(Estimated Pub Date) the Challenge of Ethnic Conflict to National and International Order in the 1990S: Geographic Perspectives- October 1995

Approved for Release: 2018/06/01 C00123268
During the second Balkan War (1912-13) the Greeks
and Serbs, with the help of the Romanians, invaded
Bulgaria and took land fromj it. Romania seized
Dobrudja (Dobrogea) while the Serbs and Greeks
divided Macedonia between them. Not only did they
take the land, but also they instituted policies aimed at
eradicating the Bulgarian presence and claim. Serbia
renamed northern Macedonia South Serbia and out-
lawed both the Bulgarian language and church (those
used by the Macedonians themselves) and replaced
them with the Serbian language and church. It was
hoped that the Macedoniansof South Serbia would
become Serbs. Greece was far worse in its treatment
of Macedonians. Slavic Macedonians (and Bulgarians
in Thrace) were forced to accept Greek names and call
themselves Greeks or flee the country. A policy of
Hellenization was instituted throughout the region.
Between the second Balkan War and World War II,
policies of Serbianization, Hellenization, and ethnic
cleansing were openly practiced in both Macedonia
and Thrace. The region was _a1so ethnically cleansed
of Macedonians and Bulgarians, as was Greek Thrace,
which had a Slavic majority. In addition to this, hun-
dreds of thousands of Greeks from the Pontic region
of Turkey were resettled into those parts of Macedonia
under Greek control. _
The Greek objection to the recognition of a Republic
of Macedonia derives from more than issues related to
an ancient conqueror. Greece fears the demand for the
return of the homeland by a free Macedonia and repa-
rations for past atrocities. Greece also fears that the
ethnic Macedonians will demand their homes back.°
This is potentially one of the most serious issues in
Eastern Europe, as it can involve Greece, Bulgaria,
Serbia, Macedonia, and even Albania in a real war.
More is said on this later.
The Serbs and Kosovo
A similar situation exists in Kosovo, a land claimed
by both ethnic Albanians and Serbs. Geographical evi-
dence (such as place names) clearly indicates a contin-
uous settlement of the region by ethnic Albanians. The
Serbian claim is based on a war that took place in the
6 Macedonians from Greek (Aegean) Macedonia fled to the Ser-
bian-controlled areas of Macedonia as well as to Bulgaria, Austra-
lia, Canada, and the United States after 1913.
early 13th century. According to legend, the Serbs
were defeated at the battle of Kosovo and later fled
north into what is today Greater Serbia.’ Historically,
however, the Serbs came from the north and were con-
centrated along the Morava valley in what is today the
heartland of the Serbs.‘ It is important to note that it
was church policy to have geographical diocese
within which an official language was used. There is
no question that Kosovo was within the territorial
domain of the Serbian Orthodox Church, but that does
not mean that the population living there was Serbian.
The Battle of Kosovo, the role of Krali Marko, or
other folktales should not be accepted as a justification
for Serbian aggression against ethnic Albanians who
compose about 90 percent of that region today.
A propaganda campaign against ethnic Albanians was
part and parcel of Serbian policy long before the cur-
rent crises in Krajina and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Serbian propoganda claimed that the Patriarsija Con-
vent in Pec was bumed to the ground by Albanians
and that the Serbian nuns there had been raped. I was
there one year after the alleged fire and rape, and the
Serbian nuns in the convent knew nothing about such
an event. The convent was still standing, and there
was no damage to it whatsoever. Claims were also
made that Albanians killed, raped, and tortured Serbs
in the region, yet the local Serbs in Kosovo declared
to me that that was a rare occurrence. Many Serbs of
Prizren, Pee, Orahovac, and Dj akovica (in the western
part of Kosovo), on the other hand, told me that pov-
erty forced Serbs to sell their homes and move to Ser-
bia proper. Some laughed at the fact that many Serbs
who sold their homes to ethnic Albanians in Kosovo
7 Part of the claim is also that Prince Marko (Krali Marko) was a
Serb and that he was killed at this battle. According to their own
sources, he came from Prilep (in Macedonia). As such, he is
claimed by Macedonians as a Macedonian and by Bulgarians as a
Bulgar. 1-le may also have been a Vlah, a people renowned for their
military abilities at the time. One need recognize that Albanians
also have epic songs about this battle in which three Albanian
princes were killed, not only a Serbian one. We should not be dis-
cussing the right to rule Kosovo, as argued by Serbs and Albanians,
based on 13th century battles or folk songs, or we will have a Bul-
garian-Macedonian-Serbian war as well as a Serbian-Albanian one.
8 This is most likely the Kingdom of Morava (Moravia) referred to
in the ancient texts regarding the brothers Kiril (Cyril) and Metod
(Methodius), not Moravia in the Czech Republic.
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Approved for Release: 2018/06/01 C00123268