Greek defence minister: no ratification for Macedonia deal

The head of the Greek government’s junior coalition partner said Tuesday he will not allow a deal the country recently made with neighboring Macedonia over the latter’s name to be ratified until it has voter approval, either through general elections or a referendum.

The statements by Defense Minister Panos Kammenos, who is the head of the right-wing Independent Greeks party, indicate he is prepared to bring down the coalition government over the deal that renames Greece’s northern neighbor North Macedonia.

“The deal for me is bad. I do not accept this deal, and I will try to block it,” Kammenos said.

Greece has long objected to use of the term “Macedonia,” saying it implies claims on the Greek province of the same name. The deal reached last month has met with strong objections in both countries, with opponents saying it concedes too much to the other side. Several demonstrations in Greece over the issue have turned violent.

Greece’s parliament is to vote on the deal only after Macedonia has completed all steps required on its part, which includes constitutional changes. Macedonia’s parliament recently ratified the deal, but the country’s conservative president has refused to sign off on it.

Macedonia getting closer to solving name row with Greece

Macedonia has never been closer to solving its 25-year name row with Greece, but even if it fails Skopje will continue to integrate with Europe, its premier says.

“I believe that we have never had better circumstances to find a complete solution that will last for centuries and will remain forever,” Prime Minister Zoran Zaev told AFP in an interview.

The long-running name dispute between Macedonia and EU-member Greece dates back to 1991 when Skopje declared independence following the collapse of communist Yugoslavia.

Athens objects to Macedonia’s name because it has its own northern province called Macedonia, and fears it may imply territorial ambitions.

“If the dispute is not solved, the world will not end,” Zaev said.

“We will bring Europe here to Skopje (the capital). And we will push an European agenda one way or another.”

Because of the dispute, Macedonia was forced to join the United Nations under the name the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM).

Greek veto threats have also hampered Skopje’s bid to become a member of the European Union and the NATO military alliance.

UN mediated talks to settle the row have resumed since Zaev’s Social Democrats won elections last year, ousting the nationalist VMRO-DPMNE party of Nikola Gruevski after more than ten years in power.

The negotiations have made progress after Macedonia agreed in February to change the name of the capital’s Alexander the Great airport to Skopje International Airport, in a goodwill gesture to Greece.
Macedonia had also been accused of appropriating symbols and figures that are historically considered part of Greek culture, such as Alexander the Great.

The motorway linking Macedonia with Greece was also renamed the Friendship Highway.
Zaev said he was “satisfied” that “a huge part of the issues” between Macedonia and Greece had been solved and that he was optimistic about a final deal.

He has previously said an agreement could be reached by the summer. However, the 43-year-old declined to go into details about the ongoing talks, saying “it could destroy the entire process.”
Earlier this week the European Commission recommended opening EU accession talks with Skopje, an EU candidate since 2005, in a development Zaev described as “encouraging.”

“This is a message of open doors. That is very important for Macedonia,” he said, adding that more than 75 percent of Macedonians are in favor of the country’s integration into the EU and NATO.
However, “that does not mean that we should not improve cooperation with other countries, including the Russian Federation,” Zaev said.

Russia has openly objected to the aspirations of fellow Slavic countries in the Balkans to join NATO, most recently when Montenegro became a member in mid-2017.

“I want to improve cooperation with Russia,” Zaev said.

“(But) the Russian Federation should know that for us there is no alternative to NATO and the European Union. We will remain focused on that path. That is our absolute right, our expectation and how we view the future of this country and the people that live here.”

Time for Macedonia to End the ‘Name’ Negotiations with Greece

By Oxford Professor James Pettifer - A personal view of the "name dispute" between Macedonia and Greece: Macedonia must end the name negotiations.
As a sovereign nation, Macedonia must end the name negotiations because there is never a right time to resolve an issue in which one country/ethnic group does not recognize the other's right to exist.”
— Professor James Pettifer

OXFORD, UNITED KINGDOM, April 22, 2018   In a speech on April 15th, 2018, as reported in the Athens newspaper ‘Kathimerini’, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called on Greece and Turkey to improve their relations and also stated that their current difficulties which have led to a military fatality last week are not a matter for NATO. At first sight this is a reasonable point of view, from a distinguished international figure and is a view that should be respected. But it is also bound to raise the issue in people’s minds, ’What is NATO actually for’ when two NATO members in the eastern Mediterranean region may be edging towards a wider conflict, in the view of many observers. It is against this background that the hapless Macedonian and Greek Foreign Ministers are continuing their weary rigmarole of staged meetings, where all that is on the table are a series of name possibilities, most of which have been around for ten years of more, and all of which offend major opinion constituencies in both countries.

If tensions were lower in the region, perhaps all this would not matter very much. Diplomats are the talkers of the international world and they need to find something to discuss. But the name issue is not that at the moment. The link to possible NATO membership is presented as a panacea to the Macedonian publics, where everyone with detailed knowledge of the situation on the ground sees that this is not the case. The country has been close to NATO for many years. Personally I remember interviewing the late President Kiro Gligorov back in 1994 when the Kosovo crisis was developing and I asked him what his policy would be if it worsened and refugee flows began in a future crisis. He replied that in the end Macedonia would have little option but to cooperate with NATO, and it did so, to the great credit of the people, with huge camps being opened at places like Cegrane to accommodate those fleeing war.

In the post-conflict period, the country has also had a good relationship with NATO, particularly by contributing infantry to international coalitions. So NATO has little to complain about in terms of the Macedonian contribution to the war against terrorism and international security. Policies of this kind can surely carry on under any future Macedonian government if that is what the people wish. The intense pressure being applied to the elite in Macedonia to change the name to secure full EU and NATO membership is not only morally bankrupt but also destabilising in terms of regional relationships.

The back ground to the NATO and EU pressure is also unpleasant in other ways. The two countries are being treated like adolescents, by the ‘grown ups’ that belong to the EU and NATO when in fact a good deal has been done quietly, bilaterally, to improve relations. People from the Republic of Macedonia travel on vacation to Greece and do business without difficulty, people from Greece are visiting centres like Ohrid and have a pleasant time and are made welcome. There are, however, significant human rights issues relating to the use of the Macedonian language, and cultural politics in northern Greece, and these must be dealt with. Remember that the European Court of Human Rights, European Commission Against Racism and Intolerance, and the United Nations itself, have repeatedly demanded that Greece (and Bulgaria) immediately recognize their large Macedonian minorities - as Macedonians - and end the persecution of them. Basic recognition of an ethnic group's basic human rights is an obvious way to improve relations, not worsen them as Greece and Bulgaria claim.

I started to travel and study in Macedonia and the region over thirty years ago, after making my first visit to Skopje in 1968 as an Oxford student to help with post-earthquake reconstruction work. I remember the fallen churches and minarets across the streets lying as piles of rubble as if it was yesterday.

Over those many years the governments in Macedonia have a good deal to be proud of, and many recent achievements have been forgotten by the ever-scheming international elite diplomats of the West and their spin doctors. For instance, the government of Gruevski and VMRO-DPMNE navigated the international banking crisis far better than Greece did, with a prudent policy that certainly negatively affected living standards but also brought stability. A strong central government was necessary to do this. That fact has been completely elided from current discussions. There are other injustices. The Berlin pressure to take thousands of economic migrants is particularly unjust given that German policy caused the migration crisis in the first place.

How should the ending of the talks be achieved? Macedonian governments hear more than enough from non-Macedonians about what should be done, particularly from international figures whose real loyalties may lie elsewhere. I am reluctant to comment but it seems to me the best way is, as a sovereign and free nation, that the Republic of Macedonia end the name negotiations because there is never a right time to resolve an issue in which one country/ethnic group does not recognize the other's right to exist. This is a point made by Macedonian Human Rights Movement International's Our Name Is Macedonia campaign.

Macedonia and Greece, instead, can continue the steady ongoing process of improving relations, on a case by case basis. Also, in my opinion, given the unfortunate background of foreign interference in Macedonia, a central factor in the current crisis, the government should not be slow to declare people persona non grata and remove their diplomatic or other visas if they can be shown to have been acting contrary to the interests of the country. If there are people within the upper reaches of the current government who would also fall into that category, well, that is an issue for the Macedonian people, not foreigners, to decide how to act.

--- Professor James Pettifer is the author of eleven books on the post-Ottoman Balkans and teaches at Oxford University, UK

Constitutional name more important than EU, NATO accession: polls

Preserving the constitutional name of the Republic of Macedonia turns to be more important for citizens than country’s accession in the EU and NATO, state the results of a poll conducted by the Macedonian European Affairs Directorate, the online edition of Greek Naftemporikireports.

66.5% of the respondents have backed the constitutional name of Republic of Macedonia, while 26.2% think that the accession in the European-Atlantic structures is more important.
There is serious difference in the answers mainly depending on the ethnic origin of the people inquired. 

For instance, 82.1% of the Slavomacedonians think the name is more important that the EU and NATO, while 77.8% of the Albanians point at the integration in the two organizations, Naftemporiki informs.

The poll was conducted as a phone survey on July 3-4 among 1,100 people.

US envoy: Time right for Macedonia name solution

Greece's presence in international fora remains unaffected by the economic crisis and the tough economic conjecture due to the international prestige enjoyed by Prime Minister George Papandreou, US ambassador to Greece Daniel Speckhard underlined on Friday.

Speaking to reporters at the US consulate in Thessaloniki, he praised Greece's economic presence in the Balkans, pointing out that as a member of the EU the country represents the greater European market.

As regards the prospects for US investments in Greece, Amb. Speckhard underlined the need for less red-tape and the implementation of structural reforms to make the business environment more flexible and friendly.

On the Macedonian "name issue", he stated that "this is a good time" for a solution and reiterated that the United States will support any settlement mutually reached by Athens and Skopje.

Speckhard's tenure as US ambassador in Greece ends in the coming period.

Belgium Aims To Help Resolve Macedonia-Greece Deadlock

The Belgian EU presidency is willing to help facilitate an agreement between Macedonia and Greece on the name dispute in order to make the start of accession talks between Skopje and Brussels possible.


“Belgium will endeavor to seek an agreement to start accession negotiations,” Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme said in the European Parliament in Strasbourg today. Leterme made the remarks while presenting the priorities of his government for its six month presidency of the EU.


This readiness to help Macedonia on its European path was also expressed on Tuesday when Leterme met in Brussels with his Macedonian counterpart Nikola Gruevski.


Leterme said that his government would attempt in coming weeks and months to negotiate in coordination with Matthew Nimetz, the UN mediator for the name dispute. “I sincerely hope that with the initiative of the Belgian presidency we can promote a solution,” Macedonian media quoted Leterme as saying after his meeting with Gruevski. “People deserve this and Europe deserves this,” he added.


Athens and Skopje are locked in a long lasting spat over the use of the name Macedonia. Athens insists that Skopje’s official name, Republic of Macedonia, implies territorial claims over its own northern province, which is also called Macedonia.


Athens blocked Skopje’s invitation to join NATO in 2008 and has stalled its efforts to join the EU over the unresolved row.


Gruevski, speaking after the meeting on Tuesday, said that many things depend on the steps that will be undertaken by the Greek government, Macedonian media report.


“We don’t want to insist that we are either optimists or pessimists, but we want to find a solution through a process that is led by Mr. Nimetz and we want to continue to search for the solution which would normalize relations with Greece and which would be acceptable for both sides,” Gruevski said.

Athens receives signs from Skopje

Greece hopes that the process for solving the name issue could go forward in view of the signs it receives from the Macedonia government. This is what Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Dimitris Drucas stated, cited by Macedonian Dnevnik daily. In Drucas’s words the pressure of the international community is currently directed to Skopje.


“Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski sends some shy signs that he understands he should change his position if he wants European future for his state. We are here at the negotiation table in UN”, Drucas said.

Greek optimism for name dispute

I expect a solution to the name dispute between Athens and Skopje soon, Elsa Papadimitriou, a Greek MP from the opposition New Democracy, says in an interview with Deutsche Welle, Macedonian Vecer daily writes.


“I hope and believe the two countries will make progress concerning the geographical attribute to the name Macedonia. This does not endanger anyone and the two states can win much, especially the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,” says Papadimitriou.


The article in Vecer daily is titled “Greek optimism for the name issue – solution to the dispute soon?”

There is hope for name dispute solution, says Macedonian PM

UN Special Representative for the name dispute between Macedonia and Greece, Matthew Nimetz, intensified actions and contacts with the two countries, which raises hopes that the issue might be solved, Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski said, as cited by Macedonian Vecer daily.
Gruevski’s statement comes as a respond to the thesis of Belgian Foreign Minister Steven Vanackere, who believes that the name row will be solved in several weeks.
“We keep regular contact with Greek Prime Minister Georgios Papandreou so as to improve the situation and the relations between the two countries and to create favorable grounds for UN mediator Matthew Nimetz to make a proposal that is acceptable for both parties,” Gruevski remarked.

Macedonia ready for solution to name dispute

THE FORMER Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) is ready to resolve the name dispute with Greece that has kept the Balkan country out of Nato as long as the solution does not undermine FYROM national identity, President Gjorge Ivanov said on June 21.


The dispute dates from FYROM’s 1991 independence from Yugoslavia. Greece says use of the name Macedonia implies territorial claims on its own region with the same name, and has blocked FYROM’s efforts to join Nato since 2008 while threatening to do the same at the European Union.


“We need a compromise in which there will be no winners and losers and which will be equally acceptable for all citizens. We are ready to reach such a solution,” Ivanov told reporters after holding talks with Czech counterpart Vaclav Klaus, who was in Skopje on a two-day visit.


“Macedonia [FYROM] is ready to reach a solution that would be mutually acceptable,” Ivanov said.

Name issue to be solved within few week

Forthcoming Belgium EU Presidency has information that the name issue would be solved within next few weeks. This is what Belgian Foreign Minister Steven Vanackere stated, cited by Macedonian Vecer daily.


“I held meetings with top officials in the field of the foreign policy. They are all clear that discretion in talks is in high importance in order representatives of Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to take a decision. We have to be discreet and it is something that would be solved in next few weeks. I would not make statements that could impede the process, but I believe a decision would be found”, Mr. Vanackere said.

Yes to NATO, but only as Macedonia

Sixty-five percent of the Macedonian citizens consider that Macedonia should not change the name to join NATO, show results of public opinion poll conducted by “Societas Civilis” Institute for Democracy at Ministry of Defence’s request.


Out of respondents who negatively answered on change of name in exchange for NATO admission, 84% are Macedonians, 7.1% are Albanians and 8.9% are other communities.


Regarding question how would you vote if referendum on Macedonia’s admission to NATO were held next week, 80.2% of the respondents answered positively and 10.8 answered negatively.


The largest number of respondents positively assessed the work of the Ministry of Defence and role of the Army of the Republic of Macedonia in peacekeeping missions.


The public opinion poll was conducted in the period from April 2 to 10, 2010.

Gruevski expects proposal in May for surpassing name dispute, acceptable for both parties

PM Nikola Gruevski expects UN mediator Matthew Nimetz in May to give concrete proposal or set of ideas for surpassing the name dispute between Greece and Macedonia.


- We are ready for active participation in all preparations because as far as I know the mediator is listened with two negotiators and exchanges opinions and ideas. I hope that in May he will give proposal which will be acceptable for both parties and mainly for the Republic of Macedonia, the party which is mostly pressured and is in most unfavorable situation with this problem, PM Gruevski said in Krusevo at cornerstone laying ceremony of power transformer station for electrification of “St. Preobrazenie” monastery in Krusevo.


Asked to comment the latest public opinion poll conducted by “Societas Civilis” Institute for Democracy at Ministry of Defence’s request, which showed that over 80% of citizens oppose change of name for NATO membership, Gruevski said that he had no special comment and that the situation is not new because it was repeated several times so far.


- As government we remain fully committed in finding resolution to name dispute, which will unblock EU and NATO membership talks, but in a way, which will be acceptable for all citizens in the Republic of Macedonia and mainly for the Macedonians who are mostly concerned, Gruevski said.


- It means that it is about fundamental issue for the citizens and it is hard to sell something that endangers national and state interests. Because of this as government and as political party we are strongly focusing on finding solution that will not endanger national and state interests and citizens to be able to accept it on a referendum, Gruevski said.


He said that regardless if someone considers the solution acceptable or not, and whether it is good or bad, the citizens will have the final word at the referendum. That’s why in the negotiations and talks we are trying to obtain better proposal which will be acceptable and we are not looking for a solution at any price aimed at causing unnecessary expenses with the possible referendum, Gruevski said.

PM Gruevski Dislikes 'Republic of Northern Macedonia'

Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski has declared himself against renaming his state “Republic of Northern Macedonia.


Gruevski has expressed his position with respect to the latest solution put forth by Greece to the dispute between Greece and Macedonia about the name of the latter.


“If there is a proposal in favor of “Republic of Northern Macedonia,” if this name is presented to the UN envoy Matthew Nimetz, I am going to hold a referendum on it. If you are asking about my personal opinion, I am going to vote against it,” said Macedonian PM Gruevski in an interview for the Macedonian TV channel Sitel as cited by BTA.


The notorious name dispute between FYROM and Greece has pushed the latter to block Macedonia’s accession to NATO and the EU. Greece is uneasy about its northern neighbor using the name “Republic of Macedonia” because much of Northern Greece is an administrative region called Macedonia after the historic and geographic region where it is located.

Greeks and Bulgarians -Yesterday's bitter enemies today's best friends

Just recently someone handed me a Bulgarian newspaper and pointed to the headline; "Bulgarian-Greek Cultural event" with the Bulgarian flag on the left and the Greek flag on the right. Wow! I never thought that in my lifetime I would see the words "Bulgarian", "Greek" and "together" in a friendly way in the same sentence. The world is indeed changing and from what I gather, for the better. I hope!


The article went on to say:


"The event was organized by Cosmos Translations Inc and the Marketing Department of the OTN Greek Television Network, from the Greek side, and by the newspaper ´Bulgarian Flame´ and ´Balkanto´ from the Bulgarian side.


The two groups of Canadian-Bulgarians and Greek-Canadians had the opportunity to discuss ways and means to enhance their cultural presence in the Greater Toronto area.


The event was attended also by the Consul of the Republic of Bulgaria in Toronto Mr. Kamen Dikov and his wife and by some other prominent business personalities. Between them we discerned Tom Michalopoulos, (president of Coffee Time and other franchises) and his wife, Loui Masouras, as well as a representative of the Canadian Bulgarian Business Alliance (CBBA).


We hope that this meeting will be followed by many more, for the purpose of enhancing and enriching the cultural presence of both communities in Toronto and beyond."


(The story appeared in the January 22, 2010 issue of the "Bulgarian Flame" Toronto based Bulgarian newspaper.


I know a lot of you are saying, "What´s the big deal?" So a bunch of Greeks got together with a bunch of Bulgarians and had a good time. So what!


Well I grew up in Greece and as far as I am concerned the Greek educational system and Greek society in general taught me not to trust Bulgarians. Bulgarians, according to some Greeks, are allegedly the worst kind of humans to exist on this planet. I even heard from older generations that the Bulgarians are terrible "one-eyed" monsters to be avoided at any cost. So, for me at least, to see this kind of acceptance and friendship between Greeks and Bulgarians is somewhat of a miracle. If this is possible then perhaps there is hope that there will be acceptance of Macedonians and they too will have friendly relations with the Greeks and Bulgarians because, after all, they are a common link between Greeks and Bulgarians. Greece and Bulgaria became "worst enemies" over Macedonia, so what´s wrong with them becoming "best friends" because of Macedonia?


Greece and Bulgaria were indifferent to each other for many years, that is, until they both began looking to annex Macedonian territories. Then in 1913 they fought one another in pitch battles over who was going to get more of Macedonia. That fight continued all through the Second Balkan War, World Wars I and II and by the 1950´s they became fanatic bitter enemies. In fact, if I remember my history correctly, when Bulgaria capitulated in 1913, after fighting Romania, Ottoman Turkey, Serbia and Greece, it handed Sofia over to Romania because it did not want the Greeks to set foot on it fearing the Greeks would slaughter the entire population to the last man, woman and child. And now you tell me they are best friends? Who would have thought?


There is no rhyme or reason for the Greeks and Bulgarians to be best friends now, just like that. Being the suspicious kind that I am, I thought there had to be more. Historically, the only time Greeks and Bulgarians came even close to being friends was when they needed each other and had mutual interests at stake.


In the early 1900´s they both wanted Macedonian territories but could not individually defeat the Ottoman Empire to get them. So at some point in time they must have realized that it was more beneficial to both to be allies instead of enemies. Greece and Bulgaria must have realized that they could successfully defeat the Ottoman Empire only if they put their combined effort together. So they became friends and the first thing they did in July 1910, was to reconcile their "Church" differences between the Bulgarian Exarchate and the Greek Patriarchate, two bitter enemies who had fought to the death.


Their friendship unfortunately only lasted as long as they had a common enemy, the Ottomans, but as soon as the Ottomans were driven out of Macedonia they again became bitter enemies and fought each other for a bigger piece of Macedonia. So excuse me for being the suspicious type but I bet you this "new" so-called "Greek" – "Bulgarian friendship" has something to do with "Macedonia".


You see Serbia too was a "partner" who benefited from Macedonia´s partition in 1913. But with the breakup of Yugoslavia in the late 1980´s, Serbia lost its share and that part of Macedonia became the independent Republic of Macedonia in 1991. So you can bet the Greeks and Bulgarians "need each other" because very soon they will be facing the Macedonian people, from whom they stole parts of Macedonian territories and who will be wanting them back. You can see at least one reason why Greeks and Bulgarians are consolidating their forces, right?


Both Greece and Bulgaria are new countries artificially spawned in the 19th century by the Great Powers, created from the remnants of the failing Ottoman Empire. Neither deserves the Macedonian territories they were given in 1912, 1913 when they illegally invaded, occupied and partitioned Macedonia by force and without the consent of the Macedonian people. I guess they know that too, that is why they need each other now more than ever not only to fight back against the Macedonians but also to cover up the atrocities they committed against them over the years. "Greece will be a witness for Bulgaria and cover up the misdeeds the Bulgarians have committed against the Macedonians if Bulgaria will be a witness for Greece and cover up its misdeeds and hopefully they both will come out unscathed", so they think!


Greeks, Bulgarians and generally most people of the Balkans are often described by outsiders as people who behave "irrationally". Unfortunately this often quoted "irrational" behaviour has never been explained other than being called a "typical Balkan behaviour". Well there are reasons for such behaviour which usually point to guilt. Macedonians, and by that I mean the "real Macedonians" not the "Greek-Macedonians" or "Bulgarian-Macedonians", do not behave "irrationally" nor do they need to because their conscience is clear.


Macedonians have not stolen other peoples´ lands; they have not committed atrocities and genocide and have not prohibited other people from speaking their language or from freely asserting their national and ethnic sentiments. The Greeks and Bulgarians, on the other hand, have stolen Macedonian lands, have committed atrocities and genocide and have prohibited other people, especially the Macedonians, from expressing their national and ethnic consciousness so they do have many reasons to be nervous about and this nervousness manifests itself in "irrational behaviour" which is obviously noticed by outsiders. When you speak of such "behaviour" please do not include the "real Macedonians" as they already have enough problems to worry about without being labeled neurotic, irrational, obsessed and all the terms used to describe the others.






So if you are like me and find it difficult to believe that "bitter old enemies" can suddenly, out of the blue, become "new best friends" then you are in good company.


So what exactly is the "real reason" for Greeks and Bulgarians coming together in this friendly manner? Is this another "historic friendship of convenience" or what?


Again, I hope I am wrong about this and that this "new Greek-Bulgarian friendship" is genuine because the world can use a lot less violence and more "love" between nations. But as I said before, being the suspicious kind, I don´t believe it to be so. In fact there is a trend nowadays, not only in the Balkans but also in all of Europe, where nations and people are becoming more "nationalistic" and violent so I find it difficult to view this new relationship as "genuine".


One might argue that this new found love between Greeks and Bulgarians is taking place in Canada and has nothing to do with Greece and Bulgaria but let me tell you "nothing" happens anywhere without the approval of "mother Greece" and "mother Bulgaria", especially this "friendship" between the two! And there is more.


I have also noticed that this "love affair" is not limited to Bulgarians and Greeks but extends to other "bitter rivals" the "Grkomani and Bulgaromani" (Macedonians who think they are Greeks or Bulgarians and work against the Macedonian cause).


Macedonians beware of "Grkomani" and "Bulgaromani" bearing gifts which they may have bought with your money. Speaking of money, there is nothing more disgusting than your "worst enemies" pretending to be your best friends, soliciting money from you and then using it against you"! Yes you heard me right!


So again Macedonians, of the "real kind", beware of to whom you donate your money because it potentially could be used against you!


Since the Republic of Macedonia became an independent country in 1991, the world has been watching and taking notice. I expect people will soon be asking "we thought Macedonians did not exist, where did all these Macedonians come from?" What will the Greeks and Bulgarians, who have been speaking for the Macedonians for the last one-hundred years, say then? Tito created them? They are disgruntled Greeks? They are Serbia-nized Bulgarians? And who is going to believe that?


So you can see the reasons why Greeks and Bulgarians need to get together and "get their stories straight" and what better way to do that than to start by being best friends. You don´t have to believe me about this, all you have to do is read your history and you will find much "precedence" for this kind of behaviour between Greeks and Bulgarians, especially when it comes to Macedonia and the non-existent Macedonians!


There is another angle to this, a more sinister angle, which involves Greece and Bulgaria again joining forces to occupy and partition the Republic of Macedonia. They did this in 1912 and 1913 and it worked well for them. Why not do it again?


Greece already claims Macedonia belongs to it and that the Macedonian territories up to ancient Paeonia have always been Greek. Bulgaria has also made similar claims since the San Stefano Treaty was signed, so why not act on those claims? Who is going to stop them?


Think of it this way. What is better for Greece and Bulgaria? (a) Risking being discovered and punished for "stealing" Macedonian lands, committing major atrocities against the Macedonian people and having to pay for all this including giving back all the Macedonian territories to the Macedonian people, or (b) Invading, occupying and annexing the Republic of Macedonia and thus solving the "Macedonian Question" once and for all, or at least until the Macedonian people muster enough strength to again rise up? So you can see (b) an "invasion" may be a better option for them. Isn´t that what the Bishop of Thessaloniki called for? Isn´t that what the Greek Special Forces were chanting during the latest Greek Independence Day parade?


Hey, I am just thinking out loud here! And if you think that this idea falls outside the "realm of possibilities", think again. This is not my idea. It comes directly out of Mitsotakis´s play book. You know ex-Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis, Dora Bakogianys´s father?


Well, I have a better idea, instead of attempting something stupid and risking starting a Third World War, why don´t Greece and Bulgaria admit to stealing Macedonian lands and simply give them back to the Macedonian people? While doing that why not take the punishment they deserve for all the atrocities they both committed against the Macedonian population?


Before I am done here, there is one more thing I want to say, which has some bearing on this Greek and Bulgarian irrational behaviour and it has to do with the 1913 Treaty of Bucharest. I am not talking about the 1913 Treaty of Bucharest everyone knows about, I am talking about "the secret part" of the 1913 Treaty of Bucharest that very few people know about! Yes there is a secret part but that is all I am going to say about it for now.


Does the 1913 Treaty of Bucharest expire in 2013? Some people say yes; but it is yet to be determined! I say "yes" one third of the 1913 Treaty of Bucharest expired in 1991 when the Macedonian people took matters into their own hands and liberated the Serbian occupied part of Macedonia and called it the Republic of Macedonia! Unfortunately Greece and Bulgaria are still in denial about that but sooner or later they too will come to the realization that they too must give up the Macedonian occupied territories they stole from the Macedonian people, just as Serbia did! That´s when the 1913 Treaty of Bucharest will expire in its entirety!


One last thing. Greece is about to be given an economic bailout package by the Europeans and the IMF. Yet in spite of the horrendous amount of money given, there are no conditions attached to Greece to provide human rights for its minorities or to end its phony name dispute with the Republic of Macedonia. Yet the Republic of Macedonia in all earnest is expected to change its name to enter NATO and the EU. By changing its name Macedonia will have to admit that Macedonians don´t exist and Greece and Bulgaria were right all along in saying so. And this ladies and gentlemen is the European way of doing business; done by the same Europe Macedonia wants to join. It makes no sense to me!

UN prepares new round of talks between Macedonia and Greece

The UN is working to prepare the next round of talks on the name dispute between Macedonia and Greece, said Martin Nesirky, Spokesman for the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Macedonian eReporter news agency informs.


The agency says Nesirky refused to provide further details. He answered a journalist’s question whether UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon believes there is progress or the 15-year negotiations have come to a standstill, says eReporter.

Greek by Name

The satire "Greek by name" from December 12, 2007, is characterized as successfully funny and even humorous, sadly however reality is seldom a "comedy". If for the Greeks the "name" issue REPRESENTS "Support for the State Philosophy" which is overly excessive, then for the Macedonians it represents a risk of "losing their country and ethnic existence". Macedonians have been using this name for at least 1,500 years or since many tribes settled the Balkans and mixed with the indigenous people. Greeks on the other hand have gained Macedonian territory, specifically their northern province which for the longest time they called "Northern Greece" only 95 years ago when they took possession of 51% of Macedonia in 1913. Only in 1989 did Greece change the name of its northern province to "Macedonia" under the motto "Attack is the best defence". It is absurd that Macedonians are even talking to the Greeks knowing that they have little chance of making progress in these unfair negotiations. Thanks to Greece's threat of veto and its irresponsible use of it as well as its position in NATO and the EU it has all the help it needs from the European Community to hold Macedonia back as long as it wants. Greece very cunningly and abruptly rejected Macedonia's name in 1992 in Lisbon before anyone had a chance to "examine the facts". This rejection also came with misinformation and confusion leading the unaware European ministers to come to the wrong conclusion. Greece lead the European Community into believing that the name "Macedonia" was of no importance to the Republic of Macedonia because allegedly this was a name created by Tito when Yugoslavia became a state of republics in 1944. Thus Greece's strong objection to the name was laid on a foundation of lies. The EU states, without consulting historical data and without examining the facts, were quick to take Athens's side. A similar scenario was repeated in 1993 when Macedonia applied for membership into the United Nations. It seems that justice is not important these days and the sacred Greek might is always placed ahead of Macedonia's right. If we examine past approaches to the name issue taken by our American "mediator" of the UN, we will find that the whole process is biased in Greece's favour. Actions taken during briefings in Skopje in 1994 and 1995 at best can be described as "desperate". With the exception of naming the Skopje Airport "Alexander the Great", every gesture Macedonia made in Greece's view should be positive but from what experience has shown Greece has been relentless and has, without thinking twice, used all ammunition delivered to its hands against Macedonia.
Macedonia on the other hand has a great heritage which modern Europe considers to be the cradle of western culture. Ironically even though it is well known that Alexander the Great was Macedonian, no one complained when Greece named its airport "Alexander the Great" in late 1989. What justification did the Greeks have? That Alexander the Great spread "Hellenism" to the world during his expeditions? If that were true, and no one can deny that modern Europe in its entirety has profited immensely from Hellenism, then why is there not a single European nation (besides Greece) Greek today? Why is there not a single nation outside of Europe, where Alexander ventured, Greek today? When Slav tribes were settling the Balkans in the 6th and 7th centuries AD the ancient Greeks had already abandoned Greece and others settled in their place. For well known reasons the Greeks left Greece at the end of the 4th century but the descendents of the ancient Macedonians remained all while Macedonia was a Roman province. Thus the descendents of the ancient Macedonians lived in Macedonia as the descendents of the ancient Thracians lived in Thrace and as the descendents of the Ancient Epirians lived in Epirus. In time these people assimilated with the Slav tribes who in turn adopted those lands as their home and left their genetic markers in the modern populations. So today we have Slav and ancient Macedonian genetic markers in the blood of the modern Macedonians the same as we have Thracian genetic markers in the blood of the modern Bulgarians and modern Turks living in Eastern Thrace. The same can be said about the modern Greeks and Albanians who carry in their blood the genetic markers from the ancient Epirians. Even though it is well known that the Turko-Tatar Bulgars settled the Eastern Balkans 150 years after the Slav tribes and took the Slavic language from them, does not prevent the modern Bulgarians from asserting that today's Macedonians allegedly speak "Bulgarian". Further forward in time, during the 9th century according to George Shtatmiller author of the book "History of South-Easter Europe" the Greeks, drawn by the Slav settlements of Greece, returned to their former fatherland and assimilated the Slavs and Albanians settling that region. So how can the Greeks then claim to be related to the ancient Macedonians? Contrary to any Greek assertions, Greeks in reality never settled Macedonian territories, not in ancient nor any other time until the 20th century. Macedonians on the other hand have conquered and have occupied Greek lands. The ancient Macedonians, through the League of Corinth, held hegemony over the Greeks for over 120 years during which time they also occupied Athens for a short period. Thus prior to the 20th century Macedonia was never Greek, not during Roman times when both Macedonia and Greece were Roman colonies, not during the Middle Ages, not during Ottoman times and certainly not until after the 1912, 1913 Balkan Wars when Greece, for the first time, by virtue of conquest, was awarded Macedonian lands including Solun and parts of Thrace. And this Greece did not do alone but with help from its neighbours Serbia, Bulgaria and Montenegro and with the blessings of the Great Powers. Thanks to the Great Powers, Russia in particular, for their support of the four Balkan monarchies which united and declared war on the Ottomans without themselves being swallowed up by Austro-Hungary or Romania.
Let us also remind the world that the Thracians and Epirians disappeared after 1913 only as a result of brutal hellenization at the hands of the Greek state, brutal Bulgarization at the hands of the Bulgarians and Islamization due to Ottoman influence. The Macedonians occupied by Serbia to some extent survived Serbian attempts at assimilation and began to regain their Macedonian consciousness under the cover of Yugoslavia.
It is sad to say that Macedonia's annexation in 1913 happened with the blessing of International right which now reminds it of the shame it committed. It is not fear of the Macedonian hammer that Greece is afraid but of the fear of facing its own shame in public.
As protectors of the European heritage which has flourished for centuries, European Union parliamentarians should be ashamed of forcing Macedonia, a state which in the past has done so much for Europe, to accept a farcical name like "FYROM". This again proves that Europe values business and money far above justice, truth, etiquette and morality.
If this small country has learned anything, it has learned how unfair Europe can be. The 2001 Ohrid Agreement was forced upon it by Brussels bureaucrats without even examining the facts or consulting history. Europe has shown no care for the dangers under the sword of Damacles it has created for this young state. With this kind of attitude how does Europe expect to hold a united existence?
The only option Macedonia is left with to protect its rights is to present its case to the international community.

Source(s):

Hans Lothar Schteppan is a former German Ambassador to the Republic of Macedonia and author of the book "Macedonian Knot"

Greece responds to FYROM's impending takeover of the Presidency of the Council of Europe

In response to a journalist's question about the impending takeover of the Presidency of the Council of Europe, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and the Government's intention to use this institution to promote its position on the name issue, as evidenced by statements Foreign Minister Milososki, the Foreign Ministry spokesman, Mr. Gregory Delavekouras said on Monday that:


"On May 11, 2010, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia will be invited to chair the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. This is an important responsibility, they take all Member States of the international body rotation in alphabetical order, for six months at a time (The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia undertakes under the letter T - the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia - the English alphabet).


In exercising its institutional mandate, the President must support the important affairs administered by the Committee of Ministers. It must exercise its role as appropriate to the presidency of any international intergovernmental body, ie respect for international legitimacy, the institutional acquis and decisions of the organization, in cooperation with other institutions and in a spirit of consensus over the other member states. One example given by Greece in pursuit of the presidency of the OSCE in 2009.


Unfortunately, statements by the leadership of FYROM effortlessly clear that the intention of the Government of Macedonia is to exercise the role of abusing its presidency to promote its position on the name issue, as it did during its Presidency UN General Assembly. The purpose of the action is to cancel the contents of Resolution (95) 23 of the CoE Committee of Ministers which stipulates that "this country will be provisionally called Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" for all purposes within the Council of Europe .


In this way, the leadership of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia charged once the negotiating process within the United Nations and actively reject the efforts and initiatives taken by Greece to create a positive climate between the two countries to facilitate the conduct of negotiations under the auspices of the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary General. Greece is not going to follow this behavior.


In doing so, the Government of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia demonstrates that it can have the confidence of the international community, and confirms the correctness of the unanimous decisions of NATO and the EU to abandon the country's accession process while remaining open to the pending name issue.


The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has updated the international bodies and other CoE member states of the Organization for these approaches. Throughout the course of the Bureau of Macedonia, we will take all necessary steps to ensure respect for the content of Resolution (95) 23 of the CoE Committee of Ministers.


Once again we reiterate the readiness of Greece to move directly to final settlement, with a name will be determined by geography and will be used for all, erga omnes. We expect the government of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to finally make the step that it deserves to reach a mutually acceptable solution within the framework of negotiations under UN auspices. Source; Government of Greece

Council tells Macedonia to be 'pragmatic' on name

The head of the Council of Europe says Macedonia and Greece should take a more pragmatic approach to solving their long-standing name dispute.
Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland visited Skopje, Macedonia's capital, Monday. Macedonia takes over the chairmanship of the council's executive between May and November this year.


Jagland met Macedonian Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki and said he hoped the name dispute would not overshadow the country's role as chairman.


Greece says its neighbor's use of the name Macedonia implies territorial claims on its own northern region of Macedonia. Athens has blocked Macedonia's NATO accession, citing the dispute, and is threatening to do the same with its bid to join the European Union.

Barely noticed in Britain, Greece is moving towards a bail-out

Meanwhile, at the opposite end of the EU, Greece is crumpling. The markets have now decided that a bail-out is more or less inevitable. Bad news for freedom, bad news for the EU and, of course, bad news for Greece. Unable to price itself into the markets, Greece will be condemned to a generation of deflation and poverty. A handful of contractors and oligarchs will grow fat on Brussels subsidies, while thousands of their countrymen are pushed into emigration.


It may not be Britain’s problem this time. But, as the EU moves inexorably towards establishing a European Debt Agency and a European Monetary Fund, it soon will be. It is becoming clearer by the day that bailing out the banks was a mistake. So is bailing out whole countries.


Here’s a thought, though. Greece is as opposed as ever to its northern neighbour being called Macedonia. Why not drop that objection for a fee? Just a suggestion.