Front Matter - Part 05

A week later in the afternoon, at the agreed upon time, Vlandas, Gusias and Bardzotas arrived at the Central Committee headquarters. They came on horseback escorted by a foot patrol which, in addition to providing security, stomped on the snow in front of the horses to make it easier for them to travel. Later, at dusk they were joined by Ioannidis. The men added freshness, from the cold, clean mountain air, to the hot room that smelled of burning wood, baked bread, roasted goat and warm wine. They performed their customary greetings with handshakes, taps on the shoulder and a few questions about health and the weather. Then, with a wide sweep of his hand, Zahariadis showed them to the dining room. Zahariadis sat down first at the head of the table. They ate mostly in silence. Occasionally there was a word spoken here and there but it was by and large about the cold weather and the deep snowdrifts that covered the road connecting General Headquarters and the Central Committee Headquarters. The lavish meal ended with a cup of tea, a favourite drink of Zahariadis. “It is Georgian tea from great Stalin’s homeland,” Zahariadis pointed out after taking a sip. “In that case comrade Nikos, I will have a second cup,” replied Gusias, who at this time was in tears from having burned his tongue and fat lips. “This is indeed a great honour for us, comrades, to be able to drink and enjoy tea from great Stalin’s homeland, here in the wild mountains of Macedonia…” continued Gusias, placing his cup near the shimmering kerosene lamp, flickering from the uneven use of its old handle, so that he could have a better look at the hot, amber coloured liquid while waiting for it to cool down. After drinking a second cup, Zahariadis gave his corporals the signal to leave the dining room and said: “Comrades, let us begin our work. Distributed to you is the text of the report for the upcoming Fifth Plenum which today we need to divide into respective subject areas. Of course each one of us will get a part to bring to the Plenum. As I already told you, I wrote an additional piece which, in my opinion, represents our current military and political situations which are of great importance to our Party and to our revolutionary movement. I propose that this be an integral part of the report but as a special resolution. That part of the report reads: “In Northern Greece the Macedonian (Slavo-Macedonian) people gave their all in the struggle and fought with heroism and self-sacrifice and deserve our respect and admiration. There should be no doubt that as a result of the Democratic Army of Greece and the People’s Revolution achieving victory, the Macedonian people will fully acquire their national renewal, which they desire. If that is what they want then they must sacrifice their blood today…” Zahariadis stopped reading the moment he heard Bardzotas’s quiet cough. With half closed eyes and an extinguished smile on his lips, Zahariadis looked at his audience measuring their reactions. With his head resting on his tight fist, Bardzotas was swaying from left to right, staring into the corner of the room. Vlandas moved back in his chair and leaned his elbows on the table. Gusias rubbed his sweaty beard with his left hand. Ioannidis tightened his lips and began to write. Ioannidis was the first to break the silence. “Comrade Nikos, this which we heard, I must say for me is something new, unusual and surprisingly unexpected. It is understandable that it made me want to ask many questions and I believe, at least for me, I will need more time to give my final opinion…” “Who else wants to comment?” Zahariadis interrupted abruptly. “Will you allow me to continue?” Ioannidis humbly inquired. “Frankly, I would like to take a small break and read the text myself. For me there is a difference between hearing someone else reading it and reading it myself…” “There is no need for a break,” Zahariadis interrupted firmly. “If you want the text on paper, here it is.” Zahariadis pulled out several pages from the yellow envelope that lay beside him and tossed them on the table.

“Here is the text, be my guests, read it! There, now the text is divided among you,” ordered Zahariadis in a loud voice. Each took a page and began to read the text that followed what Zahariadis had already read earlier: “The Macedonian Communists have always stood at the helm of their people’s struggle. At the same time the Macedonian communists should pay careful attention to the destructive and damaging activities carried out by foreign chauvinistic and reactionary elements bent on destroying the unity between the Macedonian (Slavo-Macedonian) and Greek people, which is only of benefit to their common enemy; the Monarcho-Fascists and Anglo-American imperialists. At the same time the Communist Party of Greece needs to uproot all obstacles from its own ranks. It needs to condemn the gross Greek chauvinistic procedures that cause resentment and anxiety in the Macedonian people. Such obstacles only assist those who, by their treacherous activities, want to do us harm. Such procedures only support the work of reactionaries. The Slavo-Macedonian and Greek people can only win if they are united. That is why unity such as this must be protected and must always and every day be supported and strengthened.” Short-sighted Ioannidis, brought the page of paper close to his thick glasses and while reading, made notes. When he thought the others were finished, he placed the piece of paper on the side but only for a moment, while he stared into the distance through the window. He wrote something down and then tapped the drinking glass with his pencil. When he saw that he had everyone’s attention he said: “Comrades I read the entire report carefully, understandably due to lack of time, not my satisfaction, I am unable to comment on each part separately. Yes, of course, in my opinion the report can be divided into several parts. One part of the report attracted my attention the most. As a first step let us take a look at the text that comrade Nikos read to us. I will divide that into two sentences. The first sentence is well written and confirms the whole truth about the situation. I am convinced that none of us would have been able to give a smarter or wiser assessment of the Macedonian or Slavo-Macedonian contribution than that given by our comrade, Nikos. But that which surprised me and, I admit, caused me some dilemma, is the second sentence from which I will separate the words, ‘There should be no doubt that as a result of the Democratic Army of Greece and the People’s Revolution achieving victory, the Macedonian people will fully acquire their national renewal, which they desire…’ The way this sentence is formulated raises many questions, but one thing is most important. Namely, my dilemma, even doubtfulness is provoked by the words ‘will fully acquire their national renewal, which they desire…’ Comrades, this is a serious problem. That is why I pose the question: ‘Does this sentence mean their secession from Greece?’ If that is the case, so that I don’t take too much time, I want to remind you of a part of the oath of the fighters of the Democratic Army of Greece which states: “Εγω παιδι του Λαου της Ελλαδας κaι µaχητης του ∆ΣΕ ορκιζοµε να πολεµησω µε το οπλο στο χερι να χυσω το αιµα µου και να δωσω και την ιδια µου τη ζωη ... για να εξασφαλισω και να υπερασπισω την εθνικη ανεξαρτισια και εδαφικη ακεραιοτητα της Πατριδας µου ...” (I, son of the people of Greece and fighter of the Democratic Army of Greece swear that I will fight with a gun in my hand, will shed my blood and will give my life… to acquire and to defend national freedom and the territorial integrity of my homeland.) Ioannidis collected his notes and after looking everyone in the eye, asked: “Will our fighter, our military and political cadres accept such a stance? It is no coincidence that I read part of the fighter oath. Let me remind you ‘our veterans and military personnel are sworn to defend the territorial integrity of Greece’. Comrades, when we have this before our eyes,” said Ioannidis while hitting the page with his palm, “we should keep in mind the consequences that will arise in the future.

Comrades, I have the best of intentions, I am only attempting to provoke some thought and therefore I propose we find a ‘milder’ formulation that would still be acceptable. The remaining text is well written and I have no doubt we will accept it. It is understandable that I, generally speaking, do not doubt that comrade Zahariadis, proposing such a text to be presented at the upcoming Plenum as a special resolution to resolve the Macedonian issue, would have already thought of all the pitfalls. Certainly he has thought of them all and it would be good to believe in his infallible objectives. These are all the concrete questions I have…” concluded Ioannidis. Without allowing anyone else to speak, Zahariadis immediately continued with his presentation: “The question has strategic, tactical and political aims. Most vital for us is to achieve the first two aims. Those are the most important. The political goal is only a slogan. When we achieve our strategic and tactical goals then the political goal can easily be replaced with a different slogan. I thought about it carefully and the text before you is the result of my thinking.” Zahariadis paused for a moment, drank half a glass of water and then continued: “I am saying that we need this now, the time is right. It only represents a slogan which tomorrow, no doubt, we will replace with another slogan. The word ‘restoration’ in the broadest sense should mean and should be understood as a right to national liberation. And what else could it mean? Could it mean the right to autonomy? But if further on we say ‘which they desire’, it could mean many things; it may mean the right to separation… the right to secession, etc… Yes, this is the essence of the entire notion. This is a great challenge for our Party and a greater blow to Tito-ism, to the Macedonian nationalists and to the traitors. And depending on the situation, especially the political situation, the word that you do not like now, we will replace with the word ‘equality’... Easy, isn’t it? We will instill these ambiguous thoughts into the Macedonian activists, then we will instruct the Party, in other words we will instruct members of our party and other activists that support our side not to talk about secession, but to talk about creating an independent Macedonian state within a Balkan Federation, and then we will instruct the Greek activists to say nothing. So, comrades, when we change the slogan, the entire responsibility for misleading the people will fall on Tito, on Kolishevski and on those traitors who fled to Skopje… About NOF we will speak later…” Zahariadis paused for a moment, drank the rest of the water from his glass and continued: “Let us not forget that in the entire hundred and thirty years since Greece became a state, the Greek people have been educated in the spirit of nationalism which has provoked them the most, has developed their national consciousness and from it they formed their national and state politics, a protagonist of the ‘Megali-Idea’. Hence it also caused the Asia Minor disaster.” “Yes, but…” interjected Ioannidis “the Megali-idea at exactly the same time led to the liberation of Thessaly, Crete and Epirus ... With the overthrow of centuries of slavery, freed with the Greeks were also all the powers which led towards the liberation and integration of all territories that were inhabited by the Greeks. Now, understandably, when we Greek communists recognize the right of self-determination of people and equality for minorities; that kind of orientation is wrong and we must reject it. But then...” Zahariadis slammed the table with the palm of his hand and with a sharp tone of voice said: “I am under the impression that someone here wants to confirm that they are not yet free from the dark legacy of the past ...” “Perhaps so comrade Zahariadis, it may be so,” muttered Ioannidis “but how will you explain to the ordinary Greek, who at home, in church, in school and in the army constantly hears about the glory of Greece’s great past and ...”

“What is Greece without Macedonia?” shouted out Vlandas, adding “One rocky terrain covered by sea on three sides…” “If I may ask,” inquired Bardzotas “how do you define the word ‘apokastasi’? I understand that it could mean ‘restoring’ and ‘rebuilding’. But what will the Macedonians in Greek Macedonia ‘rebuild’? To me that means to…” he paused, thought, and afraid of accidentally using the wrong word began to sweat. Then after wiping the sweat from his forehead, he continued: “If I may ask, should it mean ‘secession’ of Macedonia from Greece? If so, then I think that our fighters and most of our cadres will be against it... They might not oppose it openly but they will be against it silently, I am sure of it...” “Our enemies will openly and with certainty use this by engaging the State and Church apparatus,” interrupted Zahariadis. “It has been said ‘which they desire’. I will tell you what they desire. They will desire that which we will tell them to desire. We will persuade the NOF and AFZH cadres to join the new Organization which we will call the ‘Communist Organization of Aegean Macedonia’, which will be exclusively led by our Party, which we will not only instruct but will task, in the name of Party discipline, to act and think as we act and think… They will want what we promise them and take what we give them. And just because we promised them something does not mean that we will give it to them. And what we give them does not mean that we will not take it away… If we take into account,” continued Zahariadis, “the current level of development of the national feeling of every Greek, regardless to which ideology and political party they belong, whether it is left or right wing, do you think that they would agree to give up even a small part of the present Greek territory? We Greeks may be a fractious nation among ourselves, but when it comes to Greece, we are united like a single fist. We may quarrel a lot among ourselves but at the same time we know how to quickly forget our differences when it comes to Greece’s fate. I don’t know of any other such people… Let me ask you Gusias, do you agree to have our Macedonia partitioned from Greece? “Well ... I, Nikos, fully support your position. Which means that I support the logic of your thinking...” replied Gusias. “And you, Bardzotas?” asked Zahariadis. “I, Nikos, what can I tell you, I would be just quoting your words...” responded Bardzotas. “We find ourselves in an ideological war; I would say more like a confrontation. We are fighting on two fronts: in front of us we fight with fire and behind us with ideology. Which one is hotter? I would say the one that will leave deeper tracks and far-reaching consequences. The second is merciless, fights by all means, have no regrets and expect countless sacrifices. It does not heal wounds, in fact it widens them, it makes them bleed today and it will make them bleed tomorrow non-stop until there is defeat. It never allows for opportunity or time for peace, for dialogue, but mercilessly destroys everything before it. Idea fighting against idea and no one knows when the war will end. Those who will win will immediately impose a dictatorship and then it will be very hard for the defeated... In the consciousness of everyone, who in the least is engaged in politics, lies defeat: ‘if you want to govern then you must learn to argue!’ Are you ready to accuse me of giving away too may rights? Yes you are. That is correct. However, you refuse to consider the results of having given such rights. First, it will cause the so-called NOF leadership to have a fight and break down. And do you know how? Very easy! I would say there is nothing easier. One day one of them came to me and said, ‘Comrade Zahariadis, you know this person and that person is doing this and that’. I listened to him carefully, I pretended that I was very concerned, I agreed with him that he was right, I praised him and at the end I told him, ‘You know comrade, by what you are telling me regarding these very important issues, you have shown me courage and that you have a great Party and revolutionary consciousness.

You have demonstrated to me that you are completely dedicated to the ideals of our struggle’. The person was simply ecstatic. I then concluded with the following words, ‘You know comrade, that person and that person said this and that about you’. And he said, ‘Comrade Zahariadis that is a lie’. So I handed him a piece of paper and said, ‘Read.’ And he said, ‘But this is a lie, this is slander, it is not true comrade Zahariadis.’ And then I told him, ‘If you insist it is not true then deny it. Here is a piece of paper, write it down.’ And that way, comrades, they slander and spit on one another… That is how they become robots. Learn and you will know. Now they can’t stand one another [the Macedonians from Greece and the Macedonians from the Republic of Macedonia], not even with the ones that remained inside, meaning in Yugoslavia.” “Goche and Keramidzhiev left Greece for Yugoslavia,” continued Zahariadis “and never came back and that was no tragedy. And do you know why? First, because I agreed that they should go and agreed that I did not need them here. They interfered too much in the military. Secondly because, as political and military activists, I wanted them to have a bad relationship with those we have here. Our struggle had no practical use for them. They were as good as dead for the benefit of our movement. Understandably they only brought us grief before that and now. Their presence here would have caused us great damage. You know that they caused us damage with their activities! Someone will ask why we did not prosecute and jail them. Because at that time the population here, the endopi (indigenous), believed them. And they, Goche and Keramidzhiev, knew and understood how to use that against us. Had we tried them we would have made an even greater mistake. So let them stay in Skopje and let them fight and slander one another. Tomorrow they will slander one other even more. The entire Slavo-Macedonian nation is in the mountains. We collected their children and sent them where we sent them. Now these people are struggling just for their own lives; simply to remain alive. It is a little sad, but that is reality and the truth. And they know very well what awaits them if they don’t fight. They know that if we lose the war, everything will be lost. Literally! That is why they are so conscious and why they fight so hard. I must admit that with the rights that we gave them, we helped them develop their national consciousness and sense of freedom. Sadly, the more nationally conscious they become the more they spread the gap between themselves and Greece. And this part, which they call Aegean Macedonia, is Greece. Do they want to separate? To join Tito? They will lose! Greece will never surrender, it will never die! The price to pay will be their lives, their children, their properties. And in the end they will have nothing to defend. Look, everything around is destroyed. Thousands lost their lives, we collected them and placed them in camps in Albania, we separated their children from them and who knows when and under what circumstances they will ever see their children again. Who knows we may even raise their children to be ashamed of them, their own parents and their own kind. And I need to tell you that besides all that, there is a need to recognize that they showed examples of unheard heroism, and I admire both the old and the young. If anyone is a casualty of this struggle and of this war it is them, indisputably. Look at the kind of slogans the enemy uses to attack ‘forward against Slavo-Communism’! Until now I have never heard our enemy use the slogan ‘forward against Greco-Communism’. Doesn’t that tell you something? From a purely human standpoint comrades, what is happening to them now and what happened to them before, is really their great human and national tragedy and should deeply, honestly and humanly make us feel sorry for them; all of us who find ourselves face to face with them in a trench, in a bunker, or in a hospital...

It is an individual and collective tragedy. Without them our movement would not have developed and would not have survived even for a single day. Our Party, in this sense, has worked very well and every Party activist has done their job. This nation has placed all manpower and material needs on the altar of our struggle. Well comrades, that is why I agreed to allow NOF to exist and most responsibly I say that NOF and all the others were a necessary evil. Who does not understand that, does not understand our struggle and the future of Greece...” concluded Zahariadis noticing that Bardzotas, covering his mouth with his hand, was whispering to Vlandas. “Nikos is right. What he is saying is correct. I got to know those people… They are tame, peaceful, patient, durable even in the most difficult marches, in heat and cold, hunger and thirst and always obedient and loyal. Excellent fighters, capable of almost anything. If they have distant roots extending to the ancient Macedonians, which many people suspect they do, then it is not surprising... if they were well-armed and say we had a hundred thousand of them in our ranks it would have been possible to go and conquer Athens...” whispered Bardzotas. “Come now…” responded Vlandas, but instead of answering Bardzotas he spoke to Zahariadis, “if that’s the case then what will mobilize the Slavo-Macedonian people? Like what? Promise them freedom, national liberty, equality… While we are discussing this I want to underline that minorities are still not fully included in the armed struggle and in the Peoples’ Revolution. A large number of the villages in the plains of Lerin and Voden Region are outside of the ranks of the Democratic Army of Greece. In order to attract them we need to further engage NOF and AFZH and get them involved in the mobilization, we also need to come up with a new slogan to show them the way to their ‘national restoration’. What does this mean? This will motivate the Slavo-Macedonians to fight even harder, to stop deserting and close the mouths of the nationalist and chauvinist troublemakers and deserters who hide in Skopje and have the support of the Yugoslav authorities...” “Will they in Skopje quit interfering in our affairs and support NOF, which you allowed to be formed?... inquired Gusias. Barely visibly smiling, Zahariadis quietly said, “Facts speak differently. I did not agree to form NOF, but I did recognize it and for that there were many reasons. NOF was formed during the occupation. They fought in the ranks of ELAS (National Liberation Army of Greece) but had their own organizations, and even their own units. Then where was the Party to stop them? Comrades, the time will come when I will explain to you in detail NOF’s position, especially my opinion on the leadership of NOF. That is one of our Party’s greatest mistakes, mistakes which, through attempting to resolve the national question, cast a different kind of shadow on our situation. Yesterday and today’s situation forced us to accept the approach we took. Personally I am convinced that without NOF and AFZH, without their work among the Macedonian masses, without their full engagement in the Macedonian youth mobilization in the ranks of the Democratic Army of Greece and the Macedonian population, which represented a great logistical strength, we could not have continued with our movement. Thanks to NOF we were successful in raising the youth and the general civilian population. They gave their all, in spite of our Party evaluating NOF as a ‘mistake’. What could we do? The front and our freed territory were both located in the lands inhabited by a Slavo-Macedonian population and exactly that together with Gramos, which today is partially lost, represented our strategic point. The Slavo-Macedonians are industrious, tame, loving, humble and slavish… They don’t know and they don’t even have the slightest idea that they can be dignified and brave to madness. They do not even complain about impositions on their destiny.

And in God’s name, these people gave their all, a large number of fighters from their ranks demonstrated exemplary heroism. I think this simple, tame, quiet, poor, work exhausted and terrorized little people exist for one purpose; to be slaves. I believe our Party is great in the way that it reveals such people and encourages them to find their way to freedom and dignity. But what am I talking about. These people who now occupy the ranks of DAG are the grandchildren of the still living Ilinden generation. Imagine the irony! Their parents were children when the Ilinden uprising broke out. Yes, Children. Some were younger, some were older and some were just born in the flames and smoke of a rebellion. Children, the same as those we sent to the Eastern European Block countries. I am convinced that they are deeply influenced by their grandparents or by their parents who experienced the Ilinden Uprising firsthand. Or by other people who knew about their grandfather or grandmother being direct participants in the Ilinden Uprising. If I may say, these children who grew up at the bosom of their grandmothers and grandfathers were very happy. I never had the opportunity to grow up with my grandfather and grandmother. My father was a merchant and had no permanent residence. I grew up in bustling cities, in the shops and trailers, in commerce chambers constantly traveling all over the world. I saw and heard plenty and I learned plenty in my pursuits. And these people I came to believe are tailored to be slaves… I used to believe that they were simple, uneducated and gullible but a part of them surprised me with their devotion to the Party and to our work. And let us not forget the most important thing ‘we are in their homes, we eat their bread and we don’t even know how to console the little women, to say a kind word to them about their husbands or children who died for our cause. Instead we make them promises and slogans for national freedom. And another thing. We made promises to those in Belgrade and in Skopje. What, do you think Lazo Kolishevski is stupid? He knows exactly what he wants. He wants all of Macedonia, but not under the conditions that Chento wanted it, like Tito and his general, what’s his name, Apostolski? Imagine if Tito did not force them to go to the Srem front, what would have happened then? They already had a slogan which called for ‘To Solun’ and that was not only for those who live in Vardar Macedonia, but also for those who live here in our Macedonia and they did not need a strong power or a great army. Under those conditions and especially since Greece was busy with its own problems, mostly dealing with British intervention, it was certain they would have arrived in Solun. And who was defending Solun? Markos? A regular lieutenant and still a tobacco picker? Do not kid yourselves. They would have involved the entire Slavo-Macedonian nation and much faster than we did with our promises. No promises are needed to convince them when it comes to the unification of Macedonia and the taking of Solun. This is the hope and legacy left for them by their older generations… Even if they were unable to take Solun, they certainly would have been able to occupy Lerin, Kostur, Kukush and if not the cities then the surrounding villages and mountains. This would have given them tremendous moral support and an historic message for future generations!... I would love to know what you would have thought if this were to happen. They would force Greece to negotiate. And something is always gained from negotiation...” concluded Zahariadis. “Yes, but that for Tito would have meant war on two fronts, and besides then he was obedient to Moscow. Stalin would not have been happy,” added Ioannidis. “The war at that point in time would have ended even without Tito. Tito needed Trieste. The Slovenes were under pressure but had smart people and strong and capable commanders and would have won the war on their own… responded Zahariadis. “Luck,” weighed in Vlandas, “it was Greece’s luck that Slovenia asked for Trieste.

Tito got caught on Kardeli’s hook. That’s why Lazo was left with empty hands and barefoot. If the Skopjans were a bit smarter, more insistent and faster, the fate of Solun may have been under question for us…” “And they would have pushed Athens into negotiations…” interjected Zahariadis, then took a moment to drink a glass of water before continuing: “I of course agreed that NOF and AFZH should function, even with their own detachments and commanders. This was the only way that we could have made them our allies and fully mobilized them. That was and still is a necessary evil. That was our tactic, a part of our strategy. Do you think I want their Skopjan Republic to be strong? That goes against Greek logic. And what is Greek logic? That which is ruled by Greece to be held at any cost… A strong Macedonian Republic or state means a weak Greek north. I am convinced that Athens and Solun will never find a common word. That is because Athens lives on account of Solun. I realized that a long time ago. If we now had the necessary forces to occupy Solun, Athens would fall to its knees. The Macedonian issue must one day be resolved but it has to be resolved fully to Greece’s benefit. That’s the only way...” Zahariadis stopped talking, stood up, opened the balcony door and went outside. A cold blast of air parted his curly hair. He turned, pointing to the north and said: “Those from there don’t think too well of us. And that is why I want to turn the text sitting there before you, regarding the Macedonian question, into a resolution during the Fifth Plenum…” Zahariadis grabbed the papers from Bardzotas’s hands, raised them above everyone’s heads and with his hand motioning in a comical way, yelled out: “This will make those in Skopje think. Here is what we are giving our Slavo-Macedonians! But that is exactly what the Skopjans don’t want us to do. We and our Party, comrades, are now beginning the realization of a single correct slogan ‘equality for minorities with the right of secession’. No other party has ever done this. We will be the first. It will be good for us… And with this, comrades, I will stick it to Tito because this kind of opportunity will push the Skopjans to think and re-think what is better for them, to be a federal republic of a union or to be entirely independent with their own independent state? That which they have in Yugoslavia is very little in comparison. They need to have more and they need to be told that… I will toss an apple between Belgrade and Skopje… Now that relations between Tito and Stalin are strained and thousands are lost to UBDA in the prisons, do you think no one will be there to accept our idea? Surely there will be some. Do you know why they locked up Chento and others? Because they wanted a united Macedonia, even if it was only part of Yugoslavia. Imagine if they had many rights, even greater rights along with the right to self-determination, even to secession. This is what we will announce today in this resolution with guarantees that our Slavo-Macedonians will have all these rights. That is why I say that those in Skopje will have something to think about. So that you know…” “Wise and very shrewd,” said Vlandas “well thought out, but…” “The essence of our idea is self-determination,” interrupted Zahariadis “do you not think that those in Skopje will not see the opportunity for unification and independence? Tomorrow we may even ask them: ‘Do you want an independent Macedonia?’ Then join us. Which means we will start a conflict in Yugoslavia. And Yugoslavia deserves this because it is an artificial country and needs to be gone. Molotov told me this. And you should know this. The fact that Greece, to this day, has not lost Macedonia, hinges on its joining the allies against fascism. If Greece had fought on the side of Germany, the way some Megalo-Idealists wanted it, then it would have paid. And its price would have been the loss of our Macedonia.” Noticing that it was getting late in the evening, Zahariadis looked at his pocket watch.

“Comrades, that’s enough for today. Tomorrow we will once again examine the text and afterwards we will schedule our Party’s Fifth Plenum. It will be an important and historic plenum…” Vlandas then added: “The contents of the report are excellent and the text for the resolution regarding the Macedonian question is fantastic ..., the Fifth Plenum will be one of our greatest military gatherings brimming with tremendous hope and enthusiasm.” While leaving, Vlandas allowed Ioannidis to go first and, with the door half-closed, quietly asked: “Nikos, do you truly want to turn this text into a resolution to solve the Slavo-Macedonian question? Have you considered the possible risks and consequences?” Staring into his eyes sternly, Zahariadis, with a confident tone of voice, said: “I am sure that because of this Slogan many of our comrades who today are imprisoned in the camps and prisons will suffer. They will be interrogated to confess that they agree with this resolution and those who agree will surely be tortured and even executed. In the name of our ideals they will accept their sacrifices and with them they will affirm their loyalty to the Party. And those who will succumb, who will not acknowledge, who will give up, after the victory of our movement will have to justify themselves. And we will not waste our time with them. They will justify themselves before our judges in our Party’s courts. And you don’t need to worry… I have thought of everything. This resolution will not even have a single day of practical significance. It is only a tactical step in the war against Tito-ism… You will see that life will confirm my words… The Great Lie – Chapter 6

“We had success on the battlefield,” continued Zahariadis, after taking a large piece of Prespa, baked carp from the pan, “especially during the battle for Malimadi and the capture of towns in central Greece, confirming that creating a regular army is the right approach. But in spite of all our success, there are forces in our Party and in the Central Committee that still oppose the idea of having a regular army…” Gusias, after lightly tapping his water glass with his knife and getting everyone’s attention, interjected: “Nikos, I am sorry for interrupting you but I think your manner and worries, which are the manner and worries of our Party, are correct and we need to implement your ideas to the end. We need a monolithic Central Committee. If we want this, then it is time to purify the Party of those who are in opposition…” “Implement what ideas?” asked Zahariadis. “The idea of creating a regular army... and the idea of fighting an open front...” responded Gusias. “Yes, exactly that!” Zahariadis responded with approval, “Hence the urgency for convening a Central Committee Plenum. I thought about it and in general terms I will put together a number of theses. The first thesis will be about dangers in the ranks of the Communist Party of Greece and our greatest enemy being opportunism. Let’s take Markos’s thinking into consideration for example. Among other things Markos wrote in a letter that if we continue with the idea of forming a regular army we will be forced to defend ourselves by sticking to specific enemy positions, which will make us give up our energetic Partisan-style warfare…” “But, comrades, our policies so far, and our military experience above all, as I stated earlier, prove the opposite. Unfortunately, Markos is unable to grasp the new role of the Democratic Army of Greece and in his way of thinking, I am telling you, he is working against our Party’s position and will lead us to lose our armed struggle…” Zahariadis concluded and, looking into everyone’s eyes, paused. There was silence. Zahariadis raised his hand and while pointing into the air with his index finger, asked: “What does that mean?” Zahariadis then stood up and slowly, with measured steps, walked around the table. There was silence. This was a method Zahariadis often used to motivate his audience to pay careful attention. “Comrades, that means he is unwilling to recognize that we have acquired Gramos. Of course it is understandable that the battles fought were severe and that they unfortunately broke Markos’s spirit. I visited him in Tirana. And what did I see? A skeleton… Only a skeleton remained of him. He was totally broken both physically and psychologically. He is sick. And I must openly say that with his letter he wants to prove to us that, from a political stand point, the dramatic events connected with the battles of Gramos are not a result of the superiority of the enemy and of great difficulties, but are due to some kind of deep-rooted political crisis. This kind of thinking on Markos’s part, comrades, calls for the Political Bureau to investigate his style of fighting and to uncover the root of his problem. I must admit that Markos has always been burdened with a sick feeling that the Party belittled and persecuted him. I also believe it was a great and fundamental error on the part of our Party to have appointed him Commander and Chief of the Democratic Army of Greece (DAG). At this point it is necessary to clarify the legacy of ELAS (National Liberation Army of Greece), the same bad legacy with which Markos is burdened. Despite the many mistakes he made, which are now coming out, Markos was allowed to continue to carry on with his wrong, Partisan-style tactics. He should have been condemned for that a long time ago but instead he was allowed to carry on, thus completely ruining the Party line. Markos did a great deal of damage to our movement… We need to speak about this openly because this is the only way we can clean our ranks of opportunists such as Partsalidis.

We also need to take a strong stand against the traitors and agents such as Markos and Karagiorgis…” Zahariadis concluded. Without eliciting comments or questions, Zahariadis looked at everyone for reaction. He wanted to see the reaction on their faces, look into their eyes and listen to their breathing. He was fully aware that while he was talking about a very important issue he was also condemning ELAS, in whose struggle he himself had participated. He was not sure if they would accept his judgment without any objections, but the tone of his voice and his choice of vocabulary, were aimed at having his judgment accepted without objection. And in order not to give them time for reflection, he continued: “The second thesis should be this: the liberation of Greece! Irrespective of the large external assistance that the regime in Athens is receiving, the liberation of Greece should be exclusively the responsibility of DAG. But DAG will be capable of carrying out such a task only after it is organized as a strong, regular people’s revolutionary army, an essential task of the Communist Party of Greece (KPG). This is our fundamental position. A concrete frame for this should be determined during the upcoming Plenum, which means that we need to come up with a report which must cover the following problems: First – the Monarcho-Fascist situation in Greece, second – the People’s Democratic camp and DAG, third – today’s situation and our tasks, and after that fourth and final, our current political commitments. All this put together under the title ‘Greece on its way to victory and the decisive battle’. I believe we all understand what needs to be said, correct? However, about the part that refers to our political commitments, I have an idea but it still needs more work, I will be able to put it on paper in a few days. I will take responsibility for writing the entire report which should take me about ten days. Your responsibility will be to carefully read the report and add your comments and my amendments if any, so that the report will be embraced by all members of the Political Bureau, in other words by all five of us. I will take responsibility for writing this report but for future meetings we will divide that task between us. And let us not forget. We need to be united in the upcoming plenum especially when different and conflicting opinions arise from the Central Committee membership. If we five members of the Political Bureau are united then we will have a monolithic Central Committee. Also, consider the best way to clean the opportunists from our ranks, which understandably will have to be done by naming names.” concluded Zahariadis. The dinner that began around eight o’clock in the evening ended at the crack of dawn. The Great Lie – Chapter 7