Sir A. Biliotti, the former British Consul-General in Salonika, shared a summary of a plan found in the clothes of a captured Bulgarian fighter. The plan outlined actions for members of the various Komitaji groups, including:
– Accusing the Turkish troops of crimes they didn’t commit or exaggerating any crimes they had committed.
– Turning any actions into crimes by making them appear worse than they were.
– Encouraging villagers to go in groups to complain first to the foreign Consuls, then to the Turkish authorities (the Vali) Istanbul Day Trips.
– Killing “useless or harmful Christians” and blaming the Turks for it.
– Only allowing members into the bands if they had committed murder under the band’s orders, which would protect the group from suspicion but make the new member look guilty.
– Collecting regular and irregular payments from each village.
– Selecting “terrorists” in each village to control the population, act under the orders of the band, and take responsibility for killing those who needed to be removed.
– Keeping the possession of weapons and information strictly secret.
The Source of the Fighters
M. Schopoff, a Bulgarian representative in Salonika, told Sir A. Biliotti that many young Bulgarians, after completing their schooling, refused to return to farm work like their fathers. Instead, they joined the Committees to fight. He estimated that about 20,000 of these young men in Macedonia became part of the bands Discontent in Macedonia.
