The Macedonian Genocide

8/12/2019 The Macedonian Genocide

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THE MACEDONIAN GENOCIDE

I do not tend to think of myself as of a Macedonian revisionist, however, the general version of

The official interpretation, in the view of mainstream World history, about what happened in

Macedonia

After the appalling decision to partition the historic region, is one of fabrication, and deliberatelyorchestrated and choreographed pack of lies.

The Macedonian Exodus predates the Armenian Genocide as well as the Holocaust, but in no waydoes it deserve such horrendous official interpretation, that treats the ethnic cleansing as well as the

perpetration of such crimes against humanity against well over One million people to be just aResettlement effort.

The Macedonian question was among the most mismanaged events predating the final

dismembering of the Ottoman Empire, and it was done only at expense at the native settlers whohave inhabited the region for several millennia.

The only victim of one of the most imperialist adventures of decision making to divide a historicallyintegrated region administered in totalitarian fashion and implemented thru slaughter andMassacres of the heterogeneous Macedonian population, were indeed the historic inhabitants of

the Country.

The decline of the Ottoman Empire as well as its gradual deterioration left a huge power vacuum,

which was subsequently the reason for all the local regional struggles that followed.

Macedonia having been traditionally multi ethnic, multi religious and multicultural, was amongthose world regions where the national awakening as well as the sense for national identity and the

ambition to independent and sovereign self-rule and establishment of a country of its own, wasslowed down and fractioned against the pressures and the challenges of administering amultinational country.

The different heritage, religious and cultural identity of all the various nationalities that comprisedThe Macedonian social fabric, were unfortunately among the biggest obstacles to the establishment

Of a single homogenous and sovereign country of its own.

The intellectual elite and the Macedonian intelligentsia were unfortunately not able to unite andcreate a political alliance as well as a coalition of national unity to preserve and reinforce the

integrity and strength of the region as a single one whole impossible to divide.

The biggest problem it seems along the way of creating an independent state of its own was theneed to create and establish a sense for national identity and unity that would pledge loyalty to the

Country despite of religious and ethnic differences.

Having said all this, loyalty toward Macedonia as a whole was interpreted and assessed individuallyand it had a different meaning for each and every one.


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It seems that, the Millet system introduced by the Ottomans was among the more successful ways

to administer such a vast region, rooted in various traditions and influences

Anyway, only a community dedicated and committed to cosmopolitan values elevated to anunprecedented level of awareness for tolerance and internationalism, as well as diversity could

prevail in such an endeavour as to establish a multinational sovereign country.

Having taken the neighbourhood opposition as well as the mixed loyalties of communities intoaccount, Macedonia had premature relationship among its own various population, to be able tocreate such political alliance and unite the various nations of the region to establish a country of

their own.

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THE BUKUREST CONFERENCE OF 1913

Aware of this and determined to split up the region in as many parts as possible as to reduce thethreat of the establishment of a strong regional military power, the Great powers made a decision toPartition Macedonia and integrate the divided parts into the new emerging local sovereign states of

Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia.

With growing local nationalism and aspirations for regional domination, these three countries had a

completely different view about what the region should look like.

Never the less, Macedonia had been a tapestry a whole kaleidoscope of different ethnicities

religions and cultures scattered around the entire region.

Not one single county, not a single small village had been ethnically clean and homogenous to beable to easily integrate and incorporate it into the newly emerged national states.

Vast regions full of Bulgarians had been overnight handed over to and incorporated into the

Kingdom of Greece.

With such history of intolerance and prejudice as well as superstition against the other, thesecommunities were bound to collide, as the kingdom of Greece had not exactly been keen to admit

and accept the human rights as well as the needs of their newly acquired Bulgarian subjects.

Besides, only recently Greece had been severely influenced by Germany in one attempt to infiltrate

Politics in the Kingdom thru a power marriage and infiltration of German Royal blood line into the

Greek court and monarchy.

Overnight, Greece had become a German puppet, severely indoctrinated with the emergence of

Arian Uber Mench, as well as fascist ideology.

In order to improve its noble heritage and create a superficial connection between Greek antiquity

and German aristocracy, Germany back then had been determined to deliberately Hellenise its past,


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Such crimes against humanity were perpetuated against the reminder of the Macedonian

population, the genocide and ethnic cleansing of the region would become the blueprint inorchestrating of the Holocaust and in part would directly participate in its execution against the

Sephardic Jews

Unfortunately, for us as Macedonians, regardless of our ethnicity, our world diaspora, and our lobbyworldwide has done very little for these crimes to be acknowledged, we have stood perhaps too

impotent against our own ignorance of our own past

We are not evolved enough, and our institutions as well as our political leadership and our

intellectual elite are simply not capable enough to realise that even our contemporary problemstoday, and our biggest existential challenge that will determine our identity and future as a state andsovereign country is deeply rooted and interconnected with our view and interpretation of the

Macedonian question thru history.

We are still haunted by the past and the same mistakes are inherently and inertly slowing us downeven today as we speak, as we are not able to fully identify the root of all our problems as a nation

and people with distinct identity.

Our inability to fully integrate into the mainstream European political institutions and all ourcontemporary agenda is a problem that could only be solved thru careful analysis, observation and

thorough research of the past, particularly the issues of partition of the region in Bucharest and the

subsequent events that followed.

But just as well, we have to understand our history, our social infrastructure and our social fabric asa nation and a nationality.

This is why the most intelligent of us from the past who have successfully managed to address thisissue, and have committed themselves to the future of the region as a whole, have been fully awareof the fact that the Macedonian nation as well as our identity has historically and traditionally beencreated thru a fusion and a merger of the many ethnicities and different people who have inhabited

the region.

Theres no such thing as an ethnically clean Macedonian, but so theres no such thing as a pureSwiss, neither an ethnic Belgian, however, these two previously mentioned countries have foundedand established their state sovereignty by building a relationship of tolerance and mutual respect.

The sole strength of these two states, their political credibility and global status of two First Worldcountries that belong to the rich and industrial family of the developed world has been built around

coexistence, mutual trust, tolerance and understanding for the other.

This is how they have all managed to even build strong national awareness exactly thru enhancingtheir collective identity, as a confederation of states of different peoples equally committed to thecommon good of building a joint state enterprise.

Besides, the world reputation and credibility of these countries relies and depends on their internal

unity and strength of their coalition.


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As for Macedonia, in the words of a prominent VMRO leader Vanco Mihajlov, a Bulgarian from the

Vardar district of Macedonia, a small town called Stip, who gave an excellent observation for the

future political direction of the region: I hope well establish a Switzerland in the Balkans.

CAMPAIGN OF MAKEOVER

Macedonia has been multi-ethnic since time immemorial, and it is perfectly natural that a transit

region within such a central piece of land would become the Melting pot and has to be crossed to

get from one place to another in the Balkans.

The Dorian Greeks, or the northern Greek tribes that lived in Macedonia called Highlanders in theirancient language, were only a marginal part of the rich social fabric that would be merged into the

kingdom of Macedon.

Established revisionists of Antiquity and history of Hellenism even dispute the real origin and identityof the Doric tribes, not being certain that they have only been distinctly Greek.

However, even with their contribution and participation into the cosmopolitan mix of the region,their influence not being disputed, and given the distinct geography and mountainous habitat ofMacedonia, along with presence of Illyrian and Thracian tribes among others, Macedonia evolvedinto a distinctly authentic political unit, established around a coalition of tribes and political alliances

created to centralise and unite as well to consolidate the region into one sovereign unit.

One of the most authentic and distinctly original aspects of Macedonia was the form of government

that revolved around an autocratic and centralised monarchy, giving the region a unique character,besides the Greek city state democratic social model, that was common for all other Polis states of

the region.

As Macedonia grew to be the Kingdom of the North, one of the first things done to consolidate andmerge the loose coalition of tribes into a single state unit, was to encourage power marriagesparticularly among members of the aristocracy as well as within the Royal family, giving the King

many wives and children from all the other tribes participating into the union.

This provided a multi-ethnic national identity, and ever since the Macedonians have traditionallybeen exposed to an enormous amount of different influences and have coexisted thru active socialbonding, taking form in mixed marriages, providing rich and multi-ethnic families that would in turn

define the Macedonian cultural and ethnic profile.

Being a central transit spot with an established maritime naval port in Salonika since GreekAntiquity, and a part of the Via Ignazia corridor, Macedonia was naturally exposed to broad range of

influences ever since the Dawn of time.

One could argue that there was always a strong pattern and consistency in overseas and other

foreigners creating settlements and populating Macedonia at certain periods of time.


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During the early middle Ages it was turn for the Slavic tribes to penetrate and start infiltrating

Byzantium thru Macedonia, changing once again the ethnic landscape and the social infrastructure,introducing a distinct Slav element that would dominate parts of Macedonia up until today.

They were followed by the Bulgarian tribes moving south from the Black Sea, along with Wallachian

tribes, and others looking for a land to settle on.

This would only add to the rich Tapestry of the Macedonian multinational identity that has been

traditionally diverse and multi-ethnic since time immemorial.

Over time, Serbs and Turks would arrive, each from a different direction and for their own personalAgenda, as well as the Sephardic Jews, who would in most part settle along the Khalkidhiki coast

around Salonika and Constantinople.

With the integration and acquisition of Macedonia into the Ottoman Empire, all these communities

would be given religious autonomy, but Muslim authority would be formally established as well

These ethnicities would gather around their own Millets, and would enjoy certain autonomy,

freedom to warship, speak their own languages and build schools, as long as they are loyal to theSultan and obey the Laws of the empire.

This system has had its own share of criticism and has been considered obsolete by modernstandards, however given that the rest of Europe was going thru a social and cultural decline; this

was after all not such a bad way to administer the Balkans.

Anyway, Western Europe did not provide a competitive system, and much of the Jews in particular,

lived and were confined to a life in the Ghetto, or were indefinitely expelled from their own homesnever to return

The Muslims were plain and simple Infidels and enemies of the Cross

Contrary to popular belief, it was the Ottoman Empire that was much more tolerant and provided

hospitality for hordes of Jews who could not settle anywhere for long periods of time.

All these issues further contributed and encouraged many other people to settle and arrive in

Macedonia, adding to the cosmopolitan mix, and enriching the social and cultural habitat.

No wonder, all over the World, Macedonia is well known for its salad of mixed vegetables that isindeed a pure reflection of the cultural mix and its multinational character

Of course, all these arrivals and departures created power struggles and in times left such power

vacuum, that could easily be taken advantage of, and the region was occupied times and timesagain, by each expanding European Empire, from Rome and Byzantium to the Otto mans

Never the less, in times of peace and progress, tolerance and respect as well as understanding and

Love for thy neighbour prevailed and the region flourished and blossomed in to a progressivecountry.

On the opposite hand, in times of conflict, external pressure only enhanced and emphasiseddifferences and war inevitable sent the whole region deteriorating in decline and despair.


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This pattern does not seem to provide a valuable lesson for the current political establishment and

the contemporary administration in government has not yet learned from mistakes made in the

past

Given the external and outside pressure to disintegrate the region, particularly from neighbouring

countries, in the past as well as today, Macedonia must stay strong and unit ed to prevail

TODAY

Contemporary Macedonia, as well as the political map of the region has to great extent been drawnup with the decline of the Ottoman Empire and their subsequent departure and withdrawal from theregion.

The power vacuum left was opportunely taken to the advantage of the neighbouring countries todivide and split up the whole region and integrate the cut out parts into their own newly established

national countries.

Most unfortunately to the Macedonians themselves, our national awakening as well as our national

conscience back then was only in an Embryo form and had not yet evolved to understand thechallenges of building a sovereign country with a multinational identity.

Much of our intelligentsia and our local regional intellectuals were only dedicated and committed tobuilding up and emancipation of their individual communities, taking total disregard that we must all

merge and stand together.

Despite of cooperation particularly during the rise of the Young Turks and the removal of Sultan

Hamid from office, as well as the establishment of modern Turkey and declaration of the modernrepublic, all these various communities came only briefly together, but never to a more seriousrelationship to create the coalition and political alliance needed to be able to establish a provisionalgovernment and build the necessary institutions to eventually build a country.

To that respect, much of the outside criticism, that we as Macedonians have rudimentary nationalconsciousness, and that we only function within our own communities, not being able to build a

multinational diverse and cosmopolitan state, necessary for the prevailing of a multi-ethnic regionfull of various different religions and cultures was justified.

The time was running against Macedonia particularly to the fact that modern European states were

firmly established around a distinct ethnicity and national identity.

Macedonia given our lack of experience to self-govern ourselves after centuries of occupation andforeign rule could only prevail as a social experiment time bomb ready to explode any minute to the

challenges and pressures of nationalism.

The Bulgarians as well as all the other ethnicities looked to preserve the interests of theircommunities, all withdrawing further away from a viable platform competent enough to keep the

region together.

No national unity was ever even proposed, as the only option to the maintenance and keeping of theregion together and integrated as before.


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Macedonian immaturity was simple a result of lack of experience and time to manoeuvre against

neighbourhood pressure to split up and divide the country among themselves.

At the first available opportunity at the Bucharest conference in 1913, Macedonia was artificially

partitioned to three parts further to be integrated into the neighbouring states.

This provided such artificial borders that the subsequent power struggle was inevitable and

impossible to avoid.

The two Balkan wars that followed as well as the First World War and all other subsequent conflictscontributed to one of the greatest campaigns of ethnic cleansing implemented thru genocide, massmurder, deportations and massacre all in order to eliminate or expel the surplus communities no

longer needed into the regions integrated into the neighbouring parties.

Unfortunately, as history is written by the winners, the official versions of what happened only

participate in history books as resettlement and repopulation efforts and population swaps.

The Great Powers only concerned to preserve the fragile Balance of power in the Balkans, made a

decision to partition the region with total disregard for the will of the Macedonian, who were not

even consulted, in an event strongly resembling the partition of Palestine

Much of the world diaspora from this region scattered thru west Europe and the Americas is a left

over from the years of war and displacement that followed the partition implementation.

To make only matters worse, intolerance, superstition prejudice and discrimination were the

standard way to which the ethnic minorities were subjected to.

For the many crimes against humanity that were perpetrated against vulnerable and exposedunprotected minorities, only a fraction of the truth is preserved and much of it as well has been

fabricated over the years, only a bitter memory from survivors remains, but who is there to listen?

With the rise of local nationalists to power, everywhere deemed necessary to counter the threat

from the neighbourhood, the Balkan only became increasingly unstable and the same mistakesdragged thru the decades only contribute to continuum in insecurity and fragile politics.

Not for long, the reminder of Europe being persuaded it has isolated itself from the danger ofinstability and ethnic conflict was dragged into WW1 in Bosnia by an Ethnic Serb, in a region just as

divided and ethnically mixed as Macedonia.


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The Macedonian Genocide

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