Risto Stefov - Articles, Translations & Collaborations

[George S.]

Noose – Chapter 6



By Stoian Kochov

Translated and edited by Risto Stefov

[email protected]

January 23, 2013



Welcoming the New Year, 1948



1.


The wonderful city began to die out and its people were crying in fear and horror. Everyone’s destiny was in our hands and in the hands of all those bearing arms. And as if cursed by God, the people of this city now had to celebrate the New Year, 1948, in their dark basements and the world knew nothing about them. Fires were burning everywhere; we were starting them, sowing fear in everyone. Instead of the smells and tastes of meat cooking (pork or roast chicken) to welcome the New Year, there was smoke and fire everywhere. In place of laughter and children’s games there were tears of mothers and of captured women and children. The fresh air, for some time now, had not been there in spite of the cold winter. Everyone’s conscience was dark and everyone saw everyone else only through the sight of a rifle.



Leonidas and I were on guard. The weather was bad, a lot of snow had fallen and the area was blanketed by thick fog. A bunch of black cats ran by not too far from us and it looked like their eyes were glowing red. Leonidas was quick to make an observation: “Over there masculinity is still the only weapon against death. Look at the cats! This means that nature is fighting back. The feral cats are rebelling. You know about the ancient prophecy, uncovered a while ago, that predicts that cats will commit great violence against humans. Right? This was written by the great Chinese philosopher Confucius, born five centuries before Christ, known for his wisdom and common sense, preoccupied with mystical powers and prophecy.



Confucius said: ‘…And panic will spread around the world when ordinary domesticated cats begin to attack people. Their rebellion will last for months and thousands of people will die’.” I foolishly then asked: “Could this really be the beginning?” Leonidas replied: “I don’t know!” while stiffly pointing at the cats. Nervousness is a strange phenomenon, a disorder of the nervous system, causing tremors and outbursts of emotion, outbursts for moral victory. Nervousness can lead to inhuman behavior. For a few days now we had become obsessed with killing the people in uniform who wanted to harm us. Particularly those who constantly shouted from all over the city: “Do not let them destroy your longstanding love for the people of this city. These are people with mental and psychological disorders. They are bandits led by their General Markos. Death to the bandits!”



We were fed up with their behaviour. I guess that is why our commander gave us orders to: “Shoot at all targets, static or moving, eradicate them all, this is the only way we can succeed in installing our General Markos.” Andonis at one point said: “You know that Commander Arianos is quite mad! He doesn’t know that when someone attacks a man he attacks humanity. It will be hard to fight and even harder and worse if we don’t fight. Every day we are in his target. We have no right to make mistakes. As for the enemy, it is waiting for us to attempt to destroy it and that will give it reason to destroy us.”



The shooting subsided during the evening that day. The church looked magnificent with its beautiful colours. Life and hope sprang from the candlelight. My grandmother was probably right when she said that man is happiest when his eyes, ears and heart are full. For days now we have been waging war in the cruelest way. Everything seemed hopeless. The streets were deserted and the people were dying. Even the winter, with its white snow, was powerless against the darkness, a darkness that existed in the heart, a darkness that was quietly killing the city. Snowflakes fell everywhere, settling on us and on our weapons, and then dying...



2.



We spent the night in a large cellar but as I was falling asleep, it seemed to me like we were crammed into a cave. We were crammed into caves from time to time when we were squeezed in the dark of darkness. We were all lying on the ground, living in basements. For days now this kind of living was affecting our morale and our failure was becoming a habit. But I could always count on Leonidas for advice: “You need to be careful tonight friend,” he said to me. “Today there is a full moon. And you know what they say? People go insane during a full moon. You also know that most random killings, shootings, suicides, thefts and all that happen during a full moon... Our ancestors had special rules and a lot of advice about the do’s and don’ts during a full moon. You know that according to old beliefs, it was precisely during the nights of a full moon that the dead would climb out of their graves as vampires or as other forms of night creatures. Fairies would dance their dance in the open meadows, trolls would look for abandoned mills to occupy and witches would gather at their meeting place during a full moon.” Thanks to Leonidas, that night my sleep was filled with nightmares.



After a night full of nightmares I woke up very hungry. My gut was growling. I woke up lying on my back. In my dreams I had slept with a woman made of marble, beautiful but cold. I was happy to have awakened from these painful nightmares. Awake I felt like I had just swum in a river of warm water. When I opened my eyes I saw Rula exhausted, sitting, sleeping at the table. For a moment I thought that she was a witch or that woman made of marble from my dreams. She also woke up. While sleeping she was that innocent, mischievous, pure young lady from the city Larissa, that I used to know. But after she awoke her face became hard and unfriendly.



“Rula! Is that you?” I asked. Suddenly she jumped to her feet and screamed: “Blood brother!!??” “What are you doing here?” I asked. She looked at me and her eyes became the eyes of a wounded and disappointed soldier. She said: “I was not free to love. I left that situation because it felt like a spiritual wasteland. I came back here to be with rugged and honest people. The kind that tame horses and look at disappointed girls. Here with you I can sing and starve collectively. I want to drink water from the same mountain spring from which a young mouth with untainted teeth would drink. Here with you I want to learn to sing and cry, like a river with deep shores. I want to take the truth to the sea. A cold veil was controlling that part of my body. I carried the horror in an underground prolonged, repeated abuse. After the disappearance of the warm world in me, there was only room for cold disgust. I disappeared; I got lost in the unpredictable waves of ice in which there is neither life nor love. I was also tortured by that famous saying, ‘I married an old man in order to advance my position and career …’ That was the most common comment made about me by everyone, especially by the women. I definitely left the chaotic love life I was living in the camp - like in the Cave of Alibaba.



I repeat, I was tortured by that well-known saying, ‘She got herself an old man to advance her position… her career…’ This was the most common comment made by everyone, even in my presence; especially from the women... This was my banishment from consciousness. I wanted to be sufficiently prepared for love so that I could live, but I couldn’t. The secret of disappearance of appeal, according to the General, I could not shake off. Hiding the disease predominated in me. I wanted change in my consciousness. And the psychiatrist herself wanted me to do that too, but I failed to be a woman again, at the best time of my life. I wanted to bring my past femininity back but I outlived that with the general and vice versa. He has long left me alone in the damp walls of the underground barracks. Perhaps it’s a sign of the times but I could not get used to it, to exist alone in the gloomy barracks. Fear had crept into my consciousness.”



Leafing through the General’s personal letters, Rula one day discovered a letter in which the General had written a note to his lover Vangelitsa, calling her “his little mouse.” He wrote that he wanted to have a family with Vangelitsa and that “it would be our perfect little nest.” “But you need to hope that the revolution will end soon.” Rula was stunned by the letter and thought to herself: “Does the general think love is free for the revolutionaries up here in the mountains? So they think that they can protect their breeder pigeons at home and here in the mountains seek free love with the rural women whom they mobilized by force?”



Rula had realized that her love was random and accidental, but her feelings were being hurt by spiteful comments made by people. For example, only a few days ago she was talking to an older woman in the camp when this older woman said to her: “There are lightweight men who chase lightweight women who take the easy way up to the top positions of power. To become generals... or their wives.”



“After hearing those comments I was going crazy,” said Rula. “I had to drink a lot of ‘METAXAS’ cognac to calm myself down and go to sleep. I felt like I was losing control and the ability to refrain from violence. My hands were constantly trembling; I felt uncertain of myself and experienced many nightmares. Sometimes I suspected that I might make the general my target or that he might make me his target! I had a fear that I was on my own and would have to protect myself. Never in my life had I been in such an unpleasant situation of feeling so insecure and greedy. It brought me loneliness in the barracks in Gramos.”



“I will tell you everything, my blood-brother,” she said. “I will even tell you things that up to now I could not dare tell myself, secret things that occupied my conscience in the late hours of night; dark things which I carry in my soul. Don’t doubt me. Let me finish telling you. Many times, late at night, that Tsaruhas would crawl into bed close to me and put his cold hands stinking of tobacco all over me and, as long as he was not sleeping, he would grind his rotten teeth. I would pretend that I was in a deep sleep and yell out, ‘Get lost, monster! Get lost, ogre!’ And I would tremble with anger and disgust. And then I would suddenly feel degraded, victimized. I wanted to return here for a long time, to live a human life, to experience life with you ‘wild boys’. When I am with you I feel free from the inadaptability of difficulties which life brings to a young woman (now wife) which, after being forcibly mobilized in this ‘glorious and invincible’ army, brought me to this condition.”



“Up there at the top leadership,” she said, “songs, laughter, tears, life, death and love are one thing! Down here at the bottom, among the people, songs, laughter, tears, life, death, and love are another! Up there, madness rules, the madness of the throne of governance! That’s how it is up there. Up there it is mandatory that they drink ‘ouzo’ (alcoholic beverage) with ‘meze’ (appetizers), usually olives, a tradition that is practiced by senior officers, and then they drink ‘retsina’ (wine) and ‘sirtaki’. It’s a good thing I did not become a mother…” concluded Rula and stopped talking. She no longer wanted to talk about the past, about the wedding of a descent Party-Partisan. Their biggest reason for disagreement, it appears, was the twenty-five year difference in age between her and her husband. The General also forbade her from leaving her barracks (or her castle, as he called it) in Likorahi, located in the circle of barracks belonging to the high leadership.



I then asked her: “Why did you seduce the General?” Rula smiled guiltily and said: “I simply seduced him to save my head because I was forced into this war. I’m kind of proud of that, but... My ancestors came to Larissa from Simi Island, where women and wealth was kept. At Simi Island, my grandmother used to say, women enjoyed freedom very hard to find in other parts of the country. The island was a matriarchate oasis. Women always led, even when dancing. In the marriage ritual, the groom’s grandmother forced the groom to dance like a guest in welcoming his own family. While dancing, two women would invite a man to dance and the two would exchange him while dancing. That’s how we women originating from the island are. The mother’s name always follows the name of the girl. For example I am called Rula Dzheni or Rula daughter of Dzheni. The father’s or husband’s surname is not important.”



“So, ‘Tsaruhas’, the General’s surname means nothing to you?” I asked. “Well, as you can see my blood brother, it means nothing!” she replied. “I know when a woman is so easily promised, happiness is never easy, but I also know that a woman is like a flower and there is a drop of nectar for every bee,” I said. “I am stupid,” she said, “and now I am paying the price of my misfortune.” And just as her eyes were filled with tears and tears began to roll down her cheeks, I said: “Rula, tears look good on you.” She looked at me and her voice echoed in my face. She then smiled, gave me a big hug and kissed me.




Глава 6.



Пречек на Новата година

(31.12.1947- 1.01.1948)



1.

Чудесниот град беше замрен, а луѓето беа во него, плачеа обземени од страв и ужас. Стотици судбини беа во нашите раце и во рацете на сите што носеа оружје. Тие беа, небаре проколнати од Господ Бог, Новата 1948 година, да ја дочекаат во темните подруми, а светот не знае ништо за нив. Се пали на сите страни; палат нашите, сеат страв. Наместо мирис и вкус на месо (прасе или печено пиле) за пречек на Новата година, чад и оган. Наместо насмевки и детски игри, солзи на мајки и заробени деца и жени. Свежиот воздух и така одамна го нема иако е лута зима. Совеста на сите ни е темна. Секој е виден само преку нишанот на оружјето.

Јас и Леонидас сме на стража. Времето е лошо, со силен снег и напати густа магла. Во еден миг недалеку од нас истрчаа неколку црни мачки и очите им светеа како кандила.

Леонидас возбудено ми вели:

-Овде машкоста се уште е единственото оружје против смртта. Ги гледаш мачките! Тоа значи дека природата го возврати ударот. Ова е вистински бунт на подивени мачки.

Ти знаеш дека во едно древно пророштво, откриено неодамна, се најавува големо насилство на мачките над луѓето. Тоа го напишал големиот кинески филозов Конфучиј роден пет века пред Христа, што бил познат по својата здраворазумска мудрост, а се занимавал и со мистична дејност на пророкување.

Тој вели:

“…И паника ќе се рашири низ целиот свет кога обичните дамашни мачки ќе почнат да напаѓаат луѓе. Нивниот бунт ќе трае со месеци и ќе изгинат илјадници луѓе”.

Јас недоветно го прашав:

-Зар овоа може да бите почеток?

Леонидас ми одговори:

-Не знам! – И здрвено нишани кон мачките.

Нервозата кулминира и е мотив за нарушување на нервниот систем, треперење на емоции, излив на морал за победа, можност за нечовечко однесување. Неколку дена ни стана опсесија на секојдневието, да убиеме што повеќе луѓе што се во униформа и против нас. Ама и тие викаа отсекаде и се слушаа гласови:

“Не дозволувајте да ни ја нарушат долгогодишната љубов на луѓето од овој град. Тие се луѓе со ментални и психолошки нарашувања. Тие се бандити на чело со нивниот генерал Маркос. Смрт на бандитите!”

А и нашиот командант велеше: “Пукајте во целите, подвижни или статични, да ги искорениме, оти само така ќе успееме да го устоличиме нашиот генерал Маркос”.

Андонис рече:

-Аријанос е сосем луд! Тој не знае дека оној што напаѓа еден човек, го напаѓа целото човештво.

Да се бориме ќе биде тешко, да не се бориме, ќе биде уште потешко и полошо. Катаден сме во нивниот нишан. Немаше право на грешка. Тие очекуваат да се обидеме да ги уништиме и потоа ќе се обидат да не уништат.

Тој ден, приквечер се стивнаа пукотниците, црквата блескаше со прекрасни бои. Од свеќите извираа светлина, живот и надеж. Па веројатно баба ми имаше право кога велеше дека човек би бил најсреќен кога и очите, и ушите, и срцето би му биле полни.

Ете, неколку дена се води војна во најсуров облик, страшни пламења и темница. Се се чинеше толку немоќно – улиците пусти, луѓето умираа. Дури и зимата беше немоќна, таа раѓаше белина која не можеше да го победи мракот, оној од срцата и од градот што умираше тивко. Снегулките надоаѓаа и кацнуваа врз сите нас, врз нашето оружје, и умираа…



2.

Останавме да преспиеме во еден широк подрум. Пред да заспијам, ми се стори дека одвреме навреме сите сме напикани и стуткани во некаква пештера. Се гмечиме во нејзините темни темници. Сите бевме пласнати на подот. Со денови, животот во подрумите станува состојба на духот, а пропаѓањето наше – навика.

Леонидас ми рече:

-Треба да внимаваме вечерва, побратиме. Денеска е полна месечина. Велат дека овие денови луѓето полудуваат. Знаеш, случајни убитства, пукање, самоубиства, кражби и шо ти не…

Нашите предци имале посебни правила и советувале да не се излегува надвор на полна месечина. Според нивните верувања, токму во таквите ноќи мртвите излегуваат од гробовите, како вампири или во други облици, а самовилите играат оро по полјанките, лиотите трагаат по напуштени воденици, а вештерките се собираат на своите собирно место.

По ова дури и спиењето ми се промени и се исполни со силни доживувања во сонот.

По мачните соништа, гладните црева ми кркорат тивко. Се разбудив легнат на грб. Во сонот небаре спиев со жена од мермер, убава и студена. Така се радував олеснет од мачните сониште, чиниш потоа пливав во топла и убава река.

Отворив очи и ја видов Рула која беше клапната на масата. Помислив дека е вештерка или жена од мермер.

Се разбуди и Рула. Додека спиеше, таа си беше онаа невина, палава и чиста девојка од градот Лариса, можеше да скрие дека е жена. Кога ја загледав, лицето и стана строго и непријателско.

- Рула! Ти ли си?

Таа скокна на нозе и вресна:

-Побратиме!!??

И реков:

-Ти што бараш тука?!!!

Таа ме гледаше, очите и станаа очи на ранет и разочаран војник.

Ми рече:

-Не бев способна да љубам. Ме напушти таа состојба, доживеав душевна пустелија. Јас се враќам тука да видам луѓе со тврд глас. Такви што скротуваат коњи и погледи на разочарни девојки. Тука со вас, јас пеам и гладувам колективно. Сакам да пијам планинска вода од иста матарка од која пиела млада уста со нерасипани заби. Тука со вас сакам да научам да пеам и да плачам како река со длабоки брегови. Да ја однесам вистината се до морето.

Студен превез го контролираше тој дел од моето тело. Ужасот го пренесував во подземна долготрајна, повторувана злоупотреба. По исчезнувањето на топлиот свет во мене, имаше место само за студенилото на одвратноста. Ме снема, се изгубив во непредвидливите бранови на мразот во кој нема ни живот ни љубов. А ме убиваше и онаа познатата: “Се фатила со стар заради функцијата и кариерата…” што беше најчестиот коментар од секого, но посебно од жените.

Дефинитивно напуштив еден хаотичен љубовен пат што го доживував во логорот – како во пештерата на Алибаба.

Пак ќе повторам, ме убиваше и онаа познатата: “Се фатила со стар човек заради функцијата… Кариерата…” што беше најчестиот коментар од секого што ќе му се појавев пред очи, но посебно од жените… Тоа беше моето прогонство од свеста. Сакав да бидам доволно подготвена за љубов за да живеам, а не можев. Тајната на исчезнувањето на привлечноста спрема генералот не можев да ја расветлам. Затајувањето на таа болест преовладеа кај мене. Сакав да ја променам свеста. И самата психијатар, барав да го направам тоа, ама не успеав да бидам повторно жена, најсветлото и најсредното во животот. Сакав да го повторам минатото на својата женственост. Но тоа со генералот го доживеав обратно. Тој долго ме оставаше сама во влажните ѕидови на земјанката. Можеби такво е времето. Не можев да се навикнам, да се противставам, сама во кобната земјанка. Во свеста ми се вовлекуваше стравот од се.

Еден ден Рула, чепкајќи по неговите лични писма, открила дека тој и пишувал на својата љубена Вангелица, нарекувајќи ја “своето малечко глувче”. Тој и пишувал дека сака да создаде семејство со Вангелица и дека “ќе биде совршено тоа наше малечко гнездо”. “Но треба да остане со надеж дека брзо ќе заврши револуцијата.”

Рула останала занемена и во себе си рекла:

“Генералот мисли дека тука, во планината, за револуционерите љубовта е бесплатна? Значи, тие дома ќе си ги чуваат гулабиците за род, а во планината ќе водат бесплатана љувов со селските девојки што ги мобилизираа сосила.”

Рула сфати дека налетала на случајна љубов, но најуверливо и прозвучија зборовите од злобниците, некни во логорот кога ја озборувала една постара жителка:

-Има и лесни мажи кои се тркаат со лесни жени кои имаат ептен лесен чекор и до славата втасуваат така; цуп-цуп, до самите врвови на власта. До “генералки”…

-Ќе полудев, се напивав обилно коњак “метаксас” за да се смирам и да заспијам. Ги насетував силите на немоќта да се воздржувам од некакво насилство. Живеев со растреперени раце, со несигурност, сонував пустелии и ужаси. Понекогаш во очекување дека ќе нанишанам во генералот или тој во мене! Страв познат како предиднина дека самата ќе се заштитам. Никогаш во животот не ја имав таа непријатна состојба на несигурност и алчност. Тоа ми го донесе осамата во земјанката на Грамос.

-Се ќе ти кажам, побратиме. Ќе ти кажам она што досега не се осмелував да си го кажам ни сама себеси, кога тајно ја испитував својата совест во длабоките часови на ноќта, кои во душата ги носам толку мрачни. Не сомневај се. Остави ме да дораскажам.

Многу пати тој Царухас доцна ноќе се вовлекуваше близу до мене и ме опфаќаше со своите студени раци што му смрдеа на тутун и, се додека не го навасаше сонот, крцкаше со гнилите заби. Јас се притајував, небаре сум во длабок сон, а во себе викав “Губи се, чудовиште! Губи се, гаде!”

Треперев од гнев и ужас. Одеднаш се почувствував понижена и дека сум обична жртва.

Одамна сакав да се вратам кај вас, да го живеам човечкиот живот. Да ја доживеам средбата со вас, “дивите момчиња”. Кога сум меѓу вас, ме ослободува од неадаптибилноста на тешкотиите што како на млада девојка (сега жена) ми ги донесе животот откако насилно ме мобилизираа во оваа “славна непобедлива” војска.

Едно се песната, и смеата, и плачот, живеењето и умирањето, љубовта – таму горе, на врвот во раководството! Друго се песната, и смеата, и плачот, живеењето, љубовта и умирањето – туку долу, на дното – кај народот!

Таму горе владее нивното лудило, лудилото на престолот, на власта! Така е таму горе!

Таму узото задолжителното го пијат со мезе – маслинка, тоа е традицијата и тоа го практикуваат високите офицери, потоа рецина и сиртаки.

Добро е што не станав мајка…, рече Рула и не сакаше да зборува повеќе за поминот, за бракот на чесен партиско-партизански збор, но најголемата причината за нивното несогласување била посесивноста на 25 години постариот сопруг-генерал: тој и забранувал да излегува од нивната земјанка (замок – како шо го нарекувал.) во Ликорахи, во кругот на земјанките на високото раководство.

Ја прашав:

-Како си успела да го заведиш генералот?

Рула се насмевна со некаква вина и рече:

-Го заведов едноставно, затоа што бев принудена во оваа војна да спасам глава.

Јас сум од горд сој, но… Моите предци се дојдени во градот Лариса од островот Сими, во кој се чуваат жените и богатството. На островот Сими, кажуваше баба ми, дека жените уживаат во слобода каква што тешко може да се најде во друг дел на земјата. Островот е оаза на матријархатот. Дури и при танцувањето, сакогаш жените се тие што водат.

Во брачниот ритуал, бабата го тера зетот да игра, како гостин на пречек во своето семејство. При танцувањето, две жени канат еден маж и танцуваат со него разменувајќи си го.

Такви сме ние жените што носиме потекло од тој остров. До името секогаш следи името на мајката, па така јас сум Рула Џени, или ќерка на Џени. Презимето на таткото или на сопругот не е важно.

-Значи, презимето на генерал Царухас не ти значеше ништо?

-Па, како што гледаш, побратиме, навистина не ми значеше ништо.

Знам, кога жената лесно се дари, среќа никогаш не ќари, но знај дека жената е као цвеќето: за секоја пчела има грам нектар.

Јас сум глупава и треба да ја платам цената на својата несреќа.

Очите на Рула беа полни солзи и тукушто пачаа да и браздат по убавото лице.

И реков:

-Убаво ти стојат солзите. Рула, ги вкопа очите во моите и нејзиниот глас одекна во моето лице. Се насмевна и неочекувано ме прегрна и ме бакна.

[George S.]

Aleksandar Donski - Interviewd by Bulgarian newspaper

26/01/2013
Reply ▼
risto stefov
To ;
From: Risto Stefov ([email protected])
Sent: Saturday, 26 January 2013 126 AM
To: ;
Dear Readers,

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



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



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



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





INTERVIEW Part 1.



By Vanche Gelevski

Translated and edited by Risto Stefov
December 29, 2012



Who is Donski?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

- What stands in Macedonia’s way?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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




INTERVIEW Part 2.


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

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

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

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

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

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



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



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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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



Почитувани,



Неодамна бугарскиот весник „Б’лгариа днес“ објави интервју во два дела со македонскиот историчар м-р Александар Донски. Иако насловите и поднасловите во интервјуто, како и фотомонтажата во вториот дел (на која божем Донски му доделува македонски пасош на Божидар Димитров - фотомонтажа која одамна кружи низ Интернет), се дело на редакцијата на весникот (а не на авторот Донски), ова интервју претставуваше ретка можност за автентично претставување на македонската историска аргументација пред пошироката бугарска јавност. И не само тоа. Ова можеби е прво интервју во кое еден македoнски историчар пред пошироката бугарска јавност, не само што ги објаснува основните етногенетски разлики помеѓу Македонците и Бугарите, туку и поставува прашања во врска со некои основни тези за потеклото на самата бугарска нација.



Досега интервјуто предизвика голем интерес кај бугарската јавност и политичари, иако истото е предадено во својата скратена форма.



Да се надеваме дека ова интервју ќе придонесе кон поголемо разбирање помеѓу нашите два народи и држави затоа што само преку отворен дијалог со аргументи можат да се надминат одделни недоразбирања. Александар Донски упатува благодарност до редакцијата на бугарскиот весник „Б’лгариа днес“ за храброста што ја покажаа преку објавувањето на ова интервју.

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

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

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





Интервю 1.



Ванче Гелевски

Събота, 29 декември 2012



Кой е Донски?



Александър Донски е маке*донски историк и писател. Автор е на десетки книги от истори*ята, фолклора, литературата и религията. Работи в Института по история и археология към Университета “Гоце Делчев” от Щип. Известен е с радикалните си тези за произхода на маке*донската нация.



- Колко дълбоко България заби ножа на Македония с налагането на вето за започ*ване на преговори за член*ство в ЕС?



- По-голяма част от хората тук очакваха такъв изход, за*щото България и Гърция пред*варително бяха обявили наме*ренията си. Но Македония ще продължи да съществува, като засили двустранните си отно*шения с ключовите държави в ЕС и НАТО и ще чака истин*ския момент за влизане в ев*роатлантическите институции.



- Раната от пробождането опасна ли е и може ли да бъде смъртоносна за бъде*щето на Македония?



- Нашата държава може да изчезне само с брутална воен*на окупация. Такова нещо не може да се случи без фатални последствия за агресора, кой*то дръзне да прави това.



- Кой е виновен за охлаж*дането на отношенията меж*ду Скопие и София?



- Хроничната причина е това, че българските правителства не признават съществуването на македонска нация, език и култура. Това насажда отри*цателни чувства в Македония. Представяте ли си как ще се чувствате, ако някой не при*знава българската нация? В периода на Георги Димитров отношенията между македон*ци и българи са били братски. По време на мандата на пре*зидента Желю Желев също имаше затопляне на отноше*нията. Като истински демократ той винаги е давал и все още дава подкрепа на Македония. Желев е най-популярният съ*временен български политик у нас. За съжаление над някои от другите български полити*ци все още тегне сянката на Тодор Живков. България не трябва да става заложник на отделни македонофоби, които съществуват само от насаж*дането на омраза към Маке*дония. Те са наясно, че ако македонско-българските от*ношения са добри, ще останат като риби на сухо. Затова е и тяхната параноя към всичко, което е македонско. В Скопие също има хора, които мразят България и критикуват за щяло и нещяло. Те също са пречка за изглаждане на недоразу*менията между двете държави и народите ни. Радващо е, че обикновените хора не са обре*менени от политика и история и те все повече задълбочават и развиват добрите отношения помежду си. Това трябва да се насърчава.



- Какъв е изходът за Маке*дония от задънената улица?



- Ние сме преодолели мно*го по-трудни периоди през историята и въпреки това сме оцелели. Изходът е да се чака. Времето е на страната на Македония. Когато един ден всички страни в Европа се присъединят към ЕС, с изклю*чение на Македония заради ветото на Гърция и евентуал*но на България, Брюксел ще реагира и няма да позволи изолация на страната ни. Съ*щото е и с НАТО. Защо Бъл*гария и Гърция толкова много се притесняват от влизането ни в тези структури? Прави*телството в София трябва да осъзнае, че блокирането на



Македония може да им навлече големи беди, защото от тази по*стъпка ще пострада престижът на България пред западните страни.



- Приемливи ли са за Ско*пие условията на България за нормализиране на добро*съседските отношения между двете държави?



- И трите предло*жения на българската страна бяха приети от македонския външен министър Никола По*повски. Те са напълно нормални.



- Определени кръго*ве в София искат да чества*ме заедно празниците, които ни сближават. Има ли такива празници в македонската ис*тория?



- Намерението на това пред*ложение е да се покаже, че ма*кедон*ците и българи*те имат обща ис*тория, т.е. че са един народ. Не считам за уместно подобно на*мерение и всичко трябва да си остане както досега - всяка дър*жава сама да си чества какъвто си иска празник.



- Преоблада*ващата теза в България е, че до 1944 г. не съ*ществува маке*донска държа*ва, македонски език и маке*донска нация. Има ли партии в Скопие, кои*то биха приели една такава по*зиция, за да за*почнат на чисто в отношенията си със София?



- Няма. Ние притежа*ваме много исторически доказателства за уни*калността на македон*ците още от антични времена до днес. Никой нормален не би приел лъжата, че сме създаде*ни през 1944 г. В Бълга*рия има много стереоти*пи относно македонския въпрос. Така например се твърди, че сърбите са “из*мислили македонската нация”, за да навредят на България. Но по време на сръбското управле*ние в Македония между две*те световни войни официален Белград обвинява България, че “измисля” македонска нация. През 1929 г. сръбският историк Милан Йованович публикува книга, в която се опитва да до*каже, че населението във Вар*дарска Бановина, както сърбите наричат Вардарска Македония, било сръбско. Той остро крити*кува София, защото опитвала да навреди на сръбските инте*реси, като създава македонска нация. И други сърби от начало*то на ХХ век пишат, че българи*те “фабрикуват” македонска на*ция. Тази теория се споделя и от гръцки историци, като напри*мер Теофил*ос Папакон*стантину, който твър*ди, че бъл*гарите са “измислили” македонска*та нация и език, но тези данни се крият в България.



- В македонските учебници по история пише, че Бълга*рия е най-големият й враг. Не трябва ли те да бъдат прена*писани и с какво съдържание да бъдат?



- Нещата не стоят точно така. Фактът, че казвате това нещо, е поредното доказател*ство, че определени кръгове в България нарочно пускат лъжливи слухове за Македо*ния. Тук пък битува мнението, че историческите книги в Бъл*гария премълчават истината и укриват съществуването на ма*кедонската национална иден*тичност. Целта е ясна - бълга*рите да се държат в неведение и да се манипулират, че не съ*ществуват македонци.



- Историците в Македония твърдят, че по време на Вто*рата световна война царска България била окупатор във Вардарска Македония, но снимките от посрещането на българските войници в Ско*пие показват, че те са по*срещнати като освободители. Защо ли?



- Доп*реди войната Маке*дония билапод сръбско робство, което било изключително тежко. Македон*ците били подложени на жесто*ка денационализация и терор. По това време България имала по-либерално отношение към македонците и позволявала те свободно да се организират на нейна територия, да публику*ват вестници, списания, книги... Тогава македонците чувствали България за много по-близка от Сърбия. Затова и българските войници били посрещнати сър*деч*но - хората се радвали на отиващия си великосръб*ски окупаторски режим. Не след дълго българското фа*шистко управление си пока*зало истинското лице и също започнало с денационализа*ция и терор. От тази причина по-важно е не как били по*срещнати вашите войници, а как били изпратени.



Десетки хиляди македонци вдигнали оръжие за национал*но освобождение на страната си. Едно от нещата, които ис*ториците в България опитват да прикрият от този период, са десетките снимки на убитите от български полицаи и вой*ници ма*кедонски партизани и техни*те ятаци. След вой*ната новата македонска власт се добира до част от тези фотоси и ги публикува като доказател*ство за зверствата, които пра*вят българските фашисти в Ма*кедония. Става дума за грозни сцени на убити деца, младежи и възрастни мъже. Мнозина в България ще се разгневят от тези думи, но това са фактите. Ако не вярвате, вижте какво пише Коста Църнушанов за тези мрачни години - той нари*ча полицаите в Прилеп “глут*ница вълци”, които арестуват и измъчват обикновени хора.





Интервю 2.



- Директорът на НИМ Божидар Димитров е една отнаймразените личности вМакедония. Преди години той обяви награда от един милион германски марки, ако някой даде писмено доказателство, че на територията на Македония са живели македонци, а не българи преди 1944 г. Какви са шансовете в близко бъдеще някой да забогатее за сметка на Божидар Димитров?



- Божидар Димитров е човек, който обича да послъгва. В телевизионни предавания говорил глупости за мен, че произлизам от сръбски заселници в Македония. Това е пълна лъжа, защото всичките мипредци са доказани македонци. Тежко й на България, ако такива като него я съветват за външната й политика към Македония.



Предложението му за парична награда се приема с насмешка в Скопие. То е предназначено за хора в България. За македонците като народ, различен от българите, са писали още в ранното Средновековие, и то сериозни автори като Деси Комин Юлиан, Созомен, Теодорит Кирски и други, по-късно Константин Багренородни, Йоан Камениат, Ана Комнина, Никифор Вриений, австрийският цар Леополд Първи и други. Членовете на Временното правителство на Македония от 80-те години на XIX век, което поискало от великите сили реставрация на антична Македония, също се самоопределят като македонци.



В XIX и началото на XX век за македонците като отделен народ пише и изтъкнатият български публицист Петър Драганов, а за това, че има масово самосъзнание за отделна македонска принадлежност, пише и Петко Славейков. Като македонци се определят и десетки политици с десни убеждения, както и някои членове на ВМРО на Ванче Михайлов. Но всичко това днес се укрива в България.



- Една от вашите най-известни книги е “Етногенетичните различия между македонците и бугарите”, отпечатана през 2000 г. Какви са основните различия между хората в двете държави?



- Книгата предизвика истински бум, а тиражът й бе продаден за броени дни. Основните различия между нашите два народа са в етногенези са, т.е. в етносите, от които са създадени тези народи. През последните десетилетия историците в София на няколко пътисменяха теорията за произхода на днешните българи. По време на Втората световна война преобладавали становища за антиславянски генезис, т.е., че сте наследници на “хуно-татарите”. След войната под влияние на СССР тезата се променя и българите стават “чисти славяни”. През 70-те години на миналия век нещата отново се променят и вече българите са микс от тракийци, славяни и прабългари от Азия. За разлика от това македонската нация в по-голямата си част е създадена от смесването на античните македонци и славяните. Прабългарите на Кубрати Аспарух никога масово не са се настанили в Македония, което означава, че македонците, даже и да искат да бъдат българи, не могат, защото нямат българска кръв във вените си. Известен факт е, четюрко-монголските българи принадлежат към жълтата раса. Преди време Български държавни пощи обявиха марка, на която хан Кубрати хан Аспарух бяха показани като монголи. Българите в България днес са красив народ - принадлежат към бялата раса, и не виждам никаква логика в това да честват хора, които са представители на жълтата раса. Логиката подсказва , аиизследва - нията по темата го доказват, че най-голямата част от днешните българи са наследници на славните траки и славяни.



Считам, че вие сте повече потомци на един от най-древните и най-възвишените в културно отношение народи в Европа - траките, отколкото на прабългарите, които не могат да се похвалят с кой знае каква култура. Парадоксално е, но именно прабългарите създават държавата България, а траките и славяните приемат чуждото за тях етническотоиме “българи” като свое. Не виждам никаква логика защо потомците на траките се гордеят с етническото название “българи”, т.е. с името на убийците на техните предци в Сердика, които били изклани от българския хан Крум. Но след като нещата са така поставени, към днешно време трябва да зачитаме тази воля на българите. Но ние, македонците, нямаме никаква връзка с жълтокожите Аспарухови българи.



Сходностите, които съществуват между македонския и българския език и култура, произлизат от общото тракийско и славянско наследство, което няма нищо общо с прабългарите, които никога масово не са живели по течението на Вардар.



- Основната теза във вашите книги и статии е, че македонците са преки наследници на Александър Македонски. Какви са доказателствата за това?



- Не твърдя, че сме чисти потомци на античните македонци. Няма народ с чист етнически произход. Моята теза е, че сънародниците на Александър Велики са претопили кръвта си и културата си в днешната македонска нация. Генетиката доказва това. Два от известните европейски институти в тази област направиха проучване на европейските и азиатските народи. В Македония бяха изследвани стотици хора. Резултатите са категорични - македонците са един от най-древните народи на Стария континент, а найголяма част от тях са наследници на античните македонци.



Единият от институтите е за имунология и молекулярна биология на Университета в Мадрид, а другият е престижният швейцарски институт “Игенеа”. Навсякъде тези данни бяха широко оповестени, само в България бяха скрити. Повече от ясно е, че древните народи не са пропадали вдън земя.



Те просто са се претопявали в други народи, които превземали територията им.



- За финал - могат ли Македония и България да бъдат добри съседи и да надскочат проблемите си от миналото?



- Македонците и българите могат и трябва да живеят като братски народи! Цяла Македония се радваше, когато приз нахте нашата независ имостпрез 1991 г. За съжаление след това нещата отново започнаха по старому - отрицание и подценяване.



Трябва да започнете да прилагате стандартите за демокрация - ако някой се чувства като македонец, никой не трябва да му отрича това право. И обратното. Ако хора в Македония се декларират като българи, това трябва да се зачита и те да имат същите права, както и другите малцинства.



ВИЕ СТЕ НАСЛЕДНИЦИ НА ТРАКИТЕ



АНТИЧНИТЕ МАКЕДОНЦИ СА НАШИТЕ ДЕДИ



ЩЕ ЖИВЕЕМ КАТО БРАТСКИ НАРОДИ

[George S.]

Noose – Chapter 7



By Stoian Kochov

Translated and edited by Risto Stefov

[email protected]

January 27, 2013



Shadow of Hell – Games and death in the nights of Konitsa



1.



We entered the church. It was a nice building built with carved limestone and ceramic materials. We looked inside and noticed a saint pressed on the cold stone giving off light. It seemed spiritual. Surprised by the glow, we touched it with our fingers and the glowing paint spread around, some of it got stuck on our fingers and it glowed as we moved around. It only lasted for a moment but it was enough time to make us feel at ease, uplifted and happy. The church was packed with fighters and they were all applauding while the music was blaring. I noticed Rula’s hands shaking. Her voice was weak and she looked sad. She was trying to look feminine but her uniform and the revolver on her right hip made her look rough and hid her slender figure. Then I saw her dancing. It was vulgar. Her bouncing up and down with her heavy military boots hitting the floor tiles made her sound and look like an enraged horse, or a soldier who suffered from typhus.



Rula swallowed several gulps from her “Metaxa” cognac bottle, opened her mouth and let out a hoarse cry. “Happy New Year! To victory! Hurray! Drink wine to bring us together. Wine is a gift of God… If not to another, then you can repeat your sad life’s story to yourself, which will lead you to salvation or to hell.” Rula then drank a slug of wine and as droplets ran down her lips she said: “Death is not the end of everything…”


Rula’s body began to contort as she made movements with her hands trying to reach her loosened, heavy army boots. She then fell and lay down on her back. Her tongue looked swollen as she tried hard to call for us to help her. I felt sorry for her. I remember her words when we were tanning one day and cleaning ourselves from lice. She said: “I am proud of my chest. It stands straight and looks great. I also love long legs. Unfortunately my legs are short and I hate them, especially in these boots. Oh my blood brother, if only I was a bit taller! I think curvy women are beautiful…” I then said: “Nobody is perfect. But you’re a pillar of feminine beauty in our army here in this region of Gramos. Be strong while the war lasts.” She looked calm so I added: “But you are not thinking at all about the revolution?” She roared to tears with laughter. Tears of exhaustion and pain.



“Maybe someone poisoned her Cognac?” someone yelled out. The crowd became upset. The fresh air had long gone. In place of fragrant candles, there was gunfire and smoke. It burned from all sides. Instead of prayer and baptism, there was dancing of the “sirtaki” and the “zebekiko”, military style. Everyone’s conscience was dark. The politics were dark. Rula’s body curled up in a semi-circle. Her eyes opened wide. They were completely white. Her lips were stretched out over her teeth, looking as if she wanted to smile but she was in pain, her stomach felt like it was on fire. She looked at the saints as if seeking forgiveness. She wanted relief but she was swept up by panic. Perhaps she did not know what was happening to her and how long this unpleasantness would last. She was afraid, her hands were shaking. She was barely able to speak but managed to say: “I came here to be with you, to cry and rejoice with you, to suffer and love with you…” seemingly wanting validation from all of us. Her lips trembled and she turned her head away.



A priest walked up and, in a hoarse voice, said: “Only blasphemers enter God’s house with weapons,” and then proceeded to curse Rula with the following words. “Be damned girl, and may you be without the fruit in life.” He then began to rant: “I don’t know. I have no strength to judge you. What kind of people are you?! Shame on you for your dirty dancing!” Rula wanted to ask for forgiveness. “Oh, how could I, in this Christian church, be so shamelessly blasphemous? Why did I do that, I don’t know?” She was feeling very bad... She crossed herself facing the icon of St. George and her body slid on the floor. There was dead silence in the church and at that very moment, a few bursts of gunfire outside marked the coming of the New Year, 1948. We all clapped our hands and called out: “Happy New Year! Long live General Markos! Long live Konitsa, our new capital of the Democratic Government of Greece!”



Leonidas was the only one who did not clap his hands. He turned towards me and said: “Eh, blood brother, look at Rula. The quality of a person and their humanity cannot be bought with money... my head is clouded by this strange dance we call life… God! Where is this treachery coming from? Create the world from the start and use the souls of yesterday’s dead to restore it. Will we ever have a chance to have a friendly laugh?”
He arranged the psalms in front of the great icon of the Virgin Mary and Jesus, looking for an interpretation that covers all the people. How is it possible, he wondered, now, in the 20th century, for people to still persecute each other? How is it that the stronger uproot the weaker from their homes and those with the power of language believe in the interpretation of their own ideology? This is a frightening madness, it muddles a man’s brain! Wars bring misfortune, pain, poverty...



“My dear God,” he said, “up to now I have seen: water, forests, mountains, valleys with snow and in them heavy weapons. I have seen houses on fire and lives taken. I have seen columns of people: old people, women, children fleeing from their homes... but I have never seen such blasphemers...” Leonidas turned towards us, looked sternly at us and said: “You do not clap in church. Cruelty, treachery, might and desecration triumphed here tonight. This is how it will be judged. There will be less hope for deliverance. Outside of the merciless killings, we have ruined a spiritual sanctuary. We have killed hope. We have spread hatred. Tonight we watched mad people salivate with boasting and beating their chests. They have faith in whom? In death? In annulment?
God is our salvation and only God can save Rula!”



God loving Leonidas, pure of faith, could not bear any more injustice and irrational blasphemy in the temple of God, so he boldly stood up in front of Arianos and said: “Do not insult God, Comrade Arianos! I am a servant of Christ, my God and I can no longer be witness to this mess. Your idols are not gods, no they are not! Markos is not a god and someday he will humbly die. God will defend the new from the newborn saviour of the spirit, messiahs and yesterday’s anarchists. What will be your punishment? Christ is the only God. Before me is Jesus. I am looking at him and he is looking at me. He is silently watching me. This is Jesus, the man-God who has no aims, but has a spirit. Why do you rejoice in evil and act lawlessly all day?”



Leonidas paused for a moment and resumed talking: “Comrade Commander, we do not need to exist and behave like animals, we are spiritual beings. Why must you think and speak of perilous things? Why must you love evil more than good, injustice more than justice...? How do you and those who commit lawlessness justify it? They and you will one day feel fear where there is no fear. God will break everyone’s bones...”



Scorned, Arianos pulled out his pistol and said: “Continue, continue…” And we all, at the top of our voices, yelled out: “Long live General Markos and the Party!” Arianos also shouted the same slogan and then turned to Leonidas and said: “You have a bad attitude towards our bright future, towards the goal of the revolution! You are a danger and a bad influence on all the fighters.” He then gave orders to have him thrown out in the snow and to have a large block of ice placed on his chest so that he would freeze… And then with even greater anger, Arianos said: “Bastard! Go away!” He then turned to us and said: “I order you all not to communicate with him orally or in writing. I order you not to go near him because his wishes are to bring disunity among our revolutionary ranks and destroy our faith and our ideals; for which we are ready to lay down our lives. You must stay away from this schismatic!”



Leonidas turned his head towards the icon of “Bogoroditsa” (The Virgin Mary) and said: “Forgive me, Mother, as I have seen nothing. As I remember nothing. As if all was erased! Now they want to turn me into dust and ashes, to burn everything. Why?”


Arianos thought for a moment and gave his own advice: “Don’t let this kind of anti-communist element discourage you from our successes. Every beginning is difficult. Indiscipline, whim and religious intrigue from today on are prohibited. Trust in your own instincts and victory will be ours. We will feel even worse if we lose the battle, which is uncharacteristic of fighters for communism.”



Each one of us felt a sudden mood change which led us to insanity. That night, Leonidas did not know if he preferred the solitude that surrounded him, or whether the loneliness hurt him or freed him. He curled up in a sheltered place with a mixed vision and sadness in his soul but also happy to be alive. He squatted in the dark and thought and prayed for our fate. The crowd in front of the altar began to yell: “The priest does not know how to sing and dance the sirtaki, but we will teach him...” The priest then responded: “God is with us, do not be afraid. Keep our rich Orthodox faith alive. The spirit will hold us on this earth; not ideology. We are a peaceful people. We are here from time immemorial. We will remain here, this is our town.”



After Leonidas was thrown out, the priest walked with dignity and with his head proudly held up high. He bent down a bit and, because of the place where he was standing, he could not see the beautiful Rula, so again, enraged by our insolence, he said: “Lord God, save these enraged Partisans of the atheist General Markos who wants to sit on the throne by force.” Embittered by all this, the priest, disappointed by our human inclination to be anti-God, took off his hood and said: “Oh, what a curse! What kind of people are you? The essence of our ancestors is crystallized in this church through generations, for its preservation, for its duration, like human beings, like people and like spirits.”



He then bent down and took the icon of Sv. Zlata Meglenska which had fallen down. We all held our breath. He then said: “For us the term icon falls in the theological, aesthetic and ethical category, it is a metaphor for faith, for beauty and for goodness. And now these portraits of your prince and General Markos that you have hung all over, on top of the saints, do they belong in this church? Do they belong in this town? Do they bring peace and tranquility? I just don’t know what people will think after they see this vandalism. They will see your hatred and your revenge and will be disappointed.”


Some people in the crowd began to push him, to hit him and to pluck his beard. The next morning he was found dead outside in the cold.


Anxiety and anger grew in Rula, her saliva glands were leaching saliva which remained in her mouth because she could not swallow it. She was delirious and everyone laughed at her. She said: “So, I am a fiancée. Faith! A woman should adorn the virtue of faith, fidelity, faithfulness in love and faithfulness in God... This is my house, I was born here... I came here to see my house! And who are you? Who asked you to come here? What do you want?” She then staggered towards Arianos and said: “What time is it?” Arianos angrily showed her his watch and said: “Here, look!” She then said: “Why, can’t you tell time? Like you can’t tell the forest from the trees? Now it’s time to separate! Now it’s over!...” she then fell to the floor.



Spiros was so shocked by the sight that he needed some time to react. He could hear that in her mouth she was mixing prayers with curses while he was trying to arrange a compress on her hot chest. “She is dead,” he then said, after which he dumped the wet cloth on the tile floor. He stood over the dead body, mourning the woman he loved. He mourned her but he could not understand why she did not love him back. A lot of times she said to me: “Blood brother, I don’t want anything, except to die in an embrace of love. Take me home.” Then I would ask: “To whose house?” Rula would then laugh, pick some mountain flowers, look at me slyly without answering and leave the pain of love to flow through her veins like grape juice.



When we left the church and went out to the street, I felt the power of silence and everyone wanted to grab a lump of snow, but at that very moment a hand grenade exploded with a loud blast. The snowflakes disappeared from the windows and we heard screams and people wailing in pain. Our eyes could not see (we were all blind), our lips could not speak (we were all dumb), our ears could not hear (we were all deaf), only the human heart could describe the suffering. The cries of a child could be heard passing through the frost, through the snowflakes, through the explosions. The question on everyone’s mind was: “Is it possible? Just now, just as we entered the New Year…?” We could see the tragedy of interrupted love when we saw a child whimpering beside his dead mother’s body and this night was supposed to be a time of joy.



Suddenly a feeling of guilt, like rust, began to erode my last hope. I had a strong longing for home. My heart and brain made me think of my family. I wanted to enjoy life and be happy in a family setting. I remembered the words of our mothers when they were protesting and refusing to send us to war. I remember them yelling: “Return our sons, we need them to harvest the crops! It is not their time to be sent to their death! We have not finished planting our seeds in the soil! Our freshly baked bread still has its delicious aroma. The fruits of our labour still have taste...”



Before I had finished my thought, I heard Andonis groaning, and beside him I heard a swishing sound of a passing bullet. He was rolling in the snow looking like a Tibetan dumb ox infected by madness. Frightened I asked: “Are you hit?” “No!” he said. There was a strange ring of a church bell. It was occurring together with a strong underground explosion coming through the narrow streets. I said to him: “Get yourself together man and come here and pray. There is no one here from the political commissars to see you.” He then asked: “What happened to Leonidas? How many of us are left?” I said: “I don’t know. Only Kostas is here…” Andonis kept quiet, he looked like a shadow in the dark and again knelt in the snow and began to roll like a dumb ox.



“Why are you doing that?” I asked him. “I guess I can tell you,” he said. “They stepped on a mine. It was a frightening explosion. There was nothing left of Theoharis and of Stase Rimpapov. Suddenly I remembered that you could shoot me if I suddenly snuck up on you and you did not know it was me. When I stood up in front of a window they shot at me with a strong burst of gunfire, but only the hem of my coat was hit and I was okay. I then fell into a pile of dirt and got really dirty, I gasped and breathed the fresh air deeply. I was completely alone. I lay on my back and stayed there for a long time. Maybe they thought I was dead. I will not abandon you again.”



I could hear that he was calm and comforted by his closeness to me. “God save you,” I said to him. And he said: “You are naïve.” “Why?” I asked. “Because,” he said, “no matter how much we try to get away from this mad night God will have his revenge on us.” I asked him again: “Why?” “Because,” he said, “we have disturbed the tranquillity of these people in this city. Because we are selfish and want to turn this city into our capital and make it a throne for our General Markos and for all those other crafty people.” I then said: “May God be with you.” “Why just bless me?” he asked. “Because tonight I don’t know if we are angels or devils. Tell me what do you think? Will anyone find any of our dead or will they remain lost and forgotten forever? Or perhaps no one will be interested in looking for them. Do you think General Markos will be interested in finding them? Or will he just want to sit on his throne and watch through his binoculars and wait to be invited by our commander, to host a ceremony...”


He then asked me: “Will we fight again?” And I said: “Andonis my blood brother, I believe that after this major city is declared the capital of our military and government, if General Markos sits on the throne, the world will never be the same.” Andonis said: “If we are willing to die for anyone who wants to sit on a throne, then there will be no one left alive...” He was not entirely convinced about what he said but he did not know how else to counter my statement. Even today we ask ourselves what was the supposed meaning of the statement “the golden throne of General Markos.”



We found underground tunnels in the basements of some of the homes connecting houses together. Those who built the tunnels must have had a lot of trouble because the tunnels were very narrow, barely enough for a single person to pass, but this shows that the people loved their city. When the people found out, from the December 23rd declaration, that the Partisans were going to turn their city into a Partisan capital, they worked even harder, day and night, to build more trenches and fight to the death if necessary, refusing to relinquish it. When we found half-eaten chocolate bars with children’s teeth marks on them, inside the houses, we knew that people were truly fleeing from us Partisans… We found toys scattered all over the place, used diapers, half-empty plates of food, milk... We were searching for hours, sticking to the wall, observing. It seemed like we were obsessed and paranoid about the creation of a capital for our leadership and for the world to recognize it. But the people were gone.



The witching hour was almost over, dawn was nearing. We were ready to welcome daylight? Fear exuded creepiness... in other words fear accompanied no expectation... of the ones remaining alive to occupy the throne with General Markos. Commander Arianos wanted that the most. He was even decked out with his newest military uniform. Standing next to me was my friend Kalivas Kostas who, from time to time, would confess to me that he wanted to use his weapon to exact revenge. He wanted to kill hundreds of people. Winter, ice and despair lived in that man’s chest. His soul was darkened. Jovan Kotev, one of our fallen fighters killed by a land mine explosion, was his closest friend. “My faith says Thou Shall Not Kill!” said Kostas, which should apply to everyone. Kostas continued: “Many people say that, but it’s not like that, one wrong move and they will kill you.”



A woman’s voice was heard speaking in protest: “Why are you shooting then?” she asked. Her husband then answered: “I want to kill them because they have come here to take our city, our homes and to enslave us.” Andonis whispered to me: “Did you hear that?” “Yes.” I said. Andonis then loudly explained to them: “You should not use violence over your opponents. Your opponents need to be made aware of their mistake with patience and compassion... the woman is right and understands. She does not want to use violence; she wants to love her children and her home.” Andonis was so thunderstruck by the spectacle that he needed time to react. He continued: “We will certainly not be in history, only those with whom we are together in this heap will remember us... they certainly will say that we were petty men, marginalized, criminals, murderers...”



Another woman’s voice was heard asking: “Why did the world’s evil have to come here, to our city?” A third voice, a man’s voice was then heard saying: “Why did God have to create good and evil?” In the meantime we all stood there motionless, keeping quiet. We had a good view of the entire street and at one point we saw our fighters leading a disarmed civilian and kicking him as they moved along. Arianos, enraged, pulled out his revolver and aimed it straight at the prisoner’s temple. Flustered, the prisoner said: “Please, if you have a heart in your chest, don’t kill me.” At the same time Kostas said: “I lost my friend and now his killer stands before my eyes. You damned man; I will not be satisfied until I take revenge.”



Arianos then asked the prisoner: “Why were you shooting at our democratic army, you gangster? Do you know how many of our fighters you have killed?” The prisoner then said: “I am not a criminal if I defend my fellow citizens. I am not a gangster if I defend myself and if I defend my home, my children, my elderly father and mother and my friends. It is not a crime if I must defend myself in that way where I have to shoot at you and kill you. How would you, gentlemen democrats, have reacted if you had found yourselves in a similar situation?” The prisoner looked at each one of us and asked: “Who is the bully here?” At that moment Arianos shot him in the temple and pushed him off the road with his boot.



Strong detonations and bursts of gunfire continued to be heard throughout the city. There were now volleys of cannon fire coming from positions outside of the city. The place smelled of gunpowder and there were heaps of shells everywhere; we were all afraid of snipers. The outflow of madness was wearing us out. We managed to survive until morning but we were all nauseated and full of dread. Every day, day and night we were killing and burying young fighters. We were burying the hope of our future. We who were still alive mourned our fate. A big blurred line emerged on the horizon before us, like evaporating dust, blood and fire, seeming like it was a living hell and depressing murderous mud. From time to time, horrified and frantic, people appeared at their balconies, windows and sidewalks reading the graffiti: “LONG LIVE THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF GREECE! LONG LIVE GENERAL MARKOS! LONG LIVE KONITSA OUR CAPITAL!”



2.



I heard Spiro’s voice say: “If you move I will kill you!” Our enemy was not very knowledgeable in military science, so Spiros without fear approached him, grabbed the handgun by the barrel and tried to pull it out his shriveled fingers. The old man held the gun tightly against the handle but Spiros overpowered him. As the old man let go, he angrily mumbled some unintelligible words. The old man’s pupils were dilated. He was slightly bearded, unshaven, his hair was white and his face was sunken in. He looked exhausted in his fur overcoat, which stunk of sour sweat and olive oil. “Comrade Commissar!” the old man said, “I have no bad intentions towards you Partisans.”


The younger man who accompanied the old man kept opening and closing his mouth without making a sound. By the look of the white, or in this case, the red of his eyes, Leonidas figured the man was frozen with fear. Leonidas took out his water bottle and offered him a drink of water. The man replied: “Ευχαριστο χριστιανε” (thank you Christian) and raised his hand as if to bless him. Leonidas, looking at the man’s clothes figured he was a priest. The two men were the priest and sexton of the “Holy Mother” church. The priest then said: “I am a Priest of the Holy Virgin and her joyful servant. My holy soul is in Christ’s hands.” He then opened the Holy Gospel and began to bless us. Now a bit encouraged he said: “You are good people with pure souls, but we were told that you are killers and murderers working against our religion and against priests.”



The conversation ceased, the laughter disappeared and we found ourselves in a place where death with passion was contrary to man’s interests. We crawled and waited. We read warnings: “Do not trample on the gate, do not seize, do not touch...” All kinds of disturbing warnings! Then suddenly a reflection of light appeared in front of us, targeting us by large reflectors. It’s a real wonder that we managed to stay alive.



3.


The next night was the coldest. The temperature was minus 20 degrees, maybe colder. After one of my friends showed us a red partisan flag flying on Monday during the night, we became confident enough to enter deeper into the city Konitsa, which we confidently considered to be our future capital. So we went from yard to yard, entering through the narrow metal gates positioned between the great walls made of stone or brick. In front of us there were beautiful new homes. In them we found weapons and discarded uniforms belonging to wounded enemy soldiers. We also found the area to be mined with unexploded mines and bombs, which we set aside and marked the places “dangerous” to warn those coming behind us.



We felt like we were in a large cage and were expecting that at any moment something terrible was going to happen. We found ourselves under a large eave of a roof. If we waited too long we were sure that we would be shot at... All around us the area was full of mines and we needed to be very careful when taking a step. We were tired and restless, we could tell from the way we tried to take steps. We tried to concentrate but fear had made us desperate and exhausted. We had no idea what to expect next. Arianos was overcome by feelings of hopelessness. We wandered around for hours not knowing what was going to happen. Sometimes he scolded us, telling us: “Stop feeling sorry for yourselves and snap out of it”. And with a little bit of cunning, he was able to lift our morale and fighting spirit.



We were true patriots because we had the ability to rise to the occasion and set aside our personal feelings. Someone else decided to offer their advice and impatiently spoke up saying: “Give up this ‘I want!’ ‘I want!’ and focus on the job. We are fighters of the legendery General Markos and we need to show a sense of independence from body and spirit. We need to think only of victory. Tomorrow, we, the glorious and invincible army, will march around the square...” Andonis was quick to respond and whisper to me: “Look at Arianos, he walks like a peacock and asks of us not to be selfish. How can he even think that we are selfish after all that we have been through; the hunger, the exposure to the cold. And on top of that he does not want us to talk to one another. Oh my blood brother, - sorry Ognian my mate, this night will bring nightmares to all the people in all the peaceful towns. And we, in these crusty clothes, packed together in these ditches, now have to listen to Arianos’s bitter remark, without tact, say: ‘After his first kill, every person – soldier will get a great rush of relaxation’.”



Leonidas then said: “For as long as cherished and good will hopes continue to perish in this shameful and dishonest decade, which brought us one of the most horrible wars - World War II, people like Arianos will continue to tell their stories. Even children know to be afraid of wars because it robs them of their goodness and happiness… What we are doing here is committing high treason, but for us these are days of our last hope. But we must acknowledge that, as long as incoherent voices scream at night, people are trampled on and violated. When you hear gunfire, bodies are falling and we should be able to figure out that ‘there will be no capital for us in this city’ because the people are not happy with us and will not let us have their city. The people don’t like us and are not proud of us. They don’t see us as their liberators... Now, at this time, it is not wise to fight! This is not the time to apply the rule ‘use force as a necessary prerequisite to gain value’. The use of what we see as ‘necessary force’ will cause us many difficulties and most unnecessary horror, whose trap will swallow us all and death will be worthless as we mindlessly seek it.”



Leonidas paused for a moment and continued: “If we don’t come to our senses soon, a little later, after this spree of madness is over, they will be placing thousands of wreaths of flowers on the graves of those who died futile deaths. You see patriots, professionals like Arianos, when all is well, yell and give us orders, ‘forward!’ These so-called patriots use patriotism as a means to survive and last through these tough times. They even boast that they are willing to die to the last one for the fatherland. Indeed, where have you seen a country without liars? Some smart people like Gandhi, for example, consider patriotism to be humane. But philanthropy does not call for killings. But these people with their own brand of humanity do call for killings; they are self-centred. May God help them!”



“Eh, blood brother?” I said. “What do you think of our leaders; don’t they seem like self-centred people disguised as great patriots?” He said: “No, they say they are communists!
Stupid Arianos, even if he climbed on Mount Olympus he will still be stupid. Here stupidity reigns higher than reason. But the worst of it is that our stupid Major, even under these conditions, is attempting to convince us that he is not stupid. Where is our conscience, why haven’t we all yelled out: ‘Hey, you generals? Stop the madness!!!’”



4.



It is peaceful today. Finally we can breathe with some ease. It wasn’t like this Monday and Tuesday. We had been waiting for a long time for a nice day like this. It was peaceful like this throughout the entire front line, all night last night, but we were on constant alert. Before opening our cans of cold meat this morning, our Major Arianos informed us that later this morning the opposition government forces would capitulate and Konitsa would be proclaimed our capital. I was certain that this was going to happen because we belonged to Markos’s mighty army. Our will was strong and we were not only capable of making Konitsa our capital but we could move mountains if we wanted to. I had faith in our abilities. “Today was a perfect day, the day when our strategy came to the fore,” we were told by Commander Arianos who believed everything that he was told by the top political leadership and by the political commissars.



But our political commissars were buying souls, minds and dreams in this war. They patted us on the back and by doing so confirmed that we belonged to them. We, on the other hand, were flattered but unsure if we should be getting into a conversation because we were unsure if we needed to be more cosmopolitan or patriotic. The risks were high. The silence in front of them was golden. The tales of enemies and friends would soon turn into reality, even though we all knew that good and evil stood side by side. But they were opposite, evil could never become good. Good and evil were two different faces in the world, in life, in intentions, in behaviour and with that the political commissars were able to manipulate us.



But the people knew, as my grandfather used to say: “Beauty and goodness go hand in hand. A good person is nice to the people. Whoever chooses evil is ugly and does not like the people.”




Глава 7.

Сенка на пеколот

Игра и смрт во ноќите на градот Коница



1.

Од недоапица, влеговме во црквата. Таа беше градена од кршен и делкан камен-варовник со користење на керамички материјал.

Гледаме, светецот е втиснат во каменот студент и оддава духовна светлина. Го допираме со прсти, се шири некаква светлина, некаков зрак прелетува над нас. Тоа трае миг, но е доволно за да се почувствува леснина во душата, радост и задоволство.

Црквата беше преполна војници и сите ракоплескаа, а музиката трештеше.

Рацете на Рула трепереа. Гласот и беше слаб и тажен. Таа ја извиваше снагата, но униформата и револверот на десниот колк ја правеа груба и и ја скриваа витата снага. Тогаш ја видов Рула како игра вулгарно. Потскокнувањето со грубите цокули по поплочениот под оддава звук на разбеснет коњ или војник што страда од војничката болест – тифусар.

Голтна неколку пати од шишето коњак – “метакса”, ја отвори устата и испушти засипнат крик.

Рула извика:

-Нека ни е среќна Новата година! За победата! Ура! Пијте вино, кое не зближува. Виното е божји дар… Ако не на друг, барем во себе ќе ја повториш тажната животна приказна што те води до спасот или до пеколот. И протекоа капки вино од здебелените усни и рече: -Но смртта не е крај на се…

Телото на Рула почна да се грчи, правејќи движења како со рацете да се обидува да ги досегне разлабавените цокули. Потоа легна на грб. Можеше да и се види здебелениот јазик. На цел глас бараше помош.

Ја сожалив. Се сетив на нејзините зборови кога на еден припек се требевме од вошки и таа ми велеше:

“Се гордеам со своите гради. Стојат исправени и изгледаат одлично. Но многу сакам долги нозе. За жал, моите нозе се кратки и уште обуени во цокули, ги мразам. Ех мој побратиме, да бев малку повисока! Сакам да бидам пополничка. Мислам дека жените со облини се поубави…

И реков:

-Никој не може да биде совршен. Но ти си столб на женската убавина во оваа наша армија и во регионот на Грамос. Биди силна додека трае војната.

Ме загледа смирено и и дофрлив.

-Ама па ти ич не мислиш на револуцијата?

Се изнасмеа, до солзи. Солзи на исцрпеност и болка.

Некој рече: “Можеби во коњакот имаше отров?”

Толпата се вознемири. Свежиот воздух одамна го нема. Наместо мирис на свеќи, чад и оган од барут. Се пали од сите страни. Наместо молитва и крстење, се игра сиртаки и зебекико, и погледи на војнички режим. Совеста на повеќето е темна. Темна е и политиката.

Телото на Рула се витка како во полуобрач. Очите ширум и се отворија. Беа сосем бели. Усните и се развлекоа над забите, чиниш посака да се насмевне, но таа чувствуваше мака, како да и гореше стомакот. Се загледа во светците и како да бараше прошка и последното што го помисли беше воздишка на олеснување. Почувствува како ја обзема паника. Можеби не знаеше колку и е потребно за да се тргне од целата непријатност. Се плашеше, рацете и се тресеа и одвај рече:

-Дојдов заедно со вас да плачам, да се радувам, да патам, да страдам, да љубам… - рече Рула, чиниш посакуваше оправдание од сите нас. Усните и трепереа, па ја заврте главата настрана.

Еден свештеник засипнато изговори:

-Во Божјоот дом само богохулници влегуваат со оружје. Проклета да бидеш, девојко, и во животот да останеш без род. Не знам. Немам моќ да просудам. Што луѓе се овие?! Срам да ви е за ова ваше валкано танцување.

Рула посака да побара прошка.

-Леле, како сум можела, во овој христијански храм, толку бесрамно да хулам. Која би го направила тоа и зошто? – Се чувствуваше мошне бескорисна…

Се прекрсти свртена кон иконата свети Ѓорги и телото и се лизна на подот. Настана мртва тишина и во тој миг надвор со неколку рафали го означија настапот на Новата илјада деветстотини четириесет и осма година. Сите викавме: Нека ни е среќна! Да живее генерал Маркос! Да живее нашата нова престолнина на Демократската влада на Грција – градот Коница!

Само Леонидас не ракоплескаше. Се навадна за мене и ми вели:

-Ех мој побратиме, ја гледаш Рула. Вкусот кон убавото и мерата на човечноста не се купуваат со никакви пари… главата ми се замагли од ова чудно оро на животот наш…

Господи! Од каде ова неверство?! Создај го светот од почеток, а на умрените од вчера дај им само душа да го обноват светот. Ќе имаме повод за пријателска насмевка?

Тој редеше псалми пред големата икона на Богородица со Исус, го бараше преводниот пат за сите луѓе. Како е можно, се прашуваше, сега, во 20. век, луѓето се уште да се прогонуваат меѓу себе? Посилните од своите домови да ги откорнуваат послабите, незаштитените, оние кои со силата на својот јазик веруваат во праведноста на својата идеологија. Па тоа е страшно безумие, мозокот му го мати на човека! Војните носат несреќа, болка, сиромаштија…

Боже мој, досега видов: вода, ормани, планини, полиња со снег, а во нив тешко оружје. Куќи во пламен, згаснати животи. Колона луѓе: старци, жени, деца, како бегаат од своите домови… ама не сум видел такви богохулници.

Леонидас се сврте кон нас со строг поглед.

Тој рече:

-Во црква не се ракоплеска. Ноќва триумфираа грубоста, подлоста, силата, поганоста и беспоштедноста. Така било судено. Се помалку надеж за избавување. Покрај безмилосните убивања, се уриваат духовните светилишта. Се убива надежта. Се пласти омразата. Ноќеска гледавме обезумени луѓе и разлигавени од фалби и чукање в гради. Вера во кого? Во смртта? Во поништувањето?

Господ нека ни е на помош, а Рула само Господ може да ја спаси.

Леонидас, со чиста вера и љубов кон Бога, не можеше да ги поднесува неправдата и хулењето во овој божји храм, смело застана пред Аријанос и му вели:

-Не богохулете, другар Аријанос! Слуга сум на Христос, мојот Бог, и веќе не можам да го гледам таквото валкање. Идолите ваши не се богови, не се! Маркос не е бог и за него е понизно да се умира . Господ да брани нови од новородените спасители на духот, месии, довчерашни анархисти. Која ќе биде вашата казна? Христос е единствениот Бог. Пред мене е Исус. Го гледам јас него, ме гледа тој мене. Ме гледа и молчи. Овој е Исус, богочовекот кој нема намери, туку има дух.

Зошто се фалите со злоба? Беззаконија вршите по цел ден.

Другар команданте, не ни треба такво животинско опстојување и однесување, туку духовно, човечко. Јазикот твој погубни работи измислува. Ти повеќе ја засака злобата отколку доброто, неправдата отколку правдата… Зар нема да се вразумите вие и оние што вршат беззаконие? Но еден ден и тие и вие ќе почувствувате страв и таму каде што страв нема. Господ на сите ќе им ги растури коските…

Аријанос го презре, се фати за пиштолот и ни вели:

-Продолжете, продолжете, - ни вели, а ние на сиот глас:

-Да живее генерал Маркос и партијата!

Извикуваше и тој, а потоа му се обрати на Леонидас.

-Твојот лош однос кон нашата светла иднина, кон целта на револуцијата, денес кај тебе кулминира и постои опасност да ги заразиш сите борци – и нареди да биде исфрлен надвор на снегот и на градите да му стават голема грутка мраз, да замрзне… Аријанос, со уште поголема лутина, рече:

-Проклетнику! Оди си! Ви наредувам никој со него да не проговори ни писмено ниту пак усно, никој да не му се приближи поблиску, оти тој посака да внесе раскол во нашите цврсти револуционерни редови, во нашата вера и нашите идеали. Подготвени сме да го положиме и животот. Мора да замине овој расколник!

Леонидас се сврте кон Богородица и рече:

-Прости ми, Богородице, како ништо да не видов. Не се сеќавам. Како се да ми се избриша! Сега сакаат прав и пепел да ме сторат, се да изгорат. Зошто?

Аријанос се подзамисли и почна да не советува:

-Не дозволувајте да ве обесхрабрат таквите антикомунистички елементи во нашите неуспеси. Секој почеток е тежок. Недисциплинираност, каприц и религиски сплетки од денес се забрануваат. Верувајте му на својот инстинкт дека победата е наша. Уште полошо ќе се чувствуваме ако ја изгубиме битката. Тоа не е својство на борците за комунизам.

Секој од нас почувствува нагли промени на расположението и тоа не доведуваше до лудило. Таа ноќ Леонидас, не знаеше дали му годи осаменоста што го опкружуваше, не знаеше дали го боли самотијата или пак го ослободува. Се склопчи во една заветрина, со измешано привидение и тага во душата, но и радост поради тоа што е жив, клечеше во мракот и размислуваше свештеникот за единствената наша бескрајна судбина.

Во толпата од пред олтарот се огласија: “Попот не знае да пее и да игра сиртаки, ние ќе го научиме…” попот се огласи: “Господ е со нас, не плашете се. Чувајте го нашето богато православие. Духот ќе не одржи на оваа наша земја, а не идеологијата. Ние сме мирен народ. Од памтивека сме овде. Тука ќе останеме, ова е наш град”.

По истерувањето на Леонидас, свештеникот чекореше достоинствено, со гордо крената глава.

Тој се поднаведна малку и, поради местото што го заземаше, не можеше да ја види убавата Рула па, разгневен од таквата дрскост, викна:

-Господи Боже, спаси ги разулавените партизани на атеистот генерал Маркос, кој сака сосила да седне на тронот . Попот, огорчен од сето тоа и разочаран од нашите човечки противбожни склоности, ја симна ќулавката и извика:

-О, какво проклетство! Какви луѓе сте вие? Во оваа црква и кристализиран колнежот на нашите предци низ поколенија, за одржување, за траење, како човечки суштества, како народ и како дух. Се наведна и ја зеде од подот паднатата икона на света Злата Мегленска, ние останавме без здив, а тој рече:

-За нас поимот икона е теолошка естетска и етичка категорија, тоа е метафора за вера, за убавина и за добрина. А сега овие портрети на вашиот вожд и генерал Маркос што ги наобесивте насекаде над светците, дали тие ликови во оваа црква, во овој град дошле за мир и спокој на човекољубието, не знам што ќе рече народот по овој вандализам. Ќе ја видат омразата и одмаздата. Разочарувањето.

А некои од толпата го туркаа, го удираа, брадата му ја кубеа. Проклети! Во утринските часови умре од студот.

Немирот и бесот растеа во Рула, жлездите и лачеа плунка која и остануваше во устата зашто таа не успеваше да ја проголта. Таа изговараше нелогичности и сите се смеевме.

Таа велеше:

-Значи, јас свршеница. Вера! Жена што треба да ја краси доблеста на верата, на верноста; верна во љубовта, верна спрема Бога…

Ова е моја куќа, овде сум родена… Дојдов да си го видам домот свој! А вие кои сте? Кој ве викна вас? Што барате? Му се обраќаше на Аријанос. Тетеравејќи се пред него, му рече:

-Колку е часот?

-Еве, погледнете – и рече подналутено Аријанос . –О, зар и вие не го познавате времето? Како оние шумата? Сега дојде време да се разделиме! Сега се е готово!...

Спирос беше толку вџасен од глетката што му требаше време да реагира. Тој слуша како во нејзината уста се мешаат молитви и проколнувања, додека и редеше облоги на вжештените гради.

“Умре”, изусти во еден миг Спирос, по што крпата натопена во вода пласнува на подот обложен со плочки.

Спирос, ужален стана и долго стоеше над мртвото тело на љубената. Тажеше и не можеше да открие: зошто остана нељубен од Рула.

А таа многу ми велеше:

-Побратиме, ништо не сакам, освен што сакам да умрам во љубовна прегратка. Однеси ме дома.

Ја прашувам во чија дома?

Рула смеејќи се, кинејќи понекое цветогорје, ме погледнуваше крадешкум без да одговори, а оставаше болката на љубовта да и тече низ крвта како гроздов сок.

Кога излеговме на улица првпат ја почувствував силата на тишината и сите посакавме да зграбиме грутка снег, но во тој миг одекна силна експлозија на рачна бомба. Исчезнаа снегулките од прозорците, се слушаат крикови, лелеци, болка. Очите не ни гладаат ништо (сите сме слепи), усните не зборуваат, (сите сме неми), ушите не слушаат (сите сме глуви), само човечкото срце ги опишува страдањата. Плач од дете пробива низ сињакот, низ снегулките, низ пукотниците и на секого му гризе во умот и се прашува: дали е можно? Токму сега, само што влеговме во новата година. Трагедијата на прекинатата љубов ја видовме кога го видовме детето како липа покрај својата мртва мајка, а вечерва е време на радост.

Одеднаш некое чувство на вина како ‘рѓа почна да ми ја нагризува последната надеж. Ме обзеде силен копнеж за дома. Срцето и мозокот ме тераат кон семејството. Сакам да уживам и да се радувам во семеен амбиент.

Се сетивв на зборовите од нашите мајки кога протестираа и не сакаа да не пратат во партизани. Тие викаа: “Вратете ни ги синовите, тие ни се потребни за жетвата! Не е дојден часот да отпловиме сите во смрт, затоа што земјата се уште не ни здосадила, се уште вкусно ни мириса печениот леб. Се уште ние вкусен плодот…”

Уште мислата не ја имав завршено, слушам стенка Андонис, а чув како покрај него помина фучење од куршуми, а тој се жерави во снегот и гледа немо како некое говедо тибетско заразено од лудило, шал и лигавка. Уплашено го прашав:

-Те погоди?

-Не.

Се разнесе оној чуден вик на камбана. Доаѓаше заедно со силните експлозии од подземи и низ тесните улици.

Му реков:

-Смири се и дојди да се помолиш. Тука нема никој од политкомесарите.

Тој праша:

-Што стана со Леонидас? Уште колкумина останавме?

Му реков:

-Не знам. Тука е само Костас… Андонис молчеше, ми се пристори дека почнувам да гледам во мракот некаква сенка. Тој и понатаму коленичеше и се жеравеше во снегот.

Го прашав:

-Што станало?

-Не можам да не ти кажам. Нагазија на мина. Страшна беше експлозијата. Од Теохари и Стасе Римпапов не остана ништо. Одеднаш ми текна дека вие би можеле да стрелате во мене ако ви се доближам лазејќи. Па вие не би знаеле дека сум јас. Кога се опрев, од еден прозорец ми упатија силен рафал, ама само полите од шинелот ми ги издупчија и поминав добро. Паднав во една нечистотија и се извалкав, бревтав и длабоков дишев свеж ваздух. Бев сосема сам. Легнав на грб и долго лежев. Можеби помислија дека сум мртов. Уште еднаш не се делам од вас.

Го слушам успокоен и утешен од неговата близост кон мене.

Му реков:

-Те спасил Господ Бог.

Тој ми рече:

-Ти си наивен.

-Зошто?

-Колку и да бегаме во оваа луда ноќ, ќе не втаса божјата одмазда.

Го прашав пак:

-Зошто?

-Затоа што им го нарушивме спокојот на овие луѓе во овој град, што сакаме да го претвориме во престолнина и на тронот да седнат генерал Маркос и сите итромани.

Му реков:

-Нека биде Бог со тебе.

-Зашто ме благословуваш само мене?

-Затоа што не знам во оваа ноќ дали сме ангели или ѓаволи. Што мислиш, од овие нашите што загинаа, некој ќе ги најде или никој: ни помен, ни спомен. А и никого нема да го интересира. Што мислиш, дали ќе го интересира генерал Маркос? Не, туку тој сака само да седне на тронот, а сега оддалеку преку двогледот не надгледува и чека да биде поканет од командирот наш, да му приреди свеченост…

Тој ме праша:

-Повторно ќе војуваме?

Му реков:

-Брате Андонис, верувам дека по прогласувањето на градот за главна престолнина на нашата војска и влада, генерал Маркос ако седни на тронот, светот нема да биде ист.

Андонис ми рече:

-Ако ние умираме за секој на кој ќе му текне да седне на трон, од нас нема да остане ниту еден… Тој, не беше сосема убеден, но не знаеше како да ми противречи. А ние и денес се прашувавме што требаше да значи златниот трон за генерал Маркос.

Во некои визби на тамошните домови наоѓаме и подземни тунели од куќа во куќа. Тие што ги правеле, сигурно ималет голема мака, зашто тие се тесни колку да мине човекава снага, но тоа покажува дека многу си го сакале градот. Кога слушнале за прогласувањето на партизанската влада на 23 декември и дека партизаните сакаат нивниот град да го прогласат за своја престолнина, тие работеле и правеле окопи и ден ноќ и решиле да се борат до смрт и нема лесно да ни го отстапат.

Кога внатре, во куќите, вистински се бегало од нас партизаните… до половина оставена чоколада, детски одгризок… Расфрлени игранки, употребени пелени, полупразна чинија со качамак на масата, млеко… Вртиме, со саати, се лепиме до ѕид, се обѕрнуваме – обземени сме од некаква параноја за создавање на престолнина за нашето раководство што треба да го признае светот, а луѓето ги нема.

Глува доба, ближи зората. Ќе дочекаме ли бел ден? Исплашевост, морничавост… зрачи стравот, не придружува некакво очекување… од колку да се устоличиме ние што останавме живи заедно со генерал Маркос. Тоа го сакаше најмногу и нашиот командант Аријанос. Тој дури си беше и нагизден со најновата воена униформа.

До мене, Каливас Костас – мојот другар, одвреме – навреме ми се исповеда, сака да го употреби оружјето за одмазда, сака да убие дури стотици луѓе. Во неговите гради е зима, мраз, очај, а во душата му завири мрак. Еден од нашите загинати војници, по експлозијата на подметнатата нагазна мина, Јован Котев, беше негов најблизок пријател.

-Во мојта вера пишува НЕ УБИВАЈ!!! – ми вели Костас, но тоа треба да важи за сите.

-Многумина зборуваат така, ама не е така, само ако мрднеш, ќе те убие, - вели Костас.

Отспротива се слушна глас на жена, и жената праша:

-Зошто пукаш?

Мажот и одговори:

Сакам да ги убијам, тие се дојдени да ни го заземат градот, нашиот дом, и да не поробат.

Андонис ми прошепоти:

-Слушаш?

-Да.

Андонис ми објаснува:

-Над противникот не треба да се користи насилство, туку тој треба да биде отстранет од својата грешка со трпение и сочувство… жената е поразбрана, не сака сила, туку си ги сака домот и децата.

Андонис беше толку вџасен од глетката што му требаше време да реагира. Тој продолжи:

-Во историјата секако нема да не има, ќе се сеќаваат на нас само оние со кои ќе бидеме на ѓубриштето… Сигурно за нас велат дека сме ситни души, маргиналци, кримиалци, убијци…

И друг женски глас праша:

-Зошто дошло злото на светот?

И трет глас, овој пат на маж, рече:

-Зашто Бог морал да не создаде, од добро и зло.

Стоиме притаени и молчиме, имаме преглед на целата улица и во еден миг здогледавме како нашите водат еден разоружен цивил и го удираат со клоци.

Аријанос, разгневен, го извади револверот и точно го нанишани во слепоочницата.

Заробениот извика:

-Те молам, ако имаш срце во градите, не убивај ме. Ох!

Во тој миг Костас рече:

-Јас го изгубив својот другар, а сега пред моите очи стои неговиот убиец. Јас сум несреќен, проклет човек, ако не му се одмаздам.

Аријанос го праша:

-Зошто пукаше во нашата демократска армија, бандите еден? Ти знаеш ли колку наши борци имаш убиено?!

-Јас не сум насилник ако ги бранам своите сограѓани. Не сум бандит ако се бранам, ако ги бранам својот дом, своите деца, својот немоќен стар татко и својата мајка, своите пријатели. Тоа не е насилство, иако ќе морам да се бранам на тој начин, да пукам и да убивам, како и вие. Вие, господа демократи, како би реагирале кога би биле во обратна ситуација? Погледна во сите нас и не праша: кој е тука насилникот?

Аријанос во тој миг го погоди точно во слепоочницата, а со грубата чизма го турлоса од патот.

Силни детонации, постојани, рафали, сега дури и топови пукаат, но на позициите надвор од градот. Мириса на барут, купишта гилзи, сите се плашиме од снајперистите. Тој излив на бес не исцрпува.

Живееме траурно, тегобно, грозоморно. Катаден. Деноноќно; закопуваме, убиваме млади војници. Ја закопуваме надежда за иднината. Ние што сме уште живи, си ја оплакуваме судбината.

Пред нас, една голема замаглена линија извира на хоризонтот, како испарување од прав, крв и оган, чиниш натаму е жив песок и депресивна убиствена кал. Одвреме навреме на балконите, прозоците и тротоарите се појавуваа обезумени и занемени луѓе, ги читаа графитите:

“ДА ЖИВЕЕ КПГ! ДА ЖИВЕЕ ГЕНЕРАЛ МАРКОС! ДА ЖИВЕЕ НАШАТА ПРЕСТОЛНИНА КОНИЦА!”



2.

Се слушна гласот на Спирос: “Ако мрднеш, ќе те убијам!”

Непријателот не беше многу упатен во воената наука, па така Спирос без страв му се приближи, го фати пиштолот за цевката и се обиде да му го извлече од цврсто стиснатите прсти околу рачката, додека стариот човек испушташе гневни неразбирливи извици.

Тоа беше еден старец со проширени зеници, со брадосано и испиено лице, со разретчена бела коса, замотан во козинава гуња, а беше маслосана и мирисаше на кисловина и на маслиново масло.

“Другар комесаре!” му рече, “немам лоши намери кон вас партизаните”.

Помладиот што беше со него, само ја отвораше и затвораше устата, а од неа не излегуваше никаков звук; му се гледаа само белките, односно црвенките од очите, па Леонидас помисли дека ќе му приумре од страв.

Леонидас ја извади матарката и го понуди со вода, а тој одговори “Ευχαριστο χρισιανε*” и ја крена раката како да го благословува и дури тогаш Леонидас забележа, загледувајќи ја добро неговата облека, дека беше свештено лице. Тоа биле попот и клисарот од црквата “Света Богородица”.

Попот рече:

-Јас сум Боговдахновенславопеец на пресвета Богородица и нејзин радосен служител. Светата моја душа е во рацете Христови.

Потоа го отвори светото евангелие и почна да не благосовува:

Попот, охрабрен, рече:

-Па вие сте биле добри луѓе и со чисти господови души, а нас ни проповедаа дека сте колачи и крвници против религијата и поповите.

Разговорот престана, смеата исчезна, се најдовме во место каде што смртта со уживање му помага на се што е против човекот. Пак лазиме и чекаме. Слушаме предупредвање: “Немојте да газите до портата, не фаќај, не допирај се…” Се такви тревожни предупредвања. Пред нас ненајдено се појавија одблесоци од светлини насочени од големи рафлектори. Вистинско чудо е како останавме живи.



3.

Во следната ноќ беше најстудено. Температурата на воздухот беше минус 20 степени, а можеби и повеќе. Откако еден од моите другари во понеделникот ноќта го истакна партизанското црвено знаме, тоа ни даваше сигурност да влеземе подлабоко во градот Коница, нашата идна престолнина. Така и правиме, влегуваме во секој двор, во кој се влегува низ тесни метални порти стиснати меѓу големите ѕидови од камен или од тули. Пред нас се убави нови домови. Наоѓаме оружје. Расфрлени униформи на ранети од бурандарската војска. Миниран простор, неексплодирани мини, неексплодирани бомби, ги ставаме настрана, а местата ги обележаваме за оние што доаѓаат зад нас, за да знаат каде се крие опасноста.

Како да сме во некаков голем кафез и секој миг очекуваме нешто да се случи. Се наоѓаме под една голема стреа. Небаре чекаме, готови сме на ред за отстрел… Околу нас е се уште полно со мини и мораме да внимаваме кога сакаме да направиме чекор во просторот.

Немирни сме и тоа многу добро може да се почувствува по нашите постапки. Се обидуваме да се концентрираме, стравот не прави очајни и исцрпени. Не знаеме дали сме свесни што не очекува.

Аријанос ненадејно го обзеде чувство на бескорисност, со саати талка наоколу прашувајќи што се случува. Само по некогаш ќе не укореше:

-Престанете да се сожалувате сами себе и малку раздвижете се, - и со мала итрина посакува да внесе борбен дух.

Ние сме вистински патриоти што се извишуваме над сите и секакви лични интереси.

Нестрпливо пак нешто проговори:

-Откажете се од она “сакам” – “сакам”. Ние сме војници на легендарниот генерал Маркос и треба да создадеме чувство на независност на телото и духот. Да мислиме само на победа. Утре треба да марширате на овој плоштад, вие сте оваа славна и непобедлива војска…

Андонис рече со шепот:

-Аријанос шета како сивопер паун и посакува од нас да направи аскети; со гладување, со изложување на студ и дури меѓесебно да не разговараме. Ех мој побратиме – пардон другар Огњанов, оваа вечер на сите луѓе во мирните градови им носи луда ноќ, а ние во скоравена облека, склопчени во окопите, ги слушаме зајадливите забелешки на Аријанос, кој не вади од такт кога вели:

“По првото убиство, секој човек – војник ќе добие голема релаксација”.

Леонидас рече:

-Додека паметните надежи се гасат во една срамна нечесна деценија од најстрашните војни – Втората светска војна, луѓето како Аријанос ќе кажуваат прикаски. Тоа добро го паметат дури и децата што уште се плашат од војната, што не беа никогаш ни среќни ни добри…

Ова е големо предавство и замка, но за нас ова се денови на последна надеж. Затоа, додека ноќе врескаат неартикулирани гласови, трескотат кршења, се газат луѓе, се слушаат истрели и паѓаат тела, треба да знаеме: Нема престолнина во овој град. Народот треба да не сака, да се радува и да се гордее со нас ослободителите… Овој пат не е умно да се војува! Овој пат не важи правилото дека тешкото и неопходното се предуслови за вредното. Сега тешкото и неопходното предизвикуваат најтежок и најнеопходен ужас, чија замка сите може да не проголта, а смртта е безвредна кога сами ја бараме.

Ако не се вразумиме, малку подоцна по беснеењето на лудилото, илјадници венци од цветови легнати безживотно врз нашите гробови ќе бидат залудни.

Гледаш, патриотите професионалци како Аријанос, кога е густо, заповедаат и викаат по нас “Напред!”

Овие патриоти го сметаат патриотизмот за начин жив да се помине и низ овие најтешки татковински искушенија. Дури се перчат дека се подготвени за татковината да загинат до последен. Впрочем, кај се видело – татковина без лажговци? Некои умни луѓе, како Ганди на пример, патриотизмот го сметал за човекољубив. А човекољубието не повикува на убивање. Ама овие со своето родољубие повикуваат на убивање, тие се себељупци.

Господ нека им помогне!

А, повратиме? Што мислиш за ова наше раководство, зар не ти личи на себељупци преоблечени во големи патриоти?

Му реков:

-Не, тие велат дека се комунисти!

А глупавиот Аријанос и на Олимп да се изкачи, си останува глупав. Тука глупоста само пред разумот беснее. Но најлошото е дека нашиот глупав мајор и во овие услови се стреми да не убеди дека не е глупав.

Каде е нашата свест, сите да вкниме: Еј, вие генерали! Запрете го лудилото!!!



4.

Денеска е мирно. Веќе можеме да земеме воздух колку што сакаме. Во понеделникот и вторникот не беше така. Но во очекување сме на овој изразито динамичен и возбудлив ден.

Синоќа по целата фронтовска линија беше мирно, но ние сме постојано подготвени на се. Пред да ги отвориме конзервите со студено јадење, нашиот мајор Аријанос ни даде цврст збор дека утринава ќе капитулираат владините сили и градот Коница ќе го прогласиме за наша престолнина. Јас сум сигурен дека ќе се случи тоа. Ние сме од челичната Маркосова војска. Имаме силна волја со која би можеле не само Коница да ја направиме наша престолнина туку да поместиме и планини. Јас верувам во вас. Денес е идеален ден, ден кога ќе дојде до израз нашата стратегија, ни велеше командантот Аријанос кој веруваше во се што ќе кажат од политичкиот врв на политкомесарите.

А нашите политкомесари во оваа војна купуваат души, умови, соништа. Тие за возврат не подудираа по плеќи и со тоа ни потврдуваа дека веќе сме нивни. Им се додворувавме, но не сме сигурни да стапиме во разговор оти не сме сигурни дали треба повеќе да бидеме космополити или патриоти. Ризикот е голем. Молкот пред нив е злато.

Оти тие сказните за непријателите и пријателите ќе ги претворат во реалност, иако ние сите знаеме дека злото и доброто стојат заедно. Тие се спротивни, лошото никогаш не може да стане добро. Злото и доброто се две различни лица на светот, на животот, на намерите, на однесувањето, а со тоа политкомесарите добро манипулираат.

Но народот знае. Дедо ми велеше:

“Добрината и убавината одат заедно. Оној што е добар, тој им е и убав на луѓето. Оној што го избира злото е грд и не им се допаѓа на луѓето”.

[George S.]

Noose – Chapter 7



By Stoian Kochov

Translated and edited by Risto Stefov

[email protected]

January 27, 2013



Shadow of Hell – Games and death in the nights of Konitsa



1.



We entered the church. It was a nice building built with carved limestone and ceramic materials. We looked inside and noticed a saint pressed on the cold stone giving off light. It seemed spiritual. Surprised by the glow, we touched it with our fingers and the glowing paint spread around, some of it got stuck on our fingers and it glowed as we moved around. It only lasted for a moment but it was enough time to make us feel at ease, uplifted and happy. The church was packed with fighters and they were all applauding while the music was blaring. I noticed Rula’s hands shaking. Her voice was weak and she looked sad. She was trying to look feminine but her uniform and the revolver on her right hip made her look rough and hid her slender figure. Then I saw her dancing. It was vulgar. Her bouncing up and down with her heavy military boots hitting the floor tiles made her sound and look like an enraged horse, or a soldier who suffered from typhus.



Rula swallowed several gulps from her “Metaxa” cognac bottle, opened her mouth and let out a hoarse cry. “Happy New Year! To victory! Hurray! Drink wine to bring us together. Wine is a gift of God… If not to another, then you can repeat your sad life’s story to yourself, which will lead you to salvation or to hell.” Rula then drank a slug of wine and as droplets ran down her lips she said: “Death is not the end of everything…”


Rula’s body began to contort as she made movements with her hands trying to reach her loosened, heavy army boots. She then fell and lay down on her back. Her tongue looked swollen as she tried hard to call for us to help her. I felt sorry for her. I remember her words when we were tanning one day and cleaning ourselves from lice. She said: “I am proud of my chest. It stands straight and looks great. I also love long legs. Unfortunately my legs are short and I hate them, especially in these boots. Oh my blood brother, if only I was a bit taller! I think curvy women are beautiful…” I then said: “Nobody is perfect. But you’re a pillar of feminine beauty in our army here in this region of Gramos. Be strong while the war lasts.” She looked calm so I added: “But you are not thinking at all about the revolution?” She roared to tears with laughter. Tears of exhaustion and pain.



“Maybe someone poisoned her Cognac?” someone yelled out. The crowd became upset. The fresh air had long gone. In place of fragrant candles, there was gunfire and smoke. It burned from all sides. Instead of prayer and baptism, there was dancing of the “sirtaki” and the “zebekiko”, military style. Everyone’s conscience was dark. The politics were dark. Rula’s body curled up in a semi-circle. Her eyes opened wide. They were completely white. Her lips were stretched out over her teeth, looking as if she wanted to smile but she was in pain, her stomach felt like it was on fire. She looked at the saints as if seeking forgiveness. She wanted relief but she was swept up by panic. Perhaps she did not know what was happening to her and how long this unpleasantness would last. She was afraid, her hands were shaking. She was barely able to speak but managed to say: “I came here to be with you, to cry and rejoice with you, to suffer and love with you…” seemingly wanting validation from all of us. Her lips trembled and she turned her head away.



A priest walked up and, in a hoarse voice, said: “Only blasphemers enter God’s house with weapons,” and then proceeded to curse Rula with the following words. “Be damned girl, and may you be without the fruit in life.” He then began to rant: “I don’t know. I have no strength to judge you. What kind of people are you?! Shame on you for your dirty dancing!” Rula wanted to ask for forgiveness. “Oh, how could I, in this Christian church, be so shamelessly blasphemous? Why did I do that, I don’t know?” She was feeling very bad... She crossed herself facing the icon of St. George and her body slid on the floor. There was dead silence in the church and at that very moment, a few bursts of gunfire outside marked the coming of the New Year, 1948. We all clapped our hands and called out: “Happy New Year! Long live General Markos! Long live Konitsa, our new capital of the Democratic Government of Greece!”



Leonidas was the only one who did not clap his hands. He turned towards me and said: “Eh, blood brother, look at Rula. The quality of a person and their humanity cannot be bought with money... my head is clouded by this strange dance we call life… God! Where is this treachery coming from? Create the world from the start and use the souls of yesterday’s dead to restore it. Will we ever have a chance to have a friendly laugh?”
He arranged the psalms in front of the great icon of the Virgin Mary and Jesus, looking for an interpretation that covers all the people. How is it possible, he wondered, now, in the 20th century, for people to still persecute each other? How is it that the stronger uproot the weaker from their homes and those with the power of language believe in the interpretation of their own ideology? This is a frightening madness, it muddles a man’s brain! Wars bring misfortune, pain, poverty...



“My dear God,” he said, “up to now I have seen: water, forests, mountains, valleys with snow and in them heavy weapons. I have seen houses on fire and lives taken. I have seen columns of people: old people, women, children fleeing from their homes... but I have never seen such blasphemers...” Leonidas turned towards us, looked sternly at us and said: “You do not clap in church. Cruelty, treachery, might and desecration triumphed here tonight. This is how it will be judged. There will be less hope for deliverance. Outside of the merciless killings, we have ruined a spiritual sanctuary. We have killed hope. We have spread hatred. Tonight we watched mad people salivate with boasting and beating their chests. They have faith in whom? In death? In annulment?
God is our salvation and only God can save Rula!”



God loving Leonidas, pure of faith, could not bear any more injustice and irrational blasphemy in the temple of God, so he boldly stood up in front of Arianos and said: “Do not insult God, Comrade Arianos! I am a servant of Christ, my God and I can no longer be witness to this mess. Your idols are not gods, no they are not! Markos is not a god and someday he will humbly die. God will defend the new from the newborn saviour of the spirit, messiahs and yesterday’s anarchists. What will be your punishment? Christ is the only God. Before me is Jesus. I am looking at him and he is looking at me. He is silently watching me. This is Jesus, the man-God who has no aims, but has a spirit. Why do you rejoice in evil and act lawlessly all day?”



Leonidas paused for a moment and resumed talking: “Comrade Commander, we do not need to exist and behave like animals, we are spiritual beings. Why must you think and speak of perilous things? Why must you love evil more than good, injustice more than justice...? How do you and those who commit lawlessness justify it? They and you will one day feel fear where there is no fear. God will break everyone’s bones...”



Scorned, Arianos pulled out his pistol and said: “Continue, continue…” And we all, at the top of our voices, yelled out: “Long live General Markos and the Party!” Arianos also shouted the same slogan and then turned to Leonidas and said: “You have a bad attitude towards our bright future, towards the goal of the revolution! You are a danger and a bad influence on all the fighters.” He then gave orders to have him thrown out in the snow and to have a large block of ice placed on his chest so that he would freeze… And then with even greater anger, Arianos said: “Bastard! Go away!” He then turned to us and said: “I order you all not to communicate with him orally or in writing. I order you not to go near him because his wishes are to bring disunity among our revolutionary ranks and destroy our faith and our ideals; for which we are ready to lay down our lives. You must stay away from this schismatic!”



Leonidas turned his head towards the icon of “Bogoroditsa” (The Virgin Mary) and said: “Forgive me, Mother, as I have seen nothing. As I remember nothing. As if all was erased! Now they want to turn me into dust and ashes, to burn everything. Why?”


Arianos thought for a moment and gave his own advice: “Don’t let this kind of anti-communist element discourage you from our successes. Every beginning is difficult. Indiscipline, whim and religious intrigue from today on are prohibited. Trust in your own instincts and victory will be ours. We will feel even worse if we lose the battle, which is uncharacteristic of fighters for communism.”



Each one of us felt a sudden mood change which led us to insanity. That night, Leonidas did not know if he preferred the solitude that surrounded him, or whether the loneliness hurt him or freed him. He curled up in a sheltered place with a mixed vision and sadness in his soul but also happy to be alive. He squatted in the dark and thought and prayed for our fate. The crowd in front of the altar began to yell: “The priest does not know how to sing and dance the sirtaki, but we will teach him...” The priest then responded: “God is with us, do not be afraid. Keep our rich Orthodox faith alive. The spirit will hold us on this earth; not ideology. We are a peaceful people. We are here from time immemorial. We will remain here, this is our town.”



After Leonidas was thrown out, the priest walked with dignity and with his head proudly held up high. He bent down a bit and, because of the place where he was standing, he could not see the beautiful Rula, so again, enraged by our insolence, he said: “Lord God, save these enraged Partisans of the atheist General Markos who wants to sit on the throne by force.” Embittered by all this, the priest, disappointed by our human inclination to be anti-God, took off his hood and said: “Oh, what a curse! What kind of people are you? The essence of our ancestors is crystallized in this church through generations, for its preservation, for its duration, like human beings, like people and like spirits.”



He then bent down and took the icon of Sv. Zlata Meglenska which had fallen down. We all held our breath. He then said: “For us the term icon falls in the theological, aesthetic and ethical category, it is a metaphor for faith, for beauty and for goodness. And now these portraits of your prince and General Markos that you have hung all over, on top of the saints, do they belong in this church? Do they belong in this town? Do they bring peace and tranquility? I just don’t know what people will think after they see this vandalism. They will see your hatred and your revenge and will be disappointed.”


Some people in the crowd began to push him, to hit him and to pluck his beard. The next morning he was found dead outside in the cold.


Anxiety and anger grew in Rula, her saliva glands were leaching saliva which remained in her mouth because she could not swallow it. She was delirious and everyone laughed at her. She said: “So, I am a fiancée. Faith! A woman should adorn the virtue of faith, fidelity, faithfulness in love and faithfulness in God... This is my house, I was born here... I came here to see my house! And who are you? Who asked you to come here? What do you want?” She then staggered towards Arianos and said: “What time is it?” Arianos angrily showed her his watch and said: “Here, look!” She then said: “Why, can’t you tell time? Like you can’t tell the forest from the trees? Now it’s time to separate! Now it’s over!...” she then fell to the floor.



Spiros was so shocked by the sight that he needed some time to react. He could hear that in her mouth she was mixing prayers with curses while he was trying to arrange a compress on her hot chest. “She is dead,” he then said, after which he dumped the wet cloth on the tile floor. He stood over the dead body, mourning the woman he loved. He mourned her but he could not understand why she did not love him back. A lot of times she said to me: “Blood brother, I don’t want anything, except to die in an embrace of love. Take me home.” Then I would ask: “To whose house?” Rula would then laugh, pick some mountain flowers, look at me slyly without answering and leave the pain of love to flow through her veins like grape juice.



When we left the church and went out to the street, I felt the power of silence and everyone wanted to grab a lump of snow, but at that very moment a hand grenade exploded with a loud blast. The snowflakes disappeared from the windows and we heard screams and people wailing in pain. Our eyes could not see (we were all blind), our lips could not speak (we were all dumb), our ears could not hear (we were all deaf), only the human heart could describe the suffering. The cries of a child could be heard passing through the frost, through the snowflakes, through the explosions. The question on everyone’s mind was: “Is it possible? Just now, just as we entered the New Year…?” We could see the tragedy of interrupted love when we saw a child whimpering beside his dead mother’s body and this night was supposed to be a time of joy.



Suddenly a feeling of guilt, like rust, began to erode my last hope. I had a strong longing for home. My heart and brain made me think of my family. I wanted to enjoy life and be happy in a family setting. I remembered the words of our mothers when they were protesting and refusing to send us to war. I remember them yelling: “Return our sons, we need them to harvest the crops! It is not their time to be sent to their death! We have not finished planting our seeds in the soil! Our freshly baked bread still has its delicious aroma. The fruits of our labour still have taste...”



Before I had finished my thought, I heard Andonis groaning, and beside him I heard a swishing sound of a passing bullet. He was rolling in the snow looking like a Tibetan dumb ox infected by madness. Frightened I asked: “Are you hit?” “No!” he said. There was a strange ring of a church bell. It was occurring together with a strong underground explosion coming through the narrow streets. I said to him: “Get yourself together man and come here and pray. There is no one here from the political commissars to see you.” He then asked: “What happened to Leonidas? How many of us are left?” I said: “I don’t know. Only Kostas is here…” Andonis kept quiet, he looked like a shadow in the dark and again knelt in the snow and began to roll like a dumb ox.



“Why are you doing that?” I asked him. “I guess I can tell you,” he said. “They stepped on a mine. It was a frightening explosion. There was nothing left of Theoharis and of Stase Rimpapov. Suddenly I remembered that you could shoot me if I suddenly snuck up on you and you did not know it was me. When I stood up in front of a window they shot at me with a strong burst of gunfire, but only the hem of my coat was hit and I was okay. I then fell into a pile of dirt and got really dirty, I gasped and breathed the fresh air deeply. I was completely alone. I lay on my back and stayed there for a long time. Maybe they thought I was dead. I will not abandon you again.”



I could hear that he was calm and comforted by his closeness to me. “God save you,” I said to him. And he said: “You are naïve.” “Why?” I asked. “Because,” he said, “no matter how much we try to get away from this mad night God will have his revenge on us.” I asked him again: “Why?” “Because,” he said, “we have disturbed the tranquillity of these people in this city. Because we are selfish and want to turn this city into our capital and make it a throne for our General Markos and for all those other crafty people.” I then said: “May God be with you.” “Why just bless me?” he asked. “Because tonight I don’t know if we are angels or devils. Tell me what do you think? Will anyone find any of our dead or will they remain lost and forgotten forever? Or perhaps no one will be interested in looking for them. Do you think General Markos will be interested in finding them? Or will he just want to sit on his throne and watch through his binoculars and wait to be invited by our commander, to host a ceremony...”


He then asked me: “Will we fight again?” And I said: “Andonis my blood brother, I believe that after this major city is declared the capital of our military and government, if General Markos sits on the throne, the world will never be the same.” Andonis said: “If we are willing to die for anyone who wants to sit on a throne, then there will be no one left alive...” He was not entirely convinced about what he said but he did not know how else to counter my statement. Even today we ask ourselves what was the supposed meaning of the statement “the golden throne of General Markos.”



We found underground tunnels in the basements of some of the homes connecting houses together. Those who built the tunnels must have had a lot of trouble because the tunnels were very narrow, barely enough for a single person to pass, but this shows that the people loved their city. When the people found out, from the December 23rd declaration, that the Partisans were going to turn their city into a Partisan capital, they worked even harder, day and night, to build more trenches and fight to the death if necessary, refusing to relinquish it. When we found half-eaten chocolate bars with children’s teeth marks on them, inside the houses, we knew that people were truly fleeing from us Partisans… We found toys scattered all over the place, used diapers, half-empty plates of food, milk... We were searching for hours, sticking to the wall, observing. It seemed like we were obsessed and paranoid about the creation of a capital for our leadership and for the world to recognize it. But the people were gone.



The witching hour was almost over, dawn was nearing. We were ready to welcome daylight? Fear exuded creepiness... in other words fear accompanied no expectation... of the ones remaining alive to occupy the throne with General Markos. Commander Arianos wanted that the most. He was even decked out with his newest military uniform. Standing next to me was my friend Kalivas Kostas who, from time to time, would confess to me that he wanted to use his weapon to exact revenge. He wanted to kill hundreds of people. Winter, ice and despair lived in that man’s chest. His soul was darkened. Jovan Kotev, one of our fallen fighters killed by a land mine explosion, was his closest friend. “My faith says Thou Shall Not Kill!” said Kostas, which should apply to everyone. Kostas continued: “Many people say that, but it’s not like that, one wrong move and they will kill you.”



A woman’s voice was heard speaking in protest: “Why are you shooting then?” she asked. Her husband then answered: “I want to kill them because they have come here to take our city, our homes and to enslave us.” Andonis whispered to me: “Did you hear that?” “Yes.” I said. Andonis then loudly explained to them: “You should not use violence over your opponents. Your opponents need to be made aware of their mistake with patience and compassion... the woman is right and understands. She does not want to use violence; she wants to love her children and her home.” Andonis was so thunderstruck by the spectacle that he needed time to react. He continued: “We will certainly not be in history, only those with whom we are together in this heap will remember us... they certainly will say that we were petty men, marginalized, criminals, murderers...”



Another woman’s voice was heard asking: “Why did the world’s evil have to come here, to our city?” A third voice, a man’s voice was then heard saying: “Why did God have to create good and evil?” In the meantime we all stood there motionless, keeping quiet. We had a good view of the entire street and at one point we saw our fighters leading a disarmed civilian and kicking him as they moved along. Arianos, enraged, pulled out his revolver and aimed it straight at the prisoner’s temple. Flustered, the prisoner said: “Please, if you have a heart in your chest, don’t kill me.” At the same time Kostas said: “I lost my friend and now his killer stands before my eyes. You damned man; I will not be satisfied until I take revenge.”



Arianos then asked the prisoner: “Why were you shooting at our democratic army, you gangster? Do you know how many of our fighters you have killed?” The prisoner then said: “I am not a criminal if I defend my fellow citizens. I am not a gangster if I defend myself and if I defend my home, my children, my elderly father and mother and my friends. It is not a crime if I must defend myself in that way where I have to shoot at you and kill you. How would you, gentlemen democrats, have reacted if you had found yourselves in a similar situation?” The prisoner looked at each one of us and asked: “Who is the bully here?” At that moment Arianos shot him in the temple and pushed him off the road with his boot.



Strong detonations and bursts of gunfire continued to be heard throughout the city. There were now volleys of cannon fire coming from positions outside of the city. The place smelled of gunpowder and there were heaps of shells everywhere; we were all afraid of snipers. The outflow of madness was wearing us out. We managed to survive until morning but we were all nauseated and full of dread. Every day, day and night we were killing and burying young fighters. We were burying the hope of our future. We who were still alive mourned our fate. A big blurred line emerged on the horizon before us, like evaporating dust, blood and fire, seeming like it was a living hell and depressing murderous mud. From time to time, horrified and frantic, people appeared at their balconies, windows and sidewalks reading the graffiti: “LONG LIVE THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF GREECE! LONG LIVE GENERAL MARKOS! LONG LIVE KONITSA OUR CAPITAL!”



2.



I heard Spiro’s voice say: “If you move I will kill you!” Our enemy was not very knowledgeable in military science, so Spiros without fear approached him, grabbed the handgun by the barrel and tried to pull it out his shriveled fingers. The old man held the gun tightly against the handle but Spiros overpowered him. As the old man let go, he angrily mumbled some unintelligible words. The old man’s pupils were dilated. He was slightly bearded, unshaven, his hair was white and his face was sunken in. He looked exhausted in his fur overcoat, which stunk of sour sweat and olive oil. “Comrade Commissar!” the old man said, “I have no bad intentions towards you Partisans.”


The younger man who accompanied the old man kept opening and closing his mouth without making a sound. By the look of the white, or in this case, the red of his eyes, Leonidas figured the man was frozen with fear. Leonidas took out his water bottle and offered him a drink of water. The man replied: “Ευχαριστο χριστιανε” (thank you Christian) and raised his hand as if to bless him. Leonidas, looking at the man’s clothes figured he was a priest. The two men were the priest and sexton of the “Holy Mother” church. The priest then said: “I am a Priest of the Holy Virgin and her joyful servant. My holy soul is in Christ’s hands.” He then opened the Holy Gospel and began to bless us. Now a bit encouraged he said: “You are good people with pure souls, but we were told that you are killers and murderers working against our religion and against priests.”



The conversation ceased, the laughter disappeared and we found ourselves in a place where death with passion was contrary to man’s interests. We crawled and waited. We read warnings: “Do not trample on the gate, do not seize, do not touch...” All kinds of disturbing warnings! Then suddenly a reflection of light appeared in front of us, targeting us by large reflectors. It’s a real wonder that we managed to stay alive.



3.


The next night was the coldest. The temperature was minus 20 degrees, maybe colder. After one of my friends showed us a red partisan flag flying on Monday during the night, we became confident enough to enter deeper into the city Konitsa, which we confidently considered to be our future capital. So we went from yard to yard, entering through the narrow metal gates positioned between the great walls made of stone or brick. In front of us there were beautiful new homes. In them we found weapons and discarded uniforms belonging to wounded enemy soldiers. We also found the area to be mined with unexploded mines and bombs, which we set aside and marked the places “dangerous” to warn those coming behind us.



We felt like we were in a large cage and were expecting that at any moment something terrible was going to happen. We found ourselves under a large eave of a roof. If we waited too long we were sure that we would be shot at... All around us the area was full of mines and we needed to be very careful when taking a step. We were tired and restless, we could tell from the way we tried to take steps. We tried to concentrate but fear had made us desperate and exhausted. We had no idea what to expect next. Arianos was overcome by feelings of hopelessness. We wandered around for hours not knowing what was going to happen. Sometimes he scolded us, telling us: “Stop feeling sorry for yourselves and snap out of it”. And with a little bit of cunning, he was able to lift our morale and fighting spirit.



We were true patriots because we had the ability to rise to the occasion and set aside our personal feelings. Someone else decided to offer their advice and impatiently spoke up saying: “Give up this ‘I want!’ ‘I want!’ and focus on the job. We are fighters of the legendery General Markos and we need to show a sense of independence from body and spirit. We need to think only of victory. Tomorrow, we, the glorious and invincible army, will march around the square...” Andonis was quick to respond and whisper to me: “Look at Arianos, he walks like a peacock and asks of us not to be selfish. How can he even think that we are selfish after all that we have been through; the hunger, the exposure to the cold. And on top of that he does not want us to talk to one another. Oh my blood brother, - sorry Ognian my mate, this night will bring nightmares to all the people in all the peaceful towns. And we, in these crusty clothes, packed together in these ditches, now have to listen to Arianos’s bitter remark, without tact, say: ‘After his first kill, every person – soldier will get a great rush of relaxation’.”



Leonidas then said: “For as long as cherished and good will hopes continue to perish in this shameful and dishonest decade, which brought us one of the most horrible wars - World War II, people like Arianos will continue to tell their stories. Even children know to be afraid of wars because it robs them of their goodness and happiness… What we are doing here is committing high treason, but for us these are days of our last hope. But we must acknowledge that, as long as incoherent voices scream at night, people are trampled on and violated. When you hear gunfire, bodies are falling and we should be able to figure out that ‘there will be no capital for us in this city’ because the people are not happy with us and will not let us have their city. The people don’t like us and are not proud of us. They don’t see us as their liberators... Now, at this time, it is not wise to fight! This is not the time to apply the rule ‘use force as a necessary prerequisite to gain value’. The use of what we see as ‘necessary force’ will cause us many difficulties and most unnecessary horror, whose trap will swallow us all and death will be worthless as we mindlessly seek it.”



Leonidas paused for a moment and continued: “If we don’t come to our senses soon, a little later, after this spree of madness is over, they will be placing thousands of wreaths of flowers on the graves of those who died futile deaths. You see patriots, professionals like Arianos, when all is well, yell and give us orders, ‘forward!’ These so-called patriots use patriotism as a means to survive and last through these tough times. They even boast that they are willing to die to the last one for the fatherland. Indeed, where have you seen a country without liars? Some smart people like Gandhi, for example, consider patriotism to be humane. But philanthropy does not call for killings. But these people with their own brand of humanity do call for killings; they are self-centred. May God help them!”



“Eh, blood brother?” I said. “What do you think of our leaders; don’t they seem like self-centred people disguised as great patriots?” He said: “No, they say they are communists!
Stupid Arianos, even if he climbed on Mount Olympus he will still be stupid. Here stupidity reigns higher than reason. But the worst of it is that our stupid Major, even under these conditions, is attempting to convince us that he is not stupid. Where is our conscience, why haven’t we all yelled out: ‘Hey, you generals? Stop the madness!!!’”



4.



It is peaceful today. Finally we can breathe with some ease. It wasn’t like this Monday and Tuesday. We had been waiting for a long time for a nice day like this. It was peaceful like this throughout the entire front line, all night last night, but we were on constant alert. Before opening our cans of cold meat this morning, our Major Arianos informed us that later this morning the opposition government forces would capitulate and Konitsa would be proclaimed our capital. I was certain that this was going to happen because we belonged to Markos’s mighty army. Our will was strong and we were not only capable of making Konitsa our capital but we could move mountains if we wanted to. I had faith in our abilities. “Today was a perfect day, the day when our strategy came to the fore,” we were told by Commander Arianos who believed everything that he was told by the top political leadership and by the political commissars.



But our political commissars were buying souls, minds and dreams in this war. They patted us on the back and by doing so confirmed that we belonged to them. We, on the other hand, were flattered but unsure if we should be getting into a conversation because we were unsure if we needed to be more cosmopolitan or patriotic. The risks were high. The silence in front of them was golden. The tales of enemies and friends would soon turn into reality, even though we all knew that good and evil stood side by side. But they were opposite, evil could never become good. Good and evil were two different faces in the world, in life, in intentions, in behaviour and with that the political commissars were able to manipulate us.



But the people knew, as my grandfather used to say: “Beauty and goodness go hand in hand. A good person is nice to the people. Whoever chooses evil is ugly and does not like the people.”




Глава 7.

Сенка на пеколот

Игра и смрт во ноќите на градот Коница



1.

Од недоапица, влеговме во црквата. Таа беше градена од кршен и делкан камен-варовник со користење на керамички материјал.

Гледаме, светецот е втиснат во каменот студент и оддава духовна светлина. Го допираме со прсти, се шири некаква светлина, некаков зрак прелетува над нас. Тоа трае миг, но е доволно за да се почувствува леснина во душата, радост и задоволство.

Црквата беше преполна војници и сите ракоплескаа, а музиката трештеше.

Рацете на Рула трепереа. Гласот и беше слаб и тажен. Таа ја извиваше снагата, но униформата и револверот на десниот колк ја правеа груба и и ја скриваа витата снага. Тогаш ја видов Рула како игра вулгарно. Потскокнувањето со грубите цокули по поплочениот под оддава звук на разбеснет коњ или војник што страда од војничката болест – тифусар.

Голтна неколку пати од шишето коњак – “метакса”, ја отвори устата и испушти засипнат крик.

Рула извика:

-Нека ни е среќна Новата година! За победата! Ура! Пијте вино, кое не зближува. Виното е божји дар… Ако не на друг, барем во себе ќе ја повториш тажната животна приказна што те води до спасот или до пеколот. И протекоа капки вино од здебелените усни и рече: -Но смртта не е крај на се…

Телото на Рула почна да се грчи, правејќи движења како со рацете да се обидува да ги досегне разлабавените цокули. Потоа легна на грб. Можеше да и се види здебелениот јазик. На цел глас бараше помош.

Ја сожалив. Се сетив на нејзините зборови кога на еден припек се требевме од вошки и таа ми велеше:

“Се гордеам со своите гради. Стојат исправени и изгледаат одлично. Но многу сакам долги нозе. За жал, моите нозе се кратки и уште обуени во цокули, ги мразам. Ех мој побратиме, да бев малку повисока! Сакам да бидам пополничка. Мислам дека жените со облини се поубави…

И реков:

-Никој не може да биде совршен. Но ти си столб на женската убавина во оваа наша армија и во регионот на Грамос. Биди силна додека трае војната.

Ме загледа смирено и и дофрлив.

-Ама па ти ич не мислиш на револуцијата?

Се изнасмеа, до солзи. Солзи на исцрпеност и болка.

Некој рече: “Можеби во коњакот имаше отров?”

Толпата се вознемири. Свежиот воздух одамна го нема. Наместо мирис на свеќи, чад и оган од барут. Се пали од сите страни. Наместо молитва и крстење, се игра сиртаки и зебекико, и погледи на војнички режим. Совеста на повеќето е темна. Темна е и политиката.

Телото на Рула се витка како во полуобрач. Очите ширум и се отворија. Беа сосем бели. Усните и се развлекоа над забите, чиниш посака да се насмевне, но таа чувствуваше мака, како да и гореше стомакот. Се загледа во светците и како да бараше прошка и последното што го помисли беше воздишка на олеснување. Почувствува како ја обзема паника. Можеби не знаеше колку и е потребно за да се тргне од целата непријатност. Се плашеше, рацете и се тресеа и одвај рече:

-Дојдов заедно со вас да плачам, да се радувам, да патам, да страдам, да љубам… - рече Рула, чиниш посакуваше оправдание од сите нас. Усните и трепереа, па ја заврте главата настрана.

Еден свештеник засипнато изговори:

-Во Божјоот дом само богохулници влегуваат со оружје. Проклета да бидеш, девојко, и во животот да останеш без род. Не знам. Немам моќ да просудам. Што луѓе се овие?! Срам да ви е за ова ваше валкано танцување.

Рула посака да побара прошка.

-Леле, како сум можела, во овој христијански храм, толку бесрамно да хулам. Која би го направила тоа и зошто? – Се чувствуваше мошне бескорисна…

Се прекрсти свртена кон иконата свети Ѓорги и телото и се лизна на подот. Настана мртва тишина и во тој миг надвор со неколку рафали го означија настапот на Новата илјада деветстотини четириесет и осма година. Сите викавме: Нека ни е среќна! Да живее генерал Маркос! Да живее нашата нова престолнина на Демократската влада на Грција – градот Коница!

Само Леонидас не ракоплескаше. Се навадна за мене и ми вели:

-Ех мој побратиме, ја гледаш Рула. Вкусот кон убавото и мерата на човечноста не се купуваат со никакви пари… главата ми се замагли од ова чудно оро на животот наш…

Господи! Од каде ова неверство?! Создај го светот од почеток, а на умрените од вчера дај им само душа да го обноват светот. Ќе имаме повод за пријателска насмевка?

Тој редеше псалми пред големата икона на Богородица со Исус, го бараше преводниот пат за сите луѓе. Како е можно, се прашуваше, сега, во 20. век, луѓето се уште да се прогонуваат меѓу себе? Посилните од своите домови да ги откорнуваат послабите, незаштитените, оние кои со силата на својот јазик веруваат во праведноста на својата идеологија. Па тоа е страшно безумие, мозокот му го мати на човека! Војните носат несреќа, болка, сиромаштија…

Боже мој, досега видов: вода, ормани, планини, полиња со снег, а во нив тешко оружје. Куќи во пламен, згаснати животи. Колона луѓе: старци, жени, деца, како бегаат од своите домови… ама не сум видел такви богохулници.

Леонидас се сврте кон нас со строг поглед.

Тој рече:

-Во црква не се ракоплеска. Ноќва триумфираа грубоста, подлоста, силата, поганоста и беспоштедноста. Така било судено. Се помалку надеж за избавување. Покрај безмилосните убивања, се уриваат духовните светилишта. Се убива надежта. Се пласти омразата. Ноќеска гледавме обезумени луѓе и разлигавени од фалби и чукање в гради. Вера во кого? Во смртта? Во поништувањето?

Господ нека ни е на помош, а Рула само Господ може да ја спаси.

Леонидас, со чиста вера и љубов кон Бога, не можеше да ги поднесува неправдата и хулењето во овој божји храм, смело застана пред Аријанос и му вели:

-Не богохулете, другар Аријанос! Слуга сум на Христос, мојот Бог, и веќе не можам да го гледам таквото валкање. Идолите ваши не се богови, не се! Маркос не е бог и за него е понизно да се умира . Господ да брани нови од новородените спасители на духот, месии, довчерашни анархисти. Која ќе биде вашата казна? Христос е единствениот Бог. Пред мене е Исус. Го гледам јас него, ме гледа тој мене. Ме гледа и молчи. Овој е Исус, богочовекот кој нема намери, туку има дух.

Зошто се фалите со злоба? Беззаконија вршите по цел ден.

Другар команданте, не ни треба такво животинско опстојување и однесување, туку духовно, човечко. Јазикот твој погубни работи измислува. Ти повеќе ја засака злобата отколку доброто, неправдата отколку правдата… Зар нема да се вразумите вие и оние што вршат беззаконие? Но еден ден и тие и вие ќе почувствувате страв и таму каде што страв нема. Господ на сите ќе им ги растури коските…

Аријанос го презре, се фати за пиштолот и ни вели:

-Продолжете, продолжете, - ни вели, а ние на сиот глас:

-Да живее генерал Маркос и партијата!

Извикуваше и тој, а потоа му се обрати на Леонидас.

-Твојот лош однос кон нашата светла иднина, кон целта на револуцијата, денес кај тебе кулминира и постои опасност да ги заразиш сите борци – и нареди да биде исфрлен надвор на снегот и на градите да му стават голема грутка мраз, да замрзне… Аријанос, со уште поголема лутина, рече:

-Проклетнику! Оди си! Ви наредувам никој со него да не проговори ни писмено ниту пак усно, никој да не му се приближи поблиску, оти тој посака да внесе раскол во нашите цврсти револуционерни редови, во нашата вера и нашите идеали. Подготвени сме да го положиме и животот. Мора да замине овој расколник!

Леонидас се сврте кон Богородица и рече:

-Прости ми, Богородице, како ништо да не видов. Не се сеќавам. Како се да ми се избриша! Сега сакаат прав и пепел да ме сторат, се да изгорат. Зошто?

Аријанос се подзамисли и почна да не советува:

-Не дозволувајте да ве обесхрабрат таквите антикомунистички елементи во нашите неуспеси. Секој почеток е тежок. Недисциплинираност, каприц и религиски сплетки од денес се забрануваат. Верувајте му на својот инстинкт дека победата е наша. Уште полошо ќе се чувствуваме ако ја изгубиме битката. Тоа не е својство на борците за комунизам.

Секој од нас почувствува нагли промени на расположението и тоа не доведуваше до лудило. Таа ноќ Леонидас, не знаеше дали му годи осаменоста што го опкружуваше, не знаеше дали го боли самотијата или пак го ослободува. Се склопчи во една заветрина, со измешано привидение и тага во душата, но и радост поради тоа што е жив, клечеше во мракот и размислуваше свештеникот за единствената наша бескрајна судбина.

Во толпата од пред олтарот се огласија: “Попот не знае да пее и да игра сиртаки, ние ќе го научиме…” попот се огласи: “Господ е со нас, не плашете се. Чувајте го нашето богато православие. Духот ќе не одржи на оваа наша земја, а не идеологијата. Ние сме мирен народ. Од памтивека сме овде. Тука ќе останеме, ова е наш град”.

По истерувањето на Леонидас, свештеникот чекореше достоинствено, со гордо крената глава.

Тој се поднаведна малку и, поради местото што го заземаше, не можеше да ја види убавата Рула па, разгневен од таквата дрскост, викна:

-Господи Боже, спаси ги разулавените партизани на атеистот генерал Маркос, кој сака сосила да седне на тронот . Попот, огорчен од сето тоа и разочаран од нашите човечки противбожни склоности, ја симна ќулавката и извика:

-О, какво проклетство! Какви луѓе сте вие? Во оваа црква и кристализиран колнежот на нашите предци низ поколенија, за одржување, за траење, како човечки суштества, како народ и како дух. Се наведна и ја зеде од подот паднатата икона на света Злата Мегленска, ние останавме без здив, а тој рече:

-За нас поимот икона е теолошка естетска и етичка категорија, тоа е метафора за вера, за убавина и за добрина. А сега овие портрети на вашиот вожд и генерал Маркос што ги наобесивте насекаде над светците, дали тие ликови во оваа црква, во овој град дошле за мир и спокој на човекољубието, не знам што ќе рече народот по овој вандализам. Ќе ја видат омразата и одмаздата. Разочарувањето.

А некои од толпата го туркаа, го удираа, брадата му ја кубеа. Проклети! Во утринските часови умре од студот.

Немирот и бесот растеа во Рула, жлездите и лачеа плунка која и остануваше во устата зашто таа не успеваше да ја проголта. Таа изговараше нелогичности и сите се смеевме.

Таа велеше:

-Значи, јас свршеница. Вера! Жена што треба да ја краси доблеста на верата, на верноста; верна во љубовта, верна спрема Бога…

Ова е моја куќа, овде сум родена… Дојдов да си го видам домот свој! А вие кои сте? Кој ве викна вас? Што барате? Му се обраќаше на Аријанос. Тетеравејќи се пред него, му рече:

-Колку е часот?

-Еве, погледнете – и рече подналутено Аријанос . –О, зар и вие не го познавате времето? Како оние шумата? Сега дојде време да се разделиме! Сега се е готово!...

Спирос беше толку вџасен од глетката што му требаше време да реагира. Тој слуша како во нејзината уста се мешаат молитви и проколнувања, додека и редеше облоги на вжештените гради.

“Умре”, изусти во еден миг Спирос, по што крпата натопена во вода пласнува на подот обложен со плочки.

Спирос, ужален стана и долго стоеше над мртвото тело на љубената. Тажеше и не можеше да открие: зошто остана нељубен од Рула.

А таа многу ми велеше:

-Побратиме, ништо не сакам, освен што сакам да умрам во љубовна прегратка. Однеси ме дома.

Ја прашувам во чија дома?

Рула смеејќи се, кинејќи понекое цветогорје, ме погледнуваше крадешкум без да одговори, а оставаше болката на љубовта да и тече низ крвта како гроздов сок.

Кога излеговме на улица првпат ја почувствував силата на тишината и сите посакавме да зграбиме грутка снег, но во тој миг одекна силна експлозија на рачна бомба. Исчезнаа снегулките од прозорците, се слушаат крикови, лелеци, болка. Очите не ни гладаат ништо (сите сме слепи), усните не зборуваат, (сите сме неми), ушите не слушаат (сите сме глуви), само човечкото срце ги опишува страдањата. Плач од дете пробива низ сињакот, низ снегулките, низ пукотниците и на секого му гризе во умот и се прашува: дали е можно? Токму сега, само што влеговме во новата година. Трагедијата на прекинатата љубов ја видовме кога го видовме детето како липа покрај својата мртва мајка, а вечерва е време на радост.

Одеднаш некое чувство на вина како ‘рѓа почна да ми ја нагризува последната надеж. Ме обзеде силен копнеж за дома. Срцето и мозокот ме тераат кон семејството. Сакам да уживам и да се радувам во семеен амбиент.

Се сетивв на зборовите од нашите мајки кога протестираа и не сакаа да не пратат во партизани. Тие викаа: “Вратете ни ги синовите, тие ни се потребни за жетвата! Не е дојден часот да отпловиме сите во смрт, затоа што земјата се уште не ни здосадила, се уште вкусно ни мириса печениот леб. Се уште ние вкусен плодот…”

Уште мислата не ја имав завршено, слушам стенка Андонис, а чув како покрај него помина фучење од куршуми, а тој се жерави во снегот и гледа немо како некое говедо тибетско заразено од лудило, шал и лигавка. Уплашено го прашав:

-Те погоди?

-Не.

Се разнесе оној чуден вик на камбана. Доаѓаше заедно со силните експлозии од подземи и низ тесните улици.

Му реков:

-Смири се и дојди да се помолиш. Тука нема никој од политкомесарите.

Тој праша:

-Што стана со Леонидас? Уште колкумина останавме?

Му реков:

-Не знам. Тука е само Костас… Андонис молчеше, ми се пристори дека почнувам да гледам во мракот некаква сенка. Тој и понатаму коленичеше и се жеравеше во снегот.

Го прашав:

-Што станало?

-Не можам да не ти кажам. Нагазија на мина. Страшна беше експлозијата. Од Теохари и Стасе Римпапов не остана ништо. Одеднаш ми текна дека вие би можеле да стрелате во мене ако ви се доближам лазејќи. Па вие не би знаеле дека сум јас. Кога се опрев, од еден прозорец ми упатија силен рафал, ама само полите од шинелот ми ги издупчија и поминав добро. Паднав во една нечистотија и се извалкав, бревтав и длабоков дишев свеж ваздух. Бев сосема сам. Легнав на грб и долго лежев. Можеби помислија дека сум мртов. Уште еднаш не се делам од вас.

Го слушам успокоен и утешен од неговата близост кон мене.

Му реков:

-Те спасил Господ Бог.

Тој ми рече:

-Ти си наивен.

-Зошто?

-Колку и да бегаме во оваа луда ноќ, ќе не втаса божјата одмазда.

Го прашав пак:

-Зошто?

-Затоа што им го нарушивме спокојот на овие луѓе во овој град, што сакаме да го претвориме во престолнина и на тронот да седнат генерал Маркос и сите итромани.

Му реков:

-Нека биде Бог со тебе.

-Зашто ме благословуваш само мене?

-Затоа што не знам во оваа ноќ дали сме ангели или ѓаволи. Што мислиш, од овие нашите што загинаа, некој ќе ги најде или никој: ни помен, ни спомен. А и никого нема да го интересира. Што мислиш, дали ќе го интересира генерал Маркос? Не, туку тој сака само да седне на тронот, а сега оддалеку преку двогледот не надгледува и чека да биде поканет од командирот наш, да му приреди свеченост…

Тој ме праша:

-Повторно ќе војуваме?

Му реков:

-Брате Андонис, верувам дека по прогласувањето на градот за главна престолнина на нашата војска и влада, генерал Маркос ако седни на тронот, светот нема да биде ист.

Андонис ми рече:

-Ако ние умираме за секој на кој ќе му текне да седне на трон, од нас нема да остане ниту еден… Тој, не беше сосема убеден, но не знаеше како да ми противречи. А ние и денес се прашувавме што требаше да значи златниот трон за генерал Маркос.

Во некои визби на тамошните домови наоѓаме и подземни тунели од куќа во куќа. Тие што ги правеле, сигурно ималет голема мака, зашто тие се тесни колку да мине човекава снага, но тоа покажува дека многу си го сакале градот. Кога слушнале за прогласувањето на партизанската влада на 23 декември и дека партизаните сакаат нивниот град да го прогласат за своја престолнина, тие работеле и правеле окопи и ден ноќ и решиле да се борат до смрт и нема лесно да ни го отстапат.

Кога внатре, во куќите, вистински се бегало од нас партизаните… до половина оставена чоколада, детски одгризок… Расфрлени игранки, употребени пелени, полупразна чинија со качамак на масата, млеко… Вртиме, со саати, се лепиме до ѕид, се обѕрнуваме – обземени сме од некаква параноја за создавање на престолнина за нашето раководство што треба да го признае светот, а луѓето ги нема.

Глува доба, ближи зората. Ќе дочекаме ли бел ден? Исплашевост, морничавост… зрачи стравот, не придружува некакво очекување… од колку да се устоличиме ние што останавме живи заедно со генерал Маркос. Тоа го сакаше најмногу и нашиот командант Аријанос. Тој дури си беше и нагизден со најновата воена униформа.

До мене, Каливас Костас – мојот другар, одвреме – навреме ми се исповеда, сака да го употреби оружјето за одмазда, сака да убие дури стотици луѓе. Во неговите гради е зима, мраз, очај, а во душата му завири мрак. Еден од нашите загинати војници, по експлозијата на подметнатата нагазна мина, Јован Котев, беше негов најблизок пријател.

-Во мојта вера пишува НЕ УБИВАЈ!!! – ми вели Костас, но тоа треба да важи за сите.

-Многумина зборуваат така, ама не е така, само ако мрднеш, ќе те убие, - вели Костас.

Отспротива се слушна глас на жена, и жената праша:

-Зошто пукаш?

Мажот и одговори:

Сакам да ги убијам, тие се дојдени да ни го заземат градот, нашиот дом, и да не поробат.

Андонис ми прошепоти:

-Слушаш?

-Да.

Андонис ми објаснува:

-Над противникот не треба да се користи насилство, туку тој треба да биде отстранет од својата грешка со трпение и сочувство… жената е поразбрана, не сака сила, туку си ги сака домот и децата.

Андонис беше толку вџасен од глетката што му требаше време да реагира. Тој продолжи:

-Во историјата секако нема да не има, ќе се сеќаваат на нас само оние со кои ќе бидеме на ѓубриштето… Сигурно за нас велат дека сме ситни души, маргиналци, кримиалци, убијци…

И друг женски глас праша:

-Зошто дошло злото на светот?

И трет глас, овој пат на маж, рече:

-Зашто Бог морал да не создаде, од добро и зло.

Стоиме притаени и молчиме, имаме преглед на целата улица и во еден миг здогледавме како нашите водат еден разоружен цивил и го удираат со клоци.

Аријанос, разгневен, го извади револверот и точно го нанишани во слепоочницата.

Заробениот извика:

-Те молам, ако имаш срце во градите, не убивај ме. Ох!

Во тој миг Костас рече:

-Јас го изгубив својот другар, а сега пред моите очи стои неговиот убиец. Јас сум несреќен, проклет човек, ако не му се одмаздам.

Аријанос го праша:

-Зошто пукаше во нашата демократска армија, бандите еден? Ти знаеш ли колку наши борци имаш убиено?!

-Јас не сум насилник ако ги бранам своите сограѓани. Не сум бандит ако се бранам, ако ги бранам својот дом, своите деца, својот немоќен стар татко и својата мајка, своите пријатели. Тоа не е насилство, иако ќе морам да се бранам на тој начин, да пукам и да убивам, како и вие. Вие, господа демократи, како би реагирале кога би биле во обратна ситуација? Погледна во сите нас и не праша: кој е тука насилникот?

Аријанос во тој миг го погоди точно во слепоочницата, а со грубата чизма го турлоса од патот.

Силни детонации, постојани, рафали, сега дури и топови пукаат, но на позициите надвор од градот. Мириса на барут, купишта гилзи, сите се плашиме од снајперистите. Тој излив на бес не исцрпува.

Живееме траурно, тегобно, грозоморно. Катаден. Деноноќно; закопуваме, убиваме млади војници. Ја закопуваме надежда за иднината. Ние што сме уште живи, си ја оплакуваме судбината.

Пред нас, една голема замаглена линија извира на хоризонтот, како испарување од прав, крв и оган, чиниш натаму е жив песок и депресивна убиствена кал. Одвреме навреме на балконите, прозоците и тротоарите се појавуваа обезумени и занемени луѓе, ги читаа графитите:

“ДА ЖИВЕЕ КПГ! ДА ЖИВЕЕ ГЕНЕРАЛ МАРКОС! ДА ЖИВЕЕ НАШАТА ПРЕСТОЛНИНА КОНИЦА!”



2.

Се слушна гласот на Спирос: “Ако мрднеш, ќе те убијам!”

Непријателот не беше многу упатен во воената наука, па така Спирос без страв му се приближи, го фати пиштолот за цевката и се обиде да му го извлече од цврсто стиснатите прсти околу рачката, додека стариот човек испушташе гневни неразбирливи извици.

Тоа беше еден старец со проширени зеници, со брадосано и испиено лице, со разретчена бела коса, замотан во козинава гуња, а беше маслосана и мирисаше на кисловина и на маслиново масло.

“Другар комесаре!” му рече, “немам лоши намери кон вас партизаните”.

Помладиот што беше со него, само ја отвораше и затвораше устата, а од неа не излегуваше никаков звук; му се гледаа само белките, односно црвенките од очите, па Леонидас помисли дека ќе му приумре од страв.

Леонидас ја извади матарката и го понуди со вода, а тој одговори “Ευχαριστο χρισιανε*” и ја крена раката како да го благословува и дури тогаш Леонидас забележа, загледувајќи ја добро неговата облека, дека беше свештено лице. Тоа биле попот и клисарот од црквата “Света Богородица”.

Попот рече:

-Јас сум Боговдахновенславопеец на пресвета Богородица и нејзин радосен служител. Светата моја душа е во рацете Христови.

Потоа го отвори светото евангелие и почна да не благосовува:

Попот, охрабрен, рече:

-Па вие сте биле добри луѓе и со чисти господови души, а нас ни проповедаа дека сте колачи и крвници против религијата и поповите.

Разговорот престана, смеата исчезна, се најдовме во место каде што смртта со уживање му помага на се што е против човекот. Пак лазиме и чекаме. Слушаме предупредвање: “Немојте да газите до портата, не фаќај, не допирај се…” Се такви тревожни предупредвања. Пред нас ненајдено се појавија одблесоци од светлини насочени од големи рафлектори. Вистинско чудо е како останавме живи.



3.

Во следната ноќ беше најстудено. Температурата на воздухот беше минус 20 степени, а можеби и повеќе. Откако еден од моите другари во понеделникот ноќта го истакна партизанското црвено знаме, тоа ни даваше сигурност да влеземе подлабоко во градот Коница, нашата идна престолнина. Така и правиме, влегуваме во секој двор, во кој се влегува низ тесни метални порти стиснати меѓу големите ѕидови од камен или од тули. Пред нас се убави нови домови. Наоѓаме оружје. Расфрлени униформи на ранети од бурандарската војска. Миниран простор, неексплодирани мини, неексплодирани бомби, ги ставаме настрана, а местата ги обележаваме за оние што доаѓаат зад нас, за да знаат каде се крие опасноста.

Како да сме во некаков голем кафез и секој миг очекуваме нешто да се случи. Се наоѓаме под една голема стреа. Небаре чекаме, готови сме на ред за отстрел… Околу нас е се уште полно со мини и мораме да внимаваме кога сакаме да направиме чекор во просторот.

Немирни сме и тоа многу добро може да се почувствува по нашите постапки. Се обидуваме да се концентрираме, стравот не прави очајни и исцрпени. Не знаеме дали сме свесни што не очекува.

Аријанос ненадејно го обзеде чувство на бескорисност, со саати талка наоколу прашувајќи што се случува. Само по некогаш ќе не укореше:

-Престанете да се сожалувате сами себе и малку раздвижете се, - и со мала итрина посакува да внесе борбен дух.

Ние сме вистински патриоти што се извишуваме над сите и секакви лични интереси.

Нестрпливо пак нешто проговори:

-Откажете се од она “сакам” – “сакам”. Ние сме војници на легендарниот генерал Маркос и треба да создадеме чувство на независност на телото и духот. Да мислиме само на победа. Утре треба да марширате на овој плоштад, вие сте оваа славна и непобедлива војска…

Андонис рече со шепот:

-Аријанос шета како сивопер паун и посакува од нас да направи аскети; со гладување, со изложување на студ и дури меѓесебно да не разговараме. Ех мој побратиме – пардон другар Огњанов, оваа вечер на сите луѓе во мирните градови им носи луда ноќ, а ние во скоравена облека, склопчени во окопите, ги слушаме зајадливите забелешки на Аријанос, кој не вади од такт кога вели:

“По првото убиство, секој човек – војник ќе добие голема релаксација”.

Леонидас рече:

-Додека паметните надежи се гасат во една срамна нечесна деценија од најстрашните војни – Втората светска војна, луѓето како Аријанос ќе кажуваат прикаски. Тоа добро го паметат дури и децата што уште се плашат од војната, што не беа никогаш ни среќни ни добри…

Ова е големо предавство и замка, но за нас ова се денови на последна надеж. Затоа, додека ноќе врескаат неартикулирани гласови, трескотат кршења, се газат луѓе, се слушаат истрели и паѓаат тела, треба да знаеме: Нема престолнина во овој град. Народот треба да не сака, да се радува и да се гордее со нас ослободителите… Овој пат не е умно да се војува! Овој пат не важи правилото дека тешкото и неопходното се предуслови за вредното. Сега тешкото и неопходното предизвикуваат најтежок и најнеопходен ужас, чија замка сите може да не проголта, а смртта е безвредна кога сами ја бараме.

Ако не се вразумиме, малку подоцна по беснеењето на лудилото, илјадници венци од цветови легнати безживотно врз нашите гробови ќе бидат залудни.

Гледаш, патриотите професионалци како Аријанос, кога е густо, заповедаат и викаат по нас “Напред!”

Овие патриоти го сметаат патриотизмот за начин жив да се помине и низ овие најтешки татковински искушенија. Дури се перчат дека се подготвени за татковината да загинат до последен. Впрочем, кај се видело – татковина без лажговци? Некои умни луѓе, како Ганди на пример, патриотизмот го сметал за човекољубив. А човекољубието не повикува на убивање. Ама овие со своето родољубие повикуваат на убивање, тие се себељупци.

Господ нека им помогне!

А, повратиме? Што мислиш за ова наше раководство, зар не ти личи на себељупци преоблечени во големи патриоти?

Му реков:

-Не, тие велат дека се комунисти!

А глупавиот Аријанос и на Олимп да се изкачи, си останува глупав. Тука глупоста само пред разумот беснее. Но најлошото е дека нашиот глупав мајор и во овие услови се стреми да не убеди дека не е глупав.

Каде е нашата свест, сите да вкниме: Еј, вие генерали! Запрете го лудилото!!!



4.

Денеска е мирно. Веќе можеме да земеме воздух колку што сакаме. Во понеделникот и вторникот не беше така. Но во очекување сме на овој изразито динамичен и возбудлив ден.

Синоќа по целата фронтовска линија беше мирно, но ние сме постојано подготвени на се. Пред да ги отвориме конзервите со студено јадење, нашиот мајор Аријанос ни даде цврст збор дека утринава ќе капитулираат владините сили и градот Коница ќе го прогласиме за наша престолнина. Јас сум сигурен дека ќе се случи тоа. Ние сме од челичната Маркосова војска. Имаме силна волја со која би можеле не само Коница да ја направиме наша престолнина туку да поместиме и планини. Јас верувам во вас. Денес е идеален ден, ден кога ќе дојде до израз нашата стратегија, ни велеше командантот Аријанос кој веруваше во се што ќе кажат од политичкиот врв на политкомесарите.

А нашите политкомесари во оваа војна купуваат души, умови, соништа. Тие за возврат не подудираа по плеќи и со тоа ни потврдуваа дека веќе сме нивни. Им се додворувавме, но не сме сигурни да стапиме во разговор оти не сме сигурни дали треба повеќе да бидеме космополити или патриоти. Ризикот е голем. Молкот пред нив е злато.

Оти тие сказните за непријателите и пријателите ќе ги претворат во реалност, иако ние сите знаеме дека злото и доброто стојат заедно. Тие се спротивни, лошото никогаш не може да стане добро. Злото и доброто се две различни лица на светот, на животот, на намерите, на однесувањето, а со тоа политкомесарите добро манипулираат.

Но народот знае. Дедо ми велеше:

“Добрината и убавината одат заедно. Оној што е добар, тој им е и убав на луѓето. Оној што го избира злото е грд и не им се допаѓа на луѓето”.

[George S.]

One Hundred Years of Occupation

By Risto Stefov



Lecture - presented for the Historical Society in Toronto on January 27, 2013



In spite of the Macedonian people having risen in 1903 to fight for their freedom and to create an Independent Macedonian state, only ten years later, Macedonia was brutally invaded, occupied and partitioned by its neighbours Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria; a partition validated by the European Great Powers on August 10, 1913 by the Treaty of Bucharest.



Why did this happen? What were the factors leading up to it? And who wanted this to happen?



In the past I have done lectures where we looked at events and how they unfolded. Today, in this lecture, in addition to looking at “how” events unfolded, we will also look at “why” events unfolded, “who” was behind them and “what” were their aims. We will look at a number of events in chronological order keeping in mind how all this fits in the bigger picture. What I will say today, for some, will be new, unusual and probably never heard of before.



Now let us look at the “theme” of this lecture – the word “occupation”. What does it mean and how does it apply to Macedonia.



According to the Oxford dictionary of current English, occupation in this sense means: “Being occupied by armed forces of another country…” Well, armed forces belonging to Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria did invade and occupy Macedonia in October 1912 and have been there ever since. That is, until 1991 when the Serbian army left the Serbian occupied part of Macedonia and that part became the independent Republic of Macedonia. Sadly the parts of Macedonia awarded to Greece, Bulgaria and Albania are still occupied to this day.



But what “really” happened in Macedonia and to the Macedonian people in the last 100 years was more than just an “occupation”. It was more than just armies entering a region and laying claims to it. It was a deliberately perpetrated act to forcibly grab Macedonian lands and to destroy the Macedonian identity and culture. It was a deliberate act which, according to the Oxford dictionary, can be interpreted as: “Genocide!” Yes Genocide, intentionally perpetrated against the Macedonian culture and against the Macedonian nation.



If this is hard to believe or hard to accept that Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria intentionally committed genocidal acts against the Macedonian culture and against the Macedonian people, then ask yourselves this;



Did Macedonians exist in Macedonia when it was brutally invaded, occupied and partitioned in 1912 and 1913 by Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria?



YES they did! How do we know? Among other things, from historical evidence left behind!



Yes! We all know that Macedonians existed in 1912, 1913. In fact the whole world knew that Macedonians existed even before that because they read about them in their newspapers. The entire world read about the 1903 Ilinden Uprising and how the Macedonian people were struggling to free themselves from Ottoman oppression! Today we have hundreds of newspaper clippings from that time, from practically every major newspaper in the world, which, without a doubt, proves that Macedonians existed in 1903, only a decade before Macedonia was brutally invaded, occupied and partitioned by Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria.



Unfortunately today both Greece and Bulgaria claim that Macedonians don’t exist? If that is true then what happened to them? Where did they all go? Did they all vanish? Were they all assimilated?”



Knowing that Macedonians did exist in 1903, on account of all those newspaper reports, then why did the Great Powers allow Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria to invade, occupy and partition Macedonia and suppress the existence of the Macedonian culture? Is that in itself not genocide?



So, what did Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria do with the Macedonians they inherited in 1913? Well, from what history has shown, they assimilated some, they exiled some and they killed some, by the tens of thousands and by the hundreds of thousands at every opportunity! History is full of such examples.



And what do we call acts like changing people’s names by force, prohibiting people from speaking their mother tongue, for some the only language they spoke? How do we define acts such as these? Are they not cultural genocide?



And let us not forget the harsh punishments associated with enforcing these acts, especially the law of prohibiting the use of the Macedonian language!



Did you know that while the sons of Macedonians in Greece fought the Italians in the Albanian frontier during World War II and sacrificed themselves to preserve the integrity of Greece and to keep the Greeks safe, their fathers were sent to jail by the Greeks, to the Greek islands, for speaking Macedonian at home?! What do we dare call that?!



Now let us ask ourselves this: “What possible reasons could Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria have to commit cultural genocide against the Macedonian people? Why couldn’t they just leave the Macedonian people alone?”



Well, to understand why they did this, we need to go back in time and take a look at events that led to it.



At some point in time during the 19th century, after Nationalism came to exist and after ordinary people started being loyal to nations, the idea of modern homogeneous countries with permanent and solid borders was born.



Even though nationalism was popular and adopted by many countries, it was very rare that a country would be homogeneous meaning that all the people within its borders would belong to a single nation. In practical terms there would always be people belonging to other nations; or what we today call “minorities”.



In those days it was NOT desirable to have minorities in one’s country and there were strong attempts by authorities to homogenize the population by assimilating the minorities into the majority. It was believed that if all the people living within the borders of a country belonged to the same nation there would be no differences between the people to divide them and this would make the country stronger.



This however, also had an opposite effect. In other words, if we were to take all the people inside a country, inside a set of borders and break them down to their “ethnic components” and allow them to exist as such, that country would become weak and eventually break up. Yugoslavia was a good example of this. When Yugoslavia was first created the people were told that they were all “Slavs” and therefore brothers and sisters “bradstvo edinstvo”. But as the country matured and people discovered who they really were, Yugoslavia evolved first to the Kingdom of the Serbians, Croatians and Slovenes, then to Federal Yugoslavia with five republics and eventually to six independent states; Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Macedonia, Kosovo and Montenegro.



So, 19th century philosophy dictated that it was preferable to have one country, one nation and one people because that way the country would be strong. So governments and authorities strived to assimilate the minorities into the majority and create one homogeneous nation inside each country. Unfortunately, this was done under brutal circumstances without giving regard to the destruction of cultures.



With some countries, like Greece and Bulgaria, this practice has continued to this day because they still believe that their countries will weaken and break apart, like Yugoslavia, if they recognize all the ethnicities living inside their borders.



So, how does all this fit with Macedonia and with its 100 year occupation? Well, let us look at the region’s history and see what took place that led to this.



As we know, the Balkan Region for more that 2,000 years, since Philip II’s time, was a single, large borderless unit occupied by several consecutive Empires, the Ottoman Empire being the last to occupy it. Then, during the 19th century, it was broken up and made into several smaller modern countries.



The Great Powers of the 19th century were well aware that the Ottoman Empire, compared to themselves, was weakening and would eventually collapse. But even though that part of the region, as a large landscape, protected the West from Eastern invasions, they still did not want it to exist as a single political unit because they felt it would always be a threat to them. So they preferred to see it broken up. But, if the Ottoman Empire were to break up what would become of its pieces? This essentially gave birth to what later came to be known as the “Eastern Question”. In other words, “What kind of countries would replace the Ottoman Empire?”



The Ottoman Empire was very weak and any one of the Great Powers could have dealt it a death blow. But because all the Great Powers, except for Russia, had investments in it, no one alone dared touch it because they knew the others would retaliate. So to avoid conflict between themselves, the Great Powers refrained from directly interfering in Ottoman affairs. In the long term however they used their proxies, Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria to do their dirty work.



At one point in the mid 1870’s, Russia lost patience with the slow pace of Ottoman decay and decided to attack it. But as expected, the other Great Powers intervened and, in a humiliating way, kicked Russia out of the Balkans. So even though Russia came out victorious, all its sacrifices were in vain.



Some analysts believe that this humiliation created animosities between Russia and the other Powers which lasted through the First and Second World Wars and subsequently sparked the Cold War.



But what many people don’t know is that this Russian-Turkish War was not exclusively fought by Russians alone. There were also Macedonians and other Balkan people that participated in it.



Many of the Macedonian refugees who fled the Ottoman Empire, for various reasons including to avoid persecution for their participation in uprisings, eventually, through Austro-Hungary, found their way to Russia. Russia at the time created a zone of colonies on its southern European frontiers where it settled all refugees and immigrants fleeing Ottoman oppression. It was these colonies that provided Russia with its best fighters. The colonies formed their own Macedonian battalions led by Macedonian commanders and these men were Russia’s fiercest fighters because they believed they were fighting for their own homeland.



One thing the then Great Powers would agree on was that they did not want the Ottoman Empire to be replaced with a single large state. A single large State would be potentially dangerous to them in the future. So they all agreed that the Ottoman Empire had to break up into smaller components. They also agreed that these components would need to be polarized so that they hated each other and there would be no chance of them ever uniting. They also needed to be of equal size so that no one component would have the ability to dominate or swallow any of the others if war was to break out between them.



The one thing that the Great Powers could not agree on was who was going to have influence over which of these components. This is because the Great Powers themselves were in competition with each other for dominance of the region.



As the Ottoman Empire began to crumble at its edges, the Great Powers assisted in every way they could, including helping the smaller nations establish and define themselves.



Here is an example of how the Great Powers influenced these new countries and turned them into their proxies.



The British under Canning’s leadership created a policy to head off Russia’s advance, not by direct opposition, but by liberating and creating national States out of the component parts of the Ottoman Empire. Such States could then be relied upon to withstand Russian encroachment on their independence. The creation of the Kingdom of Greece was the immediate outcome of Canning’s policy.



By the turn of the 20th century, Serbia, Greece and Bulgaria were already sovereign countries with supposedly “homogeneous” populations and looking to expand their territories.



By the turn of the 20th century all that remained of the Ottoman Empire in Europe was the internal core which consisted mostly of Thrace, Macedonia and Albania.



With Macedonia being the largest and main component of the European part of the Ottoman Empire, the question on everyone’s mind was “What will happen to Macedonia and to the Macedonian people” after the Ottoman Empire completely crumbled? This gave birth to what we today call “The Macedonian Question”.



But as we are now discovering, “The Macedonian Question”, at a diplomatic level and in the halls of secrecy had already been answered. The Great Powers and Royals of the time had by now already decided that there would be no Macedonia and the Macedonian territories would be awarded to the Greek, Serbian and Bulgarian kingdoms looking to expand their territories.



So, at some point in time after the Russian-Turkish War, which ended in 1878, the European Great Powers, primarily Britain and France, made a decision not to help Macedonia become an independent state and that the Macedonian territory would be divided and awarded to Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria. But the division would have to be done along “national lines”. Remember, the Great Powers believed in the strength of homogeneous nations, especially in their proxies!



So those three harmless words “along national lines” brought great misery to the Macedonian people that has lasted to this day and is still ongoing in Greece and Bulgaria.



The Great Powers wanted small, equal sized and homogeneous states out of the ashes of the multi-lingual, multi-ethnic, multi-religious, multi-cultural Ottoman Empire and these new upstart Balkan States were going to do just that, create the homogeneity if they had to, at any cost, even if they had to destroy the entire ancient Macedonian culture.



As we know today, the Greeks, Serbians and Bulgarians of that time knew that no “ethnic” Greeks, Serbians, or Bulgarians lived in Macedonia. How could they, when the Greek, Serbian and Bulgarian identity did not form through its natural course. How could there be when these identities were thrust upon these Balkan people practically overnight by the Great Powers. One day these people were Christians and citizens of a 500 year old Ottoman Empire. The next day they were told that they were Greeks, Serbians and Bulgarians. These people, however, through education and intense propaganda, quickly adapted to their new identities.



In Macedonia however, Macedonians already knew that they were Macedonian and the children of Alexander the Great, as they called themselves on many occasions. So fooling the Macedonians into believing that they were Greeks, Serbians and Bulgarians, all at the same time, was not going to be an easy task. But that did not stop our neighbours from trying!



Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria first tried using propaganda to convince the Macedonians that they were Greeks, Serbians and Bulgarians. When that didn’t work they tried opening churches and classifying people by church affiliation. When that did not work they tried opening schools and educating the young to be good Greeks, Serbians and Bulgarians. When that did not work they sent armed hoodlums to frighten the Macedonians into becoming Greeks, Serbians and Bulgarians.



At some point in time the three, Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria, had decided that the best criteria for classifying Macedonians as Greeks, Serbians and Bulgarians would be by their Church affiliation.



Towards the end of the 19th century Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria were allowed to establish their own “National” churches inside Macedonia. The Macedonians also tried to establish a Macedonian church but they were not allowed by the Ottoman authorities mainly because of protests from the other churches who did not want a Macedonian church to be established.



In those days, under Ottoman rule, the church was the ultimate authority over the nation similar to what governments are today.



And because there was no Macedonian Church the Macedonian Christians could only belong to the Greek, Serbian, or Bulgarian Church. So, if a person belonged to one of these churches they were assumed to belong to the “national” identity associated with that Church.



So in our neighbours’ estimation “not having a recognized Macedonian church meant no Macedonian identity existed”. This idea was neatly packaged by Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria and sold to the entire world. Today we have uncovered numerous census reports released by Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria that say “NO” Macedonians lived in Macedonia before, during and after 1903! Now we know why. Because these census reports were based on church affiliation and not on ethnicity!



Naturally, these “assigned identities” to the Macedonians were fluid and people did switch from one Church to another. This too was reflected in the countless census statistic reports released in those days by Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria. People switched “church affiliation” for various reasons depending on which Church offered them better perks, which Church offered them more benefits, which Church offered their children better education and later, which Church exerted more pressure or made stronger threats on their lives.



By the turn of the 20th century the Macedonian people felt they had had enough. They had had enough of the Ottomans who were taxing them to starvation so that they could pay their debts to Western European banks. And they had had enough of their neighbours meddling in their affairs. So, they decided it was time to do something. They decided to plan a rebellion!



Macedonia’s neighbours however would not relent until they possessed Macedonia for themselves as they were promised by the Great Powers and did everything in their powers to achieve that. They even went as far as sabotaging the Macedonian rebellion being planned.



Because of time constraints during this lecture, I will present you with only one example of how one of Macedonia’s neighbours interfered in the Macedonian plans for the Ilinden Uprising.



It was no secret that after the San Stefano Treaty in 1878, Bulgaria wanted all of Macedonia for itself and sought ways to get it. To achieve this, Bulgaria created the External or supremacist or as we call it, Vrhovist Macedonian Revolutionary Organization with aims to free Macedonia from the Ottomans and Annex it to Bulgaria. It was called external because it was headquartered in Sofia, Bulgaria.



Those aims however had to be hidden from the public for a couple of reasons. One, Bulgaria was not allowed to politically or militarily interfere in Ottoman affairs and two, the vast majority of the Macedonian people wanted a free and independent Macedonia and would not favour the idea of a Macedonia to be annexed by Bulgaria.



But a closer look at this Vrhovist organization’s activities reveals that it was created not to help but to weaken the real or Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization by interfering in its affairs and by confusing and dividing the Macedonian people.



Bulgaria knew that the fall of the Ottoman Empire was imminent and it believed that if it occupied Macedonia first, before Greece or Serbia, it would have Russia’s support and better leverage for negotiating a bigger slice of Macedonian territory. Unfortunately at that time Bulgaria was not militarily strong enough to attack and defeat the Ottoman Empire on its own. But it figured that if there was a clash between the Macedonian people and the Ottoman authorities it would weaken the Ottoman Empire. And at the same time if the Macedonian people failed to liberate themselves then this would open opportunities for Bulgaria to charge in, attack and defeat the weakened Ottoman Empire, occupy Macedonia and pretend it was done in order to save the Macedonian people from Ottoman backlash and retaliation.



But in order for this to work, the Macedonian people would have to fail in their attempt to liberate themselves.



To ensure that that would happen, Bulgaria had to, one, instigate the Macedonian people to start a rebellion and, two, make sure the liberation was a failure.



A failed liberation attempt would prompt retaliation from the Ottoman Empire and that would give Bulgaria a reason to militarily invade Macedonia without too many consequences or severe retaliation from the Great Powers.



But, how could Bulgaria ensure that the rebellion would fail?” By forcing the Macedonian people into a rebellion before they were ready!



And why would the Macedonian leadership agree to take part in a rebellion before the people were ready?



Well, no one said it was going to be easy. That is why Bulgaria made many promises;



1. It promised the Macedonian leadership help. Bulgaria assured the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization that it would supply it with guns and the moment the rebellion started, it promised that it would order the Bulgarian army to attack the Ottoman Empire. Bulgaria did deliver on the guns but failed to deliver on ammunition. So the guns were as good as useless.



2. It promised not to interfere in internal affairs. But, unbeknownst to the Macedonians, the Bulgarians made sure that the Macedonians would remain weak. Every time the Bulgarians felt that the Macedonians were getting strong, they would, in some small way, betray them to the Ottomans.



3. It forced an early Uprising. When the Bulgarians could not convince the Macedonian leaders to start the uprising willingly, they took matters into their own hands. The Bulgarians had the Ottomans arrest the top Internal Macedonian Revolutionary leaders and then sent their own Vrhovist leaders to replace them.



The Bulgarians, some say the Bulgarian king himself, provided the Ottoman authorities with a list of all the names of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization central leaders and in February of 1903, almost all of them were rounded up, arrested and jailed. Only a few managed to dodge the authorities. Gotse Delchev was among the few who were not caught.



No sooner had the arrests been made than members of the Vrhovist organization were sent from Bulgaria to replace the jailed Macedonian leaders. The Vrhovists met in Solun and on their own decided to start the uprising. The news of the uprising created great confusion among the unprepared regional leadership. A second meeting was called to review the details of the Solun meeting. The second meeting was to take place in Smilevo on May 3, 1903.



Gotse Delchev was against starting an early uprising because, as the supreme commander of the Macedonian forces, he was well aware of the fact that the Macedonians were not ready to start an Uprising and win. When Delchev became aware of the Solun meeting he was furious and wanted to rush to Smilevo in person and convince the delegates that it would be suicidal to start an uprising at this point in time when most of the regions were not ready.



On his way to Smilevo, Delchev was ambushed in Banitsa and killed!



Was this a coincidence? The entire Ottoman army had been looking for Delchev for months and could not find him. Let me say this: He managed to dodge the Ottoman authorities since he joined the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization and also managed to dodge them while everyone else was caught. So, how was it that he was suddenly not found, but killed? I can tell you this: History has shown that it was by no coincidence that Delchev was killed on his way to Smilevo. He was killed because he was preparing to stop the 1903 uprising from taking place.



So let us ask ourselves: “Was Delchev not a patriotic Macedonian? Did Delchev not want Macedonia to be liberated?” If he was and if he did then why would he want to stop the uprising from taking place? Unless, of course he believed that an early uprising would not succeed and would destroy the Macedonian people’s chance of liberating themselves?! Delchev was a smart man and knew exactly what was going on and that is exactly why he was murdered!



The Smilevo meeting took place without Delchev and even though 80% of the district Chiefs reported that their districts were NOT ready for an early uprising, the uprising took place anyway. And as we know it was not only a disaster, it changed the course of the Macedonian peoples’ history forever!



And in the end, all Bulgarian promises turned out to be false. As for Bulgaria invading Macedonia after the uprising collapsed; Bulgaria was told by Russia to “stay out” because if it invaded Macedonia at this point, it would not only lose Macedonia but it might also lose its own territory.



In fact, the Great Powers ordered all of Macedonia’s neighbours to stay out of Macedonia during the Uprising and just observe while the Ottoman army pummeled the Macedonian people to death. The Great Powers also stayed out and watched from the distance, from their ships in the Aegean Sea, while Macedonian villages burned like candles in the dark of night.



The Great Powers were well aware that the Macedonian people had risen to fight for their freedom and to create a Macedonian state, but decided not to help them, not to become involved. Had the Macedonians succeeded in their fight, perhaps there would be a united Macedonian state today and Macedonia would not have been divided. But failing to gain their independence convinced the Great Powers that the Macedonian people were not worth saving. So thanks to Bulgarian interference the Macedonian people not only lost their chance at independence and creating their own country, but at the same time became prey for Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria.



Now it was no longer “if” but “when” Macedonia was going to be invaded, occupied and partitioned by its neighbours. Immediately after the failed Macedonian uprising, all three countries intensified their preparations for war and in 1912 the three jointly invaded Macedonia, in what is now termed the First Balkan War, and drove the Ottomans out. When the three couldn’t decide how to divide Macedonia, they fought each other for more territory. When Romania got involved the Great Powers stepped in and put an end to the fighting by the 1913 Treaty of Bucharest.



It would appear from what we know so far, that there were no safeguards or arrangements put in the 1913 Treaty of Bucharest regarding the rights of the Macedonian people that came with the lands. In other words, the 1913 Treaty of Bucharest says nothing about the people living on the Macedonian lands granted to Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria. It was left up to the three occupiers to decide their fate.



Before I finish with this example, let me say this:



We are all proud of the idea that the Macedonians, our forefathers, created the first Republic in Europe but do we, for a moment, think what it means? Our forefathers tried to create a Republic during a time when every country in Europe, including the Great Powers, were kingdoms. If you understand what that means you will understand that creating a Republic in the middle of the most powerful kingdoms in the world was like entering a bear’s den blindfolded; like attempting to bring communism into a powerful capitalist state! It was NOT the thing to do in those days!



What kind of impression do you think our forefathers left in the minds of the Great Powers when they decided to create a Republic in the middle of all those kingdoms? Think about it! And did they really think the Great Powers were going to help them? What a blunder!



Soon after Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria consolidated their power over Macedonian territory, through their military occupying forces, they told the people that only Greeks lived in the Greek occupied part; Serbians lived in the Serbian occupied part and Bulgarians lived in the Bulgarian occupied part of Macedonia. Anyone who did not agree with that was told to “pick up what they could carry and leave”.



Subsequent to that the Greeks were claiming that people left voluntarily, but many people interviewed later testified that they were driven out by force for various reasons including for being affiliated with the Bulgarian Church or for fighting in the Ilinden Uprising.



The Greeks also expelled many Macedonians because they were Muslims. Even though these people insisted that they were Macedonians and not Turks, they were expelled anyway.



After World War I in 1919 at the Treaty of Versailles, the European Great Powers ratified the principles of the 1913 Treaty of Bucharest and the three occupiers Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria were basically given the right to do whatever they wanted with their part of Macedonia and with the people they inherited with it. And so they did.



By the Neuilly Convention, signed on November 27, 1919 between Greece and Bulgaria, Greek authorities rounded up 80,000 Macedonians, mainly because they were affiliated with the Bulgarian Church, and expelled them to Bulgaria. While Bulgaria forced out about 25,000 Macedonians because they were affiliated with the Greek Church.



Then came the Treaty of Lausanne signed in July, 1923 after the Greek-Turkish war ended. This Treaty called for the compulsory exchange of populations between Greece and Turkey. Through this Treaty Greece forcibly exiled 354,000 ethnic Macedonians because they were Muslim by religion and imported 1.1 million Christian Turkish colonists from Asia Minor of whom they settled 660,000 in Macedonia. This in fact changed Macedonia’s demography for the first time in Macedonia’s history.



Now it seems, official Greek policy is to call these colonists “autochthonous Macedonians” while they deny the real Macedonians their rights and identity. Greek propaganda now claims that a population of 2.5 million “pure Macedonians” live in “Greek Macedonia”; this includes their former Prime Minister Karamanlis who is in fact an Asia Minor colonist.



Then came the erasure of everything that pointed to a Macedonian existence. Both Greece and Serbia developed policies to change people’s names and make them sound more Greek and Serbian. The Greeks enacted laws that renamed all the Macedonian people’s names, toponyms and place names and made them Greek sounding. The Greeks also burned all the Macedonian Bibles written in Kiril and Metodi’s Old Macedonian alphabet and painted Greek letters over the Macedonian Cyrillic script on church icons and other relics. The Greeks also desecrated Macedonian cemeteries by removing and destroying headstones and by plowing over them. They literally destroyed all evidence of a Macedonian existence.



They also attacked the Macedonian language, the only living thing remaining that was proof of a Macedonian existence. The harshest measures taken against the Macedonian language were during the Metaxas dictatorship years after Metaxas came to power on August 4, 1936. During that time the Greek regime strongly opposed the use of the Macedonian language and harshly punished and jailed those speaking it in public or in private.



The Greek regime showed its true cruelty towards the Macedonian people when it sent many Macedonians to prison in the Greek island prison camps for simply speaking their native mother tongue; the only language they knew.



All three; Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria interfered in Macedonian affairs all through World War II and throughout the Greek Civil War; too many incidents to mention here. Perhaps I can talk about those in another lecture.



But the final insult against the Macedonian people came when Greece, in the 1980’s, introduced the law on repatriation which allowed only “Greeks by birth” to return back to their place of origin!



And who exactly are these Greeks by birth? Here again Greece has used an “ambiguous expression” and some legal maneuvers to basically exclude whoever it wants. But we all know this ambiguity was created to weed out the Macedonians.



Allow me to explain.



After all the population exchanges took place, about which I mentioned earlier, Greece announced to the world that “only Greeks now live in Greece”. In the late 1920’s Greece released demographic statistics claiming that 98% pure Greeks and 2% Muslim Greeks lived in Greece. This was not a joke!



So, according to these statistics, basically everyone who lived in Greece, say after 1930, was pure Greek. That means that everyone who left Greece during the Greek Civil War in 1949 was also Greek. So why would Greece need a law to repatriate “only Greeks by birth” if everyone in Greece was Greek in the first place? And who were these “other” people who were not Greeks by birth that Greece did not want back?



By claiming to have “98% pure Greeks and 2% Muslim Greeks” living in Greece, Greek authorities whitewashed the idea of any “other” ethnicities living in Greece. On the surface this looked like 100% Greeks live in Greece. A normal person would interpret this to mean that Greece was 100% homogeneous because the entire Greek population was “ethnically” Greek. And that is exactly how Greece wanted people to think!



But looking into their statement a bit deeper one would notice the word “Muslim” which in fact implies “religious affiliation”. The word “pure” is a bit strange but not if we replace it with “Orthodox”. Orthodoxy can be viewed as a pure religion.



The word “Greek” is a bit confusing because there was no such thing as an “ethnic” Greek at that time. In fact there was no ethnic or national Greek identity prior to the creation of the Greek state in 1829. So at that point in time the idea of someone being “Greek” could have meant a number of things. A Greek citizen could be Greek. A person speaking the so-called Greek language could be considered to be Greek. A person living inside Greece’s borders could be called a Greek. A person with a Greek sounding name could be a Greek. And so on.



By claiming to have “98% pure Greeks and 2% Muslim Greeks” living in Greece the Greek authorities in effect meant that “98% of the population living inside the current borders of Greece are Orthodox Christian and 2 % are Muslim”, which says absolutely nothing about the “ethnic composition” of the population inside Greece. In other words Greece doesn’t say it, but it wants you to think that 100% “ethnic Greeks” live in Greece. So the stats Greece released in the late 1920’s reflected the country’s “religious affiliation” and NOT its ethnic composition!



You can see here how Greece is using ambiguity to basically include and exclude whoever it wants. Legally, here Greece can argue that a person cannot possibly be Greek if they don’t have a Greek name or if they claim to be born in a village that does not have a Greek name! So, all those who changed their Greek names back to their Macedonian names while outside of Greece were not allowed to return. In other words, you can’t possibly have a Macedonian name if you were born in Greece.



How did I arrive at this conclusion you ask?



Well, when I knew nothing about all this, being very curious about how Greece came to have 100% pure Greeks, I decided to look into it. My first task was to verify that indeed 98% pure Greeks and 2% Muslim Greeks live in Greece.



Now, I have to admit that I don’t know everyone in Greece but I do know everyone from my village which since 1913 has been part of Greece. So if my village is part of Greece then the people living in it should belong to one of the “official” Greek categories “pure Greeks” or “Muslim Greeks”.



But to my surprise I could not find a single “ethnic Greek” in my village. Of all the people I asked if they were “Greek” not one said they were! Those who did say they were Greeks turned out to have Macedonian parents or grandparents so in fact they were not “ethnic” Greeks.



No, this can’t be right! I was explicitly taught this in school and I know institutions, governments, Churches, Priests, etc. don’t openly lie when they can be challenged! So I thought it had to be some kind of trick!



I then expanded my inquiry and began asking other people, from other villages to identify the Greeks in their village. I did this with many villages and with many people I know. But in the end I failed to find any ethnic Greeks living anywhere in Greek occupied Macedonia! I found Turkish Asia Minor colonists, Vlachs, Albanians, a lot of Macedonians… But not a single ethnic Greek! No one could prove that they were “ethnic” Greek!



So, who are these “elusive” ethnic Greeks and where could they be found?



Now I became really curious and started to look for “ethnic” Greeks south of Mount Olympus and there too I could not find a single ethnic Greek with a history that stretched beyond the existence of the Modern Greek state.



I was not the only one either. In my research I found over 200 authors, all of them westerners, who felt that Greece and the Greeks were a new creation that never existed before.



I will read you a quote from one of those authors who loves Greece but loves the truth even more:



“Further back still beyond the War of Independence, when the modern nation-state of Greece came into being for the first time, the whole concept of Greece as a geographical entity that begins to blur before our eyes, so many and various were its shapes and meanings. But if geography can offer us no stable idea of Greece, what can? Not race, certainly; for whatever the Greeks may once have been, ...., they can hardly have had much blood-relationship with the Greeks of the peninsula of today, Serbs and Bulgars, Romans, Franks and Venetians, Turks, Albanians,..., in one invasion after another have made the modern Greeks a decidedly mongrel race. Not politics either; for in spite of that tenacious western legend about Greece as the birthplace and natural home of democracy, the political record of the Greeks is one of a singular instability and confusion in which, throughout history, the poles of anarchy modulated freedom has very rarely appeared. Not religion; for while Byzantium was Christian, ancient Hellas was pagan.” David Holden, “Greece without Columns”.



When I found out that there are “literally” no “ethnic Greeks” to be found anywhere, I became curious as to how Greece could be populated with 100% Greeks and not a single one of them was an ethnic Greek.



But, I think I will stop here and leave this topic for another lecture.



From what I discovered in my research, the term “Greek” is so ambiguous that everyone who lives in Greece can be a “Greek” by geography, by political affiliation, by church affiliation or one can be a Greek by having a Greek sounding name or simply by being a Greek citizen.



I have approached people with this information in hand who strongly believe they are Greeks and when everything was said and done, I asked them, “If you were not Greeks by ethnicity then what makes you Greek?” Almost without exception, they all said: “They were Greek because they felt like Greeks, spoke the Greek language and were very proud of being Greek.” In other words, even pride can make Greeks out of Vlachs, Albanians, Turks and even Macedonians!



But this has not stopped these fake Greeks from interfering in Macedonian affairs and from claiming that Macedonians do not exist and we the “autochthonous Macedonians” can’t be Macedonians because the Macedonians are Greek. Greek interference in Macedonian affairs is not limited to only inside Greece. Greeks also interfere in Macedonian affairs everywhere in the world.



The invention of the so-called “Name Dispute” is another example of how Greece has used its influence to not only fool the entire world about what is going on, but to also distract the Macedonian people from their real challenges; the fact that Macedonia is occupied by Greece and that the Macedonian people have no rights and are abused to no end!



The so-called “Name dispute” is a perfect example where outside interference has not only preoccupied the entire Macedonian nation with a nonsensical and whimsical problem but it has also placed Macedonia in a losing situation. Because the Greeks, with the invention of the so-called “name dispute” have placed themselves in a position where “the solution to this problem” is entirely dependent on them, there is no “winning” exit scenario out of this mess for Macedonia. Macedonia unwittingly put its foot in this trap and is now faced with three possible scenarios.



1. Voluntarily change its own name in order to exit this problem and be accepted in International organizations. This scenario, if taken, will literally forever end the Macedonian identity and permanently close the Macedonian question. In other words, if Macedonians change their own name they will seal their own fate.



2. Remain in limbo and remain a Greek hostage forever. Greece is inside, in the warm atmosphere of our home while we linger and protest outside in the cold so why would Greece care if this “problem” goes on forever? Greece has the upper hand. Greece possesses our lands and controls our destiny, so why would Greece seek a solution that might change all that. Greece would love to see this problem go on unresolved forever because it is in Greece’s interest. There is no incentive for Greece to solve this problem.



Even if the name dispute is resolved, Greece will fabricate and introduce a new problem to keep us busy running around in circles.



But we can’t blame Greece entirely for protecting its interests. It seems that Greece sets the traps for us and we, without thinking, put our feet in them.



If you disagree with me then tell me, “What are we doing negotiating our own country’s name with our worst enemy?” Think about it!



Or



3. A repeat of the 1912, 1913 scenario. Macedonia could be forced by the Great Powers to change its name in order to comply with Greece’s wishes. If it refuses it can be invaded. It almost happened about a decade ago. Now, not only do we have the Greeks and Bulgarians, we also have the Albanians vying for a slice of Macedonia. All the Great Powers have to say is either change your name or face the consequences. We are getting tired of you dragging this problem! This scenario will solve “everyone’s” problems except for our own!



By accepting to negotiate our own name, with our worst enemy, we put ourselves in a trap from which it will be very difficult to escape without dire consequences.



The only way out of this problem is if the entire world disagrees with Greece and makes an effort to help us. But what are the chances of that happening when we know countries like France not only created Greece but also sanctioned its activities against us including the population exchanges and the signing of the 1913 Treaty of Bucharest. As long as Greece has the support of one Great Power it will never relent!



All three; Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria have interfered in Macedonian affairs; but most of all Greece and Bulgaria. In the past they each created fake Macedonian organizations in the Diaspora to market their anti-Macedonian propaganda; not only to lie to the world about Macedonia but to keep the Macedonian people divided.



They each have infiltrated Macedonian organizations and institutions and turned them against the Macedonian cause. They have offered Macedonians free education, passports, citizenship and financial and other help with their businesses in order to stop them from aiding the Macedonian cause.



All this was done and is still being done in order to divide the Macedonian people and keep them weak.



Thankfully one part of Macedonia is free. But unfortunately, three more parts are not. The largest part of Macedonia is still occupied.



So, what can be done to change the situation?



The first thing we need to do is understand our own weaknesses and how we are being manipulated!



As we stand today we are a divided people: not only because of the Grkomani, the Bulgaromani, the Serbomani, the Albanomani and what have you, but also because of ourselves; the real Macedonians.



As a nation, we have yet to learn who we really are. We don’t know who we are because others, our enemies have been defining us. They have been telling us who we are and writing our fake history for us. The same people who until yesterday called us Greeks, Serbians and Bulgarians today are saying that we are “Slavs” that we came from somewhere else and that we can’t be Macedonians. And there are some of us out there who believe them, who believe that we came from somewhere. I have a three volume Macedonian history book at home written in the Macedonian language and published some years ago by a reputable publisher that claims our history began in the 6th century AD when we arrived in Macedonia. In other words, there is no Macedonian history before that!



Has anyone in our entire folklore ever mentioned that we came to Macedonia from somewhere else? Where is the proof that we came from somewhere else? Our true history, however, tells a different story. Our true history is full of signs that point to us being indigenous to Macedonia. More correctly, we are the product of all the people, the indigenous Macedonians and all those people who set foot and left their mark in Macedonia since the melt of the last ice age.



We are Macedonians because we, our fathers and mothers, our grandfathers and grandmothers and many generations of men and women before them, who were born in Macedonia, were Macedonians because the land on which we were born, grew up and died was called Macedonia! We don’t need our enemies to define us and tell us who we are and who we are not! We ARE Macedonians because that is exactly what we are!



Unfortunately, many of us tend to believe the lies of our enemies. And at the same time we seldom question the lies our enemies tell us about themselves.



As a nation we have been manipulated by the Great Powers and by their proxies Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria for over a century and yet to this day we seem to be unaware of it.



We are truth seekers, innocent, peaceful and kind people; traits that define us as a people. Unfortunately these same traits are interpreted as “weaknesses” by our enemies and by the world. We have been peacefully crying foul about our lack of rights in Greece, Bulgaria and Albania and our cries seem to have gone unnoticed. But we have failed to change our strategy! Why?



However, the moment the Albanians in Macedonia brandished their weapons, everyone ran to see what they wanted. On one occasion they were even rescued from being demolished by the Macedonian army. They were rescued not by their allies but by their own enemies; a Macedonian President no less.



Imagine, the Commander in Chief of the Macedonian Army rescuing his enemy. Where in the world have we even heard of a President of a country saving his enemy from being attacked by his own army? Only in Macedonia!



This is equivalent to George W. Bush ordering his army to stand down while he provides buses to save the terrorists who attacked the New York Towers and without disarming them. I think this is the biggest historic blunder we have ever made as Macedonians to date!



Imagine what this act did to the morale of the Macedonian Army! Worse than that, imagine these same hoodlums, who yesterday raised weapons against the Macedonian army and against the Macedonian people, today are the politicians who run the country and the army commanders who lead our forces, even the soldiers who fought against them only yesterday. Imagine! This happens only in Macedonia!



These are unforgivable blunders!



We believe the “words” of others because they sound patriotic and we, on many occasions have allowed outsiders to “manipulate” us and use our kindness and patriotism against us, and if I may add, many times without our knowledge.



Our history is full of such examples! But our history, the true history of what really happened to us has yet to be understood by our people.



We are “truth seekers” yet we are afraid of the truth. We are afraid of standing up and speaking the truth even about the worst things that have been done to us.



Tell me is there no Macedonian out there today who does not know what Greece has done to us?



Tell me is there no Macedonian out there today who does not know that Greece has no authority over the Republic of Macedonia?



So, why are we negotiating our own name with Greece? Is there anyone out there who truly understands what this looks like from other people’s perspectives?



Is there no Macedonian in the Macedonian government who does not know that the Ilinden Uprising took place and that it was a struggle for freedom and for the creation of a Macedonian state? So, why do we allow Greece and Bulgaria to publicly say we don’t exist?



Is there no Macedonian in authority today who does not know how Macedonia was invaded, occupied and partitioned in 1912, 1913 and how Macedonia became Greek, Serbian and Bulgarian?



If there are such people out there then tell me why not one of them has stood up to Greece and to the world and said “something” to that effect?



Alternatively, let us look at Greece’s “real” history. There are hundreds and hundreds of authors and historians that have written about Greece’s real history; about the modern Greeks who are not Greeks at all: who in reality are recent Slav, Albanian and Vlach immigrants who came to the region during the 6th, 11th and 13th century AD. This is Greece’s “real” history! Athens only 200 years ago was an Albanian village of 5,000 people. Look at it today, it is a multi-million metropolis populated by pure Greeks, descendents from the ancient Greeks. What a farce!



Why have we not stood up to these “charlatans” and put them in their place? What are we waiting for? What are we afraid of?



For the last 3 or 4 decades I have watched us playing defense and fumble over and over again. Has it not occurred to us that we can’t win, not even a single game, if we continue to play defense?



If we are such great truth seekers why has not a single Macedonian in authority spoken the truth where it counts? What are we waiting for? Why haven’t we attacked the Greek identity the way they have attacked ours? We are REAL Macedonians and they are not even Greeks!



About five years ago I wrote an e-mail to a prominent historian who had written about Balkan history and asked him why he had not written about us Macedonians!



I got what I thought was a surprising answer! He said, “Why don’t you first write ‘something’ about yourselves and then I will write about you! Where am I supposed to find the information to write about you?”



My point: If we don’t stand up to Greece and Bulgaria who do we expect will?



Well my friends I can tell you this with certainty, “NO ONE” is going to do anything for us if we are not willing to do it for ourselves. In fact, no one is going to do anything for us until we start doing things for ourselves!



So, as Macedonians what exactly do we want from Greece, Bulgaria and Albania? Do we really know and can we agree on what it is that we want? When was the last time we sat down together as Macedonians to decide what it is that we want and what will be acceptable to us?



Within a few years of Israel becoming a country, the Israeli government invited all Israeli Organizations, Associations, intellectuals, etc. and individually interviewed them to find out what they wanted out of Israel. Based on their answers Israel then set out its objectives and successfully sued Germany and other countries who then paid the Israeli people compensation for damages. What have we done to this day to prepare for our future?



If tomorrow Greece calls us to a meeting and asks us what it is that we want from Greece will we be prepared to voice our needs?

[George S.]

One Hundred Years of Occupation

By Risto Stefov



Lecture - presented for the Historical Society in Toronto on January 27, 2013



In spite of the Macedonian people having risen in 1903 to fight for their freedom and to create an Independent Macedonian state, only ten years later, Macedonia was brutally invaded, occupied and partitioned by its neighbours Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria; a partition validated by the European Great Powers on August 10, 1913 by the Treaty of Bucharest.



Why did this happen? What were the factors leading up to it? And who wanted this to happen?



In the past I have done lectures where we looked at events and how they unfolded. Today, in this lecture, in addition to looking at “how” events unfolded, we will also look at “why” events unfolded, “who” was behind them and “what” were their aims. We will look at a number of events in chronological order keeping in mind how all this fits in the bigger picture. What I will say today, for some, will be new, unusual and probably never heard of before.



Now let us look at the “theme” of this lecture – the word “occupation”. What does it mean and how does it apply to Macedonia.



According to the Oxford dictionary of current English, occupation in this sense means: “Being occupied by armed forces of another country…” Well, armed forces belonging to Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria did invade and occupy Macedonia in October 1912 and have been there ever since. That is, until 1991 when the Serbian army left the Serbian occupied part of Macedonia and that part became the independent Republic of Macedonia. Sadly the parts of Macedonia awarded to Greece, Bulgaria and Albania are still occupied to this day.



But what “really” happened in Macedonia and to the Macedonian people in the last 100 years was more than just an “occupation”. It was more than just armies entering a region and laying claims to it. It was a deliberately perpetrated act to forcibly grab Macedonian lands and to destroy the Macedonian identity and culture. It was a deliberate act which, according to the Oxford dictionary, can be interpreted as: “Genocide!” Yes Genocide, intentionally perpetrated against the Macedonian culture and against the Macedonian nation.



If this is hard to believe or hard to accept that Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria intentionally committed genocidal acts against the Macedonian culture and against the Macedonian people, then ask yourselves this;



Did Macedonians exist in Macedonia when it was brutally invaded, occupied and partitioned in 1912 and 1913 by Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria?



YES they did! How do we know? Among other things, from historical evidence left behind!



Yes! We all know that Macedonians existed in 1912, 1913. In fact the whole world knew that Macedonians existed even before that because they read about them in their newspapers. The entire world read about the 1903 Ilinden Uprising and how the Macedonian people were struggling to free themselves from Ottoman oppression! Today we have hundreds of newspaper clippings from that time, from practically every major newspaper in the world, which, without a doubt, proves that Macedonians existed in 1903, only a decade before Macedonia was brutally invaded, occupied and partitioned by Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria.



Unfortunately today both Greece and Bulgaria claim that Macedonians don’t exist? If that is true then what happened to them? Where did they all go? Did they all vanish? Were they all assimilated?”



Knowing that Macedonians did exist in 1903, on account of all those newspaper reports, then why did the Great Powers allow Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria to invade, occupy and partition Macedonia and suppress the existence of the Macedonian culture? Is that in itself not genocide?



So, what did Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria do with the Macedonians they inherited in 1913? Well, from what history has shown, they assimilated some, they exiled some and they killed some, by the tens of thousands and by the hundreds of thousands at every opportunity! History is full of such examples.



And what do we call acts like changing people’s names by force, prohibiting people from speaking their mother tongue, for some the only language they spoke? How do we define acts such as these? Are they not cultural genocide?



And let us not forget the harsh punishments associated with enforcing these acts, especially the law of prohibiting the use of the Macedonian language!



Did you know that while the sons of Macedonians in Greece fought the Italians in the Albanian frontier during World War II and sacrificed themselves to preserve the integrity of Greece and to keep the Greeks safe, their fathers were sent to jail by the Greeks, to the Greek islands, for speaking Macedonian at home?! What do we dare call that?!



Now let us ask ourselves this: “What possible reasons could Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria have to commit cultural genocide against the Macedonian people? Why couldn’t they just leave the Macedonian people alone?”



Well, to understand why they did this, we need to go back in time and take a look at events that led to it.



At some point in time during the 19th century, after Nationalism came to exist and after ordinary people started being loyal to nations, the idea of modern homogeneous countries with permanent and solid borders was born.



Even though nationalism was popular and adopted by many countries, it was very rare that a country would be homogeneous meaning that all the people within its borders would belong to a single nation. In practical terms there would always be people belonging to other nations; or what we today call “minorities”.



In those days it was NOT desirable to have minorities in one’s country and there were strong attempts by authorities to homogenize the population by assimilating the minorities into the majority. It was believed that if all the people living within the borders of a country belonged to the same nation there would be no differences between the people to divide them and this would make the country stronger.



This however, also had an opposite effect. In other words, if we were to take all the people inside a country, inside a set of borders and break them down to their “ethnic components” and allow them to exist as such, that country would become weak and eventually break up. Yugoslavia was a good example of this. When Yugoslavia was first created the people were told that they were all “Slavs” and therefore brothers and sisters “bradstvo edinstvo”. But as the country matured and people discovered who they really were, Yugoslavia evolved first to the Kingdom of the Serbians, Croatians and Slovenes, then to Federal Yugoslavia with five republics and eventually to six independent states; Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Macedonia, Kosovo and Montenegro.



So, 19th century philosophy dictated that it was preferable to have one country, one nation and one people because that way the country would be strong. So governments and authorities strived to assimilate the minorities into the majority and create one homogeneous nation inside each country. Unfortunately, this was done under brutal circumstances without giving regard to the destruction of cultures.



With some countries, like Greece and Bulgaria, this practice has continued to this day because they still believe that their countries will weaken and break apart, like Yugoslavia, if they recognize all the ethnicities living inside their borders.



So, how does all this fit with Macedonia and with its 100 year occupation? Well, let us look at the region’s history and see what took place that led to this.



As we know, the Balkan Region for more that 2,000 years, since Philip II’s time, was a single, large borderless unit occupied by several consecutive Empires, the Ottoman Empire being the last to occupy it. Then, during the 19th century, it was broken up and made into several smaller modern countries.



The Great Powers of the 19th century were well aware that the Ottoman Empire, compared to themselves, was weakening and would eventually collapse. But even though that part of the region, as a large landscape, protected the West from Eastern invasions, they still did not want it to exist as a single political unit because they felt it would always be a threat to them. So they preferred to see it broken up. But, if the Ottoman Empire were to break up what would become of its pieces? This essentially gave birth to what later came to be known as the “Eastern Question”. In other words, “What kind of countries would replace the Ottoman Empire?”



The Ottoman Empire was very weak and any one of the Great Powers could have dealt it a death blow. But because all the Great Powers, except for Russia, had investments in it, no one alone dared touch it because they knew the others would retaliate. So to avoid conflict between themselves, the Great Powers refrained from directly interfering in Ottoman affairs. In the long term however they used their proxies, Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria to do their dirty work.



At one point in the mid 1870’s, Russia lost patience with the slow pace of Ottoman decay and decided to attack it. But as expected, the other Great Powers intervened and, in a humiliating way, kicked Russia out of the Balkans. So even though Russia came out victorious, all its sacrifices were in vain.



Some analysts believe that this humiliation created animosities between Russia and the other Powers which lasted through the First and Second World Wars and subsequently sparked the Cold War.



But what many people don’t know is that this Russian-Turkish War was not exclusively fought by Russians alone. There were also Macedonians and other Balkan people that participated in it.



Many of the Macedonian refugees who fled the Ottoman Empire, for various reasons including to avoid persecution for their participation in uprisings, eventually, through Austro-Hungary, found their way to Russia. Russia at the time created a zone of colonies on its southern European frontiers where it settled all refugees and immigrants fleeing Ottoman oppression. It was these colonies that provided Russia with its best fighters. The colonies formed their own Macedonian battalions led by Macedonian commanders and these men were Russia’s fiercest fighters because they believed they were fighting for their own homeland.



One thing the then Great Powers would agree on was that they did not want the Ottoman Empire to be replaced with a single large state. A single large State would be potentially dangerous to them in the future. So they all agreed that the Ottoman Empire had to break up into smaller components. They also agreed that these components would need to be polarized so that they hated each other and there would be no chance of them ever uniting. They also needed to be of equal size so that no one component would have the ability to dominate or swallow any of the others if war was to break out between them.



The one thing that the Great Powers could not agree on was who was going to have influence over which of these components. This is because the Great Powers themselves were in competition with each other for dominance of the region.



As the Ottoman Empire began to crumble at its edges, the Great Powers assisted in every way they could, including helping the smaller nations establish and define themselves.



Here is an example of how the Great Powers influenced these new countries and turned them into their proxies.



The British under Canning’s leadership created a policy to head off Russia’s advance, not by direct opposition, but by liberating and creating national States out of the component parts of the Ottoman Empire. Such States could then be relied upon to withstand Russian encroachment on their independence. The creation of the Kingdom of Greece was the immediate outcome of Canning’s policy.



By the turn of the 20th century, Serbia, Greece and Bulgaria were already sovereign countries with supposedly “homogeneous” populations and looking to expand their territories.



By the turn of the 20th century all that remained of the Ottoman Empire in Europe was the internal core which consisted mostly of Thrace, Macedonia and Albania.



With Macedonia being the largest and main component of the European part of the Ottoman Empire, the question on everyone’s mind was “What will happen to Macedonia and to the Macedonian people” after the Ottoman Empire completely crumbled? This gave birth to what we today call “The Macedonian Question”.



But as we are now discovering, “The Macedonian Question”, at a diplomatic level and in the halls of secrecy had already been answered. The Great Powers and Royals of the time had by now already decided that there would be no Macedonia and the Macedonian territories would be awarded to the Greek, Serbian and Bulgarian kingdoms looking to expand their territories.



So, at some point in time after the Russian-Turkish War, which ended in 1878, the European Great Powers, primarily Britain and France, made a decision not to help Macedonia become an independent state and that the Macedonian territory would be divided and awarded to Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria. But the division would have to be done along “national lines”. Remember, the Great Powers believed in the strength of homogeneous nations, especially in their proxies!



So those three harmless words “along national lines” brought great misery to the Macedonian people that has lasted to this day and is still ongoing in Greece and Bulgaria.



The Great Powers wanted small, equal sized and homogeneous states out of the ashes of the multi-lingual, multi-ethnic, multi-religious, multi-cultural Ottoman Empire and these new upstart Balkan States were going to do just that, create the homogeneity if they had to, at any cost, even if they had to destroy the entire ancient Macedonian culture.



As we know today, the Greeks, Serbians and Bulgarians of that time knew that no “ethnic” Greeks, Serbians, or Bulgarians lived in Macedonia. How could they, when the Greek, Serbian and Bulgarian identity did not form through its natural course. How could there be when these identities were thrust upon these Balkan people practically overnight by the Great Powers. One day these people were Christians and citizens of a 500 year old Ottoman Empire. The next day they were told that they were Greeks, Serbians and Bulgarians. These people, however, through education and intense propaganda, quickly adapted to their new identities.



In Macedonia however, Macedonians already knew that they were Macedonian and the children of Alexander the Great, as they called themselves on many occasions. So fooling the Macedonians into believing that they were Greeks, Serbians and Bulgarians, all at the same time, was not going to be an easy task. But that did not stop our neighbours from trying!



Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria first tried using propaganda to convince the Macedonians that they were Greeks, Serbians and Bulgarians. When that didn’t work they tried opening churches and classifying people by church affiliation. When that did not work they tried opening schools and educating the young to be good Greeks, Serbians and Bulgarians. When that did not work they sent armed hoodlums to frighten the Macedonians into becoming Greeks, Serbians and Bulgarians.



At some point in time the three, Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria, had decided that the best criteria for classifying Macedonians as Greeks, Serbians and Bulgarians would be by their Church affiliation.



Towards the end of the 19th century Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria were allowed to establish their own “National” churches inside Macedonia. The Macedonians also tried to establish a Macedonian church but they were not allowed by the Ottoman authorities mainly because of protests from the other churches who did not want a Macedonian church to be established.



In those days, under Ottoman rule, the church was the ultimate authority over the nation similar to what governments are today.



And because there was no Macedonian Church the Macedonian Christians could only belong to the Greek, Serbian, or Bulgarian Church. So, if a person belonged to one of these churches they were assumed to belong to the “national” identity associated with that Church.



So in our neighbours’ estimation “not having a recognized Macedonian church meant no Macedonian identity existed”. This idea was neatly packaged by Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria and sold to the entire world. Today we have uncovered numerous census reports released by Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria that say “NO” Macedonians lived in Macedonia before, during and after 1903! Now we know why. Because these census reports were based on church affiliation and not on ethnicity!



Naturally, these “assigned identities” to the Macedonians were fluid and people did switch from one Church to another. This too was reflected in the countless census statistic reports released in those days by Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria. People switched “church affiliation” for various reasons depending on which Church offered them better perks, which Church offered them more benefits, which Church offered their children better education and later, which Church exerted more pressure or made stronger threats on their lives.



By the turn of the 20th century the Macedonian people felt they had had enough. They had had enough of the Ottomans who were taxing them to starvation so that they could pay their debts to Western European banks. And they had had enough of their neighbours meddling in their affairs. So, they decided it was time to do something. They decided to plan a rebellion!



Macedonia’s neighbours however would not relent until they possessed Macedonia for themselves as they were promised by the Great Powers and did everything in their powers to achieve that. They even went as far as sabotaging the Macedonian rebellion being planned.



Because of time constraints during this lecture, I will present you with only one example of how one of Macedonia’s neighbours interfered in the Macedonian plans for the Ilinden Uprising.



It was no secret that after the San Stefano Treaty in 1878, Bulgaria wanted all of Macedonia for itself and sought ways to get it. To achieve this, Bulgaria created the External or supremacist or as we call it, Vrhovist Macedonian Revolutionary Organization with aims to free Macedonia from the Ottomans and Annex it to Bulgaria. It was called external because it was headquartered in Sofia, Bulgaria.



Those aims however had to be hidden from the public for a couple of reasons. One, Bulgaria was not allowed to politically or militarily interfere in Ottoman affairs and two, the vast majority of the Macedonian people wanted a free and independent Macedonia and would not favour the idea of a Macedonia to be annexed by Bulgaria.



But a closer look at this Vrhovist organization’s activities reveals that it was created not to help but to weaken the real or Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization by interfering in its affairs and by confusing and dividing the Macedonian people.



Bulgaria knew that the fall of the Ottoman Empire was imminent and it believed that if it occupied Macedonia first, before Greece or Serbia, it would have Russia’s support and better leverage for negotiating a bigger slice of Macedonian territory. Unfortunately at that time Bulgaria was not militarily strong enough to attack and defeat the Ottoman Empire on its own. But it figured that if there was a clash between the Macedonian people and the Ottoman authorities it would weaken the Ottoman Empire. And at the same time if the Macedonian people failed to liberate themselves then this would open opportunities for Bulgaria to charge in, attack and defeat the weakened Ottoman Empire, occupy Macedonia and pretend it was done in order to save the Macedonian people from Ottoman backlash and retaliation.



But in order for this to work, the Macedonian people would have to fail in their attempt to liberate themselves.



To ensure that that would happen, Bulgaria had to, one, instigate the Macedonian people to start a rebellion and, two, make sure the liberation was a failure.



A failed liberation attempt would prompt retaliation from the Ottoman Empire and that would give Bulgaria a reason to militarily invade Macedonia without too many consequences or severe retaliation from the Great Powers.



But, how could Bulgaria ensure that the rebellion would fail?” By forcing the Macedonian people into a rebellion before they were ready!



And why would the Macedonian leadership agree to take part in a rebellion before the people were ready?



Well, no one said it was going to be easy. That is why Bulgaria made many promises;



1. It promised the Macedonian leadership help. Bulgaria assured the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization that it would supply it with guns and the moment the rebellion started, it promised that it would order the Bulgarian army to attack the Ottoman Empire. Bulgaria did deliver on the guns but failed to deliver on ammunition. So the guns were as good as useless.



2. It promised not to interfere in internal affairs. But, unbeknownst to the Macedonians, the Bulgarians made sure that the Macedonians would remain weak. Every time the Bulgarians felt that the Macedonians were getting strong, they would, in some small way, betray them to the Ottomans.



3. It forced an early Uprising. When the Bulgarians could not convince the Macedonian leaders to start the uprising willingly, they took matters into their own hands. The Bulgarians had the Ottomans arrest the top Internal Macedonian Revolutionary leaders and then sent their own Vrhovist leaders to replace them.



The Bulgarians, some say the Bulgarian king himself, provided the Ottoman authorities with a list of all the names of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization central leaders and in February of 1903, almost all of them were rounded up, arrested and jailed. Only a few managed to dodge the authorities. Gotse Delchev was among the few who were not caught.



No sooner had the arrests been made than members of the Vrhovist organization were sent from Bulgaria to replace the jailed Macedonian leaders. The Vrhovists met in Solun and on their own decided to start the uprising. The news of the uprising created great confusion among the unprepared regional leadership. A second meeting was called to review the details of the Solun meeting. The second meeting was to take place in Smilevo on May 3, 1903.



Gotse Delchev was against starting an early uprising because, as the supreme commander of the Macedonian forces, he was well aware of the fact that the Macedonians were not ready to start an Uprising and win. When Delchev became aware of the Solun meeting he was furious and wanted to rush to Smilevo in person and convince the delegates that it would be suicidal to start an uprising at this point in time when most of the regions were not ready.



On his way to Smilevo, Delchev was ambushed in Banitsa and killed!



Was this a coincidence? The entire Ottoman army had been looking for Delchev for months and could not find him. Let me say this: He managed to dodge the Ottoman authorities since he joined the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization and also managed to dodge them while everyone else was caught. So, how was it that he was suddenly not found, but killed? I can tell you this: History has shown that it was by no coincidence that Delchev was killed on his way to Smilevo. He was killed because he was preparing to stop the 1903 uprising from taking place.



So let us ask ourselves: “Was Delchev not a patriotic Macedonian? Did Delchev not want Macedonia to be liberated?” If he was and if he did then why would he want to stop the uprising from taking place? Unless, of course he believed that an early uprising would not succeed and would destroy the Macedonian people’s chance of liberating themselves?! Delchev was a smart man and knew exactly what was going on and that is exactly why he was murdered!



The Smilevo meeting took place without Delchev and even though 80% of the district Chiefs reported that their districts were NOT ready for an early uprising, the uprising took place anyway. And as we know it was not only a disaster, it changed the course of the Macedonian peoples’ history forever!



And in the end, all Bulgarian promises turned out to be false. As for Bulgaria invading Macedonia after the uprising collapsed; Bulgaria was told by Russia to “stay out” because if it invaded Macedonia at this point, it would not only lose Macedonia but it might also lose its own territory.



In fact, the Great Powers ordered all of Macedonia’s neighbours to stay out of Macedonia during the Uprising and just observe while the Ottoman army pummeled the Macedonian people to death. The Great Powers also stayed out and watched from the distance, from their ships in the Aegean Sea, while Macedonian villages burned like candles in the dark of night.



The Great Powers were well aware that the Macedonian people had risen to fight for their freedom and to create a Macedonian state, but decided not to help them, not to become involved. Had the Macedonians succeeded in their fight, perhaps there would be a united Macedonian state today and Macedonia would not have been divided. But failing to gain their independence convinced the Great Powers that the Macedonian people were not worth saving. So thanks to Bulgarian interference the Macedonian people not only lost their chance at independence and creating their own country, but at the same time became prey for Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria.



Now it was no longer “if” but “when” Macedonia was going to be invaded, occupied and partitioned by its neighbours. Immediately after the failed Macedonian uprising, all three countries intensified their preparations for war and in 1912 the three jointly invaded Macedonia, in what is now termed the First Balkan War, and drove the Ottomans out. When the three couldn’t decide how to divide Macedonia, they fought each other for more territory. When Romania got involved the Great Powers stepped in and put an end to the fighting by the 1913 Treaty of Bucharest.



It would appear from what we know so far, that there were no safeguards or arrangements put in the 1913 Treaty of Bucharest regarding the rights of the Macedonian people that came with the lands. In other words, the 1913 Treaty of Bucharest says nothing about the people living on the Macedonian lands granted to Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria. It was left up to the three occupiers to decide their fate.



Before I finish with this example, let me say this:



We are all proud of the idea that the Macedonians, our forefathers, created the first Republic in Europe but do we, for a moment, think what it means? Our forefathers tried to create a Republic during a time when every country in Europe, including the Great Powers, were kingdoms. If you understand what that means you will understand that creating a Republic in the middle of the most powerful kingdoms in the world was like entering a bear’s den blindfolded; like attempting to bring communism into a powerful capitalist state! It was NOT the thing to do in those days!



What kind of impression do you think our forefathers left in the minds of the Great Powers when they decided to create a Republic in the middle of all those kingdoms? Think about it! And did they really think the Great Powers were going to help them? What a blunder!



Soon after Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria consolidated their power over Macedonian territory, through their military occupying forces, they told the people that only Greeks lived in the Greek occupied part; Serbians lived in the Serbian occupied part and Bulgarians lived in the Bulgarian occupied part of Macedonia. Anyone who did not agree with that was told to “pick up what they could carry and leave”.



Subsequent to that the Greeks were claiming that people left voluntarily, but many people interviewed later testified that they were driven out by force for various reasons including for being affiliated with the Bulgarian Church or for fighting in the Ilinden Uprising.



The Greeks also expelled many Macedonians because they were Muslims. Even though these people insisted that they were Macedonians and not Turks, they were expelled anyway.



After World War I in 1919 at the Treaty of Versailles, the European Great Powers ratified the principles of the 1913 Treaty of Bucharest and the three occupiers Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria were basically given the right to do whatever they wanted with their part of Macedonia and with the people they inherited with it. And so they did.



By the Neuilly Convention, signed on November 27, 1919 between Greece and Bulgaria, Greek authorities rounded up 80,000 Macedonians, mainly because they were affiliated with the Bulgarian Church, and expelled them to Bulgaria. While Bulgaria forced out about 25,000 Macedonians because they were affiliated with the Greek Church.



Then came the Treaty of Lausanne signed in July, 1923 after the Greek-Turkish war ended. This Treaty called for the compulsory exchange of populations between Greece and Turkey. Through this Treaty Greece forcibly exiled 354,000 ethnic Macedonians because they were Muslim by religion and imported 1.1 million Christian Turkish colonists from Asia Minor of whom they settled 660,000 in Macedonia. This in fact changed Macedonia’s demography for the first time in Macedonia’s history.



Now it seems, official Greek policy is to call these colonists “autochthonous Macedonians” while they deny the real Macedonians their rights and identity. Greek propaganda now claims that a population of 2.5 million “pure Macedonians” live in “Greek Macedonia”; this includes their former Prime Minister Karamanlis who is in fact an Asia Minor colonist.



Then came the erasure of everything that pointed to a Macedonian existence. Both Greece and Serbia developed policies to change people’s names and make them sound more Greek and Serbian. The Greeks enacted laws that renamed all the Macedonian people’s names, toponyms and place names and made them Greek sounding. The Greeks also burned all the Macedonian Bibles written in Kiril and Metodi’s Old Macedonian alphabet and painted Greek letters over the Macedonian Cyrillic script on church icons and other relics. The Greeks also desecrated Macedonian cemeteries by removing and destroying headstones and by plowing over them. They literally destroyed all evidence of a Macedonian existence.



They also attacked the Macedonian language, the only living thing remaining that was proof of a Macedonian existence. The harshest measures taken against the Macedonian language were during the Metaxas dictatorship years after Metaxas came to power on August 4, 1936. During that time the Greek regime strongly opposed the use of the Macedonian language and harshly punished and jailed those speaking it in public or in private.



The Greek regime showed its true cruelty towards the Macedonian people when it sent many Macedonians to prison in the Greek island prison camps for simply speaking their native mother tongue; the only language they knew.



All three; Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria interfered in Macedonian affairs all through World War II and throughout the Greek Civil War; too many incidents to mention here. Perhaps I can talk about those in another lecture.



But the final insult against the Macedonian people came when Greece, in the 1980’s, introduced the law on repatriation which allowed only “Greeks by birth” to return back to their place of origin!



And who exactly are these Greeks by birth? Here again Greece has used an “ambiguous expression” and some legal maneuvers to basically exclude whoever it wants. But we all know this ambiguity was created to weed out the Macedonians.



Allow me to explain.



After all the population exchanges took place, about which I mentioned earlier, Greece announced to the world that “only Greeks now live in Greece”. In the late 1920’s Greece released demographic statistics claiming that 98% pure Greeks and 2% Muslim Greeks lived in Greece. This was not a joke!



So, according to these statistics, basically everyone who lived in Greece, say after 1930, was pure Greek. That means that everyone who left Greece during the Greek Civil War in 1949 was also Greek. So why would Greece need a law to repatriate “only Greeks by birth” if everyone in Greece was Greek in the first place? And who were these “other” people who were not Greeks by birth that Greece did not want back?



By claiming to have “98% pure Greeks and 2% Muslim Greeks” living in Greece, Greek authorities whitewashed the idea of any “other” ethnicities living in Greece. On the surface this looked like 100% Greeks live in Greece. A normal person would interpret this to mean that Greece was 100% homogeneous because the entire Greek population was “ethnically” Greek. And that is exactly how Greece wanted people to think!



But looking into their statement a bit deeper one would notice the word “Muslim” which in fact implies “religious affiliation”. The word “pure” is a bit strange but not if we replace it with “Orthodox”. Orthodoxy can be viewed as a pure religion.



The word “Greek” is a bit confusing because there was no such thing as an “ethnic” Greek at that time. In fact there was no ethnic or national Greek identity prior to the creation of the Greek state in 1829. So at that point in time the idea of someone being “Greek” could have meant a number of things. A Greek citizen could be Greek. A person speaking the so-called Greek language could be considered to be Greek. A person living inside Greece’s borders could be called a Greek. A person with a Greek sounding name could be a Greek. And so on.



By claiming to have “98% pure Greeks and 2% Muslim Greeks” living in Greece the Greek authorities in effect meant that “98% of the population living inside the current borders of Greece are Orthodox Christian and 2 % are Muslim”, which says absolutely nothing about the “ethnic composition” of the population inside Greece. In other words Greece doesn’t say it, but it wants you to think that 100% “ethnic Greeks” live in Greece. So the stats Greece released in the late 1920’s reflected the country’s “religious affiliation” and NOT its ethnic composition!



You can see here how Greece is using ambiguity to basically include and exclude whoever it wants. Legally, here Greece can argue that a person cannot possibly be Greek if they don’t have a Greek name or if they claim to be born in a village that does not have a Greek name! So, all those who changed their Greek names back to their Macedonian names while outside of Greece were not allowed to return. In other words, you can’t possibly have a Macedonian name if you were born in Greece.



How did I arrive at this conclusion you ask?



Well, when I knew nothing about all this, being very curious about how Greece came to have 100% pure Greeks, I decided to look into it. My first task was to verify that indeed 98% pure Greeks and 2% Muslim Greeks live in Greece.



Now, I have to admit that I don’t know everyone in Greece but I do know everyone from my village which since 1913 has been part of Greece. So if my village is part of Greece then the people living in it should belong to one of the “official” Greek categories “pure Greeks” or “Muslim Greeks”.



But to my surprise I could not find a single “ethnic Greek” in my village. Of all the people I asked if they were “Greek” not one said they were! Those who did say they were Greeks turned out to have Macedonian parents or grandparents so in fact they were not “ethnic” Greeks.



No, this can’t be right! I was explicitly taught this in school and I know institutions, governments, Churches, Priests, etc. don’t openly lie when they can be challenged! So I thought it had to be some kind of trick!



I then expanded my inquiry and began asking other people, from other villages to identify the Greeks in their village. I did this with many villages and with many people I know. But in the end I failed to find any ethnic Greeks living anywhere in Greek occupied Macedonia! I found Turkish Asia Minor colonists, Vlachs, Albanians, a lot of Macedonians… But not a single ethnic Greek! No one could prove that they were “ethnic” Greek!



So, who are these “elusive” ethnic Greeks and where could they be found?



Now I became really curious and started to look for “ethnic” Greeks south of Mount Olympus and there too I could not find a single ethnic Greek with a history that stretched beyond the existence of the Modern Greek state.



I was not the only one either. In my research I found over 200 authors, all of them westerners, who felt that Greece and the Greeks were a new creation that never existed before.



I will read you a quote from one of those authors who loves Greece but loves the truth even more:



“Further back still beyond the War of Independence, when the modern nation-state of Greece came into being for the first time, the whole concept of Greece as a geographical entity that begins to blur before our eyes, so many and various were its shapes and meanings. But if geography can offer us no stable idea of Greece, what can? Not race, certainly; for whatever the Greeks may once have been, ...., they can hardly have had much blood-relationship with the Greeks of the peninsula of today, Serbs and Bulgars, Romans, Franks and Venetians, Turks, Albanians,..., in one invasion after another have made the modern Greeks a decidedly mongrel race. Not politics either; for in spite of that tenacious western legend about Greece as the birthplace and natural home of democracy, the political record of the Greeks is one of a singular instability and confusion in which, throughout history, the poles of anarchy modulated freedom has very rarely appeared. Not religion; for while Byzantium was Christian, ancient Hellas was pagan.” David Holden, “Greece without Columns”.



When I found out that there are “literally” no “ethnic Greeks” to be found anywhere, I became curious as to how Greece could be populated with 100% Greeks and not a single one of them was an ethnic Greek.



But, I think I will stop here and leave this topic for another lecture.



From what I discovered in my research, the term “Greek” is so ambiguous that everyone who lives in Greece can be a “Greek” by geography, by political affiliation, by church affiliation or one can be a Greek by having a Greek sounding name or simply by being a Greek citizen.



I have approached people with this information in hand who strongly believe they are Greeks and when everything was said and done, I asked them, “If you were not Greeks by ethnicity then what makes you Greek?” Almost without exception, they all said: “They were Greek because they felt like Greeks, spoke the Greek language and were very proud of being Greek.” In other words, even pride can make Greeks out of Vlachs, Albanians, Turks and even Macedonians!



But this has not stopped these fake Greeks from interfering in Macedonian affairs and from claiming that Macedonians do not exist and we the “autochthonous Macedonians” can’t be Macedonians because the Macedonians are Greek. Greek interference in Macedonian affairs is not limited to only inside Greece. Greeks also interfere in Macedonian affairs everywhere in the world.



The invention of the so-called “Name Dispute” is another example of how Greece has used its influence to not only fool the entire world about what is going on, but to also distract the Macedonian people from their real challenges; the fact that Macedonia is occupied by Greece and that the Macedonian people have no rights and are abused to no end!



The so-called “Name dispute” is a perfect example where outside interference has not only preoccupied the entire Macedonian nation with a nonsensical and whimsical problem but it has also placed Macedonia in a losing situation. Because the Greeks, with the invention of the so-called “name dispute” have placed themselves in a position where “the solution to this problem” is entirely dependent on them, there is no “winning” exit scenario out of this mess for Macedonia. Macedonia unwittingly put its foot in this trap and is now faced with three possible scenarios.



1. Voluntarily change its own name in order to exit this problem and be accepted in International organizations. This scenario, if taken, will literally forever end the Macedonian identity and permanently close the Macedonian question. In other words, if Macedonians change their own name they will seal their own fate.



2. Remain in limbo and remain a Greek hostage forever. Greece is inside, in the warm atmosphere of our home while we linger and protest outside in the cold so why would Greece care if this “problem” goes on forever? Greece has the upper hand. Greece possesses our lands and controls our destiny, so why would Greece seek a solution that might change all that. Greece would love to see this problem go on unresolved forever because it is in Greece’s interest. There is no incentive for Greece to solve this problem.



Even if the name dispute is resolved, Greece will fabricate and introduce a new problem to keep us busy running around in circles.



But we can’t blame Greece entirely for protecting its interests. It seems that Greece sets the traps for us and we, without thinking, put our feet in them.



If you disagree with me then tell me, “What are we doing negotiating our own country’s name with our worst enemy?” Think about it!



Or



3. A repeat of the 1912, 1913 scenario. Macedonia could be forced by the Great Powers to change its name in order to comply with Greece’s wishes. If it refuses it can be invaded. It almost happened about a decade ago. Now, not only do we have the Greeks and Bulgarians, we also have the Albanians vying for a slice of Macedonia. All the Great Powers have to say is either change your name or face the consequences. We are getting tired of you dragging this problem! This scenario will solve “everyone’s” problems except for our own!



By accepting to negotiate our own name, with our worst enemy, we put ourselves in a trap from which it will be very difficult to escape without dire consequences.



The only way out of this problem is if the entire world disagrees with Greece and makes an effort to help us. But what are the chances of that happening when we know countries like France not only created Greece but also sanctioned its activities against us including the population exchanges and the signing of the 1913 Treaty of Bucharest. As long as Greece has the support of one Great Power it will never relent!



All three; Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria have interfered in Macedonian affairs; but most of all Greece and Bulgaria. In the past they each created fake Macedonian organizations in the Diaspora to market their anti-Macedonian propaganda; not only to lie to the world about Macedonia but to keep the Macedonian people divided.



They each have infiltrated Macedonian organizations and institutions and turned them against the Macedonian cause. They have offered Macedonians free education, passports, citizenship and financial and other help with their businesses in order to stop them from aiding the Macedonian cause.



All this was done and is still being done in order to divide the Macedonian people and keep them weak.



Thankfully one part of Macedonia is free. But unfortunately, three more parts are not. The largest part of Macedonia is still occupied.



So, what can be done to change the situation?



The first thing we need to do is understand our own weaknesses and how we are being manipulated!



As we stand today we are a divided people: not only because of the Grkomani, the Bulgaromani, the Serbomani, the Albanomani and what have you, but also because of ourselves; the real Macedonians.



As a nation, we have yet to learn who we really are. We don’t know who we are because others, our enemies have been defining us. They have been telling us who we are and writing our fake history for us. The same people who until yesterday called us Greeks, Serbians and Bulgarians today are saying that we are “Slavs” that we came from somewhere else and that we can’t be Macedonians. And there are some of us out there who believe them, who believe that we came from somewhere. I have a three volume Macedonian history book at home written in the Macedonian language and published some years ago by a reputable publisher that claims our history began in the 6th century AD when we arrived in Macedonia. In other words, there is no Macedonian history before that!



Has anyone in our entire folklore ever mentioned that we came to Macedonia from somewhere else? Where is the proof that we came from somewhere else? Our true history, however, tells a different story. Our true history is full of signs that point to us being indigenous to Macedonia. More correctly, we are the product of all the people, the indigenous Macedonians and all those people who set foot and left their mark in Macedonia since the melt of the last ice age.



We are Macedonians because we, our fathers and mothers, our grandfathers and grandmothers and many generations of men and women before them, who were born in Macedonia, were Macedonians because the land on which we were born, grew up and died was called Macedonia! We don’t need our enemies to define us and tell us who we are and who we are not! We ARE Macedonians because that is exactly what we are!



Unfortunately, many of us tend to believe the lies of our enemies. And at the same time we seldom question the lies our enemies tell us about themselves.



As a nation we have been manipulated by the Great Powers and by their proxies Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria for over a century and yet to this day we seem to be unaware of it.



We are truth seekers, innocent, peaceful and kind people; traits that define us as a people. Unfortunately these same traits are interpreted as “weaknesses” by our enemies and by the world. We have been peacefully crying foul about our lack of rights in Greece, Bulgaria and Albania and our cries seem to have gone unnoticed. But we have failed to change our strategy! Why?



However, the moment the Albanians in Macedonia brandished their weapons, everyone ran to see what they wanted. On one occasion they were even rescued from being demolished by the Macedonian army. They were rescued not by their allies but by their own enemies; a Macedonian President no less.



Imagine, the Commander in Chief of the Macedonian Army rescuing his enemy. Where in the world have we even heard of a President of a country saving his enemy from being attacked by his own army? Only in Macedonia!



This is equivalent to George W. Bush ordering his army to stand down while he provides buses to save the terrorists who attacked the New York Towers and without disarming them. I think this is the biggest historic blunder we have ever made as Macedonians to date!



Imagine what this act did to the morale of the Macedonian Army! Worse than that, imagine these same hoodlums, who yesterday raised weapons against the Macedonian army and against the Macedonian people, today are the politicians who run the country and the army commanders who lead our forces, even the soldiers who fought against them only yesterday. Imagine! This happens only in Macedonia!



These are unforgivable blunders!



We believe the “words” of others because they sound patriotic and we, on many occasions have allowed outsiders to “manipulate” us and use our kindness and patriotism against us, and if I may add, many times without our knowledge.



Our history is full of such examples! But our history, the true history of what really happened to us has yet to be understood by our people.



We are “truth seekers” yet we are afraid of the truth. We are afraid of standing up and speaking the truth even about the worst things that have been done to us.



Tell me is there no Macedonian out there today who does not know what Greece has done to us?



Tell me is there no Macedonian out there today who does not know that Greece has no authority over the Republic of Macedonia?



So, why are we negotiating our own name with Greece? Is there anyone out there who truly understands what this looks like from other people’s perspectives?



Is there no Macedonian in the Macedonian government who does not know that the Ilinden Uprising took place and that it was a struggle for freedom and for the creation of a Macedonian state? So, why do we allow Greece and Bulgaria to publicly say we don’t exist?



Is there no Macedonian in authority today who does not know how Macedonia was invaded, occupied and partitioned in 1912, 1913 and how Macedonia became Greek, Serbian and Bulgarian?



If there are such people out there then tell me why not one of them has stood up to Greece and to the world and said “something” to that effect?



Alternatively, let us look at Greece’s “real” history. There are hundreds and hundreds of authors and historians that have written about Greece’s real history; about the modern Greeks who are not Greeks at all: who in reality are recent Slav, Albanian and Vlach immigrants who came to the region during the 6th, 11th and 13th century AD. This is Greece’s “real” history! Athens only 200 years ago was an Albanian village of 5,000 people. Look at it today, it is a multi-million metropolis populated by pure Greeks, descendents from the ancient Greeks. What a farce!



Why have we not stood up to these “charlatans” and put them in their place? What are we waiting for? What are we afraid of?



For the last 3 or 4 decades I have watched us playing defense and fumble over and over again. Has it not occurred to us that we can’t win, not even a single game, if we continue to play defense?



If we are such great truth seekers why has not a single Macedonian in authority spoken the truth where it counts? What are we waiting for? Why haven’t we attacked the Greek identity the way they have attacked ours? We are REAL Macedonians and they are not even Greeks!



About five years ago I wrote an e-mail to a prominent historian who had written about Balkan history and asked him why he had not written about us Macedonians!



I got what I thought was a surprising answer! He said, “Why don’t you first write ‘something’ about yourselves and then I will write about you! Where am I supposed to find the information to write about you?”



My point: If we don’t stand up to Greece and Bulgaria who do we expect will?



Well my friends I can tell you this with certainty, “NO ONE” is going to do anything for us if we are not willing to do it for ourselves. In fact, no one is going to do anything for us until we start doing things for ourselves!



So, as Macedonians what exactly do we want from Greece, Bulgaria and Albania? Do we really know and can we agree on what it is that we want? When was the last time we sat down together as Macedonians to decide what it is that we want and what will be acceptable to us?



Within a few years of Israel becoming a country, the Israeli government invited all Israeli Organizations, Associations, intellectuals, etc. and individually interviewed them to find out what they wanted out of Israel. Based on their answers Israel then set out its objectives and successfully sued Germany and other countries who then paid the Israeli people compensation for damages. What have we done to this day to prepare for our future?



If tomorrow Greece calls us to a meeting and asks us what it is that we want from Greece will we be prepared to voice our needs?

[George S.]

Noose – Chapter 8



By Stoian Kochov

Translated and edited by Risto Stefov

[email protected]

January 30, 2013



Twelfth Day (January 4th, 1948) in the struggle for General Markos’s throne.


1.


During the morning of the twelfth day, we were awakened by strong explosions that took place in another part of town. It was dawn, January 4th, 1948 and I was sitting on some wood beams that smelled like freshly cut pine. Our red flag, which we had hung in the main square since the first days of our arrival, was now gone and in its place hung a great big, scary looking NOOSE. The noose was made of thick rope and, being blown by the strong wind, it swung from side to side.



Over on the hills I could see government army soldiers moving. They had occupied the heights around Konitsa and were preparing to attack the city. They had us surrounded and through the fog they flew “Spitfire” fighter planes which poured bursts of gunfire on our positions. The airplanes slowly shrank as they flew away, seeming as though they were disappearing into the sun – leaving behind only their thunderous sound which slowly fell silent, and, as quick as lightning, they would again return and descend over our heads to spill more bursts of gunfire and drop more deadly bombs.



There was long silence. At that moment Colonel Sofianos Iliadis arrived at the front line with his security people. He was concerned about the situation and was not sure what was happening so he wanted to investigate everything himself. He had no confidence in the others and was looking nervous. His goal was to remove even the smallest risk of acquiring the last strongholds of the government army. After many inspections, and with no room for the slightest of error, he came to his conclusion.


He said: “I am a soldier and it is not easy for me to share my insecurities with you but I need to tell you that we have lost the battle. It was natural because it never is easy to capture and defend a city with only a single regiment composed of newly mobilized villagers.


Today will be a day of life or death. Protect yourselves. Today it will not be easy to escape our enemy’s retaliatory attacks. If we were realistic about our planned strategy, we would not have allowed such big promises to be made.”





Глава 8.

Дванаесеттиот ден (4. 01. 1948), во борба за тронот на генерал Маркос



1.

Утрината на дванаесеттиот ден, разбуден од силните експлозии што се случуваа во другиот дел на градот, токму во зората на 4 јануари седев врз греди, што мирисаа на штотуку пресечен бор. Го немаше нашето црвено знаме, што го имавме истакнато на главниот плоштад уште во првите денови, сега беше истакната голема ЈАМКА, ама навистина голема беше и застрашувачки изгледаше. Беше направена од дебела ортома и се нишаше од силниот ветар, а гледам по ридиштата се појавија илје и милје војници од владината војска и ги зазедоа височините околу градот Коница. Се распоредуваа да го нападнат градот. Не имаа обпколено, а низ сињакот летаат борбени авиони од типот “спитфаер”, чиниш корнат се и истураат рафали врз нашите позиции. Млазниот авион полека се смалуваше – се додека не изгледаше како да исчезнува во сончевиот круг – и оставаше само татнеж што стивнуваше и пак секавично се спушташе над нашите глави да истури рафали и смртоносни бомби.

Настана подолга тишина.

Во тој миг со своето обезбедување тукушто пристигна на првите позиции полковник Софијанос Илијадис. Загрижен, бидејќи не беше сигурен, тој побара се да провери лично сам, немаше доверба во другите и беше нервозен. Целта му беше да го отстрани најмалиот ризик во совладувањето на последните упоришта на владината војска. По толку проверки, речиси беше невозможно да му се провлече и најмала грешка. Тој небаре по ова ја пренесе својата загриженост и ги олабави нашите иницијативи и дури не доведе во очај.

Тој рече:

-Јас сум војник и не ми е лесно да дозволам да ја пренесам својата несигурност на вас. Но морам да ви кажам дека ја изгубивме битката. Тоа беше природно. Не беше лесно да се совлада и брани овој град само со еден полк составен од новомобилизирани селанчиња.

Денешниот ден ќе ни биде живот или смрт. Чувајте се. Денес нема лесно да ги избегнеме нивните одмазднички напади. Ако бевме реални во планираната стратегија, немаше да дозволиме да не понесат нечии големи ветувања.

[George S.]

Hey, come build a plant in sunny Macedonia

JESSE SNYDER - Jesse Snyder is senior writer for Automotive News

January 17, 2013

http://www.autonews.com:80/article/20130117/BLOG06/130119823/hey-come-build-a-plant-in-sunny-macedonia

DETROIT -- Viktor Mizo is all smiles and speaks fluent English as he explains why the Republic of Macedonia would be an excellent spot to build an auto parts plant.



Mizo can rattle off his country's virtues -- low wages averaging about $500 a month, 97 percent literacy, universal English-language instruction and business incentives that European Union members "just can't give anymore" -- faster than you can take his business card.



As CEO of the Directorate for Technological Industrial Development Zones, Mizo and three staffers were at the Automotive News World Congress this week to drum up investment.



Macedonia is serious about the automotive industry. At Automotive News Europe in Munich, I started getting calls from the country's minister of investment in 2006 urging me to visit him in Skopje. Then he would admit no auto plants had come yet.



Seven years later, Macedonia has 50 parts plants, including Johnson Controls, and 2,500 auto jobs -- and Mizo has a directorate, staff and a travel budget.



It wasn't Mizo's considerable charm that held my attention, but a sense of déjà vu. The laundry list of Macedonia's advantages and one-sentence dismissals of specific rival countries — if I closed my eyes and swapped place names, I might as well be back in Ladislav Glogar's office in the Czech Republic in 2004.



Glogar, then chairman of supplier Autopal, was a week into the European Union's 10-country expansion and in overdrive mode wooing German automakers. Glogar simultaneously touted Czech wages as a fifth of Germans' while discounting even lower Indian and Chinese wages. He had a lovely "cost of distance" argument about the fragility and recovery time of long supply lines.



Almost a decade later, Czech auto parts making is booming. And Mizo and his counterparts from Morocco and Tunisia to Moldova want some of it.



Mizo keeps it punchy.



"Now Czech wages are too high to be a low-cost country.



"Wages are low in Moldova, but it has no middle managers so for a 1,500-worker plant you must hire 25 ex-pats.



"Tunisia's too politically unstable.



"Morocco can supply Spain and Portugal, but for Central Europe it's too far west."



Macedonia is a Vermont-sized nation of 2 million on Greece's northern border. To Mizo, that's just down the shiny multilane highway from Germany. To Glogar, of course, Macedonia is 1,000 miles away while the Czech Republic borders Germany.



Forget the arguments. Here's my take.



Just nine years after the EU expanded eastward, the new EU is developing a strong middle class, and the low-wage auto-parts frontier has shifted to eastern Europe and north Africa.



The same powerful economic forces of auto manufacturing that helped create the developed world keep spreading further afield. If you look closely, you can watch the nation-building influence of the auto industry at work, even as far afield as Macedonia.



You can reach Jesse Snyder at [email protected].

[George S.]

UK Europe Minister wants 'no pause in enlargement after Croatia'

By David Lidington

07 January 2013

http://www.publicserviceeurope.com/article/2910/uk-europe-minister-wants-no-pause-in-enlargement-after-croatia

Renewing the UK's commitment to EU enlargement, Britain's Minister for Europe writes exclusively for PublicServiceEurope.com about why more countries like Turkey should be let into the club



I returned from the general affairs council in Brussels last month feeling encouraged by a long and lively discussion on European Union enlargement. The United Kingdom has taken the lead in pushing for continued enlargement. Alongside the single market, this has been the real success story of the EU. We have supported the emergence of freedom, democracy and justice for people in countries that were deprived of those rights for more than 50 years. As I reiterated at the council, this mission must and will continue. This is why I have welcomed the continued progress on enlargement throughout 2012, including the opening of accession negotiations with Montenegro.



The pace of progress in the region is varied. EU ministers and I agreed steps forward for several countries, recognising their achievements to date. We set out our commitment to Macedonia's EU path, with the council agreeing to take a decision on opening accession negotiations after a monitoring report in the spring. This is a good opportunity for Macedonia to move further forward next year. Likewise, I am pleased the European Commission will propose negotiating directives to take forward Kosovo's EU path with a stabilisation and association agreement once Kosovo meets the agreed conditions. This will be a significant step forward for Kosovo.



We remain firm supporters of Serbia's European future so I am also glad Serbia will be seeking to make progress on the conditions the council has agreed. We want to see Serbia moving to the next stage as soon as they have met the conditions to do so. The recent steps taken in the EU-led dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo has shown the ability of both countries to deal with difficult issues, enabling them to continue on their paths towards membership. A great example of this was the implementation of new border arrangements between Serbia and Kosovo on December 10, previously unimaginable. I commend prime ministers Ivica Dacic and Hashim Thaci for the statesman-like and courageous manner in which they have approached their recent discussions, and look forward to supporting the same constructive spirit in the new year.



However, ministers at the council were worried about the slow progress being made in Bosnia and Herzegovina - and stalled reforms there. As the British Foreign Secretary William Hague said when he visited Sarajevo in October, Bosnia and Herzegovina risks lagging further behind her neighbours unless political leaders deliver the actions they have agreed in the interests of their citizens. The reform process we hope Bosnia and Herzegovina will pursue has the scope to produce multiple benefits to people on the ground, including greater prosperity. Prosperity is a two-way process which, in turn, boosts UK businesses. For example, British exports to the 'emerging' countries of Central and Eastern Europe have almost trebled over the last 10 years; reaching a staggering £14bn in 2011 - compared to £5bn of exports in 2001, before Central and Eastern Europe had joined the union.



Turkey is a particularly compelling example of the economic argument for enlargement. In 2011, Turkey was Europe's 7th largest economy and the world's 18th largest economy. Turkish membership would boost the European single market and would play a major part in Europe's long term prosperity by adding significant clout to its common external trade policy. This is part of the reason why the UK remains committed to Turkey's EU membership. We also believe Turkish membership would contribute to European security and would motivate reform in Turkey. We are focused on making real progress on Turkish accession in 2013 and we fully support the Irish EU presidency in its desire to open a new acquis chapter.



Lastly, I was pleased to attend a discussion recently here at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on the 100th anniversary of independence in Albania. This was a reminder of how far Albania has come and I am delighted the council meeting reflected some of that recent progress. I remain keen to see the political leaders in Albania make even bigger steps forward in the months to come. But the anniversary is a salient reminder of the difficulties the region has faced over the last century and the significance of the progress, which has been made. There should be no pause in enlargement after Croatia; the EU remains the future of South East Europe.



David Lidington is the Minister for Europe, in the United Kingdom



Read more: http://www.publicserviceeurope.com/a...#ixzz2HKT6JQn1

[George S.]

NEW FIVE EURO NOTE

http://www.euractiv.com/euro-finance...ur-news-516974

The European Central Bank unveiled yesterday (10 January) a new 5-euro note, with warmed colours and better protection against counterfeiting. For the first time, it also carries the name ‘Euro’ written in the Cyrillic alphabet, and displays a portrait of Europa, a figure from Greek mythology.







Mario Draghi, President of the European Central Bank (ECB), unveiled the ‘Europa series’ €5 banknote, with his signature featured under the EU flag. It will be issued, on 2 May 2013.



The presentation was the highlight of the opening of a “New Face of the Euro” exhibition, at the Archaeological Museum in Frankfurt am Main from 11 January to 10 March 2013.



The new €5 banknote benefits from some new and enhanced security features. The watermark and hologram display a portrait of Europa, a figure from Greek mythology – and hence the name of this series of banknotes.



An eye-catching “emerald number” changes colour from emerald green to deep blue, and displays a vertically moving light effect. Short raised lines on the left and right edges of the banknote make it easier to identify the banknote, especially for visually impaired people.



Cyrillic: A political signal



Most importantly, the new note features for the first time the word 'Euro' in Cyrillic: Евро, along with the Greek Ευρώ. Since Bulgaria, the only EU country using the Cyrillic alphabet, is not yet a member of the eurozone, this could be seen as a political signal of the ECB’s trust in the future enlargement of the European single currency area.



Two candidate countries, Macedonia and Serbia, also use the Cyrillic alphabet.



The name ‘Cyrillic alphabet’ honours the younger of the Cyril and Methodius brothers, born in Thessaloniki at the beginning of the 9th Century, who created the Glagolitic and then the Cyrillic alphabets with the aim to have the Bible and other texts translated into Slavic languages [more].



The new banknotes of the ‘Europa’ series with denominations of €10, €20, €50, €100, €200 and €500, will be introduced over the next few years, in ascending order. Their “ages and styles” design and dominant colours will be the same as the first series.



Gradually, the first series will be withdrawn and eventually cease to be legal tender - with advance warning. But first series' banknotes will retain their value indefinitely and be exchangeable at euro-area national central banks at any time.

[George S.]

Greek Priest Calls for Attack on Macedonian Radio Station

http://macedoniaonline.eu/content/view/18925/46/

Greek Priest Anthimos as a "true Christian" has asked for 40-50 Greeks to board buses, go to Lerin and break and burn the Macedonian radio station because, according to him the Macedonians would air propaganda.



Anthimos' statement was issued after the announcement of Pande Ashlakov, the head of Ovcarani (Lerin) who said that "Vinozito" had received a license for a Macedonian language radio station that would be broadcasting programs from Lerin to Solun.



Ashlakov at the Ilinden celebration said the radio will start working at the end of the year and as part of its program will have live shows and news.



Anthimos was seething, claiming the damned people will probably name their radio "Macedonian radio".



- How is this possible? Are we the Greeks allowed to have a radio station anywhere in the Balkans? asked Anthimos.



The Greek priest shouldn't be worried, for example the Macedonian State Radio (paid for by taxpayers money) has broadcasted programs in every Balkan language, including Greek for more than a decade.



Greek media reported the Solun priest was asking for 40-50 volunteers to board buses head to Lerin and attack the radio station.



With losing his "What Would Jesus Do" bracelet, priest Anthimos seems to have lost his way.





Europe would unravel if Britain were to repatriate powers, says Herman van Rompuy

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/conservative/9767877/Europe-would-unravel-if-

Britain-were-to-repatriate-powers-says-Herman-van-Rompuy.html



The whole European Union could unravel under David Cameron's plans to claw back powers from Brussels, Herman van Rompuy has warned.



Herman van Rompuy, one of Europe's most senior figures, said countries like Britain cannot simply "cherry pick" which laws from Brussels they wish to follow.



Mr Cameron has promised a "fresh settlement" with Brussels amid pressure from his backbenchers to give the British public a say on whether to leave the EU.



He is widely expected to make a speech in the new year outlining plans for a referendum in 2015, which would voters a choice between a new relationship with Europe and leaving altogether.



Mr Cameron will fight for Britain to stay in the EU on new terms but European leaders are worried that allowing Britain to "repatriate" powers could pave the way for an exit and encourage other countries to seek similar deals.



In an interview with the Guardian, Mr van Rompuy last night issued a warning that countries must not "seek to undermine" the EU by seeking special privileges.



He said the whole European project could fall apart if all member states only looked out for their own interests.



"If every member state were able to cherry-pick those parts of existing policies that they most like, and opt out of those that they least like, the union in general, and the single market in particular, would soon unravel," he said.



"All member states can, and do, have particular requests and needs that are always taken into consideration as part of our deliberations. I do not expect any member state to seek to undermine the fundamentals of our co-operative system in Europe."



Mr van Rompuy's intervention comes after Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat deputy Prime Minister, warned that Britain must not back out of Europe.



This week, he dismissed plans for a referendum on the country’s membership of the EU as “putting the cart before the horse”.

He argued against offering a referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU and says that Britain should instead be exercising its leadership role in Europe.



The deputy Prime Minister insists that he is “not frightened” of a public vote but says that such a suggestion is premature given the uncertainty surrounding plans to rewrite the Lisbon treaty to try to underpin the euro.



Mr Cameron has already promised Conservative MPs that the party will fight the election on a “clear Eurosceptic position”.



He wants Britain to take a step back from Europe as the countries in the eurozone country make plans to join together in a "super-state" with closer political and financial integration.



A poll yesterday showed that most Britons now want to leave Europe, with 51 per cent saying they would vote for an exit – in a marked hardening of eurosceptic attitudes.

[Soldier of Macedon]

A few things I would've said differently, but overall not a bad interview by Donski.

[Gocka]

Pretty decent interview. I think he was trying to be friendly toward the Bulgarians and not insult them but I did like how he brought up the issue of what the Bulgarians are (not bulgars). What is sad is that many many people in Macedonia (Macedonians) would not agree with Donski. Many in ROM think of themselves as pure "slavs" most of the communist crap left over from yugo. Many in Macedonia have very poor and fragmented knowledge about our ancestry and history.

[Nexus]

An old friend of my father said to me that in his school they didn't even mentioned Alexander the Great and ancient Macedonians.

[Soldier of Macedon]

An old friend of my father said to me that in his school they didn't even mentioned Alexander the Great and ancient Macedonians.

Does that mean they didn't teach ancient history at all? Or they did but deliberately omitted Alexander? Where did he go to school?