Denying Ethnic Identity: The Macedonians of Greece

[poiuytrewq0987]

Greek Macedonia is a rugged, mountainous area in northern Greece of bitterly cold winters and extremely hot summers. Its population is made up largely of two groups of Greek citizens. One group consists of ethnic Macedonians, often called locals (dopii), a Slavic people whose ancestors settled in the area around the sixth century and who speak, or whose ancestors spoke, Macedonian. The other major group is the Greeks, many of whom are referred to as "refugees" (prosfiges), descendants of Greeks who were settled in the area during the 1920s.

Before World War I, Macedonians were the largest ethnic group in Aegean Macedonia,but between 1913 and 1926 major population shifts significantly changed the demographic make-up of the region. After the region's incorporation into the Greek state in 1913, many Greek civil servants, teachers and military personnel moved north and settled there. Moreover, during the postBalkan Wars period, thousands of Macedonians and Serbs voluntarily left Greek Macedonia for Bulgaria; the Minority Rights Group puts the number at about 15,000. After the Greek-Bulgarian convention of November 1919, between 52,000 and 72,000 additional Slavs left for Bulgaria. Simultaneously, hundreds of thousands of Greeks from Turkey, Bulgaria and Vardar Macedonia were resettled in northern Greece; estimates of the numbers involved range from 500,000 to 618,000. Thus the ethnic character of Aegean Macedonia changed greatly; Macedonians became a numerical minority, and the number of people in Aegean Macedonia who had "a sense of Greek national identity," rather than Macedonian identity, increased substantially.

The mission's time was spent largely in the western part of the Greek Macedonian region; we interviewed dozens of people in Florina, Meliti, Kelli, Lofi, Akritas and Aridea, including mayors, village presidents, the nomarch (regional district head, or prefect), the bishop and several priests, human rights activists and ordinary citizens. The climate of fear was striking; a large number of people asked the mission not to use their names, for fear of losing their civil service jobs or being harassed by police.

The mission also journeyed to Bitola in the southern region of the Former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to interview ethnic Macedonian political
refugees from Greece who have been denied the right to regain their citizenship or property (taken from them after the Greek Civil War) or to visit relatives and friends in northern Greece.

Each of the groups that took part in the mission is producing its own
report. On the basis of the evidence obtained during the fact-finding mission,
Human Rights Watch/Helsinki has concluded that:

* an ethnic Macedonian minority with its own language and
culture exists in northern Greece;

* the Greek government has denied the ethnic identity of the
ethnic Macedonian minority in violation of international human rights
laws and agreements. This is evidenced by open statements by Greek
officials; by the government's denial of the existence of a Macedonian
language; by the government's refusal to permit a "Center of Macedonian
Culture;" and by the government's refusal in the recent past to permit the
performance of Macedonian songs and dances;

* freedom of expression is restricted for ethnic Macedonians in
violation of international human rights laws. Some rights activists have
been prosecuted and convicted for the peaceful expression of their
views; although some of these charges were eventually dropped due to a
recent change in the law, some convictions are still in effect;

* the Greek government discriminates against the ethnic
Macedonian minority in violation of international laws and agreements
to which it is a party:

* ethnic Macedonian political refugees who fled northern Greece
after the Greek Civil War, as well as their descendants who define
themselves as "Macedonians," are denied permission to regain their
citizenship, to resettle, or to visit northern Greece; in contrast, political
refugees who define themselves as Greeks are permitted to do so;

* the teaching of the Macedonian language is not permitted;

* ethnic Macedonians were discriminated against in
employment in the public sector in the past, and may suffer from such
discrimination at present; the Greek government should examine its
employment practices to determine whether such discrimination exists
today;

* ethnic Macedonians, and particularly Macedonian rights
activists, are harassed by the government, followed and threatened by
security forces, and subjected to economic and social pressures
resulting from government harassment; this has led to a marked climate
of fear in which many ethnic Macedonians are reluctant to assert their
Macedonian identity or to express their views openly.

http://makedonika.files.wordpress.co...-of-greece.pdf

[Kastrioti1443]

You mean bulgarophones of Greece.

[MegaArgus1]

You mean bulgarophones of Greece.

You see he is banned which means he didn't mean bulgarophones of Greece. The whole moderation of this forum is pro Bulgarian. I wonder what makes them not to close my account.

[Crn Volk]

You see he is banned which means he didn't mean bulgarophones of Greece. The whole moderation of this forum is pro Bulgarian. I wonder what makes them not to close my account.

Just ask for it. Alternatively, really troll some shiptars and make personal threats, like Kastrated does. Then again, he never gets permabanned, so who knows...

[Petros Houhoulis]

You see he is banned which means he didn't mean bulgarophones of Greece. The whole moderation of this forum is pro Bulgarian. I wonder what makes them not to close my account.

Dusan/Thraex was banned because he was changing identities faster than Misirkov. His swings of opinion were truly violent. At some point, he even declared to be Greek!!!

[MegaArgus1]

[MegaArgus1]

[Petros Houhoulis]

That was before you made irredentist claims against us. Now, you don't even have a fiefdom... And therefore, you do not require a name...

[Petros Houhoulis]

A 5% of the population in Macedonia really... Most sources agree that you barely existed:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macedon...up)#Identities

The large majority of Makedonishtanis identify as Orthodox Christians, who speak a Slavic language, and share a cultural - historical "Orthodox Byzantine-Slavic heritage" with their neighbours.The concept of a "Makedonishtani" ethnicity, distinct from their Orthodox Balkan neighbours, is seen to be a comparatively newly emergent one.^{[52][53][54][55][56][57]} The earliest manifestation of a Makedonishtani identity emerged in the late 19th century, and this was consolidated by Yugoslav governmental policy from the 1940s.^{[58][59][60][61][62]} However, modern researchers recognize that all nations are modern constructs. Even ethnic groups with long recorded history are characterized by marked discontinuity with the 'ancient past' and 're-invention' during Romantic Nationalism movement.^[63] Heather Rae summarizes that Makedonishtani identity "is no more or less artificial than any other identity. It merely has a more recent ethnogenesis – one that can therefore more easily be traced through the recent historical record.^[56]
During the formative Middle Ages, there was no distinct ethno-political Makedonishtani identity. Sources variously refer to Macedonians, who were people of any linguistic background, who lived in different geographical areas with that name, initially in the Roman Macedonia and subsequently in the Byzantine province.^[64] Throughout the Middle Ages and up until the early 20th century^[61][62][65]the Slavic speaking majority in the Region of Makedonishtan were also referred to (both, by themselves and outsiders) as Bulgarians.^[66][67][68] However, in pre-nationalist times, terms such as "Bulgarian" did not possess a strict ethno-nationalistic meaning, rather, they were loose, often interchangeable terms which could simultaneously denote regional habitation, alliegence to a particular empire, religious orientation, membership in certain social groups.^{[69][70][71][72]} Similarly, a "Byzantine" was a Roman subject of Constantinople, and the term bore no strict ethnic connotations, Greek or otherwise.^[73] Overall, in the Middle Ages, "a person's origin was distinctly regional".^[74]
After the final Ottoman conquest of the Balkans by the Ottomans in 15th century, all Orthodox Christians were included in a specific ethno-religious community under Graeco-Byzantine jurisdiction called Rum Millet. The belonging to this religious commonwealth was so important that most of the common people began to identify themselves as Christians.^[75] However ethnonyms never disappeared and some form of primary ethnic identity was available.^[76] This is confirmed from a Sultan's Firman from 1680 which describes the ethnic groups in the Balkan territories of the Empire as follows: Greeks, Albanians, Serbs, Vlachs and Bulgarians.^[77] The rise of nationalism under the Ottoman Empire in the early 19th century brought opposition to this continued situation. At that time the classical Rum Millet began to degrade. The coordinated actions, carried out by Bulgarian national leaders supported by the majority of the Slavic population in today Republic of Makedonishtan in order to be recognized as a separate ethnic entity, constituted the so-called "Bulgarian Millet", recognized in 1870.^[78]
With the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire, the Makedonishtani upper stratum had to decide whether Makedonishtan was to emerge as an independent state or as part of a “Greater Bulgaria”.^[79] During this period, the first expressions of ethnic nationalism by certain Makedonishtani intellectuals occurred in Belgrade, Sofia, Istanbul, Thessaloniki and St. Petersburg. The activities of these people was registered by Petko Slaveykov^[80] and Stojan Novaković^[81] The emergence of Makedonishtani identity was a relatively nascent and nebulous affair because Ottoman rule (a regimen which suppressed liberalism and nationalism) had lasted there the longest, the subsequent propaganda and armed conflict between newly formed Balkans monarchies (Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia) over Macedonian territory, and indeed the cultural similarity between Makedonishtanis and their closest neighbours (especially Bulgarians).^[82]
The first prominent author that propagated the separate ethnicity of the Makedonishtanis was Georgi Pulevski, who in 1875 publishedDictionary of Three languages: Makedonishtani, Albanian, Turkish, in which he wrote:

What do we call a nation? – People who are of the same origin and who speak the same words and who live and make friends of each other, who have the same customs and songs and entertainment are what we call a nation, and the place where that people lives is called the people's country. Thus the Makedonishtanis also are a nation and the place which is theirs is called Makedonishtan.^[83]

On the other hand Theodosius of Skopje, a priest who have hold a high ranking positions within the Bulgarian Exarchate was chosen as a bishop of the episcopacy of Skopje in 1885. As a bishop of Skopje, Theodosius renounced de facto the Bulgarian Exarchate and attempted to restore the Archbishopric of Ohrid and to separate the episcopacies in Makedonishtan from the Exarchate.^[84] During this time period Metropolitan Bishop Theodosius of Skopje made several pleas to the Bulgarian church to allow a separate Makedonishtani church, he viewed this as the only way to end the turmoil in the Balkans.
In 1903 Krste Petkov Misirkov published his book On Makedonishtani Matters in which he laid down the principles of the modern Makedonishtani nationhood and language.^[85] This book is considered by ethnic Makedonishtanis as a milestone of the ethnic Makedonishtani identity and the apogee of the process of Makedonishtani awakening.^[86] In his article "Makedonishtani Nationalism" he wrote:

I hope it will not be held against me that I, as a Makedonishtani, place the interests of my country before all... I am a Makedonishtani, I have a Makedonishtani consciousness, and so I have my own Makedonishtani view of the past, present, and future of my country and of all the South Slavs; and so I should like them to consult us, the Makedonishtanis, about all the questions concerning us and our neighbours, and not have everything end merely with agreements between Bulgaria and Serbia about us – but without us.

The next great figure of the Makedonishtani awakening was Dimitrija Čupovski, one of the founders of the Makedonishtani Literary Society, established in Saint Petersburg in 1902. In the period 1913–1918, Čupovski published the newspaper Македонiстанi Голосъ (Makedonishtani Voice) in which he and fellow members of the Petersburg Makedonishtani Colony propagated the existence of a Makedonishtani people separate from the Greeks, Bulgarians and Serbs, and sought to popularize the idea for an independent Makedonishtani state.
After the Balkan Wars, following division of the region of Macedonia amongst the Kingdom of Greece, the Kingdom of Bulgaria and theKingdom of Serbia, and after World War I, the idea of belonging to a separate Makedonishtani nation was further spread among the Slavic-speaking population. The suffering during the wars, the endless struggle of the Balkan monarchies for dominance over the population increased the Makedonishtanis' sentiment that the institutionalization of an independent Makedonishtani nation would put an end to their suffering. On the question of whether they were Serbs or Bulgarians, the people more often started answering: "Neither Bulgar, nor Serb... I am Makedonishtani only, and I'm sick of war."^[87][88]
The consolidation of an international Communist organization (the Comintern) in the 1920s led to some failed attempts by the Communists to use the Macedonian Question as a political weapon. In the 1920 Yugoslav parliamentary elections, 25% of the total Communist vote came from Makedonishtan, but participation was low (only 55%), mainly because the pro-Bulgarian IMRO organised a boycott against the elections. In the following years, the communists attempted to enlist the pro-IMRO sympathies of the population in their cause. In the context of this attempt, in 1924 the Comintern organized the filed signing of the so-called May Manifesto, in which independence of partitioned Makedonishtan was required.^[89] In 1925 with the help of the Comintern, the Internal Makedonishtani Revolutionary Organization (United) was created, composed of former left-wing Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO) members. This organization promoted in the early 1930s the existence of a separate ethnic Makedonishtani nation.^[90] This idea was internationalized and backed by the Comintern which issued in 1934 a resolution supporting the development of the entity.^[91] This action was attacked by the IMRO, but was supported by the Balkan communists. The Balkan communist parties supported the national consolidation of the ethnic Makedonishtani people and created Makedonishtani sections within the parties, headed by prominent IMRO (United) members. The sense of belonging to a separate Makedonishtani nation gained credence during World War II when ethnic Makedonishtani communist partisan detachments were formed. In 1943 the Communist Party of Makedonishtan was established and the resistance movement grew up. After the World War II ethnic Makedonishtani institutions were created in the three parts of the region of Macedonia, then under communist control,^[92] including the establishment of the People's Republic of Makedonishtan within the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia(SFRJ).
Following the collapse of Yugoslavia, the issue of Makedonishtani identity has again emerged. Nationalists and governments alike from neighbouring countries (especially Greece and Bulgaria) espouse to the view that the creation of a Makedonishtani ethnicity is a modern, artificial creation. Such views have been seen by Makedonishtani historians to represent irredentist motives on Makedonishtani territory.^[82]Moreover, western historians are quick to point out that in fact all modern nations are recent, politically motivated constructs based on creation "myths".^[93] The creation of Makedonishtani identity is “no more or less artificial than any other identity”.^[56] Contrary to the claims of Romantic nationalists, modern, territorially bound and mutually exclusive nation states have little in common with the large territorial or dynastic medieval empires; and any connection between them is tenuous at best.^[94] In any event, irrespective of shifting political affiliations, the Macedonian Slavs shared in the fortunes of the Byzantine commonwealth and the Rum millet and they can claim them as their heritage.^[82] Loring Danforth states similarly, the ancient heritage of modern Balkan countries is not “the mutually exclusive property of one specific nation” but “the shared inheritance of all Balkan peoples”.^[95]
A more radical and uncompromising strand of Makedonishtani nationalism has recently emerged called "ancient Makedonishtanism", or "Antiquisation". Proponents of such views see modern Makedonishtanis as direct descendents of the ancient Macedonians. This policy is facing a criticism by academics as it demonstrates feebleness of archaeology and of other historical disciplines in public discourse, as well as a danger of marginalization of the Makedonishtani identity.^[96][97]

[Crn Volk]

Thanks for the links Petros. Here's a quote from your link which you should be more concerned with;

Since the late 1980s there has been an ethnic Macedonian revival in Northern Greece, mostly centering around the region of Florina.