Todor
2003-10-28 09:48:26 UTC
Outgoing No 86/08 Sept. 1997
Attention: Mr. Kiro Gligorov
President of the Republic of Macedonia
Skopje
O P E N L E T T E R
from the Macedonian Scientific Institute, Sofia
(re: Your interview of 23 July 1997)
Mr. President,
Not long ago, the Macedonian Bulgarians living in the USA, Canada and
Australia, as well as those in Germany, addressed You with an Open
Letter on the occasion of Your interview of 23 July 1997. In our
capacity of Macedonian Bulgarians and members of the Macedonian
Scientific Institute - academicians, corresponding members,
professors, assistant professors, research associates, and public
figures, we would also like to express our attitude to the problems
treated by You in the interview.
We are pleased with the fact that You recognized a number of facts
considering the Republic of Macedonia and the relations between our
two countries, namely:
1. This was the first time You have declared before the world that the
process of "de-Bulgarization" in the Republic of Macedonia has been
completed "with the exception of some persons and one or two parties".
That statement of Yours confirms the historic truth that, until 1944,
the Slavonic population of the Republic of Macedonia has been a
Bulgarian one. Furthermore, in this way You supported the statement
made by President Petar Stoyanov in Strasbourg - that "Macedonian
history is a part of Bulgarian history, and one of its most romantic
parts - the struggle of the Christian population against the
enslavers".
2. You pointed out that the pro-Bulgarian attitudes in the Republic of
Macedonia were a "standing problem" for You. This, Mr. President, is
true only regarding the period since 1944. It is well known that the
population of Macedonia has always legitimized itself as being
Bulgarian, which is testified by the Ottoman archives, the diplomatic
correspondence of the foreign consuls, foreign observers, travellers,
eminent scientists, military people, and others who had worked in the
historical-geographic region on Macedonia, as well as by the written
documents left by the most prominent figures of the National Revival
period - Father Paissiy, Neophyte Rilski, Grigor Parlichev, the
Miladinov brothers, Jordan Hadjikonstantinov (Djinot), Kouzman
Shapkarev, Rayko Zhinzifof, etc.; the national revolutionaries Damyan
Grouev, Gotse Delchev, Pere Toshev, Todor Alexandrov, Ivan Mihaylov;
the builders of our state - M. Andonov (Chento), P. Shatev, V.
Markovski, etc.
3. You finally found the courage to confirm a statement we have made a
number of times, namely that "the recognition of a state, and not of a
language or a nation, is a matter of international law". This is
exactly the truth, Mr. President, for the state is a political, i. e.
legal category, which is subject to recognition or non-recognition,
while the language and the nation are scientific categories which are
not subject to recognition. The policy of the Serbo-Communists in the
Republic of Macedonia towards legitimizing the Comintern decision of
1934 for creation a "Macedonian nation" and a "Macedonian language"
have led to the present situation, i. e. search for a political
decision of the problem. The recent statement of the Greek President,
Mr. Kostas Stefanopoulos, cited by the "New Macedonia" newspaper, that
"the Macedonians are Bulgarians and their language is a fabrication"
confirm indisputably in another way the historical truth.
4. You are right, Mr. President, in stating that the language dispute
is "a domestic problem of your own". The Macedonian Serbo-Communists
have "conjured up" that language which, according to the "Focus"
newspaper, is spoken by less than a half of the people of the Republic
of Macedonia. Therefore, we dare ask you: since this is a domestic
problem of yours, why is Your government constantly intruding it onto
us and using it to block the normal relations between our states?
However, along with the confessions made, You went on by trying to
support and legalize a number of non-truths:
First. You allowed Yourself to identify the Republic of Macedonia with
the whole historical-geographical region of Macedonia, as well as to
appear as a spokesman for its entire population. Yet you neglected the
fact, Mr. President, that the region in question belongs to three
independent states - the republics of Macedonia, Greece and Bulgaria.
Your behaviour gives us the reason to assume that You are expressing
explicit territorial claims which is an anachronism for the present
day.
You declared Yourself a spokesman for the population of the three
areas of Macedonia. We have the right to ask you: who authorized You
to do so? The events in "Mechkin Kamen" on the occasion of the Ilinden
Uprising allows us to doubt Your chances of being a spokesman even for
the opinion of the Republic of Macedonia.
Second. In Your interview, You once again made an attempt at proving
the existence of a "Macedonian minority" in the republics of Greece,
Albania and Bulgaria. You certainly are aware of the fact that there
is no such minority not only in Bulgaria, but also in the rest of the
countries. It is well known that the attempts made on the part of the
Bulgarian Communist Party, under the strong pressure exerted by the
Comuntern and Tito's Yugoslavia, to Macedonize the Bulgarian
population in the Pirin region in 1946-47 were a complete failure.
Nowadays, the successors of that Party - Bulgarian socialists - came
out with a declaration which confessed and condemned the attempts at a
de-Bulgarization made by their predecessors, since these were strongly
urged from foreign powers and against the will of the people from the
region. Not long ago, the former Albanian President, Mr. Sali Berisha
declared that about 150-200 thousand Bulgarians are living in his
country. The International Kelsinki Committee, as well as the American
newspaper "New York Times" of 1996 stated that about 150 000 Bulgarian
live in Greece. Probably You consider a minority the small group of
people who (with the financial support of the Yugoslav embassy in
Sofia and the "Koukoush-1913" joint company) established the
illegitimate organization OMO "Ilinden". Their activities confine to
their appearances on Skopje Television and in the anti-Bulgarian
loudspeaker - the newspaper "Nova Macedonia". Their slapstick actions
are a subject of ridicule and regret in Bulgaria.
Third. In Your interview, You attributed a sign of equivalence between
nationality and political regime in the Republic of Macedonia. Mr.
Gligorov, political regimes are something transitory. They come and
go, yet nationality remains. The regime of Serbo-Communism in the
Socialist Republic of Macedonia has left painful memories in the
consciousness of the population of the Republic of Macedonia. During a
period of about 50 years, about 720 trials were held, resulting in
over 200 death sentences; more than 20 000 citizens were killed
without any trial or sentence; over 150 000 were sent to prisons and
prison camps in Idrizovo, Goli Otok, etc.; another 180 000 were forced
to leave the country seeking refuge in Bulgaria and in other countries
all over the world - only because they wanted to remain Bulgarians.
That population, subjected to genocide by Your ideological adherents
and political regimes, has nothing in common with the ruling top.
Fourth. You often take unfair advantage of the "Bulgarian occupation
in Macedonia". For more than a half century you have identified the
Bulgarians with fascists. Both in the past and at present, Bulgarians,
like people all over the world, have had differing political
convictions and views.The fact that the Bulgarian people availed
themselves of the war-time situation to regain the territories torn
from it by force of the Bucharest (1913) and Neuilly (1919) treaties,
does not give You the right to use a forged terminology. Let us remind
you that before the invasion of Bulgarian troops in Vardar Macedonia,
the area already hosted Bulgarian action committees organized by the
local population, which is a historical demonstration of a national
self-identification and establishment of a local Bulgarian power.
During that period, Mr. President, the whole population greeted with
flowers, flags and church gonfalons "the occupiers", as You termed
them. Let us remind You that 70 % of the officers and 50 % of the
soldiers were born in Macedonia. They were coming back to their native
places and their relatives. That is why the population greeted them as
liberators. This is testified by the archive documentaries which are
being kept in our archives.
We would also like to remind you that, during the Bulgarian
administration of Vardar Macedonia, dozens of schools, hospitals,roads
and bridges were built; the construction of several railroads to Sofia
started; all settlements were provided with town-settlement plans,
etc. In other words, for less than 4 years Bulgaria did more than what
was done during the 26-year-long Serb occupation. Yet, never and
nowhere have You spoken out a single word against it. Our archives
keep numerous documents about the active involvement of the young
people of Vardar Macedonia in the social-political and cultural life.
Fifth. In the same interview, You rejoiced that it is the great
advantage of the Republic of Macedonia and the "Macedonian language"
that they avail of their own alphabet. Why are You unable, Mr.
President, to tell the truth that this is not a Macedonian but a
Serbian alphabet. Why did not You tell that it was made up by order of
Tito, Djilas, Tempo and Kolishevski by special orthographic
commissions (27 November - 3 December 1944)? Those commissions
rejected the Bulgarian alphabet which had been used till 1913 by the
Bulgarians throughout Macedonia, in 1373 schools and 13 high schools,
by 2266 teachers and over 100 000 students. that was the alphabet used
by all figures of the National Revival period, led by Dame Grouev,
Gotse Delchev, Todor Alexandrov, etc. The Serbian alphabet which was
introduced by the Serbs in 1913 and legitimized in 1944 infringed on
the eleven-century-long all-Bulgarian cultural tradition started by
Cyril and Methodius and their disciples Kliment and Naoum.
Mr. President, once upon a time, our great poet Ivan Vazov, who is of
Macedonian origin, used to say - "You cannot quench the unquenchable".
You and your follower would not be able, in spite of every efforts
made, to quench the Bulgarian spirit of the population of Macedonia.
You are afraid that the notion of "One people in two states" might
assert itself. You are right to do so because that is an idea which
enjoys ever greater popularity among the people from both sides of the
Rouen and Belasitsa mountains. That idea has also been a part of the
programme of the national liberation movement of the Bulgarians in
Macedonia for decades now. This is a righteous idea which has its
future.
At present, the attitude of the Republic of Bulgaria towards the
Republic of Macedonia is more than well-wishing one. Namely because of
this Bulgaria:
1. Was the first country in the world to recognize Your state.
2. Helped you save your economy from a crash (without any signed
agreements) and during the double economic embargo.
3. Did not consent to a division of the territory of the Republic of
Macedonia.
4. Interceded with Russia and other countries for the recognition of
Your state, and they listened to the voice of Sofia.
All this testifies to the fact that the Bulgarian state is not an
enemy of the Republic of Macedonia, and that its people are a real
brother to its people. You should not also forget that the Republic of
Bulgaria is the home for over 3 million of Macedonian Bulgarians and
their descendants who have been driven away by the Turkish, Serbian
and Macedonian authorities, i. e. over than three times more than the
Slavonic population of Macedonia. Therefore, we are not indifferent to
the fate of the Republic of Macedonia.
Mr. Gligorov, in our capacity of Bulgarians from Macedonia and as
scholars, we are well aware of the complex political heritage left by
the Serbo-Communists to the Republic of Macedonia. Yet, the brothers
from both sides of the Rouen and Belasitsa mountains, would like to
live at peace and with wide open borders, instead of in an atmosphere
of mistrust and hostility, imposed by the present government of Yours
and servicing interests alien to both the Republic of Macedonia and
the Republic of Bulgaria.
September 1997
Macedonian Scientific Institute
Sofia
Attention: Mr. Kiro Gligorov
President of the Republic of Macedonia
Skopje
O P E N L E T T E R
from the Macedonian Scientific Institute, Sofia
(re: Your interview of 23 July 1997)
Mr. President,
Not long ago, the Macedonian Bulgarians living in the USA, Canada and
Australia, as well as those in Germany, addressed You with an Open
Letter on the occasion of Your interview of 23 July 1997. In our
capacity of Macedonian Bulgarians and members of the Macedonian
Scientific Institute - academicians, corresponding members,
professors, assistant professors, research associates, and public
figures, we would also like to express our attitude to the problems
treated by You in the interview.
We are pleased with the fact that You recognized a number of facts
considering the Republic of Macedonia and the relations between our
two countries, namely:
1. This was the first time You have declared before the world that the
process of "de-Bulgarization" in the Republic of Macedonia has been
completed "with the exception of some persons and one or two parties".
That statement of Yours confirms the historic truth that, until 1944,
the Slavonic population of the Republic of Macedonia has been a
Bulgarian one. Furthermore, in this way You supported the statement
made by President Petar Stoyanov in Strasbourg - that "Macedonian
history is a part of Bulgarian history, and one of its most romantic
parts - the struggle of the Christian population against the
enslavers".
2. You pointed out that the pro-Bulgarian attitudes in the Republic of
Macedonia were a "standing problem" for You. This, Mr. President, is
true only regarding the period since 1944. It is well known that the
population of Macedonia has always legitimized itself as being
Bulgarian, which is testified by the Ottoman archives, the diplomatic
correspondence of the foreign consuls, foreign observers, travellers,
eminent scientists, military people, and others who had worked in the
historical-geographic region on Macedonia, as well as by the written
documents left by the most prominent figures of the National Revival
period - Father Paissiy, Neophyte Rilski, Grigor Parlichev, the
Miladinov brothers, Jordan Hadjikonstantinov (Djinot), Kouzman
Shapkarev, Rayko Zhinzifof, etc.; the national revolutionaries Damyan
Grouev, Gotse Delchev, Pere Toshev, Todor Alexandrov, Ivan Mihaylov;
the builders of our state - M. Andonov (Chento), P. Shatev, V.
Markovski, etc.
3. You finally found the courage to confirm a statement we have made a
number of times, namely that "the recognition of a state, and not of a
language or a nation, is a matter of international law". This is
exactly the truth, Mr. President, for the state is a political, i. e.
legal category, which is subject to recognition or non-recognition,
while the language and the nation are scientific categories which are
not subject to recognition. The policy of the Serbo-Communists in the
Republic of Macedonia towards legitimizing the Comintern decision of
1934 for creation a "Macedonian nation" and a "Macedonian language"
have led to the present situation, i. e. search for a political
decision of the problem. The recent statement of the Greek President,
Mr. Kostas Stefanopoulos, cited by the "New Macedonia" newspaper, that
"the Macedonians are Bulgarians and their language is a fabrication"
confirm indisputably in another way the historical truth.
4. You are right, Mr. President, in stating that the language dispute
is "a domestic problem of your own". The Macedonian Serbo-Communists
have "conjured up" that language which, according to the "Focus"
newspaper, is spoken by less than a half of the people of the Republic
of Macedonia. Therefore, we dare ask you: since this is a domestic
problem of yours, why is Your government constantly intruding it onto
us and using it to block the normal relations between our states?
However, along with the confessions made, You went on by trying to
support and legalize a number of non-truths:
First. You allowed Yourself to identify the Republic of Macedonia with
the whole historical-geographical region of Macedonia, as well as to
appear as a spokesman for its entire population. Yet you neglected the
fact, Mr. President, that the region in question belongs to three
independent states - the republics of Macedonia, Greece and Bulgaria.
Your behaviour gives us the reason to assume that You are expressing
explicit territorial claims which is an anachronism for the present
day.
You declared Yourself a spokesman for the population of the three
areas of Macedonia. We have the right to ask you: who authorized You
to do so? The events in "Mechkin Kamen" on the occasion of the Ilinden
Uprising allows us to doubt Your chances of being a spokesman even for
the opinion of the Republic of Macedonia.
Second. In Your interview, You once again made an attempt at proving
the existence of a "Macedonian minority" in the republics of Greece,
Albania and Bulgaria. You certainly are aware of the fact that there
is no such minority not only in Bulgaria, but also in the rest of the
countries. It is well known that the attempts made on the part of the
Bulgarian Communist Party, under the strong pressure exerted by the
Comuntern and Tito's Yugoslavia, to Macedonize the Bulgarian
population in the Pirin region in 1946-47 were a complete failure.
Nowadays, the successors of that Party - Bulgarian socialists - came
out with a declaration which confessed and condemned the attempts at a
de-Bulgarization made by their predecessors, since these were strongly
urged from foreign powers and against the will of the people from the
region. Not long ago, the former Albanian President, Mr. Sali Berisha
declared that about 150-200 thousand Bulgarians are living in his
country. The International Kelsinki Committee, as well as the American
newspaper "New York Times" of 1996 stated that about 150 000 Bulgarian
live in Greece. Probably You consider a minority the small group of
people who (with the financial support of the Yugoslav embassy in
Sofia and the "Koukoush-1913" joint company) established the
illegitimate organization OMO "Ilinden". Their activities confine to
their appearances on Skopje Television and in the anti-Bulgarian
loudspeaker - the newspaper "Nova Macedonia". Their slapstick actions
are a subject of ridicule and regret in Bulgaria.
Third. In Your interview, You attributed a sign of equivalence between
nationality and political regime in the Republic of Macedonia. Mr.
Gligorov, political regimes are something transitory. They come and
go, yet nationality remains. The regime of Serbo-Communism in the
Socialist Republic of Macedonia has left painful memories in the
consciousness of the population of the Republic of Macedonia. During a
period of about 50 years, about 720 trials were held, resulting in
over 200 death sentences; more than 20 000 citizens were killed
without any trial or sentence; over 150 000 were sent to prisons and
prison camps in Idrizovo, Goli Otok, etc.; another 180 000 were forced
to leave the country seeking refuge in Bulgaria and in other countries
all over the world - only because they wanted to remain Bulgarians.
That population, subjected to genocide by Your ideological adherents
and political regimes, has nothing in common with the ruling top.
Fourth. You often take unfair advantage of the "Bulgarian occupation
in Macedonia". For more than a half century you have identified the
Bulgarians with fascists. Both in the past and at present, Bulgarians,
like people all over the world, have had differing political
convictions and views.The fact that the Bulgarian people availed
themselves of the war-time situation to regain the territories torn
from it by force of the Bucharest (1913) and Neuilly (1919) treaties,
does not give You the right to use a forged terminology. Let us remind
you that before the invasion of Bulgarian troops in Vardar Macedonia,
the area already hosted Bulgarian action committees organized by the
local population, which is a historical demonstration of a national
self-identification and establishment of a local Bulgarian power.
During that period, Mr. President, the whole population greeted with
flowers, flags and church gonfalons "the occupiers", as You termed
them. Let us remind You that 70 % of the officers and 50 % of the
soldiers were born in Macedonia. They were coming back to their native
places and their relatives. That is why the population greeted them as
liberators. This is testified by the archive documentaries which are
being kept in our archives.
We would also like to remind you that, during the Bulgarian
administration of Vardar Macedonia, dozens of schools, hospitals,roads
and bridges were built; the construction of several railroads to Sofia
started; all settlements were provided with town-settlement plans,
etc. In other words, for less than 4 years Bulgaria did more than what
was done during the 26-year-long Serb occupation. Yet, never and
nowhere have You spoken out a single word against it. Our archives
keep numerous documents about the active involvement of the young
people of Vardar Macedonia in the social-political and cultural life.
Fifth. In the same interview, You rejoiced that it is the great
advantage of the Republic of Macedonia and the "Macedonian language"
that they avail of their own alphabet. Why are You unable, Mr.
President, to tell the truth that this is not a Macedonian but a
Serbian alphabet. Why did not You tell that it was made up by order of
Tito, Djilas, Tempo and Kolishevski by special orthographic
commissions (27 November - 3 December 1944)? Those commissions
rejected the Bulgarian alphabet which had been used till 1913 by the
Bulgarians throughout Macedonia, in 1373 schools and 13 high schools,
by 2266 teachers and over 100 000 students. that was the alphabet used
by all figures of the National Revival period, led by Dame Grouev,
Gotse Delchev, Todor Alexandrov, etc. The Serbian alphabet which was
introduced by the Serbs in 1913 and legitimized in 1944 infringed on
the eleven-century-long all-Bulgarian cultural tradition started by
Cyril and Methodius and their disciples Kliment and Naoum.
Mr. President, once upon a time, our great poet Ivan Vazov, who is of
Macedonian origin, used to say - "You cannot quench the unquenchable".
You and your follower would not be able, in spite of every efforts
made, to quench the Bulgarian spirit of the population of Macedonia.
You are afraid that the notion of "One people in two states" might
assert itself. You are right to do so because that is an idea which
enjoys ever greater popularity among the people from both sides of the
Rouen and Belasitsa mountains. That idea has also been a part of the
programme of the national liberation movement of the Bulgarians in
Macedonia for decades now. This is a righteous idea which has its
future.
At present, the attitude of the Republic of Bulgaria towards the
Republic of Macedonia is more than well-wishing one. Namely because of
this Bulgaria:
1. Was the first country in the world to recognize Your state.
2. Helped you save your economy from a crash (without any signed
agreements) and during the double economic embargo.
3. Did not consent to a division of the territory of the Republic of
Macedonia.
4. Interceded with Russia and other countries for the recognition of
Your state, and they listened to the voice of Sofia.
All this testifies to the fact that the Bulgarian state is not an
enemy of the Republic of Macedonia, and that its people are a real
brother to its people. You should not also forget that the Republic of
Bulgaria is the home for over 3 million of Macedonian Bulgarians and
their descendants who have been driven away by the Turkish, Serbian
and Macedonian authorities, i. e. over than three times more than the
Slavonic population of Macedonia. Therefore, we are not indifferent to
the fate of the Republic of Macedonia.
Mr. Gligorov, in our capacity of Bulgarians from Macedonia and as
scholars, we are well aware of the complex political heritage left by
the Serbo-Communists to the Republic of Macedonia. Yet, the brothers
from both sides of the Rouen and Belasitsa mountains, would like to
live at peace and with wide open borders, instead of in an atmosphere
of mistrust and hostility, imposed by the present government of Yours
and servicing interests alien to both the Republic of Macedonia and
the Republic of Bulgaria.
September 1997
Macedonian Scientific Institute
Sofia
