Macedonian Patriotic Organization

Founded	1922
Founder	Anastas Stephanoff (first president)
Type	Political, Cultural
Focus	Continue to work for human, civil and economic rights for all Macedonians of the world
Location	124 West Wayne Street Fort Wayne, IN 46802
Area served	United States Canada
Members	N/A
Key people	President of the Organization Jordan Lebamoff Central Committee
Website	macedonian.org

Macedonian Patriotic Organization (MPO) is the oldest organization of Americans and Canadians of Macedonian descent in North America. The MPO was founded in Fort Wayne, Indiana in the United States in 1922 by immigrants from Greek Macedonia. It was originally called the Macedonian Political Organization but changed its name in 1952.

The MPO is a pan-Macedonian organization that advocates the idea of an independent and united Macedonia in which all ethnic groups would enjoy freedom and equal human rights.^[1] In the past, the organization has generally promoted the view that Macedonian Slavs are Bulgarians,^[2][3] but today it unites both Macedonian Bulgarians and ethnic Macedonians.^[4][5] The MPO supports the independent Republic of Macedonia and is involved in pro-Macedonian advocacy within the US and Canada.^[6]

Since 1926 MPO is publishing the Macedonian Tribune, which is the oldest continuously published Macedonian newspaper in the world.

History[edit]

Background[edit]

The flag of the 6th Ohrid Battalion of the Macedono-Adrianopolita Volunteer Corps in Bulgarian army during the Balkan wars. It depicts Bulgarian flag and was brought from Gary, Indiana by immigrants volunteers. The abbreviation MOBNO is readable on it (Macedonian-Adrianopolitan Bulgarian People's Organization).

A century of Ottoman maladministration over Macedonia as well as the Ilinden Uprising of 1903 caused thousands of Macedonians to emigrate to places of safety and security – mainly in the United States and Canada. By the early 1920s, there were around 35,000 Macedonian immigrants in North America, most of whom have well established themselves in various industries and trades. It is important to note that in those days the majority of the Slavic population of Macedonia declared themselves as Macedono-Bulgarians, and considered themselves to be a part of the Bulgarian people – as did the majority of early Macedonian immigrants to North America. All of their early churches, schools, benevolent associations and cultural centers were named "Macedono-Bulgarian", emphasizing their strong Macedonian regional and cultural identity.

First Macedonian associations in the United States date back to 1899, with the foundation of the "Macedonian-Bulgarian Society Vasil Levski". Other associations include "Bulgarian-Macedonian American Committee" founded in 1904, "Nadezhda" founded in 1908, etc. In September 1913, delegates from Macedonian organizations in the United States and Canada gathered in Chicago, Illinois to form a Macedonian-Bulgarian National Union. The union published the newspaper "Svoboda", and had as its objective the autonomy for Ottoman Macedonia and the Adrianople area. Some members of these organizations participated in the Balkan Wars as volunteers in the Macedonian-Adrianopolitan Volunteer Corps^[7]

Following World War I, Macedonia was divided by Serbia, Greece and Bulgaria. In the parts conquered by Serbia and Greece, the new administrators forced out most of the Bulgarian priests and teachers, and began implementing a forceful state-sponsored Serbianizatons and Hellenization of Slavic-speaking Macedonians. These harsh policies of political, cultural and religious repression in Serbian and Greek Macedonia were conducted with the consent of France and Great Britain, in spite of the warning by well-known political experts that the unsolved Macedonian problem would keep the Balkans in constant turmoil. This had a devastating effect on Macedonians in the United States and Canada and triggered a wave of apathy and indifference. All attempts to keep the Macedonian groups together met with failure, and eventually lead to the disillusion of the Macedono-Bulgarian National Union.^[8]

Foundation and Ideology[edit]

Macedonian Patriotic Organization's 5th convention in 1926.

The Macedonian Patriotic Organization was formed in these turbulent years following the World War I, when prospect for freedom by many oppressed groups were dashed. The appeals for a renewed struggle first came from Fort Wayne, Indiana. and Steelton, PA., which were the bastions of Macedonian immigration, and were followed by Macedonian groups in Indianapolis, Gary, Indiana, Lansing, Detroit, Dayton, Springfield, Ohio, Cincinnati and New York City. Ft. Wayne was chosen as the site for the first formative convention, which took place on October 2, 1922, with a handful of delegates, most of whom were Ilinden veterans. The first convention charted a framework within which to build the structure of the new organization, and considerable attention was given to find an appropriate name for it. The proposal for Macedonian Patriotic Organizations was rejected because after the defeat of the Central Powers in the World War I, the word "patriot" had assumed a repulsive meaning. The convention settled for the name of Macedonian Political Organizations – which, in 1956 was changed to the original proposal – Macedonian Patriotic Organizations (MPO).

Members of the MPO chapter "Alexander the Great" from Lorain, Ohio in 1924.

Throughout the next several annual conventions, the delegates finalized the organization's bylaws. The unchanged fundamentals of this document are still guiding the MPO into the third millennium. The first article of the MPO bylaws states: "The Macedonian Immigrants of the United States and Canada, as well as their descendants, regardless of nationality, religion, sex or convictions, realizing the necessity of joint organized activity for the liberation of Macedonia, formed the Macedonian Patriotic Organization with the slogan 'Macedonia for the Macedonians'." The historic phrase "Macedonia for the Macedonians", which was adopted as an official slogan of the MPO, was a proclamation of William Gladstone, who in 1897 expressed his views on the Macedonian Question.

The bylaws specify in Article 6. eligibility for MPO membership. "A regular member of these organizations can be any person over 18 years of age, born in Macedonia or of Macedonian descent, who accepts and maintains the aim of these by-laws and pledges himself to fulfill its regulations." As written originally, the bylaw's concept of "Macedonians" and "Macedonian emigrants" was equally valid for all ethnic groups in Macedonia, which in those days included Bulgarians, Romanians, Turks, Albanians, Greeks etc.^[9]

The aim of the MPO, as defined in Article 2. of the bylaws, is: "To work for strengthening the feelings of loyalty and patriotism among the immigrants and their descendants toward the respective countries where they live – The United States and Canada;" and "To strive in a legal manner for the establishment of Macedonia as an independent state unit within her historic and geographic boundaries, which should constitutionally guarantee the ethnic, religious, cultural and political rights and liberties of all citizens."

For the accomplishment of the above purposes, the MPO founders defined in Article 4. of the bylaws very specific means for the Organization: "It publishes newspapers, books and brochures to disseminate the truth regarding the just cause of Macedonia and informs the public opinion on the correct solution of the Macedonian problem." and "It presents the Macedonian cause before foreign nations, legislative bodies, international institutes and societies through memorandums, petitions, statements, protests, resolutions, etc."

Early Activism[edit]

The 6th annual convention of the MPO in Akron, Ohio, 1927

Since its inception, the MPO has advocated to organize and educate the emigrants in civil values, and to prepare them for fighting in favor of Macedonian liberation. Over the next seven decades the MPO directed its activities toward the establishment of an independent and united Macedonian state that would "guarantee constitutional, ethnic, religious, cultural and political rights and freedoms of all of its citizens."^[10]

The different phases that the Macedonian Question went through have put a pressure upon MPO to develop new modern means to achieve its aims. To fulfill the stipulations of the MPO bylaws, the delegates to the 4th annual MPO Convention in 1925 in Indianapolis, decided to establish a newspaper that was to become an official organ of the organization. The newspaper was founded under the name Macedonian Tribune, and under the guidance and leadership of MPO Central Committee Secretary Jordan Tchkatroff is and began publication on February 10, 1927.

Firmly based upon the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization's (IMRO) rich experience and traditions, MPO has further developed into one of the most interesting and original national-liberation organizations.^[11]

After the end of World War II, MPO was openly opposed the communist regimes in Belgrade and Sofia, as well as the oppressive government in Greece. Throughout the 60s and the 70s, the MPO raised its voice against the historiographic revisionism that was taking place in Socialist Yugoslavia which aimed at diminishing the Bulgarian cultural and historic heritage in Macedonia. In the 70s, the Macedonian Tribune regularly printed articles and appeals by the last leader of the IMRO, Ivan Mihailov. His memoirs (written in Bulgarian) were advertised by the paper and were avidly read.^[12]

Over the years a number of the Americans born of Macedonian Bulgarian descent began having less and less knowledge of Bulgaria and often identify themselves simply as Macedonians.^[13] Also, in 1990s MPO began openly accepting and embracing the ethnic Macedonian identity, alongside the Macedono-Bulgarian identity of the organization's founders. On February 22, 1990, the Macedonian Tribune published an article by then President Ivan Lebamoff, where he stated that MPO is responding to change in Macedonia, throughout the world, and in the organization itself by recognizing the reality of ethnic Macedonians, and by inviting them to join the ranks of the MPO as equals.^[14]

MPO approached the third millennium with great enthusiasm connected with the establishment of the independent Macedonian state – the Republic of Macedonia.

Advocacy for the Republic of Macedonia[edit]

President Bill Clinton's official greeting letter to the 76th annual MPO Convention.

The MPO played an enormous role for the recognition of the Republic of Macedonia's independence. Only days after the parliament of the Republic of Macedonia (until then a federal unit in communist Yugoslavia) declared its independence from Yugoslavia, a delegation of the MPO visited Washington, DC in an attempt to lobby with the US government to recognize Macedonia as an independent state. The delegation was received by US senators from Indiana, Dan Coats and Richard Lugar, as well as by members of the House of Representatives^[15] MPO's activism, in addition to diplomatic activities by officials from the Republic of Macedonia finally yielded some results, and on April 8, 1992 the country was admitted to the UN.

To exert pressure for Macedonia's international recognition, MPO President Ivan Lebamoff sent a resolution prepared at the Detroit MPO Convention to many heads of state around the world.^[16]

In September 1992 the MPO organized the "Forum on Macedonian Unity", which brought together the leaders of the MPO, the United Macedonians of Toronto and the representatives from the VMRO-DPMNE. The delegates agree on a common goal – a free and independent Macedonia, and the result of the forum was a resolution in which they demanded the international recognition of the Republic of Macedonia.^[17] In December 1992, the MPO began coordinating efforts to bring humanitarian aid to the Republic of Macedonia.

Throughout 1992, the Greek diaspora in the United States and Canada demonstrated against the recognition of Macedonian independence, above all against the name of the new state containing the word "Macedonia." They claimed that Macedonia was an ancient Greek name and that the newly declared independent state is stealing this name from them^[18] The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America also demanded that Republic of Macedonia's independence not to be recognized by the United States.^[19] In reaction to this, MPO President Ivan Lebamoff sent protest letters against this position to the patriarchs and bishops of Orthodox Churches worldwide as well as to numerous newspapers. He also demanded from Macedonian Americans to enhance their propaganda activities towards getting the Republic of Macedonia internationally recognized as soon as possible. Macedonian Americans responded to his call with a mass campaign of writing numerous articles in American newspapers and making phone calls to US Senators.^[20]

MPO also used its influence in the US Senate to assist the Republic of Macedonia's stabilization efforts. MPO President Ivan Lebamoff asked Indiana Senator Lugar to propose that the United States sends US troops to Macedonia. Lebamoff also informed Macedonian President Kiro Gligorov about his proposal. MPO proposal was also supported by he Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Rep. Fascell. In November 1992, the MPO asked Macedonian Americans to call the White House Hotline directly to ask President Bush to immediately recognize the Republic of Macedonia immediately.^[21]

In 1994, members of the MPO Central Committee visited Washington, DC several times in order to further press the US government to recognize Macedonia. For this reason, MPO decided to have its 76th Convention in 1995 in Washington, DC. The keynote speaker of the 1995 Convention was Jane Kirkpatrick, former US Ambassador to the UN. Furthermore, in July 1996, MPO President Col. Boris Chaleff met with President Bill Clinton and Vice-President Al Gore, with whom he lobbied for an early NATO admittance of the Republic of Macedonia.^[22]

In July 1998, the first Macedonian Ambassador to the US visited the MPO headquarters in Fort Wayne. In 2004, a MPO delegation met President George W. Bush at the White House to persuade him to recognize the Republic of Macedonia under its constitutional name – which his government did in 2004.^[23]

Identities[edit]

Regarding the question of MPO's attitude towards Macedonia's historic and contemporary identities, in 2015, current president Jordan Lebamoff wrote an article in the Macedonian Tribune in which he explains that when visited his relatives in Kastoria, Florina, and Skopje, he used to carry with him three letters: one written in Bulgarian, one in Macedonian, and the other in Greek. He explains that regardless of whether his relatives believed that they were Greek, Bulgarian or Macedonian, they were to him family. Further in the article he states the following:^[24]

Fort Wayne, like other cities, has a diverse Macedonian community. Some feel they are Macedonian of Bulgarian descent, some Greek-Macedonian, and others simply Macedonian: I'm friends with all!

The debates as to who is a Macedonian and what our true identity is must be healthy. They cannot become divisive. The MPO is big enough for all of our ideas. This is not to say that we should forget our founding heritage. I was brought up as a Macedonian of Bulgarian descent. But remember our mission statement. We work make "Macedonia a Switzerland of the Balkans." A place that is safe for all: A place that does not trample on any of our human rights.

The various ethnic identifications connected to the name Macedonia have often caused a lot of misunderstandings. For example, in 1992 Sen. Alfonse D'Amato (R-NY) addressed former MPO president Ivan Lebamoff as a distinguished member of the Greek-American community. Lebamoff responded that he is not a Greek, and that Macedonians are not Greeks. In his response, Lebamoff stated:^[25]

We are Slavs, who speak a dialect very similar to the Bulgarian language. Our alphabet is Cyrillic. While some Macedonians consider themselves Bulgarians from Macedonia, there is another group who consider themselves purely Macedonian.

With reference to the question of the ethnic character of the organization, in 2012, MPO veteran and former Macedonian Tribune editor Lou Todorov said that the MPO is neither an ethnic Macedonian nor an ethnic Bulgarian organization, but that is patriotic organization of all the people from Macedonia, who share the ideal of a free, independent and united Macedonia. To better illustrate the subject, he further explained that:^[26]

the fact that one declares himself or herself an ethnic Macedonian, an ethnic Bulgarian or an ethnic Greek doesn't mean that he or she is for a free, independent or united Macedonia. As we know, there were many Yugoslav-Macedonians whose ideal was Yugoslavia, or Bulgarian-Macedonians who ideal was united Bulgaria or Greek-Macedonians whose ideal is united Greece. Obviously, neither group has the same patriotic feelings or aspirations as the members of the MPO...

There are many such ethnic organizations in the world – but there is only one MPO, a patriotic organization of all the people from Macedonia, regardless of their ethnicity, whose ideal is a free, independent and united Macedonia.

With regard to MPO's relationship with the Republic of Macedonia, in 2018, MPO Board of Trustees member Nick Stefanoff stated the following:^[27]

I want the Republic of Macedonia to become our Israel. What I mean by this is that I want the Republic to be a uniter of all Macedonians within the Republic and throughout the world, a republic that all Macedonians can be proud of regardless of their political and ethnic dispositions and a Macedonia where those who identify as ethnic Macedonians are willing to recognizes those Macedonians who identify as Bulgarian Macedonians and vis a versa. However, even before this can happen, it is essential that the Macedonian Republic continues to exist and it can only continue to exist by becoming less fragile and unstable and more sustainable and secure! (Some would say that the mutual acceptance of both ethnic Macedonians and Bulgarian Macedonians will never occur because of an unwillingness from both sides, but I believe that by focusing on our common ground of a Macedonian identity, the day will come when this will and must occur).

Recent scandals in MPO[edit]

In an unofficial interview for a Macedonian newspaper, former MPO President George Lebamoff sharply criticized the lack of democracy in the Republic of Macedonia, as well as the official misinterpretations of Macedonian history, with an emphasis on the Bulgarian historic heritage in country.^[28] At the 2009 MPO Convention, past Central Committee President Andrea Alusheff was said to have illegally expelled the Toronto MPO chapter "Switzerland of the Balkans", because of the latter's alleged pro-Bulgarian bias.^[29] Once Alusheff's mandate expired, the new Central Committee reinstated the MPO "Switzerland of the Balkans" into the organization. On the other hand, a former chapter of MPO from Toronto called MPO "Luben Dimitroff",^[30] splintered from the Canadian MPO and started publishing a parallel Macedonian Tribune^[31] in the pre-World War II Bulgarian orthography, espousing pro-Bulgarian views. This publication has been dismissed as unauthorized by the Macedonian Patriotic Organization.^[32]

Chronology[edit]

T-shirt from a MPO convention in the 1980s featuring the map of geographic Macedonia with the Statue of Liberty superimposed over it

1922 MPO founded, Fort Wayne

1925 Macedonian Press Bureau founded, New York City

1927 Macedonian Tribune first published on February 10, Indianapolis

1927 National MPO Ladies' Section founded

1940 Almanac Macedonia published 1946 National YMPO founded

1983 Macedonian Tribune moved to Fort Wayne

1986 Freedom Monument dedicated, Fort Wayne

1990 Indiana Historic Marker dedicated at site of first Macedonian Tribune office, Indianapolis

1994 MPO purchases Macedonian Tribune Building, Fort Wayne

1995 Macedonian Veterans Association founded

1995 Macedonian Professional Association founded

1995 Wreath Laid at Tomb of the Unknowns, Arlington National Cemetery

1996 MPO establishes Homepage on the World Wide Web at www.macedonian.org

MPO local chapters[edit]

The Macedonian Patriotic Organization currently has 7 local chapters in cities in the United States and Canada. Those current MPO chapters are:^[33]

1. Chicago, Illinois, MPO "Pirin"


2. 
   Columbus, Ohio, MPO "Freedom"


3. Detroit, Michigan, MPO "Fatherland"


4. 
   Fort Wayne, Indiana, MPO "Kostur"


5. 
   New Jersey Region, MPO "Strumishkata Petorka"


6. 
   Toronto, MPO "Victory"


7. 
   Youngstown, Ohio, MPO "Todor Alexandroff"

Pamphlet of the MPO chapter "Luben Dimitroff" from Toronto advocating the right to freely speak Bulgarian language in Yugoslav and Greek Macedonia. Included on the pamphlet is a photo of Mara Buneva

Former MPO chapters[edit]

1. 
   Brownsville, Pennsylvania MPO "Jordan Tchkatroff"


2. 
   Canton, Ohio, MPO "Boris Sarafoff"


3. Chicago, Illinois, MPO "Independence"


4. 
   Cincinnati, Ohio, MPO "Bistritsa"


5. 
   Cleveland, Ohio, MPO "Vardar"


6. 
   Gary, Indiana, MPO "Rodina"


7. 
   Granite City, Illinois MPO "Bashtin Krai"


8. 
   Indianapolis, Indiana, MPO "Damian Grueff"


9. 
   Lackawanna, New York, MPO "Jordan Gurkoff"


10. 
    Lorain, Ohio, MPO "Alexander the Great"


11. Los Angeles, California, MPO "Brothers Miladinoff"


12. 
    Mansfield, Ohio, MPO "Ohrid"


13. 
    Massillon, Ohio, MPO "Christo Matoff"


14. 
    Newark, New Jersey, MPO "Strumishkata Petorka"


15. 
    Northwest Indiana Region, MPO "Rodina"


16. 
    Phoenix, Arizona, MPO "United"


17. 
    Rochester, New York, MPO "Simeon Eftimoff"


18. 
    Steelton, Pennsylvania, MPO "Prilep"


19. 
    Springfield, Ohio, MPO "Solun"


20. 
    Syracuse, New York, MPO "Independent Macedonia"


21. Washington, D.C., MPO "Liberty"


22. 
    Toronto, MPO "Pravda"


23. Toronto, Ontario, MPO "Switzerland of the Balkans"


24. Toronto, Ontario, MPO "Luben Dimitroff"


25. 
    Sao Paulo, Brazil, MPO "Strumishkata Petorka"

See also[edit]

• Macedonian Bulgarians


• Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization


• Macedonian nationalism


• Macedonians (Greeks)

References[edit]

Sources[edit]

• Sojourners and Settlers: The Macedonian Community in Toronto to 1940 [1] By Lillian Petroff


• Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples [2] By Paul R. Magocsi
  


• The Bulgarian-Americans – Page 71 by Nikolay G. Altankov


• An American Macedonian, George Lebamoff

External links[edit]

• Official website

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Macedonian Patriotic Organization.