United Macedonia Diaspora

[makedonche]

UMD
Please respond, SILENCE IS NOT A DEFENCE!

[Soldier of Macedon]

Originally Posted by Risto the Great

Better yet, I suspect he has every Macedonian on his database now and (pardon the military pun) has each and every one of them in his (or MPO's) sights.

That is exactly what I was afraid of, kasha se napraje so ovaa rabota.

[Pelister]

Meto thought he could turn MPO into a 'Macedonian' organization.

I cannot begin to tell you all how many Macedonians joined MPO with good intentions, but Meto knew what he was getting into from the very beginning.

Everytime an ethnic Bulgarian associates themselves with 'Macedonia' or 'Macedonian' or vice-versa, they are a drain on our cultural, historical and demographic force.

[Prolet]

Originally Posted by Risto the Great

He was the MPO National Vice President for the United States.
And this guy is running the project .... still.
Better yet, I suspect he has every Macedonian on his database now and (pardon the military pun) has each and every one of them in his (or MPO's) sights.

This could be worse than i thought.

[Soldier of Macedon]

Originally Posted by Prolet

This could be worse than i thought.

Prolet, are you in danger of seeing the light?

[Vangelovski]

I think its time that UMD either start answering some questions or stop posting its propaganda.

[indigen]

Newsgroups: bit.listserv.makedon
From: Lubi Uzunovski
Date: 1995/08/29
Subject: Re: MPO - the language issue

From: Bogdan Popov <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: MPO - the language issue

>My friend's father said that the MPO is doing big damage to the official
>Macedonian position by distributing Macedonian Tribune around the world,
>and that it is of greatest importance to destroy the MPO and prevent it
>of spreading their ideas.

Hmmm...we Macedonians in the Diaspora have known that the MPO has been damaging the position of the ethnic Macedonians for decades. I’m ecstatic to hear that the Republic does not have close contacts with this organization. I agree with the assessment that the MPO is damaging to the Republic, not to mention the ethnic Macedonians in the neighbouring states. Given that such a circumstance appears to be universally known among Macedonians, then one has to decide what is more important, the MPO or the Republic. It took me 0.5 nanoseconds to make my choice.

>He said that the easiest way to attack and eventually destroy the MPO
>is through the LANGUAGE ISSUE !!! The idea would be to put pressure on
>MPO to start publishing Macedonian Tribune in contemporary literature
>Macedonian language while rejecting the old-Bulgarian. If adopted, that
>single fact would be enough to SPLIT the organization and existing
>membership of MPO. After such a digression from the 80 years long
>tradition many MPO members would have no choice but to leave or distance
>themselves from the MPO, and the divided organization would be easy to
>finish. This way it could take just a year or two to get rid of the MPO for ever!

Well, the Macedonians in the Diaspora don’t speak old-Bulgarian, unless of course they went to Bulgarian classes, as many MPO-ists did. That in itself is telling. Similarly, you won’t get the MPO-ists to subscribe to a newspaper written in standardized Macedonian. So, if the Tribuna has visions of becoming the Nova Makedonia of the Diaspora, then don’t hold your breath. The old MPO-ists won’t buy it, and the Macedonians won’t trust the MPO enough to subscribe in the numbers required.

As for getting rid of the MPO, don’t worry – it’s already dead. Most Macedonians (rightly) consider it infested with bugaromani and spioni. Talk about not being able to steer an organization onto a viable path. The MPO has suffered from careless, disconnected leadership for far too long. It’s only hope (slim) is to follow the Buddhist example and reincarnate itself into a form more tolerable to the Macedonians...otherwise, (and more preferably) it can just as well go off into bugaro- Macedonian heaven.

>It seems that big games are being played behind our eyes, so lets wait and watch.

Slushai, Bogdan, if the MPO is involved, then the games ain’t big they’re irrelevant. The MPO can’t consistently take positions that are diametrically opposed to those taken by the Republic, -- then expect to be regarded as the voice of the Macedonians. Whether you agree or not, the MPO as it now exists is dead as a doornail.

>Pozdravi do site,
>Bogdan

Lubi U.

[indigen]

Date: Thu, 24 Nov 1994
From: Lubi Uzunovski
Subject: The Bulgarian Speak
in Message-Id: <[email protected]>
Plamen Bliznakov <[email protected]>

There are plenty of US documents pointing exactly to this shift in Macedonian immigration to North America. Before WW II Macedonians (coming mostly from Aegean and Vardar Macedonia) were declaring themselves as Bulgarian by nationality.....

Plamen, I've never known a Bulgarian such as you before. You spend a great deal of your time among Macedonians lecturing them on the "fact" that they are not Macedonians but rather Bulgarians. I have no idea what you hope to achieve, or what it is that you are searching for but with an attitute such as yours I'm skeptical that you'll ever succeed.

This new stuff is too simple to be coming from you. I've learned to expect better. My great-great grandfathers and my great grandfathers came to the "New World" before the Ilinden Uprising. They came with Ottoman Empire passports although they were by no means Turks. After the partitioning my great-aunt came to Canada with a Serbian passport.

My mother's sister who spent 11 years in Bulgaria returned to Macedonia with a Bulgarian passport. My uncles and aunts in Aegean Macedonia all came with Greek passports. I came with a Yugoslav passport. Not bad for one family, and I'm certainly not alone! You should see the variations in our names. The only common thread here is that we all refer to ourselves only as Macedonians. Not Ottoman Turks, not Bulgarians, Not Serbs, not Greeks and not Yugoslavs... just Makedontsi.

Your argument is commonly used by Greece and Bulgaria as a way of saying, "see, they use X passports, therefore they must be X. There are no Macedonians here". Of course, the Macedonians are never given a choice in the matter. In any case, I'm not sure that my great-great grandfathers can be considered the product of post-Titoist Macedonism.

Lubi

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

Newsgroups: bit.listserv.makedon
From: Lubi Uzunovski
Date: 1995/08/27
Subject: Re: MPO


From: Hari Radin <[email protected]>
Subject: MPO

Hari, your reply was somewhat monumental, and I can't do it justice
in one lifetime, so you're getting the abridged version.

No, Lubi, MPO is not "one of the older" but THE oldest Macedonian organization in US and Canada, established in 1922.

Let's straighten this out first. The MPO is not the oldest Macedonian organization in North America. The Oshchima Benefit Socitey was established in 1907, the Zhelevo Benevolence Brotherhood was established in 1907, the SS. Kyril & Methody Church (with congregation) was consecrated in 1910, the Banitsa Benevolent Society was founded in 1911, the athletic and cultural society, Balkanski Unak was established in 1915. It was only after this time, in 1921, in Fort Wayne, Indiana, that the Macedonian Political (later Patriotic) Organization was established. Be careful, there may very well be organizations older than the ones I've listed, but that point is already made.

[...]

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

A couple more old posts from LU that have some historical relevance for Macedonians.

[Phoenix]

Originally Posted by Piperka

I'm really angered by this and how this looks for the Macedonian-American community. To an outsider it looks like we are confused about our identity, when that is far from the truth. I bet the Greeks are going to love this...."FYROMian-American Census Coalition Divided Over Identity Crisis"

Why did the UMD invite the MPO into this coalition in the first place? Why?? Why?? Why?? You're going to invite an organization that has repeatedly claimed and published documents saying we are Bulgarians?!?!? Why not let the Pan-Macedonians in Chicago join in and the Srbomani churches in Detroit have a seat on the table??? Pull up a chair Albanian American Civic League!

Ask any Macedonian living in and around the heart of MPO land (Fort Wayne, Indiana) and they will all tell you that the majority of the MPO members are Bugarofili. That was a fact in the 60s...70s...80s...90s...and as you can see it is a fact right now. A fact that the UMD has known and has ignored since it's formation. I shared my views and knowledge on the MPO to Meto before the UMD was even formed and I didn't like what his response was to me or his actions that followed. This is the exact reason why I haven't supported the UMD and probably never will. They do not fairly or accurately represent me, my local Macedonian community, or the Macedonian diaspora....and they never will. If they had represented us fairly and accurately, this would never have happened.

I'm wondering if the Diocese knew that the MPO was involved before giving the "blessing"....I've already addressed my concerns to my church regarding this and hope that others do the same.

Piperka, be careful my friend you're sounding too much like an "Australian" and the big knobs at UMD HQ along with their more vocal North American supporters readily dismiss such comments as those of "wingnuts" or from people with "different" life experiences than their own...

[Phoenix]

Originally Posted by Vangelovski

I think its time that UMD either start answering some questions or stop posting its propaganda.

Do you think there'll be any soul searching at UMD, can you see anybody with balls putting up their hand and admitting fault for this fiasco...surely the buck has to stop with Meto, is he man enough to accept responsibility and step down...?