Thursday, April 03, 2008

ANROM: the Almost NATO-member Republic of Macedonia




As expected, NATO has decided not to extend an invitation to the Republic of Macedonia -- excuse me, I mean "the Former Yugoslav Constitutional Republic of Upper Northwestern Macedonia, Skopje." That's right, Greece stuck to its nationalistic guns on the name issue today, carrying out its threat to block NATO membership if Macedonia didn't agree (and it didn't) to call itself the "Republic of Upper Macedonia," the "Republic of Macedonia, Skopje," or some comparably wordy derivative.

Macedonians didn't take the rejection well. After Greece blocked accession talks, Macedonian President Branko Crvenkovski and his delegation walked out of the meeting. Antonio Milososki, Foreign Minister, told reporters:

We are [in Bucharest] today to announce that we are leaving the summit. We feel it necessary to be with our people today.”

Not a bad idea. Their people needed all the comforting they could get. Back at home, Macedonian stocks suffered a record blow, with the Macedonian Bourse Index losing 10.4 percent of its total value after it became clear that the country would not get an invite.

Acceptance into NATO carries great weight for these small, former communist countries. Neighboring President Bamir Topi of Albania, whose country did receive a coveted NATO invitation, proclaimed, "This is the most important decision in the history of Albanian people… With this decision we are definitely separated from Yalta," referring to the 1945 conference of the "Big Three" at which Stalin claimed Albania for the communist bloc.

But NATO membership is more than symbolic for Macedonia, which narrowly missed a Kosovo-style ethnic war in 2001 thanks to an EU/NATO-brokered peace agreement. The country may now decide to pull out of U.N.-led name negotiations entirely, in which case Greece will repeat its power play on the EU front. If Macedonia is knocked off its current EU accession path because of a Macedonian identity issue, the state's large, pro-EU Albanian minority will not be happy. And all we need in the Balkans is one more unhappy ethnic minority.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

An ethnic group is characterized by the common language, customs, religion, inscriptions, area of origin and ways of education and living. By that means all the area of todays Greece was inhabited by Greeks since the dawn of written history. Of course all the coast of Minor Asia (todays turkey and former IONIA which was Greek territory until 1922) was also Greek and all Sicily (also known as Magna Grecia or "Great Hellas" where they still today speak a very much alike ancient greek dialect with latin characteristics) and the southern coast of France (Nice is the ancient Greek city NICEA) and the northern coast of Africa was full of Greek cities. Greece was the colonial power of the time something like Spain in the Middle Ages. Also the most of todays Albania, Skopia, and Bulgaria were part of Epirus Kingdom, Macedonian Kingdom and Thrace Kingdom. The proof is that they still find ancient artifacts, cities, tombs, and written proof in GREEK there. Nothing in slavic language though. How odd...!!!

2.500 years ago, things where a lot different in terms of ethnic unity. All Greece was divided in kingdom-cities with their areas of influence, which caused them to fight with each other pretty much. Bad names (such as Barbarians) and characterizations where often exchanged by every part just to bitter each other and civil war was something real common those days. But every time a common enemy (such as Persians) was threatening the borders of any Greek kingdom, all Greece was uniting against them.
So by means of common language, customs, educational system, art,religion etc, Macedonians were also a Greek race and important part of Greek civilization. They talked Greek, they had Greek customs, they worhiped Greek Gods and most of all they called themselves Greeks.
Todays habitants of what was the former northern part of Macedonia are not Greek at all. They are a mix of slavic ethnic groups that came in to the area not more than 1.200 years ago as slaves (funny that slaves and slavs are two words so alike), mercenaries or immigrants. So you can NOT call yourselves Greeks (by calling yourselves Macedonians, is the same thing) only because you happen to inhabit an area which was part of Greece. You are not Macedonians because you have NOTHING in common with the ancient greek race of Macedonians. Your language is not Greek. Your customs are not Greek. Your blood is not Greek. Your forefathers where far from being called Greeks. So if you are not Greeks you CAN NOT BE MACEDONIANS too. It's just not logical.

Few months ago, I once again visited the archaeological museum in Thessaloniki. I saw all the ancient artifacts, I read the greek scriptures carved on stone thousands of years ago that bear words like MACEDON and ELLIN (greek) and saw the golden artifacts with the sixteen ray SUN OF VERGINA, the symbol that you had shamelessly, at first, put on your flag and were forced to take it off. A symbol as Greek as the Parthenon in Athens. A symbol as ancient as Homers Epics. I guess that if you call yourselves Macedonians you could also read these macedonian inscriptions on the stone tablets. Am I right? Sure you can... You call yourselves Macedonians after all...

You just don't get it. You have no right to claim the name of the landlord just because you stole his house.
But lets be frank. You don't have any real interest in civilization. You don't yearn to gain a place in history. Your only interest is your petty dreams of finding your way into the Aegean Sea and nothing more. And think that you will achieve this by being the obedient pawn of USA. Being slav(e)s once more. But mind this. USA might be your friend now (as it was with Saddam Hussein and the Taliban in the 80's or Osama Bin Ladden in the early 90's) but as soon as they decide that they no longer need you, as soon as you'll become obsolete for them, they will COME TO BRING DEMOCRACY TO YOUR COUNTRY TOO....and we all really know what that truly means.

People from US shouldn't argue with the fact that a country with a glorious past like Greece is offended when a name that characterizes the most of the northern Greece and that has special meaning for us, for 4.500 years now is being stolen by a bunch of needy, hungry peasants who's only interest is to claim for themselves a past they don't deserve, just to surface out of obscurity. US citizens have no history (unless you call "history" the, less than 300 years time that the US exists) and no earthly borders with nations that are hostiles to them and no understanding of the importance of the situation (it's not just a name it's a national identity). They call theirselves "American Nation". Do you know what the true meaning of the word nation is? I won't teach you that. I WILL tell you though that you can NOT call nation a group of people that gathered 300 years ago from the fourth corners of the earth, that have different roots, motherly languages and customs and just happened to land on the same place.
The slavs are a friendly nation and they should be grateful that were taught reading, writing and obtained a culture mostly due to the contribution of Cyril and Methodius, two greek scholars (and saints that established the slavic alphabet and language) that laid the foundations for those that came down from the mountains and lived in caves, to be civilized. If there wasn't for Greece, these poverty-stricken people wouldnt have the chance now to be claiming for theirs, this vital part of our history. The outrageous think is that these people often present themselves with territorial claims and maps of their pityful country, extended, taking a big part of northern Greece and reaching out to Aegean sea. Dreams of greatness by those who'd be starving now if there wasn't for Greece. They just bite the hand that feeds them but that will someday turn back against them.
Somebody said, "People who don't have a past, don't deserve a future" and it seems that frightens some of the former yugoslavia citizens.
There is only ONE MACEDONIA and that is GREEK. The forgery of 4.500 years of history won't be tollerated. Get your own past and leave ours to their rightful owners.