IX. MATERIALS ON THE HISTORY OF THE MACEDONIAN NATIONAL LIBERATION MOVEMENT IN - Part 02

replacement. Keramitchiev tried to convince Rakovski not to promote anyone above himself but Rakovski insisted, and claimed he was doing this for the sake of the struggle. Among those present in the meeting was Petris, organizing secretary of the CPG Provincial Bureau for Macedonia and Thrace. Petris, a guest at this meeting, welcomed the new asset and made no remarks about Aianovski’s appointment. But, even though Rakovski left the asset the low blows against him continue...

11.

Kiriazovski wrote: “Continuing with disinformation and fabrication, Rakovski claims that soon after the asset meeting in June 1947, Paskal Mitrevski, member of the Macedonian CPG bureau, arrived with a directive from the Bureau to: Immediately suspend Aianovski and remove him from the NOF Secretariat, and punish Pavle Rakovski with a party reprimand. According to Rakovski, Aianovski was suspended because of “that other informative function” while Rakovski provided no reasons for his punishment... None of this however answers to the truth! Mitrevski did indeed arrive in June 1947, but not from the Macedonian bureau, but from Yugoslavia, after months of absence from the movement. Paskal Mitrevski submitted his proposal to the Macedonian bureau for removing Aianovski and other NOF managers in August 1947 but it was not accepted by this bureau. There was no other meeting or forum held until NOF’s First Congress, held in January 1948, when personnel changes to NOF were made. Moreover, the organizational report for the NOF First Congress was prepared by Aianovski himself, which proves that he was an organizational secretary at the Congress!” (P. 291-292.)

In connection with this Rakovski wrote:

“Soon after the asset meeting, held in June 1947, Paskal Mitrevski, member of the CPG Provincial Bureau, arrived with a directive from this Bureau: To immediately suspend Aianovski as member of the Secretariat. And Rakovski received a party reprimand. Rakovski was also told: “You do not know him…!” It was probably Aianovski’s “other function” that was in question! (Due to the nature of the issue, nothing was published in the press)... Aianovski

remained an instructor in Voden Region. The documents compiled by the secretariat however do not bear his signature and it cannot be proven that Aianovski was the one who prepared them.

Later, at the NOF First Congress, held in January 1948, Aianovski was not considered a candidate for the NOF leadership. His name was not on the list.

Even later, in September 1948, Aianovski fled to the People’s Republic of Macedonia and abandoned the movement and the struggle.

Accordingly, even though Aianovski was elected into NOF’s narrow leadership, he never participated in any of the NOF Secretariat working meetings (neither then, nor before, nor after).

But then again, after he was removed from his appointment, Aianovski continued to appear in the field as “NOF organizing secretary”! This was probably because those who did not know that he was removed and suspended from his position continued to address him as “NOF organizing secretary”. It would appear that Aianovski carefully collected and guarded these letters just as he did the correspondence from the entire Macedonian national liberation movement apparatus, both during ELAS and DAG. These documents, which writers like Kiriazovski are compiling in the “Aegean Macedonia at the National Liberation War” edition today, are now used to boost Aianovski’s role in the struggle as “the second man in NOF”.

12.

Kiriazovski wrote: “Pavle Rakovski was spreading disinformation regarding the question of who founded TOMO, the Secret Macedonian Liberation Organization, in 1945 in Voden Region. Rakovski claims that Vangel Aianovski-Oche was not the founder of TOMO, and that he has proclaimed himself to be the founder of this organization. It is true that documents from TOMO’s establishment and activities have not been preserved, which is understandable given the time and conditions under which it was formed and active. However, while Aianovski has a document from that time which

mentions TOMO and its activities, no such thing is mentioned in Pavle Rakovski’s many reports. His explanation that the political committee for Macedonia under Greece, and the NOF leadership, kept TOMO’s establishment a secret is not convincing. How is it possible to organize and run so many branches in a network and, at the same time, keep such an organization a secret, especially from its own leadership? If for some reason Rakovski needed to keep this organization a secret in 1945, there was no reason for him to keep it secret later. And another thing, while Aianovski details the entire organizational structure in his works (referring to the book ‘Aegean Storms’) showing a list of people who worked as activists or as members of the organization, Pavle Rakovski only states that he went to Voden, formed TOMO and nothing more!” (p. 290)

Rakovski, in his critical review, wrote: “First, it is well-known that the political commission terminated its fictitious existence in the beginning of April 1945. Constituted in its place on April 23, 1945, was the Central Management of the new organization (NOF), headed by Paskal Mitrevski with members Urdov, Keramitchiev, Koroveshovski, and Rakovski. NOF had yet to be created. Then immediately after the May Day celebrations, everyone was sent to the field to establish NOF’s foundations. Rakovski was sent to Voden Region. It was decided that the members of the central management would work in the field until May 25, 1945, and then return for a new meeting...

Second, it is well-known that before that, from January to mid-April 1945, Rakovski stayed at the base in the village Staravina. He went down to Meglen Region (Karadzhova) several times to visit some of the villages where, under his own initiative, he had recruited fighters for the ELAS Voden Macedonian battalion. Rakovski wanted to see for himself what the mood of the people was and to personally speak with the friends and relatives of the fighters of the battalion whom he had earlier taken to Vardar Macedonia... Even though he expected it, what he saw there surprised him. Namely, the CPG, with all its might, tried to blur and conceal the true significance of why the battalion was forced to cross the border and defect. In order to gain political points with the people, the CPG referred to the incident as dangerous adventurism on the part of the battalion’s

leaders Dzhodzho and Rakovski. Namely, the CPG carried out a defamatory campaign claiming that:

- Dzhodzho and Rakovski sold the battalion for huge amounts of money... They sold out your children… They are filthy traitors…!

It was obvious: without a political organization on the ground, the withdrawal of the battalion seemed like an adventurous move. The very formation of a political organization (bringing our people together) would not only correct the isolated action taken by the battalion, but it would also give us political substance and an ultimate goal. So, it was necessary to do this… the sooner the better.

Then, on the other hand, we had our CPG comrades who fiercely attacked the battalion’s leadership, especially me and Dzhodzho. They accused us of being “adventurers”, “sellouts to alien agents”, “scoundrels”, “traitors” and so on and so forth… and that we would bring “ruin” to our people’s children…! In other words, they called the battalion’s withdrawal a savage adventure and a betrayal. So, it was necessary for us to dismantle these accusations and put things right. And that was only possible with the formation of a political and revolutionary organization.

So, instead of waiting for a directive from above, I decided to act alone in accordance with the imperative from below. I formed a political organization under the name: Secret Macedonian Liberation Organization - TOMO. Because I defied responsibility and decided on my own to transfer the battalion over the border to save it from being disarmed, dissolved and liquidated, I was now obligated to make a correction and take responsibility for establishing TOMO, in order to defend and justify this transfer. TOMO’s existence would confirm in the consciousness of our people that the transfer of the battalion was done to save it and that what they were hearing from the other side was lies…

Before noon the same day (February 22, 1945) I sent some of my trusted people to the surrounding villages to make contact with the most trusted people there and ask them to come and see me...

One by one they gathered until late night. Fifteen in total came to see me. I appointed each TOMO board president of the TOMO organization in their village. In total of thirteen villages joined TOMO. They were Pozharsko, Strupino, Baovo, Tsakoni, Tresino, Gorno Rodovo, Dolno Rodovo, Sarakinovo, Krontselevo, Teovo, Nisia and two more whose names I don’t remember. After that I visited the terrain twice more, once during March and again during the first half of April 1945. At that time ELAS had not yet surrendered its arms. There was a garrison stationed in the town Supotsko and a two-unit detachment in the village Tresino. One moonlit night I went to Tresino and visited the villages Dolno Rodovo and Sarakinovo. I stayed in Sarakinovo one day. Director Todor Anastasov and three fighters stayed with me. After that I went to the flatlands outside the village Tsakoni and met with Hristo Andonovski. At that time TOMO was spreading rapidly and approaching the city Voden...

Third, sometime near the end of May 1945, as was decided earlier, our bureau gathered for another meeting. In my notepad, dated May 27, 1945, among other things I wrote: “Last month we decided to hold a district meeting next month for the purpose of choosing a district board and to discuss other issues.” (“Aegean Macedonia at the national liberation war”, Volume II, Document No. 25, p. 56.) And in a note dated June 27, 1945, among other things, I wrote: “On June 20, 1945, I convened and held a district meeting a few kilometres outside of Voden. However, we did not get the desired attendance we expected. No delegates from Voden and Meglen Pole attended. Those from Voden could not attend because the city was blockaded. Those from Meglen Pole did not get the invitations on time because the courier had an incident along the road and was delayed. However, 125 delegates from 28 separate villages did attend. The meeting went well and took a serious and splendid tone being chaired by an old grey-haired man from the Ilinden era...” “Because I didn’t know any of the activists from the city Voden, I always had to consult with Dzhodzho regarding their personnel issues.” “Aianovski was sent to Voden in December 1944 to monitor the situation and report on events. I made a point of inviting him to this meeting and, on Dzhodzho’s suggestion he was appointed first president of NOF (TOMO) for Voden Region. I figured this would make his job easier for which he was sent to the field!”

This was what Rakovski wrote in his reports from that time, which means he knew nothing about a district conference taking place on April 28, 1945.

A few decades later, in his book “Aegean Storms” (INI, 1975, pp. 167-170), Aianovski wrote that on April 28, 1945, he convened the first TOMO district conference in Voden Region. It was attended by delegates from the city Voden and the surrounding villages. He wrote that he personally opened the meeting which was then chaired by Petre Popov (who died later) from Dolno Rodovo. According to Aianovski this was the agenda:

1. TOMO activity report. 2. Change the name TOMO to NOF (People’s Liberation Front). 3. Elect NOF district board for Voden...

Aianovski took the floor for the first agenda item. “Pavle Rakovski, representative of the political committee for the Macedonians under Greece, then took the floor for the second agenda item, and after welcoming the delegates, presented the political committee’s decision to create NOF by renaming TOMO to NOF, which was then accepted...”

That is what Aianovski writes, a few decades later. Naturally Aianovski invented all this because:

- The political committee at that time, on April 28, 1945, did not exist so I could not have been its delegate or its representative.

- During the founding of NOF for Aegean Macedonia and the appointment of its bureau, on April 23, 1945, in Skopje, it was decided that all members of this bureau would remain in Skopje for the May 1st, 1945 holiday, and then everyone would leave and report to their assigned districts. So, on April 28, 1945, I was not in Voden Region.

- Let us now have a look at Aianovski’s notes preserved from that time, in which, according to “Istoria” number 2/1981, “TOMO and its activities were mentioned”. Firstly Aionovski’s document is not

unique. There is also a second document from that time, i.e. from the first half of 1945. Both documents were published in a collection of documents entitled “Aegean Macedonia in the Second World War”, second volume. The first document was published under line number 39, p. 75, and the second under line number 54, p. 101-104. They were not signed, but based on the channel by which they were obtained it is known who sent them. Apart from that, based on the handwriting on the photocopied manuscripts, contained in the collection, the same person wrote both of them (Aianovski). (“Aegean Macedonia at the National Liberation War”, vol. II, doc, No. 47, p. 91.)

The first manuscript is entitled. “Military Information Bulletin from June 16, 1945”. The second manuscript is entitled “Information Bulletin”. Both were written on June 16, 1945, so they were probably sent to various different addresses. About the first manuscript editors, Dr. Risto Kiriazovki and Tosho Simovski wrote that this information was authored by Vangel Aianovski-Oche who reported on the military and political situation in Voden Region.” Here is the content of that report:

“Military Information Bulletin from June 16, 1945.

It is certain. Special movements of English mechanized forces have been observed. Every day armoured cars are sent to inspect the border, especially in the regions around Meglen and Ostrovo. They also inspect the border watch towers and guard houses. It has not been determined to which battalion they belong and who their commander is. Several officers and a number of soldiers have arrived in the city Voden to reinforce the 303 battalion. Lively and nervous activities have been observed in the Greek-English intelligence bureau. The Greek authorities in Voden have compiled lists of Macedonians by name but we have not yet learned why they have compiled them. The political and military world and most of the population in our district is nervous because of the published news that three mechanized Russian divisions have arrived at the Greek-Bulgarian border. The Macedonian people are thrilled with this news. The Greek government through the press has advised that the arrival of the Russians at the Greek-Bulgarian border has nothing to do with Greece, and that this is an internal Bulgarian

matter. On May 26, 1945, a gendarmerie with four officers arrived in our city. One of them is a major and commander of the gendarmerie. In the next report we will inform you about the number and names of the commanders as well as their purpose...”

Aianovski was sent to Voden in December 1944 to monitor the situation and report on events. I made a point of inviting him to this meeting and, on Dzhodzho’s suggestion he was appointed first president of NOF (TOMO) for Voden Region. I figured this would make his job easier for which he was sent to the field!

As we can see, it is completely unfounded to argue that “TOMO and its activities” have been mentioned anywhere in Aianovski’s first document. There is not a word about it at all. Perhaps someone made a mistake with the accounts in this document. Perhaps they were referring to the second document. Perhaps they incorrectly considered it to be a document of TOMO.

Regarding the second document the editorial board consisting of Kiriazovski and Simovski said that it was a “TOMO Information Bulletin reporting on the situation in Voden Region”, which is completely arbitrary and unfounded… Here is what, among other things, was written in that document: “Economics, newsletter 16.06.1945. This morning the Napoleon was worth 12, and in the afternoon it jumped to 9,000. Food items continue to be in abundance. No goods have been hidden. The people are generally satisfied. I am sending you a series of newspapers outlining measures taken by Varvaresos, Minister of Finance, where you will learn more about the economic situation in the entire country...” (p. 10.)

Of course, this was typical of Aianovski who, as always, was a nit-picker while doing the job for which he was sent here to do. In fact, the photocopied manuscript, mentioned earlier, undoubtedly confirms that Aianovski was the author of this document. But besides that, TOMO had no reason to send a series of newspapers outlining Varvresos’s economic measures.

Aianovski however does mention TOMO twice in this document:

a) “...The entire army is not fascist; there are good men among the soldiers... who are expected to connect with our organization TOMO…” (p. 103)

b) “The number of Grkomani (Macedonians loyal to Greece) in those villages is very small and efforts are being made to attract them into TOMO…” (p. 104)

As we can see, there was no mention made in Aianovski’s documents from that time, about a district conference taking place in Voden Region on April 28, 1945, when TOMO was supposedly renamed and replaced by NOF. Aianovski knew nothing about this, and when he wrote these documents on June 16, 1945, as per “a” and “b” above, he was talking about TOMO, he knew nothing about NOF.

In his book “Aegean Storms” Aianovski seems to be silent about the June 20, 1945, NOF (TOMO) meeting in which he personally participated and was elected district president. Did he forget about it? Did he get the dates mixed up? I could not tell you what he did, all I can say is that three decades later, he invented the April 28, 1945 NOF-TOMO district conference... But that’s not all. Namely, after making frequent contacts with his friends Kiriazovski and Simovski, reviewers of his book “Aegean Storms” and editors of an extensive collection of archival materials about “Aegean Macedonia in the national liberation war”, Aianovski somehow learned that there was no information on this, as well as on who founded TOMO in Voden Region. So, either by his own initiative or at the suggestion of someone else, he solved his problem by associating his say 5 or 6, 10 or 15 or even 20 or 26 auxiliary reporters in Voden and Voden Region, with the political organization TOMO and portrayed himself as the initiator, founder and secretary-general of TOMO which he claims to have founded on January 20, 1945. In his book “Aegean Storms” Aianovski paints a beautiful picture of TOMO and its activities under his leadership. One of those activities, that allegedly crowned his achievements, was convening the first district conference held on April 28, 1945. But where are Aianovski’s documents that directly confirm this? Apparently after he found out that he had no such documents he went ahead to confirm his claims indirectly. Five years before his book “Aegean

Storms” was published, Aianovski published a number of articles on the life and struggle of Mirka Ginova in the Skopje daily “Nova Makedonija” printed on August 5 to 10, 1970, XXVI, no. 8455-8460. In one article, entitled “Mirka was helping the fighters”, among other things, Aianovski wrote: “The first TOMO regional conference was held in June 1945, when the name was changed from TOMO to NOF, an organized military-political force for the Macedonians from Aegean Macedonia. Mirka Ginova was at the conference and was elected member of the NOF regulatory board secretariat for Voden Region…” which, of course, was correct. Aianovski was elected first president and Mirka was elected member of the secretariat and AFZH president for Voden Region...

It is interesting to note that Aianovski’s fictional date from “Aegean Storms” also appeared in the famous pilot “Chronology” edition sponsored by the “Association of Fighters from the National Liberation War”. Here it was said that Vangel Aianovski-Oche formed the political organization TOMO on January 20, 1945 and convened a regional TOMO conference on April 28, 1945...

Of course, if the same nit-picking Aianovski, who was so pedantic with his notes about minor things such as how much a Napoleon was worth in the market in Voden in a single day, and how many villagers participated in a meeting, surely he would have left tangible evidence if he had founded a political organization such as TOMO. He would certainly have left some written documentation about a great event such as this. And of course, there would be no dilemma about it here and now. Surely there would have been something written in the many “newsletters” from that time if such an event had taken place. The editors and researchers would have found it if such a document existed and had been placed in the multi-volume collection of archival documents in the history of the Macedonian people. But such a document had not been found because it does not exist at all! The researchers found nothing about the first half of 1945 in the pile of Aianovski’s archival documents. Neither did the researchers find anything of significance in the bulletins they were placing in the second volume of the collection of archival materials…

And so we come to the conclusion that: New items had been added to the book “Aegean Storms” and to the pilot “Chronology” which have been created, rewritten and adjusted to fit a history created for one’s own measures and tastes...

13.

Kiriazovski wrote: “Pavle Rakovski has disputed Aianovski’s claim that a pre-Congress meeting was held in 1947 between NOF and CPG representatives to come up with a list of NOF leaders to be appointed during the 1st NOF Congress. Pavle Rakovski truly has no measure of objectivity. He very well knew that, not one, but two such meetings were held through which the CPG actually infiltrated NOF with its own people. It also removed some of the old NOF cadres among whom was Aianovski, who Pavle Rakovski himself then opposed…!” (p. 202.)

Pavle Rakovski wrote: The truth is, I participated in those meetings and, although we did not keep a record, I should know what happened. And now we have Aianovski and Kiriazovski, who were not even there and did not take part in those meetings, telling me what happened. This is a classic move of tactlessness. But no, it is not about tact, it’s about something else. Let us see what Aianovski said… In his book “Aegean Storms” he said: “At the CPG Central Committee pre-Congress meeting... through its representatives Ioanidis and Stringos, members of the CPG Central Committee Politburo, the CPG demanded the removal of Vangel Aianovski-Oche, NOF organizing secretary for Aegean Macedonia... This request encountered opposition from those present, with the exception of Paskal Mitrevski who fully supported the CPG Central Committee decision. Ioanidis and Stringos did not allow any further discussion on the issue by setting a Party veto. Despite the controversy the CPG decision was accepted…!” (p. 253)

“Pavle Rakovski has disputed Aianovski’s claim that a pre-Congress meeting was held in 1947 between NOF and CPG representatives to come up with a list of NOF leaders to be appointed during the 1st NOF Congress. Pavle Rakovski truly has no measure of objectivity. He very well knew that, not one, but two such meetings were held through which the CPG actually infiltrated NOF with its own

people. It also removed some of the old NOF cadres among whom was Aianovski, who Pavle Rakovski himself then opposed…!”

And here is what really happened: Rakovski participated in those meetings and, although they did not keep a record, he should know what happened. And now we have Aianovski and Kiriazovski, who were not even there and did not take part in those meetings, telling me what happened. This is a classic move of tactlessness. But no, it is not about tact, it’s about something else. Let us see what Aianovski said… In his book “Aegean Storms” he said: “At the CPG Central Committee pre-Congress meeting... through its representatives Ioanidis and Stringos, members of the CPG Central Committee Politburo, the CPG demanded the removal of Vangel Aianovski-Oche, NOF organizing secretary for Aegean Macedonia... This request encountered opposition from those present, with the exception of Paskal Mitrevski who fully supported the CPG Central Committee decision. Ioanidis and Stringos did not allow any further discussion on the issue by setting a Party veto. Despite the controversy the CPG decision was accepted…!” (p. 253)

It is characteristic of “NOF organizing secretary” Aianovski and Dr. Kiriazovski to provide “different” information. The first part, on page 253 above, stated that the pre-Congress meeting was held in the village Rula on January 12, 1948, while the second part stated that not one, but two meetings were held in early 1947.

As I have already stated earlier, Aianovski, in his book “Aegean Storms”, claims that with the implementation of the agreement, the CPG, on November 21, 1946, reorganized the “NOF central leadership” appointing Paskal Mitrevski member of the CPG Provincial Committee for Macedonia, Mihail Keramitchiev NOF Secretary, and Vangel Aianovski-Oche, etc., members of the leadership... (p. 234.)

Mitrevski, who wanted to expand the NOF leadership to include Grkomani, was persistent and demanded that his proposal be adopted by a rather sharp argument... Finally, Mitrevski said that he was following the Party line... Keramitchiev and Vera reluctantly gave in. Rakovski said that, if this was ordered by the party then they should have been informed right at the very beginning of the

meeting, then there would have been no quarrels. He was hoping that Mitrevski was bluffing but he still persisted...

The absence of elasticity in Rakovski’s attitude was paid by the fact that his place in the Secretariat remained vacant. Namely, at the last moment, before the Congress voted on January 13, 1948, on Mitrevski’s objection while his case was being reviewed, Rakovski dropped out of the candidate list for NOF Secretariat. That was all. There was no dispute, no party veto and no request from the Communist Party of Greece through its Politburo Ioanidis and Stringos, to remove Aianovski, then “NOF organizing secretary for Aegean Macedonia”.

There were no pre-meeting meetings held at all at that time. Aianovski was removed about seven to eight months before he claims he was removed. It would appear he took the opportunity to insert himself into these later events so that he could write himself “a beautiful autobiography...”

This is a good example of how one can sit at their desk and create history...

14.

Kiriazovski wrote: “Pavle Rakovski stated that on the 1st NOF Plenum held on August 1948, he, among other NOF leaders, was removed, which is not true. According to the publication “Nepokoren” an organ of NOF, which announced the decision to suspend Mihail Keramitchiev (NOF president), and Paskal Mitrevski (NOF secretary), delivering a massive blow to the organization, Pavle Rakovski provocatively published an article in which he praised the CPG and its leader Nikos Zahariadis of being the most consistent friend, protector and ally of the Macedonian people…!” (P. 294.)

Rakovski wrote: Rakovski did not say that he was removed during the NOF Central Committee First Plenum, held in August 1948, and did not announce anything about any decision to suspend Mitrevski an Keramitchiev. As we have seen in the previous paragraph, Rakovski’s text regarding his removal said: “...on Mitrevski’s

objection while his case was being reviewed, Rakovski dropped out of the January 13, 1948, candidate list for NOF Secretariat.” Which means that he was removed in January 1948, during the First NOF Congress...

Regarding the so-called “provocative” article, this is what happened: The article was published on the occasion of the 30th jubilee since the founding of the CPG. It was published in “Nepokoren” number 17 in December 1948; five months after the NOF Central Council I Plenum took place!

As is well-known, our Greek “patriots” at the top CPG and DAG leadership consistently defied the Macedonian reality even after the People’s Republic of Macedonia emerged as a national state of the Macedonian people in the Yugoslav federation. They defied the Macedonian reality even with the existence of a strong Macedonian national Movement in Greek occupied Macedonia. Our Greek comrades at the top of the CPG and DAG planned and carried out a general offensive against the Macedonian national ideal and physically destroyed a huge percentage of its active bearers, “the Macedonian nationalists” and Macedonian patriots.

Proof of this was delivered in February 1946, during the CPG Central Committee II Plenum. Despite the “nice things” the CPG press was publishing about the Macedonian people in general, the CPG officially treated the Macedonians NOT AS PART OF ANOTHER AND UNIQUE NATION, but as a “mass of people”, a “Slavophone population” which lived in Greek occupied Macedonia on the lands of the Greek state. During the II Plenum the CPG proclaimed that it will fight for “the recognition of rights and equality” as a Slavophone population, but without NOF’s leadership. And so the Party regional press (local) in Macedonia continued its hostilities against the NOF leadership, even after the II Plenum.

But because all these frontal attacks against the Macedonian national liberation movement had little effect, NOF was getting stronger with time!

Zahariadis had no choice but to change tactics. By a declaratory recognition of NOF, he managed to snap into his hands both NOF itself and its military formations - the Macedonian battalions. The famous heavy political crimes against the Macedonian people then followed… He destroyed the most active and significant carriers of the Macedonian national ideal... Namely, as I said earlier, Zahariadis moved Macedonian battalions to the Greek south, replaced their Macedonian commanders with “more experienced” Greek commanders, and destroyed them.

He then ordered the physical liquidation of many individuals, mostly prominent Macedonian activists like Dzhodzho, Shamardanov, Koroveshovski, Tanurov, Kalkov, etc.

At the same time it dissolved and disbanded the NOF central agitation and propaganda department. Rakovski and the other members were individually inducted into DAG’s ranks as simple fighters and sent to join the various DAG units in the front.

The Macedonian teachers’ school and seminars were abolished.

The NOF cultural and art groups were dissolved. (The Macedonian theatre, choir, Macedonian folklore - folk dancers and singers).

The Macedonian national brass band was also disbanded and its leader, folk musician Timio, was later killed. This was a remarkable band whose Macedonian folk melody echoed in the mountains wherever it played.

And most importantly:

The worst thing the CPG did in all this was that it beheaded NOF of its founding leadership. Zahariadis and the CPG leaders, through the NOF First Congress, held in January 1948, and through the NOF Central Council First Plenum, held in August 1948, prepared and executed the removal of the NOF leadership, that is, they “neutralized” three of the initial five NOF founding members -Mitrevski, Keramitchiev, and Rakovski. The other two Dzhodzho and Koroveshovski were killed. The NOF founding leadership was replaced with a “new leadership” (the tandem Kotsopoulos-Koitsis),

and NOF gradually began to turn into an anti-Macedonian organization. In other words, it began to lose its Macedonian national spirit, its Macedonian national colours, and to reorient itself towards Athens and, in the spirit of the Greek cause, promote the idea that “we are part of Greece… we are part of the Greek people...”

A tense, electrified and dangerous situation began to develop that was followed by a wave of Macedonians deserting DAG’s ranks. Rakovski was brought back from the army followed by Mitrevski and, after the NOF Central Council II plenum was held, at Zahariadis’s request, they were both reinstated in the NOF leadership. By then Keramitchiev had left Greece and gone to seek medical treatment in the Republic of Macedonia. He remained and worked in Skopje. NOF regional activists and leaders had also fled the war and withdrawn to the Republic of Macedonia... The secretariat was expanded from three to five members, with an obvious goal – for the infiltrators Kotsopoulos and Koichis to hold onto power...

It was under these conditions, i.e. Zahariadis’s chauvinistic anti-Macedonian politics, that Rakovski was returned from the army in order to help consolidate the “new NOF leadership”. And, according to “Nepokoren”, to consolidate NOF-AFZH, the central organs, as a Macedonian people’s organization… as a distinct people, as a self-serving people, as a non-Greek nation that enjoys (should enjoy) full equality with the Greek people who are struggling (should be struggling) organized in their own Macedonian national organizations as they are (must be). NOF and AFZH have (should have) their own Macedonian (not Greek) newspapers and magazines...

Here is the title of the article: “The Communist Party of Greece (CPG) - the organizer, leader and enthusiast of the people’s struggle for social and national freedom.”

Here are the sub-titles: “CPG - Liberator for Social and National Freedom”, “Nikos Zahariadis”, “CPG - defender of the Macedonian people in Hellas”, “The CPG in the help of our people”, “The CPG shows the road to salvation”, “CPG Policy - Principled Policy”.

Unfortunately Kiriazovski calls the article a “glorification”… His bias and non-objectivity does not allow him to see it for what it is… “Not a glorification”… This was an article written on the occasion of the CPG’s 30th anniversary and expressed how we the Macedonians perceived, expected and demanded of the Party and its leadership...

What I did, of course, did not please Zahariadis and our Greek friends at the top of the CPG and DAG leaderships, and soon I was booted out. Once again I was suspended from the secretariat and sent to the Gramos front to fight as an ordinary DAG fighter. After that I was sent to prison under accusations that I was a dangerous and active “Macedonian nationalist”…

These were the facts...

15.

Kiriazovski wrote: “Pavle Rakovski has argued that the NOF central agitation and propaganda department was liquidated by the CPG, which is not true…! It was not liquidated. Zahariadis made personnel changes and removed the people who were suspected of being influenced by Yugoslavia... The department was not only not liquidated, it was expanded and its publishing activities were increased, as Rakovski himself claimed elsewhere.

“Furthermore, Rakovski has stated that the Macedonian school for teachers was abolished. This was another of Rakovski’s fabrications. The teacher’s course was abolished because the children were evacuated to neighbouring democracies in March 1948, where similar courses and seminars were organized…!” (Page 294.)

Rakovski claimed and claims:

That the Macedonian central agitation and propaganda department was dissolved or liquidated in order to be replaced with a new Greek chauvinistic and supremacist agitation and propaganda department that would work and publish material relevant to Greek interests…

The Macedonian school for teachers was abolished, liquidated, in order to be replaced by a Greek supremacist Macedonian look-alike school…

It is true that after the evacuation of the Macedonian children similar schools were established in the Eastern European countries where Macedonian children were sent. But the way things were actually done undoubtedly shows that:

Even outside of Greece, the Greek communists, like all other Greeks, made sure that the Macedonian people were not represented for who they were. In fact the 28,000 Macedonian refugee children, the Macedonian fighters and the Macedonian people in general were represented as “Greek political emigrants” with Greek names when they arrived in the Eastern European countries. The CPG leaders went as far as creating a special alphabet, different from the Macedonian alphabet, for their “Slavophone Greeks”... What this means should be very clear and does not need a comment.

The MACEDONIAN side and the GREEK-SUPREMICIST (Grkoman) side are two diametrically opposed concepts and realities, mutually exclusive from one another. One is a negation of the other. The Grkomani cannot be Macedonians and vice versa. Naturally without knowing the “hard reality” about this, it is better for a person to keep quiet and not engage in discussions about these things...

16.

Kiriazovski wrote: “In regard to the reaction of the Macedonians in Voden Region... against the NOF-CPG merging agreement as was carried out in November 1946, Rakovski simply and without much thought argued that the agreement was not NOF’s work, but that the leadership was allegedly given a directive from above. Rakovski alluded to the fact that the directive allegedly came from the CPY. Here Pavle Rakovski was playing with very dangerous misinformation. The most cruel misinformation is that the Yugoslav leadership gave the NOF leadership a directive, with no discussion, to unite with the CPG (of course, this is arbitrary, a fabrication, with no evidence to confirm it). But the truth is completely different. The

Communist Party of Yugoslavia’s leadership, in the interests of the struggle, suggested to NOF that it settle with the CPG and unite its forces under conditions acceptable to both sides. In fact, Pavle Rakovski himself and other NOF leaders have written in their reports about the CPG’s failure to comply with the agreement. What this means is that if there was a direct order and not an agreement, then there could not have been a place for negotiations and an agreement…” (p. 291)

Rakovski wrote: It is hard for me to understand why they would want to distort history. Namely, the truth is exactly that… the truth. The agreement was not “negotiated” by NOF’s leadership. It was communicated down to the NOF leadership (to the secretariat) as a directive from above, both from the CPM, CPY and from the CPG. The “agreement” and other relevant issues were worked out between the two Communist Parties (Tempo-Ververis-Zimas, Tempo-Siantos, Tsvetko Uzunovski-Leonidas Stringos, Mitrevski-Zahariadis, etc.) and openly published, so it makes no sense in this case to make it a secret. It is well-known that Mitrevski followed the CPY/CPM Central Committee’s direction and instructions when he was negotiating the establishment of the disrupted combat unity between the Greek and Macedonian revolutionary movements with the Greek side, i.e. between the CPG and NOF. Here is one of those published reports by Mitrevski on how the negotiations and the difficulties that were encountered took place: