How his relations with the Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito were disrupted, Mikis Theodorakis reveals in his reply letter to the well-known Skopje tenor Blagoza Nakoski, who protested - in an open letter to the media - about the Greek composer's clear position on the issue of the naming of Skopje, which he recently expressed publicly.
Through a look back in time, Mikis Theodorakis explains simply but comprehensively, how the so-called "Macedonian" was created and how the people of Skopje came to be called "Macedonians", to consider Greek Macedonia "enslaved" and to dream of "Great Macedonia" until Olympus and Halkidiki.
The revelation of the well-known creator is of interest, for the reason that his relations with Tito were disturbed, when he asked him to compose music for a Yugoslav film that showed Macedonia "occupied" by Greece. "Our relations then became disturbed, especially when I pointed out to him that he who put his country above Moscow and Stalin should not be able to appreciate my own patriotism, which I also have the courage to put above everything" points out Mikis Theodorakis to the Skopje artist.
The letter of Mikis Theodorakis, which really deserves to be read many times by everyone, is as follows:
“Mr Nakoski,
“I suppose you are very young and therefore do not know certain events that happened many years ago and which explain my current attitude on the subject of relations between our two peoples. Before the Second World War, when the then young and weak KKE wanted to become a member of the Communist International (Moscow), the Bulgarian and Yugoslav Communist Parties made it a condition of its membership that it agree to the formation of an independent communist state under the name "Macedonia" which includes all of Northern Greece.
"As was natural, a storm arose in Greece, which forced the KKE to revise this position. But he was left with a big mark, which I think was erased when the KKE entered in 1941 at the head of the Resistance against the Germans. At the end of the war, Communist Yugoslavia was created and then Tito gave the southern part of the country, in the region of Vardar, the name "Macedonia", in the hope that in the future there might be an opportunity to reach the borders of his country in the Aegean.
"The misfortune for our country was that after its liberation from the Germans we were led into the Civil War during which the Government of Athens depended for its survival on the help of the Western Powers. She was completely dependent and as it turned out, the English especially did not want Tito to be disturbed, in the hope that he would do what he eventually did. That is, to sever his relations with Moscow. For this reason the Greek governments did not protest at the time, while the whole world knew that with this name the Yugoslav leader was creating the Trojan Horse to repeat what he did as a man of the Communist International. That is, the creation of Aegean Macedonia.
"THEN the myth of the origin of the inhabitants of this region from Alexander the Great was created with all the known ones that were included (and I don't know if they are still included) and in the Constitution of your country. That is, of the Great Idea of Redemption with which many generations were nurtured, who have been connected - as you too I suppose - with this Idea completely. I also completely understand them considering themselves Macedonians, since they grew up with this myth.
"But you should also recognize that we too are right when, on the basis of this name, you send maps of Macedonia of the Aegean that reach as far as Olympus, assert that we Greeks are conquerors of our own co-capital, the Greek Thessaloniki, etc., etc. thus questioning the very integrity of our country. So how do you ask me to be ... "cosmopolitan" when with all these fictions some seek to mutilate my homeland?
"However, Fate, dear Mr. Nakoski, brought it so that I would learn first-hand the machinations of the Yugoslav leadership, in order to become an accomplice in this "Greater Macedonia" policy. It was then that I composed the music for the Battle of Siukeska and often visited the then united Yugoslavia, as a guest of Sr. Tito whom I admired and appreciated so much.
“Then Tito himself asked me to write the music for a Skopje film. When I read the script, which portrayed us Greeks as the conquerors of Thessaloniki and the oppressors of its inhabitants, then I not only refused to write the music but also had the courage to come into a strong confrontation with Tito. Because I found that he was the same one who considered that since Macedonia "his" was a historical necessity according to his own "communist" understanding, he was legitimized to create a communist state at the expense of a capitalist country like Greece.
"Our relations then became disturbed, especially when I pointed out to him that he who put his homeland above Moscow and Stalin should not be able to appreciate my own patriotism which I also have the courage to put above everything. In my whole life I have proved, I think, how much I am really devoted to the cause of the peaceful coexistence of the Peoples.
"And I have no hesitation in declaring that I have nothing against your people whom I feel very close to me, as when I conducted Zorba at Skopje. But when I see this case of the peaceful coexistence of our peoples becoming a pretext in the hands of some dark forces that exploit the peoples and the end result is that the territorial integrity of my country is currently in danger, it is not possible not to react with all my strength.
Sincerely. Mikis Theodorakis"
Nakoski Letter
The Greek composer responded to an open letter by the 39-year-old Skopje tenor, one of the leading artists of the genre in Skopje, Blagoza Nakoski, who protested what Mikis Theodorakis publicly stated on the naming issue. Nakoski's letter, published in Skopje media, reads as follows:
"Mr. Theodorakis,
"I am really surprised to read your comments in today's edition of Proto Thema newspaper, where you associate the problem in your country with the name of my homeland. My surprise consists of several reasons:
"First of all, from a person like you, a world-renowned artist, I expected at least a little more cosmopolitanism. We artists have the pleasure of working in a noble profession that allows us to travel the world and speak a language [music] that allows us to tear down walls and break down conflicts. This allows us all to be united in one big family where the cultural differences between our nations represent the richness of human expression.
"Secondly, in 1997, your most popular play, "Zorbas", was presented at the Macedonian National Theater, in the presence of former president Kiros Gligorov (...) and was broadcast live on Greek television. Personally, as a student at the high school in Skopje, I attended all the rehearsals and my mother participated in the performance. (…) Then you visited Zorba's grave in the cemetery in Boutel. This very story of Zorba could be one of the positive examples for the contacts between the cultures of the Balkan peoples, but it could give us an impetus in the search for constructive solutions".
SOURCE:FIRST SUBJECT