Anti-Fascist Assembly for the National Liberation of Macedonia
Encyclopedia
The Anti-Fascist Assembly for the People's Liberation of Macedonia (Macedonian
: Антифашистичко Собрание на Народното Ослободување на Македонија, Latinic: Antifašističko Sobranie na Narodnoto Osloboduvanje na Makedonija, abbr. ASNOM) was the supreme legislative
and executive
people's representative body
of the Macedonian state
from 1944 until the end of World War II
.
The first plenary session
of ASNOM was convened on the symbolic date of August 2 (Ilinden uprising day) 1944 in the St. Prohor Pčinjski Monastery
in modern Serbia
, near the Macedonian town of Kumanovo
. The most important assembly decisions are the proclaiming Macedonia
nation-state of ethnic Macedonians, proclamation of the Macedonian language
as the official language of the Macedonian state. The citizens of Macedonia, regardless of their ethnic affiliation, were guaranteed all civil rights
, as well as the right to their mother tongue
and confession of faith
.
ASNOM, as the supreme institution of government, also meant a de jure
commencement of the constitutional law
existence of Macedonia as a federate state
within the framework of the Yugoslav federation
. The Assembly issued a Manifesto which described the position of a Macedonia state after the National Liberation War of Macedonia under the old Yugoslavia
as that of the colony, before declaring the "brotherhood and unity
" with the other peoples of Yugoslavia. The Tito-Stalin split
of 1948 and the defeat of the communists in the Greek Civil War
ended Tito’s dream of uniting whole of region of Macedonia
under his rule. Dejan Djokić claims that with Bulgaria
once more reverting to denial of Macedonians as separate nation from Bulgarians
and the victorious anti-communist Greek forces adamant in their own denial, the new Yugoslavia remained the only concrete medium for Macedonian aspirations to nationhood and quasi-statehood.
The president of the Assembly was Metodija Andonov-Čento
. Čento's goal was to create fully independent "United Macedonia
n" state, or as a constituent republic
within the new communist SFR Yugoslavia. The latter became a reality with the formation of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia
, however, Čento as its first president wanted a greater independence for the republic from the federal Yugoslav authorities. He clashed with Svetozar Vukmanović-Tempo
, Josip Broz Tito
’s envoy to Macedonia and Lazar Koliševski
, the leader of the ruling Communist Party of Macedonia and later president of Yugoslavia.
One of the contributors in the Assembly was Kiro Gligorov
, later the first President of the Republic of Macedonia
.
Macedonian language
Macedonian is a South Slavic language spoken as a first language by approximately 2–3 million people principally in the region of Macedonia but also in the Macedonian diaspora...
: Антифашистичко Собрание на Народното Ослободување на Македонија, Latinic: Antifašističko Sobranie na Narodnoto Osloboduvanje na Makedonija, abbr. ASNOM) was the supreme legislative
Legislature
A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...
and executive
Executive (government)
Executive branch of Government is the part of government that has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of the state bureaucracy. The division of power into separate branches of government is central to the idea of the separation of powers.In many countries, the term...
people's representative body
Representation (politics)
In politics, representation describes how some individuals stand in for others or a group of others, for a certain time period. Representation usually refers to representative democracies, where elected officials nominally speak for their constituents in the legislature...
of the Macedonian state
Republic of Macedonia
Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...
from 1944 until the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
The first plenary session
Plenary session
Plenary session is a term often used in conferences to define the part of the conference when all members of all parties are to attend.These sessions may contain a broad range of content from keynotes to panel discussions and are not necessarily related to a specific style of delivery.The term has...
of ASNOM was convened on the symbolic date of August 2 (Ilinden uprising day) 1944 in the St. Prohor Pčinjski Monastery
Prohor Pcinjski
Prohor Pčinjski is an 11th-century Serbian Orthodox monastery in the deep south of Serbia, located in village Klenike, Pčinja District near the border with Macedonia...
in modern Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
, near the Macedonian town of Kumanovo
Kumanovo
Kumanovo is a city in the Republic of Macedonia and is the seat of Kumanovo Municipality which is the largest municipality in the country. Municipal institutions include a city council, mayor and other administrative bodies.-Name:...
. The most important assembly decisions are the proclaiming Macedonia
Socialist Republic of Macedonia
The Socialist Republic of Macedonia was a socialist state that was a constituent country of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia...
nation-state of ethnic Macedonians, proclamation of the Macedonian language
Macedonian language
Macedonian is a South Slavic language spoken as a first language by approximately 2–3 million people principally in the region of Macedonia but also in the Macedonian diaspora...
as the official language of the Macedonian state. The citizens of Macedonia, regardless of their ethnic affiliation, were guaranteed all civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
, as well as the right to their mother tongue
First language
A first language is the language a person has learned from birth or within the critical period, or that a person speaks the best and so is often the basis for sociolinguistic identity...
and confession of faith
Confession of Faith
A Confession of Faith is a statement of doctrine very similar to a creed, but usually longer and polemical, as well as didactic.Confessions of Faith are in the main, though not exclusively, associated with Protestantism...
.
ASNOM, as the supreme institution of government, also meant a de jure
De jure
De jure is an expression that means "concerning law", as contrasted with de facto, which means "concerning fact".De jure = 'Legally', De facto = 'In fact'....
commencement of the constitutional law
Constitutional law
Constitutional law is the body of law which defines the relationship of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the legislature and the judiciary....
existence of Macedonia as a federate state
State (subnational entity)
A federated state is a territorial and constitutional community forming part of a federal union. Such states differ from sovereign states, in that they have transferred a portion of their sovereign powers to a federal government...
within the framework of the Yugoslav federation
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...
. The Assembly issued a Manifesto which described the position of a Macedonia state after the National Liberation War of Macedonia under the old Yugoslavia
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a state stretching from the Western Balkans to Central Europe which existed during the often-tumultuous interwar era of 1918–1941...
as that of the colony, before declaring the "brotherhood and unity
Brotherhood and unity
Brotherhood and Unity was a popular slogan of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia that was coined during the Yugoslav People's Liberation War , and which evolved into a guiding principle of Yugoslavia's post-war inter-ethnic policy....
" with the other peoples of Yugoslavia. The Tito-Stalin split
Tito-Stalin Split
The Tito–Stalin Split was a conflict between the leaders of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, which resulted in Yugoslavia's expulsion from the Communist Information Bureau in 1948...
of 1948 and the defeat of the communists in the Greek Civil War
Greek Civil War
The Greek Civil War was fought from 1946 to 1949 between the Greek governmental army, backed by the United Kingdom and United States, and the Democratic Army of Greece , the military branch of the Greek Communist Party , backed by Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Albania...
ended Tito’s dream of uniting whole of region of Macedonia
Macedonia (region)
Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe. Its boundaries have changed considerably over time, but nowadays the region is considered to include parts of five Balkan countries: Greece, the Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia, as...
under his rule. Dejan Djokić claims that with Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
once more reverting to denial of Macedonians as separate nation from Bulgarians
Bulgarians
The Bulgarians are a South Slavic nation and ethnic group native to Bulgaria and neighbouring regions. Emigration has resulted in immigrant communities in a number of other countries.-History and ethnogenesis:...
and the victorious anti-communist Greek forces adamant in their own denial, the new Yugoslavia remained the only concrete medium for Macedonian aspirations to nationhood and quasi-statehood.
The president of the Assembly was Metodija Andonov-Čento
Metodija Andonov-Cento
Metodija Andonov-Čento was a Macedonian statesman, the first president of the Anti-Fascist Assembly of the National Liberation of Macedonia and of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia after the Second World War.-Early life:Metodi Andonov was born in...
. Čento's goal was to create fully independent "United Macedonia
United Macedonia
United Macedonia is an irredentist concept among ethnic Macedonian nationalists that aims to unify the transnational region of Macedonia in southeastern Europe, which they claim as their homeland, and which they assert was wrongfully divided under the Treaty of Bucharest in 1913, into a single...
n" state, or as a constituent republic
Constituent country
Constituent country is a phrase sometimes used in contexts in which a country makes up a part of a larger entity. The term constituent country does not have any defined legal meaning, and is used simply to refer to a country which is a part Constituent country is a phrase sometimes used in contexts...
within the new communist SFR Yugoslavia. The latter became a reality with the formation of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia
Socialist Republic of Macedonia
The Socialist Republic of Macedonia was a socialist state that was a constituent country of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia...
, however, Čento as its first president wanted a greater independence for the republic from the federal Yugoslav authorities. He clashed with Svetozar Vukmanović-Tempo
Svetozar Vukmanovic-Tempo
Svetozar Vukmanović "Tempo" was a leading Montenegrin communist and member of the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia...
, Josip Broz Tito
Josip Broz Tito
Marshal Josip Broz Tito – 4 May 1980) was a Yugoslav revolutionary and statesman. While his presidency has been criticized as authoritarian, Tito was a popular public figure both in Yugoslavia and abroad, viewed as a unifying symbol for the nations of the Yugoslav federation...
’s envoy to Macedonia and Lazar Koliševski
Lazar Koliševski
Lazar Koliševski was a Communist political leader in Socialist Republic of Macedonia and briefly the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia closely allied with Tito.- Early years :...
, the leader of the ruling Communist Party of Macedonia and later president of Yugoslavia.
One of the contributors in the Assembly was Kiro Gligorov
Kiro Gligorov
Kiro Gligorov , born May 3, 1917) was the first democratically elected President of the Republic of Macedonia. His son Vladimir Gligorov is the refounder of the Serbian Democratic Party.- Biography :...
, later the first President of the Republic of Macedonia
President of the Republic of Macedonia
The President of the Republic of Macedonia is the head of state of the Republic of Macedonia. The institution of the Presidency of the modern Republic of Macedonia began after the Macedonian declaration of independence on 8 September 1991. Its first president was Kiro Gligorov, the oldest president...
.
See also
- AVNOJAVNOJThe Anti-Fascist Council of the People's Liberation of Yugoslavia, known more commonly by its Yugoslav abbreviation AVNOJ, was the political umbrella organization for the national liberation councils of the Yugoslav resistance against the World War II Axis occupation, eventually becoming the...
- SobranieAssembly of the Republic of MacedoniaThe Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia, the Assembly , has 123 members, elected for a four year term, by proportional representation from 6 electoral districts, each contributing 20 MPs.- Result :...
- Military history of the Republic of MacedoniaMilitary history of the Republic of MacedoniaThe military history of the Republic of Macedonia spans from the beginning of World War II until the recent conflicts with ethnic Albanian militants, such as the 2001 Macedonia conflict and Operation Mountain Storm...
- Independent State of MacedoniaIndependent State of MacedoniaThe Independent State of Macedonia was a failed project for the creation of a puppet state of the Axis powers in the region of Macedonia in September-October 1944.Unlike the pro-Yugoslav Communist resistance the right-wing followers of the Internal Macedonian...