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Macedonia v. Greece: The Truth Behind the Name Dispute
by Risto Stefov
February, 2002
I write here to inform the unaware reader and to remind the weary Macedonian why it is important for Macedonians to fight, by any means possible, to survive. I strive to inspire others to initiate debates and join with me in telling our story. I invite historians and academics to revisit history and re-open the Macedonian question.
Since her inception as a country in the 1820's, Modern Greece has instituted and to this day is enforcing discriminatory policies towards the Macedonian people. The name dispute is nothing new. It is ongoing Greek interference in Macedonian affairs.
I intend to explore the results of policies instituted by Greek Governments and the harm they have done to the Macedonian people. I intend to show that for the sole benefit of her selfish needs, and to cover up acts of ethnic cleansing and cultural genocide against the Macedonian people, Greece has consistently denied the existence of a Macedonian nationality.
I intend to show that since Greece became a country in the late 1820's, successive Greek Governments have systematically and deliberately promoted discriminatory actions and policies to suppress the identity of the Macedonian nation. I intend to provide evidence resulting from the implementation of such actions and policies. I also intend to show how, by passing carefully worded laws, Greek Governments have isolated Macedonians and robbed them of their rights and privileges as Greek citizens.
I also intend to show how Greece has highjacked Classical and Hellenistic history to aid in her quest for annexing Macedonian territory and denying Macedonians their heritage.
Finally, I intend to challenge the most popular club and donut shop debated Greek claims of the origin of Modern Macedonians, Modern Greeks and the purity of the Modern Greek nation.
As George Orwell once pointed out, "Who controls the past controls the future; who controls the present controls the past." If you believe George Orwell as I do or the saying that "history is written by the victors," then continue reading.
I would like to begin this document with a few personal observations of my own that measure, unscientifically, today's mood and the political opinions of ordinary Macedonians and Greeks. As an added bonus, I would like to provide some measure of the general public's level of awareness and understanding of issues facing Macedonia today.
Over some time I informally inquired from ordinary people that identify with Modern Greeks what they think of Macedonians?
The results are summarized as follows:
1. "Macedonians don't exist."
2. "There is no such thing as Macedonians."
3. "Macedonians have been extinct for a long time."
4. "There is a region called Macedonia but it belongs to Greece."
The similarity of answers provided by various individuals is most curious.
I did the same with people that identify with Macedonians. The question this time was what do Macedonians think of the Greeks?
In almost every instance I witnessed signs of frustration, anger and disappointment before a single word was uttered.
1. Some shook their heads and walked away saying "there is nothing good to say."
2. Others wished the Greeks would "leave us alone so that we can get on with our lives."
3. Some spoke of the "Greek injustices" perpetrated over the years.
I did a similar test with people who were not of Greek or Macedonian nationality. I asked the question, "What do you know about Greeks and Macedonians and the issues that face them today?"
Here is a summary of the results:
1. Many responded by saying, "Greeks, Macedonians, same thing".
2. Most knew nothing of Macedonians and a little of the Greeks.
3. Virtually none were aware of any specific issues facing the two countries except that problems existed, which they learned from watching television or reading the newspaper.
The results of this informal mini survey revealed the following:
1. Greek people have a preconceived mind set about Macedonia and the Macedonian people.
2. Ordinary Macedonians are frustrated by Greek interference in their affairs.
3. Ordinary individuals outside of the two groups are not well informed about issues facing the two countries.
Macedonians, who have the most to gain from this, have not done enough to publicize the issues and bring them out into the open.
To understand the nature of the current problems between the two countries, I must take you back to watershed points in history, to the events that gave birth to the problems.
I believe the initial turning point began before the creation of the Modern Greek state with the world's discovery of the old Greek city-states.
During the Renaissance when scholars of the Christian world turned their attention to science, mathematics and philosophy, Muslim scholars from occupied Spain lead them to the discovery of the ancient Greek world. Fascinated by the discovery they began to translate ancient works and publish books that popularized the exploits of the ancient Greeks making them famous.
The next turning point took place in the early 1820's when Greece rebelled, unsuccessfully, against five hundred years of Ottoman rule. Eventually, her newly-found fame would turn the tide in her favour.
The rebellion prompted a harsh response from Turkey against the Greek people and this gained the attention of the world. Cries of sympathy and protests prompted the superpowers France, Britain and Russia to dispatch their navies and liberate Greece.
At that time Greece was a small country at the foot of the Balkans, its population was a mix of indigenous Greeks, Albanians, Vlahs, Slavs, Turks and other minorities.
The unexpected liberation caught the small country by surprise and threw her population into chaos, struggling to assert their individual identities. With help from her allies she recovered and began to rebuild.
During this crucial period of soul searching, Greece forged new ideas that would later have negative consequences for Macedonia.
With allied help, the Greek people formed a new government, crowned a king, revised history, created a literary language, instituted education, created a military and began to plan territorial expansions, all in a span of a few decades. The Ottoman Empire was weakening and there would be plenty of opportunities for acquiring new territories in the future. While the military was planning campaigns, scholars were busy forging a new identity for the Greek people. In an effort to capture some of the glory of the ancient past the new nation would be called Hellas and its people would be referred to as Hellenes. A carefully chosen name and identity, which would serve Greek propaganda well in the future.
Forward thinking politicians, revisionists and policy makers made sure nothing was left to chance. They literally designed the new nation to take advantage of the past and to exploit the future. These were also the people who decided Macedonia's fate.
By the beginning of the twentieth century Greece had tripled in size by conquering and annexing all of the territory she occupies today -- except for Macedonia.
Athens had now taken an active role in all archeological affairs and instituted censorship. All information and artifacts were regulated to ensure the past was in agreement with the present.
The next turning point takes us to the last thirty years before the 1912-1913 Balkan wars. It was during this period that Greece took extraordinary measures to conceal the identity and character of the Macedonian nation.
Greece, due to her control of Christian interests inside Macedonia, was granted unrestricted access in and out of Ottoman territory, provided it was for religious purposes only. Since the abolition of the Macedonian Church in 1767 by Ottoman Sultan Mustafa III, having no other choice, Macedonians turned to the Greek Church for prayer. Up until the middle of the 19th century the Greek Church had exclusive rights over Christianity inside the Ottoman Empire.
At that time the Ottoman administration was not yet reformed and functioned poorly at best. There was no statistical information available regarding the composition of nationalities in the region. When the Ottomans took a census they were interested in numbers relating to religious affiliation, mainly consisting of Muslims and Christians, not nationalities.
The lack of proper statistics was opportune for the Greek census takers who quickly took advantage of the situation and cleverly substituted "Greek" for "Christian" in the old Ottoman census.
Substituting "nationality" for "religion" went unchallenged until the Bulgarian Church became involved in Macedonia. Near the end of the 19th century Bulgaria was granted consecration rights and started its own church. The Ottomans sensed the growing power and influence of the Greek Church in the region and decided it was time to give them some competition.
By this time Bulgaria had also staked her claim on Macedonian territory and was headed on a collision course with Greece.
Bulgaria also understood the importance of concealing the Macedonian nationality and she too adapted the method of substituting "Bulgarian" for "Christian".
Even after the unsuccessful Macedonian (Ilinden) rebellion in 1903 against the Ottoman Turk, Greece and Bulgaria made no mention of Macedonians.
Both countries were claiming the same population virtually doubling the numbers overnight. To avoid undue attention and to show proof of claim, both parties initiated campaigns to attract new or convert old parishioners. Macedonians now had a choice of Church, the old conservative Greek Patriarch Church or the new Bulgarian Exarchist Church.
Not to be outdone by Greece and Bulgaria, Serbia, (a little later) also joined in and started operating her own churches in Macedonia. As competition intensified the churches offered free education for children and other perks. As competition further intensified, church agents turned to violence, intimidation and murder to keep up their numbers. Hooligans and mercenaries were hired to intimidate, beat and murder people. Priests who left one church for another, paid with their lives. If you wish to know more about the atrocities committed by Greek authorities during this period read about Karavangeli's exploits in Macedonia (Arheio Makedonikou Agona, Pinelopis Delta, Apomnimoneymata, Germanou Karavaggeli, Georgiou Dikonymou Makri, Panagioti Papatzanetea).
The next turning point takes us to the Balkan conflict of 1912-1913 and Macedonia's partition.
Before 1912 her three suitors had one objective in mind, to divide and conquer. In spite of their bickering over the same territory they managed to agree on how to divide it. Then in 1912 (first Balkan War) plans were put into action and they successfully expelled the Ottomans from all of Macedonia's territory. When it came to dividing Macedonia, however, greed got in the way and war (the 1913 second Balkan War) broke out between them. Greece allied itself with Serbia and fought against Bulgaria.
Things really went out of control when other Balkan Countries became involved, hoping to recover long lost territories. It took superpower intervention to stop the conflict but it didn't help Macedonia.
In August 1913, by the Treaty of Bucharest, Macedonia's partition was sanctioned. Things worsened for Macedonia at the conclusion of World War I on June 28th, 1919 the superpowers at the Paris Peace Conference ratified the 1913 Treaty of Bucharest and with minor territorial adjustments, left Macedonia partitioned to this day.
Macedonia was divided for the first time since the Roman wars. New borders were drawn and secured, leaving villages, families, and friends permanently separated.
As soon as Greece consolidated her control over her share of Macedonia's spoils she initiated ethnic cleansing. Macedonians affiliated with the Exarchist Church were expatriated. Serbia exerted no influence in this region, so there were no Serbians to expatriate. After the purges, the remaining population was forced to take an oath of allegiance to the Greek nation and denounce all others including their own. Those who refused were expatriated.
More populations were expatriated after the war with Turkey (1920's). Besides purging, Greece also exchanged Muslims for Christians in the population exchanges with Turkey. Most of the newcomers were sent to Macedonia and by way of land re-distribution and reforms, were given the lands and homes belonging to the evicted Macedonians. No Macedonian was ever awarded damages for confiscation of property or loss of possessions.
Even Macedonians that fought side by side with the Greeks in Turkey were discriminated against and their assistance was never recognized. The families of Macedonian soldiers who died in combat received no recognition or compensation for their loss.
At the conclusion of the war with Turkey (1920's), Greece initiated new assimilation policies in Macedonia to forcibly Hellenize the Macedonian nation. The policies required that every name be changed to have a "Greek sounding" character. Those with Slavonic sounding names were required to choose or were given new names.
All traces of Cyrillic writing found in public buildings, churches, gravestones, etc., were erased. Macedonian place names were changed. Every village, mountain, lake, stream, river and road was given a Greek name. Laws prohibited use of the Macedonian language. A heavy dose of castor oil was punishment for a child caught speaking Macedonian. A hefty fine (and much worse) was punishment for an adult.
Those who needed to communicate to do their jobs were in real trouble. For some it was safer not to speak than to risk being fined. Even animals (dogs, oxen, horses, donkeys, etc.) had to be re-educated to obey commands in Greek. Older people who could not afford the fines were sent to court and forced to pay. In many cases it meant having to sell their meager assets.
The next turning point was the Greek Civil War (1944 to 1949). In spite of all attempts by Greece to ethnically cleanse, forcibly assimilate, Hellenize, and suppress the Macedonian nation, its Macedonian identity remained alive. During the occupation (World War II), free from Greek oppression, Macedonians began to publicly re-assert their identities. They began to talk, sing and publicly perform plays in Macedonian. Some learned to read and write for the first time using the Cyrillic alphabet.
The Greek Communist Party having influence in the region took advantage of this. They promised the Macedonian people equal rights and recognition of the Macedonian nationality under the Greek nation. This created a division between those who wanted an independent Macedonia and those who wanted partnership with Greece. Greek military forces pushed out, the Partisans who wanted an independent Macedonia, across the Yugoslav border where they joined the Macedonian brigades there. The rest fought side by side with the Greeks.
After the expulsion of Germany and Italy they again fought side-by-side with the Communist Greeks in the Greek Civil War, and lost. No equal rights or recognition of the Macedonian nationality ever materialized. In contrast, the Macedonian contribution for liberating Yugoslavia from the Fascists was rewarded with the creation of the People's Republic of Macedonia. The Macedonian people earned their place in the world by shedding blood. But Greece is still refusing to recognize them, insisting on calling them "Skopians" (a derogatory euphemism for Macedonian).
For their bloodshed in liberating Greece from the Fascists, the Macedonian people were rewarded with more ethnic cleansing.
During the Greek Civil War tens of thousands of refugee children ages four to fourteen were rounded up and evacuated to Eastern Block countries (spring of 1948). Later they were not allowed to return. Greece prepared carefully worded laws to include Greek (by genus only) and exclude Macedonian children from returning.
Then in the fall of 1949 the general population from Macedonia, mainly for the Lerin (Florina) and Kostur (Kastoria) regions, was evacuated as war refugees. Most of those who left the country were not allowed to come back, not even to visit family, attend funerals or light a candle at the graves of their loved ones. Between 1945 and 1949 the Macedonian demographic was so drastically altered that Macedonians became a minority in their native land.
From the Greek Civil War onward many Macedonians originating from Greece have immigrated to countries like Canada, Australia and the USA in search of a better life. Their political standing in Greek society, at home and abroad has hardly changed since Macedonia was occupied in 1912. At home, Macedonians still face discrimination and abuse at the hands of Greek Governments.
If you "feel Macedonian" and attempt to assert your identity, you will encounter discrimination. You may lose your job. Your children may not be able to attend higher education. You will not be promoted in the Greek military.
So far I have presented evidence of acts perpetrated by successive Greek Governments including ethnic cleansing, forced assimilation and systemic discrimination against the Macedonian people. I have also given examples of how Greek Governments time and time again denied the existence of a Macedonian nationality.
I will now attempt to explain how successive Greek Governments committed cultural genocide by manipulating history to deny Macedonians their heritage.
Earlier in this document I mentioned that after her inception, Greece experienced an identity crisis. Her premature liberation from Turkey and lack of unity in her ethnically diverse population threw her into soul-searching chaos.
The problem of ethnicity was not solved by recognizing the existing ethnic diversity of the population or by allowing numbers to determine majorities and minorities. Instead, the Greek nation builders decided to build a new national identity, one that would take advantage of ancient history and lay the foundation for the future.
The modern Greeks were told they were the Hellenes, descended from the ancient Hellenic world and rightful heirs to ancient Hellenic history. At the same time they were told that Greece had many enemies who would try to take their inheritance away from them. Along with pride and fear, xenophobia was instilled into the Greek consciousness. This perhaps explains why Modern Greeks have a mindset and strong feelings not only towards Macedonians but towards Bulgarians and Turks as well.
Scholarly revisionists began to create the modern version of Greek history. To further strengthen her claims of the past, Greece resurrected an old Attican (Athenian) language and used it as the basis for its modern literary language. This language was difficult to learn and used mostly by scholars, the church and legal institutions. Surprisingly it survived for over a century before it was abandoned in favour of the simpler language people use today.
Her popularity in the world assured Greece her liberation and shaped her national identity. Her claims to the past were about to shape her future. Before annexing new territories she made sure history would back her claims. With intense propaganda she prepared her people and with vigour she pursued her exploits. After annexing most of the northern territories unabated, she was ready for Macedonia.
Unlike before, however, her claims to Macedonia did not go unnoticed. As I pointed out earlier, competition for Macedonia grew with intensity that eventually boiled over into full-scale war (wars of 1912 and 1913).
To protect her interests, first, from the Macedonian people and second, from her competitors (Bulgaria and Serbia), Greece came up with ingenious defensive methods. She vigorously fought to censor publications of archeological discoveries and offered her own expert opinions on ancient matters.
To protect her future, she frequently published demographic statistics to debunk the claims of others, always being careful to avoid use of the "M" word for Macedonians. Meanwhile at home, the propaganda machine made sure her population was stayed in line with her policies.
Publications without censorship were (and still are) vigorously protested. Eventually, as many authors and researchers of ancient studies would attest, the "M" word became a dirty word. For a time it was banned from the Greek vocabulary. The Macedonian territory annexed by Greece was re-named "Northern Greece".
Today Greek newspapers (Amfiktyon, Syllogiko Enotiko Organo Symvolis sti diasosy tou Ellinismou, November/December 2001) in their zeal to prove there are no more Macedonians left in Greece, unwittingly have betrayed past acts committed by their Governments against the Macedonian people.
Archeological discoveries did not escape the Greek censor either. Anything disagreeable quickly disappeared. After more than 1400 years of "Slav" (Slavonic Macedonian) presence in the region, not a single bit of "Slav" evidence was reported to be found. There wasn't any because Greece made sure it disappeared the moment it was discovered.
Look at the extreme measures Greece took during the 1920s and 1930's to erase all evidence of Macedonian existence. They changed people's first and last names, geographical toponyms, and banned use of the Macedonian language outright.
What happened to the relics found beneath the shorelines of Lake Prespa (Prespa Island was King Samoil's fortress)?
What happened to the buried treasures and artifacts found from pre 1767 Macedonian churches? They all disappeared. The reason the Ottomans banned the Macedonian Church was because it was a symbol of strength and influence in the old Balkan world.
The Greek Church instigated the ban by spying and reporting on Macedonian activities to the Ottoman Authorities. More recently many old Macedonian churches were razed to the ground and new (Greek) churches were built to cover the ruins. Including the old Church of St. Pantelimon in Lerin (Florina).
What happened to the old Cyrillic gravestones in the village cemeteries? It is estimated that tens of thousands of relics have disappeared in the last century to conceal all evidence that may give credence to a Macedonian presence.
Look at the works of ancient studies and compare the interpretations of Greek versus non-Greek versions. Why is there such a vast difference? Why is Greece striving so hard to tip the scale in her favour when it comes to ancient history?
Why do history books refer to the " Hellenistic civilization" and not the "Macedonian civilization?" What difference does it make anyway? It does to Greece so that she can maintain a firm grip on Macedonia.
Was it not the Macedonian Empire that made the conquests and bridged east and west (dispersion)? Was it not the Macedonian Empire that commissioned the building of many cities like Alexandria of Egypt? Was it not the Macedonian Empire that spread knowledge and civilization to the world? Wasn't it Alexandria and not Athens that became the intellectual capital of the ancient World?
Doesn't Macedonia deserve a bit more mention in the history books or a bit more credit for her past deeds?
So far I have provided arguments to show the extreme measures (cultural genocide) that Greece has taken to safeguard her claims on Macedonia. From misleading her people about their origin, to highjacking ancient history, to concealing artifacts and publishing misleading statistics on nationalities.
Greece and perhaps others thrive and prosper today at the expense of Macedonia and her people. For over a century now Greece has denied the existence of the Macedonian nation, robbing Macedonians of their heritage.
I would like to offer alternatives to some of the more popular beliefs about the origins of Greeks and Macedonians and about the purity of the Greek people.
Who are the Greeks?
The official claim is that modern Greeks are descendents of an ancient tribe of Hellenes that came from the heartland of Europe, traveled through the Balkans and settled by the southern shores of Modern Greece.
By observing behavioral patterns, it is more plausible to assume that the ancient inhabitants of the southern Balkan shoreline came from the south, most likely from the Nile River delta regions. Over population, drought or pressures from invasions may have forced them to migrate. Naturally, being sea-faring people they settled on the shoreline where for many years they lived off the sea and thrived. They loved the sea and as their populations grew they colonized the Mediterranean coastline.
Recent population studies using DNA analysis have put the lie to the Greek identity myth. Scientific evidence now shows that modern Greeks are more closely related to sub-Saharan Africans than to any Mediterranean peoples - including Cretans.
Furthermore, modern Macedonians (who Greeks allege only recently entered the Balkans) are shown to be genetically related to the other Mediterranean populations. Click here to read the abstract.
Are the Ancient Greek and Ancient Macedonian people related?
The Ancient Greeks did not think so. There is ample evidence to prove linguistically and culturally that the Ancient Greeks and Ancient Macedonians were different people. See http://www.macedon.org/anmacs for more information on this.
It has been documented in ancient sources that the Macedonian elite, in addition to speaking the common language (Koine) also spoke another, a uniquely Macedonian language. There are several extant examples of Alexander the Great using this language to give orders to his Macedonian soldiers.
What is the connection between Ancient Macedonians and Slavs?
Greece set out to convince the world that the Macedonians (whom they refer to as the "Slavs") are newcomers to the area and cannot lay claim to any part of ancient Macedonian history. There are very few objective or unbiased students of the Slavs so first let's take a look at what the Greeks have to say.
Greeks claim the "Slavs" originated from the regions near Modern Russia and the Ukraine and migrated southward reaching the Balkans around the sixth and seventh centuries AD. They claim that before settling the land the "Slavs" killed off the local inhabitants (I assume they mean the Ancient Macedonians) then colonized the region.
Most students of Slavonic history tend to agree with the Greek assessment. More recently however, with the independence of the Republic of Macedonia, scholars and researchers have uncovered new evidence to challenge these claims. The first discoveries came from archeological digs where over a hundred and fifty monuments have been found with linguistic evidence showing similarities between modern Slavonic languages and Ancient Balkan languages. In addition, Macedonian students of Homer who have studied the Iliad, have found similarities between the language in the Iliad and today's Macedonian language.
These new discoveries, along with the recent DNA population studies, provide enough evidence to seriously question the veracity of the old claims. They suggest a proto-Slav language was already being used in the Balkans prior to the so-called "Slavonic Invasions" of the sixth century AD. Furthermore, these "Slavs" are genetically related to the other Mediterranean peoples, including the Cretans -- but specifically, not the Greeks.
In a more current vein I want to point out that the poisonous Greek propaganda spewing forth for over a century is not confined to her borders. Greek consulates and embassies work hard at promoting Greek propaganda by giving away thousands of free books, newspapers and magazines and support many academics and lobby groups to influence organizations and Governments worldwide. Their influence is not limited to propaganda alone.
The consulates and embassies are also hard at work keeping tabs on the activities of organizations and people, even their own people. Greek authorities quickly react to any perceived threat on their founding mythology to the point of using violence if necessary.
Many Macedonians who came from Greece and are now living in the Diaspora are afraid to participate in Macedonian events. They will not attend Macedonian festivals, parades, picnics, and dances or even attend Mass at Macedonian Churches for fear of being reported to the Greek authorities who would then punish their relatives back in Greece.
Finally, I hope I have provided you with enough convincing evidence to help you understand the plight of the Macedonian nation and why Macedonians must fight to survive. Giving up the fight with Greece is like committing suicide because Greece will protect her interests at any cost, even our extinction.
I hope I have inspired you to pick up the torch and carry it forward for Macedonia's sake.
You can contact the author via his e-mail: [email protected]
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