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TODOR ALEKSANDROV
"... A lifelong believer in the creed of “Macedonia for the Macedonians”....
"...He declares that the population will not tolerate being ruled by
Serbians, Greeks, Bulgarians..."
... He has only one idea, and that is the ultimate proclamation of an
autonomous Macedonia with its capital at Salonika. .."
[The London Times Jan 4 1924]
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Alexandroff of Macedonia
Code of An Outlaw
(by our Special Correspondent)
This article was published originally in The Times of London on
Jan. 4, 1924, several months before the assassination of Alexandroff
on Aug. 31, 1924.
On The Serbo-Bulgarian Frontier.
Raiko Daskaloff, who with Stambolisky pursued a bitter campaign against
the Macedonian Revolutionary Organisation, was assassinated last summer
at Prague, where he had formerly been Bulgarian Minister. His assailant,
Nicoloff, was afterwards tried, acquitted, and re-arrested. He was
re-arrested on the grounds that he was an agent of Todor Alexandroff,
the chief of the Revolutionaries. This series of events has revived
interest in the activities of the Macedonians.
The present leader of the Revolutionaries is Todor Alexandroff, whom I
have just visited. Whatever opinions may be held concerning the rights
and wrongs of the cause he defends and the methods he employs, he and
his organisation constitute an interesting study. A lifelong believer
in the creed of “Macedonia for the Macedonians” and a Komita,
Alexandroff took up in 1919 the leadership of the revolutionary
movement. He had previously been living at Sofia, but Stambolisky had
him arrested and imprisoned. His friends arranged his escape and he
crossed into Macedonia, where ever since he has led a life which needs
to be seen to be believed. Having decided to organise a revolutionary
movement against the Serbians and Greeks who by the Peace Treaty
obtained the greater part of Macedonia, Alexandroff reorganised the
old Macedonian Committee, which had existed under the Turks in 1893.
In the accomplishment of this task he has perforce become an outlaw,
and a price of over $2,000 has been put on his head by the Serbian
authorities. He leads a wandering life, dedicated to the creation of
an autonomous Macedonia. Always on foot and always by night Alexandroff
travels throughout Macedonia, without, however, venturing into the
large towns like Salonika or Monastir. In winter he lives in some
humble peasant cottage; in summer he sleeps in the open air. During the
daytime he lies low. Never stopping more than two or three days in the
same place, he is accompanied by a small band of devoted friends. The
chief preoccupation of this band is not to enter into conflict with the
Serbian or Greek authorities, but to visit and control the different
committees which during the last three years have sprung up in almost
every town and village.
A Born Fighter.
On being invited to visit Alexandroff I confess to having given first
thought to my personal safety. In bygone days Macedonia had gained a
reputation for banditry and outlawry which the Revolutionary
Organization might well seem inclined to foster. But the exact contrary
is now the case. By motor-car, horse, and on foot I journeyed some
hundred miles over wild and mountainous country. Everywhere thriving
peasantry declared that robbery and crime were things of the past.
Nevertheless the time of year and the conditions of travel made me heave
a sigh of relief when, one misty morning, the courier, who had remained
a totally impassive figure during the whole of the journey, whispered,
“Now you will see Stario” (The Old One). A minute later I met
Alexandroff-a tall, strongly built man of 42 years, dressed in the dark
brown uniform which has Organisation affects. A part of steely eyes and
lips which in conversation can be mirthful, but which in repose are
very stern; full military equipment, which he rarely takes off; a
service rifle leaning against the wall; and Alexandroff began to
explain to me why he led his life. He has only one idea, and that is
the ultimate proclamation of an autonomous Macedonia with its capital
at Salonika. He declares that the population will not tolerate being
ruled by Serbians, Greeks, Bulgarians, and that as the two former
countries have refused to allow the people any liberty in speech or
religion, only an armed struggle can bring them what they want.
Concerning his resources in munitions and men, he said that as the
Macedonians object was not to annex any territory but only to make
life impossible for the ruling authorities, irregular warfare was
their means of struggle. Thus they did not need to have any artillery.
It was on foot that they would wage their battle although mountain
ponies could be used if required. They had a large supply of rifles,
bombs, and ammunition, as the last few wars had led to the arming of
almost every peasant.
Arms and Men.
Concerning the strength of his forces, Alexandroff claims that in
Macedonia alone he can mobilise approximately 150,000 men. He pointed
out, however, that the great proportion of these men were at present
civilians, and that only a few thousand Komitadjis (bands of armed men)
were now on a war footing. He did not refer to Macedonians outside the
frontier, but it is thought that in the event of a rising many thousands
now in Bulgaria would flock to his colours. When questioned as to the
possible date of a revolution, he replied that circumstances were not
yet altogether favourable. I took this to mean that the Organisation
had not yet made all their preparations. Besides this I gathered that
bigger reserves of arms and munitions were going to be accumulated.
Alexandroff went on to say that he hoped that the Croats, Slovenes,
and Montenegrins would in the long run discard legal for illegal
methods against Serbia; a combined rising might then take place.
Asked if a compromise was not possible between the Organisation and the
ruling authorities, he replied that many Serbians now resident in
Macedonia realised that the present situation was extremely
unsatisfactory, but that the party of Pashitch, the principal statesman
in Serbia, seemed inflexible in their desire to destroy Macedonia. But,
he explained, “Turkey tried to destroy us during countless years; she
failed, and it is important to remember that then the considerable
Turkish population was against the Revolutionary Organisation; now the
Turks are with us, and I emphatically state that we are stronger than
we have ever been before.” Alexandroff admitted to being in relations
with Turkey, but it is easy to see that he does not place much faith on
outside assistance. His is a Macedonian movement, which he hopes to
bring off in conjunction with other races now forming part of the Triune
Kingdom. At the same time he professed the willingness of the
Organisation to submit to any impartial inquiry about the situation in
Macedonia by the Great Powers, the League of Nations, or a group, of
independent journalists. In addition, he stated that failing the
granting of autonomy, the Organisation would welcome the placing of
Macedonia under the protection of a Great Power, preferably England.
As for the relations of the Organisation with Bulgaria, he rejoiced at
the fall of Stambolisky and his followers, who in trying to create a
Federalist Macedonian movement were the first Bulgarian Government who
had ever shown themselves openly hostile to the aspirations of the
Macedonian people. He characterised the Macedonian Federalists as a
group of two or three hundred persons in the pay of Serbia who had no
influence or importance. He emphasised that the Macedonian movement was
in no way directed from Sofia and denied most categorically having been
in Bulgaria or having taken part in the June coup d’Etat.
Speaking of the death of Stambolisky, he rejected the idea that his
Organisation was responsible for it, but added that it was highly
possible that his death had been compassed by one or more Macedonians
who had grievances against him. On the other hand, he admitted that,
the killing of Daskaloff, whom he described as a demagogue amongst
demagogues, was the work of the Organisation. In this connection he
showed me a protest which the Organisation had addressed to the
Czecho-Slovak Government about the rearrest of Nicoloff, the assassin.
Alexandroff considers that after Nicoloff had been once acquitted by
the Czech Court of Justice there was no case against him, and that it
was because the Serbian Press took up such a hostile and menacing
attitude that the Czechs found a pretext for his rearrest.
Law And Morals.
Alexandroff then turned to the manner in which his Organisation was
maintained and its relations with the civil population. None of his
soldiers are paid. They are armed and clothed by the Organisation,
and the populace give them free food and lodging. The people pay a
progressive income-tax, which is exclusively devoted to the purchase
of arms and clothing. They find it worth their while to support the
Organisation, because, as Alexandroff significantly remarked, “the
majority of the poorer peasantry do not fully understand this struggle
for freedom, but one and all understand where their interests lie.”
For the Organisation confers great benefits. It has its own judicial
authorities, to whom, so Alexandroff states, the people appeal in
preference to Serbian and Greek law courts. It has also a very strict
code of morality for all its members, and immorality in action or in
speech is severely punished.
Besides repressing all kinds of crime, the Organisation has introduced
reforms which conduce to better all-round living conditions. It takes a
keen interest in family life, and has abolished the system by which men
chose the young girls who please them, afterwards making them their
wives. Now each girl is free to choose the husband she likes. Relations
between employer and employed are watched by the Organisation, and
recently an important question relating to the tobacco industry was
regulated. In a certain district the tobacco merchants were found to
be paying only 70 levas a kilo to the producers, whereas the real price
was about 120 levas. The Organisation stepped in and threatened the
merchants, with the result that a fair price was paid and the peasantry
affected became its devoted partisans.
The ownership of land is also dealt with. If a landowner decides to
sell is land, the organisation insists on its being divided at a purely
nominal price among the peasants who work on it. These examples of the
activity of the Organisation show that assassinations and the planning
of revolutions do not take up all its time. Based on democratic
principles, the Organisation does not depend merely on the support of
the peasants. The richer classes appreciate its existence, as formerly
they hardly dared to travel about the country, so great was the risk of
encountering armed bandits. Now this has been put right, and Alexandroff
claims, with what would seem to be a great amount of justice, that
“the Organisation is the population, and the population the
Organisation.”
The Death-Warrant
So much has been said of the power of the Organisation to remove any
person or persons who are hostile to its aims that it was with the
greatest interest that I read a list of those condemned to death.
Several had already been executed, and Alexandroff assured me that
the turn of the others, would surely come. The method adopted is the
same as in other secret societies. The person charged with the
execution is given a certain time in which to carry out his task.
If he fails, he is killed himself. The death sentence is usually
preceded by at least one letter of warning, but in certain cases it
is carried out immediately. The Macedonians are by nature secretive
on account of the struggling existence they have led, but it is
somewhat extraordinary that in the long run they never miss carrying
out their vengeance. Perhaps the reason of their success lies in the
exceptional form of idealism which animates the members of the
Organisation. Each person has a role assigned to him or her, and the
signing of a death warrant by Todor Alexandroff is the signal for the
whole machine to begin its work. Orders, even the most ordinary, always
go by hand. A regular chain of messengers stretches across Macedonia
today. I was the witness if the working of one chain, and found it
marvellously efficient. Each courier has his beat, and as he is usually
a native of the region in which he travels, every nook and cranny of
the ground is known to him. Sometimes the death sentence, as in the case
of Daskaloff, has to be carried out abroad. If so, the unofficial
representatives whom the Organisation maintains in Sofia,
Constantinople, Budapest, and other European capitals are called in to
play their part. The Organisation is, in fact, a vast octopus which has
its tentacles stretched out over most of South-eastern Europe.
Alexandroff’s ambition is that one day it will have its official
representatives accredited to every European country. Still, even today
there exists in the Revolutionary Organisation a factor which neither
great nor small European Powers can afford to disregard.
The wintry day was drawing to a close, and it was time to take leave
of Alexandroff. Some dinner, consisting of chicken and rice, washed down
by linden tea, was put before us. Alexandroff ate sparingly, and soon
assumed his favourite posture sitting crossed-legged, with head well
back, eyes half-closed, and hands stretched forward towards the fire.
An expression of grim austerity comes over his face, and to see him
thus is to carry away an unforgettable impression of a very remarkable
man. The whole visit seemed like a dream. Was it possible that such a
Organization could exist in the twentieth century? I was quickly brought
back to reality on stepping outside the house. Snow was falling, and a
Komitaji band was drawn up on parade. Its leader had distinguished
himself in a recent skirmish with the ruling authorities, and
Alexandroff, in a short speech, presented him with the Order of Merit.
The Komitas, who were all young men six feet and more high, cheered
their leader and then filed silently away. A few minutes later I took
my departure with my not inconsiderable bodyguard. Alexandroff saw me
off, and immediately set off on a 20-kilometer march to another hamlet
to continue his preaching of “Macedonian for the Macedonians.”
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History + politics does not equal Truth!
A MYTH will remain a MYTH until it is challenged!
The indigenous Macedonians, however pure, who originate from the
the historical territory of the ancient Macedonians - the expanded
Macedonian national state of Philip II and Aleksandar III Makedonski,
whose northern border was the Danube - have more claim - by common
logic - to direct genetic descendency and cultural heritage from the
same ancients than anyone else.
MACEDONIA LAND OF LEGENDS LAND OF GLORY
BUT NEVER GREEK AND NEVER SLAV!
MACEDONIA ALWAYS WAS AND ALWAYS WILL BE MACEDONIAN!
"...our dear Macedonia, our dear homeland is calling upon you:
you who are my faithful children, you who are descendants
of Aristotle and Alexander the Great, you in whose veins
Macedonian blood flows...."
Excerpt from Manifesto of the Provisional Government of Macedonia
[March 23, 1881]
"...We have rebelled as champions of freedom. By shedding our
blood throughout the fields and forests of Macedonia, we serve as
the Macedonian army of Alexander the Great. We fight for freedom
and our motto is: "Freedom or Death!"
Taken From the Prescripts of the Macedonian Rebel Committee 1878.
for fair use only.
MAk PAt
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"...believer in the creed of “Mcd for Macedonians"
