Traditional friends and occasional claimants: Serbian claims in Macedonia between the wars
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Abstract
During the 1920s Greek-Serbian relations were seriously injured.
The reason was the Politis-Kalfov Protocol, signed in September 1924
by Greece and Bulgaria, according to which all Slavonic-speakers in
Greece were termed “Bulgarians”. As a result, Belgrade denounced the
Greek-Serbian Treaty of Alliance of 1913 and tried to win over the Slavonic-speakers of Greek Macedonia. The Serbian diplomatic counterattack soon bore fruit. In late 1924 ninety-two families and one individual Slavonic-speakers emigrated from Greece to Serbia. In addition, in 1925, several inhabitants from the Greek villages Perdikkas and Asvestopetra signed a letter addressed to the League of Nations declaring that they were ethnic Serbians and demanding minority rights such as schools and churches. However, later developments made clear that such initiatives in Greek Macedonia were due to villagers’ economic malaise rather than to their ethnic allegiance.
The reason was the Politis-Kalfov Protocol, signed in September 1924
by Greece and Bulgaria, according to which all Slavonic-speakers in
Greece were termed “Bulgarians”. As a result, Belgrade denounced the
Greek-Serbian Treaty of Alliance of 1913 and tried to win over the Slavonic-speakers of Greek Macedonia. The Serbian diplomatic counterattack soon bore fruit. In late 1924 ninety-two families and one individual Slavonic-speakers emigrated from Greece to Serbia. In addition, in 1925, several inhabitants from the Greek villages Perdikkas and Asvestopetra signed a letter addressed to the League of Nations declaring that they were ethnic Serbians and demanding minority rights such as schools and churches. However, later developments made clear that such initiatives in Greek Macedonia were due to villagers’ economic malaise rather than to their ethnic allegiance.
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