From: lb@cs.man.ac.uk (Luben Boyanov)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.yugoslavia,soc.culture.bulgaria,soc.culture.greek
Subject: The Big Powers were against Independent Macedonia(was Re: The Balkan Dance of Death [Macedonia])
Date: 18 Dec 92 14:11:29 GMT
Followup-To: soc.culture.yugoslavia
Organization: Dept Computer Science, University of Manchester, U.K.

In article <1992Dec11.224942.17141@cas.org> vkb57@cas.org writes:

[deleted]

>It was the Macedonians i.e. the inhabitants of Macedonia,

i.e. mainly Bulgarians but also Greeks, Vlachs and Serbs. However, the
Bulgarian character of the Ilinden uprising in 1903 is proven beyond any
doubt in so many documents.

> that wanted a
>separate state and fought hard for it;  the big powers were supporting the
>idea since it was the only thing that made sense,

Not true at all. The big powers were all AGAINST autonomous Macedonia as
they knew such state will join Bulgaria. Let us see what the Big Powers knew:

Here is what the French counsil in Sofia, informs Paris in 1902:

"... This programme can be summarized thus: 'Macedonia for the
Macedonians'. It is clear from this that what the Committee wants is:
'Macedonia for the Bulgarians'. But knowing that the Bulgarians are the
majority in this region, the Committee does not recommend an urgent
division, as the Greeks and the Serbs do. It is not afraid of a period of
autonomy for Macedonia, which will enable the Bulgarian nationality to
strengthen its position, and which will be merely a step on the way to
union with Bulgaria."

"Documents diplomatiques. Affaires de Macedoine, XXXV, 1902", Paris, 1903,
No 23, p. 19.

The Austro-Hungarian counsellor in Sofia reports on that similar subject in
1903: 

" But we must not be deceived by this: the Austrian government is only to
establish this autonomy. And once it has been achieved, the Macedonian
people will again declare their desire for unification with Bulgaria.
  For this reason, the liberating role of Austria will be very thankless.
  If they do not aim at an immediate unification with Bulgaria the reason
is that they consider that this would lead to a division of Macedonia ...
Under autonomy Macedonia would remain whole, ... and, in due course, ensure
that the whole of Macedonia will opt for such a unification."

"Information of Austrian representatives in Macedonia", D. Zografski,
Skopje, 1955, pp 40-42.

>  the neighbors had different
>plans,  though.

The founders of IMRO had different plans than some people think and it is
well described in the memoirs of those founders... As for the Big Powers,
nothing more can be added from what was quoted above. 

>  The ethnic cleansing in Aegean Macedonia that followed the
>"feeding frenzy"  was nothing to be proud of.

Described in the Carnegie Report on the Balkan wars.


>Vasil Babamov


Luben

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"Let us not allow splits and splintering to frighten us. It is, indeed, a
pity, but what can we do, since we are Bulgarians and all suffer from one
common disease"
				Gotse Delchev
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Xref: sparky soc.culture.yugoslavia:10174 soc.culture.europe:10633