Waterbury evening Democrat., 1903-08-17
TERRIBLE CATECORY
Bulgarian Government Com
plains Of Porte's Tyranny.
MURDER, TORTURE AND PILLAGE.
A Memorandum to the Great Powers
From Sofa Deals With the Terri
bile Condition of the People
Under Turkish Rule.


BILE Condition of the People
Under Turkish Rule.
SOFIA, Bulgaria, Aug. 1.-THE Bull
garian government has presented
memorandum to the powers setting out
at great length the condition of affairs
during the past three months in Mace
donna since the Turkish government
undertook to inaugurate the promised
reforms. The most precise details,
dates. places and names of persons are
given in the memorandum, the whole
constituting a terrible category Of MUIR
der, torture, incendiarism, pillage and
general oppression committed by the
Ottoman soldiers and officials.
These particulars were obtained en-
tirely from official sources, such as the
reports of the Bulgarian consuls and
agents of the Bulgarian government,
and in many instances the reports
made by Turkish authorities. The Bull
garian government guarantees the alb
challenges the porte to disprove SIN
gle charge made in the memorandum
The memorandum begins by stating
that during the past three months the
Ottoman government has taken Sc
ries of measures with the alleged inten-
ton of inaugurating the era of prom
Used reform and of assuring peace and
tranquility to the Bulgarian population
of European Turkey, but which have
had the contrary effect of further ex-
asperating this population and reviving
the revolutionary movement. Instead
of proceeding solely against persons
guilty of breaches Of the public order
the military and civil authorities have
sought every possible pretext to perse-
cute, terrorize and ruin the Bulgarian
inhabitants, alike in the large cities
and in the small villages.
Wholesale massacres, individual, muir
ders, the destruction of villages, the
pillaging and setting fire to houses, the
arrests, i'll treatment, fortunes, arbitra-
~ Imprisonment and Punishment, the
closing and disorganizing of churches
and schools, the running OF merchants,
the collection of taxes for many years
in advance-such proceeds the memo
randum, are among the acts Of the OF
toman administration of the viIayets
of Salonika, Monastir, Uskub and Adri-
anople.
Beginning with the vilayet of Salo-
nika, in the town of Salonika itself the
Bulgarian professors of the university.
the students and shopkeepers-in fact,
all intelligent Bulgarians in the city
have been cast into prison. One hun
bred and twenty soldiers entered the
village of Gorna- Ribnitza May 10 and
tortured to death Eve men and two wo-
men, During the first three weeks OF
July twenty-five villages in the district
of Tikvesch were subjected to the dep
relations of the Turkish soldiers and
Bashibazouks. The villagers were beat
en- and tortured the women violated
and the houses p1undered while the ad-
ministrative authorities looked on.
In the vilayet of Monastir artillery
bombarded and RACED the furnishing
! town Of Smerdesch, the houses being
left heap of ruins. At the beginning of
| July two Greek bands, with the conni-
vance of the authorities, pillaged Bull
! garian villages and murdered many of
| their inhabitants.
| In the vilayet of Uskub the entire
Bulgarian population has been sys-
tematically prosecuted since last May.
The director of the normal school at
Uskub was imprisoned because his Ii
brary contained the Revolutionary
works of "Othello'' and lies Misera-
bles." In the districts of Palanka, Kos
chani, Koumanovo and Gogtigar tho
prisons are filed with Bulgarian
priests, schoelmasters and merchants.
During June the soldiers and Bashiba-
zouks terroriZed the inhabitants of the
Schtff district, tortnring the people with
| redhot irons. Similar atrocities perpe-
trated in the vilayet of Adrianople are
cited.
Altogether the memorandum gives
particulars of no less than 131 indi-
vidual and general cases of excuses
and outrages committed by the Turkish
authorities. In summarizing the spe-
| cif1c details Of the outrages mentioned
the memorandum declares that whole.
sale massacres were perpetrated by
regulars and Bashibazouks in the
town of Salonika and the villages of
Baldevo, Banitza, Tchourilovo, Kar.
binza, Moghila, Smerdesch and Enidje
while the scenes of carnage, pillage
and incendiarism were everywhere ter.
ribIe. At Smerdesch over 200 Bulgari.
ans were shot, killed with swords or
burned to death. Over $50 houses and
the churches and schools were set on
fire by the soldiers and Bashibazouks
in neighboring places. Similar scenes
occurred at the villages of Gorna- Rib
nitza, Igoumenetz, Dobrilaki and Niko
den. The villagers there abandoned
their homes and fed to the mountains
Over 5000 men, women and children
fed from the sanjak of Sores and even
more from the sanjak of Kirkklise.
1t is difficult to obtain the exact mum
Der of Bulgarians who were impris
oned, mostly on the fiimsiest pretexts
as when they were released others
were Immediately arrested. The esti
mates obtainable give a grand total OF
$500. Encouraged by the Ottoman au
thorities the Greek bishops and archi
mandrites forced their way into the
Bulgarian churches, burned the prayer
+o