Part 15 - Formation of the Macedonian Provisional Government and the Macedonia

Part 15 - Formation of the Macedonian Provisional Government and the Macedonian League

Instead of relaxing its grip on the Christian population and carrying out reforms as agreed upon by Article 23 of the Treaty of Berlin, the Ottoman government, after the Kreshna Uprising, enacted stricter laws and began to increase its combat readiness. When the Macedonian people along with their lands were handed back to the Ottomans in 1878, to be further abused and exploited, the Macedonian leadership came to the realization that no one was going to help the Macedonians so they had to organize and carry out a national struggle to free themselves on their own. The 1878 Congress of Berlin also awakened the Muslim Rulers in the Balkans to the reality that their Empire came very close to being destroyed. So now we have the dynamics of the Macedonian people gearing up for a fight to free themselves and the Ottomans trying harder to stop them. To maintain their state's integrity the Ottomans had to raise taxes in order to pay the interest on the money they borrowed from the westerners and to keep a close eye on potential insurrections and further losses of lands. By the time taxes were paid a Macedonian family would be left with 25 to 40 percent of their meager annual earnings to live on. To prevent further uprisings and rebellions, the Ottomans stepped up espionage activities and searches for weapons in the villages. If by any chance weapons were found, the entire village was burned to the ground, even if the weapons belonged to thugs. The western powers, including Russia, convened in Berlin on June 13th, 1878 and by July 13th they had concluded, among other things, to allow Bulgaria to become an autonomous state and to give Macedonia back to the Turks. So Macedonia was free from the Ottomans for 132 days from March 3rd, 1878, when the San Stefano Treaty was signed, to July 13th, 1878 when Congress of Berlin decided to give it back to the Ottomans. The Macedonian people's high hopes were dashed not only because they were excluded from the Berlin talks but also because they were handed back to the Ottomans without any guarantees that they would not be abused and exploited. This not only fostered hatred and mistrust for the Great Powers but also made the Macedonian people realize that they would have to solely depend on themselves to gain their freedom. Outside of dashing the Macedonian peoples' hopes, the actions of the Berlin Congress placed doubts on Macedonia's future which opened the question "what will happen to Macedonia when the Ottoman Empire collapses completely?" A question that did not go unnoticed by the neighbouring imperialistic states, Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria who were looking for ways to expand their own territories at the expense of the collapsing Ottoman Empire. Most disappointed among the three by the Berlin Congress decision was Bulgaria, which just lost Macedonian territories. But happiest was Greece which now had a chance at expanding its own territory, an ambitious dream which called for resurrecting the Byzantine Empire. Even though it was well known, at least to the Macedonians, that the Ottoman government would not budge on the promised reforms, some Macedonians continued to push for them so that they would include provisions regulating the national interests of the Macedonian people. On April 17th, 1880 the Ottoman government informed the Great Powers that the anticipated reforms had been drafted and prepared for their approval. Many Macedonian intellectuals however were not happy because the reforms neglected their demands, including the recognition of the Macedonian language. In May 1880 about two-hundred prominent Macedonians signed and submitted a request to the European Commission protesting against the Ottoman Constitutional amendments because, among other things, the Ottomans neglected to recognize the Macedonian language. Unfortunately their written pleas were yet again ignored so a Macedonian delegation lead by Karandzhulov was dispatched to meet with Lord Fitzmorris, the British representative of the European Commission.

Even though Lord Fitzmorris met with the Macedonians in person and heard their pleas, the Commission still ignored their demands. Dissatisfied with the way the reforms were carried out, particularly by the attitude of the Great Powers, Macedonian leaders began to look inwards to find a solution to their problems. A number of prominent leaders, including Leonidas Vulgaris from Berovo Region, Pop Kostandin Bufski and 30 others, got together and held a National Assembly from May 21st to June 2nd, 1880 in Gremen, Ostrovo Region (Aegean Macedonia). Among other things, one of the items on the agenda was the Macedonian situation after the Berlin Congress. On this item the Congress concluded that the reason Macedonia was given back to the Ottomans was because of the neighbouring propaganda, mainly that of Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria, which falsely represented the ethnic composition of the Macedonian population. The Congress came to the conclusion that once the foreign propaganda was exposed and neutralized, the Macedonian people would have a better chance of uniting behind a Macedonian cause and creating an Autonomous Macedonian state within the Ottoman Empire or creating a Macedonian independent state. The Assembly also decided to challenge Ottoman authorities on articles 23 and 62 of the Treaty of Berlin which called for political and religious rights for the Macedonian people. If those rights were ignored then the Macedonians would have no other choice but to arm themselves and fight under the slogan "Macedonia to the Macedonians, for reestablishing Ancient Macedonia". (Vanche Stojchev. "Military History of Macedonia". Military academy. Skopje, 2004. Page 252) The National Assembly was concluded with the formation of an executive authority responsible for carrying out political decisions under a Macedonian Provisional Government called "Unity" which was to represent all ethnic groups living in the territory of Macedonia. Vasil Simov was appointed President of the Provisional Government and Stefo Nikolov was elected President of the National Assembly. Pop Kostandin Bufski and Leonidas Vulgaris were given the task of organizing the Macedonian military. Decisions made at this Assembly were communicated to the Great Power diplomatic missions in Solun which initially ignored them but later accepted them as the "Macedonian way" of dealing with problems. On March 23rd, 1881 the Provisional Government of Macedonia approved a Manifesto and submitted it to the various diplomatic missions in the Ottoman territories. The opening statements of the Manifesto began as follows: "Macedonians, our precious fatherland Macedonia was once the most glorious country in the world. The Macedonian people have civilized Asia and mankind by the victorious Phalanx having laid the foundation of military arts, and Aristotle of education and enlightenment. Unfortunately the once so glorious Macedonia today is on the brink of disaster because we have made mistakes and forgotten our past. Aliens are now trying to take our country away from us and to destroy our nationality, the brightness of which can never be darkened. Macedonia has become a poor widow abandoned by her sons and no longer flies the glorious flag it once flew in triumph by its victorious Macedonian armies. Today Macedonia has been reduced to a geographical term as if someone is attempting to extinguish its glory and send it to oblivion. Intriguers are digging Macedonia's grave and trying to destroy it by bringing in Austrian- Hungarian troops, but replacing the shackles of one with another will only destroy Macedonia. Macedonia will not be regenerated, and our nation will perish. This moment is critical for Macedonia- it is a matter of life or death." (Vanche Stojchev. "Military History of Macedonia". Military academy. Skopje, 2004. Page 253) Realizing that Macedonia had become a pawn of the Great Powers, the Provisional Government of Macedonia called upon all the Macedonian people, regardless of religion and ethnicity, to unite and fight for liberation and the creation of an independent Macedonian state.

"True Macedonians, faithful sons of Macedonia! How much longer are you going to put up with the decay of our fatherland? Macedonia is calling you, crying out the words 'You, my faithful children, successors of Aristotle and Alexander III of Macedonia, you who bleed with Macedonian blood, do not let me die, help me!' What a sad sight it will be for you, genuine Macedonians, if you become witnesses to my death. Do everything in your power, carry my flag of unity and call out the words 'United Macedonia!' Be brave, throw out those murderers who hold in their hands the flag of disunity and divide you, my children of various ethnicities. Gather under the flag of Macedonia, raise it high and write on it unanimously: Long live the Macedonian people! Long live Macedonia! Let them hear the voice of our fatherland; let us gain liberty, the most precious heritage of nations. Say these words, for the liberal people who will applaud you. Call their noble hearts to hurry and give their help, to join your Holy fight for liberty, which has been away from our precious country for so many centuries. Macedonians, think about our origin, and do not give it up." (Vanche Stojchev. "Military History of Macedonia". Military academy. Skopje, 2004. Page 253) The Manifesto was signed by President Vasil Simon, secretary Nikola Trajkov and three other members of the Provisional Government of Macedonia, Petro Jovanov, Kosta Bufski and Hriste Gorgov. The signatures were confirmed by two government seals and on April 11th, 1881 the Manifesto was taken to Kjustandil where the transcript was translated to Russian and French and distributed to various foreign and domestic diplomatic representatives in Constantinople. While the Provisional Government of Macedonia operated in Gremen another Macedonian organization was formed in north-eastern Macedonia called the Macedonian League. The League's purpose was to unite Macedonian immigrants in neighbouring countries, particularly the large Macedonian Diaspora in Bulgaria. After the creation of the Macedonian League and the establishment of a General Headquarters in Pirin Mountain, the League initiated the drafting of a constitution in order to define the aims and structure of a future government in Macedonia. All in all the constitution was divided into fifteen chapters constituting 103 articles. The first article dealt with Macedonia's territory within Ottoman borders which consisted of the Solun, Bitola and Skopje sanjak vilayets comprising historic and geographic Macedonia. Among other things the constitution defined the various ethnic and religious populations living in Macedonia, the ministries and departments necessary to run the administration, the division of power in the legislative body of the government and the regulation of security including the army and police. The government structure proposed was based on gaining broad autonomy within the Ottoman Empire. Through the drafting of the constitution Macedonians made it clear that they wanted an autonomous Macedonia, based on Article 23 of the Treaty of Berlin, emphasizing the Macedonian distinct national identity that was to be separate from the other Balkan countries. Article 99 of the constitution called for use of military force to be exercised by the Macedonian Liberation Army should Ottoman authorities or the European Powers disagree with the request to form an autonomous Macedonian state within the Ottoman framework. On matters of the Macedonian army, the Chief of the General Headquarters responsible for drafting the security part of the constitution added a separate chapter to the constitution for regulating the military. This Chapter known as the Military Instruction constituted 246 Articles divided into two parts. The first part defined the structure and organization of the Macedonian army and the second part defined the tactics required if the liberation of Macedonia became necessary. The second part was put in place in case the Ottoman government or the Great powers refused to grant Macedonia autonomy and the Macedonian people would then have to fight for it.

The constitution drafted by the Macedonian league in aid of establishing a Macedonian government and a military organization was quite detailed and comprehensive, especially the Articles regarding the formation of a Macedonian army. For more information see chapter 14 of Vanche Stojchev's book "Military History of Macedonia". After the Macedonian League established its General Headquarters it began sending out communiqués. On June 23rd, 1880 it sent a letter with a copy of the Macedonian Constitution to the six Great Power ministries of the European Commission requesting their approval. Expecting no reply, the General Headquarters then went ahead and created a Manifesto calling on all the Macedonian people to organize a united national uprising. Among the signatories of the Manifesto were Iljo Maleshevski, Vasil Dijamandiev and eight other leaders. Among other things the Manifesto said: Article 23 of the Treaty of Berlin was our last hope for our freedom and that hope is now lost. It is time for us to rise and settle the century old account with our oppressor. We call on you to unite under the Macedonian flag and fight for liberty and independence. Only united we will be able to reclaim our precious fatherland for ourselves and gain absolute autonomy. The Manifesto also warned the Macedonian people to watch out for opportunists who claimed to be fighting for the Macedonian cause while they were supporting alien interests. The Manifesto ended with the slogans "Liberty or Death!" and "Long Live Liberated Macedonia!" Even though the Manifesto was distributed far and wide, and the call for an uprising was loud and clear, the people could not muster the will because the Ottoman government had learned its lesson in the past and was prepared for such an event. Unable to spark an immediate uprising the Macedonian League continued its work through urging Macedonians to unite and organize all throughout Macedonia. Even though the strength of the League was concentrated in Pirin, its affect was felt all throughout Macedonia. Military actions carried out by the Pirin Chetas were disturbing not only to Ottoman authorities but also to the European consuls prompting the Russian Consul in Bitola to inform Moscow that: The Macedonians have declared themselves a separate nation and are connecting themselves to their past in Ancient Macedonia but they are not immune to the national propaganda of their neighbours. Even as early as 1881 the Great Powers were well aware of the existence of a unique Macedonian national consciousness that was tied to the Ancient Macedonians. While well aware of each other's existence "Unity" the Provisional Government of Macedonia, stationed in Gremen, and the Macedonian League, stationed in Pirin Mountain, existed as separate organizations each with its own authorities. But in view of the Ottoman government's clamp down on covert activities each organization was unable to act alone so a meeting was held in Plodvid to determine how to join forces. The Provisional Government "Unity" sent Leonidas Vulgaris, Vasil Simon and Taki the Vlah while the League sent Vasil Dijamandiev. After becoming familiar with each others activities, the group concluded that their aims were identical and agreed to join forces. As a joint force, for functional reasons, they decided to separate their political leadership from their military assigning the political leadership to "Unity" in Gremen and the military leadership to the General Headquarters of the Macedonian army in Pirin Mountain. After their meeting in Plodvid the group went to Pirin for a tour of the GHQ facilities and to meet the rest of the Macedonian League leadership. Here Leonidas Vulgaris met with Iljo Maleshevski and had discussions about placing the various headquarters under the patronage of Greece and Bulgaria but after hearing Maleshevski's concerns he decided it was not a good idea. Maleshevski was well aware of what Macedonia's neighbours, Greece and Bulgaria were up to when he said "Do not listen to those who are trying to spoil our water.

Who will believe us that we are fighting for the liberation of Macedonia if we align ourselves with those 'patrons', when people know that all they want is divide us?" Vulgaris later wrote "I agree completely with Maleshevski, and we decided to work secretly from the Bulgarians and Greeks". (Vanche Stojchev. "Military History of Macedonia". Military academy. Skopje, 2004. Page 260) Unfortunately Vasil Dijamandiev however, had different ideas when he sent the Bulgarian Minister of Internal Affairs a letter informing him of what had just transpired. From what happened next it would appear that neither the Bulgarians nor the Greeks were too happy about the Macedonians working in secret. After Vulgaris returned from Pirin Mountain he was followed by the Ottoman police and detained in Solun. Dijamandiev too was detained by the Bulgarians and further interrogated. The Greek and Bulgarian borders were then closed to haiduk activities, which seriously threatened the revolutionary movement. Despite the setbacks however, the movement continued to grow and new groups began to spring up all over Macedonia. During the summer of 1881 a Macedonian Revolutionary Committee was created in Ohrid, followed by one in Demir Hisar. Overall the situation in Macedonia was getting worse towards the end of the 19th century. While Ottoman authorities were tightening their grip on Macedonia, Macedonia's neighbours were stepping-up their propaganda activities attempting to sway Macedonians to see things their way. The loss of Ottoman territories after the Berlin Congress and the Ottoman government's non-compliance with Articles 23 and 62, created a climate for further oppression of the Macedonian people. The Ottoman government settled Muslim refugees from the lost territories in Macedonia, giving them the most fertile lands and allowing them to take revenge on the Christians for their own personal losses which further exacerbated the situation. With the arrival of the newcomers there was a dramatic increase in the number of gangs and criminal activities. By ignoring Macedonian demands and not enforcing Articles 23 and 62 of the Berlin Congress, the Great Powers stifled the Macedonian peoples' ability to free themselves. They did this by creating a climate for foreign churches and schools to proliferate and flourish in a land where they did not belong. This created a perfect opportunity for Macedonia's neighbours to carry out their anti-Macedonian nationalistic propaganda. But when their propaganda alone was not strong enough to achieve their aims, they resorted to using violence through armed brigands transforming Macedonia into a lawless wasteland. There was but one thought in the minds of the Macedonian people. What is happening to us and how do we get out of this predicament?