December 21, 2003

Macedonia - Part II - IMRO

The second essay about Macedonia is about the formation of the terrorist group known as IMRO. My understanding of the history of this group is a wee bit shallow - As always, chime in if you know more.

MACEDONIA - IMRO

Macedonia is the birthplace of terrorism in the 20th century. After the Second Balkan War in 1913, parts of Macedonia were stolen from Bulgaria by Serbia and Greece. Very shortly following the end of the war, a group of assassins who called themselves IMRO (Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization) emerged, and set out to undermine those "stolen" parts of Macedonia. The terrorist tactics they used (fanatical, violent, surprise attacks) are ones we are all too familiar with today. Present-day terrorists are inspired, to some degree, by IMRO.

The country is poor, ethnically divided, filled with hatred, and with historically weak government institutions. The ground was fertile for terrorism.

IMRO disappeared once Macedonia was sucked into the Yugoslav Federation post World War II. A lot of things (ethnic warfare, guerrilla tactics, raging hatred) disappeared from view under Tito, but these things did not vanish or dissolve or resolve themselves. They merely subsided into silence, underneath the water, waiting for the time when it would be right to emerge again. And "emerge" they did. More like explode. Once Yugoslavia fell apart, all of these undercurrents exploded to the surface again, as though the 40 years of silence meant nothing.

IMRO surfaced again after the collapse of Yugoslavia, only this time it took on the character of a fairly moderate political party. The extremists have been pushed to the side. Most moved to Bulgaria, where everybody is nationalistic, extremist, intense (at least when it comes to the Macedonian Problem).

There is, I am sure, more to learn about IMRO.

Next: Competing territorial claims

Posted by sheila