Bulgarian Delegation to the Paris Peace Conference

“ The least one can say of such accusations on the part of the Serbs is that they are out of place. There certainly was a time when the roads in Macedonia were encumbered, but that was during the mournful days of the exodus of Macedonians who, in 1913 and 1914, fled in thousands to Bulgaria to escape from the "favors" with which their "deliverers" the Serbians wished to overwhelm them. ”

“ All these Macedonians who had been incorporated by force into the Serbian army expressed freely the wish to enter the ranks of the Bulgarian army and to be sent to the front in order to fight alongside their brothers for the liberation of enslaved and martyrised Macedonia. The Bulgarian army comprised a whole division formed entirely of Macedonian volunteers and the liberated prisoners of war were drafted into this division. ”

“ According to the Greeks, the cattle carried off by the Bulgarians amounts to 62,097 horses and mules and some 506,981 sheep, goats, etc. These figures do not in the least tally with the total quantity of cattle in Eastern Macedonia at the arrival of the Bulgarian troops. Under these circumstances, one easily understands why the Greek authorities decline to allow the commission appointed by the General Staff of the Allied troops in Bulgaria to make an enquiry on the spot. Such an enquiry, conducted with full freedom, will not fail to throw light on this matter and help to establish the truth. ”

“ The common Bulgarian soldier had sympathy for the Serbian people, feeling drawn to them by the racial relationship which unites the two peoples, and well understanding the horrible tragedy of our situation. Very often it came to pass that these sons of the Bulgarian people wept in our presence over the ruin of Serbia, and were profoundly disconsolate at seeing Bul- garia and Serbia once again—for the third time—involved into a fratricidal war." (See La Vérité sur les accusations contre la Bul- garie, page 26, and the book Stockholm, Tidens-Verlag, Stockholm, 1918, page 249.) ”

“ I of Documents relatifs, etc., the Commission of Enquiry asserts that the insurrection in the Morava region in February, 1917, was not instigated from abroad, but was the work of the population itself and provoked by the "Draconian" measures of the Bulgarian Government, which wished to recruit soldiers in this province, "forcing thus Serbian subjects to fight against their king and their brothers." Before proceeding any further, we must remark that not a single inhabitant of the Morava was drafted into the Bulgarian army, much less sent to the firing line. ”

“ The penalty for self- inflicted wounds, as seen in Art. 257 of the Military Penal Code, was capital punishment or 15 years of hard labor. From this it will be seen that the Bulgarian High Command, far from encouraging the soldiers to commit rape, on the contrary used its influence to prevent them from having all sexual relations with Serbian women. ”

“ Raising of taxes, collection of duties and tolls, contributions and requisitions in kind and labor for the requirements of the army and the administration of occupied territories are sanctioned by Arts. 48, 49 and 52 of the Regulations concerning the laws and customs of war on land.
It is notorious that the occupation of Eastern Macedonia took place in virtue of an agreement between the German, Bulgarian and Greek Governments. All purchases of foodstuffs and cattle by the Bulgarian Commissariat were made with the consent of the sellers, who were paid in ready money. ”

“ We also know the number of cattle owned by the various Bulgarian Divisions at different periods. These figures establish that during the retreat the Bulgarian troops did not carry off any cattle whatever. Besides, such a thing would have been quite impossible, as the Greek army followed within close range and on occasions got ahead of them to reoccupy the territory which the 2nd and the 4th Bulgarian armies were evacuating in virtue of the Armistice signed in Salonika. ”

“ The notes written by the insurgent Tocho Vlahovitch, which have also fallen into the hands of the Bulgarian authorities, are particu- larly edifying in that respect. One reads there the following passage : "Here is another case which depicts the character of our comitadjis. The men of the band of Tosho Slichanski, in arriving at this village (Boubintzi) have violated an honest Serbian woman. These shame- less fellows are still alive and bear the name of Serbian comitadjis." (La Vérité, Annex No. 255.) ”

“ Sincerely desirous that full light should be thrown on the re- sponsibilities incurred in this matter, and basing itself on what pre- cedes, as well as on its Memorandum, "La Vérité sur les accusations contre la Bulgarie," the Bulgarian Delegation ventures to approach the Peace Conference with the request that an international and truly impartial enquiry be opened at which all the interested parties shall be represented, and which shall examine all the reprehensible acts committed by the belligerents in the Balkans during the war of 1915- 1918, as well as and during the subsequent armistice. ”

“ The work which is given to them must correspond to the physical and professional qualifications of the prisoners of war."
As regards the charge that prisoners of war have been sent to the firing line, the Serbians commit a gross error. It is a well-known fact that the Serbians had recruited in Macedonia soldiers by force. When the war broke out between Serbia and Bulgaria, the Mace- donians so drafted in the Serbian army began to desert in masses and to surrender to the Bulgarian troops. ”

“ Cases of Rape The Commission admits that there is a discrepancy between the number of actual violations and that given by the witnesses whom it examined. Nevertheless, the Commission accepts everything as prob- able on the ground that "one hardly imagines the Bulgarian soldier showing more respect for the honor of women than he showed for the liberty, property and life of the citizens. ”

“ Massacres of the Civilian Population. There is no doubt that certain offences against the Laws of Nations were committed in the Morava region during the war. But it is no less certain that the individuals guilty of violations of the laws of war have not escaped the sternness of Bulgarian justice ”

“ The Bulgarian army was indeed magnanimous towards the rebels. As evidence of this we may mention the example given on page 41 of La Vérité. The revolutionary band of the Plavtchitch Brothers, who, on 27 January, 1918, had waylaid and assassinated seven Bul- garian soldiers, including a corporal, and seriously wounded two others, were merely interned in Bulgaria, upon consenting to sur- render voluntarily to the Bulgarian authorities. Today all those comitadjis are back in their homes and one of them, Ivan Plavtchitch, is mayor of the village of Borovtsi, district of Lebane. ”

“ About 8,000 persons remained without work and means of subsistence, or came from villages situated in the zone of military operations. These people voluntarily emigrated to Bulgaria to earn their livelihood, being supplied at their own request with the necessary passes. ”

“ The 5th Bulgarian Infantry Division never took part in any operations in the region of Prilep. At the commencement of the war with Serbia this Division was stationed on the Roumanian frontier and reached the valley of Vardar in November, 1915.
6. If the facts revealed by Krosnovitch were really true, they would have been confirmed by other and more convincing evidence than the words of a young man who manifestly has in view some other object than the truth.
It would be rash to affirm that there were no cases of ill-treat- ment of the prisoners of war. ”

“ We have no wish to dwell on these facts; the honorable Confer- ence will find a full account of them in the "Enquiry in the Balkans" of the Carnegie Commission, as well as in the memorandum entitled "The Bulgarian Question and the Balkan States." Our only pur- pose here is to show the absurdity of an accusation which might with better cause be addressed to those who have formulated it. ”

“ Paragraph 17.—"In cases of attempt at flight, the men in charge of the prisoners may use their firearms and are bound to fire at the prisoners trying to escape, if there be no other means of stopping the fugitive, or if he refuses to stop or to obey the call of the sentry." ”

“ I of the Documents, on page 15, the agents of the Bul- garian administrative and military authorities are accused of having practiced rape in the Morava district. The great number of women suffering from venereal disease and the equally high number of illegitimate children born during the husbands' absence are in this instance invoked as evidence. These two facts by themselves do not constitute sufficient and convincing proof that such violations were committed. The statistics show that in Serbia there has always been a considerable prevalence of venereal diseases. The Serbian phy- sician Dr. ”

“ They contain testimonies entirely at variance with the Serbian accusations which describe the prisoners' camps in Bulgaria as "places worse than hell." We give several specimens: "The Bulgarians respect us and treat us well." {La Vérité, Annex No. 469.) "The food is good, the same as given to Bulgarian soldiers." (Annex No. 471.) "We are very well treated and the Bulgarians are very kind. The wounded are cared for with the utmost consideration in the hos- pitals." (Ibid., Annex No. 477.) "Am very well looked after, re- ceive exactly the same attention as the Bulgarian officers ”

“ I. pages 101-106) , Lieutenant Boyadjieff, of the 57th Regiment, town commandant at Petrovatz (ibid., p. 10) , against all of whom capital punishment is demanded; together with Lieutenants OrozofO and Kraeff, of the 16th auxiliary batallion at Lebave, are also being prose- cuted on criminal charges. ”