EXPLANATION - Part 01

EXPLANATION

Included in the material available to the Court at the hearing for the crime I was convicted of were the indictment, statements made by the other defendants, statements made by the witnesses, and the public prosecutor’s speech. In addition to having a lot of untruths presented about my crimes, my political past was also presented to the Court, but in the darkest of colour, to prejudice my case and to contribute to a tougher sentence. Because of that, I consider it necessary to separately answer to each charge. At the hearing I was restricted from speaking and my defense was limited, especially during the final summation, and thus my side of the story, the truth, was not presented. Now I would like to begin in a chronological order with my political past first, because it was made part of the process, even though I think it was not that important.

I was involved in politics in old Yugoslavia, for which I was persecuted from 1929 to 1941. I was punished and imprisoned many times... In the period from 1935 to 1939, I was a “Machek” supporter because Machek was a federalist. He was in support of a Yugoslav federation, and I too was a federalist, struggling for the Macedonian people’s political and national rights and their economic protection. In 1939, Machek gave up on the Yugoslav federation, and for that reason I gave up on him. I remained a federalist. One year later, after he was elected vice-president in the government, I was sent to jail twice and spent nine months behind bars. Twice I was charged under the State Protection Act and, the second time, I would have been convicted and sent to jail for many years, but due to old Yugoslavia’s capitulation, I was saved. At that time I was in jail in Baina Bashta. On April 15, 1941, the Intercity Military Court had twice sentenced me to face the firing squad, once by the gendarmerie and the second time by the military police, but thanks to the intervention of a number of loyal citizens, I was saved at the last moment.

When I returned from Baina Bashta to Skopje in 1941, I was summoned by the Macedonian National Committee, which supported the existence of a Macedonian territory but with a Bulgarian nationality. Stefan Stefanov was its president. The Committee appointed Anastasov, a lawyer from Kavadartsi, to

explain to me the situation and to convince me to cooperate with the Bulgarian authorities because Macedonia, according to him, had now united with Bulgaria. My answer, in the presence of Matov and Engineer Tsvetko, was that I would not cooperate with the Bulgarian authorities because I do not feel like a Bulgarian. I am a Macedonian, and because of that it was important for me to unite the whole of Macedonia and gain national rights for the Macedonian people. This conversation took place on April 26, 1941, and that was my first and last contact with Stefan Stefanov and the Macedonian National Committee. Kiro Platnik knows this well.

Because of this, and for other reasons, I fell out of favour with the Bulgarian authorities. When the war between Germany and the Soviet Union began, Bulgarian agents forbade me from listening to news broadcast from Radio London. At the same time, they were looking for evidence to connect me with communist students who cooperated politically with me and, among others, Kuzman Iosifovski. One day Kuzman came to my store and not recognizing that there were enemy agents there, turned on the radio and began to listen to the London broadcast. In order to save his life, because he did not know the agents were there, I suddenly turned off the radio and, without an explanation, told him to go away. He left surprised. But the next day I explained to him that I had done that to save him. He told me that he was grateful for that.

The first communist flyers were distributed in Prilep on Petrovden in 1941. Because of that, myself, my brother Nikola and Blagoi Popov, the current public prosecutor, were simultaneously arrested on the same day and sent to prison. Immediately after my arrest enemy agents went to my store looking for Kuzman Iosifovski who was expected to come to the bazaar and look for me in my store. But my assistants saved him and since then Kuzman has fled the city and joined the partisans. As for me, I was imprisoned four times, one time I was interned in a prison camp. I was freed in September 1943. After that I received a hand-written letter, delivered by Comrade Draga (wife of public prosecutor Nikola Vlazhalsky), with a request to meet Kuzman Iosifovski in Skopje. At the meeting, among other things, we decided that I should join the partisans, and with the connections that Kuzman gave me, I went to Debartsa. Then, on Ilinden in 1944, I was elected president of ASNOM.

From Ilinden, August 2, 1944 to April 16, 1945, I was part of the ASNOM Presidium and part of the legislative body in the people’s government. As a people’s representative and as President of the Presidium, I had the right and it was my duty to propose ideas and to make corrections where necessary. And in my opinion I did that with best intentions. At that time, some of my suggestions were not accepted, but they were neither arbitrary nor unlawful. On the other hand, no decision was made on my part that would be deemed unlawful. However, the suggestions I made at that time were later viewed by the Court as hostile “disagreements” and I was indicted because of them.

The Court characterized these “disagreements” as acts against FPRY internal and external policies, so my indictment and the verdict reached were based on “my disagreement with FPRY internal and foreign policies.” From the testimonies given by witness Traiko Beshoski and defendants Nedelko, Boris and Mitre, one can see that there are differences and contradictions, especially in the untrue statements made by the defendants. Clearly these untrue statements were given in order to avoid punishment. For example:

Defendant Nedelko Makreski said that I wanted to go to Greece in order to organize troops and to fight against the FPRY. To prove that this testimony is not true all we have to do is compare it to the testimony given by witness Traiko Beshoski, who was my opponent, and who, among other things, said: “Metodia Andonov-Chento told me that he did not want to shed a single drop of blood for Macedonia and that he was looking to immediately leave for Solun by ship.” In fact in my conversation with him I told Nedelko that once I arrive in Solun I would look for ways go to America and he too agreed to come with me. The idea that I was organizing an armed unit can be disproved by the fact that I have never been a terrorist in my entire life and that I do not know what is required to organize such an act. On the other hand, I am well-aware that a person cannot conquer a country with just an armed unit of ten men, even if they wanted to. I explained the reasons to Nedelko why I wanted to leave but those reasons were completely twisted.

Boris Zagoranliev testified that I told him why I intended to emigrate, that I gave him a draft copy of the project on the constitution so that he could see for himself why I had resigned and why I had decided to emigrate. But the allegations made that I wanted to go to Paris to the Peace Conference with aims at uniting Macedonia as a protectorate of some Great Power, was just a story. And so were the allegations made that if I did not succeed at the Paris Peace Conference, then I would return to Greece and violently unite the People’s Republic of Macedonia with Aegean Macedonia in a federation with Greece. The idea that, after all that, I also suggested to him that he leave with me, was another story.

It is true, I did tell Boris that I wanted to leave. We talked about it and he wanted us both to leave together, but later, in a second conversation, I told him I had decided against it. It is true that I gave him a draft copy of the project on the constitution, and in connection with that we touched on the idea of unifying Macedonia. Namely, apart from Trieste, the unification of Macedonia could have been brought before the Paris Peace Conference, but not just by me. It is also true that I told him that if I was out of the country (Yugoslavia) during the Conference, I would support Macedonia’s unification and self-determination, but never did I ever say that Macedonia should be a protectorate of a Great Power, or if I did not succeed at the Conference then I would struggle to unite the People’s Republic of Macedonia with Aegean Macedonia in a federation with Greece by means of violence.

One can also look at these problems using logic and common sense. If a problem is not solved at a Peace Conference, then it will never be solved, neither with violence nor with Greek help. Greece had no authority or the military might to take the People’s Republic of Macedonia away from Yugoslavia. I believe every conscious person can see that. I can’t believe or tolerate the stupidity that is put before me.

Mitre Mitrevski testified that, on the day before I left, I had told him that I would across the Greek border. That I would put my head in a bag and that it did not turn out as I thought... I don’t remember exactly what I told him but even if I said that, I don’t think that this can be considered espionage. “I will put my head in a bag,” of

course, was the risk I was going to take in crossing the Greek border, and “it did not turn out as I thought,” is true, because I never thought that my life would be in danger in my Macedonia.

Witness Traiko Beshoski testified that I told him that I wanted to flee to Solun, find a man who would be willing to transport me across the Greek border, and from Solun I would leave with an American ship before the start of the Paris Peace Conference so that I could commit to the unification of Macedonia. And that, there I would be able to unite Macedonia with help from England and America, without a drop of blood. He also testified that, in addition, the profits from the tobacco should be put in our wallet.

Beshoski’s testimonies are almost true, because he has covered the gist of what was said but not completely to exact the truth out of them. There were certain changes to certain words which I don’t think were intentionally made but, on the other hand, these changes were to my detriment. There are also very important words which were said in our conversation that he neglected to mention in his testaments. These words point to the truth. These words referred to the unification in connection to Russia, England and America.

Namely, there was no longer a need for a war. Macedonia can be united under peaceful means which will be best for everyone. I personally don’t want to shed a drop of blood for Macedonia. But in order to unite Macedonia, first of all, there is need for consent from the Great Powers. Russia recognizes our problems but it is not enough, because our problems need to also be recognized by both England and America. But in order to achieve this we need to and are obliged to stand, especially now, before the Peace Conference and demand our right to self-determination.

Because I had no right to directly cross-examine the witness during the trial, I tried to ask my questions indirectly, through the Court president. I asked him to ask the witness what we discussed in relation to the Great Powers. Regarding this the Court president said: “The old man does not remember anything about that.” Beshoski did not answer and an important part of our conversation remained unclear. As for the wallet and the tobacco, it is not a secret, because I made a written proposal for this to be included in

the project for the constitution. Now, looking back at the entire conversation I had with Beshoski, I don’t think there is anything there that can be deemed espionage...

This is also what Metodia Andonov-Chento wrote in his appeal, after his family’s request for pardon was rejected by the Presidium (1947):

A gang of ten people was mentioned in the indictment, but not to the investigative authorities or to the public prosecutor’s office. What is true and what are lies? What kind of gang were they talking about? Only those who said this know about it. Personally I know nothing about this nor have I heard anything from anyone about such a gang. Look through the Court records, examine my conversations with the defendants and with the witness and you will find that no such subject was ever discussed. I did want to go to Solun and then leave Greece. It would be illogical for me to leave Greece if I had any connection to any gang I was supposed to lead inside Greece. And why would it be necessary for me to cross the Greek border with a gang and declare war on Yugoslavia from the outside? Why couldn’t I do the same thing from inside?

Given that the existence of a gang was mentioned, isn’t it strange that not a single gang member’s name was mentioned? Even though this information was very important to the Court, isn’t it strange that no place was ever mentioned where this gang congregated or resided and from where were its members? And finally, a year and a half after I was sent to jail, there is still no trace of such a gang, and no evidence that I had some kind of relationship with it.

Witness Petre Talev testified that when I was president of the GNO in Prilep, I refused to allow some of my customers to come to my store. He also testified that I was against the one time tax. However, when I was president I did sign and approve that tax. The only suggestion I made was to correct existing mistakes, specifically the way Strumitsa was taxed to pay 3 million while Prilep was taxed with 149 million, and the thinking was that it should have been taxed 170 million leva. The tax levied on some companies was very heavy and on the one in which I was the levy was very light. So, I proposed that the tax on this company (even though it was to my

detriment) be raised from 300 thousand to 1 million. My proposal was happily accepted and approved, especially by Secretary Kole Chashule. One company, having no money to pay the tax, paid it with gold but at that time there was no fixed value for the gold. A week later the company came up with the money and went to the tax office to pay its taxes and retrieve its gold. Petre asked me what to do. I told him that, in my opinion, if the company paid its taxes in full with money then its gold should be returned. However, my advice was not accepted. But even if it had been accepted it would have caused no harm.

The honest thing to do for Kiro Platnik would have been to tell the Court that, for two years my store was sending food and other needs to the partisans in Prilep, for which I was sent to jail four times. And another thing, if I was his enemy why then did Kuzman Iosifovski have a meeting with me in 1943 in Skopje? A paid informer maliciously betrayed my intervention with deadly consequences. I spoke publicly about this in the National Assembly on April 15, 1945, after which I was elected President of the Presidium. Witness Risto Baialski, a national representative, testified that he attacked me during a meeting and then maliciously rejected a proposal I made for the project on the constitution which was not a secret, and which was not a criminal offense.

In his closing statement the public prosecutor repeated all the points in the indictment and all the statements made by the defendants and witnesses, whether they were true or not. Among other things, he went over my political life in old Yugoslavia and my connections with Machek and Dragoliub, and those with Stefanov and Kuzman Iosifovski Pitu. I have already said enough about my connections with Machek, Stefanov and Kuzman. As for Dragoliub, all I can say is that in old Yugoslavia I had links with certain progressive Macedonian students, among whom was public prosecutor Blagoi Popovski. It would have been the decent thing to do for Popovski if he mentioned that he and I were among the first people to be arrested on Petrovden and imprisoned during the occupation in 1941.

Generally speaking, the verdict, with a severe punishment for me, was based on this material, whether it was true or not. Analyzed

objectively one can establish a legal offense for attempting to flee by crossing a border illegally. But in no case was there an attempt, an objective, an act of espionage, an aim for armed struggle, a purpose for secession of land from Yugoslavia, an accession with Greece, or for Macedonia to be a protectorate of a foreign power.

From all this, one can conclude that Macedonia’s unification is of great interest to me and that, in my opinion, is the best and correct solution. I consider this to be “our right to self-determination” which I support and would have supported if I were abroad, as an immigrant.

I don’t hide this because I consider it to be my duty. I proposed that Macedonia’s unification be discussed during the project and to be included in the constitution, referring to all three parts of Macedonia, and not just the People’s Republic of Macedonia as an exclusive part.

My basic and justifiable reasons, which led me to want to leave this country, in a moment of weakness, are as follows: One can find something specific in every politician. That was the case with me. I had points of view for some things that were different than those of my comrades. One such case was my view on the project for drafting the constitution. I prepared a written proposal, an amendment, requesting to introduce rights to self-determination and to provide the national republics with more freedom to manage their economic sector. Because of this, and because of some other earlier differences, but not necessarily illegitimate or unlawful, a negative campaign was started against me.

I wanted to avoid conflict among ourselves, not so much for me, but for our political interests in general, because I was the President of the Presidium. To do that I took measures to curb this campaign against me and to stop it from spreading. Unfortunately on March 7, 1946 while attending a Main Board Conference of the People’s Front in Skopje, 12 people maliciously attacked me, accusing me of many untrue things. Among other things, I was accused of being an opponent of the agrarian law. However, my view on this law was as follows: I proposed that we leave one hectare of land to those landowners who had more than 25 hectares so that they could work

and provide a living for themselves. My view on this was well known to all the members of the Presidium. In practice this proved that I was right. Some time after I resigned, the central law in this regard was changed. After that, among other things, I was attacked and accused of being a friend of the IRZ, of the Germans and of Jemo’s gang, while all of Macedonia knew, and those who attacked me also knew very well, that I had fought against the IRZ, against the Germans and against Jemo. Among other things, I was also attacked for proposing constitutional amendments. I was told: “We will expel you from office.”

I believe I am an honest and conscientious person but with all these untrue charges leveled against me I could no longer function and the most sensible thing left for me to do was to resign and withdraw from political life altogether.

After I resigned I returned to Prilep thinking that I would have a peaceful life, provide for my family and that should not bother anyone because I was no longer in any authority. Unfortunately my assumptions proved to be wrong. As a result of what took place at the Main Board Conference of the People’s Front in Skopje, things in Prilep took a fateful turn for the worse. Most devastating of all were the following: a ban was placed on people shopping at my store; the union would not allow me to purchase beer even though I had the right to sell it; at the People’s Assembly, Platnik and Baialski intimidated those people who visited my store; the villages were agitated so that the villagers would not come to shop in my store, this was especially done by President Traiko from the village Beshishte. A street in Bitola that carried my name was changed. The change in itself did not mean anything, but the comments and attacks against me that came with it were very hurtful and demeaning.

Milan Ianevski, a watchmaker from Prilep, told me to my face that the government authorities would destroy me. But I did not pay attention to Milan’s warning even though, at that time, he had five sons who were important political officials in the government. Lazo Cheshlar told me that “like we killed the Trotskyists, we will kill you too.” But, I never did give any serious importance to Lazo’s

warning, even though he had a son who was chief of security in Prilep.

A couple of times my store was branded as “an anti-government gathering place”, the first time was during old Yugoslavia and the second time was during the occupation. During these times my customers were intimidated and punished for gathering there. But I never thought that my shop would be attacked and my customers chastised for a third time, and especially by the Assembly of the People’s Republic of Macedonia.

During the Bulgarian occupation, the Serbians of old Yugoslavia intimidated me with threats of murder, but I never thought that Macedonians too would threaten me with murder.

These are only a few of the factors, viewed from an economic and political point of view, that led me to resign and to want to flee Macedonia, to leave my hometown, my father’s home, to leave my wife and four little children to an uncertain destiny, and to risk my own life.

When Ian Hus was burning in the fire, an old woman, who was unable to bring a bigger piece of wood, brought only a stick and placed it on the fire, to fulfill her holy duty. Her descendants I have felt in myself.

During the hearing, I was questioned by the Court as to why I wanted to flee just before the Paris Peace Conference, why I wanted to go to Greece and from there to America, and why I was going to look for Petre Sokolovski in Solun, whom the prosecutor described as a revolutionary.

I thought I would go to Greece because it was the closest border to here, and because in Karadzhova I knew some Macedonians who would secretly take me to Solun, where I also knew people who would help me leave with UNRA for America. There I had Macedonian friends and relatives who were prepared to help me so that I didn’t depend politically on anyone except my own conviction.

I thought I would secretly travel through Greece because I was afraid of the Greek government because here, at public rallies, I publicly condemned the Greek regime for perpetrating terror tactics against the Macedonian people. If I did not find any of the people I knew there, then I thought of looking for Petre Sokolovski because he, from age 15, was a clerk at the Solun port and knew the movement of ships. As a person from Prilep, I thought that he would help me, but all that was up to him. If he did not help me, I thought at least he would not betray me to the Greek government. I knew about his political past. He was disgraced during the January sixth dictatorship and, as a result of that, he went to live in Solun.

The Paris Peace Conference was also mentioned during the trial but its timing was only a coincidence. Whether or not the Peace Conference was taking place, I was forced to leave because of the above-stated reasons, but not as a spy. Being inside Macedonia or out, I always had the same vision for our unification and for our right to self-determination. I was all for unification and for the right of our people in all three parts of Macedonia to freely decide their own destiny of their own free will. But in no case did I have any ambitions for a secession of the People’s Republic of Macedonia from Yugoslavia and for unification with Greece.

I consider it necessary to mention at this point that, if someone was a spy, then they would have been prepared to endure all humiliation and would not give up on their mission. They would fight by all means possible to successfully achieve their goal. Another thing, during the one and a half years after I was imprisoned many changes were made in the FNRY, and especially in Macedonia. If there was anything about any espionage on my part that would have given support to the untrue statements made against me, traces of it would have been found. Where is the evidence to support espionage?

At the end of the verdict, it was said: the punishment was made stricter because Chento did not show any remorse.

And how could I have repented about some things that I did not do, or did not mean to do!

I think my verdict may have been different if I was allowed to speak freely and point to a letter published in the American newspaper “People’s will”, as well as to call on three other witnesses Traiko, President of Beshishte, Milan and Lazo from Prilep to testify on my behalf and show how my life was being threatened. Do you not find it strange that all the witnesses invited to testify at my trial were my opponents and all of them spoke against me with aims at clouding the truth? In any case, of the six witnesses that came before the court, three confirmed my allegations. Hence, it should be appreciated that I was telling the truth without having the ability to cross examine the existing witnesses or to call on new witnesses, that truth was muddied.

From all that I wrote above, I hope that the Supreme Court will see that, in all I have done, I am not guilty of espionage and that I have the right to be pardoned. I hope justice will prevail.

Skopje, December 4, 1947

Courteously, Metodia Andonov-Chento Convict at the penitentiary in Skopje

Metodia Andonov-Chento’s appeal was not accepted. The Supreme Court of Macedonia did nothing for him except confirm the Skopje District Court’s decision. The explanation given was that “Chento was convicted of espionage, a criminal offense against the FPRY, and such persons are exempt from being pardoned by the Decree”. The explanation also said that, “one should not look for a sharp and narrow interpretation under the word espionage, and demand that the person be tried according to Article 3, item 10 of the Law on Crimes against the People and against the State”.

Chento, however, was not satisfied with the explanation he received from the Supreme Court of Macedonia and requested a clarification of Article 3 of this Law. He wanted to know which point in the law deemed him a spy. His request was also sent to the Presidium of the National Assembly of Yugoslavia, but this request never reached its destination, and he never received an answer to the question he asked.

Sometime after his trial, Chento’s case file was closed, practically forever. According to statements made by his contemporaries and witnesses, it was suggested to him that if he wanted to be released from his sentence then he should petition for forgiveness. In other words, accept the charges leveled against him, plead guilty, repent and promise to never again engage in politics... Chento, however, did not want to do that and remained true to his position. He did not want to humiliate himself by disrespecting the truth, especially the facts he offered at the trial and the statements he made in his appeals. He was still puzzled and no one offered him an explanation as to why the first appeal was never made on time before the deadline expired. He was also puzzled as to why his wife did not deliver the appeal to the Court herself. The reasons for this remained unknown to him, although there are many versions of the story. There are also many versions of the story regarding his second appeal.

“I was convicted of crimes that I neither thought of, spoke of, nor committed,” wrote Chento. Later, after he resigned from the presidency and returned to Prilep, Chento was thrust into isolation, both economic and personal. He faced threats from people all around him, even death threats. Very few people knew and believed that he was not a spy, that he was not arrested at the border, that he did not know anything about any gangs, that he never condoned violence, and that his verdict was based on false testimonies and allegations.

Chento was treated like a common criminal and sent to Idrizovo Prison to serve his over 3,000 day hard labour prison sentence under a strict regime. As a matter of fact his sentence was “fit for” a “villainous” convict. All over the world prison regimes are a story of their own and Chento was going to experience one of them. He was going to pay for the crimes he never committed with his health, both mental and physical, and experience hell behind bars that included isolation, starvation, and deaf years regarding his pleas (even from the Minister of the Interior) when his health was failing him.

Sometime in 1955, he began to feel weaker and exhausted. He complained to the prison guards that his health was failing him. One day, after nine years and four months in prison, he was told that he

would be allowed to go home. He was surprised because he did not expect this and neither did he ask for it. When he asked why and what had changed, he was not given an explanation. He was told the decision was final and that he was due to leave Idrizovo and go to Prilep. On September 4, 1955, he was released and his prison term ended. Chento was freed at age 53.

Chento, however, was not content without having been given an explanation for his release, so he made inquiries at the Idrizovo Police Regiment, asking for clarification as to why he was unconditionally released and why he was not informed beforehand. Unfortunately he never got a reply.

After he was released, Chento returned to Prilep but found things to be different. He found that living with his family and loved ones was no longer the same. He wanted to work and took on jobs in the Prilep fields, as a steel fitter and as a brick layer. When he was working on the city café, people from all over Prilep came to see their former president toil in construction work. But Chento honourably earned his piece of bread and was never ashamed of doing what was necessary to support his family.

In the meantime, security organs in Prilep followed Chento’s every step, and meticulously recorded all their observations including descriptions of persons he made contact with. Those who Chento invited to have a conversation with were warned not to talk to him and were threatened with harm if they continued to do so. So Metodia Andonov-Chento was once again isolated, this time as a free man in his own hometown, even after having served a heavy prison sentence.

Chento’s health continued to deteriorate. The incurable disease he had continued to take its toll on him. He had serious surgery performed on his stomach but it did not help. He wanted to go to Switzerland for treatment but he was not allowed. During the summer his illness turned from bad to worse.

On July 24, 1957, Metodia Andonov-Chento died of cancer. Many of his friends, acquaintances and sympathizers attended his funeral and participated in the funeral procession in Prilep. Unfortunately

many more did not, fearing eventual consequences. Metodia Andonov-Chento, the first president of Macedonia, was buried among the “ordinary people” in his family plot in the cemetery in the city of Prilep, where his remains are resting to this day.

We knocked on many doors and contacted many people, contemporaries, associates, comrades and acquaintances, to get their impression and search their memories about Metodia Andonov-Chento, a politician, a man, a patriot and a president who voluntarily left his high office and still was tried and convicted. Many of those people did not want to speak to us, some sent us away, some spoke, but only briefly, but did not want to disclose much information, especially the names of those associated with Chento’s ordeals. It was almost impossible to get people to talk… to tell the truth about what had happened to Chento. Even his own family, his daughter and sons, were reluctant to speak to us about him, and when they did, it was with a dose of restraint, perhaps a lesson learned from their experience in life.

When we asked people to tell us what they knew about Chento, they did not want their names connected with him. Some briefly responded as follows.

Lazar Moisov, then a judge, now a layman, said: “I have nothing to say…”

Panta Marina, then President of the Judicial Council, said: “Nothing, nothing, nothing…”

Even though Tsvetko Uzunovski - Abas, then Minister of the Interior, received us very kindly, the answer he gave us was very short and categorical. Here is what he said: “I promised and swore that I would not publicly engage in politics, that I would not speak about the case, and that I would not break my promise. History is for the historians. And because this was what I decided to do a long time ago, this is how I will remain today...” He then said: “There is no revolution without mistakes and we tend to learn from them as we go along. But when we look at the problem from every aspect… this is precisely the question… it is necessary to look at the bigger

picture and see what has been gained from doing this? If the revolution does not correct its mistakes, then it will fail…”

In answering our questions regarding Metodi Andonov-Chento’s case, including his criticisms, resignation, arrest, trial and prison, in an unofficial capacity and during an unconvincing conversation, Tsvetko Uzunovski said that things needed to be clarified and the truth uncovered. He said: “We can now say unified Macedonia, but in those days it was too dangerous; Chento believed that the Macedonian Question was not resolved and advocated for its internationalization.” During our “unofficial” conversation we touched on the topic of the struggle for power in those days, the enormous power and influence the top Party figures had and that their word was final. We also spoke about the NOB instructors and the overwhelming competency they afforded themselves and the instructors of the CPY Central Committee, etc.

Bogoia Fotev, then Minister of Agriculture in Macedonia and a colleague and friend of Chento, was among the first who had the courage to uncover the taboo about Chento and publicly demand that the truth be revealed.

“What made you take such a step?” we asked the energetic 90-year-old Bogoia Fotev.

“Chento and I were good friends. I knew him very well. It was most unfortunate what happened to him. The trial did not go the way it was supposed to. I learned about Chento’s ordeal from Tode Noshpal, during a moment of sincerity. I heard that Chento was set up. Noshpal found people in Mariovo, where Chento had many friends. They used his friends to set him up in this game that, as you know, ended very badly. I had my suspicions that something was not right when I found out that Chento was not arrested at the border, but at home. If you put all this together then you know that great trickery was involved. It was so well-organized and fine-tuned that they managed to get him. It wasn’t easy because Chento was a smart man.”

“Do you remember anything else about him?” we asked.

“I remember the tobacco fiasco. At the end of the war large quantities of tobacco were found in the monopoly’s warehouses, about 6 million kilograms to be exact. This was a very important Macedonian product, which at that time was worth as much as gold. The Presidium had great hopes that it would use the money from its sale to solve many of the problems Macedonia was experiencing. Then a delegation from Belgrade arrived and wanted to take the tobacco from Macedonian hands. During a joint meeting, most Presidium members voted for the tobacco to stay in Macedonia, also among them was Chento. There was a stormy discussion, but in the end they did what the Party wanted them to do, and that was to take the tobacco to Belgrade. Macedonia was left without money,” replied Bogoia.

“What about the amendment, and the plebiscite?” we asked.

“Chento made Macedonia prominent. When we were leading discussions about our brothers from Aegean and Pirin Macedonia, Chento stood behind the point that a plebiscite should take place in which all Macedonians needed to vote and see whether they wanted a united or a divided Macedonia. An example of this was the amendment that Chento proposed to be added to the first Constitution. In this amendment Chento demanded self-determination to secession of nations. This was a real explosion at that time. A meeting of the Macedonian Parliamentary Club was immediately convened. I also spoke at that meeting. I said that Chento was rushing things because no one else had filed such an amendment, except for us Macedonians,” replied Bogoia.

“But the way we see things today, we don’t believe Chento made a mistake. What happened next?” we asked.

“As we all know, in due course things became complicated. Chento resigned and returned to Prilep. Then, during a session of the Macedonian National Assembly, Tsvetko Uzunovski, then Minister of the Interior, announced that “Chento, our national enemy, is in the hands of the state security”. The announcement was followed by loud applause in the Parliament hall.

In the end, after the staged trial was over and Chento was sentenced to 11 years in prison, I truly felt sad about the whole affair. He was a fair and honorable man, a great patriot, and he did not deserve that,” replied Bogoia.

“Is that everything you have?” we asked.

“Until 1948, we thought that we were building communism and that we were soldiers of the Party. We believed in the Party. Just take a look at Panko Brashnarov’s case, a man who was cruelly put to death on Goli Otok. There were also plenty of ‘courier seekers’ in the war, rotten immoral bastards, as well as idealists and honest people,” concluded Bogoia.

This is what Maria Andonova - Iakimoska (Metodia Andonov-Chento’s daughter), an architect in Prilep, had to say:

“I can never forget how difficult it was to live for decades and decades with severe and unwanted scars. I was a child when my father, who loved Macedonia more than anything in the world, was labeled a traitor to his own country and people. We, his family had to live in misery and go through hell…

How does a person feel about this? What do you expect from us when all doors were slammed in our face? How do you think we felt the countless times we were placed in front of the impenetrable walls of silence? Nothing was normal for us. Every step we took and everything we did was made difficult for us. My mother had to wait 25 years to receive her pension and sadly my father got his just before he died.”

This was the first time Maria spoke about her family’s situation openly but it was brief and with reservations.

“Our lives were constantly filled with fear and uncertainty and we struggled for a crust of bread to survive. This was our life, our destiny... My mother never gave up and remained steadfast and proud even though she had to work dawn to dusk washing clothes, weaving, planting tobacco, and whatever else she could do to feed our family. On top of that she struggled to educate us and bring us

up properly, myself and my brothers Ilia, Andon and Vladimir…” added Maria.

Maria also reminded us of another detail. She said: “After my father was arrested, when we still did not know what would happen to him, our furniture was confiscated. We had bought this furniture while we were in Skopje with our own money and we had receipts to prove it, but they took it anyway. I was very young but still I remember this well. They came with two trucks but we had no idea what they were going to take. They did this to show everyone that Chento was unjustly enriching himself... They took away a couch, a few chairs, a table and that was the extent of Chento’s wealth…” concluded Maria, Chento’s daughter.

This is what Metodia Stoikoski, Chento’s personal driver, from when Chento was President of the Presidium, had to say: “Chento will never be forgotten because he was the kind of person who was able to make many friends whose friendship would last for a long time. I was one of the people very close to him at all times while he was president of the Presidium. I was his personal driver but I also drove others. I traveled with Chento all throughout Macedonia and outside of it. I watched how he approached people when they stopped him. He was always very cordial, listened to them and wanted to help them.

When we were in Skopje I would not start the car because I knew Chento would refuse my offer to drive him home. He lived in the city centre and often said that there was no need to drive him. He would also dismiss his personal guard. He never felt like he was in any danger. He would often say: “We fought to get rid of the gendarmes, of whom should I be afraid now? The people are with me here and there is no one to fear, so why have guards?” His modesty and ability to make immediate relationships made him a characteristically great human being, unlike some of the others who otherwise controlled their lives...”

Photographer Vasile Desoski who was in prison with Chento in the Bulgarian camps, referring to Chento from decades ago, said: “I knew Chento from the bazaar. He was an honest and lively person. As a man in authority he was unselfish and helped the poor. He

often forgave the debts of those who had no money to pay. He was also well-known for helping the partisans.

I remember very well the many days we spent together in the Chuchuligovo camp in Bulgaria. Chento was a healthy man, an athlete, and worked on the railway line and on the rock crushers harder than all of us. I remember when they released us we had a little bit of free time in Sofia so we went inside an antique shop. Chento bought a book about the Miladinov brothers which we read on the way back to Prilep. And I must say that the idea about Macedonia never left Chento. He gave his all for Macedonia and saved none for himself...”

Dimitar Aleksievski-Pekar was in charge of the Second Department of the UDBA Operational Zone. (Many of the people we ran into knew the name “Pekar” in direct relation to Chento’s arrest in Prilep, so it was only logical to solicit his opinion). Here is what Pekar had to say:

“When referring to past events it is always important to carefully examine the situation under which these events took place and the steps taken to remedy them. As far as Chento is concerned, I must say, that even though my name was associated with him, I personally did not participate in his arrest. I didn’t have a need to. At that time I was head of the Second Department of the UDBA Operational Zone in Macedonia. Based on the information our people collected from their contacts, we determined that Chento was preparing to flee to America through Greece, so an arrest warrant was issued. There was special documentation prepared by the competent services for the entire trial. Prior to his arrest and afterwards, special commissions were appointed, including a federal one, to check all the evidence. This means that nothing happened by chance and there were reasons and causes for his arrest.”

“Where was Chento actually arrested?” we asked.

“The people of UDBA arrested Chento in Prilep, at his home. I don’t remember exactly where I was, but I know that I was not in Prilep that day because I did not need to be there for the arrest.