Risto Stefov - Articles, Translations & Collaborations

[George S.]

From the Un-answered Questions File


Yugoslavia - the forgotten conflict

By our secret columnist in Brussels, 07 March 2012

http://www.publicserviceeurope.com/article/1611/yugoslavia-the-forgotten-conflict

The EU should be doing everything it can with persuasion and money to ensure Balkan regional cooperation, but instead the neighbourhood policy is failing and the union is 'Balkanising'. Our resident satirist Schadenfreude considers the troubles and strife that continues to plague the region

Yugoslavia was a creation of the First World War allies, in the aftermath of the collapse of the Ottoman and Austrian Empires. The Slavs are not a single people with a single homeland. The new nation was unsettled in the inter-war years. During World War II, communist guerrillas fought Chetniks - representing the pre-war kingdom and siding with the invading Germans. The post-war Socialist Federation of Yugoslavia consisted of six republics with ethnically mixed populations and four religions. In 1980, on his deathbed, Josip Broz Tito - the wartime leader and peacetime dictator - said: "I am the only Yugoslav."

The Serbian attempt to expel non-Serbs from other republics prior to annexing them was one of the string of the conflicts in the 1980s When troubles flared up, foreign affairs ministers incautiously announced that this was Europe's opportunity to settle the issues. With no common foreign policy in evidence, Germany pressed for recognition of the independence of Croatia and Slovenia. The European Union faltered and "ethnic cleansing" entered the vocabulary. When Kosovo, mainly Albanian-speaking, broke away from Serbia it took North Atlantic Treaty Organisation airpower to force the withdrawal of Serbian forces. Kosovo came under the United Nations administration, with British boots on the ground. The EU played no part.

One constant has been the EU's uncommon foreign policy. Several member states, with their own regional problems, did not recognise Kosovan independence. Serbia and Kosovo were engaged in a border dispute, on which the EU did not arbitrate. Its "neighbourhood" policy, designed to stabilise Europe at its geographical edges, might have been thought to give it a concern to intervene. Macedonia wants to be so called, even if it has given its name to a concoction of vegetables. But Greece regards Macedonia as its heritage and objected to nomenclature seizure. The EU and others dutifully used the ugly acronym FYROM – for Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

Slovenia was able to negotiate membership of the EU. After protracted negotiations Croatia recently followed. Serbia has been awarded "candidate" status by showing that it could achieve membership after negotiation on the adoption of the EU acquis, the sales catalogue. Serbians accused of war crimes and mysteriously evading capture for years were finally brought to justice

Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia and Kosovo are in the queue. Albania, Balkan, although not part of Yugoslavia, applied for EU membership - but the Horta dictatorship left a legacy of problems. The EU should be doing everything it can with persuasion and money to ensure Balkan regional cooperation. The divisive countries have to be able to live together in peace and shared prosperity. Instead the union is "Balkanising". An enlightened policy, using "a global approach" - a favourite and perennial EU vision - would have been to encourage and reward steps towards Balkan integration. It is too late now.





======oOo======

[George S.]

"Balkan Insait" - ANA will reactivate military structures if Serbia organizes elections in Kosovo

Pristina, 22. March 2012 (INPRES)
Source: pres24



The Albanian National Army (ANA), which UNMIK and the United States have declared a terrorist organization, is threatening to oppose everyone who will attempt to organize Serbian elections in Kosovo, the portal "Insait Balkans" announced today.

ANA is threatening to use force to prevent Serbian elections being organized in the territory of Kosovo.

The group, which advocates unification of Kosovo with Albania, sent a letter to "Insait Balkans" and to other media organizations stating that it is ready to re-reactivate its forces in order to protect Kosovo.

- During a meeting on March 17th, the ANA leadership decided to reactivate its military structures and oppose Serbia and its gangs in the Republic of Kosovo, the letter said, adding that it violated its 2008 activities; Kosovo declaring its independence.

ANA asserts that "four years after Kosovo’s independence Serbia has not stopped sabotaging the Republic of Kosovo".

- Before another Balkan war starts, we would like to call on the International Community to take preventative measures.

The Kosovo government and the international community have condemned Serbia's plans to organize elections in the territory of Kosovo. (End)





“Балкан Инсаит” – Ана ќе ги реактивира воените структури ако Србија организира избори во Косово



Приштина, 22. март 2012 (ИНПРЕС)

Извор: прес24



Албанската национална армија (АНА), која од УНМИК и од САД е прогласена за терористичка организација се закани дека со сите ќе се спротистави на секој обид на организирање на српски избори во Косово, објави денеска порталот “Балкан Инсаит”.



АНА се заканува дека ќе користи сили за да спречи организирање на српски избори на територијата на Косово.



Групата, која се залага за обединување на Косово со Албанија испратила до “Балкан Инсаит” и до другите медиуми меил во кое се наведува дека е подготвена за повторно реактивирање за да го заштити Косово.



- Централата на АНА на седницата на 17 март одлучи да ги реактивира воените структури и да се спротистави на Србија и на нејзините банди во Република Косово, се наведува во писмото, додавајќи оти ја прекинува дејноста во 2008 година, кога Косово прогласи независност.



АНА тврди дека “четири години по независноста Србија не прекинала да ја саботира Република Косово”.



- Пред да почне војна, ја повикуваме меѓународната заедница да спречи балканска војна.



Косовската Влада и меѓународната заедница ги осудија плановите на Србија да организира избори на територијата на Косово. (крај)

[George S.]

The Great Lie – Chapter 20



By Petre Nakovski

Translated and edited by Risto Stefov

[email protected]

April 8, 2012



The “big post”, that’s what the women from the villages who dug trenches and built bunkers called the courier service that delivered letters. In a desolate old house in the village, Vineni, three officials from the Censorship Service were discussing a letter on which a man’s address in Detroit, Ohio, United States of America was found. But what attracted their attention most was the drawing of a flower, an eye, a tear and a bird.



“The drawing seems very strange. This is the first time I have seen a letter drawing. It could have been written with words and a flower drawn on top, but an eye, a tear and a bird; those carry a lot of human feelings. But only drawings… It really looks very strange,” said the first official.



“So? Is this the only time we’ve had such an incident? No, that’s why we are here, to uncover such phenomena,” said the second official.



“As I understand it, it seems to me that there is something hidden in the drawing,” said the third official.



“I agree with you that the flower, the eye, the tear and the bird have hidden symbolism. But what? Can human feelings be expressed through them?” asked the first official.



“It is possible, but… Let’s take the flower for example,” said the second official.



“Perhaps through it the writer wants to express his hope, love, kindness, joy, happiness and many other wishes...” said the third official.



“Well, can the flower symbolize something else? For example flowers like this grow in such and such a place. And in those places people now dig trenches and build bunkers. In other words it identifies a specific location where something is being done, but what is done, for now, remains a mystery. What other things can the flower symbolize? Besides its basic function to convey something, it symbolizes wilting or evil… It may mean delivering news that many lives were lost, as the saying goes ‘the flower of youth is lost’, in other words; they died in their prime… Comrades, pay attention… There is hidden meaning in the drawing of the flower! Now let’s take the eye. The flower is an indication of the location and the eye sees what is happening there. Events are seen, recorded and memorized. It makes sense right?” asked the first official.



“So, the eye together with the flower is spying!” concluded the second official.



“Yes, comrades, spying!” agreed the first official.



“And the tear?” asked the third official.



“Yes, the tear, comrades, symbolizes pain, sorrow or perhaps joy… But in this case the tear may mean great losses, crying, suffering, and misfortune, a reflection of disappointment, lack of fighting spirit, low morale, mistrust and lack of confidence in our struggle… Look at the drawing of the bird. What do you see?” asked the first official.



“An open beak and spread wings,” said the second official.



“Wings spread wide means information must be delivered in a hurry and the open beak means reveal all locations identified by the flower, everything the eye sees and what the tear says. And where should all this information be sent? Of course to America,” said the first official.



“That is confirmed by the address written below the drawing…” said the third official.



“It is obvious, comrades… We have a case of espionage…” said the second official.



Located two houses over was the headquarters of the Military Security and Intelligence Bureau known as A2. It is the former service which the Greek communists formed in Bulkes with aims of not only maintaining order there, but above all keeping an eye on the refugees. The Yugoslav UDB-a (State Security Bureau) also required this of them. Later, with assistance from the Yugoslav Special Services, it had grown into a security service.



In September 1947 when senior party officials, Ioannidis and Stringos, left Bulkes and moved to the village Vineni in Prespa Region to the seat of the interim government, they brought the notorious service with them. After a short time this service was reorganized and renamed Bureau A2 in whose structure the Military and Security Service was also included.


Apparently, Bureau A2 was now directly managed by DAG (Democratic Army of Greece) Headquarters after serving Ioannidis and Stringos in Bulkes for a year. A while later, this powerful Special Service with its own bodies was expanded to all DAG units. Appointed as heads of the various Bureau A2 branches were associates of political commissars who were given powers to act independently as enforcement authorities, reporting directly to their superiors. They were feared by all but mostly because of their notoriety for filing false accusations against any one fighter or officer alike, especially against devoted fighters and proven officers.



The person in charge of Bureau A2 was a man of great confidence. Those on top trusted him but also feared him. Every word spoken in his presence had significance, the tone of voice, the movement of hands and facial muscles, expression in the eyes and even the way a person laughed. No one laughed out loud in front of him. Conversations were mostly official, specific and brief. His motto was “trust no one, doubt everyone”. He had great abilities for remembering everything including all informants by name and never forgot his victims and the means by which had he caught them. He wanted everyone who met him to be afraid of him. He stared into the eyes of those he had conversations with for long periods of time and if they looked away or to the side, he knew he had them and they were under his control.



After a while Bureau A2 field agents slackened their discipline and lost the trust and friendship of the units and the fighters. The agents began to doubt everyone and their monitoring and checking activities increased dramatically. Recording information about fighter, officer and civilian activities took on a frightening dimension. There were all kinds of “people from the field” visiting, as the informants used to call them. The spies visited only at night. They would enter and after a brief stay they would exit through another door. There were always five members of the Security Service present at each interrogation session, listening and documenting everything that was said and done, preparing reports and making judgments, usually with a pre-determined result.



It was exactly these people who contacted the Department of Censorship on the telephone and had a conversation during which they expressed their suspicions about the sealed envelope with the letter-drawings.



“Of course it’s a letter from a spy!” yelled out the chief after a quick look at the letter. “Call someone from the Censorship Department!” he ordered.



Bureau A2 calls were treated with urgency, no one dared ignore them or be late for an appointment when they were summoned. But at the same time they were also not sure if they would ever return after attending such an appointment. The mere mention of that service caused people to gasp and go weak at the knees. That’s precisely why the officer from the Department of Censorship ran to the place and stood at attention with contained breath and a rigid look.



“When did the letter arrive?” asked the chief in a stern tone of voice.



“Two days ago…” answered the officer.



“From which sector?” asked the chief.



“From Vicho...” answered the officer.


“Specifically?” asked the chief.



“According to the code on the bag it does not belong to a military unit. It belongs to one of the working brigades...” replied the officer.



“Be more specific!” yelled the chief.



“The bag carried the code RB/1-7,” replied the officer.



The chief picked up several folders. Identified the folder containing codes, opened it, leafed through it, put it to the side and said: “Go now...”



“By your command, Comrade…” said the officer who knew the chief’s name but at that very moment he had forgotten it because he was afraid. He was familiar with A2’s role and he understood very well what A2 was capable of.



The chief sat at the end of the table, opened the folder and muttered: “It’s true. It’s the working brigades in Bigla, Lundzer, Golinata, Chuka, Polenata, Baro and Iamato. Three-hundred and sixty women ages thirty-five to fifty-five. Managing the brigade is one Hristos Papadopoulos, now he calls himself Risto Popovski… Born in 1901. Literate. Did not finish gymnasium. Participated in the Greek-Italian war. Demonstrated courage at the battles in Ivan Mountain. Ranked corporal. Awarded medal for bravery. In the spring of 1946 assisted in the attack and destruction of the police station in Makrohori or as they call it, Konomladi. Accused by collaborators, was beaten by the police in Kostur and then sent to a prison camp on the island Ai Strati. Was sent home with broken ribs and a broken left leg. Active in the National Liberation Movement. Because he was incapacitated he could not serve in the military as a fighter so he was given a job in Mali-Madi where he worked until the end of 1948. The Greek government’s Military Court of Division XV, based in Kozheni, sentenced him to death in absentia. He is father to four boys. His oldest son, Traiko, was killed last year at Gorusha during the battles for Gramos. His younger son Trpo is serving in the DAG 18th Brigade and his two youngest sons were sent to the [Eastern European] countries. His wife serves at the working brigades digging trenches and carrying logs for the bunkers at Bela Voda. Distinctive characteristics: long black moustache.



“That’s all we have on him in our files. It seems that he could be trusted. At least until now, I say until now because a few days ago he lost the support of the people who trusted him. Because of that all Bureau A2 chiefs at military positions Bigla, Lundzer, Golinata, Chuka, Polenata, Baro and Iamata must be notified by encrypted radio telegrams and ordered to immediately commence inquiry proceedings against this Hristos Papadopoulos or Risto Popovski, as he likes to be called… Carry on!” ordered the chief.



The Bureau A2 field chief in command of DAG Brigade XVIII, after reading the telegram, called in his deputy and passed on the order.



“Does this mean that I need to bring this Risto here?” asked the deputy.



“There is plenty of time to bring him here. First, we know that Risto is suspected and that makes our job easier. Second, we don’t know if he is acting alone or with accomplices. That’s why we need to investigate all those under his command,” replied the field chief.



“Do you mean those from the working brigades? Those who carry logs and build bunkers?” asked the deputy.



“Exactly! It would be easiest to begin with the women. One by one, talk to them about home, about their husbands, about their children, about their troubles and how they are coping. Do that so that they think you are making ordinary conversation. Talk nice and gentle to gain their trust. And if you learn something do some more inquiring and try and get more information. Catch them on a string and after that we will reel them in and slowly things will unwind. Do you understand?” replied the field chief.



The deputy confirmed by shaking his head, unfortunately he was not one of those who knew how to speak gently. Everyone he spoke to seemed suspicious to him. He spoke loudly and with a high tone of voice intimidating his interviewees and causing them to feel uncomfortable. And the uncomfortable feeling they projected was wrongly interpreted as guilt. He claimed that he was satisfied that every person he met and asked questions of was guilty and he entered their name in his book of suspects.



The basis of his assessment was that everyone, in whom Bureau A2 was interested, needed to be placed under the shadow of doubt. It was okay to mention their name. That’s what his friend from Bulkesh, and current Bureau A2 chief, taught him to do. And why shouldn’t some woman who carries logs for covering bunkers and digs deep trenches, that needs to be questioned, not be suspected. The fact that she needs to be questioned is reason enough for her to be a suspect. And then who is to know if, through her or some other woman, a hidden dangerous enemy would be uprooted?



The next day, dressed in village clothing and leading a pair of oxen downhill, a man arrived at the beechwood forest where the men were cutting thick and tall beechwood trees with their axes. After he greeted the men he asked: “Who is the person in charge here?”



“That person, the tall one,” responded one of the men.



“Him with the large moustache?” asked the stranger.



“And what do you need him for?” asked the man.



“To tell him that the People's Committee village President ordered me to lead these oxen to drag logs,” replied the stranger.



“Risto, hey Risto! Come here, someone is looking for you,” called the man.



The stranger did not wait and immediately went towards Risto.



“Are you the leader?” inquired the stranger.



“Yes I am,” replied Risto.


“Take these oxen and give me confirmation that you have taken them,” said the stranger.



Risto took a paper bag out of his leather pouch, tore a piece of paper the size of his hand, spit on his ink pencil and wrote: “The signatory Risto Popovski today received a pair of oxen.”



“Here!” said Risto and handed him the piece of paper.



The stranger folded the piece of paper, squeezed it and with his fingers felt its thickness and rigidity.



“Anything else?” asked Risto.



“No. That’s all. Water, do you have some water?” inquired the stranger.



“Wait. Someone has already gone to get some from the spring,” replied Risto.



“No, I don’t have time. Another job awaits me. I will drink from the spring on my way. I am going. Be well,” and with the greeting, “all to arms and everything for victory,” the stranger turned around and went.



The winding path led him to the spring where two women were slowly filling a bucket with water. He slackened his pace and went behind the thick trunk of a beechwood tree. He listened for a while but could not make out what the women were saying; they were speaking quietly. He moved and at that moment a rock slipped from under his feet and rolled downhill. The conversation stopped and the women raised their heads. They noticed a man coming slowly in their direction. Three or four steps before reaching them the stranger greeted them and sat down on a stone near the spring. He took out a dirty handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the sweat off his forehead, face and neck.



“It’s hot,” he said, “the heat is burning the grass… Can I drink some water?”



“Here, help yourself,” said the woman in the black kerchief whose gray hair was barely noticeable. Without looking at his eyes she handed him the ladle. He drank eagerly, holding the ladle with both hands. Water ran down both holes where the ladle was tied to a chain and made his chin, neck and chest wet.



“Slowly, drink slowly,” remarked one of the women, “the cold water will give you a headache.”



The stranger shook the ladle and while handing it back to the woman said: “Thank you for the water. May God bless you with good health and long life. You too,” he said to the other woman. “I was very thirsty… The weather is hot, very hot…”



“Where did you come from?” asked one of the women.



“I was up there,” he pointed with his hand. “I led a pair of oxen to drag logs. I saw how women carry long logs on their backs. Poor women, look at them, I feel sorry for them. Do you also carry logs?” asked the stranger.



“We’ve been carrying logs for the entire month,” said the older woman; at least that’s how it’s been for us.



“Have you been home?” asked the stranger.



“We do go home but not every day…” answered one of the women.



“Don’t they stop you from going home?” asked the stranger.



“No. No they don’t. Risto let’s us go…” answered one of the women.



“And who is that Risto?” asked the stranger.



“The one who is in charge of us, he is like our commander…” replied one of the women.



“He must be a good person,” said the stranger.



“He is a very good person. Gentle. He always speaks to us kindly and with respect. He never scolds, he does not yell when a woman is too tired to carry a log, he lets her rest, to catch her breath, sometimes he lifts the log to her shoulder… That’s how he is… And he allows us to go home. To prepare some food for the old, to wash their clothes and those who have very young children, infants, he allows them to go three times a day to feed them and change their diapers…” replied one of the women.



“And with the Partisans, do you have anyone with our military?” asked the stranger.



“My husband is with the 103rd Brigade. I also have two brothers…” the woman turned her head, her shoulders shook as she quietly wept and with the corner of her black kerchief collected her tears. “The younger, the eighteen year old, died last year, somewhere in Gramos, and the older one, the twenty year old, died in Lerin…” she said.



“I am sorry for your loss…” said the stranger “I am very sad… etc., etc., what can we do… And you, where are yours?” he asked the other woman.



“I am left all alone. I have no one at home. My in-laws are both dead…” replied the other woman.



“And your husband?” asked the stranger.



“My husband is in America…” said the other woman.



“And do you have anyone with the Partisans?” asked the stranger.



“Yes I do…” replied the other woman.



“Who?” asked the stranger.



“A son and a daughter,” said the other woman.



“Volunteers?” asked the stranger.



“They were collected two years ago. Some people came and took them,” replied the other woman.



“And in the [Eastern European] countries?” asked the stranger.



“My youngest son…” replied the other woman.



“How old is he?” asked the stranger.



“He just turned sixteen… they took him too…” replied the other woman.



“And how do you know?” asked the stranger.



“The women saw him in Zhelevo. There were many boys like him there. They collected our boys, may sickness collect them…” replied the other woman.



“And what did you do?” asked the stranger.



“We cursed and stopped carrying logs and building bunkers. Some of the women fled. Then we wrote a letter to those above and asked them to return our children…” replied the other woman.



“Can you write?” asked the stranger.



“Some of us can write but most of us can’t that’s why we asked Risto to write the letter to those up high…” said the other woman.



“And did he write one?” asked the stranger.



“Yes he did. And all those who couldn’t write signed it with a cross…” replied the other woman.



“And where did he get the paper?” asked the stranger.



“From the paper bags they carry up there. We secretly collect them before they burn them…” replied the other woman.



“And do you write your own letters to your children and relatives?” asked the stranger.



“Well, those who can write, write their own letters. And we who don’t know how to write, we ask Risto to write them for us, he writes what we tell him…” replied the other woman.



“And he writes them?” asked the stranger.



“He always writes if we ask him…” replied the other woman.



“That Risto is truly a good person, right?” asked the stranger.



“You can’t find a better person…” replied the first woman.



“It’s getting late, I need to go. Thank you for the water and for the chat. My work awaits me and they up there are waiting for the water. Hurry. They are thirsty up there…” concluded the stranger and left.



By midnight they had completed writing the report in which they wrote:



“In accordance with the orders received the previous day we started and finished the investigation. We came to the following conclusion. First: letters written to the children in the [Eastern European] countries and the letter written to General Headquarters were written on paper obtained from paper bags. The writer is Risto Popovski. Second: He allows women to leave the combat zones, meaning, they abandon carrying logs and digging trenches. We are awaiting further orders.”


In accordance with the encrypted radio telegram the Bureau A2 office composed a report and sent it to DAG Headquarters. The following was written in the report:



“Bureau A2 has received information that Hristos Papadopoulos or Risto Popovski, the lead of the working brigades, has stolen paper from the paper bags used to store sugar, rice and other food items sent to us by our allies. He was also the one who wrote a protest letter regarding the mobilization of a number of former children who were sent to the [Eastern European] countries. By this act he uncovered strictly confidential military secrets. He also allowed people, especially the women in the working brigades, to leave their jobs. This is done deliberately to slow down the building of bunkers and digging of trenches, which is pure sabotage. The occasional absence of women may give them opportunity to escape and go to Tito, our enemy, and provide him with information regarding our hiding places and locations of our bunkers. Many defectors and refugees were arrested last week at the Yugoslav border. Adult refugees and defectors, according to our current directives, are to be shot on site. Juveniles are to be taken to the camps in Drenovo. In anticipation, we wait for your orders. Greetings, your comrades.”



The next day a reply came from General Headquarters:

“The perpetrator of these hostile acts is to be immediately arrested, court marshaled and executed.”



Risto was arrested the same evening, tied and taken to prison in the village Drenovo in Prespa Region.

[George S.]

"MACEDONIAN BOOK DAY" IN CANADA



It is our great honor and pleasure to invite you and your friends to the 1st Annual "Macedonian Book Day in Canada” as part of World Book Day Manifestation

Macedonian Book Day in Canada”will be held on Sunday 22nd April, 2012, in our Macedonian church “St Clement” in Toronto, Canada, the event will start 6.30pm .



This International manifestation is being organized by the Consulate General of the Republic of Macedonia in Toronto Canada and the Macedonian Association "Makedonska Nacija" ("Macedonian Nation"). "Macedonian Book Day in Canada” is a manifestation seen as an opportunity to promote Macedonian literature and Macedonian language outside the borders of our native country, but also as an opportunity to present and support the Macedonian authors, folklore ensembles that live and work in Canada.



Macedonian Authors that will take part on this event:



Mr. Igor Krajchev from Veles Macedonia, the first writer of epic fantasy in Macedonia. Igor has BA in Macedonian literature and South Slavic literature, postgraduate student at the Faculty of Philology "Blaze Koneski" in Skopje. Our Special guest from Macedonia is sponsored by the Macedonian Ministry of Culture and the Initiative board of this manifestation in Canada.



Mr. Risto Stefov, one of our best Macedonian writers & columnist from Toronto Canada.



Mr. James Saunders-, writer & first president and a founding member of the United Macedonians organization in Canada.



Macedonian Folk Dance Ensemble that will take part on this event.



Macedonian Folk Dance Ensemble “Makedonka" from Toronto

Macedonian Folk Dance Ensemble "St. Ilija” from Mississauga

Macedonian Folk Dance Ensemble "Biljana" from Markham



The event will be covered by most of the Macedonian media in Canada as well as the media in Republic of Macedonia. We would appreciate and welcome your presence on the 1st Annual Macedonian Book Day in Canada”



Yours sincerely,

Initiative Board of the 1st Annual "Macedonian Book Day in Canada” World Book Day

B. Temelkov,"Macedonian Nation" Dragan Gjurchevski, Consulate General R. Macedonia







"МАКЕДОНСКИ ДЕН НА КНИГАТА" ВО КАНАДА



Особена чест и задоволство ни претставува да ве поканиме вас и вашите пријатели на 1та традицинална манифестација „Македонски ден на Книгата “во Канадa ,која се одржува во рамките на Светскиот ден на Книгата.

Македонски ден на книгата во Канада " ќе се одржи в недела на 22ри април, 2012 година, во Македонска црква" Свети Климент "во Торонто, Канада. Оваа меѓународна манифестација се организира од страна на Генерален конзулат на Република Македонија во Торонто Канада и Македонското здружение " Македонска нација" од Мисисага.

" Македонски ден на книгата во Канада е манифестација замислена како можност за промовирање на македонската литература и јазик надвор од границите на нашата матична земја како и можност за актуелизирање на писателите македонци кои живеат и творат во Канада.

Македонски автори кои ќе учествуваат на овој настан:

Г-дин Игор Крајчев од Велес Македонија, првиот писател на епска фантастика во Македонија. Игор е БА во македонската книжевност и јужнословенски литературата, студент на последипломски студии на Филолошкиот факултет "Блаже Конески" во Скопје. Нашиот специјален гостин од Македонија Игор Крајчев е спонзорирана од страна на македонското Министерство за Кѕлтура и иницијативниот одбор на оваа манифестација во Канада.
Г-дин Ристо Стефов, еден од нашите најдобри македонски писатели и колумнист од Торонто Канада.
Г-дин Џејмс Саундерс, писател ,прв претседател и основач на Организацијата Обединети Македонци во Канада.
Македонски народни ансамбли кој ќе земат учество на овој настан.

Македонскиот народен ансамбл "Македонка" од Торонто
Македонскиот народен ансамбл "Св Илија" од Мисисага
Македонскиот народен ансамбл "Билјана" од Maркам
Специјална мала изложба на ретки Антички книги (1700-1800) за Македонија / Александар Велики од приватна колекцијата.
Настанот ќе биде забележан од повеќето македонските медиуми во Канада, како и од медиумите во Република Mакедонија. Сите Македонци, пријатели на Македонија и љубители на добра книга се добродојдени.

Со почит, Иницијативниот одбор на 1та традицинална манифестација „Македонски ден на Книгата “во Канадa

Драган Ѓурчевски -Генерален конзулат на Република Македонија во Торонто Канада

Б.Темелков -Македонско здружение -Македонска Нација –Канада

[George S.]

The Great Lie – Chapter 21



By Petre Nakovski

Translated and edited by Risto Stefov

[email protected]

April 15, 2012



The stretched out column of loaded trucks with ammunition, food and 280 previously wounded and crippled fighters from the hospitals in Korcha, Elbasan, Tirana and Suk was rolling with lights off. They arrived at the village Breznitsa at dawn. The ride for the crippled fighters ended here. After sunrise they were settled in a meadow a short distance from the main road. Five men in officer uniforms, without insignias, conducted reviews. One, with a high pitched hoarse voice ordered:



“Heavy machine gun gunners and assistant gunners take three steps forward!”



The steps taken did not look like those of military men. There was creaking of wooden braces in the shuffle as the fighters made their way forward. Among them were one-legged, one-armed, one-eyed, mute and deaf men. One of them was the one-legged Numo.



He and those like him leaned on their crutches, firmly holding their bodies upright. Half of the newly formed squad was assigned to the 18th Brigade and was ordered to, immediately and without delay, take battle positions on Baro Hill.



They left in the afternoon, traveled all night and reached the hill early in the morning. From there, at sunrise, warmed by the rising sun in the valley of the gleaming oak forest, they traveled to a flat valley, an open space in the middle of the mountains. On the left there was Polenata and over past it were Golinata, Bigla and Lundzer and to the east was Vicho. To the right extending up to the Kostur Region flatlands, was Mali-Madi and further beyond Kostur stood Siniachka, engulfed in fog.



They spent the day in the valley sleeping and at sunset they were wakened and taken to the bunkers where they were deployed in two’s and three’s.



“I know it is difficult for a one-legged man to drag his wooden leg and lean on a heavy wooden crutch,” said the Unit Commander to Numo. “But your bunker is at the centre of Baro. To the left there are three bunkers and to the right about ten. There are thirty bunkers in the second row. You have the best sight. On your right you have part of Iamata in your sight, the entire space in front of the village Gabresh, including the village itself, is also in your sight. On your left you have the hills above Konomladi, the southern part of Polenata and south of it, you have Roto Hill in your gun sight. In front of you are the villages Pozdivishcha and over there a little to the right is Drenoveni and a bit to the left is Tsrnovishta and Zherveni. Everything is in your palm. Clean space. The entire plain is yours.



Did you take note of where the other bunkers are located? No? Look and listen. All our bunkers make a triangle. If the bunker on your left or on your right is taken by our opponent, you have them in your sight so let them have it. The gunner on the other side can also fire at them. In other words, each of our bunkers is protected by two other bunkers. This way the opponent is prevented from rapidly progressing. Do you understand?” asked the Unit Commander.



“Clear!” replied Numo.



“Everything is clear up to now, right?” asked the Unit Commander.


“Clear!” replied Numo.



“Let’s go on. Your task is to keep the area in front of you on target. Always remember you hold the centre. Our opponent will attempt to place a wedge in our defenses by attacking the centre. We need to hold him back with every available means. You can be certain the attack will be fierce. If you allow the infantry to come close, say fifty to one hundred metres, then there will be no aircraft or artillery support. They would not fire for fear of hitting their own. Then you open fire on them. Don’t wait for orders just begin firing, fire long bursts. From today forward you will exercise every day. You will aim here and there and anticipate where the enemy might attack and, when the time comes, you will fire long bursts and cut him down to pieces.



Also, I want you to keep your gun clean, so clean that you can see your face on it. Do you understand? If I find a single hair on it or something even tinier then I will be forced to send you running up there, through the brook and beyond. Understood?” ordered the Unit Commander.



“Yes sir!” replied Numo.



Before leaving, the Unit Commander looked Numo in the eyes, gave him a friendly slap on the back and said: “For us there will be no orders to retreat from Baro. Our orders are to defend Baro at all cost!”



When the Unit Commander’s wooden leg could no longer be heard tapping, as he walked away, Numo tightened the belts on his wooden leg, stood up straight and after taking a few laps, spoke to his subordinates:



“We now have our own home. What a home; it’s a palace. What do we have here?” he pointed to the left corner where boxes were arranged one beside the other. “What’s in them? Numo asked.



“The Unit Commander said they are full of ammunition,” replied one of his subordinates.



“And in those metal cans there?” asked Numo.



“They are canisters full of water. Enough for twenty days,” replied the same subordinate.



“And in that wooden chest?” asked Numo.



“Canned food and bread…” replied the subordinate.



“Three, five, six. All full. And in those there?” inquired Numo.



“There are hand grenades in those. In this box there are two machine gun barrels,” replied the subordinate.



“Excellent, then we won’t need to pee on the barrel to cool it when it gets hot,” added Numo.



“What else did the Unit Commander say?” asked Numo.



“He told us to only look forward…” replied the subordinate.



“Well then that’s exactly what we will do! Behind us there is a wall,” interrupted Numo.



“…and to not even take a single step back…” added the subordinate.



“Of course that’s what we will do… I haven’t forgotten. Did you say you are nineteen years old?” asked Numo.



“Yes, nineteen. And you?” replied the subordinate.



“I am a little older,” answered Numo.



“Are you married?” asked the subordinate.



“I am married and last year around this time my daughter was born…” replied Numo.



“Congratulations I wish her well! Have you seen her?” asked the subordinate.



“No,” replied Numo.



“Not even your wife?” asked the subordinate.



“I haven’t seen her for two years. I asked around and they told me she is somewhere in those hills carrying logs and building bunkers…” replied Numo.



An involuntary, long, deep and violent sigh surfaced from Numo’s chest. There were signs of uncertainty painted all over his face and forehead. He experienced a nagging anxiety and felt a strong pain in his heart. His soul was troubled. Dark thoughts began to enter his head…



The subordinate’s voice brought Numo back: “Lucky you…” he said. “You did well in the time you had. Let me ask you something. May I?” and without waiting for a reply he continued: “How are we the crippled, some without arms, some without legs, without an eye, deaf and mute going to find wives?”



“I don’t know! Ask the political representative…” replied Numo.



“I did ask him,” said the subordinate.



“And what did he tell you?” asked Numo.



“He told me not to worry and to not concern myself with such matters. The Party will worry about that right after our victory and they will find us young wives, intact, just barely flowering,” replied the subordinate.



“Is that so… And where is he going to find them? Did he tell you?” asked Numo.



“Yes he did. He told me to fight bravely, to not let the enemy pass, to hold my position firmly… do not back off, not even a step. In the homes he said, there in the [Eastern European] countries our brides are growing and maturing. That’s what he said… Those there, I mean the brides, are growing and maturing, maturing in the homes in the countries from where the Party itself will place them on our laps… That’s what the political representative told me… And they, he was boasting, I mean the brides, will be proud, very proud because they will be marrying the heroes of Gramos and Vicho…” replied the subordinate.



“Is that what he told you?” asked Numo.



“Yes,” replied the subordinate.



“And you believed him?” asked Numo.



“Yes... They say that is why he is in this position of trust to be believed. Right?” replied the subordinate.



“Yes, for sure. And did you ask him why stupid people don’t grow horns? Go, go away. Go away I tell you!” Numo ordered angrily.



“Where should I go?” asked the subordinate.



“Go to the political representative…” replied Numo.



“Go to the political representative did you say? And what the hell am I going to do there? Are you okay? Are you sick?” complained the subordinate in a loud tone of voice.



“Okay, okay calm down. Look at you, yelling at me… Now let me ask you a question. Our orders are very clear; you and I are not to take even a single step back. But let’s say that they do, for some reason, order us to retreat, then tell me, how are you and I and all the others that have one leg, going to blow the hell out of here?” asked Numo.



“It’s easy, very easy. You have your right leg, I have my left. We will grab each other and boom, boom, boom we will blow over the hill. Right? Come here, come here,” said the subordinate.



“Why?” inquired Numo.



“We will practice. Grab me by my waist. Like that. Now move forward…” instructed the subordinate.



When the wood from the two wooden legs side by side began to creak as the two men attempted to run in a tragically comical manner, the bunker filled with giggles and bitter laughter. Tired the two men sat down next to one another on top of the hand grenade case. Numo wiped the sweat off his forehead, leaned against the bunker wall and said:



“When you were talking to me about the political representative, I remembered something. Last year when our opponent managed to uproot us from the bunkers and we took new fighting positions, the battles subsided for a while. The political representative, the one that promised you a bride, brought a large funnel to us and said: ‘Every morning and evening, when there are no attacks, use this funnel and call on the government soldiers to surrender.’ The girls were also given a similar order.



Our opponents meanwhile, on the other side, were swearing at us, especially at the girls. With their pants down they shook their genitals and yelled, ‘Come here, come here you bandit communist whores so we can nail you.’



Then my turn came to speak. The political representative gave me the funnel and a piece of paper on which he had written what I should say to the soldiers on the other side. I hid behind the trunk of a thick oak tree and in a loud voice, began to read: ‘Brothers, soldiers. One of your brothers is speaking to you…’



Huge laughter came from the opposite side followed by severe swearing.



‘Brothers, soldiers, one of your brothers is speaking, who, like yourselves, has a mother… yes she is a mother of bandits!’



‘And your sister… bring that communist whore here!’ yelled someone from the other side.



That was it for me, I couldn’t take it any more so I threw the funnel away, took my machine gun, fired a few rounds and yelled, ‘Come here you cowards and bring your queen with you, so that I can stuff her along with you!’



Suddenly there was a barrage of mortar grenades thrown at us. Two were killed and five wounded. My commander took my machine gun and exchanged it for the horse reins of his horse. That was my punishment.



Up to that day we ended our battles with words. After that there were days when we engaged in heavy fighting.



When they threw us out of our defense line there were moments when the guns went silent, and that’s when the war of words would start. There was an awful lot of swearing. We offered them freedom and democracy and cursed their Greek queen, America, along with Truman, and England and its queen. They offered us bread and water (assuming we had neither bread nor water) and many derogatory curses that included swearing at the Virgin Mary, the cross, the Party, Stalin and Marcos (at the time Markos was on good terms with Zahariadis but I can’t remember for sure), they called us bandits and whatever else they could think of. After that they played songs.



We sang songs too but through the funnel, while they played their songs through a big box. They swore through the big box too. There was an awful lot of bad swearing but the swearing at our women fighters was the worst.



The commander called me and said: ‘You are the best marksman we have. Grab a gun and come with me. Do you see that tree?’



‘Yes I see it,’ I said.



‘What do you see there?’ he asked.



‘In my site I see a box,’ I said. At that moment they started playing a song. Sofia Vembo, a famous singer from the Greek-Italian war was singing. She sang beautifully and I even remembered the words of that song:



Τωρα που αιμα ελληνικο το χωμα ιδρωνει

Κ’η Ελλαδα σφαζει την Ελλαδα απ’ τα βουνα

Ξυπνα απ τον ταφο Θωδορη Κολοκοτρονη

Να δης πως Ελληνας τον Ελληνα σκοτωνει



(Now that Greek blood is watering the earth

And Greece is slaughtering Greece from the mountains

Rise from the grave Theodore Kolokotrone
To see how a Greek kills a Greek)



‘Now take aim,’ said the commander, ‘and shoot!’



I took aim and bang. It went silent. I killed it…” said Numo.



“The singer?” asked the subordinate.



“No you idiot, the song…” said Numo.



“And here I thought you killed the singer… Look, I broke into a sweat. I am going outside,” said the subordinate.



He left and returned about half an hour later. He sat on the ammunition box and dropped his head.



“Why are you all wet?” asked Numo.



“What can I say. I went to the bunker of Manolis…” said the subordinate.



“The guy with the glasses missing a left leg?” asked Numo.



“Yes at his place. And what do I see? He holds a book open and writes. ‘What are you writing,’ I asked.



‘Everything that happens,’ he said.



That’s when I broke into a sweat. The same as before. And do you know why? …Because I am illiterate…” said the subordinate.



“All he has finished is gymnasium, right?” asked Numo.



“Yes gymnasium, but not like me. I have only completed grade two, primary school. I worked nine years as a shepherd and two years as a Partisan… That’s my education. And who knows how many books he has read. And that, they say, is education, to know how to read books and to understand them... If I only knew half of what he knows, then I too, I swear on my mother’s life, I would take a notebook and I would write all the swearing done by the other side, I would write how we responded, I would write how in the early Partisan days they told us we were fighting to free Macedonia, and after that, after they made their agreement, they then told us that from now on we were fighting against Anglo-American imperialism and its Athenian lackeys.



I would also write how, last year, we defended Aliabitsa for 59 days and that we started out with 500 fighters and ended with 90 heavily wounded survivers. I would write that in the fall of 1947 under the beech wood trees in Gramos, we were cleaning old rusted out rifles, all naked without clothes, hungry and barefoot, singing Partisan songs and thinking that it would all be worth it after our victory.



I would write that then, with only several days of learning and practice, we were sent to battle and learned the practical side of war while bleeding. I remember we were very hungry and they fed us grass, there at Gramos, do you remember? And that too I would register in my notebook.



I would write about how we dug trenches and built bunkers up at Pindus Mountain. I would write about Kopanche, Sv. Ilia and Gupata, about Gorusha, Bel Kamen and Krusha, about our retreat from Gramos. I would also write all the names of those who we permanently left there...



I would write how I carried Manolis on my back after last year’s great battle at Mali-Madi, when we broke the government 22nd Brigade’s back and chased the Royal goons all the way to Kostur. My unit had reached Maniak when the order was given to break off the attack. We needed only twenty more minutes and we would have taken Kostur from where the Royal armies, the police, the collaborators, the priests along with the bishop, were fleeing to Kozheni.



‘Break off the attack,’ the order was given and we broke off the attack. I found Manolis under the village Sliveni all covered in blood. ‘Adelfe,’ (brother) he begged me, ‘don’t leave me here. Save me,’ so I returned, put him on my back and carried him all day until we reached the hills above the village Sveta Nedela. That’s when the airplanes came. I could also see dust clouds in the valley; they were tanks charging at us. The airplanes pounded us for twenty minutes and after that the tanks began to shell us with hundreds of shells. We needed only about twenty minutes of running time to take Kostur, at least the first houses.



We seeded the entire valley from Kostur to Sveta Nedela with the bodies of our people and with my leg. If I were literate I would write exactly about this in my notebook, just like Manolis does. And did you know what Manolis said to me?” asked the subordinate.



“I don’t know,” replied Numo.



“He said that ‘Only what’s written will remain forever and everything else will be forgotten, it will die when the person dies.’ He also said, ‘Do you know why we Greeks have a great history? Because our predecessors wrote everything that happened.’ That’s what he said. Do you understand?” concluded the subordinate.



“Why shouldn’t I understand? I understand completely,” replied Numo.



“I will say it again and again, it is a loss, a great loss, that I don’t know how to write. Take Manolis for example, he sits in the bunker and writes, he writes every day. He says, ‘I write in my journal how we Greeks fight.’ I asked him if he also writes about us the Macedonians? And he said, ‘But you are not Greeks!’ So I asked him if he writes about me on account that we are together, him a Greek, me a Macedonian, fighting side by side, suffering in these dark humid bunkers, sharing lice and bread crumbs? Again he said, ‘But you are not Greeks! I only write about the Greeks!’



Well now let me ask you this but I don’t know if you can understand me. Here is Manolis writing something every day, documenting what is happening and nothing is written about me, a Macedonian. I am sure there is nothing written there about you there either. You understand? There is nothing written about me in his daily journal, which means I will remain nameless, because there is no one to write down that I, a Macedonian, am here in this bunker, that last year I was in Gramos and that I ran from Mali-Madi to Maniak, and that I only needed twenty minutes to enter Kostur. There will be nothing there about me having to carry Manolis on my back and about the circumstances under which I lost my leg. There will be nothing written about how and why my brother fought in Voden and lost his life in Lerin.



Manolis’s words ‘only what is written will be remembered’ ring very loud in my mind. And for God’s sake, look, a little piece of paper tomorrow will be one hundred times, no, a million times more important than me because when I am gone it will remain, it will be protected and I will become dust and all forgotten because nothing will be written about me. That is why my pain and my dilemma are so great.



Wait. Don’t go, I have more to tell you. Stay and hear what I have to say, it’s a big concern for me, I swear on my mother’s life.



Again I will tell you, but I don’t know if you will understand me. First they told us this, then they made us do that and at the end they stuck it to us, so what do you say to that, do you understand me? And who knows how much more they will be sticking it to us… Listen, for God’s sake, all this time we are in the mountains they are telling us we are the same as them and tomorrow when the books will be opened it will come out that we are not the same, as if we did not exist, and how can you not swear and say that someone is not lying…?



You’re laughing? Why are you laughing? Did I say something funny?” concluded the subordinate.



“No, what you said is not funny…” replied Numo.



“What’s so funny then?” asked the subordinate.



“I thought of something and it made me laugh…” answered Numo.



“What was it, tell me?” asked the subordinate.



“Last year the Unit Commander, somebody from Rumeli, ordered me to bring him honey. So I asked, ‘Where do I find this honey?’ And he said, ‘Do you see that flower?’ ‘I see it I said.’ ‘What’s on it?’ he asked. ‘A fly,’ I said. He said, ‘It’s not a fly, it’s a bee’. ‘Chase it and follow it, it will take you to the honey. I did as he said and where do you think the fly led me?...” asked Numo.



“I understand… What can I say?” replied the subordinate.



“Don’t say anything; just get some canned meat out of that case… You can think better on a full stomach…” concluded Numo.

[George S.]

appy Orthodox Easter

4:47 AM
Reply ▼
risto stefov
To ;
Dear Readers and friends,


Happy Orthodox Easter to you and your families.



Sreken Veligden do site vas I vasheto semeistvo.



Pozdrav, Risto…

[George S.]

Smells like it was ordered from outside



By Gorazd Velkovski

April 17, 2012

http://macedoniaonline.eu/content/view/20827/45/

The killing of 5 Macedonians near Skopje has raised numerous questions. The first and the obvious one is “who would do such a thing, and why?”

After few days of investigations, despite police's attempts to keep the information inaccessible, due to the nature of the crime certain facts found their way out.

The murder was planned long before it happened, it was done by professionals, heavy weapons used for maximum killing and emotional effect on the populace, even a vehicle was purchased just for the crime?

The area selected where the murder would take place was well planned. Next to a major highway, 15 minutes away from two border crossings, one leading to Serbia, the other to Kosovo, 10 minutes away from an airport, 150 meters away from outdoor target shooting club Kamnik (this allowed the shooting to go unnoticed). The entire operation was planned well.

Of course, the murder took place at a major national and religious holiday, Easter (once again, for emotional effect).

Now that it's obvious this brutal execution of 5 innocent fishermen with no criminal history was well planned, the question is which foreign Secret Service ordered the killing?

The ultimate goal is, of course... simple... to destabilize Macedonia. The aim of this atrocious murder was to get Macedonians to attack Albanians and vice versa. Facebook is here, let’s organize, lets burn them alive, right? Except, Macedonians are much, much smarter than that, and most importantly are not evil people, like others.

The effect wanted by whoever ordered this murder was not accomplished, at least not so far. The Macedonian police is on the trail of the executioners... but they should be hot on the trail of that other elusive target... the people who hired the killers.

Perhaps expected, but the entire region is covering the event. For instance, it seems nothing else is happening in Serbia, as Belgrade based media is covering the events in Macedonia 24/7, with a little bit of a spin, of course. Our colleagues working for a Belgrade TV station funded by Greek capital have already spun the events a bit too much... by misleading their viewers that a house of an Albanian was burned down. This is false.

Right now, everyone is a suspect, both at home and outside. Sad to say, all facts point that this was ordered from the outside.

Our police and forensic professionals have a tough job, perhaps the job of the decade. This is their chance to show they are professional and not a party police force.

[George S.]

Donate and help the families of our 5 slain Macedonians
Donate and help the families of our 5 slain Macedonians
Donate and help the families of our 5 slain Macedonians



For Borche’s family - Ace Dobrev Stevkovski zhirosmetka account number 530500013935268 Ohrid Bank.


For Filip’s family - Stefka Slavkovska zh-account 300007040286323 Commercial Bank AD Skopje.


For Kire’s family - Trichkovska Juliana zh-account number 300007080491368 at party 80491345 Commercial Bank.


For Aleksander’s family - Goran Nakjevski 20002410498395 Commercial Bank


For the Acevski family - Dimo Acevski 300007047813329 Commercial Bank.

Let us show our support to the families of our slain Macedonians. Let us show then that we care and are here for them!

Organizers:


National coordinating body “Humanitarian actions in Macedonia”

Organizer - Coalition of NGOs.





Донирајте и помогнете на Семејствата на нашите убиени Македонци


За семејството на Борче - Аце Стевковски жиросметка 530500013935268 Охридска банка.


За семејството на Филип - Стефка Славковска ж-сметка 300007040286323 Комерцијална Банка ад Скопје.


За семејството на Кире - Тричковска Јулијана ж-сметка 300007080491368 број на партија 80491345 комерцијална банка.


За семејството на Александар - Горан Наќевски 20002410498395 Стопанска банка.


За семејството на Ацевски - Димо Ацевски 300007047813329 Комерцијална банка .

Да покажеме дека не забораваме на семејствата на нашите убиени Македонци. Да покажеме дека сме тука за нив!

Организатори
Национално координативно тело ,,Хуманитарни акции во Македонија,,

Организатор - Коалиција на Невладини организации .

[George S.]

The Great Lie – Chapter 22



By Petre Nakovski

Translated and edited by Risto Stefov

[email protected]

April 22, 2012



“To the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Greece (CPG)


There are residents from various villages in the free Vicho territory who, when the battles for Vicho begin, will probably do a lot of damage behind the DAG (Democratic Army of Greece) lines. According to the information we collected and from the assessments made by our services, we expect they will inflict major damage to our cause and such activities will also encourage others to do the same. During the course of the battles they will probably provide shelter to enemy agents (the Monarcho-Fascists and Tito) who will penetrate our background in order to gather information, carry out sabotage activities and provide targets for enemy air force and artillery attacks.



These people will try to influence the population and through various hostile slogans, break its unity and bond ... These people will flee to the enemy (to the Monarcho-Fascists or to Tito) and provide them with information about DAG’s combat positions, bunker locations and minefield sites. They will encourage our fighters to desert DAG and flee to the monarcho-Fascists or to Tito. Some villagers from this region have been caught and jailed but have not gone before a military court because, through the party line, we received orders to re-educate them by pointing out the damage that they have caused. We did not punish them with harsh penalties.



We cannot decide every case separately so we often have to apply collective punishment such as hard labour to be served by digging tunnels for the storage of weapons. When our friends from the courts were looking for statements or for evidence, we were able to provide it, but with our informants fleeing to the enemy, our evidence disappeared. Our military courts will not put cases before the people without evidence. So we are limited in this regard and we can only monitor people, assess their liability and provide advice. As such we prefer to apply penalties rather than go to trial in military courts. From our information we can conclude that when the enemy offensive begins, these people will cause great damage to our movement and to our defense.



Therefore we propose and seek approval to collect all those people (lists to be provided) and send them to a secure area behind the scenes where, as their punishment, they will be put to work, which will also limit their opportunity to flee to our enemy Tito. Then, anyone caught attempting to escape can be executed. We already have a list of our people who will be placed among them to collect information on them.



This way we will remove the danger that threatens us. In place of holding these people in isolation, which would be utterly useless, we propose that we use them as a work force which is now lacking in DAG. We submit this proposal because all these elements will be activated the moment the military operations in Vicho are launched.



We also have another proposal. The region around the border sector, currently defended by a section of the people's militia located in German, is okay in terms of forces available to it (35 people), but we propose that we further secure the border by other means, such as barbed wire, bells, empty meat cans, mines and other items.



Given the urgency of the situation, we anxiously await your response.”



Zahariadis read the letter from Bureau A2 carefully and called a meeting with Bardzotas, Vlandas and Gusias for noon, to take place in the cave above the village Vineni. The Politburo was unanimous in its assessment that the situation was serious and required serious measures to be undertaken. The same day a letter was sealed in an envelope and sent to Vineni. Written in the envelope margins in great big red letters was:


“You have our approval and consent, however we do not approve that you run the entire operation alone. Continue to monitor the situation and immediately contact all members of the Central Council of NOF (Peoples’ Liberation Front) and ask them to report to DAG General Headquarters.”



It took about two days to locate all the NOF members and for them to arrive at the designated place. They met in the same cave, during the night of the second day, where Gusias informed them as follows:



“Comrades, by comrade Zahariadis’s orders, I asked you to come here so that I can convey to you the decision reached by our Politburo and by our General Headquarters. As you well know soon we will begin the Vicho campaign. I must insist that you accept what I have to say as well-intentioned criticism, for as long as the preparations for defense are ongoing, you, Comrade Vera, and when I say you I think of the entire NOF and AFZH (Women’s Anti-Fascist Front) leadership. You have somewhat slowed down in doing your duty, your long visits to the villages in Prespa have become comfortable, at least this is what we are told by the field agents, your fighting spirit and revolutionary enthusiasm have slackened...



I have heard, and I think the Chiefs of Staff at General Headquarters have heard, rumours that you rarely visit the Koreshtanski villages, they say that you rarely pass by there and some even say that you don’t go there at all. I want to inform you that we here in the Politburo and in General Headquarters have seriously considered how to protect the population in Koreshtata and other Kostur and Lerin Region villages.



Let us not forget that this population, as comrade Zahariadis has said, is full of heroism and selflessness and has given its all to the struggle, which calls for admiration and because of that our enemy will strike there first and these people will become the first casualties of the offensive. That is why they deserve to be protected. We owe it to them.



To be protected. Exactly for that reason, comrades, we at the Politburo and at General Headquarters have decided that you, the leaders of NOF and AFZH, together with all your activists should go to the villages, to every house and speak to every man and woman, speak with the old people, with everyone who is still left there and persuade them to leave their villages. Tell them to go behind the front line. We here at the Central Committee and at the General Headquarters assessed the situation and understand the dangers threatening the villagers, that is why we decided to undertake such a task. Of course the move will be assisted with the help of the National Militia because the people deserve to be safe while being relocated. We could do the move with the help of our army, but the army is needed elsewhere.



When the enemy launches its offensive, it will not only attack DAG combat positions, it will also attack the villages and the houses, it will attack every house, and most of all it will attack the houses and people who took our side. The enemy will direct its retaliation on them, on the people who took our side and will commit unprecedented crimes against them.



Many crimes will be committed by the enemy infantry, police and by the evil paramilitary groups. They will leave no stone unturned, every house will be burned down and anyone caught will be tortured and killed. We have reliable information regarding enemy intentions and their plans for revenge. That is precisely why we need to protect the population.



Our first step will be to draw a line behind the front. You must explain this to them very carefully, in a convincing way. In fact you must tell them that the ‘worst’ awaits them if they stay in their villages and in their houses. You should also explain to them that they should leave nothing for the enemy. In other words, they should take everything with them, livestock, oxen, sheep, goats and even their donkeys to carry all the valuable things that they take with them. They should take as much furnishings and food as they can carry, especially food to last them about ten days because that’s how long it would take for us to eject the enemy out of Vicho. Of course, they should also bring all items that carry high value such as money, gold, silver, cheques...



Now the villages we plan to evacuate are Smrdesh, Vmbel, Breznitsa, Rula, Trnaa, Oshchima and Zhelevo. When we eject the enemy out of Vicho, then all will be returned to their liberated villages...



Your job is to activate the entire village apparatus. In other words the People’s Village Councils and where there is resistance you should personally participate in clarifying matters…” concluded Gusias.



Some time later.


Horse hooves pounding on the village cobblestone road were heard late in the evening. Vane opened his window slightly, peeked outside with one eye and saw two people on horseback standing outside in his yard. Silently he closed the curtain and went to turn down the flame on the kerosene lamp which, at the time, was emitting a trembling pale, white light. He again returned to the window. The riders now stood in front of his thick oak door, nailed with several rows of thick nails. Vane perked up his ears but failed to capture anything from the quiet conversation. Suddenly there was a knock on the oak door and a quiet muffled voice was heard calling out: “Vane! Vane!”



It was a woman’s voice, a familiar voice. Vane quickly put on his woolen pajamas and while going down the stairs, with both hands, slipped his long colourful belt around his waist.


“Vane!” The same voice was heard calling, mixed with the noise of moving horse hooves.


“I am coming, I am coming…” Vane was heard saying as he rushed to the door, unlocked it and flung both sides of the door wide open. “Come in!” he whispered.



“Hello Vane. Are you well? How is your wife?” whispered Vera.



“Thank God, so far I am well Vera. My wife is okay too but has problems with her hip. She can’t stand up straight and can’t move that well. She was injured while carrying logs. Come in, tie your horses and come into the house… And you… if I may ask… what are you doing out here this late at night? Does this visit have something to do with your work or is it a casual visit?” asked Vane.



“It’s about work, Vane, about work and it’s a big job,” replied Vera.



“Is it about that?” Vane pointed at the mountains with his chin. “If I have to go, I swear on my mother’s name, God bless her soul, I will not be able to go. I have pain in my waist and in my neck and my wife, unfortunately, is not well…” said Vane.



“It’s not about sending you to the mountains, Vane…” replied Vera.



“If it’s not about that then please go ahead, straight up the stairs…” said Vane.



Menka, holding her sore hip with one hand, came to the top of the stairs and greeted the guests pointing the way to the balcony.



“Please come in, come in, good to see you. It’s dark out there, you can’t see. Wait while I get a lamp,” said Menka.



“No need Menka, we won’t be here for long. We will just say hello and we will go,” replied Vera.



“It’s okay, it’s okay… Please come in…” insisted Vane.



“Vane,” Vera began to explain, “we are here on orders from the highest level of authority. We know that you, Vane, that you are the wisest and most respected person in the village. If you get going so will the others, they will follow you and you will save them from anything bad happening to them. Do you remember how it was when the wounded needed to be transported from Lerin? You went first and then the entire village followed. Now again you will have to do the same, you will have to go first…”



“Go where?” asked Vane.



Vera repeated what she was told by the higher authorities, explaining everything convincingly and persuasively. Vane turned his head, a reflection of doubt flooded his eyes and with every quiver in his face he showed that he had no confidence in the plan.



“No, things are not what they seem…” said Vane thoughtfully.



“No, it can’t be done that way…” added Menka.



“What, now the both of you are going against me? No, no and only no? Don’t you know how to say anything else? You all have been ordered to go and you will go!” said Vera in a loud voice.



Vane straightened himself and furrowing his eyebrows with every word, said:



“Vera, many times you have said the words, ‘You are going against me,’ words which we do not understand. I can see it in your eyes that these are bad words. And don’t yell at me in my own house!”



Vane paused for a moment and continued: “We will go, of course we will go… But know that this to me looks like an expulsion… If that is true then may God be your judge and from us you will be forever cursed… Why not, of course we will go… Last night the highway was full of people and goods… Now it’s our turn… Of course we will go…



What should we take and what should we leave? All the bad luck that has befallen our house… The items in this house have been building from the time of our great grandfather, from our grandfather, from our father and now from us. We used to say ‘our house is full and may we leave it full to our children’. Is there ever a full house without children? A house is empty without children… What can you take and what can you leave? Everything is precious. Everything was achieved through the sweat of our ancestors and on their sweat we added our sweat… What to take and what to leave?” asked Vane.



“Just take the most valuable things,” added Vera.



“The land,” said Vane, “the land is the most valuable thing. Everything we have comes from the land. The land feeds us. How can we take our land, how can we bring it with us? If I was in good health and in good shape I would have no problem supporting my family and building a house in foreign lands. But abandon our land? We would have to be mad to do that! Can one abandon their land that easily?



Okay then… We will do what we can… Of course, yes, of course we will go…” said Vane in a confused tone of voice.



“Okay then… You need to go first, before the others,” said Vera and while leaving, added: “We will see you there…”



Vane did not reply.



The People’s Village Council President was waiting outside. He leaned towards Vera’s ear and said, “There is great resistance; the villagers don’t want to leave.”



“What do you mean the villagers don’t want to leave? Did you explain everything to them?” asked Vera.



“I couldn’t have explained it any better…” replied the President.



“Take me to the houses of the people who did not want to go!” ordered Vera.



A little while later.



“All of them, to the last one,” yelled Vera, “will be coming and will be robbing you…”



“I have no reason to leave. I don’t have anyone on your side. I am all alone. My house is empty, you took everything. What will they take from an empty house? The stones from my yard?” replied an old woman.



“They will take you, they will take you and kill you, they will skin you alive and toss your body to the dogs… They will be dropping bombs, barrels of fire, flames and coals, they will burn everything. Last year we barely saved the villagers from the other side of Mali-Madi. There they were dropping flames and fire from the sky out of airplanes. Everything burned, the trees, the soil, even the rocks were exploding from the heat. We barely saved the people and moved them into the free territory with great difficulty,” explained Vera.



“Did they return to their homes after that?” a woman asked.



“Who?” asked Vera.



“The people you saved,” replied the woman.



“Oh, them? There is nothing for them to return to… The enemy burned their houses to the ground, there was not even a stone left standing…” explained Vera.



“These women standing here and I are not leaving,” said the woman.



“Ladies!” yelled out Vera “We are not here to expel you, we are here to evacuate you…”



“Even if it is for evacuation… We are not going. We will stay home behind locked doors and we will not let anyone in… We will wait for our husbands to return…” said the woman.



“You are going to wait for them to return from where?” inquired Vera.



“From the prisons and from the Islands,” said the woman.



“Do you truly believe they will release them?” asked Vera.



“Yes one day they will release them,” said the woman.



“Where is your husband?” asked Vera.



“Exiled on the island of Aegina,” replied the woman.



“And yours?” asked Vera pointing to the next woman.



“At Yura Island…” replied the second woman.



“And yours?” asked Vera pointing to the following woman.



“Mine is at Ai Strati,” replied the third woman.



“You poor women… They will take you and torture you because your husbands are in prison on the islands. They will torture you the most, the soldiers will rape you and after that they will parade you naked and pass you on to others. Do you want that? And… dirtied like that what good would you be to your husbands? Will they then want to look at you when… when they return home alive and well? Don’t delay, take the most valuable things and when you are told to leave, be among the first to go,” insisted Vera.



A while later.



“Your People’s Village Council President was right when he told you what awaits you if you don’t leave. Did he explain it to you or did he not?” asked Vera in an angry tone of voice.



“And what is there to explain? We told him we are not going. Whoever is afraid may go. What will they take from me? I am an old woman without any teeth, what will they do to me? Who wants a woman like me? From everything that I had, only my icon remains. And half of it is burned. Jesus’ legs have been burned by the fire and so is the Virgin Mary’s arm. When my house was burning down, the wall on which the icon was hanging fell and that way at least part of the icon was saved. That’s all that remains in my possession… Who is going to take my crippled Virgin Mary?... asked the old woman.



“You have nothing else? Why did you take that black icon?” asked Vera.



“I took it so that the Virgin Mary is not abandoned… so that she could be with us, with the people so that she can protect them from evil mouths and eyes and from…” muttered the old woman.



At Vane and Menka’s house.



“And the copper jug, I said the copper jug,” yelled Vane angrily at Menka, “why are you taking it? You took the kettle too?”



“And where do you suppose I am going to keep water? You need to drink water wherever you go… The kettle too will be needed…” replied Menka and after a short silence asked: “Are you sure that’s what she said?”



“Forget what she said! Okay… We gathered what we gathered, now let’s load them up. Bring the donkey here,” ordered Vane.



Vane bolted the thick wooden door from the inside and then jumped over the wall surrounding the yard and tied the double doors together with a chain and padlocked it from the outside. He turned the key twice and then hid it under the large rock near the door. He crossed himself and said: “It is terrible when one has to padlock his own door…”



“Blankets, pillows, plates, spoons ... everything that we have left...” said Menka.



“And you, woman, are you going to load the entire house?” replied Vane.



“No, I took only what they left, after you voluntarily gave them everything for the struggle. It’s better to take things with us where we can keep an eye on them rather than leave them here unattended. This way at least we will have something left…” said Menka.



“Did we forget anything?” asked Vane.



“Let me think… Yes we did forget… the cheques. And the Napoleons (gold coins)? I said the Napoleons did you hide them well?” asked Menka.



Vane grabbed Menka by the arm, took her aside and whispered in her ear: “I have some of them here,” he tapped his chest, “but most of them I buried in the outhouse. Nobody is going to look there, right? The box with the Napoleons is buried deep down in the hole. No one is going to look there…”



The night was hot and humid. The Koreshtanski valley was very hot. The grain heads in the wheat fields were yellowing and the seeds were maturing in the summer heat. The crickets were singing, the dogs were barking and the clouds covered the full moon. The horses were neighing, the cows were mooing, cowbells were ringing, there was yelling, cursing and cries of desperation…



The column was long. It moved very slowly, it dragged its way along the highway from Gabresh, around the wide turn, to the bridge. Here it divided itself into two columns; one column extended from here to Breznitsa, Smrdesh and Dmbeni, the other column extended from here all the way to Zhelevo.



The trek continued the next day and all through to the next night … There somewhere at the exit of the wide turn, Vane turned left and, slowly guiding his donkey, took an uphill path and entered the dense forest. The deep darkness of the night did now allow them to travel past the forest and to the boulders above. It wasn’t until the break of dawn that they resumed their trip along the narrow forest path.



“It has to be here somewhere…” said Vane while breaking the branches that were blocking his way. He took a few steps further up and stopped. He turned, and pointing with his hand, whispered: “It’s here…”



He pushed the low hanging branches to the side. There was a deep gap in the boulder. With his stick he pounded the inside of the rock a few times. Several bats flew out. He stepped inside. He lit a match and, holding it up high, illuminated the entire cave. He looked around until the match went out. He came out. It was still dark outside.



“Quickly!” he said and went downhill, “Quickly, let’s unload everything and bring it here while it’s still dark.”



When they had brought everything into the cave, Vane said: “We left the donkey down there; I will go and secure it. It can graze in the forest. We will remain here until the bad passes.”



“But Vane, when they see that we are missing from the others in the village, will they not look for us?” asked Menka.



“May God protect and defend us!” Vane crossed himself. “Don’t say it twice… No one invites the bad, it comes on its own. Come inside, sit down and stop fretting. I will return soon…” ordered Vane.



He went down the hill and suddenly stopped. He hid in the tall bushes.



One behind another, about ten men and women loaded with sacks, bags and blankets were coming towards him. They passed him by quietly and stayed on the path that led to the cave.



“Wife, prepare our things… people are coming…” called Vane.



“Who?” asked Menka.



“People… They too are hiding. Move our things and make room for them!” ordered Vane.



“This does not look good,” said Vane after being silent for a few seconds. “In earlier days some of us hid in the forests and in the mountains to avoid the bad but then we always returned to our homes. Now they told us that we all have to leave, all from across… It doesn’t look good. Two nights ago the people from Dmbeni, Setomo, Tiolishta, Kondorobi, Zagoricheni, Chereshnitsa, Bapchor, Sheshevo, Visheni, Aposkep… all passed by here. Now it’s our turn. The people from Nered, Turie, Konomladi, Gorno and Dolno Statitsa have passed over Lisets. They took their cattle, donkeys, sheep and goats with them. The people were loaded like horses with sacks and bags… Who knows where all this is going…” muttered Vane.



“They say a great battle will take place and because of that the People’s Government and the Party want to save us from the bad. Vera was saying that the enemy will be dropping large bombs, they will be dropping flames and fire from the airplanes and everything will burn…” said Menka.



“The further you hide from the village the worse it is. The old people hid in such caves, forests and mountains to avoid the bad during Turkish times. They dug themselves into pits and stayed there until it all passed. People hid in such caves and pits during the Ilinden Uprising [1903]… They hid here when that blood thirst no good, may he rot in hell, together with his band of butchers was burning the houses and slaughtering people in these villages… And here we hid, running away from the Italians and Germans…” muttered Vane.



“And those who Vera said they were saving last year, what happened to them?” asked Menka.



“One of the drivers told me that they relocated them to a village, I think it’s called Prenies; it’s in Albania near the Yugoslav border. The driver said they now live in horse barracks and eat from a communal cauldron,” answered Vane.



“Perhaps they want to save us in a similar manner too?” remarked Menka.



“I don’t know if that’s what it is, but I do know that it’s wrong to leave our homes…” replied Vane.



“Vera said that once our people eject the Greek army from Vicho, we can all go home…” said Menka.



“They told the people from the villages on the other side of Mali-Madi the same thing. After they defeat the enemy at Gramos they will allow the people to return to their homes… It’s been a year since then and in place of sending these people back to their homes, they packed them in horse barracks and made them wait in line in front of a cauldron for their food… The driver, who takes wounded from here to Albania and brings back those who have recovered, told me this. I say this does not look good… it does not look good when they chase people from their homes… I will it say again; I don’t see this as a good thing,” concluded Vane.

[George S.]

AUSTRALIAN-MACEDONIAN THEATRE OF SYDNEY Inc.
Australian Macedonian THEATRE OF SYDNEY INC9891945 ABN: 96646233538 PO Box 227 Rockdale NSW 2216 NOTIFICATION Schism - DRAMA FOR LIFE of Macedonians in Australia Australian Macedonian theater in Sydney for the Macedonian community was prepared by cleavage latest drama by Dusan Ristevski directed by Zoran Lozevski and Steffi Nancu. cleavage satire is filled with humor and messages that promote national awareness and fosters brotherly love and living in harmony in the Macedonian community. This is a drama that will appeal to people of all ages. the Balkan wars in 1913 Macedonia was divided among Greece, Bulgaria and Serbia and it started assimilation and destructive policy towards Macedonians. The division is raspoluti crux of the Macedonian nation and split like a plague took over Macedonian regardless of which parts of Macedonia lived. Today the split is present in Macedonia and in Australia where they live thousands of Macedonians. This division uses NATO, the European Community and the Australian government refuses to recognize Macedonia under its constitutional name. Division is present in the raising of the Macedonian people, the families and the Macedonian Community Macedonian churches and clubs. This division destroys the genesis of the Macedonian nation. cleavage is a mirror in which Macedonians will recognize themselves, will certainly recognize their life in their community in a multicultural Australia. Life of Macedonians is closely connected with the life of its church and other associations and clubs. We are facing various challenges and temptations, paying attention to more material than spiritual motives, rodbinskite Communications halted political views. Families are faced with inter-generations and cultural differences lead to conflict. The community is devastated by the failure of avstraljanskiot multikuluralizam which serves only the more numerous and influential. The Macedonians have taken democracy and the right to politicize religion and the church, and thus to destroy their relationships with loved ones. cleavage through her characters brings us their lives are full of contradictions. It aims to reach the Macedonian consciousness and encourage self-critical to address their weaknesses and procedures and pass through their differences in favor of our union and our future. It will encourage the resolution of these differences will provide opportunities for spiritual elevation and improvement of relations with their fellow countrymen. Roles interpret: Vasco Srbinovski Vlado Sazdanov, Samuel Mitrevski Steffi Nancu, Sonja Zengovska, Pece Zengovski Tatyana Todoroska, Tina Jovkovski Nikola Apostolovski, Javorka Kotevska, Valentina Apostolovska Branislav Musovski, Spasija Ognenovska Ana Dimovska and Christina Strezovski. drama will display the following places and times: Rogdael: Friday, 18 May at 19.00 am in the Macedonian Culture Ilinden Centre, 65 Railway Street Rockdale. Rogdael: Sunday, 20 May at 19.00 am in the Macedonian Cultural Centre Ilinden, 65 Railway Street Rockdale. Banksteon: Friday, 1 June at 19.00 pm in the Bankstown Polish Club, 15 East Terrace, Bankstown. Port Kembla: Saturday, 2 June at 19.00 am at the Port Kembla RSL Club, Crn Allen St. & Military Rd., Port Kembla. For more information and booking call to Dusan Ristevska on 0425231335 or [email protected]

[George S.]

Appeal for Sanja Cavdarova

4:58 AM

Reply ▼


risto stefov

To ;

Dear readers and friends,

This is an appeal to help a young lady suffering from “Paralisis Celebris” who is in need of financial help. I have been in regular contact with the young lady and with some of her supporters. This is what Zoran Zaev, Mayor of Strumitsa Municipality, had to say;

“Dear Mr. Risto Stefov,

I personally know Sanja Cavdarova and her family. Sanja is a 26 year old who suffers from “Paralisis Celebris”. I, as mayor of Strumitsa Municipality, have helped her within the scope of my abilities but sadly it is not enough, she needs more help. Sanja is a very brave young lady who has a great desire for life and success. She deserves to be happy and have a life like all her peers. THAT IS WHY I BEG YOU TO HELP SANJA. I particularly want to thank you for helping Sanja.

Regards, Zoran Zaev, Mayor of Strumitsa Municipality.”

Here is Sanja’s appeal;

“DEAR MACEDONIANS;

I am Sanja Cavdarova from Strumitsa, I suffer from “PARALISYS CEREBRALIS”, I am only 26 years old. Soon I will need to go Russia to the Neurovita hospital for special treatment. My life is very difficult. I am always dependent on the generosity of others for my happiness and on the love of my family but the time will come when I can no longer depend on them. I am not ashamed to admit to you that I am crying as I am writing this letter to you… only I know how difficult it is for me to bother you and to ask for help. I beg you with all my heart please help me to go and get my treatment, so that all my dreams are not extinguished at age 26 and so that I can see and be a part of some happy days. I am too young to give up in life.

I hope I did not take too much of your time and I am encouraged that you will respond to my appeal. If you need more information write to me at my e-mail: [email protected]

RESPECTFULY, Sanja Cavdarova”

HERE IS HOW TO DONATE:



Either send a CHEQUE made out to “Mara Cavdarova”, Sanja’s mother and beneficiary (Sanja cannot go to the bank) and mail it to;

Sanja Cavdarova

ul. MitoHadzivasilev Jasmin br. 83

Strumica
Republic of Macedonia

Or donate directly to her bank account at:

Name of Beneficiary: Cavdarova Mara
Beneficiary address: M.HADJIVASILEV-JASMIN BR. 83, STRUMICA, REPUBLIKA MAKEDONIJA
IBAN:/MKO7380503311339234

Bank of beneficiary: Pro Credit Bank, Makedonija

SWIFT: PRBUMK22XXX

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Sanja directly via her e-mail address ([email protected]) or by telephone at: 034 329 702

This is a worthy cause to improve a young Macedonian woman’s life, so please donate whatever you can.

Pozdrav, Risto…



----------------------------------------------------------------------------



Pocituvan Gospodine Risto Stefov,



Licno ja poznavam Sanja Cavdarova i nejzinoto semejstvo. Sanja ima 26 god. i boleduva od "Paralisis Cerebralis". Jas kako Gradonacalnik na Opstina Strumica i imam pomognato vo domenot na moite moznosti, no za zal se uste im trebaat stretstva. Sanja e mnogu hrabra devojka. Od nejziniot pogled se gleda zelba za zivot i uspeh. Zasluzuva da mu se raduva na zivotot kako site nejzini vrsnici. ZATOA VE MOLAM SITE ZAEDNO DA I POMOGNEME NA SANJA.

Bi vi posebno blagodaren dokolku I pomognete na Sanja.



Pozdrav, Zoran Zaev, Gradonacalnik na Opstina Strumica.





POCITUVANI;

Jas sum Sanja Cavdarova od Strumica, boleduvam od „QUADRIPLEGIA SPASTICA - PARALISYS CEREBRALIS",a imam samo 26 god.Treba da zaminam na lekuvanje vo Rusija vo bolnicata Neurovita za presaduvanje na maticni kletki. Zivot mi e mnogu tezok.Sekogas zavisam od milosta na drugite za srekja milosta na moite roditeli i sestra ne zaostanuva no nekogas kje dojde vreme i koga ke nemozam da smetam na niv. Nema da se sramam da Vi priznam deka sega dodeka pisham placam...samo jas si znam kolku mi e teshko da dosaduvam i baram pomos.Ve molam so celo moe srce pomognete mi ako mozete da odam na lekuvanje, za da ne zgasnaat site moi sonishta na 26-god i jas da vidam i da bidam del od nekoi Srekni denovi. Premnogu sum mlada za da se otkazam od zivotot.



Ve molam ovaa poraka da vi odzeme barem malku Od vaseto vnimanie I se nadevam deka ke mi izlezete vo presret. Se sto Vi treba od dokumenti ke Vi ispratam. Se nadevam deka ke mi odgovorite.



SO POCIT, Sanja Cavdarova


ul. MitoHadzivasilev Jasmin br. 83 Strumica



tel.034 329 702



Ziro smetkata e na majkami na ime, bidejki jas sama ne mozam da odam do banka.

Name of the Beneficiary: Cavdarova Mara
Beneficiary address: M.HADJIVASILEV-JASMIN BR. 83, STRUMICA,R. MAKEDONIJA
IBAN:/MKO7380503311339234

Bank of beneficiary: Pro Credit Bank, Makedonija

SWIFT: PRBUMK22XXX

[George S.]

Samaras would be happiest to see Macedonia disappear

April 23rd, 2012

Translated and edited by Risto Stefov


As the most hopeful of becoming the future Greek Prime Minister, Samaras, for the last 20 years, has not changed his attitude towards the Macedonian people or towards the Macedonian question. For him the only acceptable solution to the name is one without the word “Macedonia” in it.

Antonis Samaras’s New Democracy Party is the most serious contender in the upcoming elections in Greece, due to take place on May 6th this year. According to popular polls it looks like Samaras is the most likely candidate to become the new Greek Prime Minister. On the eve of the Greek elections Samaras is already brushing up on his xenophobic words in his dictionary. His latest such statement was in relation to the final solution to Greece’s problems with foreigners and immigrants. For now Macedonia is not on the Greek politician’s pre-election agenda but xenophobia, in relation to the Macedonians and Macedonia, has been a constant for Samaras for the last 20 years. All this time he has been consistent and perhaps the most radical of all Greek politicians regarding the name Macedonia.



Disappearance of the young Macedonian State



If we begin with a review of the disintegration of Yugoslavia and the formation of Independent Macedonia, we will see that Greek foreign policy, led by Antonis Samaras, dealt almost exclusively with Macedonia. At that time, if Macedonia was to become unstable, the Greek defense strategy was envisioning a military invasion 37 kilometres deep into Macedonian territory. Today’s analysis of the contemporary conditions clearly shows that, in the early nineties, political forces in Greece wanted more than just a “name change”, they wanted the destabilization and disappearance of the young Macedonian State.



“Unsustainable” Macedonia



On February 26, 1992 Greek President Constantine Karamanlis sent a letter to the Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs asking him to emphasize the Greek argument that the Macedonian State is “unsustainable.” A year earlier, on August 27, 1991, Samaras, in his capacity as Minister of Foreign Affairs, wrote a letter to his colleagues in the EU saying: “An attentive observer can easily see that the independent Macedonian state is hardly viable. Economically it is landlocked with no material basis for survival. Ethnically it has a more than one-third ethnic Albanian population and the ethnic origin of its Slavic inhabitants is a cause of misunderstandings. Even though they are currently called “Macedonians”, the Bulgarians and to a lesser extent the Serbs claim them as their own.”



Samaras’s Pliers



In 1992 Antonis Samaras introduced a Greek-Serbian plan to destabilize Macedonia. The plan, called “Samaras’s Pliers”, had two strategic moves. The first move was to economically strangulate Macedonia through the introduction of a trade embargo designed to cause social unrest. The second move was to put military pressure on Macedonia by the then Yugoslav National Army which was still present on Macedonian soil. The embargo then was not yet official but in a letter, dated March 3rd, 1992, addressed to Evangelos Caitidis, Mayor of Thessaloniki, Samaras said: “Here I am giving you clear written instructions to undertake and proceed with all available means to put economic pressure on Skopje. In view of the EU initiatives, our ministry believes that it is not a good time now for us to officially close the border.” On March 17th, 1992 Samaras wrote to his Prime Minister, Mitsotakis, saying: “It is clear that the embargo will anger the people in Skopje and will bring reaction against their government. This will cause multiple mass demonstrations to be organized all throughout the state against the government’s ‘uncompromising’ position.” And 20 years later the Greek government still maintains the same tactics towards Macedonia. Greece is still waiting for Macedonia to destabilize from the inside.



Common border between Greece and Serbia



During a meeting between Milosovich and Samaras in Belgrade, the Serbian boss, after dinner, showed his Greek guest a map of the Balkans and said: “Look down here at the centre of FYROM, especially in Tetovo and the surrounding areas where there are over 150,000 Serbs, not just 40,000 as was published in the census.” Then Samaras asked: “Do you think that at any point in time they will be moved to another location?” To which Milosovich replied: “They will be. And not only they, but also thousands of other Serbs who live in the north, they too will be moved to the south, to Skopje and to the Greek border. Serbia and Greece would then have a common border.” Samaras then immediately conveyed this information to his Greek prime minister.



Samaras: Macedonia is a mixture of Albanians and Slavo-phones



Samaras later, as member of the Greek New Democracy Party, became a Member of the European Parliament. As an MP he has not changed his position towards Macedonia, not even a millimetre. During an interview with “Eleftherotypia” he insulted the Macedonian Nation’s identity and the Macedonian State by saying that Macedonia will not deviate from its constitutional name because by it, it maintains false internal unity. “Skopje will not deviate when it feels strong and will not deviate even when it feels weak. This is because the name is a key element in the false unity of its population,” said Samaras. According to Samaras, the 2001 conflict proved that “the national state of the Macedonians is a mixture of Albanians and Slavo-phones. In such circumstances, the name Macedonia is the only thing that keeps the people united and therefore reluctant to change.” Samaras then went on to predict that Macedonia is moving towards a confederation, which means that it will need to amend its Constitution. “That’s when the name can be changed,” said Samaras, which according to him, the Macedonians never intended to essentially negotiate for the name, as long as Greek politics regarding that matter were continually “correct.” During a European Union meeting in April 2002, Samaras, as Minister of Foreign Affairs, during a discussion about Macedonia said that we must first choose a name and then Greece will tell us whether that name is acceptable to it or not. Even a compound name with the word “Macedonia” in it is not acceptable for Samaras.



Самаpас доследен за Македонија, најсреќен ќе биде да ја нема

23 апр 2012 23:36



Кај најголемиот фаворит за нов грчки премиер веќе 20 години нема никаква промена на ставовите во однос на македонското прашање. За него единствено прифатливо име би било она без зборот Македонија.



Нова демократија, партијата на Андонис Самарас, е најсериозен фаворит на претстојните избори во Грција, на 6 мај. Сите анкети покажуваат дека најверојатно тој ќе биде новиот грчки премиер. Во пресрет на изборите Самарас го заострува својот и онака ксенофобичен речник. Последната негова таква изјава беше во однос на конечното решавање на проблемот на Грција со странците и со емигрантите. Засега Македонија не е на дневен ред на грчките политичари во предизборието. Но ксенофобијата во однос на Македонците и на Македонија кај Самарас веќе 20 години е константа. Тој во целиот овој период е навистина доследен и можеби најрадикален од сите грчки политичари во однос на името Македонија.

Исчезнување на младата држава

Ако тргнеме од распаѓањето на Југославија и независноста на Македонија, тогашната грчка надворешна политика под водство на Андонис Самарас како да не се занимаваше со ништо друго освен со Македонија. Во тој период грчката одбранбена стратегија во случај на дестабилизација на Македонија предвидуваше влегување на грчка војска на македонска територија дури 37 километри во длабочина. Денешните анализи за тогашните состојби јасно покажуваат дека политичките сили во Грција во раните деведесетти посакуваа многу повеќе од само промена на името, а тоа е дестабилизација и исчезнување на младата држава.

„Неодржлива“ Македонија

Претседателот Константин Караманлис на 26 февруари 1992 година му испратил писмо на министерот за надворешни работи на Грција, од кого барал да се нагласува грчкиот аргумент дека македонската држава е „неодржлива“. Една година пред тоа, на 27 август 1991 година, Самарас во својство на министер на надворешни работи, напишал писмо до своите колеги во ЕУ: „Внимателниот набљудувач може лесно да увиди дека независната македонска држава е тешко одржлива. Економски, без излез на море, нема материјална основа за опстанок, етнички, со повеќе од една третина албанско етничко население и уште повеќе, етничкото потекло на нејзините словенски жители, е причина за недоразбирања. Тие моментално се именуваат како „Македонци“, но Бугарите и во помал обем Србите велат дека тие се нивни“.

Клештата на Самарас

Во 1992 година Андонис Самарас претставил грчко-српски план за дестабилизација на Македонија. Планот наречен „Самарасова клешта“ имал два стратегиски потези. Првиот бил економски притисок, преку воведување трговско ембарго што требало да предизвика социјални безредија, а вториот бил воен притисок од страна на тогаш сč уште присутната ЈНА на тлото на Македонија. Ембаргото тогаш не било официјализирано и на барањето инструкции од страна на градоначалникот на Солун, Евангелос Цаитидис, Самарас со писмо од 3 март 1992 година вели: „Овде ви давам писмено јасна инструкција да преземете и да продолжите со сите расположиви средства да вршите економски притисок врз Скопје. Имајќи ги предвид иницијативите на ЕУ, нашето министерство смета дека не е добро сега официјално да се затвори границата“. Од друга страна, пак, на 17 март 1992 година Самарас му пишува на својот премиер Мицотакис: „Јасно е дека ембаргото ќе ги засили реакциите на луѓето во Скопје кон нивната влада и тоа ќе го мултиплицира феноменот на масовни демонстрации што ќе бидат организирани низ целата држава против некомпромисната позиција на нивната влада“. И 20 години потоа грчката влада ја има истата тактика кон Македонија. Уште чека Македонија внатрешно да се дестабилизира.

Заедничка граница на Грција и на Србија

На средбата Милошевиќ – Самарас во Белград српскиот шеф по вечерата на својот гостин му ја покажал картата на Балканот со зборовите: „Погледни овде, во центарот на ФИРОМ и особено во Тетово и околните делови гувеат над 150.000 Срби, а не 40.000, како што објавува пописот“. „Дали мислите дека во одреден момент тие би се придвижиле на друга локација?“, прашал Самарас. „Ќе се покренат. И не само тие, туку и илјадници други Срби што живеат на север, ќе тргнат на југ, кон Скопје, кон грчката граница. Србија и Грција ќе имаат заедничка граница“, одговорил Милошевиќ. Самарас оваа идеја веднаш му ја пренел на грчкиот премиер.

Самарас: Македонија е мешавина од Албанци и славофони

Подоцна Самарас станува грчки европратеник на Нова демократија. И како европарламентарец тој ниту милиметар не ја менува својата позиција кон Македонија. Тој во интервју за „Елефтеротипија“ го навредува идентитетот на македонскиот народ и држава и вели дека Македонија не отстапува од уставното име со кое го одржува лажното внатрешно единство. „Скопје не отстапува кога се чувствува силно, а не отстапува и кога се чувствува слабо. Тоа е затоа што името е клучниот елемент за лажното единство на населението“, изјавил Самарас. Според него, конфликтот од 2001 година покажал дека „националната држава на Македонците е смеса на нација од Албанци и славофони. Во такви услови, името Македонија беше единственото што ги држи обединети и затоа не се подготвени да го променат“, вели грчкиот европратеник. Тој тогаш предвидуваше дека Македонија се движи кон конфедерација, што значи дека ќе треба да се измени Уставот. „Тогаш ќе може да се промени и името“, изјавил Самарас, според кого, Македонците никогаш немале намера суштински да преговараат за името, додека грчката политика за тоа прашање во континуитет е „правилна“. Во април 2002 година Самарас на средба во ЕУ, во функција на министер на МНР во расправа за Македонија рекол дека ние треба прво да избереме име, а Грција е таа што ќе каже дали е тоа прифатливо за неа или не. За Самарас дури и името Македонија во новото име по негова мера не треба да го има.

[George S.]

The Great Lie – Chapter 23 – Part 1



By Petre Nakovski

Translated and edited by Risto Stefov

[email protected]

April 29, 2012



Vicho region was their last hope. For the defenders it was their last hope of defense. For the attackers it was their last hope for victory. Both sides believed in their hopes. Both sides were fighting for freedom but here in the Macedonian mountains Bela Voda, Lundser and Bigla, Kulkuturia, Plati, Kresto, Glavata, Polenata, Roto, Baro, Iamata, Mali-Madi, Golinata, Chuka, Moro and Lisets they were fighting for their own freedom.



At 05.00 hours in the summer on August 10th, 1949, fighter aircraft launched their attacks on Mount Polenata, elevation 1,685. At 05.30 hours the artillery opened fire, lasting half an hour. This was the centre of defense. Military aircraft flew in waves of three and with bombs and rockets attacked the bunkers. Hell opened up and broke loose out of the earth on top of Bigla and Lundser, Polenata and Roto, Baro and Mali-Madi.



At five o’clock in the morning seventy aircraft flew out of Government bases in Lerin, Rupishta and Kozheni and attacked DAG (Democratic Army of Greece) positions. Half an hour later one hundred and forty cannons and equally as many heavy guns and mine throwers began their attacks on the trenches and bunkers. The thick smoke was still hanging low when 8 divisions, more independent battalions, tanks and military vehicles launched their attack.



At 06.00 hours, assisted by tanks, 22 Government military divisions attacked Polenata, elevation 1,685, but the attack was unsuccessful. They were facing strong resistance. Aerial and artillery attacks continued until 13.00 hours. A second wave of infantry attacks were launched on Polenata at 13.00 hours. Resistance at Polenata died out at 18.30 hours along with everyone who resisted. No one from the resistance side came out alive. The central front was broken.



In the meantime the villages Turie and Gorno Statitsa had fallen into the hands of Government Division XI from where Government troops launched their uphill attacks along the bare patches of the mountains in the direction of Lisets and Moro. Government troops jumped and stepped over the dead bodies of their own soldiers as they ran uphill. Three hundred metres before reaching the bunkers the attack died out. Government forces stopped their advance and began to dig themselves into the ground. They lay flat on their stomachs and dug with their shovels to hide their heads. They were being fired on from above with long machine gun bursts. The ones who came closest to the bunkers and trenches were cut down by the long bursts of machine gun and automatic rifle fire and by hand grenades.



The elite Government forces maintained their attack all night long.



The same day, before nightfall, at 18.30 hours, in the direction of the village Drenoveni, Government Mountain Division III began a vicious attack on the well-established DAG position on Baro Hill with aims of penetrating Lisets. At 08.00 hours, after the place was bombed and pounded by artillery for an hour, and after heavy, hand to hand fighting, Baro Hill fell. Then at 12.45 hours Dapche Hill also fell into enemy hands.



There was a sickly, stretched out pleading sound heard coming from the rubble of a destroyed bunker. A sharp cry of pain, despair and horror filled the air.



“Is there anyone alive?!” a muffled voice called out from beneath the soil. It was a pleading, hoarse, burned out and broken down from pain voice, lost to the deafening whistle, roar, thunder and growl of exploding cannon shells.



“Is there anyone alive?!” the same voice called out again.



Numo lifted his head for a moment and instantly felt a burning sharp pain. He froze. He only heard the sound “alive”. He opened his eyes but he could only see what looked like fog, after that everything went black. He moved his hands around but felt very weak. His ears were ringing but he could hear loud thundering, growling, blasting, swishing, howling, screaming, sharp roars and reverberations in the air… He tried to take a step forward but instantly fell down and his face hit the burning soil mixed with congealed blood. A strong sharp smell of gunpowder, burned clothes and burning human flesh hit his nose… It felt like his forehead was frozen and his legs were numb. He suddenly thought that he was a little boy and it seemed to him that someone was calling him by his name… He tried to raise his head and at that moment, one after another, like water in a level meadow, his life’s memories began to flow before him… he was amazed by how rapidly the images were changing, how his life was unraveling like a long and thick braid of hair, like threaded pearls falling from a broken golden string and rolling down a long and steep hill…



The hill, dug up by aerial bombs, cannon shells and mortars, was now silent. The tips of the trees were trimmed. There were broken tree branches and most tree trunks were left naked. There was a downed tree burning. A split tree stump smouldered in the burning coals. A red flame was nearing a couple of dead bodies. The wind blew and the flame came alive, shimmering gently. People and trees burned together and filled the air with a strong, irritating, suffocating stench of death.



“Is there anyone alive?!” a quieter and weaker voice called out.



From the place where the dying breath was heard, a black, thick, strong and bitter smoke was spinning out and whirling, reeling and folding making large circles and irritating eyes and throats. A hugging heat wave had blanketed the area. The air was hot, heavy and stuffy. There were mixed smells of burning flesh, gunpowder and decay…



Government Units that left from Kulkuturia, after heavy and bloody fighting, took Moro Hill at 18.00 hours on August 11th and without delay left for hill 1,554, located on the footstep of Lisets, elevation 1,827. However they were unable to breach its defenses.



At the same time the 35th Brigade of Division X, during the night of August 10-11 at 02.00 hours, advanced to within 500 meters of DAG positions at Roto Hill and stopped. It resumed its advance after the artillery pounded DAG positions for half an hour. A vicious battle ensued which forced the brigade to dig itself deep, about 150 meters from DAG positions. At that point the artillery resumed its pounding for another half hour. Then, at 03.00 hours, Government troops renewed their attack and on August 11, at 13.30 hours they took Roto Hill.



Quietly, barely audible, a transmission was made: “We are surrounded!”



“Break through!” came the reply.



They left their trenches and bunkers in darkness but by the time they completed their reconnaissance it was almost dawn. The sky was turning pale over the hills. Before the sun was up military aircraft began to fly over Bigla, Lundzer, Iorgova Glava, Chuka and Moro. They were dropping fire and as soon as they flew away the cannons began to thunder.



They could not leave in daylight so they spent the day there, hiding in the bush inside the oak forest. They sat there silent, quietly sharpening their bayonets and daggers all day until darkness came. Then during the night the order to “break through” was quietly given.



All night long, the base of Mount Baro was overrun by DAG units pulling out from Plati, Krstot, Glavata, Roto and Polenata. They followed the flow of the River Belitsa, fighting their way to reach Breznitsa. Urgently they rushed to cross the gorge separating Mali-Madi and Iamata on the road to Breznitsa. Salvation waited there for them…



Resistance at Chuka was destroyed. No one counted how many were left alive. The wounded were either slaughtered by knife or shot dead by a bullet to the head. Moro was still defended. The battles forced DAG’s General Headquarters to flee along the shallow trenches dug over the village Vineni. Here it was away from the loud aircraft and from the thundering bomb explosions. Piles of soil thrown into the air and clouds of dust could be seen only through binoculars. Lisets had fallen. General Headquarters, in a written statement, ordered the Commanders of DAG Division XI to abandon Lisets. It was estimated that the enemy would overpower the entire sector by the morning of August 12th. A new order was then quickly issued, “Do not abandon Lisets until new orders are issued.” The 102nd Brigade, formed some time ago, mainly from older and crippled men, was left to defend Lisets.



Only now did DAG Command finally understand the significance of Lisets. It now understood that Lisets was the key to the entire front and, in spite of the strong resistance offered, Government forces still focused their main attacks there.



DAG Command with its strong defenses in Vicho, leading the battles from its capital in Vineni on the other side of Lake Prespa, only now understood the strategic significance of the bare Mount Lisets peak. ‘He who holds Lisets has control of all the surrounding hills and most importantly, he controls the highway to Preval and the road to Prespa.’



“Officer’s school to assist!” a command was issued.



They set off in silence, then at the approach to Lisets they covered themselves with beechwood leaves and proceeded.



“Marksmen forward!” another command was issued.



They bowed and after taking several long steps they came closer to the Lisets access. Long bursts of machine gun and automatic rifle fire was heard being fired from the hills above. Kiro was able to ascertain that Iamata, Baro and Roto had not yet fallen and were still defended but in the absence of much gunfire he also ascertained that the defenses were weakening. Polenata was fiercely defended. The surrounding hills were on fire. There were sudden bursts of gunfire and hand grenade explosions. Kiro, as if being cut down by gunfire, dropped down under the trunk of a beechwood tree. There were only about one hundred metres of bare treeless space between here and the slopes of Lisets.



“Kiro!” a quiet and frightened voice was heard calling.



“What is it?” responded Kiro.



“The Commander…” replied the voice.



“The Commander what?” responded Kiro.



“The Commander is dead…” replied the voice.



“You are lying!” Kiro said in disbelief. “Where is he?”



“Here, he is lying under the beechwood tree,” said the voice.



Kiro crawled his way to the dead Commander. He felt his throat and found it to be tight. He looked around. The officers were crawling, making their way closer to the enemy away from the machine gun fire. There was a strong and vicious fire fight in the dark. Kiro stood up behind the thick trunk of the beechwood tree. He surmised that the enemy was not dug in. He heard branches breaking beside him. It was sub-Lieutenant Kostas, a young man from the Thessalean villages. Kiro leaned over and said: “Run over to the fourth line and tell the Commander to attack the left wing. Quickly!”



They crawled another hundred metres forward with restrained breathing and eyes fixed ahead. A white rocket was fired into the sky. Everything became illuminated. They lowered their heads into the burned grass. The rocket went out. Automatic rifle fire was heard coming from the left wing. Two machine guns were heard going off. Kiro deduced that that was the fourth line firing. Voices were heard speaking and swearing about fifty metres ahead. Kiro gathered that these were the voices of enemy officers directing the battles on the hills above. Dawn was fast approaching so Kiro crawled to within 20 metres, stood up and at the top of his voice shouted: “Charge! Bayonets!”

“Bayonets!”

“Bayonets!”



The order was also heard coming from above: “Forward! Bayonets!”



Kiro failed to pull out his sharp Finnish bayonet on time before his opponent, a LOK Government officer with the mountain Special Forces, pulled out his hand gun and fired at him. Kiro dropped to the ground on his stomach just as he saw the flash of the gun go off. He felt the bullet whistle past his head.



While Kiro was down, the LOK officer jumped on top of him and began to choke him from behind with both hands. Kiro twisted his way and managed to get to his side and with his left hand, grabbed the officer by the groin and squeezed tightly. He felt the officer’s hands slowly releasing.



Abruptly Kiro kneed the officer between the legs. Then with his right hand he grabbed the officer’s face and with his left squeezed the groin even harder, like a vice grip. Still being squeezed on the neck, Kiro, with all the strength he could muster, butted the officer with his head, once, twice, three times until the officer let go of his neck.



Upon releasing Kiro’s neck, the officer reached for his knife. At that point Kiro, with his left foot, kicked the knife out of the officer’s hand. Kiro then grabbed the officer by the hair, pulled him to his side and, with his left fist, punched him a couple of times in the ear.



Half sitting, Kiro grabbed his knife and jammed it into the officer’s chest. At the same moment he heard the sound “aaah!” behind him. He turned, looked and saw two LOK officers stabbing Kostas with their bayonets.



Kiro pulled out his knife and with a strong swift swing, threw it at one of the officers. Kiro was the best knife thrower in the Officer’s School. The LOK officer, recipient of the knife, who at the time was leaning over Kostas, suddenly stood up but his legs could not hold him and, as if kneeling to pray, he fell down in front of Kostas. The other LOK officer turned abruptly and faced Kiro. Furious Kiro charged him and punched him between the eyes several times until he was down on the ground. At that point Kiro tried to give him a swift kick but the officer suddenly moved and rolled away.



Half bent over, Kiro saw a flash. It was the officer’s bayonet reflecting the rising sun. Kiro suddenly jumped out of the way as the officer swung the big knife at his head. Kiro then kicked the officer’s hand, dislodging the knife from it. Then in the same instant, Kiro punched the officer in the face, over and over again until he fell to the ground.



Kiro quickly retrieved his own bayonet and, in the manner in which he had been taught in school, he slipped the blade under the officer’s main bone and held him tight with all his might. It felt as if he was crushing the officer’s ribs but Kiro used all his strength to hold his opponent until he was no longer moving. Then the moment he put him down he saw the horror and pain in the dead officer’s eyes.



When he regained his composure Kiro noticed that the shooting had died down. The battle was subsiding. He looked up at the hill. He saw the Commander of the fourth line approaching slowly with a heavy and tired pace. They both had bruised faces and blood-stained uniforms. They sat next to each other.



“Did we take Lisets?” asked Kiro, spitting to the side.



“Of course we did. Let’s go up there… I am sure they will regroup and attack us again. Get up!” replied the Commander.



At this very hill, near the bunkers and trenches barely fifteen metres away from them there were dead bodies. There was the stench of clotted blood and gunpowder. Wounded were moaning everywhere and calling for help. The sun had risen and was climbing high in the sky. Kiro shaded the sun from his eyes with his hand and looked down towards Iamata, Roto, Baro and Polenata. They were all covered with smoke. He looked to the south towards Mali-Madi and saw fire and flames everywhere. The airplanes were circling like vultures over carrion. They were firing machine gun bursts, rockets and dropping bombs. They would drop their bombs and fly away and others would come to take their place. While standing in front of a bunker, Kiro heard a hoarse voice. It was Pavle, one of his neighbours from his village.



“The young man may not have been very strong but he sure was tough. The poor guy had no idea who he was dealing with,” interrupted Pavle, showing the others his hands, looking like shovels. “I hit him between the legs with my knee. He saw stars. Well, I thought,” Pavle boasted, “hitting the young man below the belt was not allowed. But to whom was he going to complain? I turned him around and leaned him forward, that’s when the little son of a bitch pulled out his bayonet. I quickly took out my dagger and we began to dance around. I kept my eye on him and he never took his off me. Then he made a few strange moves so I jumped back. And then, the little devil quickly lowered himself to the ground and threw a handful of soil in my eyes. I couldn’t see. Then suddenly I felt my arm go numb.” Pavle was interrupted by the paramedic.



“Oh, oh, oh, don’t you understand, it hurts? Don’t push so hard!” complained Pavle.



“Take it easy, take it easy, I am almost done,” said the paramedic. “You bleed like a slaughtered ox. Where is all that blood coming from? Your wound keeps bleeding and bleeding…”



“Let it bleed, let the bad blood flow out,” added Pavle resuming his story.



“And I am telling you the bastard stuck his bayonet in my arm. I got mad and grabbed him and broke his neck. Do you want to see him?” added Pavle.



“Let’s go,” someone ordered.



They left the bunker and went about ten metres downhill. A young soldier, about 20 years old, was lying dead on the trampled grass. There was a huge bruise under his right eye. Pavle bent down and, with his good hand, unbuttoned the soldier’s shirt pocket. He took out a number of photographs and an envelope. In one of the photographs was a forty year old woman wearing a black head kerchief with a tiny hidden smile on her face.



“This must be his mother,” said Pavle. “My mother is like that too. Sad and always worrying…”



Pavle sat down and opened the envelope.



“Look, it’s a letter. Good handwriting too. Here, read it. You can read Greek, right?” Pavle asked the person standing next to him.



“Hm… ‘Dear mother…’ So, he is writing to his mother. ‘Today after sunset we went off to battle. The Brigade Commander told us that we would be done in three days and that would be the end of this godforsaken war. He also told us that those of us, who prove ourselves courageous, will receive a one week vacation. I very much want to be one of those getting vacation. I long for the day when I can see you. I know that you are waiting for me and that you pray for me to the icon of the Virgin Mary. Today is a good summer day. In the village where our brigade is stationed there are many pear and apple orchards. The branches are loaded with fruit and bent from the weight. When I look at them, they remind me of our lemon and orange orchards. You wrote me and told me that this year they were very productive. Let God grant that this be the last letter I write to you from this hell. Be patient my dear mother, I will be with you in your arms in a little while. I need to go now, because the Sergeant is ordering us to prepare for the next attack…’”



Kiro, who for a while stood beside the others, quietly said: “Keep reading, why have you stopped?”



“There is no more to read… Here is the end,” said the man as he pointed to the bottom of the letter with his eyes.

[George S.]

Smouldering powder keg in the southern Balkans



Translated and edited by Risto Stefov

April 30, 2012

http://www.glassrpske.com/novosti/region/Tinjajuce-bure-baruta-na-jugu-Balkana/lat/77259.html

Former Macedonian minister of police, deputy leader of the Assembly of the Democratic Alliance, Pavle Trajanov, estimates that yes Kosovo is the key again and yes "money" can "split" Macedonia. It is by no accident that NATO was asked to send additional troops to Kosovo. There is information that suggests that preparations are being made for a massive destabilization of Kosovo, an attempt to forcibly take over the northern part, which is controlled by the Serbs. This is a serious operation that involves destabilization of southern Serbia and Macedonia, according to Trajanov.

Severe rattling of weapons: the KLA in Macedonia

KFOR presence has increased in the northern part of Kosovo, which has requested NATO to reinforce the presence of troops for possible tensions during the Serbian elections in Kosovo. To help, a contingent of 550 German and 150 Austrian soldiers will be stationed at checkpoints in the Kosovska Mitrovica in the Albanian villages in the municipalities of Zubin, Potok and Zvecan, where local elections are planned. At the same time, Albanian television showed images of Albanians with guns who are there to respond to Serbian actions. There is a presence of fear in the north of something bad breaking out.

Everything has become politics. Pristina now has a chance to buy the affection of its people. But the north has been a great frustration for them and it is always convenient to create a crisis, the north is always mentioned with an operational military plan. When the rhetoric starts it creates a feeling of satisfaction among the Albanians and the extremists see it as a direct call to bear arms. I think that the increased presence of KFOR is an act, a deterrent to these extremists, writes Oliver Ivanovic, State Secretary for Kosovo and Metohija.


Ten days after the unsolved murders of five Macedonians in the artificial lake near Skopje there has been speculations in social networks, but also in political and intelligence circles, that along the border of Macedonia with Kosovo armed and uniformed groups of Albanian paramilitaries have been seen cruising.


Immediately after the crime, citizens of the surrounding villages reported hearing gunshots almost daily coming from the parts inhabited by Albanians in Skopski Tsrni Gori. They are afraid that this crime will lead to another crisis like the one in 2,001. This took place at the end of March this year and as OhridSkaj portal warned, referring to the intelligence service reports, there was a large group of uniformed persons with Albanian KLA insignias seen in the district around the village Lipkovo. These paramilitary structures in Kumanovo - Lipkovski were also allegedly seen by the police.


It is believed that there are two criminal paramilitary structures operating around the Kosovo border, which are also said to be informers for the Secret Service. It is said that armed groups of Albanians were seen in the region of Skopska Radusa village and the slopes of Sar Mountain above Tetovo, but police denied this saying that the security situation in Macedonia is good, with which Trajanov disagrees.




Macedonia’s Division will calm the region?


"Preventive division" of Macedonia


The Bulgarian media recently offered its own recipe to solving the crisis in Macedonia. The news outlet “Novinite” suggested that it is better to divide Macedonia now than to allow a catastrophe to take place. The outlet suggested that a “preventive division” of Macedonia would convert the region into a “Balkan Switzerland”, which would benefit everyone. This idea surfaced about ten years ago when a similar proposal was made by the former Macedonian Prime Minister Ljupco Georgievski, who advocated the redrawing of borders and population exchange with the Albanians. Bulgarian analysts estimate that if Macedonia destabilizes it would take “half an hour” to activate international conflicts in Albania, Serbia, Kosovo, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania and Turkey.


“It is better to divide Macedonia now than to allow a catastrophe to take place”, a recipe of “solutions” for the region was published by the Bulgarian daily “Novinite”



Specifically - a “prevention division” of Macedonia would result into the region turning into a kind of “Switzerland in the Balkans,” where, as was specified, all will benefit - the Albanians will achieve their “greater-ideals” and the Macedonians will lose less than they would a decade or two from now due to the rapidly growing Albanian birth rate.

According to the Bulgarian newspaper, the most stable solution is a “preventive division” of Macedonia. The above-mentioned recipe offered by the Bulgarian “Gazette” was signed by its author - Ivan Dikov, as conveyed by the pro-government daily “Vecher” in Skopje, noting that the idea emerged from the eastern neighbourhood ten years after a similar proposal was made by the former Macedonian Prime Minister Ljupco Georgievski about the relocation of boundaries and the exchange of population with the Albanians.

The Bulgarian newspaper claims that if Macedonia destabilizes it would take “half an hour” to start an international conflict that would involve Albania, Serbia, Kosovo, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania and Turkey. So there is a need and an obligation, says the newspaper, to find solutions to guarantee lasting stability in Macedonia. And it offers a prescription - to avoid new horrors, it is necessary to consider - all the options. In these variants, as suggested, the most stable solution is – the “preventive division” of Macedonia.


“Novinite” reminds us that a large-scale civil war in Macedonia was avoided in 2,001, but ethnic tensions are simmering again and have now been inflamed by the murder of the five in the Smiljkovci village on the outskirts of Skopje. It is alleged that ethnic Albanians and Macedonians really hate each other now more than ever.

Dikov noted that no one knows exactly how many ethnic Albanians live in Macedonia, since the inter-ethnic tensions have prevented the planned census in this country.

This idea is reinforced not only by the high birth rate of Albanians but also by the fact that they are geographically concentrated in Macedonia in the west and north of the country, very close to the “precedent of Kosovo's secession” from Serbia, with support from the West. The independence of Kosovo has inspired the Albanians in Macedonia but they have not taken into account or have forgotten what the Milosevic regime did in Serbia in 1999. The west was the enemy then and Macedonia today is not, according to the Bulgarian newspaper article.

Disloyal Albanians


Options for the partition of Macedonia and its federalization are two open “million dollar” questions, says the Bulgarian newspaper. First, how do you guarantee that the ethnic Albanians, nearly one-third of the total population of two million, are going to be loyal citizens of Macedonia when the fact is they border with other ethnic Albanians in the west and north? Macedonia itself was designed as a country of different nations (the Macedonian people were invented by communist Yugoslavia in 1943 -44, and before that they were considered part of the Bulgarian people)?


And second, why should the ethnic Albanians, whose numbers are growing rapidly, be loyal citizens of the Republic of Macedonia, especially after the example of Kosovo Albanians, who have received international recognition of independence, with the help of Western countries, only nine years after an armed rebellion (1999-2008)?





ALBANIAN AMERICAN CIVIC LEAGUE

http://www.aacl.us/

WELCOME to the official website of the Albanian American Civic League!

Through Congressional legislation, advocacy, fact-finding missions, intensive research, and hard-hitting analyses, the Albanian American Civic League has been dedicated for more than twenty years to resolving the Albanian national cause and bringing lasting peace and stability to Southeast Europe. In collaboration with foreign policy leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate and a network of committed volunteers around the world, the Civic League works to bring genuine independence to Kosova, equal rights to Albanians in Macedonia, Montenegro, the Presheva Valley, and Chameria, and democracy and economic freedom to Albania. Learn more About us…



Please visit the News section for our latest articles and news items and check out our new Video Page to see some historic footage of AACL's work for the Albanian people.

Browse Archives for more information on AACL-sponsored Congressional Resolutions, Hearings, and other events, including our Balkans Peace Awards, as well as Joe DioGuardi’s 1986-88 Congressional Records.



To learn more about our work for Kosova, Albania, the Albanians in Presheva, Macedonia, Montenegro, and for more information about the Albanians in Italy, Albanians in Greece, the Diaspora, and the Albanian-Serb relations, please visit the Albanian People section of our site.

VIDEO OF THE MONTH



Every month, we will feature a video clip showing the tireless work of the Albanian American Civic League to bring independence to Kosova, and democracy, equality, and prosperity to all Albanians in the Balkans.






Tinjajuće bure baruta na jugu Balkana

http://www.glassrpske.com/novosti/region/Tinjajuce-bure-baruta-na-jugu-Balkana/lat/77259.html

Bivši ministar makedonske policije, poslanik u Sobranju i lider Demokratskog saveza, Pavle Trajanov, ocenjuje da na Kosovu ponovo ključa, i da "para" može dobro da "oprlji" i Makedoniju. Nije slučajno što je NATO zatražio da se pošalje dodatni broj vojnika na Kosovo. Postoje informacije da se priprema velika destabilizacija na Kosovu, odnosno pokušaj da se nasilno preuzme severni deo, koji se nalazi pod kontrolom Srba. Reč je o ozbiljnoj operaciji koja uključuje destabilizaciju južne Srbije i Makedonije, smatra Trajanov

Opasno zveckanje oružjem: UČK u Makedoniji

Na severu Kosova je pojačano prisustvo Kfora, koji je podneo zahtev NATO-u da se pojača prisustvo vojnika zbog mogućih tenzija u vreme srpskih izbora na KiM. Pomoć kontingentu od 550 nemačkih i 150 austrijskih vojnika biće stacionirani na punktovima u Kosovskoj Mitrovici i u albanskim selima u opštinama Zvečan i Zubin Potok, u kojima se planiraju lokalni izbori. Istovremeno albanske televizije pokazuju snimke Albanaca sa puškama, koji su tu da reaguju na poteze Srba.
Na severu je sve prisutniji strah da bi nešto loše moglo zaista da se i dogodi.

Sve je postalo politika. Priština je sada dobila priliku da kupi simpatije dela svog stanovništva. Sever je za njih velika frustracija i uvek je zgodno da kada imaju krize, spominju sever i operativni i vojni plan. A, kada ta retorika krene, izaziva osećanje zadovoljstva među Albancima, a ekstremisti ga vide kao direktan poziv da uzmu oružje. Mislim da će pojačano prisustvo Kfora delovati odvraćajuće na te ekstremiste, ocenjuje Oliver Ivanović, državni sekretar u Ministarstvu za KiM.


Inače, deset dana nakon još nerešenog petostrukog ubistva Makedonaca kod veštačkog jezera blizu Skoplja, na društvenim mrežama, ali i u političko-obaveštajnim krugovima učestale su spekulacije da duž granice Makedonije prema Kosovu krstare naoružane i uniformisane grupe albanske paravojske.


Odmah nakon zločina građani okolnih sela su izjavili da skoro svakodnevno čuju pucnjevu iz vatrenog oružja iz delova nastanjenim Albancima na Skopskoj Crnoj Gori. Oni se plaše da je ovaj zločin uvod u još jednu krizu poput one 2001. Na to je, još krajem marta ove godine upozorio i portal OhridSkaj, koji je pozivajući se na obaveštajne službe, tvrdio da je u reonu oko sela Lipkovo primećena veća grupa uniformisanih osoba sa amblemima albanske UČK. Paravojne strukture u kumanovsko - lipkovskom kraju su, navodno, videli i policajci.


Može se čuti da se radi o dve kriminalne paravojne strukture koje operišu na granici prema Kosovu, o čemu su, tvrdi se, već informisane tajne službe. Priča se da su naoružane grupe Albanaca viđene i u reonu skopskog sela Raduše i na obroncima Šar-planine iznad Tetova, ali je policija to demantovala tvrdnjom da je bezbednosna situacija u Makedoniji dobra, s čim se Trajanov ne slaže.



Podela Makedonije smiruje region?




"Preventivna podela" Makedonije


Bugarski mediji nude recept rešavanja krize u Makedoniji. Tako list "Novinite" predlaže da je bolje podeliti Makedoniju sada, nego dozvoliti katastrofu. List smatra da bi "preventivnom podelom" Makedonije, koja bi se preuredila do nivoa "Švajcarske na Balkanu", svi imali korist. Ideja se pojavila deset godina nakon sličnog predloga tadašnjeg makedonskog premijera Ljupča Georgievskog, koji je zagovarao prekrajanje granica i razmenu stanovništva sa Albancima. Bugarski analitičar ocenjuje da bi destabilizacija Makedonije mogla "za pola sata" da aktivira međunarodni sukob u Albaniji, Srbiji, na Kosovu, u Bugarskoj, Grčkoj, Rumuniji i Turskoj.

”Bolje je podeliti Makedoniju sada, nego dozvoliti katastrofu”, objavljuju recept ”rešenja” u regionu u bugarskom listu ”Novinite”. Konkretno - ”preventivnom podelom” Makedonije, koja bi se preuredila do nivoa ”Švajcarske na Balkanu”, gde će, kako se precizira, korist imati svi - Albanci će zadovoljiti ”velikoalbanske ideje”, a Makedonci izgubiti manje nego što bi izgubili ako bi se Albanci odvojili za deceniju, dve, jer njihov natalitet rapidno raste.

Prema bugarskom listu, najstabilnije rešenje je "preventivna podela" Makedonije
Pomenutu recepturu u bugarskim ”Novinama” potpisao je autor - Ivan Dikov, a preneo skopski provladin dnevnik ”Večer”, uz konstataciju da se ideja iz istočnog susedstva pojavljuje deset godina posle sličnog predloga bivšeg makedonskog premijera Ljupča Georgievskog o izmeštanju granica i razmeni stanovništva sa - Albancima.

U ”signalu” iz Bugarske se tvrdi da bi destabilizacija Makedonije mogla ”za pola sata” da aktivira međunarodni sukob u Albaniji, Srbiji, na Kosovu, u Bugarskoj, Grčkoj, Rumuniji i Turskoj. Zato se konstatuje obaveza pronalaženja rešenja sa garancijama trajne stabilnosti u Makedoniji. I, nudi se recept - da bi se izbegao novi horor, neophodno je razmotriti - sve opcije. U tim varijantama, kako se sugeriše, najstabilnije rešenje je - ”preventivna podela” Makedonije.
”Novinite” podsećaju da 2001. jeste izbegnut građanski rat širih razmera u Makedoniji, ali etničke tenzije su tinjale, a sada ih je rasplamsalo petostruko ubistvo kod sela Smiljkovci na periferiji Skoplja. Navodi se da se etnički Albanci i Makedonci međusobno sada zaista mrze.

Dikov primećuje da niko ne zna koliko tačno etničkih Albanaca živi u Makedoniji, otkako su međuetničke tenzije onemogućile planirani popis stanovništva u ovoj zemlji.

Ova ideja je ojačana ne samo visokim natalitetom Albanaca već i činjenicom da su oni u Makedoniji geografski koncentrisano u zapadnom i severnom delu zemlje, vrlo blizu ”presedanu kosovskog otcepljenja” od Srbije, uz podršku Zapada. Nezavisnost Kosova Albancima u Makedoniji zaista izgleda toliko inspirativno, da oni i ne uzimaju u obzir da je Miloševićev režim u Srbiji 1999. Bio neprijatelj Zapadu, a da Makedonija danas to nije, navodi se u tekstu bugarskog lista.

Nelojalnost Albanaca


Opcije o podeli i federalizaciji Makedonije otvaraju dva pitanja ”od milion dolara”, komentariše se u bugarskom listu. Prvo, kako garantovati da će etnički Albanci nadomak trećine od dva miliona stanovnika i s činjenicom da se graniče sa drugim etničkim Albancima na zapadu i severu, biti lojalni građani Makedonije, koja je i sama dizajnirana kao država različitih nacija (makedonski narod je izmislila komunistička Jugoslavija 1943-44, a pre toga je smatran delom bugarskog naroda)?
I drugo, zašto bi etnički Albanci, čiji broj rapidno raste, ostali lojalni građani Republike Makedonije, posebno posle primera kosovskih Albanaca, koji su dobili međunarodno priznanje nezavisnosti, uz pomoć zemalja Zapada, samo devet godina posle oružanog bunta (1999-2008)?

[George S.]

DECLARATION

In response to Greek misrepresentations claiming the ancient Macedonians were Greek as well as a number of offensive resolutions from American state legislatures, we as concerned Macedonians declare the following:

We, the indigenous people of Macedonia who have lived in Macedonia for centuries:

- Were present in Macedonia before the Ottoman Turks invaded the Balkan Peninsula,

- Existed as a people before the Greek, Bulgarian and Serbian states were formed,

- Opposed the forcible occupation and illegal partition of Macedonia by Greeks, Bulgarians and Serbs, and,

- Witnessed the mass expulsion of Macedonians and the subsequent resettling of foreign people into our homeland,

We further declare that:

1. By virtue of our distinct language and customs and by our efforts to liberate Macedonia during the Ilinden uprising of 1903, our national character is different from that of Greeks, Bulgarians and Serbs.

2. As the indigenous people of Macedonia we have a separate national identity. As such, we have the right to identify ourselves as we feel, to declare our own ancestry and to ascribe our own history.

3. Being indigenous to Macedonia and having lived in the region for centuries, it is only reasonable that we have the right to call ourselves Macedonians, our language Macedonian and our nation Macedonia.

4. We, as a distinct people have the right to assert ourselves and be awarded recognition as Macedonians by all states and peoples who respect universally accepted human rights treaties and laws.

5. Prior to the invasion and partition of Macedonia in 1912-1913, the unique national character of the indigenous people of Macedonia was misrepresented by Greece, Bulgaria and Serbia. After Macedonia’s partition the Macedonian people witnessed the destruction of our ancestral villages and churches, suffered under brutal assimilation practices, ethnic cleansing, confiscation of property, population transplantations, torture, rape, murder, humiliation and systemic state discrimination.

6. To this day, Greece and Bulgaria still refuse to recognize a distinct Macedonian nation within their borders. We, the indigenous people of Macedonia, call on the Greek and Bulgarian States to acknowledge us and grant those of us living within their borders status as a national minority with full rights and privileges in accordance with international norms.

7. We, the indigenous people of Macedonia demand an apology from the Greek, Bulgarian and Serbian governments for our past and present maltreatment.

We, the indigenous people of Macedonia also demand that:

a) All Macedonians born in Greece and Bulgaria, who were forcibly expelled because they were of Macedonian ethnic heritage, be re-instated as citizens in their respective countries and compensated for their suffering and material losses.

b) All confiscated properties are returned to their rightful owners or their heirs.

c) All perpetrators who have committed internationally recognized criminal acts against the Macedonian people are brought to justice.

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