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101-527: In the newly attached territories to Albania of Kosovo and western Yugoslav Macedonia by the Axis powers, non-Albanians (Serbs and Macedonians) had to attend Albanian schools that taught a curriculum containing nationalism alongside fascism and were made to adopt Albanian forms for their names and surnames. The Albanian civil service tends to use albanianized versions of personal names of persons belonging to ethnic or cultural minorities without their consent. In 1975,

202-539: A Bulgarian military court. He wrote two appeals for clemency to Bulgarian Tsar and to Defense Minister. There he regrets the accomplishment, insisting on his Bulgarian origin. As result his death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment, and Koliševski was sent to a prison in Pleven, Bulgaria. While the Sharlo's leadership was terminated, the vestiges of his policy among part of the local communist activists were preserved. After

303-580: A Muslim organisation for Macedonian Muslims in North Macedonia , accused the majority Albanian political party, the Party for Democratic Prosperity in 1990 of trying to assimilate people, especially Macedonian Muslims and Turks and create an "... Albanisation of western Macedonia." From a Macedonian perspective, the Old Bazaar of Skopje following the 1960s and over a span of twenty to thirty years underwent

404-569: A Tirana family from his father's and mother's side. His family are of the Muslim faith in origin. On his father’s side he comes from the Topi family, which he hypothesises descend from the noble Thopia family . On his mother’s side, he comes from the Karapici family, which makes him a relative of Adem Karapici and Artan Karapici . He has mentioned how his great grandfather owned the Karapici mosque which

505-719: A decade. He was first elected as a member of the Albanian Parliament in 1996 and was appointed Minister of Agriculture and Food where he served until 1997. He was elected to three mandates in the Assembly of Albania as a candidate of Democratic Party of Albania . In two terms, Topi led the Parliamentary Group of the Democratic Party in the Assembly. He has been elected vice-chairman of the Democratic Party of Albania, which

606-969: A demographic change of Albanisation that was reflected in the usage of the Latin alphabet and Albanian writing in shops of the area. In the 2000s, the construction of a Skanderbeg statue at the entrance of the Old Bazaar has signified for some people in Macedonia that the area is undergoing a slow Albanisation. World War II in Yugoslav Macedonia [REDACTED] Yugoslav Partisans ~32,000 Bulgarian soldiers in Southern Serbia and Vardar Macedonia (May 1941 – September 1944) ~300,000 (Army Group E in October 1944) Uprisings 1942 1943 1944 1945 World War II in Yugoslav Macedonia started with

707-493: A five-year term. He was sworn in on 24 July. Topi officially resigned his position as vice-chairman of the Democratic Party of Albania and at the same time withdrew from his party. Topi is a vocal advocate of independence for Kosovo . He pointed out the need for a sovereign state of Kosovo before the European Council and other international instances. With a joint invitation of Kosovo's President , Fatmir Sejdiu , and

808-547: A part of the Bulgarian community . From 1912 until 1915 the territory of Vardar Macedonia remained within the territory of Serbia. In the parts administered by Serbia the new authorities forced out most of the Bulgarian priests and teachers, and began implementing a forceful state-sponsored Serbianisation of Slavic-speaking Macedonians. It was occupied by Kingdom of Bulgaria during World War I between 1915 and 1918. Afterwards it

909-549: A policy of centralization, contradicting their initial agenda to respect Macedonian autonomy. Yugoslav communists proclaimed as their aim the issue of unification of the three regions of Macedonia – Yugoslav, Greek and Bulgarian, and so managed to get also Macedonian nationalists. The leadership of the Regional Committee of the CPY for Macedonia decided to establish a separate Macedonian Communist Party which would be representative of

1010-726: A provisional regional committee that tried to take over the pro-Bulgarian faction, but without much success. This policy changed from 1943 with the arrival of Tito's envoy Montenegrin Serb Svetozar Vukmanović-Tempo . Although several Macedonian partisan detachments were formed through 1942 which fought battles against the Bulgarian, Italian, German and Albanian occupation forces and despite Sofia's ill-managed administration, most Macedonian Communists had yet to be lured to Yugoslavia. Between 1941 and 1943, Tito have sent five emissaries to Macedonia, to persuade his ill-disciplined comrades, but their efforts had limited success, and

1111-560: A state, but by 18:00 (6 pm) on 6 September, he declined for inability to gather support. The failure led to ordering German withdrawal from Greece on 6 September and appointing Senior-Field-Commandant for Greece Heinz Scheeuerlen as the new Senior-Field-Commandant for Macedonia. Germany closed its Consulate in Skopje and evacuated its staff together with Ivan Mihailov and his wife out of Macedonia. However, on 8 September, right-wing IMRO nationalists declared independence. The self-proclaimed state

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1212-577: Is an Albanian diplomat and politician. He served as the president of Albania from July 2007 to July 2012. Topi was the honorary president of the Albanian football club KF Tirana from 2005 to 2007. In September 2012, Topi became the leader of the New Democratic Spirit party. Bamir Myrteza Topi was born in Tirana , Albania on the 24th of April 1957 to Riza Topi and Haxhire Karapici. Bamir comes from

1313-722: Is considered to be the symbolic beginning of the Macedonian Resistance, which began at the latest compared to the other Yugoslav republics, where it began in July. The Prilep detachment was active until December 1941, when it split in three groups – the first in Skopje, the second in Tikves, and the third in Bitola. However, in November the new leader of the RC – Koliševski was arrested and sentenced to death by

1414-413: Is led by Sali Berisha . Topi has been distinguished and widely hailed as a politician of a moderated profile, as very active in resolving the crisis between the ruling majority and opposition and as a protagonist of political agreements and various parliamentary initiatives. On 8 March 2007, Topi said that he would be the candidate of the ruling Democratic Party in the 2007 presidential election . Both

1515-556: Is similar to Macedonian rather than Serbian. It is likely they are the last remnants of what is now known in Serbian sources as Arnautaši , Islamicised and half-way Albanianised Slavs." In 1922, Henry Baerlein noted that the Austrians had for thirty years tried to Albanianize the Janjevo population (see also Janjevci ). The Ashkali and Balkan Egyptians , who share culture, traditions and

1616-756: Is thought to be related to the Balkan Egyptians according to some authors, such as Konstantin Josef Jireček . In 1990, an "Egyptian association" was formed in Ohrid , Macedonia. During the Kosovo War, Albanized Roma were displaced as refugees in Albania and the Republic of Macedonia. Albanized Roma formed the ethnic group Ashkali after the end of the war in 1999, to show their pro-Albanian stance and distinguish themselves from

1717-522: The 1981 student protests in Kosovo , Albanian Serbs complained on harassment and pressure to leave the country. Former Albanian President Bamir Topi and prime minister Sali Berisha made suggestions in 2009 to create a government commission to replace Slavic based toponyms in the county with Albanian language form toponyms. The Albanian parliament in April 2013 decided to reverse an order from 1973 that changed

1818-680: The Axis invasion of Soviet Union . The RC, headed by Shatorov, immediately ordered the formation of partisan units, the first of which was formed in the Skopje region on 22 August 1941, and attacked Bulgarian guards on 8 September 1941 in Bogomila, near Skopje. At that time, with the help of the Comintern and of Joseph Stalin himself a decision was taken and the Macedonian Communists were attached to CPY. Soon after this Shatorov lost his popularity within

1919-654: The Axis invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941. Under the pressure of the Yugoslav Partisan movement , part of the Macedonian communists began in October 1941 a political and military campaign to resist the occupation of Vardar Macedonia . Officially, the area was called then Vardar Banovina , because the use of very name Macedonia was avoided in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. It was occupied mostly by Bulgarian, but also by German, Italian, and Albanian forces. Initially, there

2020-525: The Demochristian and Republican parties said that they would intended to support him. Parliament took 4 tries, and the opposition finally gave up and elected Topi, a choice of Prime Minister Sali Berisha . On a vote held on 8 July, Topi won 75 votes in parliament; short of the 84 votes required. The opposition, led by the Socialist Party , boycotted the vote. The second round of voting for electing

2121-718: The People's Liberation Army of Macedonia (MNOV). Preparations began for the formation of the Anti-Fascist Assembly for the People's Liberation of Macedonia (ASNOM) , which governed Macedonia from August 1944 until the end of World War II. The date of the creation of its first major unit, the Mirče Acev Battalion , is August 18, 1943 on Mount Slavej between Ohrid and Kičevo , then in the Italian occupation zone. On 11 November 1943,

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2222-487: The Yugoslav Socialist Federation , Metodija Andonov-Čento was elected president and Panko Brashnarov (former member of IMRO ) vice-president. The assembly tried to secure as much independence as possible for Yugoslav Macedonia and gave priority to the unification of the three parts of Macedonia. Several sources state that Chento had made plans for creating an independent Macedonia which would be backed by

2323-740: The Yugoslav idea and insisted on Macedonian independence . The Balkan Wars in 1912 and 1913 , and the World War I (1914-1918) divided the region of Macedonia amongst the Kingdom of Greece , the Kingdom of Bulgaria and the Kingdom of Serbia . The territory was up until that time part of the Ottoman Empire. In those days, the majority of the Slavic speakers in Ottoman Macedonia considered themselves to be

2424-492: The 1st Macedonian Kosovo Shock Brigade was formed in western Macedonia by merging two Vardar Macedonian and one Kosovo battalion. The second – larger ethnic Macedonian military unit was the 2nd Macedonian Shock Brigade, formed on 22 December 1943 just across the border in Greek Macedonia . On 26 February 1944 in the village of Zegljane, near Kumanovo , the 3rd Macedonian Shock Brigade was formed. These three brigades were

2525-623: The 1st Macedonian-Kosovo Assault Brigade there. Pushing towards Debarca , the 1st Macedonian-Kosovo Assault Brigade had clashes with the Bulgarians and Germans in Zavoj and Velmej . The Germans obtained reinforcements and on 8 May 1944 they counter-attacked. The fighting ended on 20 May 1944 with the Germans being pushed out of the region. After recapturing the Debarca area, more reinforcements became available, so

2626-577: The 41st anniversary of the Ilinden Uprising , the first session of the newly created Anti-Fascist Assembly of the National Liberation of Macedonia (ASNOM) was held at the St. Prohor Pčinjski monastery. In spite of Tito's hopes to the contrary, the presiding committee of ASNOM was dominated by elements that were not known for their pro-Yugoslav sentiments. To the displeasure of those preferring joining

2727-586: The Action Committees became marginalized, and were ultimately dissolved. Balli Kombëtar in Macedonia – There were 5,500 Balli Kombëtar militants in Albanian occupied Macedonia, 2,000 of which were Tetovo -based and 500 of which were based in Debar . Ivan Mihailov's IMRO in Macedonia – After the military Bulgarian coup d'état of 1934 the new Bulgarian government banned IMRO as a terrorist organization. Ivan Mihailov fled to Italy, where he made contact with

2828-519: The Albanian communist regime had issued a decree requiring everyone to assume non-religious names approved by the government. During the rule of King Zogu and the communist regime , the government encouraged Albanisation of the Greeks of Southern Albania (the territory was also called " Northern Epirus ", especially among the Greeks). ...   minority status was limited to those who lived in 99 villages in

2929-768: The Albanian language, are of Romani origin. The "Ashkali" have been classed as a "new ethnic identity in the Balkans", formed in the 1990s. It was earlier applied to stationary Roma who settled in Albanian areas during Ottoman Empire times. The Ashkalija speak Albanian as their first language. Ashkalija often worked as blacksmiths, or manual laborers on Ottoman estates. Ashkalija are found mainly in eastern and central Kosovo. The Ashkali people claim that they have originated in Persia, now Iran, in 4th century BC ( Ashkal , Gilan , Iran ); however, there are no indicators for this hypothesis and it not scientifically proven. There are other theories of

3030-566: The Aromanians are an officially recognized ethnic minority in Albania. The recognition of the Aromanians as an Albanian minority has provoked negative reactions from Greece , claiming that Albania, along with Romania , are "colluded in an anti-Greek action". Supposedly, Albania would do this with the intention of weakening the Greek minority in Northern Epirus , while Romania would do this with

3131-519: The Ashkali coming from Turkey in a village called Aşkale (Erzurum district of Turkey), or possibly have come from ages ago in the city of Ashkalon (Israel). Still, some believe they are travelers from Northern India (Romani) who have used the Albanian language as their mother-tongue. A 14th-century reference to a placename (Агѹповы клѣти, Agupovy klěti ) in the Rila Charter of Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria

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3232-515: The Axis de facto without formally renouncing the Pact. On 6 April 1941, the German armed forces ( Wehrmacht ), along with the armed forces of Italy and Hungary , launched the invasion of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and quickly conquered it. The country was subsequently divided between the Germans, Italians, Hungarians and Bulgarians, who took most of Macedonia. When the Bulgarians entered Yugoslav Macedonia,

3333-465: The Bulgarian authorities in fighting Tempo's partisans. With the help of the Bulgarian government and former IMRO members, several pro-Bulgarian paramilitary detachments ( Uhrana ) were organized in occupied Greek Macedonia in 1943. These were led by Bulgarian officers originally from Greek Macedonia and charged with protecting the local population in the zones under German and Italian control. Around this time Ivan Mihailov of IMRO had plans which envisaged

3434-485: The Bulgarian communists, who avoided organizing mass armed resistance, was also a key factor. Their influence over the Macedonian Committee remained dominant until 1943, when it became obvious that Germany and Bulgaria would be defeated. At that time Tito's special emissary Svetozar Vukmanović arrived in Macedonia. Vukmanović had to activate the struggle and give it a new ethnic Macedonian facade. This led to

3535-532: The Bulgarian forces as occupiers (contrary to instructions from Belgrade ) and called for the incorporation of the local Macedonian Communist organizations into the Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP). The Macedonian Regional Committee refused to remain in contact with CPY and linked up with BCP. While the Bulgarian Communists avoided organizing mass armed uprising against the Bulgarian authorities,

3636-515: The Bulgarian police in the period between 1942 and 1944. Composed of former IMRO-activists, the first kontračeta was formed in Veles in the end of 1942 in order to limit partisan and Serbian Chetnik Movement activities in the region. The idea for the formation of these units came from Stefan Simeonov, chief of the Police in Skopje district, and former Internal Dobrujan Revolutionary Organisation četnik , and

3737-576: The Bulgarian police, as well as the army regiments stationed in Kjustendil and Gorna Dzumaja were engaged in the battles. After the February march, the Bulgarian government was forced to change its strategy – organization of the fighting would no longer be the responsibility of the police but of the army, and all organizations would be obliged to help the army. At the end of January 1944, the High Command of

3838-460: The Bulgarian soldiers. That the Macedonians should respond positively to the mobilization call being carried out by the Bulgarian authorities and join the Bulgarian army. Tito did not agree with that. During the spring of 1942 Andreev was arrested by Bulgarian police. As a result, a factionalist struggle between the pro-Bulgarian and the pro-Yugoslav lines exacerbated. Thus Cvetko Uzunovski created

3939-511: The Bulgarians from Bulgaria were suspicious of them and considered them second-class Bulgarians. In fact, Bulgarian authorities began a process of Bulgarianization as they realised that only part of the Macedonian population felt Bulgarian or was pro-Bulgarian. Communist resistance started to grow only in 1943 with the capitulation of Italy and the Soviet victories over Nazi Germany. The role of

4040-410: The CPY and was discredited. People loyal to the CPY were next appointed as leaders of the RC with Lazar Koliševski as a secretary. He was sent in September in Skopje. The new leadership began formation of partisan detachments. Armed insurgents from the Prilep Partisan Detachment attacked Axis occupied zones in the city of Prilep , notably a Bulgarian police station , on 11 October 1941. This date

4141-650: The Christian Serbian culture. Albanisation has also occurred with Torbesh people, a Muslim Slavic minority in North Macedonia , and the Goran people in southern Kosovo, who often have Albanised surnames. At the end of the 19th century, writer Branislav Nušić claimed that the Serb poturice (converts to Islam) of Orahovac began speaking Albanian and marrying Albanian women. Similar claims were put forward by Jovan Hadži Vasiljević (1866–1948), who claimed that when he visited Orahovac in World War I , he could not distinguish Orthodox from Islamicized and Albanized Serbs; according to him, they spoke Serbian , wore

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4242-458: The Italian fascist authorities and with members of the German secret service ( Gestapo ). After the defeat of Yugoslavia, Mihailov went to Zagreb and spent the war there with Ante Pavelić . He revitalized parts of his old organisation and ordered them to enter Vardar Macedonia and infiltrate the local Bulgarian administration, waiting for an opportunity to take over control and create a pro-German Macedonian state. Although Nazi Germany gave Bulgaria

4343-431: The MNOV decided to launch an offensive, with the intention of destroying the VCC. On 29 February 1944 the partisans of the Third Macedonian Assault Brigade attacked the Chetnik flanks from north, west and south, while the Hristo Botev detachment hit the Chetniks from the east. In the battle for the village of Sejac , the Vardar Chetnik Corps was totally destroyed, suffering 53 casualties (46 shot by partisans and 7 drowned in

4444-420: The Macedonian partisans. On 3 April 1944 the 3rd Macedonian Assault Brigade attacked the mining town of Zletovo , where about 100 miners entered the ranks of the brigade. Because of increased partisan activity, the main supply lines for the German Army group "E" stationed in Greece and Albania were constantly ambushed and at the same time, the HQ of the MNOV was making plans to liberate western Macedonia and sent

4545-468: The Macedonian people was discussed and propagandized but the decision was ultimately reached that Vardar Macedonia would become a part of the new Communist Yugoslavia. The proponents of the "maximalist" line were in favor of the creation of an independent United Macedonian state which would have ties with Yugoslavia, but not necessarily inclusion in a Yugoslav Federation. Proponents of this option included Metodija Andonov-Čento, as well as prominent figures of

4646-504: The Ottomans, when Albanians from Shkodër who had resettled around Valjevo and Kraljevo in central Serbia, left after those events for Orahovac; the corpus of Bulgarian terminology in the dialect was unaccounted for by Muller. In the 1921 census, the majority of the Muslim Albanians in Orahovac were registered under the category "Serbs and Croats", based on linguistic criteria. Duijzings (2000), summarizing his own research, stated: "During my own research, some of them told me that their tongue

4747-497: The PLA’s Fourth Congress in 1961. "Under communism, pupils were taught only Albanian history and culture, even in Greek-language classes at the primary level." Also, the ethnic Greek minority complained about the government's unwillingness to recognize ethnic Greek towns outside communist-era "minority zones," to utilize Greek in official documents and on public signs in ethnic Greek areas, or to include more ethnic Greeks in public administration. The 2012 USA annual report mention that

4848-418: The Regional Committee was de facto under the control of the BCP. To change that, at the beginning of 1943 the Montenegrin Svetozar Vukmanović-Tempo was sent as an assistant to the HQ of the Macedonian partisan forces. Tempo tried to organize an energetic struggle against the occupying forces. He was supposed to set up a Macedonian Communist Party within the framework of the Yugoslav one. One of his objectives

4949-618: The Roma. To define Kosovo as an Albanian area, a toponyms commission (1999) led by Kosovan Albanian academics was established to determine new or alternative names for some settlements, streets, squares and organisations with Slavic origins that underwent a process of Albanisation during this period. Those measures have been promoted by sectors of the Kosovan Albanian academic, political, literary and media elite that caused administrative and societal confusion with multiple toponyms being used resulting in sporadic acceptance by wider Kosovan Albanian society. In 1987 Yugoslav communist officials changed

5050-419: The Slavic toponyms of several villages in the Pustec Municipality (formerly Liqenas ) with Albanian forms that resulted in local Pustec authorities voting to restore pre-1973 toponyms. The concept is most commonly applied to Kosovo . During censuses in the former Yugoslavia , many Bosniaks , Romani and Turks were registered as Albanian , as they identified with Muslim Albanian culture as opposed to

5151-429: The Soviet Army was approaching the Balkans. In a last-minute attempt to create a buffer state against the incoming Red Army, on 29 August, the Germans attempted to establish an 'independent' Macedonian puppet state , led by Ivan Mihailov . Unlike the leftist resistance, the right wing followers of IMRO were pro-Bulgarian orientated, and did not support the existence of a future Yugoslavia. The Bulgarian interior minister

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5252-406: The US. А manifesto was written outlining the future plans of ASNOM for an independent Macedonian state and declaring the Macedonian language as the official language of Macedonia. ASNOM was the governing body of Macedonia from its formation until the end of World War II. The Manifesto of ASNOM eventually became a compromise between the "maximalists" and the "minimalists" – the unification of

5353-401: The Yugoslav Communists insisted that no liberation could be achieved without an armed revolt. Because of this conflict within the RC of CPY in Macedonia, in Vardar Macedonia there was no resistance movement. At the start of World War II, the Comintern supported a policy of non-intervention , arguing that the war was an imperialist war between various national ruling classes, this changed after

5454-409: The area was the 5th Army . The westernmost parts of Macedonia were occupied by the fascist Kingdom of Italy . Bulgarian action committees – After the defeat of the Yugoslav army, a group of Macedonian Bulgarians headed by Spiro Kitincev arrived in Macedonia and started preparations for the coming of the Bulgarian army and administration in Macedonia. The first of the Bulgarian Action Committees

5555-419: The arrest of Lazar Koliševski in November, the new executive body of the Macedonian Regional Committee continued to share Shatorov's pro-Bulgarian ideas and re-established close contact with the BCP. Bane Andreev of Veles, a new party secretary for Macedonia, expressed this same ideology. He thought that the Macedonian people believe in Bulgaria's role as liberator and that no Macedonian wants to fight against

5656-463: The brigade was split in two brigades – the 1st Macedonian and 1st Kosovo Assault Brigades. In order to prevent the Germans and Bulgarians from taking total control of the action, the MNOV decided to make surprise attacks on enemy positions and to try to exhaust the enemy any way they could. The 2nd Macedonian Assault Brigade was sent to conduct several actions in Povardarie (central Macedonia) and Pelagonia near Prilep and Bitola. On 2 August 1944, on

5757-507: The campaign of eradicating organised religion. Their forces damaged or destroyed many churches and mosques during this period; they banned many Greek-language books because of their religious themes or orientation. Yet, it is often impossible to distinguish between the government's ideological and ethno-cultural motivations for repression. Albania’s anti-religion campaign was merely one element in Hoxha's broader “Ideological and Cultural Revolution” begun in 1966. He had outlined its main features at

5858-420: The country, the CC of the CPM decided to be directly involved in the fighting and to be stationed side by side with the troops on the battlefield. The territory of Vardar Macedonia was divided into five operative zones, and efforts were made to make direct contact with the liberation movements in Albania, Bulgaria and Greece. Adding to the existing eleven, eight new Macedonian partisan detachments were formed in

5959-417: The creation of a Macedonian state under German control. He was a follower of the idea of a united Macedonian state with a dominant Bulgarian element. It was anticipated by the Germans that members of IMRO would form the core of the armed forces of a future Independent Macedonia led by Ivan Mihailov. The February march campaign of 1944 had a great political and moral impact. The whole Bulgarian 5th Army, all of

6060-419: The decisions was the creation of wider partisan detachments composed of the ethnic Macedonian minority in Greece. On 20 December 1943 in the village of Fustani in the Pella district of Greece, the Second Macedonian Assault Brigade was formed out of the 3 battalions of the 3rd operative zone. The Bulgarian Hristo Botev partisan battalion of the MNOV was formed out of captured and escaped Bulgarian soldiers. It

6161-426: The directive for the organization of an armed resistance movement in all regions of occupied Yugoslavia was issued, Sharlo disobeyed the order. Sharlo answered the Central Committee (CC) of the CPY that the situation in Macedonia did not allow an immediate engagement with military action, but rather first propaganda activity should occur, and afterward formation of military units. On the other hand, he refused to define

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6262-427: The emergence of strident nationalist groups like the Red and Black Alliance (RBA) increased ethnic tensions with the Greek minority groups. The Aromanians were first recognized at the London Conference of 1912–1913 as a minority group until the communist era (1967). From 1967 until 1992, they were known as simple Albanians , and from 1992 until 2017, they were known as a cultural and linguistic minority. Since 2017,

6363-418: The end of the war by the communist authorities. It marked the defeat of Bulgarian nationalism and the victory of the pro-Yugoslav Macedonian nationalism in the area. As result the new Communist authorities persecuted the former collaborationists with the charges of " Great Bulgarian chauvinism" and cracked down on pro-Bulgarian organisations that supported ideas of Greater Bulgaria and those which opposed

6464-421: The ethnic Macedonian people's right to self-determination, as well as permission for the partisans from Vardar Macedonia to extend their activity among the Slavic-speaking population in Greek Macedonia. As a result, the Slavic-Macedonian National Liberation Front (SNOF) was established in 1943 in Greek Macedonia by ethnic Macedonian communists, members of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE). After passing through

6565-413: The evening on 3 September, Ivan Mihailov was flown in first from Zagreb to Sofia, to see what 'can be saved". Two telegrams from 5 September at 1:7 and 6 September at 2:20 relay Hitler 's reorder for the establishment of such a state. Mihajlov was transported from Sofia to Skopje in the evening of 5 September. Based on German telegrams from the time, Ivan Mihailov was offered the establishment of such

6666-447: The former IMRO (United) such as Pavel Shatev, Panko Brashnarov, and others. They saw joining Yugoslavia as a form of Serbian dominance over Macedonia, and preferred membership in a Balkan Federation or else complete independence. Proponents of the "minimalist" line were also for the creation of a Macedonian state, but within the Yugoslavian federation. These differences were visible in the ASNOM discussions, but they especially came into

6767-419: The intention of " Romanianizing " the "Latin-speaking Greeks" of Albania with the supposed goal of gaining more population. As part of assimilation politics during the rule of communist regime in Albania , Serb-Montenegrins were not allowed to have Serbian names, especially family names ending with the characteristic suffix "ich". The surnames were forcibly changed to Albanian surnames by the government. After

6868-595: The leadership position of Reis ul-ulema due to claims that Albanian Muslim clergy were attempting to Albanianize the Muslim Slavs of Macedonia. Macedonian communist authorities concerned with growing Albanian nationalism contended that Turks and Macedonian speaking Muslims (Torbeš) were being Albanianised through Albanian political and cultural pressures and initiated a campaign against Albanian nationalism called differentiation involving birth control, control over Muslim institutions and Albanian education, dismissal of public servants and so on. Riza Memedovski , chairman of

6969-434: The local population prevailed at that time. With the intercession of the committees and Bulgarian administration more than 12,000 Yugoslav Macedonian POWs who had been conscripted into the Yugoslav army were released by German, Italian and Hungarian authorities. With the arrival of the Bulgarian army mass expulsion of Serbian colonists from Vardar Macedonia took place. Once the region and administration became organized,

7070-489: The local population prevailed. Fearing an invasion by the Axis Powers , Regent Prince Paul of Yugoslavia signed the Tripartite Pact on 25 March 1941, pledging cooperation with the Axis. On 27 March, the regime of Prince Paul was overthrown by a military coup d'état with British support. The 17-year-old Peter II of Yugoslavia was declared to be of age and placed in power. General Dušan Simović became his Prime Minister. The Kingdom of Yugoslavia withdrew its support for

7171-430: The minority zones to other parts of the country as a product of communist population policy, an important and constant element of which was to preempt ethnic sources of political dissent. Greek place-names were changed to Albanian names, while use of the Greek language, prohibited everywhere outside the minority zones, was prohibited for many official purposes within them as well. In 1967 the Albanian Party of Labour began

7272-707: The nucleus of the National Liberation Army of Macedonia, which after constant battles became stronger in numbers. In the middle of 1943, meetings were held between representatives of the National Liberation Front (Greece) and the Albanian resistance . Svetozar Vukmanović-Tempo put forward the idea of a joint Balkan Headquarters to exercise supreme control over the partisan movements in Yugoslavia, Albania, Bulgaria, and Greece. Tempo asked for recognition of

7373-474: The old borders of Bulgaria. In the early October the newly formed Bulgarian People's Army together with the Red Army reentered occupied Yugoslavia to blocking the German forces withdrawing from Greece. Yugoslav Macedonia was liberated in end of November. After the German retreat forced by the Bulgarian offensive, the conscription of Macedonians in the People's Liberation Army increased significantly. The operation

7474-620: The open after the final liberation of Macedonia. It must be added that both "maximalist" and "minimalist" lines within the National Liberation Movement in Vardar Macedonia supported the existence of a separate Macedonian identity and were in favor of the creation of a separate state in which the Macedonian people would have their homeland. The greatest difference between the two lines was whether Macedonia should join Yugoslavia, or exist as an independent country. By August 1944,

7575-694: The operations which ended with the destruction of the Chetniks in Macedonia, the HQ of the MNOV, now acting as supreme commander of the partisan units in Vardar Macedonia, Kosovo and South Morava, decided to engage in three new attacks on the Bulgarian police and administration. On 26 April 1944 the Third Macedonian Assault Brigade together with the Kosovo detachment successfully attacked the city of Ristovac , where 130 Bulgarian soldiers were killed and 20 captured by

7676-494: The organization was dissolved, most of the members ended up joining the Bulgarian Communist Party . During the interwar period in Vardar Macedonia, some young locals repressed by the Serbs, tried to find a separate Macedonian way of national development. Nevertheless, the existence of considerable Macedonian national consciousness prior to the middle of the 1940s is disputed. At that time anti-Serbian and pro-Bulgarian feelings among

7777-479: The people greeted them with high enthusiasm. Crowds in Skopje flew banners that greeted the unification of Macedonia and Bulgaria. A division of Vardar Macedonia, then part of the Vardar Banovina , was drawn up on 19 and 20 April 1941. Bulgarian troops entered the central and eastern parts and seized most of the banovina, including parts of Eastern Serbia and Kosovo. The most prominent force which occupied most of

7878-541: The president was held on 10 July. The parliament again failed to elect a president, with Topi receiving 74 votes. On 14 July, another vote was held. Topi won only 50 votes, while Neritan Ceka of the Democratic Alliance Party won 32. On 20 July, in the fourth round of voting, Topi was supported by some members of the opposition and won 85 votes, thus being elected as the President of the Republic of Albania for

7979-656: The right to annex the greater part of Vardar Macedonia, the Gestapo had contacts with Mihailov and his men in Bulgaria and Vardar Macedonia. This was in order to have a "reserve card" in case of things going wrong in Bulgaria. Serbian Chetnik Movement in Macedonia – There were approximately 8,000 Serb Chetniks led by Draža Mihailović operating in Macedonia during the conflict. For a time, they were controlled by rival Chetnik leader Kosta Pećanac . Counter-chetas – The Kontračeti were anti-partisan units organized and equipped by

8080-615: The rise of younger generation anti-Bulgarian oriented partisan leaders, who were loyal to Yugoslavia. They formed in 1943 the People's Liberation Army of Macedonia and the Macedonian Communist Party . In the western part of the area, the Albanian Partisans also participated in the resistance movement. After Bulgaria switched sides in the war in September 1944 , the Bulgarian 5th. Army stationed in Macedonia, moved back to

8181-541: The river Pčinja while attempting to flee). 97 Chetniks, including 5 officers, were captured in the action. On 3 March 1944 in the village of Novo Selo , Partisan fighters destroyed the remaining force, capturing 30 Chetniks and more than 100 rifles and ammunition. Various local Chetnik bands, decentralized and acting on their own accord, such as the Porech Chetniks, continued to operate in certain parts of Macedonia but they were generally scattered and disorganized. After

8282-492: The same costumes, but claimed Serbian , Albanian or Turkish ethnicity. Most of the Albanian starosedeoci (old urban families) were Slavophone ; they did not speak Albanian at home, but a Slavic dialect which they called naš govor ' our language ' . An Austrian named Joseph Muller, who visited the area in the 19th century, wrote that the dialect originated from the time of the First Serbian Uprising against

8383-579: The southern border areas, thereby excluding important concentrations of Greek settlement in Vlora (perhaps 8,000 people in 1994) and in adjoining areas along the coast, ancestral Greek towns such as Himara, and ethnic Greeks living elsewhere throughout the country. Mixed villages outside this designated zone, even those with a clear majority of ethnic Greeks, were not considered minority areas and therefore were denied any Greek-language cultural or educational provisions. In addition, many Greeks were forceably removed from

8484-460: The starting grade from the fourth to the first for Kosovo Serb and Albanian students being taught each others languages with aims of bringing both ethnicities closer. Kosovo Serb opposed the measure to the learn Albanian language claiming that it was another way of asserting Albanian dominance and viewed it as more Albanisation of the region. Yugoslav authorities rejected the claim stating that if Albanians also refused to learn Serbian on grounds that it

8585-560: The summer of 1943 as more and more people entered the ranks of the partisans. They managed to create strongholds in the regions of Debarca , Prespa , Kumanovo , Tikvesh , and Gevgelija . This allowed for the expansion of the National Liberation Committees and the creation of larger military units, as decided at a conference in Prespa on 2 August 1943. Regular large military units (battalions and brigades) were created as part of

8686-683: The whole of western Greek Macedonia, the main forces of the People's Liberation Army of Macedonia were stationed in the Almopia region in Greece close to the Yugoslav border. The Partisan detachments that were active in Gevgelia and Tikvesh also crossed the border into northern Greece and met with the main forces of the MNOV. Several meetings were held with members of ELAS and the Greek Communist Party . One of

8787-525: The will of the Macedonian people in the anti-fascist struggle for national liberation. The Communist Party of Macedonia (CPM) was formed on 19 March 1943 in Tetovo. The first Central Committee (CC of the CPM) was composed as of Yugoslav communists as Strahil Gigov , Kuzman Josifovski Pitu , Cvetko Uzunovski , Mara Naceva and Bane Andreev . After making a detailed analysis of the military and political situation in

8888-434: Was Serbianisation it would be unacceptable. In 1982 Macedonian communist officials accused Albanian nationalists (including some Muslim Albanian clergy) that they placed pressure on Macedonian Romani , Turks and Macedonian speaking Muslims (Torbeš) to declare themselves as Albanians during the census. The Islamic Community of Yugoslavia dominated by Slavic Muslims opposed during the 1980s Albanian candidates ascending to

8989-601: Was appointed Director of the Food Safety and Veterinary Institute, a position he held until the end of 1995. Alongside his work as Scientific Researcher, Topi has carried out a dense academic activity in preparing the educational curricula of the Toxicology and Pharmacology subjects for the students and postgraduates of the Veterinary Medicine Faculty. At the same time, he was also a lecturer in these subjects for about

9090-629: Was approved by minister of the interior Petur Gabrovski . Their peak strength was 200 units in August 1944. In 1941 the Regional Committee of the Communists in Macedonia was headed by Metodi Shatorov ("Sharlo") from Prilep a former IMRO (United) member. After the Bulgarian takeover of Vardarska Banovina in April 1941, the Macedonian communists fell in the sphere of influence of the Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP) under Sharlo's leadership. When

9191-524: Was commonly called by the Yugoslav Marxist historiography the National Liberation War of Macedonia ( Macedonian : Народноослободителна борба на Македонија, Narodnoosloboditelna borba na Makedonija ) in Yugoslavia, similarly to the greater Yugoslav People's Liberation War . Some of the combatants also developed aspirations for independence of the region of Macedonia , but were suppressed at

9292-535: Was formed in Skopje on 13 April 1941. Former IMRO members in Vardar Macedonia were active members of this committee. On 13 April 1941, at a meeting in Skopje, it was decided that one of the first tasks of the newly formed organisation was to regulate the relations with the German authorities. When the Bulgarian Army entered Vardar Macedonia on 19 April 1941, they were greeted by most of the local population as liberators, as anti-Serbian and pro-Bulgarian feelings among

9393-439: Was left "virtually defenseless" following the withdrawal of German troops. The Germans did not support it as their forces withdrew from the region. In the chaos, they just tried to use the new-formed "Macedonian committees" as local police stations. Their members were former activists of Bulgarian Action Committees . Bamir Topi Bamir Myrteza Topi ( Albanian: [baˈmiɾ ˈtɔpi] ; born 24 April 1957)

9494-689: Was located in Skanderbeg Square , Tirana before it was demolished in 1929. Bamir graduated from the Agricultural University of Tirana in veterinary studies and earned a PhD degree in the same field. In 1984, he was appointed a Scientific Researcher at the Institute of Veterinary Scientific Researches until 1995. During the 1987-90 period, he attended post-graduate studies in Italy in the field of Molecular Biology. After his return from Italy, Topi

9595-526: Was no organised resistance in the region because the majority of the Macedonian Slavs nurtured strong pro-Bulgarian sentiments, although this could've been an effect from the previous Kingdom of Yugoslavia rule which had negative impact on the majority of the population. Even the local Communists , separated from the Yugoslav and joined the Bulgarian Communist Party . However, even those Macedonians who felt that they were Bulgarians soon discovered that

9696-463: Was put in charge to contact Mihajlov, who at the time was an advisor to Croatia's Nazi leader Ante Pavelić . The state was to receive no military (troops or weapons) backing from Germany, because the Germans were running short on troops and weapons. Telegrams from the time indicate that an orderly Bulgarian-German troop withdrawal would precede the formation of such a puppet state. Bulgaria ordered its troops to withdraw from Macedonia on 2 September. In

9797-610: Was responsible for the roundup and deportation of over 7,000 Jews in Skopje and Bitola . The Bulgarian authorities created a special Gendarmerie force which received almost unlimited power to pursue the Communist partisans in the whole kingdom. Harsh rule by the occupying forces and a number of Allied victories showing that the Axis might lose the war encouraged more Macedonians to support the Communist Partisan resistance movement of Josip Broz Tito. Many former IMRO members assisted

9898-407: Was restored back to Serbia and consequently included as part of the Vardar Banovina in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia . During that period, there were two main autonomist agendas. The right-wing Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO) led by Ivan Mihailov, was in favor of the creation of a pro-Bulgarian Macedonian state under German and Italian protection. The leftist IMRO (United) who

9999-561: Was sponsored directly by the Comintern favored a creation of an independent "Soviet Macedonia" within a Balkan Federation with a separate Macedonian nation and Macedonian language in accordance with the resolution of the Comintern on the Macedonian question . This option was supported by Pavel Shatev , Dimitar Vlahov , Metodi Shatorov , Panko Brashnarov , and others. However such Macedonian activists, who came from IMRO (United) never managed to get rid of their pro-Bulgarian bias. After

10100-507: Was to destroy the influence of the BCP in Macedonia and to fight against any form of autonomism . He would have to "Macedonianize" the struggle's form and content, and to give it an ethnic Macedonian facade. One of his main achievements was also that the wartime pro-Bulgarian trend receded into the background of pro-Yugoslav one. Tempo was able to capitalize on the growing contradictions towards Bulgarian authorities, which during 1942 were involved into

10201-893: Was under the command of the HQ of MNOV. The rest of the fighters that were not included in the First Macedonian-Kosovo Assault Brigade and the Second Macedonian Assault Brigade (the Hristo Botev and Stiv Naumov battalion together with several smaller partisan detachments) were organized into the so-called "Third Group of Battalions". Bulgaria managed to save its entire 48,000-strong Jewish population during World War II from deportation to Nazi concentration camps , but under German pressure those Jews from their newly annexed territories without Bulgarian citizenship were deported, such as those from Vardar Macedonia and Western Thrace . The Bulgarian government

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