Sandanski.....well known in Solun...was greeted with honours when he arrived.....however, when General Georgi Todorov, Chief of Staff of the Bulgarian 7th Rila Division, proposed a toast on the occasion of “liberating” Macedonia and annexing it to Bulgaria, Sandanski stood up and said “I will drink to a free and autonomous Macedonia, for which the united Balkan nations fought and suffered so much”. Sandanski’s toast infuriated and shocked the Bulgarian officers who stormed him, cursing and threatening, ready to cut him into small pieces with their swords.
At the conclusion of the First Balkan War a Russian journalist, V. Vodovozov, came to Macedonia to investigate the situation and learn more about the Macedonian Question. Late in July 1913 he attended a meeting in Sofia where Macedonia was the main subject of discussion. In attendance also were Macedonians including Nejchev, Ljapchev, Todorov, Kiril Popov and others who voiced their opinions. But only Petko Todorov spoke of autonomy for Macedonia and called the Treaty of March 13th, 1912, offensive. The others also spoke of autonomy but as a last resort and even asked the foreign journalist to prepare the ground work for it. Sandanski too was in attendance and when Vodovozov asked him why he did not speak in favour of an independent Macedonia, Sandanski said “You can see how these gentlemen treat the issue of autonomy; it would be distasteful to speak of independence for Macedonia in their presence in such circumstances. When the 'liberators' declared war on the Ottomans, not many Macedonians had realized that the destiny of their fatherland had already been decided without their knowledge or consent. Macedonians assumed the war would be fought to liberate and create an independent Macedonian state. It was forbidden to speak and write about Macedonia in Bulgaria, especially about its independence and today's situation is a result of such politics. When Albania became independent and began to establish its statehood, Macedonia was condemned to be divided and destroyed which of course is beginning to happen."
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