Macedonian Struggle for Independence - Ilinden 1903-2003

August 2nd, 2003 marks the 100th anniversary of the Macedonian epic struggle for independence. This makes 2003 a centennial year, a year of celebration and reflection for all Macedonians worldwide.

One hundred years ago on August 2nd 1903, the Macedonian people, discontent with oppressive Turkish rule, took up arms and rose against the Turks. It was a fight for freedom, a fight that would forever remind new generations of Macedonians of the eternal struggle for liberty and independence.

The fact that the 1903 uprising was a failed attempt hardly diminishes or minimizes the Macedonian peoples' effort to achieve self-rule. History is made the by people, by their struggles and by their creative actions. A failed attempt does not signal the end of a revolution but rather the continuation of the ongoing struggle. The Macedonian spirit will not rest until it has achieved what it set out to do.

The 1903 uprising began with the birth of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO) twenty years earlier as a consequence of the political, national, economic, and cultural oppression of the Macedonian nation. This was imposed by the social, economic, administrative, and legislative crisis of the Turkish Empire and by propaganda of other foreign states interfering in Macedonia. IMRO became the newly established leader of the Macedonian national liberation and social revolution movement, struggling for national independence and social justice.

The revolutionary spark was lit on October 23rd, 1893 in Solun where a group of academics, Damjan Gruev, Anton Dimitrov, Petar Pop Arsov, Hristo Tatarchev and Ivan Nikolov got together to discuss the plight of the Macedonian people and what to do to help them.

To lead the revolution Macedonia was in need of a charismatic leader who was able to talk to people at their own level, and who was free to travel without too much interference from the authorities. The man who answered that call was Gotse Delchev, an extraordinary ideological leader, a man of vision matched only by a few, the father of the Macedonian Revolution and the soul of the movement.

Gotse was a realist as well as an idealist who loved people, hated tyranny and saw the world as a place of many cultures living together in peace. The international and cosmopolitan views of Delchev were far ahead of his time and could be summarized in his proverbial sentence: "I understand the world solely as a field for cultural competition among nations".

As a realist Gotse knew that in order for a revolution to be successful it had to be a "moral revolution" of the mind, heart and soul of an enslaved people. They needed to feel like people with rights and freedoms, not like slaves. With that in mind Gotse set out to build a revolutionary conscience in the Macedonian population thus setting the revolutionary wheels in motion.

Gotse believed that the liberation of Macedonia should be an exclusively domestic affair relying solely on an internally organized uprising. With that message in mind, in April 1895, Gotse set out on a mission to establish contact with the local branches of IMRO and spread the spirit of freedom among the Macedonian population. Gotse also believed that liberation could only be achieved through patriotic sacrifices and this could only be accomplished by energizing and fully awakening the national sentiments of the people.

Tragically, the Turks killed Gotse Delchev, an enemy bullet had cut short his life on the eve of the uprising.

If Gotse Delchev was the soul, then Damjan Gruev, was the heart of the revolution. Damjan Gruev stands out as a real giant in the struggle for freedom and independence of the Macedonian people. His work as organizer of the Macedonian uprising and as writer and educator of the national consciousness for freedom from slavery, was unequalled. Damjan Gruev took on Delchev's role and lead the revolution after Delchev's death.

Despite all odds the brave Macedonian people heroically rose to the task with valour. They knew well that the battles they were about to fight might not bring them exactly what they desired but they chose to fight anyway. It was a fight for freedom and freedom after centuries of slavery was valued above life itself.

In the early morning of August 2nd, 1903 the men, hidden in the mountains, could see their breath in the cool, still air. Darkness was finally giving way to dawn. Not a soul had slept all night. The fervour and business of the day before had died down. There was only silence now as darkness slowly yielded to light and each man reconciled his thoughts and comforted his fears. The silence was interrupted by what seemed like thunder, when the Cheta leader soberly announced, "It's time for the revolution to begin." Like Olympic sprinters, the men rose to their feet ignoring the stiffness in their bodies from the long night's motionless wait. Hearts pounding, the men picked up their gear and rifles and began to descend down the mountains heading towards the chiflicks (estates) below. It was still dark and there was no Turk in sight. The men crept up to the barracks in silence. Their leader motioned with his hand and the men quickly scattered and took their positions. The barracks were now surrounded. When a Turkish guard stepped out, the crackle of rifle fire broke the silence of the new day. The black smoke of gunpowder greeted the first rays of the sun and the cries of the wounded disturbed the serenity of the morning stillness. It was August 2nd, 1903, Ilinden, a new dawn for the Macedonian people.

The Cheti under the command of capable leaders such as Damjan Gruev, Vasil Chakalarov, Petar Pop Arsov, Pitou Gouli, and others faired well and enjoyed considerable success in the few weeks before the Turkish militia began to amass. The local villagers also joined the movement giving moral support to the fighters. Even men from others regions, that had not yet risen, left their homes and came to fight.

All in all the Macedonian people possessed the will to fight but lacked the rifles and ammunition to do it with.

As battles raged on throughout Western Macedonia, the Cheti put down most of the local Turkish garrisons. They destroyed bridges, railway lines and communications centers, captured most chifliks and briefly liberated some regions such as Kichevo, Demir-Hisar, Kostur, Lerin, Klisoura and Neveska. The cities of Kostour and Lerin themselves were not liberated. The most successful and highly celebrated of all battles however, was the storming of the town of Krushevo. Nikola Karev led the Cheti in the attack and defeated the local Turkish garrison with ease. The Macedonians quickly took over the most strategic places like the Post Office, Town Hall and local Police Station and declared Krushevo liberated. True to their democratic commitments, the leaders of the liberating force constituted the Krushevo assembly which appointed a committee of sixty members, twenty from each of the community's Macedonian, Vlach and Albanian population. The committee in turn elected an executive body of six delegates, two from each community, which operated as a provisional government. The government in turn established a financial, judiciary and police force.

At Krushevo, under the rays of temporary liberty, fraternity and equality, national hatreds were cast out and peace and unity reigned. For eleven whole days Krushevo lived as a little independent state, the first Republic in the Balkans. Although in miniature and clothed with flesh and blood "that ideal" spurred Macedonians to fight on.

The Krushevo Republic was a glorious Republic that will forever remind the Macedonian people of their eternal struggle for independence and their thirst for freedom. The liberation of Krushevo imprinted on the new Macedonian generations the legacy of a timeless and irreversible march towards self-determination. IMRO came a long way from a group of academics deliberating what to do in the face of repression to delivering, in a true revolutionary fashion, a democratic Republic.

The Ilinden uprising is an achievement of great importance for the Macedonian people. There are things about it which stagger the imagination and cause this general insurrection to be ranked as a "great historical event". Every Macedonian must always remember and take pride in that.

You can contact the author at rstefov@hotmail.com