PRO-FO 608 44

PRO-FO 608/44

(1480) James D. Bourchier, a prominent British public figure and journalist was a great friend of Macedonia from as early as 1903. He continued his pro- Macedonian activity after the Ilinden Uprising. He was also active at the time of the Paris Peace Conference and interceded in favour of a just solution to the Macedonian Question. The result of that activity was also this Memorandum sent to British political circles. Here we reproduce the integral text of the Memorandum.

(1481) The author of this Memorandum has been determined according to the data in the documentation file (PRO-FO 608/44).

(Pages 651-652, The University of “Cyril and Methodius”, Documents on the Struggle of the Macedonian People for Independence and a Nation-State, Volume I)

APPEAL TO THE MACEDONIAN PEOPLE (1482)

March 9th, 1919

1. Following all that it has experienced, the Macedonian population, regardless of nationality and faith, has a firm and determined desire to preserve its country complete and undivided as an autonomous political unit in the Balkans within its natural Balkan boundaries upon the following basis: Solun as the common centre, the Vardar valley, Skopje and Bitola with their economic hinterland. The Macedonian population is prepared to confirm openly this striving for a peaceful and free life through a plebiscite as soon as the interested administrations are removed.

2. The state established in this way should be granted self-government and equal rights for all peoples, regardless of number, and there should be no spiritual or political institutions which would give advantage to anyone of them or would arouse suspicion or fear from nourishing separatist tendencies or aspirations.

3. Until it is organized and strengthened internally and until the disputes and passions just beginning to calm down are fully outgrown between the various nationalities which have all the necessary conditions to live in peace and brotherhood - if they could only free themselves from outside influence - the future autonomous Macedonia should be given firm international guarantees for its lasting neutrality and should be placed under international protection against any acquisitive aspirations from outside, so that it might take, through this guaranteed existence, its modest place as soon as such a place is provided in the future family of nations.

4. In supporting the aforesaid demands, the Macedonian population is not guided by a feeling of hostility, but by the desire to live and live in peace. Crystallized long since in its national character, none of the nationalities in Macedonia wishes foreign political mastery or dismemberment of the country which, after the secession of the neighbouring Balkan states from Turkey, developed internal commercial centres such as Skopje and Bitola, which were only surpassed by the capitals. So, the Macedonian population in its integrity became a victim of a Balkan policy which externally had a

certain national justification, but which, owing to the geographical location of Macedonia that made it valuable only as a whole, was actually expressed in aspirations for forceful occupation, thus throwing the entire population along with its Balkan brothers into catastrophic self-extermination; now, having shed its blood, ruined and experiencing on two occasions the horror of such a fruitless policy, the population is confronted with the necessity of eliminating once and for all such a policy, starting to live autonomously, independently and in brotherly relations with the related Balkan peoples, should their governments respect Macedonia as a permanent and equal factor in the Balkans. (1483) If these demands indeed the demands of our compatriots everywhere, if they are the ideals of the population of Macedonia as well as our emigrants in Bulgaria, and, if we, the signatories of this appeal, offering our hands fraternally in the name of a national ideal, determined to persevere to the end, have the qualities to represent the former revolutionary organization and serve it faithfully, give us your confidence and give us your support. We shell strive to make this organization again stand on its feet with all its forces preserved. Help us and be prepared to support it at any moment, especially when it will be imperative for it to give an appropriate form to the uncorrupted national forces, in order to direct them towards the tasks and needs of the future, whatever that may be.

March 9th, 1919.

Signed by:

G. Petrov, P. Acev, T. Delivanov, M. Iv. Gerdzikov, Tasko Spasov Serski, A. Lozanchev, D. H. Dimov, D. Ikonomov, Hr. Jankov, Kr. Ljondev, N. Puskarov, Archpriest Tomo Nikolov, Cud. Kantardziev, R. Rizov, G. Skrizevski, P. P. Arsov, Pav. Hristov, Luka Dzerov, M. Skartov, Ar. Ma-ev, St. - V., etc.

Arhiv Vojnoistorijskog instituta JNA, (Beograd) Operatsjiski dnevnik operativniot odelenja Brhoven komand, Kut. 27, Br. 2 kn. 40, 1919, 596.; Apel km Makedonskoto nasilenje i km emigratsiata v Blgarija.

(1482) Immediately after the conclusion of the imperialist First World War, the shattered forces of the Macedonian national liberation movement renewed their activity. The members of the former Seres Regional Committee, as a shaped ideological group on the left, were the first to do so. With their declaration of October 1918, they called for the reaffirmation of the struggle of the Macedonian people in accordance with the principle of autonomy for Macedonia. On the basis of this declaration, an agreement was made between the Seres members and the representatives of the former Internal Revolutionary Organization in western Macedonia for unification of these two wings in the Macedonian national revolutionary movement. The immediate outcome of the unification of these two groups was the proclamation of this Appeal addressed to the Macedonian people. The introductory section of the appeal deals with the standpoint of the group concerning the relevant problems of the Macedonian national liberation movement, and then the political programme is stated in four points.

(1483) Underlined as in the original.

(Pages 652-654, The University of “Cyril and Methodius”, Documents on the Struggle of the Macedonian People for Independence and a Nation-State, Volume I)