The Program Aims of the Uprising, the Game of the Great Powers and the Aspirations

Од Wikibooks

The Program Aims Of The Uprising, The Game Of The Great Powers And The Aspirations

The Kresna Uprising was not the work of a systematically built revolutionary movement led by an appropriate revolutionary organization. Rather it was the result of specific conditions in Macedonia and on the Balkans that followed the end of the Russo-Turkish War, the decisions arising from the Congress of Berlin in July, 1878, the game the Great Powers played, and the Bulgarian bourgeoisie aspirations for a Greater Bulgaria to dominate the Balkans. And the rebellion began without a publicly defined program.

This does not mean though that those who participated in the uprising had no idea what to expect from an uprising, nor what it was intended to bring about.

The basic program aim that the Bulgarian bourgeoisie ascribed to the uprising in Macedonia was defined at the meeting of the Unity Committee in Trnovo. The Bulgarian Patriarch, Kiril, said that it was a struggle against the Berlin Treaty and for "the unity of the Bulgarian people which will organize and support the rebel movements that have appeared in Macedonia."

At that time, how did the leadership of the Greater Bulgarian bourgeoisie, among whom were Stefan Stambolov, L. Karavelov, Dr. Tsankov, A. Tashikmanov, and the archimandrite Stefan, think of the uprising in Macedonia?

All of the investigations thus far indicate that the tactics dictated by the Sofia based "Unity" Committee, in which the Bulgarian bourgeoisie leadership played a significant role, consisted of "making noise" by leading guerrilla-partisan warfare. An uprising incited in Macedonia, and everywhere if necessary, "will be a decisive attack against the Congress of Berlin."

Careful analysis of the Unity Committee's actions in Macedonia solidly confirms such a policy: sending detachments to different sides; the attacks on many places in eastern Macedonia; and the efforts to penetrate central Macedonia, especially along the course of the Vardar River.

However, there exists wide-spread opinion, especially among the diplomatic representatives of the time and made visible by the actions of the military experts, that the Bulgarian bourgeoisie, while preparing to incite a rebellion in Macedonia, had a more ambitious plan in mind, and a precise strategy to accommodate it. And beyond question is the general propagandistic nature of their actions.

The essence of this plan can be seen in the letter from the French ambassador in Constantinople to the minister of foreign affairs. The letter, dated 28 October, 1878, reads as follows:

"The committee of authority in Bulgaria, managed directly from Russia, has at its disposal two sub-committees: one in Kyustendil and the other in Dupnitsa. The former will direct agitation toward the west, toward Kriva Palanka, Kumanovo, and Skopje. The second subcommittee is to spread detachments along two parallel valleys of the Rivers Struma and Mesta, aiming to finish in the Strymonic Gulf of the Aegean Sea." The settlements would be captured "along the banks of the Vardar, and so too the mountainous regions between the Vardar and Struma Rivers, and the residents, almost exclusively Muslims, will be included and circumscribed."

It appears, continued the ambassador, that the above mentioned operations and battles are intended to capture the narrow gorge, twenty-five to thirty kilometers from the little town of Demir Hisar. Two roads run through this gorge: from Serez toward Skopje (along the banks of the Strumitsa River); and from Serez toward Dupnitsa (along the Struma River). And if the gorge of the Kriva River, near Kriva Palanka, were in the hands of the rebels, the Turkish troops would be cut off from the Struma Valley.

The Turkish view of the Bulgarian aims for the uprising did not differ greatly from that of the French ambassador. Regardless of the reservations they may have held for the Turkish attitude, it deserves examination.

The French military attaché in Constantinople in a letter dated 29 October, 1878 to the French ministry of war, described the attitude of the Turks: "The aim of the revolutionary committee is not so much to occupy territory as it is to provoke massacres among themselves, which is obviously intended to demonstrate to Europe that it is impossible for them to live together, beside one an other, that the Muslim and the Christian populations are enemies. It is a Way to justify an historical Christian protectorate in the Orient, an excuse for the reestablishment of the Bulgarian Principality within the borders set forth by the San Stefano Treaty. Provocateurs are at this moment assigned to mobilize the rebellion in such a way that they only take two or three strategic gorges in this difficult region in order to prevent, or at least to delay, the action of the Turkish troops, in order to gain the time requisite for organizing the rebel contingents. This accounts for their first effort near Melnik. The aim was to close the gorge between that town and Demir Hisar, for through the gorge pass two roads: from Serez to Skopje, along the banks of the Strumitsa River; and from Serez to Dupnitsa, along the banks of the Struma River. With the capture of this pass, on the one side, and the capture of the gorges of the Kriva River, east of Kumanovo, on the other, the rebels would be far better protected from the energetic action of the Ottoman army..."

Without great effort, it is enough to remind us of the different actions and initiatives that the leadership of the Unity Committee implemented, or gave orders to implement, and thus confirm the attitude of the Greater Bulgarian bourgeoisie and the aims they tried to advance in Macedonia.

For example, in September just before the outset of the uprising, Adam Kalmikov and other volunteers from Vidin were sent to Kyustendil. They tried to enter Macedonia at Devé Bair, but were defeated. They returned to Bulgaria.

On 25 October, 1878, the Sofia Committee sent a letter to the Beneficience Committee in Gorna Dzhumaya. The following is an excerpt from that letter:

"Write to Kalmikov and tell him to take immediate action to raise some noise. It would be extremely advantageous to the effort if he can send one of his detachments to take Razlog; and if he has enough armed forces, send Pop Kostadin into the interior of Macedonia to stir up the population in a few places, to take positions in the mountains and constantly harass the Turkish forces."

In vain, said the patriarch Kiril, the headquarters of the uprising were angry with the Dzhumaya Committee (of K. Bosilkov) when it ordered the uprising in Razlog and tried to create unrest in Macedonia as well. That order came from Sofia where it was thought that a guerrilla army, a partisan army, would, according to the conditions, pass from town to town, not the detachments being led by a regular army.

While the rebels were active along the banks of the Struma River, where their successful advances demanded more concern, especially in terms of their constant need for a steady supply of weapons and ammunition, Natanail himself was engaged in efforts to spread the uprising toward northern Macedonia. And after the voivode, Stoyan Karastoilov, was murdered in Kyustendil, he began concentrating men and arms in that area. About 500 people were distributed along the border near Vranye and Kriva Palanka.

Through the course of events, the uprising disintegrated due to the clashes within the rebel ranks and the

divisions outside. Then Stambolov, a well-known Bulgarian social worker, and member of the Unity Committee leadership, was given the task to take direct charge over the uprising. His intentions were twofold: to check further disintegration of the rebel forces; and to subjugate the uprising to the Bulgarian bourgeoisie leadership and their interests. He revised the work of some committees and then visited Kyustendil and Gorna Dzhumaya where the rebel detachments were concentrated. On 5 January, 1879, he called a meeting in Gorna Dzhumaya. There he introduced the idea of establishing an organization within Macedonia. This organization would prepare for and then incite another uprising in the spring of 1879.

In a word, the aim of the Greater Bulgarian bourgeoisie was exclusively to subjugate the uprising in Macedonia to their own egoistic and nationalistic aims. Such activity in Macedonia would support their policy of dissatisfaction and consequent struggle against the decisions of the Congress of Berlin. The international political situation at the time dictated the terms of their policy, and it was necessary to urge the Macedonian rebels into action. Before the unrest began in Macedonia, the Bulgarian press had already introduced the name, "The Macedonian Uprising," which was later used as a convenient tool of the political and propagandistic goals of the Bulgarian bourgeoisie in their struggle against the Berlin Congress treaty. The news was exaggerated, magnified three to four times, in order to create the impression of strength and breadth to the uprising, both inside and outside the country. The seriousness too was exaggerated in order to justify the need of Bulgarian intervention.

The Aims of the Macedonian Rebels - Struggle for Statehood

The "Macedonian Uprising," as the rebels themselves called it, was not the result of a premeditated program of activity, a program that might have been the product of a single revolutionary organization. At the outset, the Macedonian rebels did not have definitive program aims.

However, that doesn't mean that they represented some amorphous mass without vision. They shed their blood, they carried the struggle on their shoulders with expectations for better things to come. A program was impossible simply because these same rebel forces had just participated in the struggle against Greek and Bulgarian ecclesiastical and educational propaganda. At the head of the uprising was Dimitar Pop Georgiev who was simultaneously the leader of the people's struggle for ecclesiastical and educational autonomy. All that was enough. Georgiev merely transferred the goals of the ecclesiastical and educational struggle onto the uprising; but now the means were widened and augmented by unrest, and the struggle was now being conducted with weapons.

What did the Macedonian rebels expect from their own actions when it was decided to take up arms? What were their aims?

According to some sources, meetings were arranged in Sofia in the summer of 1878. There, prominent members of Macedonian political and cultural life decided to organize an uprising in Macedonia. Their basic aim was to oppose the decisions of the Congress of Berlin. The most urgent task of the uprising was to be prevent the implementation of the decision to return the Dzhumaya region to the Turks. The unrest conceived in the Dzhumaya region, and still deeper into Macedonia along the Struma River toward the Petrich and Demir Hisar regions, was intended primarily to at least postpone the withdrawal of the Russian army from Gorna Dzhumaya.

Undoubtedly, the Macedonians discovered that their thinking more or less coincided with that of the Bulgarian Exarchy.

However underdeveloped the rebel goals were at the beginning of the uprising, through the strengthening of the rebel forces during the fight, the rebel government acquired greater definition. Thus the two aims grew dissimilar. For the rebels, the uprising became a means of expressing their desire for a liberated Macedonia, for a new Macedonian state.

The "Prescripts of the Macedonian Rebel Committee" especially demonstrate the distinction.

Ratified by the Macedonian Rebel Committee in 1878, the program aims contained in the Prescripts can be grouped around two basic points: national-political, and social. All aspects of the struggle were included by the national-political aims: the liberation and constitution of the Macedonian state; the establishment of the government in the liberated territory; national and religious tolerance; the relation to the Beneficience Committee; the relation toward the enemies of the Macedonian people; and above all the relations toward the neighboring peoples.

"With the wish to cast off the Turkish bondage from our fatherland, each and every one of us stands ready to sacrifice whatever is necessary. We have rebelled as champions for freedom. By shedding our blood throughout the fields and forests of Macedonia, we serve as the Macedonian army of Alexander the Great. We fight for freedom and our motto is, 'Freedom or Death!' " That is an excerpt from the text of the Prescripts, a document that was used as the rebel Constitution. "We will govern ourselves," it reads, "and abide by our own rules until we set free the Macedonian fatherland."

The precise "outcome of the uprising in Macedonia" is yet vague, states Article 1 of the Prescripts, but it is necessary to spread the rebellion throughout Macedonia. "The people from Macedonia itself take part in the uprising, people who feel themselves Macedonians and who have a love of freedom." (Article 2).

As stated in Article 9, "The aim of the Macedonian uprising is no secret. It is for the liberation of Macedonia,…[…]… the country of the…[…]…enlighteners and educators, St. Cyril and Methodious, the country that has suffered centuries of Turkish enslavement. So, among us there is no place for those who fight for personal gain, there is only a place for those who fight for freedom."

The Macedonian rebels explain in the Prescripts that the uprising was limited to just one part of the

country rather than the whole because the political conditions in Macedonia, in Turkey, and in Europe prohibited expansion. They decided instead to provoke "scattered uprisings in eastern Macedonia and liberate many villages and inhabited areas with internal forces."

However, they did not forsake the basic idea that the uprising should spread throughout the entire country. "Before us stands a great task to liberate all of our fatherland, Macedonia," as it states in Article 125 of the Prescripts. "Now we are conducting partisan warfare against the Turks, but our intention is to send rebel detachments into Macedonia to incite an uprising there as well."

Stated in the Prescripts, "toward that goal, concrete steps have already been made. Namely, one detachment of 300 rebels led by the voivodes, Karaiskaki, Stefo, Pavle, and Kara Kosta, has been ordered to set off for the Bitola and Mariovo Mountains. And by enlisting local volunteers, they are to establish the basis of the rebel army in this area."

Article 132 of the Prescripts expresses the character of the uprising. It firmly states that: "Our Macedonian uprising is an internal affair and we are commanding our own forces."

And finally, in terms of the national-political aims of the rebels, Article 145 clearly indicates how the civil government of the liberated territory will function. "After the liberation of the fatherland, the Central Committee will create a Constitution by which the Macedonian state will be governed: either within the Ottoman Empire as a state with political and cultural autonomy; or, if the Great Powers of Europe permit, outside the Ottoman Empire."

Headed by Dimitar Pop Georgiev, the rebel leadership had a clear idea of the Macedonian destiny. The leaders having come from the valleys and plains carried deep within themselves the rancor left from centuries of the Turkish feudal system. They knew that without satisfying the social aspirations of the wide peasant masses, those who were to bear the burden of the uprising, they would not be able to activate their forces, to attract them to their own cause.

Although there was no solidly designed program for socio-economic change to guide the people after a victorious uprising, the rebels nevertheless made clear the direction of their aims in the Prescripts. Of paramount importance was to "dissolve the peasant's feudal ties to the estate." Second, the land on which the peasant worked should be immediately turned over to the peasant as his own property, but on the condition that the land owner could not work the land with the aid of his family alone. Also taken into account was that those peasants who found themselves without work as a result of the application of the Prescripts would be given land to till, regardless of whether or not the previous owner had cultivated it. Unowned land was to be given to the poor villages. (Articles 152, 153, 154).

Despite the centuries of enslavement, the mistrust and impatience due to the violence of Turkish rule and to the capriciousness of various oppressors, and the licentious banditry in certain areas of Macedonia, the Macedonian rebels did not intend to impose their own domination over those who belonged to the ruling nation nor over the other nationalities residing in Macedonia. They had sympathies for social rights, conscious that the "ruling Turkish nation" did not discriminate among the exploited masses on the Balkans, that the plight of other nationalities was the same as that of the Macedonian peasant. Thus they demanded respect for the integrity of property owned by the peaceful Turkish population, and they interceded on behalf of religious tolerance.

The Prescripts most strictly forbade the plundering of a village or a town after it had been seized. This prohibition extended to Turkish villages as well. "Each rebel will carry food in his own pack, and in the event the supply units fail to arrive and he is without food, he must endure. He who enters into a Turkish house to look for food or anything else will be treated as a looter and will be punished by death." (Article 48).

That law was in effect during the struggle for liberation. These Prescripts were not intended to be temporary, nor were they motivated by demagogic or tactical reasons. In the section of the Prescripts which regulated the organizational bases for the civilian government in liberated Macedonia, the following was stated with regard to religious tolerance and the security of property of the Turkish population:

"The committees of the local governments will monitor the safety of those Turks who did not interfere with the uprising and who had earned their bread with honest labor. Anyone who inflicts damage to the property of such a Turk will be condemned to the worst punishment, death." (Article 155).

"It is strictly forbidden to spread hatred based on religion. It is forbidden to make distinctions among the nationalities because all are equal citizens and all are under the protection of the laws of Macedonian civil rule." (Article 156)

Further on, the Prescripts also strictly forbade the desecration of religious institutions, churches and mosques, or the plundering of such property. Those who disobeyed the law should expect the most severe punishment.

The Orthodox Christians were ordered to respect Muslim customs. It was forbidden to enter a Muslim home, to unveil a Muslim woman, to allow pigs on Muslim property, etc.

The same laws applied to the Muslims with respect to the Christian Orthodox customs, a practice that later continued in the "unliberated" areas.

Stressing the autonomy of the rebel decisions and deeds, and stressing further that they were motivated exclusively by the desire to liberate Macedonia, the Macedonian rebels not only openly stated their intentions, but also took measures to protect against the actions of uninvited foreigners. They were equally vigilant against the infiltration of Turkish spies into the rebel ranks as they were toward the agents of other interested forces. Regarding the latter, the rebel leadership had a precisely worded recommendation to keep an eye on the various volunteers, against their unregulated acceptance into the ranks. In one sense it referred to the Macedonians who wanted to join or aid the uprising; and in another sense it referred the foreign volunteers.

"A great number of Macedonians in Serbia," states Article 136, "express a wish to join the Macedonian uprising and to attack the Turkish forces from the northern border. However, there are no weapons. If they can find weapons, and if they accept our Constitution with their hearts, we will accept them."

The regulations for accepting foreigners from "Slav [Macedonic] nations" were different. First, they stated that they would accept as many as can find weapons and can abide by the rebel Constitution. Though, later they stipulated, "However, among them there a number of adventurers who are of no benefit to the uprising. Under no conditions are such people to be accepted."

In order to protect themselves, they recommended that "the volunteers sent from abroad without a recommendation from the Macedonian rebel headquarters are not to be accepted into the detachments. Find out who sent them and whether or not they are spies.. If it becomes apparent that one is a spy, or a propagandist, or a bandit having come from Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia, Russia, Bosnia, or wherever, determine who sent him, to what end, what he has done while a member of the rebel forces. He is either to be punished according to the gravity of his deeds, or to be sent back." (Article 71). "If it is determined that a volunteer already accepted into the ranks of the Macedonian volunteer army is a spy for another country or has worked against the aims and interests of the Macedonian uprising, he is to be punished as an internal according to the laws of the Macedonian Rebel Army." (Article 72).

All enemies were to be treated equally, without regard to their nationality. "Every Christian, Muslim, Macedonian, Turk, Albanian, Vlach, and anyone else who shows himself against the uprising or the rebels will be prosecuted.. ." (Article 15).

The independence and autonomy of the Macedonian uprising of 1878 is clearly distinguished not only by its political program which expressed the political philosophy of the rebellion's leadership, but also by the composition and organization of the Macedonian army, by the creation and functioning of the rebel government, as well as by the conceived vision of a civilian administration that was to operate in the liberated areas of Macedonia.

The Prescripts are quite clear as to the composition of the Macedonian army. Aside from the regular rebel forces, "The Macedonian rebel army consists of all Macedonian inhabitants from both liberated and non-liberated areas." Indeed, everyone in some way was a Macedonian soldier: men and women, the old and the young. All had the duty to aid the uprising as much as they could with what they could. (Article 82).

The Prescripts described the peasant as the basic unit of the army. The peasant's duty to the liberation of his country was also described: during battle it was each peasant's duty to join the combat ranks; during periods of calm, he was to return to his own work.

For the functioning of the Macedonian village rebel army, the non-regular units, a system was also prescribed by he Prescripts. Each village was to establish a command headquarters. The able-bodied men of the village were divided into squads and at the head of each squad was a captain.

The captain was a high ranking member of the war organization, occasionally having as many as 100 men under his command. He had an important regular army function: for protection of the liberated areas, the captains were to perform guard duty. A captain stood watch for ten days. Also, a system of rebel committees was established. The tasks were many. They worked secretly along the front lines; they took care of the defense; they prepared food for soldiers, peasants, and villagers; and they also recruited soldiers for the Macedonian army.

The basic idea was to mobilize all forces within Macedonia, both Macedonian and non-Macedonian, to secure their freedom from Turkish enslavement. In order to coordinate these forces, the Prescripts demanded that they submit to the instrument of Unity, "the Macedonian Rebel Committee," whose authority was to reach out to "every field of Macedonia." (Article 128) To establish the proper flow of command, from the leadership downward, the Prescripts required that every battle region create a "Macedonian field command which will lead the rebel forces and will maintain contact with the Macedonian Rebel Committee." (Article 129).

Rebel detachments appeared in various parts of the country - in Kostur, Maleshevo, Prilep and Veles, and in the areas of Dzhumaya and Skopje - and each was invariably under the leadership of the local voivodes. According to the Prescripts, "The Macedonian Rebel Committee [was] central for all of Macedonia," and all voivodes were ordered to report to them for appropriate directives.

Aside from the strategic issues that concerned the widening and the development of the uprising, a special section of the Prescripts was devoted to questions associated with the constituting and functioning of the civil government - or, as they called it, "civil rule" - in liberated territories. In order to build a government the Prescripts required that each liberated territory introduce "provisional civilian rule" which was intended to guide the social life of the people. (Article 140).

Each inhabited area was to establish joint committees consisting of up to five members. The leadership of these joint committees was subordinate to the Central Committee, consisting of five members. Aside from the Central Committee's other political functions, it was to "represent the Macedonian rebels to foreign governments and to the people." (Article 144).

The Prescripts also stipulated measures necessary to maintain peace and order among the citizenry. Police and appropriate judicial organs were assigned primary responsibility. Prior to the existence of written laws, they operated on the basis of traditional rights. Special attention was paid to international relations while introducing peace and order to the liberated territories. Steps were taken to prevent any inequality or discrimination. For example, in settlement where the population was of mixed nationality or faith, participation in governmental organs was based on parity.

Of course, the Prescripts or Constitution as a programmatic political document would not be valid

without its active implementation; nor would the ambitions of the Macedonian rebels, those who fought for their independence, for their freedom, for their own state, be convincing without taking into account external factors which affected the development of the uprising. Of special consequence was their treatment of the Bulgarian Exarchy and of the Beneficience Committee, Unity.

The rebels designated a separate chapter entitled "External tasks of the uprising," in which were stated their principles for international relations and contacts. In fact, this section of the Prescripts represents a kind of codex used by the rebels during the uprising. Emphasized therein is the freedom and independence of rebel action. It was they themselves who without tutelage organized their international relations in the interest of those Macedonians who rebelled, in the interest of their ambitions for liberation and a new Macedonian state.

In the first paragraph of this section, emphasized is the need to make clear the rebel aspirations to Europe and to the neighboring countries, Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece, the Albanian national state, Russia, and even Turkey. The relations toward the Bulgarian Exarchy is given special attention.

Concerning the relations with Europe, the Prescripts state: "The Macedonian uprising is an internal affair, but it won't succeed unless we convince Europe of our fight for liberation…" (Article 182).

In order to achieve this aim, "the Macedonian Rebel Committee" assigned itself responsibility for all appropriate propaganda activities, e.g., sending memoranda, petitions, requests, and records, in the name of the Macedonian people. By doing so, they would be able to "explain the aims of the uprising, to enable them to understand the reality of our struggle, to make them aware that ours is a fight for liberation and that the aim is not to violate the rights of the other inhabitants in Macedonia." (Article 184).

The rebel relations with the Bulgarian state rested upon equality and reciprocity. The Prescripts stated:

"The Macedonian Rebel committee will inform the government of the Bulgarian Principality that the Macedonians have no intention of interfering with the Principality.…[…]…." (Article 186) "The Macedonian Rebel Committee will be represented in the Principality by our deputies, and the Principality can send its deputies to the Committee." (Article 187).

The same principles were adopted with respect to Serbia: "The Macedonian Rebel Committee will acquaint its brother country, the Serbian Principality, with the aims of our uprising and will request brotherly aid for the liberation of Macedonia. If the Prince of the Serbian Principality permits, we will send them our deputies and the Committee will accept theirs." (Article 191) Later, the Prescripts state that the Committee will seek aid from the Serbian prince in the form of arms and materiel for the uprising. Especially emphasized is the request for the Serbian prince to not "stop our Macedonians in Serbia from taking part in the liberation of their fatherland, Macedonia." (Article 193).

With respect to Greece, the Rebel Committee requested the Greek government to aid the Macedonian uprising by permitting Macedonian volunteer detachments to be sent from Greece. The Committee emphasized that the Greek government could aid the uprising further if it were to reinforce its military actions against the Turks in Epirus and Thessaly. By having the Turkish forces thus diverted, the uprising would have a better chance to succeed. Of course, "the Macedonian rebels' attack on the Turks will also aid the liberation of Epirus and Thessaly." (Article 195, 196).

The Macedonian Rebel Committee showed interest in cooperation with the Albanian revolutionary movement. The Committee set themselves a goal to "call into brotherly understanding the Albanian flag bearers and their people's leaders to rise up in defense of the freedom of their fatherland, to fight for their freedom, and to join forces with the Macedonian rebels." (Article 197).

In their relations with Russia, the Committee sought ways of inducing the Czar of Russia to intervene on behalf of the Macedonian people. They were anxious to insure support of the Russian army in Bulgaria. They hoped to send a delegation from the Macedonian Rebel Committee to visit the "Russian governor in the Bulgarian Principality" in order to inform him of the uprising and to ask for "the Russian army to come to the aid of the Macedonian rebels."

Aside from the precise care with which the Committee sought to establish relations with other states, with other movements, and especially with neighbors, they devoted a special section of the Prescripts to their relations with the Bulgarian Exarchy and with the Beneficience Committee, Unity. Toward the latter, the Committee expressed astonishment, protest, and resistance.

"The Holy Bulgarian Exarchy, with His Highness at the head, is carrying out the most extraordinary policy. While purporting to have Macedonia's best interests at heart, he maintains close and friendly relations with the Turkish government in Constantinople. And Macedonia is still under the direct power of the Turks. Perhaps the Exarchy thinks that by gratifying the Turks, they may be able to win their favor, so that the Exarchy can send religious leaders to Macedonia. And, in turn, these leaders will protect the Macedonian residents from Turkish pressures. It is difficult enough for the Macedonian without having to suffer a policy such as this, for it will tend to divide the people. The Macedonian Committee objects, for the Macedonian needs both hands to fight for his freedom." (Article 200).

"The Macedonian Rebel Committee calls all clergymen in Macedonia to disregard the Exarchy orders and to join the uprising of the Macedonian people until the liberation is won. Afterwards, ecclesiastical issues in Macedonia can be decided." (Article 201).

The Macedonian Rebel Committee sought to meet with the Exarch Yosif in Constantinople and to ask him not to interfere with the "Macedonian uprising unless he wants to be included among the ranks of traitors." (Article 202).

They also decided that the Bishop Miletiy from Sofia had hindered the development of, and indeed inflicted damage on, the Macedonian uprising. Article 204 made clear the rebel demand that he cease.

The Prescripts also stripped the Bulgarian committees and the Unity Committee of all rights to dictate policy to the Macedonians. Emphasized was Macedonians' right to decide upon their own means and methods for struggling for freedom. "With the bringing forth of these Prescripts, the Macedonian Constitution, we declare that the Sofia Committee will in the future have no authority over the Macedonian uprising." (Article 205) "All further orders from the Sofia Central Committee are no longer in effect, and the uprising will be led by the Macedonian Rebel Committee from Macedonia." (Article 206).

Great analytic effort is not required to recognize the difference between the aims of the Macedonian rebels and those of the Bulgarian bourgeoisie as dictated through the Unity Committee and the Exarchy.

As can be seen, the program document of the Macedonian rebels was wrought from experience, bitter disappointments, and moral lessons, experience served up to the Macedonians by the exponents of the Greater Bulgarian bourgeoisie. Indications are that they gained an understanding of the politics during the second phase of the uprising, after the bloody meting out of revenge and the usurping of the authority of the rebel leadership. Consequently, the Macedonian Rebel Committee represented a genuine political philosophy for the rebels, regardless of how many of the Prescripts' stipulations they were actually able to implement. And it was a political philosophy that diametrically opposed the Greater Bulgarian factor in the rebellion. The Prescripts also illuminate the reasons for the schism between the two that appeared right at the outset of the uprising. As the uprising developed, the more obvious became the fact that the rebels were a tool of Bulgarian policy. Thus the illusions held by the Macedonian rebels about the true intentions of the Bulgarian Committee evaporated. This, in turn, gave rise to the need of a document such as the Prescripts which not only reflected the awareness of their position vis-à-vis Bulgaria, the other Balkan nations. and Europe, but also stood as a testament to their single goal: to liberate Macedonia and establish their own Macedonian state.