SCANDAL AT THE PRILEP GYMNASIUM

SCANDAL AT THE PRILEP GYMNASIUM

Chento: Our children must speak their native Macedonian language

Fierce police controls and torture, prisons and camps, but Metodia Andonov-Chento courageously tolerates everything - he bravely fights for his ideals and for his people

When the director opened the meeting he was very worried, angry and, with threatening reproach, he said to the parents, “these are strange times because the students, not only at home, but also at school, during their breaks, speak to each other in a strange language, not in the mother Serbian, literary language. And what is even more worrying is that they influence the Serbian children, who sadly already speak the local language here, dividing themselves into Serbians and Macedonians.” Since this was a widespread phenomenon, the director once again appealed to their parents not to speak to them in any other language except Serbian at home...

The strict gymnasium director said what he had to say and when he finished, Metodia Andonov-Chento stood up and in front of all the parents, students, teachers and other participants, said: “Mr. Director, you can’t ask this from us. Neither you nor anyone else can prohibit the children from speaking in their native, Macedonian language at home and here in the gymnasium. Our children have the right to speak their native Macedonian language. Just as no one has the right to forbid the Serbian children from speaking their language. If we don’t have our independent political and national rights in a federal state like this, rights that have been taken away by this political order, then the day will come when this country will no longer be called South Serbia, and Macedonia will become an independent state. Yugoslavia has several provinces with different nations and they can live together within the federation...”

Metodia Andonov-Chento’s bold performance in the Prilep gymnasium in front of the gathered teachers, parents, professors, students, scribe and others was a shock, a real scandal.

“While I was talking,” said Chento later, “the police scribe, a man named Milivoe Matich, lost his nerve and began to yell at me very loudly: ‘Stop with the political and anti-state propaganda...’ Not being able to endure and hear what I had to say, he jumped at me and physically attacked me. Some of the professors and some

Serbomani joined him, so it was very difficult for me to defend myself against all of them.”

Immediately after this incident, Chento was taken to the police station where he faced severe torture. He was continuously beaten for 12 long hours. During the torture he lost consciousness several times. In the process they broke a rib, pulled most of his hair out, tore open his skin on his head, and inflicted many injuries and wounds on his entire body. His feet were beaten black and blue and he was unable to stand up on his own from severe pain. He also sustained kidney damage and was unable to sit or stand.

The beatings and all the harassment did not force repentance out of him. He did not regret what he had said at the gymnasium. On the contrary, he was determined to endure everything. During all this he continued to make requests for national rights for the Macedonian people, the same requests he made at the gymnasium. This further angered his oppressors and the savage police.

This unprecedented scandal gained wide dimensions and Chento was seen as a great disgrace by the regime, which handed him over to the state prosecutor to be charged with offenses punishable under the Security and Protection Act. However, in order not to expose the brutal treatment and harassment he had received from the police and not to use it in his defense in court, on January 4, 1941 he was sent to jail in Serbia, in Baina Basta. Here the authorities collected piles of evidence which they could use against him. This included accusations made against him of prior disobediences and sins he had supposedly committed. One of those sins was the speech he gave at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry where he asked for Macedonia to be allowed to be a federal unit in Yugoslavia and to cover its own expenditures from its own revenues.

The plan then was to take Metodia Andonov-Chento from Baina Basha to Belgrade to be tried at the state court. However the plan, to some extent, was ruined by a German attack, because on the morning of April 15, 1941 when Uzhitse was captured, he and three Germans were to be sent to face a firing squad. But somehow he managed escape the claws of the gendarmerie, but only until the afternoon when he approached a group of people to ask what was

happening. Unfortunately, the police had its informants looking for him and immediately reported him. After being denounced and accused of being a member of a fifth column, the military police returned him to the barracks where he was sentenced to death.

Since there was already a verdict, the court president, who otherwise was signatory to this most severe punishment, took a carriage and left for the city. On the way he met a group of prominent citizens, acquaintances of Chento, who wanted to know what had happened to him. The court president told them that Chento was sentenced to death and maybe by now he was already dead. After hearing that, the citizens surrounded the court president and made every effort to convince him that Chento was an honest citizen and not a member of some fifth column, and begged him to release him.

Convinced that Chento was already dead, the court president nevertheless showed good will and gave the citizens a brief note with orders to release Chento. By the time the citizens arrived Chento was already tied to a tree with a firing squad ready to shoot him. The only thing left was to tie the ribbon around his eyes. The citizens arrived just in time and saved him. They came running and calling for the captain who, after reading the note, ordered his squad to release the prisoner. Chento, who only moments ago was on the verge of death, was saved. He was amazed by the kindness of his friends, and promised himself that he would find ways to pay them back.

But this was not the end of Chento’s torment. The next evening Chetniks, dressed in financial controller uniforms, attacked the house in which he had some property. His head was again saved, for a third time, thanks to the honest Baina Basta citizens who took him away that night to a safe place with friends, to the nearby village Vishiesava. A few days later, on April 22, 1941, he was allowed to leave and go to Macedonia.

For now this was the last of the many episodes Chento experienced with the Serbians, unfortunately it was not the end but the beginning of another set of episodes. The moment it arrived in Macedonia, the Bulgarian fascist regime quickly and very aggressively began to knit

its network, attacking activists and citizens who stood in the way of fulfilling its dark goals and plans.

The moment Chento returned home he was invited to attend a meeting with the Macedonian National Committee. The meeting was requested by lawyer Atanasov from Kavadartsi. Not knowing who this lawyer was Chento had a conversation with him but the proposal the lawyer offered was a great disappointment to him. It immediately became very clear to Chento what the Committee’s intentions were and what those “important” activists were up to. They offered him a commercial function in Prilep and cooperation with the Bulgarian authorities because, as they put it, “Macedonia was finally united with Bulgaria” and they needed people like him.

Chento was visibly disappointed and responded appropriately by saying that, as a Macedonian it was never his intention to unite Macedonia with Bulgaria. He never fought for or mentioned anything like that in his entire life. His desire was to fight for a united Macedonia and for the national rights of the Macedonian people. Chento stunned Atanasov with his answer and it was the first and last conversation he had with the so-called Macedonian National Committee, which in fact was nothing more than a kind of exponent of the Bulgarian political wing attempting to define a Bulgarian nationality in Macedonia.

Chento was not in favour of this or any other similar committee, regardless of what incentives they offered him or threats they made against him. He said: “I refused to cooperate with the Bulgarian government because I am Macedonian. I am fighting against the occupiers, and the most important thing for me is to unify all of Macedonia, but not with Bulgaria. My struggle is for a united Macedonia, and for obtaining national rights for the Macedonian people.” (April 26, 1941).

The Bulgarian Gestapo agents and chief Tsvetan Mogilanski in Prilep assumed that Chento would be eager to retaliate against those who mistreated him and severely beat him, especially the police officers who locked him up so many times, so they offered him a free hand to return the favour and settle “old accounts”. Chento, in acknowledgement of the generous offers, shrugged his shoulders

and said that he was not interested in exacting any kind of revenge because these people were just doing their job, which greatly disappointed Mogilanski. In other words the Bulgarians failed to recruit Chento, who was a representative of the Prilep guild and the advanced revolutionary wing, to their side.

Chento’s everyday life in the Prilep bazaar was always interesting. There were numerous incidents and events that took place, some were unusual, some sad and some pleasant. One morning Kuzman Iosifovski came to Chento’s store, and as usual immediately went close to the radio to listen to the morning news from London. Chento, who at that moment was standing beside him, turned off the radio and loudly scolded Kuzman for coming to his store, not to buy something, but only to listen to the radio. Kuzman Iosifovski looked at him surprised and left the store.

As Kuzman later found out, Chento scolded him to save him and himself from the Bulgarian agents who at the time were lurking in his shop. He also warned Kuzman to be vigilant of prying eyes when he entered not only his store but other establishments too. He told him to keep his eyes open not only for agents but also for informants. Kuzman was both happy and relieved for the clarification and for the advice he had received.

In July 1941, Chento, along with brothers Nikola and Blagoia Poposki, Vera Atseva and Borka Modernoto were arrested and jailed on the same day the first flyers against fascism, against Hitler and against the Bulgarian occupying authorities were distributed in Prilep. But thanks to Chento’s apprentices Ioshka and Borka Iordanovski, Kuzman Iosifovski and Mirche Atsev avoided being arrested. When Ioshka and Borka realized that the police was looking for them everywhere, they warned them and thus avoided capture. After that Kuzman, Mirche, Borka and Tartsan disappeared.

When Vasilka Andonova went looking for answers as to why Metodia (Chento) had been arrested, the authorities told her because he was a communist leader. The Bulgarians were doing the same thing now, like the Serbians were doing before, because Metodia was connected with some bad people with bad ideas, and that’s why he was behind bars... Several days later, after being imprisoned,

tormented and mistreated, Chento and his friends were released, except for Asparuh Iosifovski, who they tortured in order to tell them where his brother Kuzman was hiding.

During the occupation people who were against the occupiers, including young people, citizens, illegal immigrants and communists, began to increasingly organize. Day by day their actions began to spread city wide and concentrate under king Marko’s castle. As Ilinden approached, there was news that the Bulgarians were preparing for the Ilinden celebrations claiming that Ilinden and the Ilinden merits, personalities and events were Bulgarian. At Chento’s hostel, people were rushing to create banners of freedom, democracy, and signs that Ilinden was a Macedonian uprising and not a Bulgarian one. Unfortunately Bulgarian informants and agents on duty discovered their preparations. Someone betrayed Ioshka Iordanovski and he was forced to flee and hide. Ioshka discovered that he had been betrayed through his channels. After going into hiding, he and several of his comrades started a secret cell which consistently grew and spread, attracting new and significant names and fighters.

In time Prilep became a core of resistance against the occupying regime. Actions related to the preparation for an armed uprising become massive and grew stronger with each passing day until they exploded on October 11, 1941.

October 11, 1941 became a historic day signaling the firing of the first liberation rifle shots in Macedonia. That October day Prilep was in flames, signaling the beginning of armed actions against the occupiers.

Initially Chento did not participate directly in the early partisan actions against the occupiers but later in the autumn and during the winter months he helped the partisans by sending them money to purchase food and munitions. He did this in various ways and through a series of secret channels and links.

Suspected of being involved in the actions that led to the uprising in Prilep, Chento along with his assistant Borka Iordanovski, in 1942, were arrested and imprisoned. His partner Krumen Volnaroski

somehow managed to escape and then he too disappeared. While looking for Krumen the authorities searched Chento’s house and found a Soviet Union Constitution, and this was yet more and new irrefutable evidence proving that Chento was a “dangerous element” for whom there was no place in Prilep, so they took him and jailed him in the Bitola dungeons.

After serving his sentence, Metodia Andonov-Chento was allowed to go home, but only for a short time. Even before he was sent to jail in Bitola, the Bulgarian regime began to investigate him and continued to do so throughout the first months of autumn. In their investigation the Bulgarians sought evidence to connect him to the partisans, which landed him on their list of dangerous opponents against the Bulgarian regime. However, even though the charges were the same as before, being accused of helping the partisans, this time his sentence was more severe. He was put on a list of people who were to be executed at Dabnitsa. The only thing that saved him this time was that he was not in the city during the arrests. Given that he was suspected of being involved and arrested every time the Communists acted, not to be implicated, he often left Prilep and went on the road purchasing products for his company.

News of the charges and sentences spread quickly and far and wide, so to avoid being captured Chento spent almost a month and a half traveling through various places in Tikvesh Region. From there he went to Skopje where he met with Kuzman Iosifovski who recommended that he immediately join the partisans. It was a dangerous proposal about which Chento cared less for himself and more for his family. He was well-aware of the retaliation his family would face from the gendarmes once they found out he had joined the partisans. He did not know what to do. How was he going to protect his wife and their four children? A thought that was constantly present in his mind.

He decided to go home, but the moment he arrived in Prilep he was in chains again. This time he was immediately taken to Skopje where the investigators tortured him in order to force a confession out of him to admit his involvement with the partisans and to reveal his connections. But despite the torture he was put through, Chento denied having any contact with or helping the partisans. Not the

beatings, not the bribes and not even being confronted by witnesses could change the situation. Without any evidence the police were empty-handed and unable to charge him with anything. He was again sent to the Prilep dungeons and a little later returned to Skopje.

And that’s not all: first they sent him to the notorious Sofia and Plovdiv prisons, where he served for a short time. After that they interned him in various other prisons ranging from the Rhodope Mountains all the way to the Turkish border.

On January 2, 1943 he found himself in the town Zlatograd. His main thoughts were with his family and how they were going to survive without him. A month later he received orders to be moved to a new prison located in Gorski Izvor, a Turkish village about two hours walk from Zlatograd. Here he faced difficult living conditions including hunger, lice and mice, but most damaging of all was the torment exacted by the police.

Chento was released from prison in late April, 1943 and allowed to return to Prilep but again only for a short time. Unfortunately, the joy of being with his family lasted only thirty days, after which the authorities chained him again and this time sent him with a group of prisoners from Prilep to a camp in Chuchuviliovo Rupel, where they encountered unbearable conditions including hard labour and hunger. The group from Prilep remained there until the beginning of August 1943. After he was released from this hellish camp, Chento again returned home.

Upon his return Chento continued to meet and work with his co-conspirators just as he had before when he worked in the bazaar. His shop continued to be the centre for gatherings, particularly by the leftists, and a thorn in the eyes of the authorities. But, given what Chento had already experienced, this time he was very cautious. He was a very determined person and never surrendered to the enemy regardless of the frequent arrests and brutal torture. Neither the local authorities nor the occupiers could break him or silence him.

More and more fighters and sympathizers were joining the partisans and fueling the military operations in many parts of Macedonia.

Their struggle for freedom angered the occupying fascist regimes who did everything in their power to preserve their positions and hold onto Macedonia.

As the resistance movement continued to intensify, Kuzman Iosifovski sent his long-time friend and co-activist Metodia Andonov-Chento a couple of messages in which he asked Chento to meet with him. Kuzman wanted Chento to join the partisans. Kuzman sent a letter from Skopje to Veles through Draga Vrazhalska to let him know that he wanted to meet with him. He then sent a telegram with the place and date of the meeting. The telegram was delivered to Chento in Prilep by Krume Volnaroski.

The two men met in a house in Skopje on September 24, 1943. Two old friends, Kuzman Iosifovski-Pitu and Metodia Andonov-Chento sat down face to face, warmly greeting each other with their eyes, and made plans on how to move forward with the struggle.

“I had great confidence in Kuzman because he was an honest man. He told me that in order for us to realize our aims for a free Macedonia, for which we struggled all this time, we needed to join the battle lines because, as Kuzman said, the revolution needs patriots with authority among the people, proven to be fighters for freedom and justice. It reminded me of my own words: ‘only alone and united can we fight for ourselves and that moment is now.’ He spoke to me and I trusted him very much. I agreed with him without hesitation and was ready to leave immediately…” said Chento later, recalling this very important meeting with Kuzman Iosifovski Pitu.

The people expected to assist Chento in Skopje, unfortunately did not arrive, so he was forced to return to Prilep, and through Ohrid, to wait for new news for further developments in Debartsa. By now Chento was 41 years old. He had four children and, of course, his thoughts were with them and who was going to take care of them. But he decided to pursue the revolution and left.

Here is what Kuzman Iosifovski had to say, in part, about the conversation he had with Chento in a letter to the CPM Central Committee on October 4, 1943: “...He was much more progressive than I have known him to be. He was informed that he was accepted

as a member of General Headquarters. He immediately gave his consent to leave... He is steady, independent and active. He is well known, respected and valued in the bazaar and in the community...”

Here is what, among other things, was said about Chento in a letter signed by Kire Gavriloski Iane, a prominent party activist and revolutionary: “The opinion of the Party here is that Chento is an honest Macedonian who, during the Great German hegemony, was a fearless fighter, in good relations with the Party with which he freely cooperated. After Yugoslavia capitulated, he firmly believed and had said that it was unnecessary to cooperate with the occupier. He was very popular in the city and in the district...”

Chento’s departure to join the partisans did not go easy. The links were very hard to penetrate especially on the western territory, given the great concentration and surge of enemy forces from different sides and from multiple directions. His second attempt to follow along the road leading through Lake Ohrid was unsuccessful because of bad weather. As a result Chento and his companion student Boris Shainov were forced to return. His third attempt, in spite of some unforeseen problems, was more successful and on October 1, 1943 he left for western Macedonia and arrived at the Main Headquarters in Debartsa where he joined his comrades.

In November 1943, an Initiative Board was formed for the convening of ASNOM during which time Metodia Andonov-Chento was elected Board President representing the revolutionary government. Here Chento used his initiative to organize the event, point out some problems that needed solving and identified a number of issues of wider importance that needed to be looked at. During this time Chento worked tirelessly on the preparations, the tasks and the decisions that needed to be made during the First ASNOM Meeting.

Chento’s joining the Partisans had a visible impact not only in the city but all around Prilep Region. More and more new fighters began to arrive and join the ranks of the national liberation units and strengthen the resistance forces.

The situation, be it in the battlefield, on the ground or behind the scenes began to change almost hour by hour, not to mention day by day. Attacks against enemy strongholds and against larger units became more and more massive. Wisdom, tactical skills and decision making at the command level were needed to flame the revolution and guide the fierce battles in these extraordinary conditions. The situation demanded quick responses and there was no time for broader consultations and agreements. There were only a few individuals who had that kind of capability. The top Macedonian military leadership had competent command staff capable of making such decisions and coming up with quick resolutions to all conditions facing them.

Chento, and let’s not forget the others, was one of those people with great decision making capabilities. He always believed and professed that decision making was not a right and privilege of only certain individuals, (be they instructors of Supreme Headquarters or members of the CPY Central Committee), but above all it was an obligation of the collective and the responsibility of General Headquarters, not excluding situations where certain individuals had better knowledge of the situation.

Here is what Strahil Gigov wrote in his book “Memoirs”: “Venko (Markovski) and Metodia Chento wanted to participate in all sectors of the work carried out by General Headquarters, even where they were not authorized. They requested this from Headquarters and after it was discussed a decision was made to allow them to act...”

Insistence certainly was not without foundation. But time was passing very quickly.

NOV was intensely involved in all spheres of the struggle and Macedonia was standing on its own feet. And as the struggle intensified, the Macedonian forces were growing more numerous. The Germans, cooperating with the Balists in Tetovo, Gostivar, Debar and Albania, once again took the offensive and began new hostile attacks in western Macedonia during the first days of December 1943. As a result General Headquarters, where Chento and members of the CPM Central Committee were serving, was forced to leave Debartsa and relocate.

Even though the fighting in the western regions of Macedonia was fierce during the fall and winter of 1943, when the Germans, in cooperation with the Albanian Balists, were launching new hostile actions, the Macedonian partisan units kept growing both in strength and numbers acting as a bulwark against enemy raids. It seems that after General Headquarters left Debartsa a decision had to be made as to where to relocate. At this time there were two options considered, one supported by members of the CPM Central Committee and the other by the instructors of the CPM Central Committee. Tempo was of the opinion that General Headquarters and its units should be transferred to Serbia, however, the Macedonian comrades in General Headquarters, which included Tsvetko Uzunovski and Metodia Andonov-Chento, oppose Tempo’s proposal, advocating that the proper direction to travel was south, towards the Aegean (Greek occupied) part of Macedonia.

According to Tsvetko Uzunovski, Chento, among other things, told Tempo that these Macedonian units are fighting to free Macedonia, and if they are transferred to Serbia, what will the Macedonian people say? What will the fighters themselves say? To that Tempo said: “We can’t survive here” to which Chento replied: “If we can’t survive here, then we can survive in the Aegean and Pirin parts of Macedonia, and that is the Macedonia that we must liberate…”

On December 5, 1943, NOV and POM General Headquarters, consisting of Commander Mihailo Apostolski, Political Commissar Tsvetko Uzunovski and Members Metodia Andonov-Chento, Hamdi Dema, Strahil Gigov, Venko Markovski, Petar Piruze, Ivan Tanev, Nikola Minchev, Ielisie Popovski and Kuzman Iosifovski, together with their comrades started to march through Prespa towards the Aegean (Greek occupied) part of Macedonia. Fighting strenuous battles under terrible conditions that included enemy ambushes and road blocks, 13 days later they arrived at their destination located in a region called Fushtani.

On December 21 and 22, 1943, the group that arrived in Fushtani held a meeting, later dubbed the First Congress of the Anti-Fascist Youth of Macedonia, in order to assess the overall situation, analyze the actions it had carried out and determine what to do next. After

that the partisan units began to approach Tushin where on this territory at this time they faced fierce action from enemy forces. But the Macedonian units fought bravely, tactfully and wisely for the liberation of the Macedonian people in the Aegean (Greek occupied) part of Macedonia.

The road they took led them to Zborsko, Golemi Livage, Zhensko, Shugovo… They followed this route and in 8 hard days, extending from 6 pm January 31, 1943 to midnight February 9, 1944, they traveled about 180 kilometres (climbing up to 1,750 metres), or an average of 22 kilometres per day.

They crossed the Vardar River near Solun and, because of the great secrecy during the march, they crossed the river without fighting, leaving behind only an unbreakable scaffold in a secluded place near the Gevgelia-Solun crossing. The crossing took a lot of time because the Vardar River at the time was deep and about 500 metres wide. The Macedonian units, it appears, were not spotted at the crossing or while traveling through Aegean (Greek occupied) Macedonia. Especially memorable about this march were the meetings, rallies and other events held with the Orizars of Vardar and Amaranta in the area near Lake Doiran. Here is what Vera Atseva had to say in a report published on February 9, 1944: “Much wonderment was displayed about our heroism in the struggle... Chento was very popular there.”

The third group of battalions continued their campaign towards eastern Macedonia and found the march long and very difficult. The march required the third group of battalions to cross through Strumitsa, Petrich, Shtip, Kochani, Kumanovo, Kriva Palanka, Strumichka, Bregalnitsa and Kriva Reka and all their obstacles. The trek though eastern Macedonia began an hour before midnight on February 10, 1944. The group was faced with severe weather conditions, snow, rain and hostile encounters. The group faced great obstacles on the road through Belasitsa, Orazhden, Plachkovitsa, Osogovski Planini… but, despite everything, the group managed to travel 260 kilometres in the time span from February 10 to February 22, 1944, delivering great blows to the Bulgarian occupying forces.

After the hard marches, heroic struggles and difficult obstacles… after the many breakthroughs, the partisans were ready for a break so they began to assemble at the “Prohor Pchinski” Monastery, where on February 27, 1944 they organized a meeting to analyze their political and military combat actions particularly those of the military units which participated in the Kumanovo-Kriva Reka, Vranie, and Luzhnitsa campaigns and widened the free territory in Macedonia.

While the Macedonian military units were engaged in difficult and strenuous actions in the heat of the fiercest battles, political and high military representatives were preparing to hold the First ASNOM Meeting by convening a conference. This was a very significant event, a historical act for the Macedonian people, so the Macedonian representatives needed to not only be prepared for this extraordinary engagement but to work together as a team. Activists, fighters, members of the Initiative Board… all had to work hard and together.

The first session of the Expanded Initiative Board for convening of ASNOM was held on April 30, 1944 in the free territory of Kumanovo. The meeting, consisting of delegates from all over Macedonia, was opened by General Mihailo Apostolski. Included in the Expanded Initiative Board were: President Metodia Andonov-Chento (Prilep), Vice Presidents Mane Chuchkov (Shtip) and Bane Andreev (Veles), Secretaries Kiril Miliovski (Bitola) and Kiril Gligorov (Shtip), Members Mihailo Apostolski (Shtip), Tsvetko Uzunovsi (Resen), Kiril Petrushev (Bogdantsi), Epaminonda Pop Atanasov (Strumitsa), Strahil Gigov (Veles), Nikola Minchev (Kavadartsi), Petre Piruze (Ohrid), Mara Natseva (Kumanovo), Blagoi Hadzhipanov (Veles), Vlado Polezhina (Kichevo), Risto Boialtsaliev (Gevgelija), Borko Temelkov (Prilep), Todor Petsov Tsipovski (Tetovo), Panko Brashnarov (Veles), Todor Zvezdin (Skopje), Genadia Lesko (Brodsko) and Milan Stefanov (Prilep). The delegates debated quite openly about a variety of issues and problems that had risen, thus setting the stage for ASNOM.

It was decided and unanimously approved that Metodia Andonov-Chento, as President of the Initiative Board, was to lead a delegation to travel to Vis, meet with Marshal Tito and inform him of the overall war situation and the situation in Macedonia.

The Macedonian delegation traveled for many days in cold weather and over hostile territory to the Adriatic island. They traveled over snow in Morava and through the Iablanitsa pass. They trekked for many long kilometres over Iastrebats and from there, via plane, flew over the Adriatic Sea to the Italian city Bari and from there they took an English military ship to Vis. After many disruptions, they finally arrive on the island expecting to meet with Marshal Tito.

Their troubles experienced over the long and arduous trek were forgotten on June 24, 1944, when members of the National Committee for the Liberation of Yugoslavia and the Macedonian Initiative Board delegation jointly agreed to convene ASNOM. The meeting was chaired by Tito and opinions on both sides were freely expressed...