Monday, March 03, 2008

7 The Golgotha of Garvan

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The Golgotha of Garvan


Last year, on receipt of information of the occurrence in the village of Garvan, Macedonia, a great popular demonstration was held. Twenty men of the village had been murdered in cold blood by the authorities. Further information raised this number to twenty eight, and brought details of these imparalleled inhuman executions, and how a woman had died on the spot from terror at the sight.

The Golgotha of Garvan

During the month of March, last year, a report reached us of a terrible tragedy enacted in Macedonia. Twenty peaceful Bulgarians had been seized in their homes in the village of Garvan, Radovish district, tied with ropes and barbarously shot by the authorities.
This case of butchering innocent men is neither the first, nor is it a casual one. It is a common result of the Serbian Government's policy. It is an illustration of the tyrannical and cruel regime ruling in Macedonia since the country was occupied by Serbia in 1913.

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Garvan is a village situated on the borders of the Konesh-Mountains, between the rivers Lacavitza, tributary of the Bregalnitza, and the Vardar. The village lies in the valley of Lacavitza, twenty miles from the town of Radovish. It contains sixty houses and five hundred inhabitants. During the long struggle against Turkish oppression the inhabitants were noted for their enlightened and high national spirit.

The village Garvan and the neighboring villages Sccrusha and Zagoritza havfeta number of devoted men, who suffered to death for the liberty of their country. Many were carried off under arrest to

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leave their bones in Turkish prisons, others were exiled to distant islands never to be heard of again.

It has been the destiny of Garvan to endure the alien's tyranny in later times, even today.
The village has been under the Serbian yoke since 1913. Three times has the village experienced the particular inhumanity of the Serbian regime.

After the war between the allies, the village was burnt down by the Serbians, because it had assisted the Bulgarians with its militia.
In 1914 seven men of the village were seized, rosed to the wall of the Monastery St. George and crushed to death by the failing of the undermined wall.

In 1923, March, occurred the incident with the twenty eight men, as above.
How was this slaughter of innocent men carried out by a legal organized authority?

At the commencement of last year Matcovitch, appointed by the Serbian Government Great Jupan for the frontier region Shtip-Radovish, was instructed to operate against the revolutionary bands.

After the inspection of the region, Matcovitch, at theheadiOf a detachment of soldiers and machine guns, arrived in Garvan on the end of 'March, last year (1923),-about. 10 A. M, when the men were at work in the fields. He ordered the Assistant-Mayor to call in all the men; .meanwhile, the soldiers searched the houses and shamefully ill treated the women.

In an hour's time the men were collected, amongst them youths from 12—14 years old. To allay their fears they were told that they were about to receive communications received from Belgrade.

The women came to the place where the men were collected and loudly complained of the ill-treatment they had received at the hands of the soldiers.
Matcovitch spoke to the men of the activity of the revolutionary bands, and ordered the women to be withdrawn. Twenty eight of the men were led out of the village on the pretence that they were to be escorted to the town of Shtip.

The men fearing that the worst was about to happen to them, begged in vain to be liberated, but were driven off with whip and buffs of the riffles.
The men driven off, Matcovitch" placed guards arround the village to prevent the women following.

Despair seized the men when the escort led them away from the road to Shtip, they fell on their knees and begged for mercy from Matcovitch, assuring him of their innocence.
Groaning, begging, beaten mercilessly, the miserable lots of men were led to a meadow some three miles from the village. There Matcovitch asked them again: „Will you reveal where the commitadjis are and who are their concealers?

In vain the poor men denied knowledge of revolutionary bands and begged for mercy. „1 know", declared Matcovitch, „who the comitadjis are, you are such and you are those 1 am looking after" and

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ordered his soldiers a few paces back and shoot down the lot.

The soldiers retired as ordered, but hesitated to shoot, and repeated to themselves in low and loud voices that they could not perpetrate such a horrible act. On this Matcovitch ordered the soldiers off the ground, and commanded the machine guns to advance. These did their work: in a few minutes the twenty eight men were bloody corpses.

The scene on the ground was horrid, the soldiers with bowed heads turned away from it. Matcovitch alone looked pleased with the work he had accomplished.
The following are the names of the victims of this unparalleled crime :

1. Tane Ivanoff ........... 50 old.
2. Petroush Ivanoff ........... 47 old.
3. Dtmitre Ivanoff ........... 41 old.
4. Petroush Atanasoff ........... 21 old.
5. Georghi Mileff ........... 32 old.
6. Efrem Trayanoff ........... 30 old.
7. Stefko Trayanoff ........... 39 old.
8. Petroush A. Velianoff ........... 35 old.
9. Kostadin Zdraveff ........... 18 old.
10. Christonean Potzeff ........... 57 old.
11. Gheorghi Doneff ........... 31 old.
12. Tasse Eftimoff ........... 52 old.
13. Trayan Tasseff ........... 23 old.
14. Stoye Kotzeff ........... 34 old.
15. Pane Kotzeff ........... 28 old.
16. Stoyan Philippoff ........... 25 old.

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17. Done Vassileff ........... 29 old.
18. Ivan Vassileff ........... 35 old.
19. Mone Vassileff ........... 12 old.
20. Mite Zdraveff ........... 19 old.
21. Dimitri Koleff ........... 37 old.
22. Atanas Koleff ........... 13 old.
23. Bogatin Gheorghieff ........... 13 old.
24. Petre Gheorghieff ........... 40 old.
25. Yane Potzeff ........... 59 old.
26. Eftim Petrousheff ........... 20 old.
27. Vassil Simeonoff ........... 11 old.
28. Constantine Tzvetcoff ........... 31 old.
29. Tzoita Tomeva *) ........... 65 old.

It will be seen that among the executed there were youths of 12, 13 and 17 years. This fact speaks for itself.

His work done, Matcovitch proceeded to terrorize other villages, leaving the guard round the village to prevent any one coming out of it. The guard was withdrawn on the seventh day after the execution; then only the terrified people of the village and those of the neighboring villages were enabled to visit the scene of horrors and tend to the dead.
The details of what had occurred and how it had occurred were given to the villagers by the soldiers themselves, who were present at the inhuman slaughter, in which twenty eight Macedonian Bulgarians fell victims to the ruthless Serbian regime in Macedonia.

*) died from terror.

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A year is past, no inhabitant of Garvan, still under the stroke of the awful day, dares approach the spot. When obliged to pass by, they bow low, uncover their heads and put up a prayer: May God show mercy to their innocent souls!

On the day Macedonia sees the end of her sufferings and enjoys a place in the sun, a monument will surely be raised to new Golgotha, on the spot on which suffered so many innocents, and besides it will grow up a great heap’ of stones, thrown by the passers by with a curse upon the inhuman Jupan Matcovitch. Meanwhile the men and women of Gar-van will wear mourning and the children will listen to the story of the atrocity, looking forward to witness its merited recompense.

Theft news of what had occurred in Garvan was received by the Macedonian emigration with horror. Their souls were stirred to the highest degree and on the 15-th of ftpril they organized an imposing public demonstration in the capital and in the towns oughout Bulgaria. On the eve of the day all the Brotherhoods in the capital issued special appeals calling upon ail Macedonians to take part in the public protest.

The following are extracts from some of these appeals.

From that of the Radovish Brotherhood appeal:

"Dear Fellow citizens I You have heard of the

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horrible occurrence in the village Garvan, not far from our birth place. Your heart fails you when you think of how these peaceful men, tied up with ropes, met their death, shot down by the Serbian machine guns, at the command of the Jupan Matcovitch.
The spirits of these Bulgarian martyrs call upon you to come and protest."

From that of the Shtip Brotherhood appeal:

“Every day terrible, unheard news of atrocities committed by the Serbian satraps in Macedonia, our beautiful land, reach us. Incapable to master the revolutionaries, they seize our innocent brothers and sisters and murder them in masses without compunction.”

From the Krushevo Brotherhccd appeal:

“You have heard of horrors committed upon twenty eight innocent men of Garvan by official Serbia by the hands of the blood thrust Jupan Dobritsa Matcovitch.
This barbarity has caused you the greatest pain and grief and made you shed many tears. Do not fail to attend the demonstration of protest to be held by the emigrants of the capital against the tyrans who are shedding the b.'cod of our brethren and sisters.”

From the Koukoush Brotherhood appeal:

“We, who shall never forget the year of 1913, when we were driven from our homes, who witnessed our children burnt in our houses, our mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers iltrested by the savage Greeks, cannot be indifferent in the face of the bar-

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barities committed in Qarvan by the Serbian allies of our destroyers.

Every one of the Brotherhoods issued its appeal calling upon their members to take part in the demonstration of protest: This demonstration took place on the 15th of April, last year (1923).
All the Brotherhoods took part in it, many thousands of men, women and children marched ; every Brotherhood under its flag covered in black, and loudly protested against the prevailing rule of terror in Greek and Serbian Macedonia. No less than 40,000 took part in the protest demonstration.

Never had Sofia assisted such an impressive public protest, and the day was called „The Macedonians' Day". The demonstration was opened at half past nine in the public square in front of the „Renaissance Theatre" and „The Carpenters' Trade Hall" by a speech from Mr- Kousseff, President of the Macedonian National Committee. From a second raised platform spone Mr. Bandon, President of the Rumanian section of the Union of the Macedonian Emigration. Mr. Yordan Atanassoff, member of the National Committee, also spoke. The procession on its way through the town stopped in front of the Sobranye, where Messrs. Tzancoff, Tchkatroff and Murmeff spoke simultaneously from three different platforms, it finally reached its objective, the Monument Levski; there Arseni Yovkoff and Vassil Shaldeff spoke and the following resolution was passed :

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Today, the 15th of April, 1923, the emigration of Sofia, impartial to religion or nationality, called this protest demonstration to consider and take counsel as to the terrorist condition of things in all parts of Macedonia, and particularly the recent slaughter of the peaceful inhabitants of the villages Garvan and Brest, perpetrated by command of official Serbia, after hearing the orators representing the Nationalities living in Macedonia found:

1) That the treaty of peace, which prescribed the fate of Macedonia, was concluded without the consent of the people (which for many years past have energetically struggled for their independence) and has failed to introduce peace in the Balkans, because it divided an ideal economically and politically complete country, depriving the people of its natural right to liberty and independence.

2) That the Serbian and Greek regimes in Macedonia are incapable to establish there induring conditions either for the peaceful culture and development of the people or the security of human life. This being evident from the failure to apply the treaty providing for the protection of the minorities, who are subjected with impunity to assault, plunder, violation and murder, as witness the recent slaughter of the twenty eight men of Garvan, and other in the village of Brest.

That a regime, which cannot secure protection / to the peaceful population must inevitably force it 0 take up arms in self-defense.
In view of the above the Emigration

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Resolved:

1) To protest against the bloody regime and the systematic murders committed daily in Macedonia, a disgrace to humanity, which serve to foment troubles in the Balkans;' against the violent Treaty providing for „ voluntary" emigration concluded between Greece and Bulgaria, in the conclusion of which Bulgaria had no choice; against the Creek and Serbian Governments' unjustifiable and arbitrary colonization politic, which permits the banishment of innocent women and ' children to distant islands, and the seizure by force of their ancestral property to be handed over to strangers to the land ; against the non-application in Macedonia of the clauses of the Peace treaties, by which are secured to the, Macedonians a minimum of national culture and educational rights.

2) To ask the Governments of the leading civilized Nations in the name of humanity, to appoint an international enquiry in Macedonia to ascertain the injustice prevalent in our motherland and the need for it of freedom and independence within its geographical and economical limits.

3) The present resolution to be presented to the League of Nations, The International Bureau for the Protection of the Rights of Nations, the President of the United States of America, to the Governments of the leading Powers, to the Second and Third Internationals and to the Associations working for freedom and for greater social rights.

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This resolution has been communicated to the European papers through their Special correspondents in Sofia. It has been telegraphed to the Governments of the leading Powers, to the Secretary of the League of Nations and (b other institutes striving for peace.

Alas, the work has been far in vain! No reply has been received, no; initiative has been taken on the part of humane .Europe even to condemn the existence of this unparalleled evil condition of things.

The Powers conquerors, allies of Serbia, talk of peace and humanity, but leave Macedonia torn up pieces under unbearable foreign rule and take no interest In the situation arid avoid inquiry into the atrocious conditions of things ruling there.

It is evident; that others are responsible besides the Serbians and Greeks for the situation in Macedonia. Those who calmly look on and raise no voice are equally responsible with the direct evil doers. By their silence they associate themselves with such. The crime in Macedonia ist the crime of Europe, of the civilized world.
We subjoin here one of many letters received from Gavan:

„Dear Friends,

On the Serbian Jupan Matcovitch's arrival here, he at once ordered the inhabitants to collect in the village square in order that they may receive communication of instructions from Belgrade. At the time most of the villagers were out at work in the fields.

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On learning this, the soldiers plundered the houses, seized the men, discovered and ill-treated the women. The Jupan had the men secured with ropes and let out to a spot an hours' distant from the village and ordered them to reveal the whereabouts, of the commitadjis. They all denied any Knowledge of such and declared their selves ready to die if such knowledge was proved against them. The jupan received this answer with derision and assured the miserable men that he knew that they themselves were the comitadjis and commanded the soldiers to shoot them down. The soldiers refusing to execute the barbarous command, it was given to the machine guns men, who did the work. For six days the bodies of the executed men lay on the bloody spot untended and unhurried."
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7 коментара:

Anonymoussaid...

Nice site! Greetings from Mexico! :)

Anonymoussaid...

Message to our Northern Neighbors and Brothers.

Dear Brothers,

I am writing this letter as a Greek Citizen. I am writing this message as a Citizen of mother earth. I am writing this letter as your neighbor who knows that we have more things to connect us. Unfortunately we let the few things that divide us to rule.
This message is only for those who fight for their beliefs. Not for those who serve the global Tyranny. We have plenty of those here in Greece, you have also plenty of those. These are the people capable to do anything for a cheap price. These are our common enemies who unfortunately reign and destroy our relation.
You are the only neighbors we can strongly consider as true friends. Believe me I know you feel the same about us. If we eliminate the tyrants who create hostility among us, then we will both survive in prosperity. If we allow them to continue poison our souls, then we will both fail.
For us it is an honor that you fight for the name of Macedonia. This name lies also in our souls.
If you want this name due to the magnificence of Alexander the great, the philosophy of his cause, his endless fight for mother Earth, you are more than welcome to use it.
If you believe in Aristotle’s education, then we share the same cause.
On the other hand, if you think that Macedonia could be a name that will bring money or force, then it is better not to read any further.
Here in Greece, we also have people who are not aware who they really are. They hide behind the ancient greatness in order to hide their miserable present existence.
Believe me, we do NOT need them.
Let us join our fight, exchange opinions and thoughts, let us discuss as family. I am sure that knowledge is the key for both. I am sure if we low down the flags and see the faces, solution will come immediately.
And the solution is one: Alexander fought to unite the ancestors who lived where we live now. Alexander fought for a great cause. Not for violence, not for blood but to spread a great civilization. Civilization for Democracy and Human rights. Civilization to eliminate the darkness that embraced human kind at that time.
I think it is time for us to follow his example. It is so simple. Imagine if we just cancel the borders that divide us. Mental and geographical borders. We have the unique chance to do it. It is our generation, our cause, our future. And there is no other way.
Let’s start today. Let’s demand together what is rightfully ours. One future, One cause, ONE COUNTRY. The Olympian way.
We are sure we can live together, aren’t you?

Our Deepest love and respect,
www.Olympia.gr

Simeon 1400 said...

Hah..
First i want to say that i'm Bulgarian!
That's funny. Greece and FYROM united! My friend. Read some history!

Present Macedonians are pure Bulgarians.

This sentence is so writen so many times in the forums and so many discusions were held and i'm tyred to repeat the truth about 1000 times!

Tell me. How can you unite your culture with different lgarian culture. What gives you the right to think of uniting with Macedonia!? You are Greek! Your ancestors slaughtered and brainwashed macedonian Bulgarians after the liberation of Bulgaria.

I'm telling you again - read history!

Because of the threaty of Neuilly that theared appart Bulgaria and put pure bulgarian cittizens in foreign govvernment, triggered all the Balkan wars!
North Dobrudga was etnick Bulgarian...
Western lands ( Pirot, Nish, Tsaribrod) were ethnick Bulgarian...
MACEDONIA was and still is ethnick Bulgarian...
Egeyan Macedonia and southern Thrace were etnick Bulgarian land!
All of our neighbours succeedet with killings and represions to make Bulgarians - Greeks, Serbs, Romanians...
I can say also that our western lands in Serbia are ours and we can take them any time we want. We can do it right now! Because the threaty of Kraiova is illegal. It's illegal becouse our wetsern lands were given to the kngdom of Serbs, Croatians and Slovens. This kingdom that represents one side from the contract no longer exists. In matter of fact - This union doesn't exists from birth of Yugoslavia! Serbia rulles our lands illegal for several dekades!

You say "Brothers".
Macedonians are not your brothers like Bulgarians are not your Brothers. The only ones that can unite are Bulgaria and FYROM ( Macedonian Bulgaria).
OUR BROTHERS from Macedonia need only little more time to remove 50 yera of Serb propaganda and accept the fact that they are the core and the most important part from once the strongest and biggest nation of balkan peninsula - Bulgaria.
Don't get me wrong - I have respect for Greece and Greeks played the most immportant role in world history. But please - stop to make atempts to make Bulgarians - Greeks, to continue to try to destroy our national ideals. We - the Bulgarians - in all our history in the period of the Balkan wars and the two WW, tryed to unite all our lands and unite in our ethnick borders. We didn't wanted expansion - it's simple - we wanted to live free and united. That's it.
It's time for you - our neibhors
to help us at last, to help macedonias to revive their national conscience and there will be peace in our region.

By the way.
What is your birth city?:)
If its close to Solun - maybe you to are brainwashed Bulgarian. Because in the beginink of XX century 70 % of Northen Greece was etnic Bulgarian teritory..............

Σκαιός said...

My friend Symeon,
You wrote that Egean Macedonia and Southern Thrace was inhabited mainly by Bulgarians before 1913 but this is a big mistake.According to all the Ottoman censuses before 1913,the Population of today's Greek Macedonia was consisted of 43% Greeks,40% Turks,12% Bulgarians and 5% Jews.
I am a Greek from Serres region.My homeland is a village called Emmanouil Papas.It took his name from the homonymous leader of the Greek revolution in Macedonia in 1821 who was born here in 1773.You can understand that we were in our region Greeks and Greek-speaking always and not brainwashed Bulgarians.There were in Greek Macedonia at that time patriarchist people with Greek consciousness who spoke only Bulgarian,but they consider themselves Greek and during the Macedonian struggle they fought along the Greek bands against the Bulgarian komitadji.In a census of 1920,the Greek-speaking Greeks in Macedonia were 480.000,the Bulgarian-speaking with Greek consciousness were 75.000 and the Bulgarians were 97.000.Also in some Bulgarian regions like Eastern Rumelia were living many Greeks.After the Neilly treaty and other Greco-Bulgarian billateral treaties the issue of the minorities between the 2 countries was adjusted with the population exchange and today there is no such problem.Maybe there are some 20.000-30.000 people in Florina ,Kastoria and Edessa regions who are bilinguals and speak actually a Bulgarian dialect which was baptized as Macedonian and we all know by whom and why but the vast majority of them has Greek consciousness and their ancestors fought for Greece.A thiny percentage of them don't feel Greek,but they call them unfortunately for me and for you not Bulgarians,as i would prefer,but Macedonians.The Rainbow party,the political party of the alleged ethnic Macedonians in Greece took in the last elections for the EU parlament around 4.000 votes and you can understand by this number how many they are.
You wrote also that: Your ancestors slaughtered and brainwashed macedonian Bulgarians after the liberation of Bulgaria.
The history of the Balkans,is full of such attrocities,my friend and i don't think that we have something to gain when we remind each other what happened in the past.Your ancestors did exactly the same against the Greeks of Macedonia.They burnt the city of Serres in The 2nd Balkan war in 1913,some years later in WWI and during the Bulgarian ocuppation of Eastern Macedonia,1916-1918 they took as hostages in Bulgaria thousands of Greek civilians and most of them never came back,they died in Bulgarian soil.From my village were taken 120 and returned back only 30.Later,in WW2,we had again Bulgarian ocuppation in Eastern Macedonia,again persecutions,oppression,executions,e.t.c.I teel you only this,to understand how was the Bulgarian ocuppation.The river of Strymonas(i think it's Struma in Bulgarian)was the border between the German occuppied zone and the Bulgarian occupied one.Many of the inhabitants of the Bulgarian zone fled to the German zone,in order to avoid the Bulgarian oppresion.
So,you see,Symeon that everyone has bad memories,but as i said before it's better for all to forget them.I believe that the Greco-Bulgarian relations today are a perfect example of good neighbourhood and friendship between two countries that had many differences in the past,but now they are walking alongside and with mutual respect to the future and the progress.
Best regard
Kostas

Σκαιός said...

My friend Symeon,
You wrote that Egean Macedonia and Southern Thrace was inhabited mainly by Bulgarians before 1913 but this is a big mistake.According to all the Ottoman censuses before 1913,the Population of today's Greek Macedonia was consisted of 43% Greeks,40% Turks,12% Bulgarians and 5% Jews.
I am a Greek from Serres region.My homeland is a village called Emmanouil Papas.It took his name from the homonymous leader of the Greek revolution in Macedonia in 1821 who was born here in 1773.You can understand that we were in our region Greeks and Greek-speaking always and not brainwashed Bulgarians.There were in Greek Macedonia at that time patriarchist people with Greek consciousness who spoke only Bulgarian,but they consider themselves Greek and during the Macedonian struggle they fought along the Greek bands against the Bulgarian komitadji.In a census of 1920,the Greek-speaking Greeks in Macedonia were 480.000,the Bulgarian-speaking with Greek consciousness were 75.000 and the Bulgarians were 97.000.Also in some Bulgarian regions like Eastern Rumelia were living many Greeks.After the Neilly treaty and other Greco-Bulgarian billateral treaties the issue of the minorities between the 2 countries was adjusted with the population exchange and today there is no such problem.Maybe there are some 20.000-30.000 people in Florina ,Kastoria and Edessa regions who are bilinguals and speak actually a Bulgarian dialect which was baptized as Macedonian and we all know by whom and why but the vast majority of them has Greek consciousness and their ancestors fought for Greece.A thiny percentage of them don't feel Greek,but they call them unfortunately for me and for you not Bulgarians,as i would prefer,but Macedonians.The Rainbow party,the political party of the alleged ethnic Macedonians in Greece took in the last elections for the EU parlament around 4.000 votes and you can understand by this number how many they are.
You wrote also that: Your ancestors slaughtered and brainwashed macedonian Bulgarians after the liberation of Bulgaria.
The history of the Balkans,is full of such attrocities,my friend and i don't think that we have something to gain when we remind each other what happened in the past.Your ancestors did exactly the same against the Greeks of Macedonia.They burnt the city of Serres in The 2nd Balkan war in 1913,some years later in WWI and during the Bulgarian ocuppation of Eastern Macedonia,1916-1918 they took as hostages in Bulgaria thousands of Greek civilians and most of them never came back,they died in Bulgarian soil.From my village were taken 120 and returned back only 30.Later,in WW2,we had again Bulgarian ocuppation in Eastern Macedonia,again persecutions,oppression,executions,e.t.c.I teel you only this,to understand how was the Bulgarian ocuppation.The river of Strymonas(i think it's Struma in Bulgarian)was the border between the German occuppied zone and the Bulgarian occupied one.Many of the inhabitants of the Bulgarian zone fled to the German zone,in order to avoid the Bulgarian oppresion.
So,you see,Symeon that everyone has bad memories,but as i said before it's better for all to forget them.I believe that the Greco-Bulgarian relations today are a perfect example of good neighbourhood and friendship between two countries that had many differences in the past,but now they are walking alongside and with mutual respect to the future and the progress.
Best regard
Kostas

Anonymoussaid...

Ok Kostas...
From everything i read and everything i saw i can see the difference between right and wrong. Unlike our friend that didn't wrote his name, you didn't spread propaganda about uniting Greece with FYROM. I'm very suprised in the good way for your supportive words about our desoriented bulgarians in all of Macedonia. Serbia created a monster from this people and they suffer again and again from 1878 till present days. Serbs always wanted to stick a knife to our back from ancient times. All our historians wrote about that. But the Serbs were always weak and they hate that. They have grown only once in Stefan Dushan rule but he like all we know is half Bulgarian:) Isn't that ironic...
With the Romanians is not so bad because they have emerge like state very late and before that they were simple - tribes in the Bulgarian empire. With Greece my friend things are complcated from over 1500 years because they were part from our archenemy - The eastern roman empire. Our churches fight for dominance among the people untill XX century! This propaganda make tousands of bulgarians - greeks! Not the batles. Sory to say that but our army beat yours almost every time they fought...
I read many articles about Greek propaganda among bulgarian viliges and all the kilings in "peacefull" times from foreign sources - not Bulgarian. Yes there are Bulgarian articles that describes some unreal things but those that are closer to the independet sources are aproxymately 90 %
So...
I'm trying to say that the statistics that you post in your comment are wrong or greek ( is the same). Try to find independent sources. See also this links:

http://wallaby.vu.edu.au/adt-VVUT/uploads/approved/adt-VVUT20060426.160820/public/03ch2.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_San_Stefano

http://images.google.bg/imgres?imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/Balkans-ethnic_(1861).jpg&imgrefurl=http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Balkans-ethnic_(1861).jpg&h=5072&w=6280&sz=3953&hl=bg&start=2&um=1&tbnid=Gi5ameLexwlkYM:&tbnh=121&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dold%2Bethnic%2Bmap%2Bof%2Bbulgarians%2Bin%2Bthe%2Bbalkans%26um%3D1%26hl%3Dbg%26sa%3DX

http://www.history-of-macedonia.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10001/VolkerkartevonMittel-undSudosteuropa.jpg

http://www.history-of-macedonia.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10001/VolkerkartevonMittel-undSudosteuropa.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:550px-Greece_linguistic_minoritiesb_copy.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Distribution_of_Races_on_the_Balkans_in_1922_Hammond.png


This are maps of populations that called themselves Bulgarians and etc.
Like you see ( you can search in google by yourself) the population in almost all macedonia consideres itself Bulgarian. Ofcourse there are turks, greeks and etc. But 70 % are Bulgarians. Way down to Solun...
The teritory below Odrin is yours for shure. All the maps show that. But the lands were given to the Turks.
I was last week in Greece and in all the villiges that i pass and Solun, i talk most of the time in Bulgarian.

Why?!

Try to come to Bulgaria and talk in Greece with someone untill you reach Pernik for example. Nobody will understand you.
The same experiance i had with turs in Odrin!

That my friend is because we have THE LARGEST population in these areas and the bigest part still live there but many years passed and they forgot their roots. We were in comunism regime and our stuped rullers leave all our natives in foreign governments and didn't care obout them.
It's imposible for thousands of people to talk Bulgarian and to have never been in Bulgaria because of the comunism borders.How did they learn the language? Yes they call themselvs Greecs but theare not.

I wrote all of this to make you see my point of view and if you think i'm wrong - to seek the truth in independent sources.

These so called Bulgarian speaking Greeks fought against Bulgaria because they were patriarhist ( brainwashed with religious instruments of propaganda). I read the authentick dokuments of our messengers about the agressive Greek and Serb propaganda and all the killings folowing them.
So that's how Greece ant Serbia part by part take our lands.
Sory but that is the hard reality. It's bad for us - not for you...
We live in different world now. It's impossible to make ilusions about returning the conchusnes of our brothers and sister in Serbia, Greece and Romania and unite in our real lands that we inhabit more than 1400years. This kind of thinking is dangerous and has no place in the modern world.

I feel pity about Makedonia and this Macedonism kind of thinking that it's all based on lies.

We will see what will hapen....

Best Regards
Simeon

Σκαιός said...

Dear anonymous
I've seen all the maps and books that you quoted.The most maps weren't unknown to me,except the one from the Bulgarian website.I have some remarks about your quotes.At first,this pdf document:

http://wallaby.vu.edu.au/adt-VVUT/uploads/approved/adt-VVUT20060426.160820/public/03ch2.pdf

is written probably by a pro-FYROM author.I don't know if you bother yourself to read the whole text,but i found in page 71 some non-Macedonian estimates about the Macedonian population from 1899-1913,where are mentioned some 2.000.000 ethnic Macedonians!In page 74,some other more moderate sources (actually from...FYROM)estimate the number of the ethnic Macedonians in the years 1880-1898 between 700.000-1.200.000.But the most laughable claim is in page 31,where the author explains why the Turks didn't mention any ethnic Macedonians in their censuses:Attempting to wipe out any form of nationalism, the Ottomans went as far as avoiding the use of the term Macedonia. In a 1903 communiqué from the Grand Vizier's Office, it was attributed to ‘the Sultan’s command that in all addresses to and announcements in connection with the Rumeli vilayets (the vilayets of Skopje, Bitola and Solun) from henceforth the local names are to be used and under no circumstances the name Macedonia.I hope you understand after all these that the reliability of this text is highly doubted.As for the maps now,if you examine them carefully,you'll ascertain what i claimed in my first post:The Greeks were the majority in what is today Greek Macedonia.If we include FYROM and the Bulgarian region of Macedonia,off course the Bulgarians were the majority,but i speak only about the Greek region.I noticed also that this map from the Bulgarian website contains many inaccuracies.It shows that the region of Doxato in Drama was inhabited by Bulgarians,i think you know what happened in Doxato and why,when it was under Bulgarian occupation in 1913 and 1942.The same map also shows that Epirus was inhabited entirely by Albanians,absolute no one indication of Greeks in Epirus,even an ultra-nationalist Albanian wouldn't dare to claim it!
If you want to see really unbiased descriptions about the population of Greek Macedonia in 19th century,read this French book from 1854,in pages 151,153,154,155,275,281:
http://books.google.com/books?id=w6MFAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=dans+la+Turquie&lr=&ei=PfKZSKaEH6XKjgHBxqHPBw&hl=el
And this from 1831,pages 445-450:
http://books.google.com/books?id=k4EAAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA445&dq=cousinery&lr=&ei=K_iZSNruBNC4iQH3ws3BBw&hl=el
As for the data of the census which i quoted,you can read also the result of the Ottoman census of Hilmi Pasha in 1904:
http://books.google.com/books?id=UpC4QJP66HUC&pg=PA89&dq=ottoman+census+hilmi+pasha&lr=&ei=qS6aSKWoNof8jgGJsdBY&hl=el&sig=ACfU3U0_TZLVihghRLlvVXUYzH0uFKb1_A

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographic_History_of_Macedonia#Ottoman_census_of_Hilmi_Pasha_.281904.29

Regarding the Bulgarian/Slavic-speaking people of Greek Macedonia,you should know that:1)Their number isn't so signifficant as you imply.This is from L.Danforth's book The Macedonian conflict,ethnic nationalism in a transnational world.Off course he talks about Macedonian language but it's obvious that the Bulgarian is included under this term as well:
http://s300.photobucket.com/albums/nn17/kostas68/?action=view&current=macconf78.gif
2)The vast majority of them considered themselves Greeks who had lost their native language.Don't forget that during the Macedonian struggle they were the ones who were mostly tortured and killed by the Bulgarian komitadjis in order to renounce their Greeknes,not the Greek-speaking Macedonians.Don't you wonder why,since you believe that it was just a stupid religious dispute between patriarchists and exarchists?The language that someone speaks isn't always a criterion about his ethnicity.If you go to Ireland and talk to the people in Irish,no more than 15-20% are able to understand you,the rest speaks only English.But don't make the mistake and tell to them that they are English,you'll regret it!The same goes for the Scotts.
And please let these childish arguments about the Bulgarian victories that are more than the Greek ones.Every nation on earth has in his history victories and defeats and i'm sure you know very well what are your victories and what your defeats.

Best rergards

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