APPENDIX 3 - Part 01

APPENDIX 3

Notes analyzing Risto Kiriazovski’s book “The National Liberation Front and other Macedonian organizations from Aegean Macedonia (1945-1949)”, published by “Kultura” in Skopje in 1985

Through this book, Risto Kiriazovski has made an attempt to reveal the historical role of the Macedonian organizations, especially of NOF from Greek occupied Macedonia.

Following are also Fotev’s views and opinions regarding Great Britain’s policies and its relationship to the Soviet Union as well as to the Communist Party of Greece and its relationship to the English…

At this point in time, I (Fotev) would like to take the opportunity to reply to some of the remarks Kiriazovski made about the Macedonian organizations, especially about NOF, some of which I believe are flawed, untrue and wrongly interpreted. These are particularly important topics which need to be explained without bias and without excesses and intimidation, especially the role of the individual personalities and leaders of the national liberation movement. I can say with certainty that Kiriazovski was not sufficiently familiar with the events and different situations and conditions that the Macedonian national movement organizations experienced, because in his study of the organizations Kiriazovski, for his own reasons, found it unnecessary to consult the SNOF, NOF, NOMS and AFZH leaders and founders of these organizations, so that he could get their side of the story and a wider perspective on the subject.

Kiriazovski was not familiar with many of the events involving the Macedonian PLM as was the case with the NOF assets and what took place during their meeting of May 20, 1947. Regarding some events, he made allegations and assumptions and then explained them in general terms. He was not familiar with the organizational structures, political structures and changes that took place during NOF’s development and existence. He is also unclear and has misrepresented NOF’s program principles and the program

principles of other Macedonian organizations. He has poorly defined the CPG’s policies towards NOF and generally towards the Macedonian national liberation movement. He has wrongly explained the methods and forms of destructive policies the CPG used against the Macedonians organizations and he has not specifically and clearly defined relations between NOF and the social and political organizations in the People’s Republic of Macedonia. He has ignored the particular importance of the national liberation movement’s development and the problems NOF had with Mihail Keramitchiev and his associates, who were against the unity of the Macedonian people’s democratic national movement with the Greek people’s progressive movement, believing that the Macedonian National Question regarding the Macedonian people, in Greek occupied Macedonia, could be solved by the People’s Republic of Macedonia and by Yugoslavia. This was when Keramitchiev called NOF’s unification Agreement with the Communist Party of Greece the “second Varkiza”, a betrayal of the Macedonian people. (See: Vangel Aianovski-Oche, “Aegean storms: the revolutionary movement in Voden Region and the People’s liberation war in Aegean Macedonia”, Skopje, INI, 1975, p. 233.)

Yes! Yugoslavia was a major factor that could have influenced how the Macedonian National Question would have been tackled in Greece, but solving this Question depended primarily on the joint Macedonian-Greek struggle, on the Macedonian and Greek people’s victory over the Monarcho-Fascist regime in Greece and on creating a free people’s democracy in Greece. It also depended on the Macedonian people’s segregation in Greek occupied Macedonia and achieving their full national equality rights and the right to self-determination. In other words, to create normal conditions for solving the Macedonian National Question. It is an illusion to believe that the problems in Greek occupied Macedonia could have been solved without a victory on the part of the revolutionary movement in the joint Macedonian- Greek people’s struggle.

By NOF’s program principles, the NOF leadership was obligated to struggle for the realization of moral and political values and for national unity among the Macedonian people in Greek occupied Macedonia. NOF was a national and democratic organization. Every Macedonian who accepted its political program had the right to join

it. The separatists unfortunately did not want that and those who did join NOF were labeled either “trusted” or “Hellenophiles” by the separatists. The Macedonian fighters, on the other hand, were labeled “old” and “new” members of NOF. With this the separatists managed to place a wedge in the Macedonian people’s national unity and to split NOF’s integrity. But, by their own beliefs and actions, the separatists foiled themselves and were unable to hold together on their own, that is without NOF’s knowledge and approval. And so in September 1948 they left NOF, the armed struggle and DAG, and during the most fateful days for the Macedonian people, they left the territory of Greek occupied Macedonia and, overnight, found themselves and their families in the Peoples Republic of Macedonia. Kiriazovski not only defended this act, he exalted it.

SNOF was created and acted during the German-Bulgarian fascist occupation at a time when ELAS and EAM and the Anglo-Americans were allies and fighting against Hitler’s fascist axis. NOF was created and acted during the Greek Civil War against the Greek government, which was recognized by members of the international community and by the United Nations. In other words, NOF was struggling against “yesterday’s allies”, the Anglo-American imperialists who directly participated in the fighting against NOF and DAG.

Another characteristic fact is that the CPG, and not NOF, was the main creator of the national strategy and tactics and the initiator and leader of the revolutionary movement in Greece. NOF had to adapt its national strategy to fit the revolutionary movement of the Greek people and, of course, without being detrimental to the Macedonian PLM. We should also bear in mind that the Macedonian people in Greek occupied Macedonia could not hold on their own, much less go against the Greek people in the PLM in order to achieve their national and social rights and freedom, whose organizer and leader was the CPG. In fact, even objective contradictions existed between the Macedonian PLM and the Greek PLM arising from their different national interests, goals and aspirations.

Risto Kiriazovski’s book is largely based on archival materials, a good part of which are not authentic and unverified, which have led

him to make wrong assessments and arrive at inaccurate conclusions, especially about important events and actions involving NOF... There is no information in the large historical files, available to us from the various documents, real or fabricated, from the various quotations and statements made by Macedonian and Greek CPG and PLM leaders that do not deflate the revolutionary values and the historical role of the Macedonian National Liberation organizations.

Even before World War II ended, the Macedonian and Greek people became victims of English imperialism, thanks to the British military intervention in Greece in December 1944, and to the CPG and EAM’s capitulatory policies. The Macedonian and Greek people again became victims of a four-year bloody anti-fascist war against English imperialism and against the domestic Monarcho-Fascists it supported. The Macedonian people had no chance of fulfilling their expectations because they were set to fail. After the old anti-people’s bourgeois establishment was restored in Greece, the Macedonian people were again faced with hellish days even more difficult than those seen during the German occupation, because now the Greek Monarcho-Fascist regime began to perpetrate genocide against the Macedonian people. They commenced a terrorist wave of murders, rapes, bloody beatings, robbing and looting of Macedonian people’s properties… and other daily Monarcho-Fascist gang practices. But the daily atrocities did not stop there… There were also the mass evictions of Macedonian people from their homes and villages, trumped up arrests, trumped up trials, illegal confiscations, usurping of properties and so on. The bloody terror was designed to totally annihilate the Macedonian people… The reason for these aggressive Greek Monarcho-Fascist attacks against the Macedonian people in Greek occupied Macedonia was to break the Macedonian people’s spirit and stop them from orienting themselves on the side of the democratic forces in the country. It was also to break their willingness and determination to fight against the reactionary forces and the foreign interventionists and, most importantly, to stop them from building a Macedonian national consciousness and from committing themselves to achieving their national and social rights and freedom. The one thing that irritated the Greek Monarcho-Fascists and nationalists in Greece the most was the existence of the People’s

Republic of Macedonia within the new Yugoslavia. The Macedonian people in this democratic republic, quite understandably, could not stand idle and be indifferent towards the tragic situation of their brothers and sisters in Greek occupied Macedonia, and not be interested in their care and national survival. The creation of the People’s Republic of Macedonia was and is a thorn in the eyes of the Greek Monarcho-Fascists and nationalists who, at all costs, intended and still intend to totally exterminate the Macedonian population.

Therefore it is important to point out that, because of the CPG and EAM’s inconsistent, opportunistic and capitulatory policies, especially after the signing of the Varkiza Agreement on February 12, 1945, towards the Macedonian National Question, the Macedonian people, to a great extent, lost confidence in these organizations. The CPG and EAM proved that they were no longer willing to protect the Macedonian population from the Monarcho-Fascist infestation. That is why, after NOF was created, a large number of Macedonian communists broke ranks with the CPG and other Greek democratic organizations such as the EAM and EPON and, en masse, joined NOF, NOMS and AFZH.

Due to the difficult and dangerous conditions created by the Monarcho-Fascists, the Macedonian nation was facing genocide. As a result NOF was created on April 23, 1945, under the initiative of the Macedonian communists. At the same time AFZH, the organization for the Macedonian women, and NOMS, the organization for the Macedonian youth, were created and became integral parts of NOF.

The establishment of NOF was a great historical achievement for the Macedonian people. NOF was a national Macedonian revolutionary organization with its own Macedonian political leadership. Its aims were to halt the traditional, negative CPG conditions imposed on the Macedonian people forcing them to organize under the Greek Democratic Peoples and to fight under the Greek flag. Past events had clearly confirmed how much the CPG had hurt the Macedonian national liberation movement.

Kiriazovski wrote: “…the NOF program declaration of the founding assembly was not saved…” (p. 108.) Why did he say such a thing when such a document does exist? As a participant in the first meeting when NOF’s tasks and objectives were defined, I find it necessary to mention them as follows:

- To mercilessly struggle for the national and social freedom of the Macedonian people;

- To affirm the national identity in the Macedonian people’s struggle for national rights and freedom;

- To re-introduce the Macedonian National Question in Greek political life;

- To organize resistance against the bloody terror and genocide perpetrated by the Monarcho-Fascist regime against the Macedonian people;

- To strengthen the moral, political and national unity of the Macedonian people;

- To uncover Vancho Mihailov’s autonomists and smash their terrorist and espionage organizations which, as agents of the Anglo-American imperialists and the international bourgeois reactionaries, fought against the national interests of the Macedonian people;

- To struggle against Anglo-American plans to turn Greek occupied Macedonia into a terrorist base for subversive activities against the People’s Republic of Macedonia and the whole of Yugoslavia, and against all the Balkan people’s democratic republics;

- To foster and strengthen brotherhood and unity with the Greek people and, together with the progressive forces in Greece, fight a common enemy for a free and independent Greece;

- To inform the Macedonian people in Greek occupied Macedonia of the historical development and social progress in the People’s Republic of Macedonia;

- To struggle to bridge the artificial divide between the Macedonian people, i.e. rapprochement and fraternal cooperation with the people from the other parts of Macedonia, especially with the People’s Republic of Macedonia, the Piedmont for the national liberation and unification of all the Macedonian people.

Risto Kirazovski did not even know the actual date when the NOF leadership was appointed and what it was correctly called. I would like to inform Kiriazovski that the NOF leadership was constituted on May 21, 1945, and the right name given to it was “Organizational leadership”. In the documents we often encounter that it was called “Organizational leadership of NOF”, or “Main Board”, or “Senior management”, or “Main Board leadership”. The organizational leadership along Party lines was called “Party Delegate”. The organizational leadership was the highest governing body of the Macedonian people’s national liberation movement from Greek occupied Macedonia. It was an all-Macedonian national liberation organization run by Macedonians. Its leadership consisted of six equal members and they were Paskal Mitrevski – Secretary, Giorgi Urdov-Dzhodzho, Atanas Koroveshovski, Mihail Keramitchiev, Pavle Rakovski and Mincho Fotev. During its first NOF meeting, the NOF organizational leadership was introduced to the certain duties and tasks for which its members were responsible. Paskal Mitrevski was responsible for following the NOF and Party line, Giorgi Urdov-Dzhodzho was Paskal Mitrevski’s assistant performing similar duties, Pavle Rakovski was responsible for agitation and propaganda, Mincho Fotev was Secretary of NOMS in charge of the communist youth organization, Atanas Koroveshovski was responsible for military affairs, and not responsible to follow the party line. (p. 117.) Discussions took place during the meeting to determine who was going to be responsible to follow the line of the People’s Government. In other words, NOF at that time was close to being included in the people government, but no NOF member was designated in charge to follow the People’s government line. There was also discussion, at the same meeting, as to who from the NOF leadership was going to be appointed responsible for the AFZH line.

The first NOF organizational meeting, which took place on May 21, 1945, was devoted to organizational and personnel issues. It was decided to form 5 district boards: 1. Kostur District, 2. Lerin

District, 3. Voden District, 4. Enidzhe-Vardar and Gumendzhe District, and 5. Seres and Drama District. The organizational structure was based on the principle of strict centralization. The organizational structure for inside the Districts was also established in a similar manner. There were district, city and regional governing bodies of NOF, NOMS and AFZH as well as Party agencies and communist youth organizations established as the basic grassroots organizations. Decisions were made during the meeting as to who was going to do what… and certain individuals were appointed to perform certain functions. Selected to perform the functions of Secretaries in the NOF Districts were Lambro Cholakov for Kostur District, Risto Ianovski for Lerin District, Vangel Aianovski for Voden District and Ivan Nichev for Enidzhe-Vardar and Gumendzhe District. There was no Secretary appointed for the Seres and Drama Districts, only an organizational instructor, whose name was Mihail Apostolov-Graniti. Each of the NOF governing bodies were composed of 5 members, which included the NOMS and AFZH Secretaries.

During the meeting it was decided to form:

- A department of agitation and propaganda responsible for issuing bulletins, to be an organ of NOF from Greek occupied Macedonia;

- A committee that would accept refugees from Greek occupied Macedonia into the People’s Republic of Macedonia, refugees fleeing the Monarcho-Fascist terror, and

- Armed groups of resistance fighters to counter the Monarcho-Fascist terrorist gangs.

The first NOF organizational leadership constituent meeting was also attended by Tsvetko Uzunovski-Abas, CPM Central Committee representative, who was there to establish relations and cooperation between NOF, the CPM and other organizations in the People’s Republic of Macedonia.

Risto Kiriazovski has written nothing concrete in his book about NOF’s constitution, the appointment of NOF’s organizational

leadership, or about the decisions made during this first working meeting.

The establishment and appointments of the NOF organizational leadership during its first meeting took place in Skopje, on “Ortse Nikolov” street in the “Matsura” building which was later destroyed during the July 26, 1963 earthquake.

After selecting NOF’s organizational leadership, all members were immediately sent to the field where, most energetically, they formed NOF district and city boards. Their aims were to implement the decisions taken at the first meeting. Paskal Mitrevski was tasked with going to Lerin District, Atanas Koroveshovski left for Enidzhe-Vardar and Gumendzhe District, Giorgi Urdov-Dzhodzho and Pavle Rakovski left for Voden District, Mihail Keramitchiev and Mincho Fotev went to Kostur District, Mihail Apostolov-Graniti went to Seres and Drama in Eastern Greek occupied Macedonia as an instructor of the NOF organizational leadership.

According to Risto Kiriazovski, “Paskal Mitrevski went to Kostur District and Mihail Keramitchiev went to the eastern part of Greek occupied Macedonia to form NOF district leaderships…” (p. 119.) On the same page Kiriazovski wrote: “NOF was established on May 9, 1945 during which a meeting of 16 activists took place and, in the presence of the NOF main leadership, Paskal Mitrevski and Mihail Keramitchiev chose Micho Koroveshovski as Secretary to lead a 4 member district board…” If that were true how could Mihail Keramitchiev find himself in both Kostur District and in Seres and Drama Districts at the same time, when he himself claims he was in the eastern part of Greek occupied Macedonia on the ground forming a district leadership?

Paskal Mitrevski did not participate in the formation of the NOF Kostur District committee. He was sent to Lerin Region. Also, Micho Shishkovski was never elected Secretary of the NOF Kostur District Board. The first NOF District Secretary for Kostur District was Lambro Cholakov.

Risto Kirazovski wrote that: “The NOF main leadership secretary made substitutions in the district leaderships and in place of Micho

Shishkovski he appointed Lambro Cholakov. This was because of some misunderstanding between Shishkovski and Mitrevski about organizational and other issues. This was simply work of fiction.

Risto Kiriazovski is not familiar with NOF’s highest governing body and with the changes it underwent during its existence. In his book he calls the governing body “NOF Delegates”, “The Main NOF leadership”, “NOF’s high leadership”, etc. The name of the highest NOF governing body has undergone several changes. During its formation NOF’s leadership was called the “Organizational leadership”. After it was agreed to unite NOF and the CPG, in November 1946, the NOF leadership decided to call itself the “NOF Main Board”. On May 20, 1947, during a NOF meeting, the CPG put in a request for the name to be changed from “NOF Main Board” to “Coordinating Bureau”. Then during NOF’s First Congress, held on January 13, 1948, the name “Coordinating Bureau” was replaced with “Central Council”. This last “nickname” given to the highest NOF governing body remained until NOF was dissolved.

About the devastation SNOF experienced in Kostur and Lerin Regions, Kiriazovski wrote: “With aims at forcing the CPG to correct its attitude, the two groups of Macedonian partisans and SNOF activists in Kostur and Lerin Regions broke away from ELAS and joined the partisan movement in Vardar Macedonia...” (p. 49.) The secession was seen as a Macedonian provocation against a CPG decision to dissolve SNOF. This statement, however, is incorrect. The group of Macedonian fighters fled to Karaorman before SNOF was dissolved. In fact, it was their separation from the ranks of ELAS which prompted the CPG leadership and gave it a reason to dismantle SNOF.

The Macedonian group’s secession from ELAS and SNOF and their departure to the free territory in the Republic of Macedonia was an arbitrary act which occurred without the knowledge of the SNOF leadership. The departure of the Macedonian group of about 60 partisans from Kostur and Lerin Regions going to Karaorman, according to the manner and circumstances in which it took place, was reckless, impulsive and extreme. Their action inflicted serious and irreparable damage to the Macedonian national liberation

movement in Greek occupied Macedonia. Whatever it was they were hoping to accomplish did not materialize because their calculations were wrong. The secessionist action those fighters undertook was contrary to SNOF’s policies. The secession was unjustified as confirmed by the fact that the secessionists were ordered to go back to Greek occupied Macedonia by NOV and POM Headquarters, and personally by Political Commissar Tsvetko Uzunovski-Abas. They were ordered to return to the ranks of ELAS and continue to fight under the CPG’s leadership. (See letter from Tsvetko Uzunovski-Abas, a member of the CPM Central Committee, to Dobrivoie Radosavlievich, CPY Central Committee Instructor, dated June 2, 1944, which can be found in the Macedonian Archives.) The consequences of having seceded were really heavy. Macedonian relations with the PLM, CPG and ELAS deteriorated. The CPG leadership, because of the secession, totally and unjustifiably demeaned the Macedonian PLM, characterizing it as nationalist, autonomist and secessionist and publicly condemning its supporters as counter-revolutionaries and traitors. SNOF was also accused of being the instigator which encouraged the group of Macedonians to separate from the Greek resistance movement. Right after the group left, the CPG ordered an ELAS unit to arrest the main SNOF leadership which, at that time, was headed by Secretary Paskal Mitrevski and use force to break up all SNOF organizations. At the same time the CPG initiated a dangerous anti-SNOF propaganda campaign aimed at the Macedonian people, advising them to dissociate themselves from the SNOF leadership. The CPG even expanded its attacks against the most prominent leaders in the Republic of Macedonia. The CPG also enacted political, disciplinary and repressive measures against prominent Macedonian fighters such Kosta Boskovski, a fighter and a communist who as a result of being beaten badly by the Greek communists became mentally deranged, and Kosta Makrievski, a teacher in the village Kosinets, Kostur Region, who was killed by members of ELAS. The CPG also shut down all Macedonian cultural and artistic activities and all other Macedonian national events.

The irrationality and negative consequences of the Macedonian group’s secession can be seen in the following: The moment the secessionists left for Karaorman, in May 1944, there were over

1,000 Macedonian partisans serving in the ranks of ELAS in Kostur and Lerin Regions. There were over 2,000 Macedonian fighters serving in the ELAS reserves. Over 80 Macedonian villages were freed which assisted ELAS. It is worth mentioning here that, on the same ground, there were over 100 activists working behind the scenes who were leaders and members of the CPG, EAM, EPON, EA and ETA. SNOF in Kostur District as well as SNOF in Lerin District had over sixty people working behind the scenes. Out of all the large number of Macedonian fighters, partisans and political activists serving in the PLM in Kostur and Lerin Districts, only 5 SNOF behind the scenes people, 20 ELAS fighters and 35 Macedonian villagers left for Karaorman. But even though the number of “secessionists” was insignificantly small, the CPG in its wisdom decided to attach great importance to their act.

Kiriazovski wrote: “…the First Macedonian detachment named ‘Lazo Trpovski’ was created in September 1943, in Kostur Region. This Macedonian detachment was comprised exclusively of Macedonians and had its own agitation agenda and wore military uniforms with the five-pointed star symbol to distinguish it from the other ELAS units…” (p. 56.) This, however, is incorrect. This is how it was: “On October 6, 1943 the CPG Regional Committee for Kostur Region decided to form a detachment which was to bear the name ‘Lazo Trpovski’, named after the late, prominent Macedonian fighter and communist. The CPG District Committee’s decision was made at ELAS XXVIII Regiment Headquarters in which I, Mincho Fotev, was serving as deputy chief of counter-intelligence services. The detachment was formed on October 10, 1943, and not in September as Kiriazovski has indicated, and it was done at the foot of Mount Malimadi near the village D’mbeni, Kostur Region. When it was formed the detachment had 28 fighters. It was created from a local partisan group of fighters, mostly of the villagers from the village Smrdesh, Kostur Region, who earlier acted in that area under ELAS, and from a group of Macedonians who had just returned from Bulgaria. The detachment was part of the ELAS XXVIII Regiment and acted under ELAS command. The “Lazo Trpovski” unit lasted only two months before it was disbanded in December 1943 and its fighters were absorbed into the XXVIII regiment units which acted in the area of Mount Vicho. The detachment’s commander was Naum Peiov, who was replaced by Dimitar

Tupurkovski- Titan only ten days after he was appointed. The claim that the fighters of the “Lazo Trpovski” unit wore the five pointed star on their hats is not true. They wore ELAS symbols just like the rest of the ELAS fighters in all other ELAS units.

On page 58 in his book, Kiriazovski wrote: “Effort to create a single Organization for all Macedonians in Aegean Macedonia was made at a SNOF joint district meeting between Kostur and Lerin Districts, held on January 28, 1944, in the village Tsrnovishte…” The meeting led to major conflict and discord, during which the SNOF Lerin District representatives disagreed with the position taken by the SNOF Kostur District representatives. Their disagreement was over whether SNOF should formally request that Greece be reorganized as a “Confederate State” to be composed of two federal units, the “People’s Republic of Greece” and the “People’s Republic of Aegean Macedonia”, as a transitional stage for the unification of the whole of Macedonia. Because no agreement could be reached the meeting ended in failure.

No such discussion took place at the Tsrnovishte meeting and whoever informed Kiriazovski was talking pure fiction because not only was there no document to prove that such a discussion took place, but no one at that meeting had the authority to discuss solutions to the Macedonian National Question. The purpose of this “distorted” meeting was as follows:

The reason that no single “national” Organization existed in Greek occupied Macedonia was because the CPG would not allow it. The SNOF Kostur and Lerin District leaderships periodically held joint delegation meetings in order to exchange information on military and political matters as well as on the economic situation in the districts, the problems the people experienced and so on. These were simple working meetings to review activities and to exchange experiences between the two districts. It is true that a meeting was held in the village Tsrnovishte on January 28, 1944 but there is no evidence of matters of national importance ever being discussed.

It is also true that the issue of establishing a single Macedonian Organization for the whole of Greek occupied Macedonia was raised by the SNOF leadership in Kostur District. This question, however,

was raised in October 1943, the first day SNOF was founded, but the CPG flatly refused the request as it flatly refused the request to create special Macedonian units in ELAS.

The issue of federalizing Greece to create a “People’s Republic of Aegean Macedonia” was never raised nor discussed. This claim is false and a fantasy of those who claim it happened. Not only for subjective but also for purely objective reasons this could not be true. At that time, in 1944, the Macedonian population was only one third of the total population in Greek occupied Macedonia. Besides, turning Greece into a federal state not only depended on the Communist Party of Greece but also on all the political parties in Greece that made up the national liberation front - EAM, as well as other democratic socio-political structures.

Even if all these “Greek parties” agreed to create a “People’s Republic of Aegean Macedonia”, they still would have needed the consent of the external factors such as the “anti-Hitler coalition” who were directly interested in the fate of Greece and in the fate of the Balkans. On top of that, why would the Macedonian people in Greek occupied Macedonia call for the formation of a historically elusive “People’s Republic of Aegean Macedonia” when the Macedonian people to their north had already created a People’s Republic of Macedonia? Why not follow the original plan of joining the Macedonian state that was already formed, thanks to the joint struggle with all the other Yugoslav nations within Democratic Federal Yugoslavia, based on AVNOJ? No such demands had been made or questions raised until now. The voices that were calling for a “People’s Republic of Aegean Macedonia”, it would appear, were raised by those Macedonians who “voluntarily left SNOF and the armed struggle” and abandoned their homeland in Greek occupied Macedonia.

To get to the bottom of what took place at the Tsrnovishta meeting when the two SNOF delegations met, another meeting was held in October 1985 at the request of the Federal Republic of Macedonia’s Institute of National History at INI, which was attended by about 20 invited participants, organizers and activists of the PLM from Greek occupied Macedonia. The participants in this gathering contested the meeting agenda and called it a “work of fiction”. The gathering was

also attended by Giorgi Turundzhiev, a member of the SNOF District Board Secretariat who personally, as a member of the Lerin delegation, participated in the Tsrnovishta meeting. All the meeting participants contested Risto Kiriazovski’s claims, raising a new question: “How would the creation of a “People’s Republic of Aegean Macedonia” have led to the unification of all of Macedonia if there were two separate republics in two separate federations?

Kiriazovski wrote: “Before NOF emerged in the territory of Aegean Macedonia, local organizations acted and were run by local organizers, activists and campaigners of various political commissions who had agreed to form local organizations in Kostur Region in an attempt to bring back SNOF; in Lerin Region to bring back SOF from the time of the people’s liberation war; and in Voden Region to create a new organization, TOMO… which preceded NOF…” (p. 103.) These, however, were only assumptions and arbitrary conclusions... Any attempt to regenerate SNOF and SOF were not made by local organizations because the local organizations did not exist until after NOF was established on April 23, 1945. As for the formation of any other organizations such as TOMO in Voden Region, even though TOMO preceded NOF, it had no basis. Historians need to further investigate the cases of TOMO and MAO.

The organization “MAO” was part of the Communist Party of Greece. MAO was a Greek name meaning “Makedoniki Apelefterotiki Organosi” (Macedonian Liberation Organization) and not “Macedonian Anti-fascist Organization” like Vangel Aianovski and Risto Kiriazovski called it. In 1942 MAO was formed under a CPG directive by Giorgi Urdov-Dzhodzho, CPG District Committee Second Secretary for Voden Region, and existed only in the city itself and only for a very short time. Hristo Andonovski who was from Voden Region, a journalist and publicist and a participant in ELAS, NOF and DAG, in his review of Tashko Mamurovski’s works entitled “Important Personalities from Aegean Macedonia (1945-1949)”, among other things wrote: “MAO was a short-lived organization that never extended beyond the city Voden and we must not exaggerate about it…”

There are also claims being made that the British diplomatic missions in Greece, with help from the Greek police, had created some opportunities for the formation of an autonomist movement in Greek occupied Macedonia, which included adventurous elements, counter-bands, collaborators, known Hellenophiles, agents of the Greek police and so on. I can assure you that there was no chance that such an autonomist movement existed in Greek occupied Macedonia in the period when NOF and DAG were active... During the Greek Civil War there were only some sub-units or adventurers, in other words “autonomists” made up of former collaborators and American service agents. That was all there was. Included among the “numbered” autonomists were also some well-known “Hellenophiles”. Who ever heard of “Hellenophiles” being active autonomists?

Regarding the bloody Greek Monarcho-Fascist terror, perpetrated against the Macedonian people, the NOF organizational leadership at its first meeting, held on May 21, 1945, decided to take a stand and, along with the other factors of the resistance movement, formed armed groups to confront the extreme Monarch-Fascist gangs and traitors who were persecuting the Macedonian people to no end. The NOF armed groups were instructed to only attack the armed terrorist gangs if they attacked the Macedonian villages and to stop them from looting and terrorizing the Macedonian people. Given that the Monarcho-Fascist armed gangs and Greek gendarmerie squads crossed the grounds on a daily basis, the NOF armed groups responsible for their safety, along with the safety of the NOF, NOMS and AFZH leaders and activists, had their hands full. The NOF armed groups and their actions were managed by the NOF district and regional board secretaries. At that time there was no other way to protect the lives, honour and properties of the Macedonian people from these Greek terrorists. The evil needed to be prevented with organized countermeasures. Unfortunately, the CPG strongly condemned NOF’s armed group activities even though in practice they confirmed that they played a positive role in preventing terrorist waves. No Monarcho-Fascist gang attack on the innocent Macedonian population was left without the proper punishment. Another benefit from this armed self-defense was that it encouraged more people to join the revolution and bolster its

militant actions. In a nut shell, this was the situation with the NOF armed groups in 1945.

NOF never come into conflict with the CPG in regards to the struggle’s direction; political or armed. In regards to the Greek Civil War, it is necessary to emphasize that NOF had no historic responsibility for its strategy and tactics and for the form of action the revolutionary movement had taken in the struggle against the enemy. That was solely the responsibility of the CPG. NOF indeed had armed groups that were led by the organization, but they had a specific task and that was to defend themselves and the people from the Monarcho-Fascist gangs and their attacks.

After the signing of the Varkiza Agreement, the CPG did not immediately opt for an armed struggle against the enemy as did NOF. The CPG, hoping for a political solution, did not immediately recruit its fighters, not even its own members who were then swept up by the government army recruitment program. But that’s not all true. NOF never compromised with the enemy and did not allow its members to enter into the government army. In the spring of 1945, after the old anti-people regime was installed in Greece, the government military authorities began to recruit young people for military service, in the consolidation of the Greek government army. Since the Greek government army units directly participated in the terror acts perpetrated against the Macedonian people, the Macedonian leadership forbade the Macedonian people from answering the Greek army recruitment call. NOF, NOMS and AFZH urged the Macedonian youth advising them that no Macedonian must answer the call for recruitment into the Greek military. NOF would not allow Macedonian young people to serve in the Greek Monarcho-Fascist army and participate in its actions to physically exterminate the Macedonian people; parents, brothers and sisters of the fighters. This was NOF’s main motive for taking a stand to prevent the Macedonian youth from entering the Greek army. NOF’s stand towards this never changed but the CPG was quick to condemn it. Clearly it was obvious that the CPG and EAM did not want to understand the essence and justification of this NOF view. The CPG’s hesitation to recruit its fighters left no choice for them but to answer the call and be recruited into the Greek government army… or face consequences. As a result, almost all Greek

communists and some Macedonians responded to the recruitment call. Unfortunately all those who were known supporters of the CPG position, tragically, were sent to the concentration camps on the islands Makronisos, Giura and others...

The main reason for the negative relationship, i.e. CPG hostility towards NOF, was because, for the first time since Macedonia was occupied by Greece and fell under Greek dominion, the Macedonian people formed their own national movement, against the CPG’s will, and gained their political national and revolutionary organizations with their own Macedonian leadership that was willing to fight for their national and social freedom, willing to fully resolve the Macedonian National Question, and to unify all the Macedonian people in Greek occupied Macedonia. It should be no surprise that NOF revived the Macedonian National Question, thrived for the affirmation of the Macedonian national identity and struggled for the national rights and freedoms of the Macedonian people. With the CPG and EAM’s permission, NOF endeavoured to be the only political, national and legitimate representative of the Macedonian people in Greek occupied Macedonia. In fact, these were the primary reasons for NOF’s existence. But for their own great Greek chauvinistic reasons, the CPG and EAM did not want to recognize NOF or accept that a Macedonian National Question existed.

Unfortunately NOF’s actions and its very existence seemed to aggravate the CPG. And like we said earlier, NOF’s organized armed groups created to oppose terrorism in Greek occupied Macedonia, even NOF’s advice to the Macedonian youth to avoid the Greek army draft, irritated the CPG prompting it to attack NOF. But what was most upsetting to the CPG leadership was the fact that 80% of Macedonian Communists broke away from the CPG ranks and joined the Macedonian organizations NOF, NOMS and AFZH. In March 1946 about 500 ELAS fighters, refugees from the ELAS camps in Bulkes and Voivodina, left the CPG en masse and joined NOF. But in spite of all the challenges, attacks, accusations, slanders, and everything else the CPG could throw at NOF, the NOF leadership remained coolly restrained, always trying to avoiding confrontation. NOF’s only and most orderly response to all this was its consistent defense of the Macedonian people’s real interests…

Regarding the unification Agreement between NOF and the CPG. It may be said that this agreement was a major landmark for the Macedonian national liberation movement and for the people in Greek occupied Macedonia. By this Agreement, NOF, NOMS and AFZH were recognized as Macedonian organizations. By this Agreement relations between the Macedonian PLM and the progressive democratic movement of the Greek people, led by the Communist Party of Greece, were normalized. By recognizing NOF, the CPG created favourable conditions for reaching an agreement to normalize relations on a solid basis. In October, 1946, after a difficult and arduous journey, an Agreement was finally reached to unite NOF and the CPG. I want to mention at this point that NOF was not represented during the final talks to determine the conditions under which the unification was to take place. The NOF leadership participated only in the preliminary discussions.

I am categorically stating that all the conditions listed in Kiriazovski’s book are inaccurate. I can make that claim because I, Mincho Fotev, along with Paskal Mitrevski and Ilia Dimovski-Gotse, are personally familiar with the content of the Agreement. The contents of the Agreement were as follows:

1. NOF was to remain an independent organization, sole legitimate representative of the Macedonian people in Greek occupied Macedonia, only to be guided by the CPG;

2. AFZH and NOMS were to exist as components of NOF;

3. NOF was to issue its own newspaper – organ of the Main Board.

4. All Macedonian communists from Greek occupied Macedonia to automatically become members of the CPG;

5. All NOF partisan detachments were to merge with those of DAG and all military and political personnel were to be deployed to the appropriate command duties at DAG military headquarters;

6. Paskal Mitrevski, NOF Main Board Secretary, to become a member of the CPG Regional Committee Macedonian Bureau Secretariat for Greek occupied Macedonia and Thrace;

7. Giorgi Urdov-Dzhodzho to become a member of the chiefs of DAG General Staff;

8. Mincho Fotev to become a member of the secretariat of EPON Regional Committee for Greek occupied Macedonia and Thrace.