by the Macedonian Rebel Committee

“ Nobody is allowed to negotiate with the enemy on his own initiative about the surrender of the Macedonian Army or the liberated insurrection areas except the Macedonian Rebel Command. If anyone makes a decision to surrender, the Army should not obey his order and they are free to try him and condemn him to death, executing him in public before the villagers. ”

“ When our Macedonian Rebel Army liberates a village or a a town in a battle, no plundering of the population is allowed, even it may be Turkish. Every rebel will carry food in his pack and if he has nothing to eat he must be patient until the supply unit arrives. ”

“ If it has been ascertained that a volunteer is a spy or a propagandist or a plunderer who comes from Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia, Russia, Bosnia or wherever, he should be questioned about who sends him and for what purpose and about everything he has been doing in the insurrection areas, and then should be punished according to the gravity of his deeds or sent back. ”

“ Apart from the regular forces of the Uprising, the Macedonian Rebel Army consists of the whole of the Macedonian population within the liberated and unliberated areas, so that everyone is a Macedonian soldier in a way; and irrespective of whether a man or a woman, old or young, everyone is obliged to help the Uprising as much as he can and in whatever he can. ”

“ Anyone who has been condemned to death has the right to lodge an appeal against the sentence to the Macedonian Rebel Command, for the purpose of which all the commanders and sotniks should be present. If the situation is such that it cannot wait for such a meeting of the court, the members will be asked to state their opinion concerning the appeal. If this is also impossible, the sentence will be carried out but only on the condition that failing to carry it out would be dangerous to the Uprising. ”

“ A memorandum of the things indispensable for the support of the Macedonian Uprising should be sent by means of circular letters to all philanthropic committees in Europe. Our faith in the rightness and the value of our sacred deed should be expressed in the memorandum: we do not despair, but continue to work energetically and tirelessly to attain our goal - the liberation of Macedonia from the Turkish yoke, since the Turkish authorities have refused to implement Article 23. ”

“ The produce from the land without an owner will go to the peasants who own little land, after the corn for the needs of the Macedonian Army has been set aside. A certain quantity of other fruits will also be set aside as food for the Macedonian Army.
155. The local authorities - the committees - will strictly see that the Turkish properties of the Turks who have not done any harm to the Uprising but earn their daily bread with honest labor are protected. Anyone causing damage to the property of such a Turk will be put on trial and sentenced to death. ”

“ The Central and the local committees shall not interfere in the military affairs of the Uprising. The Central Committee is responsible for representing the Macedonian Uprising both before foreign governments and the people. The local committees govern the people as a civil authority.
145. After the liberation of our fatherland, the Central Committee will prepare a Constitution for the organization of the state of Macedonia as either autonomous or with political and cultural autonomy within the Ottoman Empire, or outside it, should the European Great Powers allow this. ”

“ None of the Macedonian soldiers, rebels or outlaws should make contacts of any kind with a volunteer or anyone else whom he does not know personally, reveal military secrets of his military unit or the whereabouts of his company, since there are many spies sent by the enemy and by those who have evil intentions towards the Macedonian Uprising. ”

“ All the inhabitants - Macedonians - are determined to fight against the enemy bitterly and to the end. In order to make our resistance successful, the town committees should undertake the appropriate measures for every committee to send 12 people to the villages so that they can ascertain how many fighters may be obtained and how much food the villagers may give, as well as the quantity of food to be collected. ”

“ Unfortunately, some Albanian chiefs prefer the Moslem religion to their homeland and are on the side of the Turks, committing violent acts in Macedonia. The Macedonian Uprising will consider such chiefs as enemies equal to the Turkish pasha hirelings, cutthroats and sirdars, and will pursue and kill them. ”

“ A village commission made up of three members will be constituted in every village, the task of which will be to follow where all the peasants capable of bearing arms move and to summon them to the Macedonian Army with their arms, if needed. No bribes or exemptions of people through bribery of the commission will be tolerated. Anyone caught taking a bribe will be executed together with the person offering the bribe. ”

“ When a place has been liberated by the Macedonian Rebel Army, a meeting of the elders of the village should be convened immediately and they should choose from among them two persons who will always accompany the commanders -in-chief. ”

“ In each region where an uprising is to be organized, regional Macedonian rebel committees should be established which will direct the rebel forces and keep in contact with the Macedonian Rebel Committee by means of a courier service. ”

“ The women’s societies in the insurrection areas are responsible for taking care of the clothes of the Rebel Army, patching, knitting socks and sewing shirts and underwear from the linen which they obtain from the Rebel Command. ”

“ Every rebel receives a pair of shoes and socks and a shirt and underwear as soon as he joins the Macedonian volunteer army if he comes from far away. The local peasants will provide clothing and food from their own homes. ”

“ But if somebody gives something to the army voluntarily, as aid, he should not be given a receipt, but, as he has given something, it should be written down in the book of gifts, so than we may know, when the time comes, who is a patriot. ”

“ May every volunteer, wherever he comes from and whatever he is, put on his shoes and set out peacefully, in a quiet, noble and salutary manner for his daily bread which he will be given on his way to the place assigned, in line with the general disposition. ”

“ Hiring farm laborers is most strictly forbidden, so that the present farm laborers shall become owners of the land they have been tilling in cases where the owner and his family cannot till it by them selves. ”

“ Should a person wish to change his religion, he can do so after he has gone alone to the priest and declared that he is giving up his religion and taking another; yet a period of 15 days must elapse in the meantime, since he might regret his decision. ”

“ The Macedonian voluntary army is not allowed to disturb the peasants in their daily work at home or in the fields.
55. If a peasant has a weapon and does not want to take part in the battles, the weapon should be taken away and given to a man who does not have one without compensation to the peasant. ”

“ Every captain’s community will choose three judges from among the people who will temporarily replace the Turkish tribunals for civil matters. Every village will have justices of the peace chosen among the village leaders, who will judge the minor disputes between the peasants. ”

“ Marriage between a Moslem and a Christian is most strictly forbidden, especially if a Moslem man marries a Christian girl by force. The girl will also be punished with thrashing if she has wished to marry a Moslem voluntarily. ”

“ The Macedonian volunteer, of course, also has a cavalry. Besides its infantry, each detachment will have at least eight cavalrymen who will bear a sabre and a short rifle as arms. The cavalrymen enter the Army with their own horses, of which they take care themselves. Nobody has the right to take the horse from the cavalrymen, not even the sotnik. ”

“ According to this Constitution, the heads of several villages should choose a captain who will be their judge and be given written regulations to which he will conform in that post.
33. According to these regulations, in the presence of the captain, a list should be made in every village of those who can handle arms as well as the kind of arms they possess.
34. If anyone fit for arms is too poor to buy any he should be given a weapon from the reserves. ”

“ In order to maintain discipline in the Macedonian volunteer army and to punish the undisciplined soldiers, each detachment will set aside a room serving as a prison for the accused and the convicted, guarded by a sentry. ”

“ Special emissaries have been coming to us every day asking for arms and ammunition, which we do not possess, since the voluntary gifts of the Bulgarian committees have been rarely arriving recently. We recommend the emissaries to supply themselves with arms from the Albanian area. ”