Petition for the Withdrawal of
Resolution 92_SR0446
August 2002

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WHEREAS, the Macedonian-American community, comprised of approximately 800, 000 people, is one of the vital parts of our Nation, with more than 30 church communities, 50 Macedonian schools, and 100 Macedonian centers in neighborhoods across the United States, disagrees with the Illinois Senate Resolution in that its historical conclusions are inaccurate and its purpose is unclear;

WHEREAS, Ancient Macedonians were among the peoples that lived between Thessaly and Thrace in the Balkans and were considered by the classical Greeks as "Barbarians", i.e., non-Greeks, who were therefore banned from participation in the Greek Olympic Games;

WHEREAS, that the ancient Macedonian capital of Pella was never located in Greece until the Balkan Wars of 1912-1913, when Greece annexed half of the territory of Macedonia and instigated a policy of ethnic cleansing and forced assimilation of the indigenous Macedonian population;

WHEREAS, the United States State Department, through the decision-making power of the President of the United States and the United States Congress, has full authority to decide United States policy towards foreign states and governments, Illinois State Senate Resolution 92_SR0446 is contradictory to United States foreign policy and undermines federal government efforts to deal with issues of national concern.

THEREFORE we the people of the Illinois Macedonian-American community propose a NEW RESOLUTION stating that:

I. The Illinois Senate respects and upholds the rights of Macedonian Americans, of their distinctive cultural and religious life, and allows them the fundamental human right to their ethnic identity and freedoms;

II. The Illinois Senate will put an end to those practices which threaten to erode the distinct cultural, religious and ethnic identity of the Macedonian American people and, in particular, to cease policies supporting the attempt of modern day Greeks to suppress the cultural and historical values of all Macedonians;

III. The Illinois Senate will advance United States policy that seeks to protect the cultural and linguistic heritage as well as the historical values of ancient Macedonians, and to encourage improved respect for Macedonian human rights.

IV. The Illinois Senate will encourage members to share complete an accurate factual analysis before advancing viewpoints that act only to deteriorate the relationships among national and local communities and ethnicities.

Submitted to the Illinois State Senate in August 2002.

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