| Thunder from down under |
Da zemish ova da go naucish napamet ,a ne copy/paste da prajsh :)
Macedonia within Turkey before 1912 and its partition in 1913 among Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Albania
Having failed to achieve independence in 1903, the Macedonians, now divided, were left to their new masters. Greece tookthe biggest, southern half of Macedonia (Aegean Macedonia) and renamed it to "Northern Greece"; Bulgaria annexed the Pirin region and abolished the Macedonian name, and Serbia took over the Vardar region and renamed it to "Southern Serbia". N. Pasich of Serbia and E. Venizelos of Greece agreed on the newly formed Greek-Serbian border, so that there would be "only Serbs to the North and only Greeks to the South", and no "Macedonians" on either side. Thus the politics of assimilation had begun, as Macedonia's geographic, natural and ethnic unity was distroyed by its own neighbors. An intensive campaigning took place in all three parts of Macedonia to impose foreign identities upon the population that suited the interests of the controlling states. In Vardar Macedonia, the Serbs labeled the Macedonians with the name "South Serbs"; in Aegean Macedonia, the Greeks labeled them as "Slavophone Greeks", "MakedoSlavs", and other insulting names; while in Pirin Macedonia, the Macedonians were simply called Bulgarians.
In 1914, World War I erupted. Bulgaria sided with the Central powers and by 1915 it occupied the Serbian held part of Macedonia. But the defeat of the Central powers and the end of World War I in 1918 saw the partition of 1913 reconfirmed and Macedonia was left divided. At the Paris Peace conference the demands of the Macedonians for independent and united Macedonia were ignored. Vardar Macedonia was re-incorporated with the rest of Serbia and into the new Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes which was later renamed Yugoslavia.
World War II and the Liberation
Since 1913, official Greece has been trying to banish native Macedonian names of villages, towns, cities, rivers, and lakes in Aegean Macedonia. For example, the little stream which issues from Mount Olympus and flows into the Aegean Sea is labeled Mavroneri("black water") on the maps made by Greek cartographers after 1913. However, the same river appears as Crna Reka, a native Macedonian name meaning "black river" on the maps made before 1913. Kutlesh had been dropped for Vergina, and Kukush for Kilkis, together with at least 300 other places all over Aegean Macedonia. The Macedonians were also forced to renounce their native family names and use only new "Greek-sounding" names. In 1995, Human Rights Watch - Helsinki was a witness that even today the Macedonians are forbidden to carry their first and last Macedonian names. During the dictatorship of General Metaxis, the Macedonians were exposed to brutal oppression. The Macedonian language was forbidden, despite the fact under the supervision of the League of Nations Greece had recognized its existence as distinct language when it published the primer "Abecedar" for the needs of the Macedonian children in 1924. In the 1930's the Macedonians in Greece were punished for speaking of their native language by drinking of castor oil and were persecuted for expressing of their national identity. Yet despite the triple persecution the Macedonians never abandoned their nationality.
The period between the two world wars was also filled with constant endeavors to change the situation of Macedonia and annul the division of the country and its people. In 1925 VMRO (United) was founded in Vienna under the leadership of Dimitar Vlahov, Pavel Satev, Georgi Zankov, Rizo Rizov, Vladimir Pop Timov and Hristo Jankov. Their main objective was to free Macedonia within its geographical and economical borders and create an independent political unit that will become an equal member of the future Balkan Federation. In 1935, MANAPO (Macedonian National Movement) was founded in the Vardar part of Macedonia. In 1938The first collection of poems "Fire" ("Ogin") from Venko Markovski was published in Macedonian. In 1939 publication of "White Dawns" ("Beli Mugri"), a collection of poems in Macedonian from the first modern Macedonian poet Koco Racin. In 1940, the democratic groups in Macedonia defined the political program for the national and social liberation of the country.
With the World War II burning throughout Europe, Yugoslavia was invaded by the German army in April of 1941. Bulgaria, now fascist, again occupied almost all of Macedonia (both Vardar and Aegean) and collaborated with the Nazis for the departure of the Jews of Salonica to their deaths. On October 11, 1941, the Macedonians launched a war for the liberation of Macedonia from the Bulgarian occupation. By 1943, the anti-fascist sentiment lent support for the growing communist movement and soon thereafter, the Communist Party of Macedonia was established. In the same year, the first unit of the Army of Macedonia was founded. Bodies of government, such as national liberation councils, were formed over the whole territory of Macedonia. The Headquarters of the National Liberation Army (NOV) published the manifesto of the goals of the war of liberation. The first session of the Anti-Fascist Assembly of the National Liberation of Macedonia (ASNOM) was held in the monastery of St. Prohor Pchinski on 2 August 1944 on the 41st anniversary of the Ilinden uprising. Representatives from all parts of Macedonia, including the Pirin and the Aegean parts of the country, gathered for the occasion and decided on the constitution of a modern Macedonian state as a member of the new Yugoslav federation under the name of Peoples Republic of Macedonia. The ASNOM presidium was formed with Metodija Andonov Cento was its first President and decision was reached to constitute a modern Macedonian country that will become part of the new Federal Yugoslavia. On April 1945 the first Macedonian government was founded with Lazar Kolisevski as its first President. The Ohrid Archbishopric was restored in 1958, and its autocephaly was declared in 1967. The Macedonians were finally free in one of the three parts of Macedonia.
The Greek Civil War and the Macedonians in Greece (Aegean Macedonia)
In Greece, after the Varkisa agreement (December 1945), the use of the Macedonian name and the Macedonian language were once again prohibited in the Aegean part of Macedonia and the Greek authorities started applying terror against the Macedonians. In the period of 1945-46 alone, according to statistics: 400 murders were registered; 440 women and girls were raped; 13,529 interned on the Greek islands; 8,145 imprisoned in the Greek prisons; 4,209 indicted; 3,215 sentenced to prison; 13 driven mad by the torture in the prisons; 45 villages abandoned; 80 villages pillaged; 1,605 families plundered; and 1,943 families evicted.
Therefore, during the Greek Civil War that followed World War II (1946-1949), the Macedonians of Aegean Macedonia fought on the side of the Greek Communist Party (KKE) simply because it promised them their rights after the war.Out of the 35,000 soldiers of DAG, about half were Macedonians. The liberated territory, covering mainly the territory of Aegean Macedonia. 87 Macedonian schools were opened for 100,000 pupils, the newspapers in Macedonian were published ("Nepokoren", "Zora", "Edinstvo", "Borec"), and cultural and artistic associations were created. But after two years of KKE's success in the civil war, the United States decided to side up against them, afraid that Greece would become another communist country. With the military support that came from the United States and Great Britain, the communists lost the war, and the Macedonians once again were stripped of their human rights.
The defeat of DAG resulted in terrible consequences for the Macedonians. 28,000 Aegean Macedonian children, known as 'child refugees', were separated from their families and settled in eastern Europe and Soviet Union in an attempt to save them from the terror that followed. Thousands of Macedonians lost their lives for the liberty of their people and a great number of the Macedonian villages were burned to the ground jut like the Greek army burned Kukush and the surrounding villages in the Balkan Wars.
In the late 1950's the inhabitants of several villages in the districts of Florina (Lerin), Kastoria (Kostur), and Edessa (Voden) were forced to take oaths in which they swore never again to speak "the local Slavic idiom," but to speak only Greek instead. Yet, the policy on denationalization continued to meet resistance among the Macedonians. The Macedonian language continued to be spoken in everyday communication and folklore as an expression of the Macedonian national affiliation. "The Macedonian Movement for Balkan Prosperity" withits main office in Salonica was founded, and "Rainbow" and some other organizations have been asking the international factors and the Greek government for legalization of the national and political rights of the Macedonians in Greece.
The Macedonians in Bulgaria (Pirin Macedonia)
The political changes after the capitulation of fascist Bulgaria and the coup d'etat of September 9, 1944 positively influenced the historical status of the Macedonians from the Pirin part of Macedonia. The Communist Party of Bulgaria, under the leadership of Geogi Dimitrov on August 9, 1946 officially recognized the Macedonian nation and the right of the Pirin part of Macedonia to be attached to the People’s Republic of Macedonia. The Macedonians in Bulgaria exist as separate nationality on all Bulgarian censuses after the end of World War II. The demography data from 1946 revealed that the majority of the population in the Pirin part of Macedonia declared itself as Macedonian in a free census. A period of cultural autonomy and affirmation of the Macedonian national and cultural values had begun. The Macedonian literary language and the national history have been introduced into the educational process. Almost 32,000 pupils were included into the teaching of Macedonian. In 1947 in Gorna Djumaja (Blagoevgrad nowadays) the first Macedonian bookstore and reading room were opened, as well as the Regional Macedonian National Theater. The newspapers in Macedonian such as "Pirinsko delo", "Nova Makedonija", "Mlad borec" etc. were also published. Literary circles and cultural and artistic associations were founded contributing to the spreading of the Macedonian culture. In the Bulgarian census of 1956, 63,7% of the population in Pirin declared itself as Macedonian. However, since 1956 Bulgaria has altered her attitude, negating again the existence of the Macedonian nation and forbidding the expression of Macedonian nationality and language. The idea for enforced and as result, in the census of 1965, the number of Macedonians dropped to only 8,750 and in the district of Blagoevgrad which previously had the highest percentage of Macedonians, it was less than 1%. But the fact that the Macedonians exist in Bulgaria can not be denied. The Times Atlas of World History acknowledges in its map that Pirin Macedonia is entirely populated by Macedonians. The recent archeological discovery in Aegean Macedonia in Greece confirmed that the Bulgarians had engaged in falsification of the history of Macedonia ever since the 19th century. And finally, the Macedonians in Bulgaria began organizing themselves. In 1989 the United Macedonian Organization - Ilinden (OMO Ilinden) was formed, demanding cultural and national autonomy for the Macedonians in Pirin.
Republic of Macedonia
As federal Yugoslavia was disintegrating at the beginning of 1990's, on September 8, 1991 in a referendum, 95% of eligible voters approved the independence and sovereignty of the Republic of Macedonia. Kiro Gligorov was elected the first president of independent Macedonia. The new constitution determined the Republic of Macedonia a sovereign, independent, civil, and democratic state, and it recognized the complete equality of the Macedonians and the ethnic minorities. It read "…Macedonia is constituted as a national country of the Macedonian people which guarantees complete civil equality and permanent mutual living of the Macedonian people with the Albanians, Turks, Vlachs, Roma and the other nationalities living in the Republic of Macedonia."
Although the European Community acknowledged that Macedonia had fulfilled the requirements for official recognition, due to the opposition of Greece, which was already a member of the community, the EC decided to postpone the recognition. Greece, afraid that Macedonia might put forward a historical, cultural, and linguistic, claim over Aegean Macedonia, insisted that the new nation has no right to use of the name "Macedonia" and use the emblem of ancient Macedonia on its flag. In July of 1992 there were demonstrations by 100,000 Macedonians in the capital Skopje over the failure to receive recognition. But despite Greek objections, Macedonia was admitted to the United Nations under the temporary reference (not an official name) "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" in 1993. Full diplomatic relations with a number of EC nations followed, while Russia, China, Turkey, Bulgaria and most nations, ignored Greece's objections and recognized Macedonia under its constitutional name "Republic of Macedonia".
Greece slapped a trade embargo on Macedonia on February 1994 because of the refusal of the Macedonian President Gligorov to rename the country, nation, and language, and change the Constitution because Article 47 specifies that "the Republic of Macedonia cares for the statue and rights of those persons belonging to the Macedonian people in neighboring countries, as well as Macedonian ex-parties, assists their cultural development and promotes links with them." Ironically, Greece also has a similar article in her Constitution, as any other country in the world, to care for her minorities in the neighboring countries. But the embargo had devastating impact on Macedonia's economy as the country was cut-off from the port of Salonica and became landlocked because of the UN embargo on Yugoslavia to the north, and the Greek embargo to the south. Greece would remove the embargo only if Macedonia satisfies her demands and despite international criticism it did not lift the embargo. At the same time, Greece withdrew from the Greek - Macedonian talks, monitored by the UN as a mediator, and blocked any acceptance of Macedonia in the international institutions by using its power to veto new members. Faced with economic collapse, and left without any support from the international community, Macedonia was practically forced to change its flag and constitution, upon which Greece lifted the embargo. Ironically, in 1995 the Human Rights Watch - Helsinki, condemned Greece for the oppression of its ethnic Macedonian minority, which Greece denies it exists. Both Amnesty International and the European Parliament had also urged Greece to recognize the existence of the Macedonian language and stop the oppression of the ethnic Macedonians.
Bibliography
1. In the Shadow of Olympus (1990) and Makedonika (1995) - Eugene N. Borza
3. Macedonia and Greece in Late Classical and Early Hellenistic Times -Ernst Badian, 1980
4. Alexander of Macedon 356-323 B.C.: A Historical Biography by Peter Green, 1991
5. Philip and Alexander of Macedon - David G. Hogarth, 1897
6. Krste Misirkov - About Macedonian Matters 1903
7. St. Petersburg periodical (Macedonian Voice) 1913-1914
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