The Division Of Macedonia / Политика, Свят / Македония

http://network54.com/Forum/message?forumid=64646&messageid=966225769 The Division Of Macedonia And The Oppression Of The Macedonians Under Greek Occupation Nick Anastasovski On behalf of Macedonian Youth Alliance (Melbourne, Australia), 1995 http://homestead.deja.com/user.makedon/files/logo_mya.gif "I do not believe that the words autonomy, liberty, independence, hold such magic for any other people as they do for the Macedonians. To free peoples the word liberty has lost some of its real signification. They accept it as one of the appurtenances of life, as one of the necessities, like air, like water. But to the Macedonians liberty has become the highest goal for which man can strive ". Stoyan Christowe "Heroes and Assassins" New York 1935 [For fair use only] =============================================== INTRODUCTION This short pamphlet aims to provide the reader with a brief historical outline of the injustice of the partition of the Macedonian nation. Particular emphasis is made on Southern Macedonia, commonly referred to as Aegean Macedonia, which fell under the occupation of Greece as a result of the Balkan Wars (1912-13). The pamphlet examines the period leading to Macedonian partition between Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece and Albania. and then provides evidence of the brutal methods used by successive Greek governments to assimilate and denationalise the Macedonians in Aegean Macedonia. It aims to correct the misconceptions brought about by Greek fabrications concerning the Macedonian people and nation. The Greek position on Macedonia involves the manipulation of historical facts designed to serve their own nationalistic ambitions. Generally, throughout the past eighty years the Greek government maintained a policy, internally and internationally, that "there are no Macedonians anywhere in the world" (1986 Papandreou, Prime Minister of Greece). Since the occupation of Aegean Macedonia Greece has gone to excessive lengths to falsify and distort the historical truth concerning the Macedonian nation and people. In recent years, the Greek propaganda campaign has taken on fanatical proportions aiming to "prove" the "Greekness of Macedonia". The purpose of this strategy is: to oppose the establishment of the Republic of Macedonia as an independent and sovereign nation (that part of Macedonia which was occupied by Serbia in 1912-13 and which became a constituent republic of the Yugoslav Federation in 1944 until the disintegration of Serbian dominated Yugoslavia in 1991); to disguise the illegitimate conquest of Aegean Macedonia; and, to conceal the truth regarding Greek treatment of the Macedonians in Aegean Macedonia. Greek violations of Macedonian national and human rights have taken on monstrous proportions and have made a mockery of the Charter of the United Nations and the dozen or so human rights agreements to which she is a signatory to. Macedonians in Aegean Macedonia are no longer prepared to endure the negation of their identity and demand that their human and national rights be respected by the Greek government. Macedonians demand that the Greek government take immediate steps towards recognising them as a distinct and separate people with their own national, cultural, and linguistic uniqueness. Macedonians appeal to all progressive democratic forces to pressure the Greek government to abide by universally accepted human rights principles, and urge Athens to fulfill its obligations under international human rights agreements. The historical truth concerning Aegean Macedonia is presented in this brief pamphlet to inform the general Australian community of the plight of the Macedonians under Greek occupation, and the continuing harassment and intimidation of Macedonians in Australia. I sincerely hope that "The Division of Macedonia and the Oppression of the Macedonians under Greek Occupation" provides the reader with a greater understanding of Macedonia and the Macedonians, and dispels the myths that surround the Macedonian issue.