared. Not religion; for while Byzantium was Christian, ancient Hellas was pagan.” David
Holden, “Greece without Columns”.
When I found out that there are “literally” no “ethnic Greeks” to be found anywhere, I became curious as to
how Greece could be populated with 100% Greeks and not a single one of them was an ethnic Greek.
But, I think I will stop here and leave this topic for another lecture.
From what I discovered in my research, the term “Greek” is so ambiguous that everyone who lives in
Greece can be a “Greek” by geography, by political affiliation, by church affiliation or one can be a Greek
by having a Greek sounding name or simply by being a Greek citizen.
I have approached people with this information in hand who strongly believe they are Greeks and when
everything was said and done, I asked them, “If you were not Greeks by ethnicity then what makes you
Greek?” Almost without exception, they all said: “They were Greek because they felt like Greeks, spoke
the Greek language and were very proud of being Greek.” In other words, even pride can make Greeks out
of Vlachs, Albanians, Turks and even Macedonians!
But this has not stopped these fake Greeks from interfering in Macedonian affairs and from claiming that
Macedonians do not exist and we the “autochthonous Macedonians” can’t be Macedonians because the
Macedonians are Greek. Greek interference in Macedonian affairs is not limited to only inside Greece.
Greeks also interfere in Macedonian affairs everywhere in the world.
The invention of the so-called “Name Dispute” is another example of how Greece has used its influence to
not only fool the entire world about what is going on, but to also distract the Macedonian people from their
real challenges; the fact that Macedonia is occupied by Greece and that the Macedonian people have no
rights and are abused to no end!
The so-called “Name dispute” is a perfect example where outside interference has not only preoccupied the
entire Macedonian nation with a nonsensical and whimsical problem but it has also placed Macedonia in a
losing situation. Because the Greeks, with the invention of the so-called “name dispute” have placed
themselves in a position where “the solution to this problem” is entirely dependent on them, there is no
“winning” exit scenario out of this mess for Macedonia. Macedonia unwittingly put its foot in this trap and
is now faced with three possible scenarios.
1. Voluntarily change its own name in order to exit this problem and be accepted in International
organizations. This scenario, if taken, will literally forever end the Macedonian identity and permanently
close the Macedonian question. In other words, if Macedonians change their own name they will seal their
own fate.
2. Remain in limbo and remain a Greek hostage forever. Greece is inside, in the warm atmosphere of our
home while we linger and protest outside in the cold so why would Greece care if this “problem” goes on
forever? Greece has the upper hand. Greece possesses our lands and controls our destiny, so why would
Greece seek a solution that might change all that. Greece would love to see this problem go on unresolved
forever because it is in Greece’s interest. There is no incentive for Greece to solve this problem.
Even if the name dispute is resolved, Greece will fabricate and introduce a new problem to keep us busy
running around in circles.
But we can’t blame Greece entirely for protecting its interests. It seems that Greece sets the traps for us and
we, without thinking, put our feet in them.
If you disagree with me then tell me, “What are we doing negotiating our own country’s name with our
worst enemy?” Think about it!
Or
3. A repeat of the 1912, 1913 scenario. Macedonia could be forced by the Great Powers to change its name
in order to comply with Greece’s wishes. If it refuses it can be invaded. It almost happened about a decade
ago. Now, not only do we have the Greeks and Bulgarians, we also have the Albanians vying for a slice of
Macedonia. All the Great Powers have to say is either change your name or face the consequences. We are
getting tired of you dragging this problem! This scenario will solve “everyone’s” problems except for our
own!
By accepting to negotiate our own name, with our worst enemy, we put ourselves in a trap from which it
will be very difficult to escape without dire consequences.
The only way out of this problem is if the entire world disagrees with Greece and makes an effort to help
us. But what are the chances of that happening when we know countries like France not only created
Greece but also sanctioned its activities against us including the population exchanges and the signing of
the 1913 Treaty of Bucharest. As long as Greece has the support of one Great Power it will never relent!
All three; Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria have interfered in Macedonian affairs; but most of all Greece and
Bulgaria. In the past they each created fake Macedonian organizations in the Diaspora to market their antiRisto
Stefov One Hundred Years of Occupation Macedonian propaganda; not only to lie to the world about Macedonia but to keep the Macedonian people
divided.
They each have infiltrated Macedonian organizations and institutions and turned them against the
Macedonian cause. They have offered Macedonians free education, passports, citizenship and financial and
other help with their businesses in order to stop them from aiding the Macedonian cause.
All this was done and is still being done in order to divide the Macedonian people and keep them weak.
Thankfully one part of Macedonia is free. But unfortunately, three more parts are not. The largest part of
Macedonia is still occupied.
So, what can be done to change the situation?
The first thing we need to do is understand our own weaknesses and how we are being manipulated!
As we stand today we are a divided people: not only because of the Grkomani, the Bulgaromani, the
Serbomani, the Albanomani and what have you, but also because of ourselves; the real Macedonians.
As a nation, we have yet to learn who we really are. We don’t know who we are because others, our
enemies have been defining us. They have been telling us who we are and writing our fake history for us.
The same people who until yesterday called us Greeks, Serbians and Bulgarians today are saying that we
are “Slavs” that we came from somewhere else and that we can’t be Macedonians. And there are some of
us out there who believe them, who believe that we came from somewhere. I have a three volume
Macedonian history book at home written in the Macedonian language and published some years ago by a
reputable publisher that claims our history began in the 6th century AD when we arrived in Macedonia. In
other words, there is no Macedonian history before that!
Has anyone in our entire folklore ever mentioned that we came to Macedonia from somewhere else? Where
is the proof that we came from somewhere else? Our true history, however, tells a different story. Our true
history is full of signs that point to us being indigenous to Macedonia. More correctly, we are the product
of all the people, the indigenous Macedonians and all those people who set foot and left their mark in
Macedonia since the melt of the last ice age.
We are Macedonians because we, our fathers and mothers, our grandfathers and grandmothers and many
generations of men and women before them, who were born in Macedonia, were Macedonians because the
land on which we were born, grew up and died was called Macedonia! We don’t need our enemies to
define us and tell us who we are and who we are not! We ARE Macedonians because that is exactly what
we are!
Unfortunately, many of us tend to believe the lies of our enemies. And at the same time we seldom question
the lies our enemies tell us about themselves.
As a nation we have been manipulated by the Great Powers and by their proxies Greece, Serbia and
Bulgaria for over a century and yet to this day we seem to be unaware of it.
We are truth seekers, innocent, peaceful and kind people; traits that define us as a people. Unfortunately
these same traits are interpreted as “weaknesses” by our enemies and by the world. We have been
peacefully crying foul about our lack of rights in Greece, Bulgaria and Albania and our cries seem to have
gone unnoticed. But we have failed to change our strategy! Why?
However, the moment the Albanians in Macedonia brandished their weapons, everyone ran to see what
they wanted. On one occasion they were even rescued from being demolished by the Macedonian army.
They were rescued not by their allies but by their own enemies; a Macedonian President no less.
Imagine, the Commander in Chief of the Macedonian Army rescuing his enemy. Where in the world have
we even heard of a President of a country saving his enemy from being attacked by his own army? Only in
Macedonia!
This is equivalent to George W. Bush ordering his army to stand down while he provides buses to save the
terrorists who attacked the New York Towers and without disarming them. I think this is the biggest
historic blunder we have ever made as Macedonians to date!
Imagine what this act did to the morale of the Macedonian Army! Worse than that, imagine these same
hoodlums, who yesterday raised weapons against the Macedonian army and against the Macedonian
people, today are the politicians who run the country and the army commanders who lead our forces, even
the soldiers who fought against them only yesterday. Imagine! This happens only in Macedonia!
These are unforgivable blunders!
We believe the “words” of others because they sound patriotic and we, on many occasions have allowed
outsiders to “manipulate” us and use our kindness and patriotism against us, and if I may add, many times
without our knowledge.
Our history is full of such examples! But our history, the true history of what really happened to us has yet
to be understood by our people.
We are “truth seekers” yet we are afraid of the truth. We are afraid of standing up and speaking the truth
even about the worst things that have been done to us.
Tell me is there no Macedonian out there today who does not know what Greece has done to us?
Tell me is there no Macedonian out there today who does not know that Greece has no authority over the
Republic of Macedonia?
So, why are we negotiating our own name with Greece? Is there anyone out there who truly understands
what this looks like from other people’s perspectives?
Is there no Macedonian in the Macedonian government who does not know that the Ilinden Uprising took
place and that it was a struggle for freedom and for the creation of a Macedonian state? So, why do we
allow Greece and Bulgaria to publicly say we don’t exist?
Is there no Macedonian in authority today who does not know how Macedonia was invaded, occupied and
partitioned in 1912, 1913 and how Macedonia became Greek, Serbian and Bulgarian?
If there are such people out there then tell me why not one of them has stood up to Greece and to the world
and said “something” to that effect?
Alternatively, let us look at Greece’s “real” history. There are hundreds and hundreds of authors and
historians that have written about Greece’s real history; about the modern Greeks who are not Greeks at all:
who in reality are recent Slav, Albanian and Vlach immigrants who came to the region during the 6th, 11th
and 13th century AD. This is Greece’s “real” history! Athens only 200 years ago was an Albanian village of
5,000 people. Look at it today, it is a multi-million metropolis populated by pure Greeks, descendents from
the ancient Greeks. What a farce!
Why have we not stood up to these “charlatans” and put them in their place? What are we waiting for?
What are we afraid of?
For the last 3 or 4 decades I have watched us playing defense and fumble over and over again. Has it not
occurred to us that we can’t win, not even a single game, if we continue to play defense?
If we are such great truth seekers why has not a single Macedonian in authority spoken the truth where it
counts? What are we waiting for? Why haven’t we attacked the Greek identity the way they have attacked
ours? We are REAL Macedonians and they are not even Greeks!
About five years ago I wrote an e-mail to a prominent historian who had written about Balkan history and
asked him why he had not written about us Macedonians!
I got what I thought was a surprising answer! He said, “Why don’t you first write ‘something’ about
yourselves and then I will write about you! Where am I supposed to find the information to write about
you?”
My point: If we don’t stand up to Greece and Bulgaria who do we expect will?
Well my friends I can tell you this with certainty, “NO ONE” is going to do anything for us if we are not
willing to do it for ourselves. In fact, no one is going to do anything for us until we start doing things for
ourselves!
So, as Macedonians what exactly do we want from Greece, Bulgaria and Albania? Do we really know and
can we agree on what it is that we want? When was the last time we sat down together as Macedonians to
decide what it is that we want and what will be acceptable to us?
Within a few years of Israel becoming a country, the Israeli government invited all Israeli Organizations,
Associations, intellectuals, etc. and individually interviewed them to find out what they wanted out of
Israel. Based on their answers Israel then set out its objectives and successfully sued Germany and other
countries who then paid the Israeli people compensation for damages. What have we done to this day to
prepare for our future?
If tomorrow Greece calls us to a meeting and asks us what it is that we want from Greece will we be
prepared to voice our needs?

[The LION will ROAR]

Aleksandar Donski -Interviewed by Bulgarian Newspaper

Aleksandar Donski -Interviewed by Bulgarian Newspaper


Aleksandar Donski -Interviewed by Bulgarian Newspaper
Thursday, January 31, 2013 4:06:23 PM
" You are Thracian decadents
Ancient Macedonians are our Grandfathers
We will live brotherly nations"

“ВИЕ СТЕ НАСЛЕДНИЦИ НА ТРАКИТЕ

АНТИЧНИТЕ МАКЕДОНЦИ СА НАШИТЕ ДЕДИ

ЩЕ ЖИВЕЕМ КАТО БРАТСКИ НАРОДИ’’

Dear Readers,

Recently the Bulgarian daily “B’lgaria dnes” published a two part interview with Macedonian historian Aleksandar Donski MA. Although the headings and subheadings in the interview, as well as the edited photograph in the second part (where Donski is supposedly giving Dimitrov a Macedonian passport – a photo montage that has long circulated around the Internet), are the work of the newspaper’s editorial board (and not Donski’s work), this interview was a rare opportunity for authentically presenting the Macedonian side of the story to the general Bulgarian public. And not only that; This may be the first interview in which a Macedonian historian was allowed to have his say before the general Bulgarian public; not only to explain the basic ethnogenetic differences between Macedonians and Bulgarians but also to pose questions regarding the basic theses about the origin of the Bulgarian nation.

Although presented in an abbreviated form, the interview aroused great interest among the Bulgarian public and politicians.

Let us hope that this interview will contribute to a greater understanding between our two countries and peoples. Only through arguments and open dialogue can we overcome our differences and certain misunderstandings.

Aleksandar Donski would like to thank the editorial board of the Bulgarian daily “B'lgaria dnes” for its courage, demonstrated by publishing this interview.

[INTERVIEW Part 1.

By Vanche Gelevski
Translated and edited by Risto Stefov
December 29, 2012

Who is Donski?

Aleksandar Donski is a Macedonian historian and writer. He is the author of dozens of books in history, folklore, literature and religion. He works at the Institute of History and Archaeology at the University “Gotse Delchev” in Stip. He is known for his radical views on the origin of the Macedonian nation.

- How deep did Bulgaria stick a knife into Macedonia when it vetoed the start of negotiations for EU membership?

- Most of the people here were expecting this kind of outcome because Bulgaria and Greece had already announced their intentions. Regardless, Macedonia will continue to exist and will strengthen its bilateral relations with key countries in the EU and NATO and will patiently wait for its time to enter the Euro-Atlantic institutions.

- This knife wound is dangerous and can be deadly for the future of Macedonia ?

- Macedonia will only disappear by a brutal military occupation. But such an occupation cannot take place without fatal consequences to the aggressor who dares to do this.

- Who is responsible for the cold relationship between Skopje and Sofia ?

- The chronic reason for our bad relationship is the Bulgarian government’s unwillingness to recognize the existence of the Macedonian nation, language and culture. This instills negative feelings in the people in Macedonia . Imagine, how would you feel if someone did not recognize the Bulgarian nation? During Georgi Dimitrov’s term there were brotherly relations between Macedonians and Bulgarians. During President Zhelev’s term we had warm relations. As a true democrat, he always gave and still gives his support to Macedonia . Zhelev was the most popular contemporary Bulgarian politician in the country. Unfortunately Todor Zhivkov’s shadow still hangs over the other Bulgarian politicians. Bulgaria should not be held hostage to individual hatred of Macedonia and because of Macedono-phobia. These people know that if good relations between Macedonians and Bulgarians exist they will feel like fish out of water. That is why they have this paranoia towards anything Macedonian. Skopje too has its share of people who hate and criticize Bulgaria for various reasons. They too are an obstacle to eliminating misunderstandings between our two countries and our people. It is good that not too many people are burdened by history and politics, and that people are increasingly eager to develop good relations between our countries. This should be encouraged.

- What stands in Macedonia ’s way?

- We have overcome much more difficult periods in our history and we have survived. Time will give us a way out. Time is on Macedonia ’s side. When all the European countries join the EU, except for Macedonia because Greece and possibly Bulgaria continue to veto it, Brussels will react and will not allow Macedonia to be isolated. The same thing will happen with NATO. Why are Bulgaria and Greece so worried about Macedonia ’s entry into these structures? The government in Sofia must know that by blocking Macedonia it will cause itself grief and will hurt Bulgaria ’s prestige with the Western countries.

- Are Bulgaria ’s conditions acceptable to Skopje to normalize neighbourly relations between the two countries?

- All three Bulgarian proposals were adopted by the Macedonian Foreign Minister Nikola Popovski. They are completely normal.

- Certain circles in Sofia want to celebrate holidays together to bring us closer. Are there any such holidays in Macedonia ’s history?

- The intention of this proposal is to demonstrate that Macedonians and Bulgarians have a common history, ie they are one people. I do not consider such intentions appropriate and things should remain as before - each State has its own holidays and can celebrate them as they wish individualy.

- The established view in Bulgaria is that no Macedonian state, Macedonian language and Macedonian nation existed before 1944. Are there any parties in Skopje which would accept such a position in order to get a fresh start in relations with Sofia ?

- None. We have a lot of historical evidence that proves the uniqueness of the Macedonian people from ancient times until today. No sane person would accept the lies that we were created in 1944. There are many stereotypical notions in Bulgaria about the Macedonian issue. For example, some say that Serbians “invented the Macedonian nation” to harm Bulgaria . But between the two world wars, during Serbia ’s rule in Macedonia , the Serbs were accusing Bulgaria of “inventing” the Macedonian nation. In 1929, Milan Jovanovic, a Serbian historian, published a book that attempted to prove that the population in Vardar , or “Banovina” as the Serbs called Vardar Macedonia , was Serbian. He sharply criticized Sofia for trying to harm Serbian interests by creating the Macedonian nation. Other Serbs from the early twentieth century wrote that the Bulgarians “fabricated” the Macedonian nation. This theory is also shared by Greek historians such as Theophilos Papakonstantinou who claims that Bulgarians “invented” the Macedonian nation and language, and that such information is hidden in Bulgaria .

- Macedonian history books say that Bulgaria is Macedonia ’s greatest enemy. Shouldn’t they be explaining things and showing proof?

- Things are not what they seem. The fact that you say such things is proof that certain circles in Bulgaria deliberately created rumours about Macedonia . In Macedonia there is an underlying view that Bulgarian history books are silent about the truth and conceal the existence of a Macedonian national identity. Their goal here is clear – to keep the Bulgarian people ignorant about Macedonia and manipulate them to believe that Macedonians do not exist.

- Macedonian historians say that the Kingdom of Bulgaria occupied Vardar Macedonia during the Second World War, but pictures from Skopje taken by Bulgarian soldiers show that they were greeted as liberators. Why?

- Up until the war Macedonia was under Serbian slavery, which was extremely difficult on the people. Macedonians were subjected to cruel denationalization and terror. At that time Bulgaria had a more liberal attitude towards Macedonians and allowed them to freely organize on its territory and publish newspapers, magazines, books, etc... In those days Macedonians felt much closer to Bulgaria than they did to Serbia . Therefore, when they first arrived, the Bulgarian soldiers were greeted warmly - people saw the invasion as liberation. But it did not take too long after that when the Bulgarian fascist government showed its true face and began its own brand of denationalization and terror. For this reason, it is more important to emphasize what really happened and how the Bulgarians left, than to show how the soldiers were met when they first arrived.

Tens of thousands of Macedonians picked up arms to liberate Vardar Macedonia from the Bulgarians. One of the things that Bulgarian historians are trying to hide from this period are the dozens of photographs showing civilians, Macedonian partisans and their supporters killed by the Bulgarian police and the Bulgarian army. After the war, some of these photographs were used by the new Macedonian government as evidence to show the atrocities committed against the Macedonian people by the Bulgarian fascists. They were ugly scenes of murdered children, youth and elderly men. Many in Bulgaria will be angered by my words, but these are the facts. If you do not believe me, see what Kosta Tsarnoushanov says about those dark years - he called the Bulgarian police in Prilep a “Pack of wolves” who arrested and harassed ordinary people.


INTERVIEW Part 2.

- Bozhidar Dimitrov, Director of NIM, is one of the most hated personalities in the Republic of Macedonia . Some years ago he announced that he would give away a one million German Mark prize to anyone who provided him with written evidence that Macedonians, not Bulgarians, lived in geographic Macedonia before 1944. What are the chances that someone can become rich in the near future at the expense of Dimitrov?

- Dimitrov is a man who likes to be of service. He said many stupid things about me on television, including that I come from a Serbian family that settled in Macedonia . These are complete lies because all my predecessors are proven Macedonians. It is sad for Bulgaria to have such people as foreign policy advisors, especially when it comes to the Republic of Macedonia .

His idea of a cash prize for this proof was taken with a grain of salt in Skopje . It was designed for the Bulgarian people who do not know any better. But in Macedonia we know that there are many authors who have written about the Macedonian existence since time immemorial and who have said that the Macedonian people were different from the Bulgarians. Included among these authors, from the Middle Ages, are Julian Desi Komin, Sozomen, Theodoret Kirski and others. Later authors include Konstantine Bagrenorodni, Jonan Kameniat, Anna Comnena, Nicephorus Vrieniy, Austrian King Leopold I and others. There were also members of the Provisional Government of Macedonia from the 80’s of the XIX century, who sought from the Great Powers to restore ancient Macedonia . They too saw themselves as Macedonians.

According to writer P. Slaveinkov, the prominent Bulgarian journalist Petre Draganov had written that in the XIX and early XX century Macedonians were a separate people, and that there was a separate Macedonian consciousness and a separate Macedonian identity. Macedonians defined themselves as Macedonians. This included dozens of right-wing politicians and some members of Vancho Mihailov’s VMRO. But all this is now hiding in Bulgaria .

- One of your most famous books is the “Ethnogenetic differences between Macedonians and Bulgarians” published in 2000. What are the main differences between the people in the two countries?

- The book caused an uproar and the entire batch that was printed was sold in a few days. The main difference between our two nations is the ethnogenesis, i.e. the ethnic groups consisting of our people. In the last several decades, historians in Sofia have made several attempts to change the theory of the origin of modern Bulgarians. Before WW II the prevalent anti-Slavic opinion was that Bulgarians were the heirs of the “Hun-Tatars”. After World War II, under Soviet Union influence, that thesis was changed and Bulgarians saw themselves as “pure Slavs”. In the 1970’s they again changed their minds and Bulgarians began to see themselves as a mixture of Thracians, Slavs and Asian Bulgars.

In contrast the Macedonian nation, for the most part, was created by the mixing of ancient Macedonians with Slavs.

The Kubrat and Asparuh Bulgarians never settled in Macedonia , which means that the Macedonians, even if they want to be Bulgarians can not be Bulgarians because they do not have Bulgarian blood running in their veins. It is a known fact that the Turkik-Mongol-Bulgarians belong to the yellow race. In the past the Bulgarian government proudly proclaimed that the Khans Kubrat and Asparoukh were Mongols but today, as we can see, the Bulgarians in Bulgaria are white and belong to the white race, so I see no logic in the celebration of people who believe they belong to the yellow race. Logic suggests that the majority of today’s Bulgarians are the descendants of the glorious Thracians and Slavs.

I think Bulgarians are the descendants of one of the oldest and most culturally exalted nations in Europe - the Thracians. Paradoxically, it was the Proto-Bulgarians who created the Bulgarian State in which the Thracians and Slavs accepted foreign rule and became ethnic “Bulgarians” on their own. There is no logic to explain why the decendents of the Thracians accepted to be proud ethnic “Bulgarians” i.e. take the the name of the murderers of their ancestors in Serdica who were massacred by the Bulgarian Khan Krum. But be that as it may, today we should respect this will of the Bulgarians. But we, the Macedonians, have no relation to the yellow Asparuh Bulgarians.

The similarities that exist between the Macedonian and Bulgarian language and culture are derived from our common Thracian and Slavic heritage that has nothing to do with the Bulgars, who have never lived en masse along the Vardar Valley .

- The main thesis in your books and articles is that Macedonians are the direct descendants of Alexander the Macedonian. What evidence do you have that proves this?

- I have never said that we are pure descendants of the ancient Macedonians. No nation can claim such a pure ethnic origin. My thesis is that we are the descendents of Alexander’s Macedonians as well as all other nations and people who have been assimilated to make up today’s Macedonian culture and nation. Genetics proves that. Two popular European institutions did a field study of European and Asian nations. Hundreds of people were tested in Macedonia and the results were clear - Macedonians are one of the oldest nations on the continent and the largest group of them was shown to be descendants of the ancient Macedonians.

One of the institutes for immunology and molecular biology was the University of Madrid and the other was the prestigious Swiss Institute “Igenea”. The resulting data from these findings was widely publicized everywhere, except in Bulgaria where it was hidden. As you can see from this study the ancient people did not disappear, they became the melting pot of other nations that conquered their territory.

- In the end - Can Macedonia and Bulgaria be good neighbours and look beyond the problems of their past?

- Macedonians and Bulgarians can and should live as two separate but brotherly people! All of Macedonia was very happy when Bulgaria recognized its independence in 1991. Unfortunately then things started to go badly again when our nation was denied recognition.

You should start using democratic standards - if a person feels like a Macedonian then let him or her be Macedonian, no one should deny them that right and vice versa. If people in Macedonia feel like Bulgarians then we should respect that and they should have the same rights as other minorities.

Written by Risto Stefov
Source:

http://www.ugd.edu.mk/index.php/mk/ugd/vesti-12/490-a-donski-intervju

Булгариа Днес стр.10 - интервју Александар Донски (.pdf)
Булгариа Днес стр.10 - интервју Александар Донски-дел 2 (.pdf)

[The LION will ROAR]

Interview with historian Alexander Donskoy Bulgarian daily "B` lgarija dnes

http://mn.mk/komentari/7325-Intervju-so-istoricarot-Aleksandar-Donski-za-bugarskiot-vesnik--Blgarija-dnes-prv-del