Part 29 - The Ilinden Aftermath

Part 29 - The Ilinden Aftermath

Given the dire situation the Macedonian Revolutionary Organization’s (MRO) leadership found itself in at the start of the 20th century it is understandable why it decided to instigate an Uprising but it is quite puzzling as to how it was aiming to achieve its objectives to liberate Macedonia and the Macedonian people from the Ottoman yoke. Although rushed by pressure from the Bulgarian sponsored Vrhovists, an eventual Uprising was imminent but it was difficult to identify factors for a successful outcome. To put it another way, besides not being ready for a long drawn out war against a vastly superior foe, the MRO had no external backing and it was surrounded by enemies. If its intent was to attract Europe’s attention and draw the Great Powers into a conflict with the Ottoman Empire then it did not do a good job of communicating its wishes or if it was given signals from the outside it either misinterpreted them completely or it was mislead. Whatever the case, the Great Powers not only did not come to Macedonia’s aid but were quite surprised by the Uprising and upset about the whole situation. Outside of their own personal non-involvement in Macedonian-Ottoman affairs with regards to the Uprising, the Great Powers urged Macedonia’s neighbours not to get involved. So the message from the outside, particularly from the Great Powers, was loud and clear “liberate yourselves or die trying”. The Ottoman response to the 1903 Ilinden Macedonian National Uprising was both overwhelming and brutal. Entire villages and communities were completely destroyed in order to permanently prevent an Uprising from ever happening again. What was not destroyed by the Ottoman army was pillaged by the Bashibazuks and Albanians. Due to the timing of the Uprising most of the crops could not be harvested and with the approach of winter numerous difficult problems had risen. Unable to cope, a large percentage of the peasant population began to leave the villages and seek refuge in the bigger urban centers, such as Bitola, Prilep and other cities. Many fled Macedonia all together and sought refuge in neighbouring countries such as Greece, Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria or went to more peaceful parts of the Ottoman Empire. Some fled to Austria-Hungary and to other western European countries and about seven to eight thousand fled to North America. (A History of the Macedonian People, Institute of National History, Macedonian Review, Skopje, 1979. page 181) In response to this grave, post-Uprising situation the Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (MRO) turned its attention to saving the people. Immediately after the suppression of the Uprising, the MRO leadership, that is those who survived the Ottoman retaliation, began to organize food and shelter for the destitute population. Unfortunately the difficult situation in Macedonia was made even more difficult by Macedonia’s neighbours Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria through their armed propaganda activities inside Macedonia. Foreign armed band infiltration and activities increased sharply right after the Uprising’s suppression. Sponsored by the neighbouring state governments these bands were dispatched with aims of destroying the MRO along with the Macedonian national revolutionary movement. Through their armed and intense anti-Macedonian propaganda, their goal was to create an atmosphere of fear in the Macedonian population and prepare the groundwork for the conquest and partition of Macedonia. Eliminating the Macedonian peoples’ desire to create a free and independent Macedonia would also make it easier to assimilate the Macedonian people once Macedonia was partitioned. While the Greeks, Serbians and to some extent the Romanians continued to bolster their private, illegal bands of terror in Macedonia, the Bulgarian sponsored Vrhovists continued their infiltration into the MRO with aims of deceiving the people and steering them towards Bulgaria. However in spite of all their efforts, the MRO may have been down but it was not out thanks to the efforts of Yane Sandanski and the Seres Revolutionary District.

Since none of the means employed this far secured the desired results, the Vrhovists organized an attack on Melnik, the Seres Revolutionary District center, in order to destroy Yane Sandanski and his Macedonian insurgents. Fortunately the attack was discovered early enough, which gave the Macedonians the needed time to organize a counter offensive. A fierce battle broke out on April 7th, 1904 near the village Kashna and the Vrhovists were driven back. Even though defeated, the Vrhovist bands continued their activities in Macedonia up until the Young Turk Uprising. After the failed Ilinden Uprising the MRO, in addition to being hunted down by Ottoman authorities and by the Vrhovists, was also confronted by a new form of struggle; Serbian and Greek armed intervention. Benefiting from the Bulgarian sponsored Vrhovist experience, ruling circles in Serbia were hoping to achieve by force of arms what they had failed to achieve through their propaganda. Serbia began its preparations to enter the armed band struggle in Macedonia immediately after the Ilinden Uprising and used some of the declassed elements of the revolutionary movement to achieve penetration into Macedonian territory. Under the direct supervision of high ranking Serbian military and government officials, Serbian band action in Macedonia intensified in 1904 and by 1905 there were eleven illegal Serbian sponsored armed bands operating in Macedonia; totaling more than one hundred fighters. Penetrating systematically from the north towards central Macedonia, their goal was to secure, by force of arms, Serbian dominance in that part of Macedonia in which Serbia had designs so that Serbia could gain an outlet to the Aegean Sea.

When the Ilinden Uprising was over Greek armed bands also started to penetrate Macedonian territories with aims of also securing Greek dominance in the southern region of Macedonia. Greek armed band involvement in Macedonia dates back to before the Ilinden Uprising, but after the Uprising activities became more prevalent. Aiding and providing intelligence information to these foreign armed forces were officials from the foreign churches and schools who were directly sponsored by their respective governments. The Greek armed bands were generously financed by the Greek state budget and, like their rivals the Serbians, Bulgarians and to some extent the Romanians, incurred massive costs. In the course of 1905 more than one thousand armed Greek band members, the majority recruited from Crete, were active in the Bitola Vilayet alone. Greek armed action was particularly violent in the southern parts of Macedonia. These bands employed all available means, including organizing pogroms and burning entire villages to the ground, in order to break the Macedonian people’s resistance. While Greek, Serbian and Bulgarian armed bands operated in Macedonia terrorizing the Macedonian population, actions welcomed by the Ottoman authorities, the Great Powers, Austria-Hungary and Russia in particular had some ideas of their own. Although outwardly their position was to preserve the integrity of the Ottoman Empire, inwardly each hoped that Macedonia would come under their control. To avoid being upstaged and to insure that peace would prevail, the two powers agreed to meet and talk about reforms. A meeting to work out the reforms was scheduled for early October 1903, between Czar Nicholas II of Russia and Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary at Mürzsteg from which later became known as the Mürzsteg Reforms. Based on the British government’s proposals of September 27, 1903 the Reforms basically called for two civilian agents, one from Austria-Hungary and the other from Russia, to be appointed to serve with Chief Inspector Hilmi Pasha. Their responsibility was to ensure the Ottoman administration implemented specific reform programs in the Macedonian Vilayets. The Reforms also called for a foreign general with a number of European officers as his attachés to be appointed to reorganize the Ottoman gendarmerie in Macedonia. Reform of the administration and judiciary and the development of local self-government were also contemplated. The Ottomans were not happy about these imposed reforms and did as much as possible to sabotage them but finally agreed to look into them. General de Giorgis, an Italian, was appointed Commandant of the Gendarmerie and Macedonia was divided into five sectors where foreign officers were established. The Austrians were put in charge of Skopje Sanjak, the Italians of the Bitola Vilayet, the Russians of the Solun Vilayet, the French of Serres Sanjak and the British were put in charge of Drama Sanjak. Unfortunately, as were with many things concerning the Macedonian people, the Mürzsteg Reforms were never implemented as intended and did not meet with Macedonian expectations. And precisely for this reason they were outright condemned by the MRO. The only positive thing about the Reforms was that they affirmed to Europe and to the world the Macedonian people’s struggle for freedom and desire for independence. After the end of the Ilinden Uprising, as mentioned earlier, the MRO found itself in an extremely difficult situation especially when it came to providing for the people who had lost their villages and homes. But in spite of what the MRO did, which obviously was not enough, people experienced untold suffering. The strife took a toll not only on the physical being of the people but also on their faith in the MRO’s ability to solve their problems. The MRO’s leadership was also affected placing blame on itself for the catastrophic situation it had created. Communications between District and Central Committees slowly dwindled and eventually broke down leading to the dissolution of the Central Committee as the leading body of the Organization.

The failed uprising, loss of so many great MRO leaders, the Turkish backlash and now foreign influence was too much for the MRO to bear. The close links with the villages and the ideological differences between isolated MRO branches widened. Although the MRO continued to live, it lacked direction and was on the verge of an ideological collapse. In time however it managed to muster two more congresses. With the advent of Krste Misirkov’s book, a new tide of opinion was spreading throughout Macedonia. Misirkov warned against falling under the influence of the chauvinistic elements and recommended taking a more nationalistic approach in order to weed out the Bulgarian sponsored Vrhovist and conservative elements in the Organization. At the Prilep Congress held in May 1904, the MRO was re-vitalized and its independence reasserted. The most significant developments to emerge from this Congress were MRO's ability to shed itself of its conservative elements and to adopt a resolution to decentralize the organization and give more power to the sub-districts. Unfortunately this Congress literally split MRO into two ideologically polarized halves. While the more progressive MRO faction adopted a defensive strategy, the Vrhovists pursued a policy of renewed confrontation. The two factions continued to masquerade under the same banner and were headed for a showdown. The showdown materialized in November of 1905 at the Rila Monastery near the Macedonian-Bulgarian border and took the form of a General Congress. There was a single item of paramount importance on the agenda, to determine the direction of the Organization. Twenty-two elected delegates in total attended the Rila Congress and by secret vote the more progressive faction came out victorious. As a result of the Rila Congress a rulebook was issued proclaiming the aims of the Central Committee, which basically called for:

1. Creating an autonomous and independent Macedonia. 2. Achieving this by means of a united national front, over a long period of revolutionary activity. 3. Resisting all foreign interference

There was one more safeguard added that is worth mentioning. The MRO now possessed the capacity to recall a rebellion by a 75% majority vote of its delegates. They could only be nominated from regional sub-committees within Macedonia; a safeguard that guaranteed there would be no more interference from Sofia and the Vrhovists. Defeated at the Rila Congress, the Vrhovists took up permanent residence in Sofia and continued to wage a terrorist war on the MRO leadership. Both Nikola Karev in 1905 and Damjan Gruev in 1906 were indirectly eliminated by terrorist acts of the Vrhovists. Bulgarian interference in Macedonia not only damaged the revolutionary movement but also put fear in the civilian population, ripening conditions for Balkan intervention. Greece and later Serbia were quick to take advantage of a weak MRO and a frightened population. With the assistance of the Turkish military they were able to step up armed propaganda campaigns inside Macedonia. The aim was to kill two birds with one stone. By being the eyes and ears of the Turks, the Greek clergy spied on the Macedonians and disclosed information to Turkish authorities. The Turkish military in turn, stepped up activities to eradicate the remnants of the insurgents and their leaders. At the same time, in the midst of terror, the same Greek spies were offering Macedonians Hellenism as a way to salvation. "No one can deny that the Greeks owed much to the Turks. Indeed the victory of the Turks in 1903 was the salvation of Hellenism in Macedonia. From the outset the Greek clergy and notables devised means of passing information to the Turks. The Turkish authorities on their side welcomed this support." (Pages 118-119, Dakin, The Greek Struggle in Macedonia 1897-1913) The most notorious of the Greek clergy was the Metropolitan of Kostur, Archbishop Germanos Karavangelis. Karavangelis was sent to Macedonia by the Patriarch Constantine V who favoured the Athenian (the most nationalist) style of Hellenism and selected Karavangelis as the right man to do the job. Dakin portrays Karavangelis as a charismatic and capable figure of a man that is a credit to the human race. (Pages 119-127, The Greek Struggle in Macedonia 1897-1913) That, however, is far from the truth. Karavangelis was a ruthless killer and a disgrace to the Christian religion. Karavangelis was personally responsible for the assassination of hundreds of Macedonian patriots including priests, notables, teachers and MRO leaders. He was also personally responsible for Hellenizing hundreds of Macedonian villages by force and by sheer terror. Karavangelis' first priority after accepting the post as Metropolitan of Kostur was to raise an army. He couldn't import one, the Great Powers were watching, so he resorted to purchasing one. The most pliable and feeble-minded man who would sell his soul for gold was the self styled brigand Kote of Rula "the darling of Athens". Kote sold out his own people for Greek gold. From being the most revered Cheta leader, Kote became the most hated man in Macedonia. When Karavangelis decided who was to die, Kote became the executioner. In addition to regular pay for murder, Kote and his band of no-goods received additional rewards of gold coins for turning in desired body parts from their victims. While Kote was doing the murdering in the Macedonian villages, Karavangelis, in person with Turkish escorts, was Hellenizing them. Nothing and no one could stand in his way. Those who Karavangelis couldn't buy or bribe were killed. "By containing and fragmenting the Internal Organization in Western Macedonia, Kota (Kote) and Karavangelis not only caused the projected rising to be continually postponed but they also caused it to be undertaken prematurely; and eventually they both contributed towards its defeat and failure. True, most of the recorded action (the arrests, searches and attacks on villages and bands) were carried out by the Turks, but the Turks nearly always acted on information supplied by Karavangelis or his agents.

It was Karavangelis again who prevailed upon the Turks to attack Smardeshi (Smurdersh) on 9/22 May 1903." (Page 132, Dakin, The Greek Struggle in Macedonia 1897-1913) “After the Ilinden rising of August 1903, it was Karavangelis who, escorted by 600 Turkish soldiers, visited the villages, celebrating mass, speaking to the villagers and calling upon them to surrender arms. The result was that even such strongholds as Aposkepos (Aposkep), Zagoritsani (Zagoricheni) and Gabresi (Gabresh), which only a few months before had declared themselves Exarchist, now returned to the Patriarchist fold. Without the support of the Turks, it is doubtful whether Karavangelis's work would have been successful. It is equally doubtful, however, whether but for the activities of the Patriarchist counter-movement, the Turkish authorities could have dealt such a decisive blow to the Internal Organization (MRO)." (Page 135, Dakin, The Greek Struggle in Macedonia 1897-1913) Even my own small village Oshchima didn't escape the hand of Karavangelis. It was a Sunday morning when Georgios Tsantos (Varda) and his gang came to Oshchima looking to murder Pop Giorgi Popov. On the way they ran into a young man named Yane Dzhigerov who was taking his mule to pasture. It is unknown what transpired but the young man was found dead, with his throat cut. After killing Yane, Varda broke into Oshchima's Svety Nikola Church and killed Pop Giorgi by stabbing him multiple times. He then skinned the beard off his face and cut off his blessing finger. Varda was prepared to kill many more had it not been for the Oshchimian Cheta led by Bozhin Temov who drove Varda and his hoodlums out of Oshchima at gunpoint. Pop Giorgi Popov's beard and finger were delivered to Karavangelis in exchange for gold. With regards to Kote from Rula, greed was stronger than loyalty. Lazo Pop Ttrajkov, an usher at Kote's wedding and a man who twice saved Kote's life, was on Karavangelis's hit list. After a skirmish with the Turks in Mariovo, word was out that MRO leader Lazo Pop Trajkov had received a wound on the head and was on the run. Kote caught up to him at Turtska Polena in Oshchima and after a long chat the two men said their goodbyes and Kote left. On his way to Zhelevo, Kote sent some Zhelevtsi to kill and decapitate Lazo. Lazo's head was taken to Karavangelis to collect the reward. Lazo's headless body was buried behind the altar in Sveti Nikola Church in Oshchima. The ultimate disgrace for Karavangelis came after the massacre of the village Zagoricheni. Refusing to bend to Hellenism, Zagoricheni, on direct orders from Karavangelis, was massacred to the last person the Greeks could lay their hands on, including the unborn children inside the wombs of pregnant women. Witnesses reported finding bodies of pregnant women with their abdomens cut open. The survivors who escaped the atrocity refused to bury the dead bodies of their neighbours until they were seen by foreign dignitaries. For days the dead were guarded until the European consuls in Bitola came to witness the atrocities for themselves. Here is what Brailsford had to say; "The chef d'oevre of this Hellenic campaign was achieved at Zagoricheni, a large Bulgarian village (author's note: Macedonian village, there were no Bulgarian villages inside Macedonia) near Klissoura, which, like Mokreni, took a leading part in the uprising of 1903, and like Mokreni was burned by the Turks. A Greek band, which is said to have numbered over two hundred men under three Greek officers in uniform, surprised it by night (April 6-7, 1905) by using bugle calls which led the villagers to suppose that Turkish regulars were manoeuvering in the neighbourhood. They burned ten houses, and twenty-eight of the temporary homes erected amid the ruins of the last conflagration. They wounded seven persons and killed no less than sixty, among them seven women, twenty-two persons over sixty years of age, and five children under fifteen. There was a good deal of evidence to show that the local Turkish authorities were privy to this massacre, and some circumstances seemed to include the Archbishop of Castoria (Kostur).

It is quite clear that no conflict or provocation preceded what was simply a deliberate massacre, and the only reason for choosing Zagoricheni was that it was an eager and patriotic Bulgarian center, and that it disobeyed the summons of the Greek Archbishop to return to the Patriarch fold." (Pages 216-217, Macedonia its Races and their Future) After the massacre when it was discovered that Karavangelis was implicated, to escape punishment the cowardly Archbishop of Kostur fled to Sveta Gora (Holy Mountain) where he spent two years in hiding before fleeing to Austria. Today there is a statue of Karavangelis in Kostur to commemorate his great contributions to Hellenism. The Roumanie of Bucharest has published the text of a circular found by the Turks in some documents seized on the person of a Greek prisoner. It reads like a genuine Greek document, and its authenticity has not been questioned by the Greek organs. It is said to bear the seal of the Greek Committee. (Remember there were no Bulgarians or "Bulgars" in Macedonia). It read as follows: "Brave defenders of Hellenism, I address you today in order to express the gratitude which the entire nation feels for all you have done and will yet do on behalf of the Fatherland. Continue the struggle against the Bulgarian assassins, and neglect no means of proving to the whole world that Macedonia is purely Greek. Exterminate the priests, the teachers, and the notables who compose the Bulgarian Committees. It is at length time to put in practice the saying: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. When it is a question of taking vengeance we must not spare the Bulgarians, even when they hide under the robes of a priest. Burn, shoot, assassinate, and purify the soil of Macedonia from all that is Exarchist. The Supreme Panhellenic Committee has decided to intensify the struggle by making use of your arms, O valiant combatants, and if for some time past the Committee has hardly seemed equal to the occasion, the reason is that official Greece hesitates. But what is official Greece to us, when we have the approbation of the whole Hellenic world? Forward, then, until you have wiped out the last Bulgarian in our Macedonia. Your names will be inscribed in letters of fire in the annals of the race. May Heaven grant that the day be near when the sun of Hellenism will shine on Macedonia; then there will be peace for us and for the Turks, with whom we stand on the best of terms. Let our motto be: Purge Macedonia of the Bulgars." A quote from M. Gaulis' admirable paper, La Macedoine. (Page 217, Brailsford, Macedonia its Races and their Future) Macedonians were well acquainted with the murderous activities of the Bulgarian sponsored Vrhovists whose new waves of terrorist bands began to penetrate the eastern borders of Macedonia in March of 1904. Fortunately Yane Sandanski's forces were still in control of the Pirin district and more often than not, successfully repealed Bulgarian advances. In the west bands of young Turks, who deserted the army during the Ilinden rebellion, joined Albanian gangs, looting and killing indiscriminately.