The Macedonians themselves
were divided. Some wished to be incorporated in Bulgaria, the
civilized and advanced society and culture. Others wanted an
independent state - though they, too, believed that the salvation of
such an entity - both demographic and financial - lies abroad, with
the diaspora and benevolent foreign powers. A third group (and
Delcev was, for a time, among them) wanted a federation of all
states Balkan with an equal standing for a Macedonian polity
(autonomy).
The original MRO opted for the Bulgarian option and restricted its
aims to the liberation and immediate annexation of what they
solemnly considered to be a Turkish-occupied Bulgarian territory. To
distinguish themselves from this MRO, the 6 founders of the
Macedonian version - all members of the intelligentsia - added the
word "Internal" to their name. Thus, they became, in November 1893,
IMRO.
A measure of the disputatiousness of all matters Balkanian can be
found in the widely and wildly differing versions about the
circumstances of the establishment of IMRO. Some say it was
established in Thessaloniki (this is the official version, thus
supporting its "Macedonian"-ness). Others - like Robert Kaplan - say
it was in Stip (Shtip) and the Encyclopaedia Britannica claims it
was in .
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