Marija Panova, Grade 11
UWCSA Mostar
What happens when you oppress and invalidate the existence of an ethnic group for six hundred years? History and culture are lost and blurred at alarming rates, of course! Such is the history of the Macedonian people, a South-Slavic ethnic group of people residing in the landlocked nation of North Macedonia at the heart of the Balkans. The Macedonian ethnic group and its people have a tumultuous past, a past where the details are often blurred and misattributed due to the oppression and segregation it had faced during its hectic history. From the Ottoman Empire conquering and ruling over the region with an iron-clad fist over the course of five hundred years, to the harsh and bloody division of the territory and its people between its neighbouring countries after the Balkan Wars, it is a history the Macedonian people have and still continue to fight to preserve. However, nothing is ever that simple, especially when patching up the tattered remains of the bloodied fabric of history. There are two main perpetrators of resistance against the Macedonian ethnic group, two powerful nations with the backing of the European Union behind them - Bulgaria and Greece.
The dispute originates from the fact that the Macedonian ethnicity has been ignored for centuries, causing specific events and historical figures, most of them being of significant value to the Macedonian people, to be attributed to another group in the region. This is the main basis for the dispute with Bulgaria. While Bulgaria accepts the nation as a country, it vehemently denies the Macedonian ethnic identity as its own unique branch of the South-Slavic group, claiming it to be a subset of the Bulgarian ethnicity. Bulgarian politicians have led and propagated a narrative upon their people concerning the issue, propagating borderline anti-Macedonian sentiments to this day, dating back before the division of the territory in 1911 after the Balkan Wars. Hand-in-hand alongside the denial of the Macedonian identity, issues surrounding a certain Macedonian revolutionary have sparked harsh division amongst the two groups. The man in question, an intellectual by the name of Goce Delchev, was a revolutionary keen on the emancipation of the Macedonian people, being one of the most important members of the first Macedonian political party - MRO, the Macedonian Revolutionary Organization. Goce Delchev is one of the most important figures in the opus of Macedonian history, holding extreme significance stemming from his ideals and actions, participating in the Ilinden Revolution, the first revolution that bore the Macedonian people any sort of merit - the existence of the Kruševo Republic for ten days. The issue stems from the fact that the Macedonian territory was a subset of the Bulgarian state, and the language being banned and prosecuted; thus making the revolutionary Bulgarian, almost by default, in the eyes of the Bulgarian Government.
The issue with Greece, on the other hand, is a lot deeper. The issue with Greece stems from an atrocity committed onto the Macedonian ethnic minority on the territory of Northern Greece. Systematic ethnic cleansing was performed on the minority, causing the mass deportation and, subsequently, the murder of thousands of ethnic Macedonians in the region of Northern Greece after the division following the brutality of the Balkan Wars. An estimated 15000 ethnic Macedonians were forcibly deported and killed in 1913 alone, leaving a trail of blood and tears in its wake. This was done in order to fully usurp the area, wiping away any and all traces of the presence of the minority that could have possibly been left there, forcing the remaining individuals to renounce their identity in order to remain on their properties. To further cleanse the region of the stain of the Macedonian people, the Greek Government took further measures. From banning the language in its entirety to banning the usage of traditionally Macedonian surnames, the Greek Government shackled and beat the minority into either submission or escapism, arriving at their desired outcome - a clean slate to cultivate their desired population, their desired outcome. Officers would listen in on the chatter within the communities, be it the jovial chatter of children or the hushed whispers of women, trying to catch any sound of the forbidden language. When caught, the unfortunate man, woman or child would be faced with severe beatings and threats, occasionally being faced with exile from the village itself. To this day, the Greek Government still rejects the existence of an ethnic Macedonian minority living or having every owned land in the region, claiming it to be a misconstruction and exaggeration made to demonize the Greek Government in the eyes of the world.
The aforementioned conflicts are still a very sore topic for all parties involved to this day. Even in this day and age, tensions still run high, the vandalism of tourist vehicles bearing Macedonian license plates being shockingly common. Conflicts of such fragile and fickle nature should be dealt with cautiously. Issues of such nature should be addressed head-on, facing one’s own faults and taking accountability for the actions of our ancestors. On the one hand, in the case of Bulgaria, historians need to sit down and settle the debate, eliminating all preconceptions and sentiments, and analyzing the sources and circumstances behind different events and individuals and coming to an inevitable agreement on the matter, finally setting the record straight. While in the case of Greece, the issue needs to be dealt with at its roots. The events of history must be addressed in order for closure to be attained. The ethnic cleansing of the Macedonian people in the northern regions of Greece is an unspoken atrocity in the fabric of the world, comfortably ignored and denied by the Greek Government, often dismissed as “fictitious” or “exaggerated”. To finally settle the dispute, both nations must learn to compromise and communicate with each other, both taking accountability for their actions and acknowledging their part in the events. With the climate of the present, in my opinion, peace and a sustainable future could very well be achieved. Through attentive discussion and debate, it is possible for all the involved groups to finally coexist in something akin to friendly relations, not only distant and frosty coexistence.
The dispute originates from the fact that the Macedonian ethnicity has been ignored for centuries, causing specific events and historical figures, most of them being of significant value to the Macedonian people, to be attributed to another group in the region. This is the main basis for the dispute with Bulgaria. While Bulgaria accepts the nation as a country, it vehemently denies the Macedonian ethnic identity as its own unique branch of the South-Slavic group, claiming it to be a subset of the Bulgarian ethnicity. Bulgarian politicians have led and propagated a narrative upon their people concerning the issue, propagating borderline anti-Macedonian sentiments to this day, dating back before the division of the territory in 1911 after the Balkan Wars. Hand-in-hand alongside the denial of the Macedonian identity, issues surrounding a certain Macedonian revolutionary have sparked harsh division amongst the two groups. The man in question, an intellectual by the name of Goce Delchev, was a revolutionary keen on the emancipation of the Macedonian people, being one of the most important members of the first Macedonian political party - MRO, the Macedonian Revolutionary Organization. Goce Delchev is one of the most important figures in the opus of Macedonian history, holding extreme significance stemming from his ideals and actions, participating in the Ilinden Revolution, the first revolution that bore the Macedonian people any sort of merit - the existence of the Kruševo Republic for ten days. The issue stems from the fact that the Macedonian territory was a subset of the Bulgarian state, and the language being banned and prosecuted; thus making the revolutionary Bulgarian, almost by default, in the eyes of the Bulgarian Government.
The issue with Greece, on the other hand, is a lot deeper. The issue with Greece stems from an atrocity committed onto the Macedonian ethnic minority on the territory of Northern Greece. Systematic ethnic cleansing was performed on the minority, causing the mass deportation and, subsequently, the murder of thousands of ethnic Macedonians in the region of Northern Greece after the division following the brutality of the Balkan Wars. An estimated 15000 ethnic Macedonians were forcibly deported and killed in 1913 alone, leaving a trail of blood and tears in its wake. This was done in order to fully usurp the area, wiping away any and all traces of the presence of the minority that could have possibly been left there, forcing the remaining individuals to renounce their identity in order to remain on their properties. To further cleanse the region of the stain of the Macedonian people, the Greek Government took further measures. From banning the language in its entirety to banning the usage of traditionally Macedonian surnames, the Greek Government shackled and beat the minority into either submission or escapism, arriving at their desired outcome - a clean slate to cultivate their desired population, their desired outcome. Officers would listen in on the chatter within the communities, be it the jovial chatter of children or the hushed whispers of women, trying to catch any sound of the forbidden language. When caught, the unfortunate man, woman or child would be faced with severe beatings and threats, occasionally being faced with exile from the village itself. To this day, the Greek Government still rejects the existence of an ethnic Macedonian minority living or having every owned land in the region, claiming it to be a misconstruction and exaggeration made to demonize the Greek Government in the eyes of the world.
The aforementioned conflicts are still a very sore topic for all parties involved to this day. Even in this day and age, tensions still run high, the vandalism of tourist vehicles bearing Macedonian license plates being shockingly common. Conflicts of such fragile and fickle nature should be dealt with cautiously. Issues of such nature should be addressed head-on, facing one’s own faults and taking accountability for the actions of our ancestors. On the one hand, in the case of Bulgaria, historians need to sit down and settle the debate, eliminating all preconceptions and sentiments, and analyzing the sources and circumstances behind different events and individuals and coming to an inevitable agreement on the matter, finally setting the record straight. While in the case of Greece, the issue needs to be dealt with at its roots. The events of history must be addressed in order for closure to be attained. The ethnic cleansing of the Macedonian people in the northern regions of Greece is an unspoken atrocity in the fabric of the world, comfortably ignored and denied by the Greek Government, often dismissed as “fictitious” or “exaggerated”. To finally settle the dispute, both nations must learn to compromise and communicate with each other, both taking accountability for their actions and acknowledging their part in the events. With the climate of the present, in my opinion, peace and a sustainable future could very well be achieved. Through attentive discussion and debate, it is possible for all the involved groups to finally coexist in something akin to friendly relations, not only distant and frosty coexistence.
Bibliography:
https://europeanwesternbalkans.com/2020/05/14/worrying-developments-on-bulgarian-north-macedonian-relations/
https://europeanwesternbalkans.com/2020/05/14/worrying-developments-on-bulgarian-north-macedonian-relations/
https://emerging-europe.com/news/after-greece-north-macedonia-faces-new-challenge-on-eu-path-bulgaria/
https://minorityrights.org/minorities/macedonians-3/
https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-47258809
https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-47258809
https://europeanwesternbalkans.com/2020/05/14/worrying-developments-on-bulgarian-north-macedonian-relations/
https://europeanwesternbalkans.com/2020/05/14/worrying-developments-on-bulgarian-north-macedonian-relations/
https://emerging-europe.com/news/after-greece-north-macedonia-faces-new-challenge-on-eu-path-bulgaria/
https://minorityrights.org/minorities/macedonians-3/
https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-47258809
https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-47258809
www.unitedworldwide.co