THE SOLUN ASSASSINATIONS

THE SOLUN ASSASSINATIONS

A few months after the Solun Congress decided to start an early uprising, something happened that not only shook Macedonia, but also Europe. That something was the Solun assassinations. The assassinations were carried out by a group of young Macedonian intellectuals, who had fallen under the influence of anarchist ideas and had formed a terrorist group called the “Gemidzhii” (Boatmen). They were responsible for using explosives (dynamite) to blow up institutions belonging to capitalist countries, hoping that in doing so they would attract the attention of the European public to look at the difficult situation Macedonia was in and provoke Great Power intervention to change things.

On April 29, 1903, after long preparations in Solun, the Gemidzhii blew up the French ship Guadalquivir, the Ottoman Bank, the Post Office, the Gas Plant and other buildings. During the attacks some of the assassins were killed and others were captured and sentenced to death, but their sentences were commuted to imprisonment.

The consequences resulting from these actions were quite severe. Many innocent people were killed on the streets of Solun and Bitola and many were imprisoned. The authorities unleashed such terror that the situation became unbearable and even more tense. This was the time and the conditions under which the famous Smilevo Congress was held, which lasted from May 2 to 7, 1903.

THE SMILEVO CONGRESS

According to the decisions made by the Solun Congress, held in January 1903, the final decision for the uprising was to be made by the district congresses. For that reason the Bitola Revolutionary District convened its Congress in the village Smilevo, Bitola region. The Congress was attended by delegates from all parts of the country. Here too the delegates were divided on the issue of starting the uprising. Some were “for” and others were “against”. Even though this district, compared to others, was the most prepared for the uprising, it turned out that it was still not sufficiently prepared, especially in some areas such as Prilep. Despite all that, it was decided to start the uprising. A General Staff was elected to lead it, consisting of Damian Gruev, Boris Sarafov and Anastas Lozanchev. The General Staff was given the right to set the date for the uprising, by which the entire district had to make its final preparations.

The Congress adopted its Insurgency Disciplinary Constitution, which defined the rights and duties of the insurgents, the detachment leaders and the General Staff. Here are some of the points from that Constitution.

Article 6

The insurgent is obliged:

a) To guard the interest of his homeland to the last drop of his blood, fulfilling the oath he took.

h) To guard the flag for as long as he is alive and to make an expensive bed for it with his own body, and only then can it fall.

During the Uprising:

The General Staff on July 26, 1903, during a meeting held above the village Buf, Lerin Region, decided to announce the start of the Ilinden Uprising. In this regard, on July 28, 1903 the District sent written information to the Central Committee and the village chiefs to inform the people about its decision. This is what the District General Staff wrote:

“Brothers,

The day we have been waiting for so long to settle our score with our enemy has finally arrived.

The blood spilled by our innocent dead brothers owing to Ottoman tyranny shouts loudly and calls for repayment. The trampled honour of our mothers and sisters desires to fall into place!

Enough with the torment, enough with the shame!

It’s a thousand times better to be dead than to live a shameful and Scottish life!

The definite day, in which the people from all over Macedonia and Odrin will rise up with weapons in hand and publicly attack our enemies, is August 2, 1903.

Brothers, go attack your rulers on that day and fight together under the banner of liberty. Be persistent, brothers, in the fight! Our salvation rests in our persistent and long-lasting struggle.

May God bless our righteous deeds and the day of our Uprising.

Down with the Ottomans! Down with the tyrants! Death to our enemies!

Long live the people! Long live freedom! Hooray!

With brotherly kisses,

Headquarters”

General Staff also sent a letter to the Directorate of Eastern Railways in Solun (the Ottoman railways were in the hands of European capitalists) warning that the uprising would be accompanied by assassinations on the railways and in order to protect the innocent, people shouldn’t be allowed to travel during those days.

The Central Committee in Solun issued a special declaration to the Great Powers and officially informed Europe of the reasons that had led the Organization to start this uprising.

As planned, the Ilinden Uprising started on August 2, 1903, on the day of Ilinden, in most of Macedonia. The uprising was strongest in the Bitola Revolutionary District where it was most prepared. On August 2, 1903 the insurgents started disrupting the telephone lines and carrying out attacks on the homes and properties of the ruling beys. Some attacked the local Ottoman garrisons, demolishing their strongholds and so on.

The most famous event from the Ilinden epic, of course, was the creation of the Krushevo Republic. The Krushevo insurgent headquarters (Mountain Command) led by Nikola Karev, announced the Uprising with the following proclamation:

“Brothers,

We hasten to greet you with the uprising! Today, the entire Krushevo district together with the whole of Macedonia started an uprising and shouted: Down with tyranny! Long live freedom and brotherhood among the Macedonian nation! The bells are ringing everywhere, the people gathered with strange joy under the flag of freedom. The young ladies and brides have decorated the heads and rifles of the insurgents with flowers! Any and all Ottomans, who found themselves on the roads and in the villages, were caught and taken hostage. There is singing, joy and merriment everywhere. We are burning with impatience as we wait for the night to come and we take over Krushevo, so that together with the entire nation we can shout the victorious Macedonian hurray! We are in the right and God is with us!

Long live Macedonia!

Headquarters

Nikola Karev Tome Niklev

Todor Hristov

Signed: Antinogen Hadzhov, insurgent leader Pitu Guli, Ivan Alabak, Andreia Giurchin, and Tashku Karev.”

The battle to liberate Kreshevo began August 2nd, on Ilinden, and ended on August 3rd with Kreshevo’s liberation. It was a glorious day marking a supreme victory, expressing the Macedonian people’s aspirations for a free and independent life. Immediately after Kreshevo’s liberation a revolutionary government was formed. The highest government body was a Council of 60 people from all nationalities who lived in the city. The government’s executive body was composed of 6 members from all nationalities. Commissions were also set up to look after food supplies, clothing, health and finances, and to maintain order. Special care was taken to fortify the city with armaments and so on.

In order for the revolutionaries to win over the Muslim population they wrote the famous “Kreshevo Manifesto”, which declared their goals and what the democratic Macedonian Republic was all about. The “Kreshevo Manifesto” literally spelled out President Nikola Karev’s vision.

“Fellow countrymen and dear neighbours!

We, your perennial neighbours, friends and acquaintances from beautiful Kreshevo and its pretty villages, regardless of faith, nationality, sex or conviction, not being able to endure any more tyranny from bloodthirsty murtats who hunger for human flesh, who would like to lead both you and us to slaughter, to reduce both you and us to poverty, and to turn our dear and wealthy land of Macedonia into a wasteland, we have today raised our heads and decided to defend ourselves, with rifles in our hands, from our and your enemies and obtain freedom. You know very well that we are not evil and you understand that it is trouble that made us risk our lives, so that we might begin living like human beings or die like heroes!

And because since the times of our grandfathers and great-grandfathers we have lived together like brothers on this land, we

consider you as our own and would like it to remain the same forever. We have not raised our rifles against you - it would be shameful for us to do so; we have not raised against the peaceful diligent and honest Turkish people who, like ourselves, earn their living through sweat full of blood - they are our brothers with whom we have always lived and would like to live again; we have not risen to slaughter and plunder, to set fire and steal - we have had enough of countless derebeyis pillaging and plundering our poor and blood-stained Macedonia; we have not risen to convert to Christianity and disgrace your mothers and sisters, wives and daughters; you should know that your property, your lives, your faith and your honour are as dear to us as our own. Alas, we have taken up arms only to protect our property, our lives, our faith and our honour. We are not murtats of our own land that has given birth to us, we are not robbers and plunderers, but revolutionaries sworn to die for justice and freedom; we rebel against tyranny and against slavery; we are fighting and will fight against murtats, against robbers, against oppressors and plunderers, against besmirchers of our honour and our faith and against those who benefit from our sweat and exploit our labour. Do not be afraid of us and our villages - we shall not harm anyone. Not only do we consider you as our brothers but we also feel sorry for you as our brothers, since we understand that you are slaves like ourselves, slaves of the Sultan and his beys, effendis and pashas, slaves of the rich and powerful, slaves of tyrants and oppressors who have set fire to the empire from all four sides and have made us rise up for justice, for freedom and for human life. We invite you, too, to join us in our struggle for justice, freedom and human life! Come, Moslem brothers, let us go together against your and our enemies! Come under the banner of “Autonomous Macedonia”! Macedonia is the mother of us all and she calls on us for help. Let us break the chains of slavery, free ourselves from suffering and pain and dry the rivers of blood and tears! Join us, brothers, let us fuse our souls and hearts and save ourselves, so that we and our children and our children's children might live in peace, work calmly and make progress!...

Dear neighbours!

We understand that you as Turks, Arnauts and Moslems might think that the empire is yours and that you are not slaves since there is no

cross on the imperial flag but a star and a crescent. You will soon see and understand that this is not so and that you are wrong. Nevertheless, if your honour does not allow you to join us and declare yourselves against the Sultan's tyranny, we, your brothers in suffering and of the same homeland, shall do you no harm and shall not hate you. We will fight alone both for you and us and, if necessary, we will fight to the last man under the banner for our and your freedom, for our and your justice. “Freedom or Death” is written on our foreheads and on our blood-stained banner. We have already raised that banner and there is no way back. If you consider us as your brothers too, if you wish us well, if you intend to live with us again as you have lived up to now, and if you are faithful and worthy sons of our mother Macedonia, you could help us in one way at least - and it would be a great help indeed - do not make partners of the enemy, do not raise guns against us and do not oppress the Christian villages!

May God bless our holy struggle for justice and freedom!

Long live the fighters for freedom and all honest and good Macedonian sons!

Hurrah! For an autonomous Macedonia!”

In response to the Manifesto, the villagers from Aldantsi and the mayor promised to be peaceful and blessed the struggle. The chief of the Kreshevo garrison, who managed to escape, sent the following interesting letter to the insurgents:

“Heroes,

Your proclamation to my compatriots really interested me. From it, and these two days from your actions, I thought you were bandits.

However your goals are great and your struggle is important. Forward on that terrible and glorious path by which all nations have gained their freedom.

When I beg my great Allah to protect the right side, let me send you two requests:

1. Do not leave me naked but send me my clothes that I have left in the bravely attacked barracks taken by you and

2. For any eventuality, destroy the correspondence exchanged between us.

Chief of the Kreshevo garrison,

Ali”

After Kreshevo, the Kostur revolutionary District stood out for its vitality and revolutionary endeavour. The Supremacists, led by Colonel Jankov, arrived at the Kostur District in 1902 in order to start an early uprising but were expelled by the district leaders. But despite being told to leave, they continued to agitate for an early uprising and causing disturbances. Shortly before the uprising started, Smrdesh, a large village was burned down in May by the Ottoman army which sparked the famous Lokvata and Viniari battle fought between the Kostur detachments and the Ottoman army. These, as well as other events, contributed to the Kostur district’s readiness and mobile position before Ilinden 1903. In this way the Kostur District welcomed the day of the Uprising relatively more prepared than the other districts. The uprising in Kostur District was massive. Leading the mountain detachment were Lazar Poptraikov, Chakalarov, Kliashev, Rozov… The district was divided into several points. About 500 insurgents liberated the town Klisura and about 700 insurgents liberated the town Neveska. In fact, it was the biggest and most successful Uprising in this area. A revolutionary government was formed here similar to that at Kreshevo.

The Lerin detachments attacked and demolished the railway station near Ekshisu, cut the telegraph lines and destroyed bridges and roads. One of the biggest battles fought by the people of Lerin was at the Lakes where 300 insurgents fought against 2,000 Ottoman soldiers. The Kostur detachments were called in to aid the Lerin insurgents.

The most significant insurgent actions that took place in Ohrid District were in Gorna and Dolna Debartsa, Ortakol and Malesia.

Here, as in Prespa and Rashanets, people running away from the battles were told to flee to a designated place where a hospital was opened. The battle at Rashanets was one of the most famous battles of the Ilinden Uprising.

In Kichevo District the insurgents tried to take the city Kichevo but failed. There were also big clashes with the Ottoman army and bashibozuks in the village Karbunitsa, in Kopachka where people lived collectively, etc. Many had to be evacuated.

Several smaller insurgent actions were observed in Prilep District, the most significant were those of Giorche Petrov and his detachment and the battle near Chanishta - Moriovo in which a large detachment from Kostur participated, led by Lazar Poptraikov. Poptraikov was severely wounded during that battle.

Unlike the Bitola District, the other revolutionary districts didn’t participate massively in the Ilinden Uprising. The Solun District was so poorly armed that it could only muster several attacks on the railways, Turkish barracks and others small targets. There were 38 battles in which over 100 insurgents and nearly 1,200 Ottoman soldiers were killed (the numbers refer to the Solun province, i.e. to the Solun and Seres revolutionary Districts).

The uprising in Skopje District wasn’t massive either. Here too there were attacks on the railway and 15 clashes between the detachments and the Ottoman army took place, in which about 90 insurgents and nearly 400 Ottoman soldiers were killed.

The Uprising in Seres District began on September 27, 1903, on Krstovden (Day of the Cross) without participation from the masses. The detachments clashed with the Ottoman army in several places including Nevrokop, Gornodzumaia, Melnik and Seres Regions. After lengthy negotiations, the District Organization allowed supremacist detachments to take part in the battles, unfortunately the supremacists behaved very badly, even treacherously.