Mara Buneva
Encyclopedia
Mara Buneva (1902 in Tetovo
, Ottoman Empire
– January 13, 1928, Skopje
, Kingdom of Yugoslavia
) was a Bulgaria
n revolutionary, member of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization. She is famous for the assassination of a Serbian
official Velimir Prelić after which she committed suicide. In the Republic of Macedonia
Buneva is regarded as a Bulgarophile
traitor.
After the Serbian annexation of Vardar Macedonia
, Buneva moved to Bulgaria, where she studied in Sofia University
and married a Bulgarian officer. Later on direct orders by the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO) in 1927, she went back to Yugoslavia with a conspiratorial mission. At the appointed time on January 13, 1928, she intercepted Prelić on his way to lunch and shot the official after which she shot herself. Prelić died in hospital a few days later and was buried in Skopje. Her act was part of a violent resistance movement
against Serbian policies of forced assimilation
of the Macedonian Bulgarians. Prelić had been known for ordering arrests and tortures of young locals, members of Macedonian Youth Secret Revolutionary Organization
(MYSRO), who openly opposed the Serbian rule.
During the Second World War Bulgaria annexed the Vardar Banovina
and on the place of the death of Mara Buneva a commemoration plate was mounted. However later it was obliterated from the new Yugoslav
authorities, which were successful in removing all Bulgarian influence in the region. In the new Socialist Republic of Macedonia
the Bulgarophobia increased almost to the level of state ideology. After the fall of Communism, especially since the beginning of the 2000s, almost every year a Macedonian Bulgarians
have began to mount on the same place in Skopje
, Republic of Macedonia
a new commemoration plate, but it does not survive for more than a few days, repeatedly destroyed by local ultra-nationalists.
Tetovo
Tetovo is a city in the northwestern part of Macedonia, built on the foothills of Šar Mountain and divided by the Pena River.The city covers an area of at above sea level, with a population of 86,580 citizens in the municipality. Tetovo is home to the State University of Tetovo and South East...
, Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
– January 13, 1928, Skopje
Skopje
Skopje is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Macedonia with about a third of the total population. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre...
, Kingdom of 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...
) was a 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...
n revolutionary, member of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization. She is famous for the assassination of a Serbian
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
official Velimir Prelić after which she committed suicide. In the Republic of Macedonia
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...
Buneva is regarded as a Bulgarophile
Bulgarophiles
Bulgarophiles - , ; ; ; is a term used for people from region of Macedonia and region of Pomoravlje who regard themselves as Bulgarians. It is most often used pejoratively, as the term implies that these people are not really Bulgarian....
traitor.
After the Serbian annexation of Vardar Macedonia
Serbian Campaign (World War I)
The Serbian Campaign was fought from late July 1914, when Austria-Hungary invaded Serbia at the outset of the First World War, until late 1915, when the Macedonian Front was formed...
, Buneva moved to Bulgaria, where she studied in Sofia University
Sofia University
The St. Clement of Ohrid University of Sofia or Sofia University is the oldest higher education institution in Bulgaria, founded on 1 October 1888...
and married a Bulgarian officer. Later on direct orders by the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO) in 1927, she went back to Yugoslavia with a conspiratorial mission. At the appointed time on January 13, 1928, she intercepted Prelić on his way to lunch and shot the official after which she shot herself. Prelić died in hospital a few days later and was buried in Skopje. Her act was part of a violent resistance movement
Resistance movement
A resistance movement is a group or collection of individual groups, dedicated to opposing an invader in an occupied country or the government of a sovereign state. It may seek to achieve its objects through either the use of nonviolent resistance or the use of armed force...
against Serbian policies of forced assimilation
Forced assimilation
Forced assimilation is a process of forced cultural assimilation of religious or ethnic minority groups, into an established and generally larger community...
of the Macedonian Bulgarians. Prelić had been known for ordering arrests and tortures of young locals, members of Macedonian Youth Secret Revolutionary Organization
Macedonian Youth Secret Revolutionary Organization
The Macedonian Youth Secret Revolutionary Organization or MYSRO; , was the name of a secret pro-Bulgarian political organization active across the most regions of Macedonia between 1922-1941. The statue of MYSRO was approved personally from the leaderof the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary...
(MYSRO), who openly opposed the Serbian rule.
During the Second World War Bulgaria annexed the Vardar Banovina
Vardar Banovina
The Vardar Banovina or Vardar Banate or Vardarska Banovina was a province of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia between 1929 and 1941. It was located in the southernmost part of the country, encompassing the whole of today's Republic of Macedonia, southern parts of Central Serbia and southeastern parts of...
and on the place of the death of Mara Buneva a commemoration plate was mounted. However later it was obliterated from the new Yugoslav
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
authorities, which were successful in removing all Bulgarian influence in the region. In the new 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...
the Bulgarophobia increased almost to the level of state ideology. After the fall of Communism, especially since the beginning of the 2000s, almost every year a Macedonian Bulgarians
Macedonians (Bulgarians)
Macedonians or Macedonian Bulgarians , sometimes also referred to as Macedono-Bulgarians or Macedo-Bulgarians is a regional, ethnographic group of ethnic Bulgarians, inhabiting or originating from Macedonia...
have began to mount on the same place in Skopje
Skopje
Skopje is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Macedonia with about a third of the total population. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre...
, Republic of Macedonia
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...
a new commemoration plate, but it does not survive for more than a few days, repeatedly destroyed by local ultra-nationalists.