In Krusevo (Krushevo)
a republic was proclaimed, replete with "Rules of the Macedonian
Uprising Committee" (aka the "Constitution of the Uprising").
This document dealt with the liberation of Macedonia and the
establishment of a Macedonian State. A special chapter was dedicated
to foreign affairs and neighbourly relationships. It was all heart-
achingly naive and it lasted 10 bloody days. Crushed by 2000 trained
soldiers and horse bound artillery, the outnumbered 1200 rebels
surrendered. Forty of them kissed each other goodbye and blew their
brains out. The usual raping and blood thick massacres ensued.
According to Turkish records, these ill-planned and irresponsible
moments of glory and freedom cost the lives of 4,694 civilians, 994
"terrorists". The rape of 3,000 women was not documented. In
Northwestern Macedonia, an adolescent girl was raped by 50 soldiers
and murdered afterwards. In another village, they cut a girl's arm
to secure her bracelets. The more one is exposed to these
atrocities, the more one is prone to subscribe to the view that the
Ottoman Empire - its halting and half hearted efforts at reform
notwithstanding - was the single most important agent of retardation
and putrid stagnation in its colonies, a stifling influence of
traumatic proportions, the cause of mass mental sickness amongst its
subjects.
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