DEVELOPMENT OF EVENTS IN 1948

DEVELOPMENT OF EVENTS IN 1948

If Markos Vafiadis’s political strategy and tactics were not to arm the resistance movement on mass with experienced ELAS fighters, then where should we look for the logic for this political move? Let us not forget that when Markos was dismissing volunteers, NOF was recruiting Macedonians villagers on mass.

Everything was under the control of the CPG and DAG General Headquarters.

The 1st NOF Congress was held on January 13, 1948 in the church of the village V’mbel, Kostur Region. During the Congress it was proclaimed that: “The first NOF congress was the brightest period of Macedonia’s post Ilinden history ... and stands on the international stage with sincere intentions of assisting the development of the Greek movement. During this Congress NOF agreed that “three quarters of the Macedonian partisans would fight in the DAG ranks south of Olympus, that is, in all parts of Greece...” It was also said that more than 20,000 Macedonians were mobilized into DAG units. And, according to information provided by DAG General Staff, at that time there were no more than 25 - 28,000 DAG fighters in total in all of Greece. See the book: “National Liberation Front and the other Macedonian organizations of Aegean Macedonia (1945-1949)”, published by “Kultura”, Skopje 1985.

In his book “NOF and other Macedonian organizations in Aegean Macedonia 1945-1949”, on page 212 Dr. Kiriazovski wrote: “The leadership of NOF, despite past bad experiences, different phenomena of insincerity and opportunism on the part of the CPG leadership, took the international position and sincerely intended to assist in the development of the Greek movement. It agreed that three quarters of the Macedonian partisans should be sent to fight in the ranks of DAG south of Olympus, in all parts of Greece. Furthermore, in order to strengthen the Greek youth movement it agreed to disband NOMS, the Macedonian youth organization, and its members were advised to join the Greek youth organization EPON..., and in order for the Agricultural Party of Greece to exist, i.e. to survive, NOF bad to allow its members to enter its ranks…”

But did the Macedonians from NOF and AFZH take into account the Macedonian identity?!

It was said that the deployment of the Macedonian units in the depths of Greece was as a precaution, so as not to repeat what happened in 1944, when the Macedonian battalions separated from ELAS.

This is exactly what Truman warned:

“...If Greece falls under the control of an armed minority then confusion and anomalies can easily prevail in the entire Middle East. Furthermore, the disappearance of Greece as an independent state would have a deep reflection on all European countries whose peoples are struggling ... If we don’t help Greece in this critical moment, the consequences will be severe for the West and for the East. We are obliged to take immediate and decisive action.” To this end, Congress was asked to provide 4,000,000 dollars in economic and military aid to Greece and Turkey. The Soviet Union condemned this as “Truman’s doctrine”.

HIGH VISIT TO ATHENS

On December 31, 1947, the American military advisory and program group “JUSMARG” headed by Van Fleet was established. Through the US Military Advisory Group, the Americans established control not only over politics and the economy, but also over the armed forces.

War Diary:

On February 7, 1948, American Lieutenant General James A. VAN FLEET, took command of JUSMARG, and a week later, together with the head of the British military mission, Major General STEWARD ROLLINS, were attached to the Greek National Defense Council. See: Foreign Office to Belgrade, March 4, 1949.

But let me remind Evdokia Foteva-Vera that there is a strange version of our story, which perhaps explains why the historical truth

about the Macedonians under Greece has not yet been revealed, a version that is still not “accepted”. That version says that the Macedonians under Greece were pushed into the Greek Civil War by the Macedonians who managed the FRM (Federal Republic of Macedonia) on CPM orders. It would appear that this was another of the CPM/CPY important secret strategies. It also served to solve the problems at that time that arose with “We want to go to Solun and not to Srem”, etc., because they represented a dangerous potential for unrest in Yugoslavia. In that version, it is said that there was a large Greek lobby and that, through England and America, played a major role in its realization. As a result Yugoslavia disarmed and disbanded the Aegean brigade and then created NOF in Skopje, managed it for more than a year and then forced it to submit to the CPG.

Couldn’t Vera see that the ideological activism promoted by foreigners was spreading like a malignant disease attacking the souls of the Macedonians living in Greece in the years 1944 to 1950...?

To look for logic in “fraternal” support after Macedonia was partitioned in 1913 19 and to lure the Macedonian people to struggle for a “United Macedonia” after the Second World War ended by using our proud ideological activists, was a triumph of “dancing in the dark”.

Did anyone believe that the Bulgarian, Yugoslav or Greek government was so stupid that it would arm NOF or any Macedonian liberation movement, just to give up part of its state territory?

I am pretty sure that a reasonable person would say NO! And that it would be obvious that the so called “fraternal” communist parties (the CPG, CPY and CPB) would not believe it would be good idea

19 As a consequence of the Balkan Wars (1912-1913) and the Bucharest Peace Treaty of June 28 (August 10) 1913, sanctioned by the Neully Peace Treaty of November 14/27, 1919 and the Sevres Peace Treaty of July 28 (August 10) 1920, Macedonia was divided between Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria and later Albania receiving Mala Prespa and Golo Brdo. Greece received 34,356 km2 or 51% of the Macedonian ethnic-historical territory; Serbia 25. 713 km2 or 39%; Bulgaria 6.798 km2 or 9.5% and Albania 0.5% of the Macedonian-historical territory. to support organizations that want to separate parts of their state territories, especially in favour of the Macedonians who they claim do not exist. On the contrary, in such a case, any of the above mentioned parties would be declared traitors. If the CPG did that with NOF especially during the Greek Civil War, it would have been condemned and declared a traitor. What about NOF’s role in all this. NOF was created by the CPM/CPY and later subordinated to the CPG. So how was NOF different from any other liberation organization in the world that participated in a war? NOF was never allowed to act independently. But when it came to placing blame, NOF and the Macedonian fighters paid the heaviest price. What was worst than that was the truth was never told... There are some who still say the Macedonians fought heroic battles and should be seen as “patriots who died for their homeland…!” Whose homeland? The Macedonians in Greece lost their homeland… The truth is that it was the Greeks who turned out to be the heroes because, as the Greek state claims, they convinced us to fight and win Macedonia for them. The Greeks led the war… Every commander who led us and participated with us in the Greek Civil War was Greek. Those Greeks who commanded us during the war turned out to be great patriots to make us fight and die for their homeland so that Macedonia would remain Greek.