Macedonians and the Greek Civil War By By Naum Peiov (Translated from Macedonian to English and edited by Risto Stefov) Macedonians and the Greek Civil War Published by: Risto Stefov Publications [email protected] Toronto, Canada Originally published in Macedonian in June 1968 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without written consent from the author, except for the inclusion of brief and documented quotations in a review. Copyright 2015 by Naum Peiov & Risto Stefov e-book edition November 16, 2015 2 INDEX Foreword ............................................................................................4 PART ONE – The Greek Civil War 1945 – 1949 - Introduction ......8 CHAPTER ONE – Unilateral Civil War .........................................21 CHAPTER TWO - Restoration of the monarchy ............................52 CHAPTER THREE – ESTABLISHING A DEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENT..............................................................................72 CHAPTER FOUR - Withdrawal of the Democratic Army .............81 PART TWO - Macedonians in the Greek Civil War .......................91 CHAPTER FIVE – Systematic persecution of the Macedonian people ...............................................................................................91 CHAPTER SIX - RESISTANCE TO NEW PRESSURE .............127 CHAPTER SEVEN - RELATIONS BETWEEN NOF AND THE CPG................................................................................................136 CHAPTER EIGHT – MACEDONIAN CONTRIBUTION TO THE GREEK CIVIL WAR ....................................................................157 ATTACHMENTS - REVIEW .......................................................165 THE PLAKA PROTOCOL ...........................................................171 THE LEBANON AGREEMENT ..................................................173 THE KAZERTA AGREEMENT...................................................178 THE VARKIZA AGREEMENT ...................................................182 REVIEW OF REFERENCES – IN MACEDONIAN ...................187 REVIEW OF REFERENCES – IN GREEK .................................189 3 Foreword The book “Macedonians and the Greek Civil War” was written by Naum Peiov, a direct participant in the liberation struggle in Greece who fought against the Nazi and Fascist occupation (against the German, Italian and Bulgarian armies), and who was given the opportunity to direct and monitor events in the Greek Civil War. As a result, Naum Peiov in this book has given the reader a brief but clear insight as to “what actually happened” during the Civil War in Greece and the role the Macedonian people played in it. Given the fact that relatively little documentation and scant memoir material has been available, it is understandable that the author has not been able TO, nor has he made claims of having covered the full course of the Greek Civil War and the entire role the Macedonian people played in it. Also, given the time that the material for this book was written (1955), this is one of the first works to come out that has attempted to examine Greek Civil War events and problems to provide us with a glimpse of what took place. Given his personal involvement in the movement, it was not possible for the author to escape the emotional side of his experience, which can be felt in his writing style. However, regardless of the lack of documentation and narrow presentation, the reader will get the idea of what the motives were behind starting the Greek Civil War and will learn about the lies and fraud perpetrated by the leadership of the Greek Communist Party (CPG). This was the same CPG that led the liberation struggle against the German, Italian and Bulgarian occupiers but allowed the restoration of the monarchy in Greece. This was the same CPG which caused great political instability in the new Greek regime and then allowed the elements which collaborated with the fascist occupiers to emerge. The CPG leadership demonstrated no clear political or strategic concepts in the way it led the Greek Civil War. This inevitably had dire consequences for those involved, especially for the democratic movement which supported the CPG, included in which were the 4 majority of the Greek people as well as all the other people living in Greece. The oppressed Macedonian people in Greek occupied Macedonia, oppressed by the Greek authorities, massively participated in the struggle against Italian aggression in Greece. They massively participated in the Greek national liberation struggle from 1941 to 1944 and in the Greek Civil War believing that if they helped the Greeks liberate themselves they would be liberated from Greek oppression. The Macedonian people made great sacrifices, both human and material, when they fought against the fascist occupiers and against the reactionary forces in Greece. But, it seems all those sacrifices were for nothing. After the wars ended, consecutive Greek regimes refused to recognize the Macedonian contribution and refused to grant the Macedonian people their human and national rights. The Macedonian people were, once again, persecuted to no end by these inhuman Greek regimes. After the First World War ended, many Macedonians from Greek occupied Macedonia fled to Bulgaria and to overseas countries (United States of America, Canada, etc.). During and after the Greek Civil War many more Macedonians fled as political exiles and refugees, and found themselves in a number of European countries. This time they were joined by a number of progressive Greeks - patriots. Through this book, the author has given us an interesting point of view which can somewhat help us determine the causes of the Greek Civil War and, by reviewing what happened to the population, we can indirectly observe the fate of the Macedonian people after the Greek Civil War. Academic Mihailo Apostolski Out of respect for the reader, please allow me the opportunity to inform you about some of the things that contributed to my effort to realize this work. 1. First, it should be known that the material for this book was written in the period between 1953 and 1955. At the end of 1955 the manuscript was given to the Institute of National History in Skopje. Meaning, the manuscript was written almost immediately after the 5 Greek Civil War had ended and amid sharp attacks from the then leaders of the Communist Party of Greece against the Macedonian leadership, followed by slander and innuendo. 2. While the book was being prepared for publication, its content was heavily reviewed in order to shorten it, to present new facts which became available later, and to make sure it agreed with the then “current” political situation. 3. My aim for writing this work was not to write the history of the Greek Civil War. My objectives for writing this book were: a) To highlight the then socio-political and military situation in Greece and in the Balkans and to outline the reasons for the course of events that led to the Greek Civil War. b) To highlight the position, role and contribution of the Macedonian people from Greek occupied Macedonia in the gigantic struggle of the progressive forces against the fascist regime in Greece and against the imperialist interventionists. It is important at this point to emphasize that the position, role and contribution of the Macedonian people in this war has been belittled, deemphasized and falsified by many of the Macedonian people’s so- called “friends” as well as their enemies. Less than twenty years after the Greek Civil War ended, a new and monstrous dictatorship was introduced which completely stripped the Macedonian people of even the most elementary human and democratic rights. The war for the Macedonian people did not end but continued with people being permanently exiled, sent back to the prison camps in the dry islands, and isolated, stigmatized and cast aside in Greek society… the only fault… their political conviction or their non-Greek nationality. The Macedonian people in Greek occupied Macedonia have been stripped of their human and national rights, including the right to speak their own native mother tongue, since the Metaxas fascist dictatorship came to power in Greece just before the Second World War. This cruelty has continued to this 6 day. And as such, the Macedonian people in Greek occupied Macedonia were left with no other choice but to struggle for their rights and dignity. The Author Skopje, November 1967 About Naum Peiov Naum Peiov was born in 1919 in the village Gabresh, Kostur Region. He was a member of the pre-war CPG. In 1939 he was arrested by the Greek police. He joined NOV in 1941. He was Commander of the Macedonian Partisan Detachment “Lazo Trpovski”. He was a member of the SNOF Kostur District Committee. He led a group of fighters who left the ranks of ELAS and fled to Vardar Macedonia in May 1944. He was Deputy Commander of the First Aegean Brigade. After the war he served in a variety of high political and social functions in the Socialist Republic of Macedonia. 7 PART ONE – The Greek Civil War 1945 – 1949 - Introduction During World War II, conditions were created in Greece to destroy the inhuman Greek bourgeoisie regime and to establish a popular people’s government. However, because of subjective weaknesses and errors made by the resistance movement leadership in its dealings against the fascist occupiers, the national