GREATER GREECE ARMED PROPAGANDA

GREATER GREECE ARMED PROPAGANDA

In the second half of the 19th century Greek ruling circles organized armed actions in Macedonia in order to carry out their “megali idea” plans. In the first decade of the 20th century and especially after the Ilinden Uprising, Great Greek armed actions weren’t only accelerated but also took on a kind of military intervention, organized and carried out by the Greek state against the Macedonian people, who persistently fought against the Great Greek and other foreign propaganda which were preparing the ground for invading, occupying and partitioning Macedonia.

As early as the first years of the 20th century, led by the Greek metropolitans and consuls in Macedonia and with the blessing of the Ottoman authorities, Greek propaganda was organized and, through several armed detachments, used against the Macedonian liberation movement. In 1903, the Kingdom of Greece and the Patriarchate stood against the Ilinden Uprising. They showed solidarity with the mob and organized a series of hostile actions against the Ilinden Uprising. Then, in June 1903, the first Greek armed detachments were sent from Athens to Macedonia, which together with the Ottoman army fought against the Macedonian insurgents.

After the Ilinden Uprising ended, the military wing of Greater Greece decided to bolster its propaganda machine in Macedonia by introducing its Greater Greece armed propaganda. For that purpose, in the summer of 1904 and in the following years, the Greek government sent 10 diplomats (consuls), over 100 officers, about 110 armed detachments called Andarts, several hundred rifles, a large quantity of weapons, etc., to Macedonia. Greek officers were dispatched over to the Greek consulates in Solun, Bitola, Seres and Kavala in order to serve the consuls in implementing the Greater Greek armed propaganda in the various areas. Some of the officers were placed in charge of Andart detachments, others in charge of espionage and so on. More than 200 spies were engaged in the Greek espionage service in Macedonia, who also served the Ottoman authorities.

The Greek government and the Greek court saw the Macedonian revolutionary movement as its enemy and decided to refer to it as

“Bulgarian”, and every measure should be taken to liquidate it because it opposed Macedonia’s division. To that end, the Greek government signed a co-operation agreement with the Ottoman government. As part of that cooperation, the Greek Andart Detachments avoided clashes with the Ottoman authorities, even though clashes in the past were common. The Greater Greek armed propaganda was deemed legal and was allowed to act against the Macedonian national liberation movement. Because it was legal it was allowed to freely act and enjoy various privileges from the Ottoman authorities, especially from Hilmi Pasha who was in charge of the Ottoman military in Macedonia and who refused to allow any villager to leave the Patriarchate Church. With consent from the Sultan, Hilmi Pasha vowed to protect the Greek Andarts from any prosecution by the extraordinary military courts, created to try members of the Macedonian revolutionary movement.

And so instead of protecting its citizens, the Macedonian people, the Ottoman state decided to tolerate foreign intervention from the Greek Andarts who, in the words of their own Greek officers, slaughtered people like they cut grass. The crimes the Andarts committed were sanctioned by Greek government officials from Athens and by the Greek metropolitans in Macedonia. Included among the Greek Metropolitans who had sanctioned such crimes were Metropolitan Karavangelis from Kostur, Metropolitan Foropoulos from Bitola, as well as the Metropolitans from Greben,and Drama. These Metropolitans demanded that the Andarts subdue the Macedonian population and use terror to keep it from leaving the Patriarchate church.

At the beginning of 1905 the so-called “Macedonian Committee” in Athens, leading the Greek armed propaganda in the Bitola vilayet, issued an order to the Greek Andarts to intensify their terror activities against the Macedonian people. Among other things, the order said: “Pursue and exterminate the barbarians...” Immediately afterwards, Tsontos-Vardas, leader of the Andart Bitola vilayet detachments, in cooperation with Kostur Metropolitan Karavangelis and the Greek consulate in Bitola, decided to destroy the village Zagorichani in Kostur Region. Before the attack Vardas read the Andarts their orders which in part said: “Heroes of vengeance, you are called to carry out the destruction of the people of Zagorichani...

You are descendants of gods and demigods... To fulfill your mission you will need to become full fledged assassins. Carry out this mission and you will not only become murderers but also beasts. Kill everyone regardless of who they are…!” And so they did. On May 25, 1905, the Greek Andarts carried out the beastly act of massacring the entire village. They killed 78 women, men, children and the elderly. They burned houses, looted properties, etc. The Ottoman army could have intervened but did not.

In the period from 1904 to1908, similar massacres and many individual murders were committed in various parts of Macedonia but mostly in Kostur, Lerin, Bitola, Moriovo, Enidzhevardar and Seres Regions. The Greek Andarts demanded that the Macedonian people renounce their revolutionary movement and submit to the Patriarchate. In the letters sent by the Greek Andart leaders to the villagers, they asked the following: “Go as soon as possible to the Metropolitans and declare yourself Greek because soon it will be too late to repent in hell. Keep in mind that in a short time you will have no children, no houses, nothing, because everything will be destroyed by the knife and by the unstoppable Greek fire... We will liquidate you and your property and we will bring pure Greek blood to these places.” These genocidal threats, organized by the Greek state, were often carried out to maintain the high level of Greek propaganda terror. Compared to other propaganda, the Greek armed propaganda carried out the most massacres and murders. It was estimated that, at that time the Ottoman military along with the Andart gangs were responsible for killing an average of about 100-150 people a month. These killings were committed mostly by the Andart detachments and Greek propaganda agents.

The Macedonian people, led by the IMRO left wing, put up strong resistance against the Greater Greece and other armed propaganda machines. In 1905, during the Rila Congress, IMRO condemned all armed propaganda campaigns that were hostile to the Macedonian people and tried to organize resistance against them. Even the Macedonian revolutionary detachments were tasked with fighting against the Greater Greek armed propaganda. For example, during its four years of acting in Kostur Region, Mitre Vlaot’s detachment fought several successful battles against the Greek Andart detachments of which the Greek Andarts soon became fearful. In

Enidzhevardar Region, primarily in Enidzhevardar Lake, Apostol’s Detachment fought and won several battles against the Andarts as well as repulsed several joint attacks carried out by Greek Andarts and Ottoman military forces. Apostol’s Detachment, with help from the Macedonian people, turned the Enidzhevardar Lake (Swamp) into something like a state within a state. Many times the village militia repulsed Greek Andart attacks and successfully carried out several battles against the Greek Andarts, forcing their leaders to admit that the Macedonian villagers fought skillfully and bravely. Speaking about the resistance of the villagers, Dikonimos-Makris, a longtime Andart leader, pointed out that “Women also took part in the battles and attacked us with stones. Some, the more determined ones, attacked us with axes in their hands…” Makris wrote about a battle in which the Ottoman army retreated and the Macedonian village militia won and forced the Greek Andarts to retreat. The village militia liquidated several Andart detachments and their leaders. Despite being attacked from many sides, the Macedonian people showed extraordinary military ability and courage, which had to be recognized by its enemies.