From: buis@buengc.bu.edu (Biomed Dept I.S.L.)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.greek
Subject: Karadimce: ON GLIGOROV
Date: 15 Apr 92 23:52:39 GMT
Article-I.D.: bu.84078
Organization: College of Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
Originator: buis@buengc.bu.edu


	In the article/response by Mr. Karadimce (Article: 3342 of soc.culture.
yugoslavia From: karadimc@enuxha.eas.asu.edu (Anton Karadimce)) on the
nationality of the president of the Republic of Macedonia Mr. Kiro Gligorov,
Mr. Karadimce writes:

>Mr. Gligorov is 74 years old. In 1941-1944 (at the age of 23-26) he worked in a
>law office in Skopje, which was occupied by the Bulgarian 
>army. Mr. Gligorov used his office to host meetings of the resistance 
>leaders of Skopje. Thus Mr. Gligorov clearly engaged himself in
>an anti-Bulgarian activity, although the Bulgarian army came to
>"liberate" Macedonia.

	This looks like a text from "Istorija na KPM/SKM" (The history of the
Communist party of Macedonia). Well, probably it is, just copied in one of the
"history" book that were used in the Socialist Republic of Macedonia for the
last 45 years, and then transferred in the eternal memory of the good pupil's
mind. 

	Poor Mr. Gligorov, who was using his office to host meetings of the
"resistance leaders". Are you serious? No, you must be joking. 

	First of all, there was NO resistance movement in Skopie during the
WWII besides the communist-organized marginal movement (supervised by the
CP Yugoslavia) with the goal of taking political power. No other resistance
movement, besides the one organised by the communists existed! (here should 
be mentioned two small fighting antifascist groups of the Yugoslav Army in
Fatherland (wrongly called "chetniks"): the first headed by Jordan Kimich,
located between the Koziak Mountain and Kara-Orman (Skopian Montenegro) - the
areas inhabited mostly by Serbs, and the second group in Babuna Mountain headed
by voivoda Stefanovich - both groups not being located in Skopie). 

	Hence talking about "resistance leaders" in Skopie is a nonsense,
ofcourse if that is not your personal alias for several communist huligans who 
were hiding on the Vodno mountain. 

	Second, even the communist movement in Macedonia at the beginning of
the war was absolutely pro-Bulgarian. When the Bulgarian authorities came in
Macedonia the Communist Party of Macedonia recognised fully the new situation
and VOTED to become a part of the Bulgarian Communists Party. The Communist
Party of Macedonia during 1941 regarded Macedonia as a part of Bulgaria, and no
secessionist actions were undertaken by the Macedonian communists. 

	However, that didn't match the desires of the Communist Party of 
Yugoslavia and its "modest" GEN-SEK Tito. That was the reason why he order
to his special emissary, Svetozar Vukmanovich-Tempo to leave Belgrade and visit 
Macedonia, in order to overthrow the Regional Committee of the Communist party
for Macedonia, headed at that time by Metodi Shatorov. 

	Please note that the Yugoslav Communist Party at that time was 
extremely weak. In whole Yugoslavia there were barely 10,000 members of the
Communist Party and Communist Youth Organization (SKOJ). And the density was
uneven, being highest in Montenegro and lowest in Kosovo and Macedonia. 

	Vukmanovich did his job very well. Shatorov was expelled from the
Party, and the new Central Committee was organised with new people. It
consisted of five semi-literate vagabonds, headed by Lazar Kolishevich, who was
for that occasion brought (like a bride) from the Serbian town of Kragujevac
where he worked as a gun-smith. Kolishevich was born in Macedonia, but as an 
orphan at the age of 10 he was taken to Shumadia. He spoke only Serbian when he
arrived in Skopie in 1941, and started to learn the macedonian dialect in the
Madzhar-maalo house, where he was hiding. Kolishevich was captured by the
Bulgarian police few month later. He spent all the war-time in prison. How
"important person" he was can be illustrated by the fact that he was amnestied
and released in September 1944. 

	Moreover, the communist movement in whole Yugoslavia was pro-German
until June 22, 1941, due to the Hitler-Stalin agreement of 1939, and no
"action" was taken against the occupation. Remember that in that period Tito
was "measuring" the streets of Belgrade, and he announced the communist
uprising for the first time on July 4, 1941, two weeks AFTER the German attack
on Soviet Union. 

	Hence, if Mr. Gligorov was connected with the communist party in the
1941, and if he used to host so-called "resistance leaders" (which were, as we 
have seen communists) than he WAS CLEARLY PRO-BULGARIAN since that was the 
party "line" at the time.

>The above suggests that Mr. Gligorov studied law in Belgrade 
>before WWII. It is possible that he took his test in Bulgarian at 
>that time, thus clearly showing that he is not a Serb. He could 
>not have taken his tests in Macedonian since this language
>officially did not exist in Yugoslavia before WWII. 
     
	How, in the name of God, "the above suggests that Mr. Gligorov studied
law in Belgrade" !?!? Are you joking again? He could have studied in Zagreb,
Viena, Geneve, Sofia, or who knows where. However, it is possible that he
studied in Belgrade. But that is not suggested "above".

	Now comes the "master-piece" of logics (and a text-book example of
communist fabrication): 

	Taking tests in Bulgarian shows that he considered himself only a
non-Serbian! And DOES NOT SHOW THAT HE CONSIDERED HIMSELF A BULGARIAN, because
(watch this now!) poor Mr. Gligorov "could not have taken his tests in
Macedonian since this language officially did not exist in Yugoslavia before
WWII"! (And where did it exist before WWII, pardon my ignorance?) 

	If Mr. Gligorov wanted to show to his professors that he is not a 
Serbian, he could have used any foreign language to take his tests. But if 
he wanted to show them that he IS A BULGARIAN then he would have taken them
IN BULGARIAN.

	Is it that difficult for you to accept the fact that there were and
still are people in Macedonia who consider themselves Bulgarians?

>The above episode (if true at all) happened more than 50 years 
>ago, which is far away from "until yesterday". Furthermore, Mr. 
>Gligorov's alleged declaration as a `Bulgarian' must be taken in
>the light of the legal impossibility of declaring himself as a
>Macedonian.

	Agree, there is a possibility that he would have declared himself
before the WWII a Macedonian, but it's definitely not higher than the
possibility of him declaring himself a Bulgarian (especially in different
circumstances). Actually, it is much lowered by the fact that Mr. Gligorov
declared the Bulgarian as a mother tongue. 

>It is ridiculous to believe that Mr. Gligorov declared himself as
>a Bulgarian after WWII, when he could freely choose to declare
>himself as a Macedonian. If that were the case, he would not have
>resisted the Bulgarian occupation of Macedonia in WWII, and
>ultimately he would not be current President of the Republic of 
>Macedonia.

	What do you mean "it's ridiculous"? Maybe he would have declared 
himself as a Bulgarian had it not been the "party line" of declaring  every
Slavic citizen of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia - a Macedonian. Do you
know how many people in Macedonia refused to declared themselves as Macedonians
and were persecuted or executed because of that after 1944? 

	Also, during the WWII he could have been Bulgarian and still resist the
Bulgarian Army and Government for political "class" reasons, as being a
communist. Do you think that there were no Bulgarians who opposed the Bulgarian
Government at that time? 

	And now the finale of your opus: 

"If he was a Bulgarian he would not be a current President of the Republic of
Macedonia"! 

	Why? Does the Constitution of the Republic of Macedonia require a
certain nationality qualifications for the President? Or, if he is a citizen of
Macedonia, he can be of any nationality including the Bulgarian. Maybe you
don't think so? 

	I believed that very soon after the collapse of the communism in 
Macedonia and elsewhere, people would start to look for the truth that has been
deprived from them for a long time, no matter whether it hurts or not. 

	There has to be a library in Arizona, where you can find books that 
offer some other view than the ones used as text-books in the Socialist Republic
of Macedonia, and in the highschools with revolutionary names like "Korchagin".

	If you, Mr. Karadimce, want still to believe in, and buy the
nursery-tails that "the Macedonian delegation didn't make it to the second
meeting of AVNOJ in Jajce in 1943 because of the huge snow",  that "Kosta Solev
- Ratsin lost his life in an accident" and that the recreation center
"Oteshevo" was built "by the united work of the Communist Youth brigades", it's
fine, but it is an insult to the readers' intelligence if you try to sell that. 
	
	Regards, 

		Lou
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