Supreme Macedonian-Adrianople Committee

rdf:langString Supreme Macedonian-Adrianople Committee

rdf:langString Supreme Macedonian-Adrianople Committee (SMAC), (Bulgarian: Върховен македоно - одрински комитет, (ВМОК)), also known as Supreme Macedonian Committee was a Bulgarian paramilitary and political organization, active in Bulgaria as well as in Macedonia and Thrace regions of the Ottoman Empire. It was based in Bulgaria from 1895 to 1905. Macedonian Bulgarian and Thracian Bulgarian emigrants in Bulgaria were a great number. Led by Trayko Kitanchev, they formed in 1895 the “Macedonian-Adrianople Organization”, at the head of which was “Supreme Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Committee”. Its official declaration was also a struggle for autonomy of Macedonia and Thrace. At the same time, being impatient for the liberty to come sooner, and strongly convinced that it would come only with the help of the Bulgarian Army. Later they directed their efforts in activities for involving the country into war with the Ottoman Empire as for example during the Supreme Macedonian Committee chetas' action in 1895, and the Gorna Dzhumaya Uprising in 1902. As a rule most of the leaders were with stronger connections with the governments. At the end their main idea was, waging struggle for a direct unification with Bulgaria. They became known as the "supremists" or "varhovists" since they were based outside of Macedonia. The supremists resorted to terrorism against the Ottomans in the hope of provoking a war and thus Bulgarian annexation of Macedonia. Several months after the formation of the Supreme Committee, the latter formed several detachments out of Bulgarian emigrants, revolutionaries, soldiers and officers from the army, almost all of them born in Macedonia or Thrace. Four detachments succeeded in entering Macedonia and only one - Thrace. For a time in the late 1890s the Internal Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organization (IMARO) leaders managed to gain control of the Supreme Committee but it soon split into two factions: one loyal to the IMARO and one led by some officers close to the Bulgarian prince. The second one staged an ill-fated uprising in Eastern Macedonia in 1902, where they were opposed militarily by local IMARO bands led by Yane Sandanski and Hristo Chernopeev, who were later to become the leaders of the IMARO left wing. During the Ilinden Uprising insurgent detachments of the Supreme Committee, held down a large Turkish force. These actions began on the day of the Feast of the Cross and did not involve the local population as much as in other regions, and were well to the east of Monastir and to the west of Thrace. After the failure of the uprising the Bulgarian government dissolved the committee under Ottoman pressure.