The Macedonian Digest

“From the readers for the readers”

Edition 27 – March 2008

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Editor’s Notes

      Don’t miss all the important letters in the “Concerns” and “choices” sections.

Risto Stefov

Feature Stories

Heritage Foundation ranks Macedonia: first in Europe and second worldwide regarding monetary freedom

http://www.freshplaza.com/news_detail.asp?id=14990

      Macedonia has been ranked first in Europe and second worldwide regarding monetary freedom by The Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal. The score of 91,1 also places Macedonia in the first place among countries of Central and South Eastern Europe, as well as first in the Western Balkans.
      The country has jumped to its current position from 20th worldwide and 7th in Europe in 2006, and as low as 70th worldwide in 2003. Monetary freedom and stability make investment, savings, and other longer-term plans easier to make. Inflation in Macedonia has averaged 2.3% in the period 2005-2007.
      "Monetary freedom is to market economics what free speech is to democracy," says the Heritage Foundation. "Free people need a steady and reliable currency as a medium of exchange and store of value. Without monetary freedom, it is difficult to create long-term value."
      Monetary freedom, which combines a measure of price stability with an assessment of price controls, is one of the ten components measuring overall economic freedom, along with business, trade, fiscal, investment, financial, and labor freedom; freedom from government; freedom from corruption; and property rights. Scores on these components comprise the Index of Economic Freedom, which measures and ranks 161 countries worldwide.

Macedonia to Open IT University

http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/main/news/7544/

      25 January 2008 Skopje _ Macedonia plans to open an Information Technology University, according to government spokesman Ivica Bocevski.
      “The university, which is envisaged as becoming one of the leading institutions in the area, would open in 2009 or 2010”, Bocevski told a news conference on Thursday.
      He said that a coordination committee from Skopje University had been formed to plan the new university’s development.
      It is comprised of experts from the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics and from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology.
      The government plans to invite eminent professors from the US and European countries to teach in English.
      “This is a 21st century project”, Bocevski added.
      He said that enrolment would take place on the basis of the regulations that apply at other universities.
      The IT industry has been one of the fastest-growing sectors of Macedonia’s economy in recent years, and because of a shortage of skilled staff, companies frequently employ qualified workers from abroad.

Not another BIG Greek Lie?

Greek Dialect? What Greek Dialect?

      I have a question for the Greeks. When the Greek state codified the official Greek language which Greek dialect did it base it on? Was there an actual Greek dialect which was spoken anywhere in Greece?

      Official Macedonian was codified based on the Bitola/Ohrid Region dialect. Official Italian was based on the Florence dialect, official French was based on "Langue d' ouil" in the north part of France and official Spanish is based on the Castilian dialect. On which dialect was official Greek based? In which region of Greece was this dialect spoken back in 1824?

      I have a surprise for you. You can look all you want but you will never find a dialect on which the Greek language is based because the Greek language was the language of the Byzantine Church and was artificially imposed on the Greek people.

Vodenka

Irredentism please go away!

      If Macedonia changes her name then all of Greece's fear of 'irredentism' will go away. Does that make any sense? If I have irredentist aspirations then playing name games won't change that.
      Perhaps what Greece is worried about is the fact that the history of Macedonia she has presented over the years is a big fat Greek lie that is unraveling.

Maknews

From the International Scene

The Making of the Greeks
 
       Ο Γιάκομπ Φίλιπ Φαλμεράυερ (Γερμανικά:Philipp Fallmerayer 10 Δεκεμβρίου 1790, Τιρόλο – 26 Απριλίου 1861, Μόναχο) ήταν Αυστριακός περιηγητής, δημοσιογράφος, πολιτικός και ιστορικός, περισσότερο γνωστός για τις περιηγητικές αφηγήσεις του και τις θεωρίες του σχετικά με τη φυλετική καταγωγή των Νεοελλήνων. Στο έργο του "Ιστορία της χερσονήσου της Πελοποννήσου κατά τους Μεσαιωνικούς Χρόνους" διατυπώνει την άποψη πως οι Έλληνες της νεότερης εποχής δεν κατάγονται από την φυλή των αρχαίων Ελλήνων, αλλά προέρχονται από Σλάβους που εισέβαλαν στην Ελλάδα κατά την περίοδο του Μεσαίωνα και Αλβανούς που εξαπλώθηκαν κατά τον ύστερο Μεσαίωνα και τους νεότερους χρόνους.
      Σύμφωνα με τις απόψεις του η φυλή των αρχαίων Ελλήνων εξαφανίστηκε παντελώς εξαιτίας της καθόδου σλάβικων φύλων στην Πελοπόννησο και την υπόλοιπη Ελλάδα κατά τον 6ο αιώνα. Συγκεκριμένα αναφέρει:

      Η Ελληνική φυλή έχει τελείως εξολοθρευθή από την Ευρώπη. Η φυσική ομορφιά, το μεγαλείο του πνεύματος, η απλότητα των συνηθειών, η καλλιτεχνική δημιουργία, οι αθλητικοί αγώνες, οι πόλεις, τα χωριά, το μεγαλείο των μνημείων και των αρχαίων ναών, ακόμα και το όνομα του λαού, έχουν εξαφανισθή από την Ελλάδα.

      Για τον Φαλμεράυερ πρόγονοι των συγχρόνων Ελλήνων είναι οι Σλάβοι, κατά κύριο λόγο, και οι Αλβανοί που μετανάστευσαν στην Ελλάδα κατά τη διάρκεια του Μεσαίωνα, εξαφανίζοντας την ελληνική φυλή, με αποτέλεσμα οι σύγχρονοι Έλληνες να αποτελούν στην ουσία μια σλαβική φυλή:

      Ούτε μία απλή σταγόνα αίματος, γνησίου ελληνικού αίματος, δεν τρέχει στις φλέβες των χριστιανών κατοίκων της σημερινής Ελλάδας. Μιά τρομερή καταιγίδα διασκόρπισε έως την πιό απόμακρη γωνιά της Πελοπονήσου μιά νεά φυλή συγγενή προς την μεγάλη φυλή των Σλάβων. Οι Σκύθες-Σλάβοι, οι Ιλλυριοί-Αρβανίτες, οι συγγενικοί με τους Σέρβους και τους Βουλγάρους λαοί, είναι εκείνοι που τώρα ονομάζουμε Ελληνες. Ενας λαός με σλαβικά χαρακτηριστικά , τοξοειδείς βλεφαρίδες και σκληρά χαρακτηριστικά Αλβανών βοσκών του βουνού, που φυσικά δεν προέρχεται από το αίμα του Νάρκισου, του Αλκιβιάδη και του Αντίνοου. Μόνο μία δυνατή ρομαντική φαντασία μπορεί να ονειρεύεται ακόμα μιά αναγέννηση των αρχαίων Ελλήνων.

      Jakob Philipp Fallmerayer (10 December 1790 – 26 April 1861) was an Tyrolean traveller, journalist, politician and historian, best known for his travel writings and for his controversial theories concerning the racial origins of the modern Greeks

The Greek theory
 
      Following the publication of his Trebizond study, Fallmerayer devoted his scholarly activities to another Greek-speaking region of the Middle Ages, namely, the Morea. In particular, he developed his theory that the ancient, "Hellenic," population of the south Balkans had been replaced during the Migration Period by Slavic peoples. A similar idea had already been proposed by the British traveler William Martin Leake, but Fallmerayer turned it into a theory, which he advocated with characteristic zeal.
      The first volume of Fallmerayer's Geschichte der Halbinsel Morea während des Mittelalters appeared in 1830, and he expressed his central theory in the foreword as follows:

      The race of the Hellenes has been wiped out in Europe. Physical beauty, intellectual brilliance, innate harmony and simplicity, art, competition, city, village, the splendour of column and temple — indeed, even the name has disappeared from the surface of the Greek continent.... Not the slightest drop of undiluted Hellenic blood flows in the veins of the Christian population of present-day Greece.[4]

      This phenomenon was further interpreted by Fallmerayer as an indication of the potential of the "Slavic" nations to overwhelm the "Latin" and the "German," a line of thought which he would later develop in his political writings. He further argued that the Great powers who had supported the Greek War of Independence had been led by a "classical intoxication" to misjudge the character of the new Greek state.
      The Geschichte der Halbinsel Morea set Fallmerayer at loggerheads with the European philhellenes in general, and with the Bavarian King Ludwig I in particular, a convinced philhellene who already in 1829 had begun to advance the candidacy of his son, Otto, for the Greek throne. (Otto became "King of the Hellenes" in 1832.) Ludwig's philhellenism was in fact grounded in the conviction that the Greek revolt against Ottoman rule represented the return of antique Hellenic virtue.[5] Ludwig's displeasure with Fallmerayer led to a long delay in the confirmation of Fallmerayer's election to the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities.
 
 
Prof. Florin Curta, (University of Florida, USA):
 
      Fallmerayer and the "Slavic problem" early 1800s: following Napoleon's wars across Europe, there is an increasing interest in classical Greece, especially in art.
At that time, Greece was part of the Ottoman Empire, but by 1815, a group of islands on the western coast were taken by Great Britain, early interest in supporting Greek nationalism (philhellenes)

Lord Byron died at Missolonghi in 1824 fighting for the Greeks

1822: an assembly at Epidaurus declared Greek independence, but an Ottoman expedition overran the entire peninsula in 1825-----> the intervention of the "great powers" (Britain, France, and Russia)
1827: the combined fleet of the three powers defeated the Ottomans at Navarino
1827-1829: Russia successfully waged war on the Ottoman Empire
1830: Greece, the first independent state in the Ottoman-dominated Balkans

BUT: not everybody saw the influence of Russia as beneficial. William Leake: British journalist, who wrote Researches in Greece (London, 1814) -- Greeks were Slavs

Jakob Philipp Fallmerayer:

      - German journalist, enraged by the political naiveté of the philhellenes

      - feared Russian territorial expansion

      - because Greeks were Orthodox [like the Russians], he saw the liberation of Greece as a strengthening of Russia

      - 1830 History of the Morean [Greek] Peninsula (Stuttgart)

      - used the Chronicle of Monemvasia, plus a number of place names in Greece derived from Slavic words

      - the ancient Greeks had been wiped out during the early Middle Ages

      - the ancestors of the modern Greeks were Slavs and Albanians who settled in Greece during the Middle Ages and were exposed to Byzantine culture (thus adopting the language)

      Fallmerayer's idea attacked by many for different aspects of his theory (Karl Hopf in Germany, Bartholomaeus Kopitar in Austria). In Greece, he became a villain and was demonized as Panslavist and agent of the Russian star (his work was translated into Greek only in the 1980s).
      In 1941, on the eve of the Nazi occupation of Greece, an eminent German linguist, Max Vasmer published a book on Slavic place names arguing for an early and substantial presence of Slavs in Greece.
      Following the Greek Civil War, his ideas became not just politically incorrect, but became the main target of Greek nationalism (Fallmerayer's name is still loathed by many Greeks)

 
Place Names (not only a question concerning the ancient Veneti and Slavs),

By Jožko Šavli
 
      In my study Veneti, naši davni predniki (Veneti, Our Remote Ancestors, Vienna 1985), I explained the meaning of many place names which are still used today all over Central Europe, using the Slovenian (Slavic) language as a basis.  Since according to traditional history the Slavs never settled the majority of this territory, the question arose as to which people left behind these names.  Through an interdisciplinary study it was possible to find out that the people in question were the Veneti, the bearers of the Urnfield culture (after 1200 BC) and of the Hallstatt culture (after 800 BC).  They obviously spoke a language, which was close to the modern Slavic languages, particularly the Slovenian language.
      The study, through which the Veneti have been given their individuality, showed clearly that the modern Slavic peoples are not an ethnic group, but only a linguistic one, and that they could not have originated from the supposed "ancient Slavs" whose homeland has been searched behind the Carpathian mountains and never found even unto today.  Thus, the "ancient Slavs" never existed as an ethnic group, and they must be regarded as an academic and ideologic construct only.
      This ascertainment is very important for the correct explanation of the meaning of place names.  Still today, this explanation is appropriated in the first line by the linguists and Slavists.  They took the question under their exclusive competence, and they interpreted the meaning of the place names on the basis of linguistics only.  There may be adduced several linguistic works as example.  I have in hand the very interesting work called Die Slawen in Griechenland (The Slavs in Greece), written by Max Vasmer, the well-known German linguist and Slavist.  The work was published by the Academy of Science (Berlin, 1941).  Nevertheless, the place names examined in this study were explained mostly in the sense of the morphological forms of the superficies, i.e., after their visual appearance.
      Thus Vasmer's work is an interesting study.  The author reveals a very great number of place names found over a territory which extends from the Epirus region of northwestern Greece and Macedonia into the Peloponnesus.  On the basis of these names the author supposes the settlements of the Slavs, which should have been carried out during the early Middle Ages.  At the same time, he decisively rejects the possibility, that the Slavs in Greece, which he supposedly individuated, have been an autochthonous people there.
      However, the density of the names in question, which are of a Slavic nature, is so great, that there is no possibility that they could have been a legacy of the supposed sporadic Slav incursions and settlements in this territory.  The names could only pertain to an autochthonous people, very probably to the Pelasgians, who in the period of the ancient Greeks settled the inside of the Greek peninsula.  Thus, it is not about the Slavic names as such, but of the names pertaining to a language, which after my studies was also spoken by the ancient Illyrians, Thracians, Dacians, as well as by the Veneti and the (continental) Celts, etc.
      I think this language must have been, more or less, a continuity of the Indo-European and pre-Indo-European, and it was spoken by ethnologically very different peoples.  The vocabulary of the modern Slavic languages, in particular the archaic Slovenian, is very close to this ancient language.  But this fact does not predispose the existence of a common ancestral people, in this case the existence of the "ancient Slavs".
 
Explanation of Names
 
      Indeed, Max Vasmer worked diligently collecting a great number of names in Greece which he considered to be of Slavic origin.  In several cases his explanations are senseful and instructive.  For example, I cite Provlakas, the name of the one-time Xerxes canal (Athos).  Even today this name still says that at one time the ships were drawing through the canal (cf. pro-vleci, in Slav languages:  draw through).  A similar case is represented by the name Prevesa (preveza, Überfahrt, crossing) found at the sea strait in Aetolia.  The name Volos is explained as "golos" (from gol, nude, i.e., an area with very scarce vegetation) which is a senseful explanation, and so on.
      However, a problem of incorrect understanding arises in cases of place names which Max Vasmer interprets only in a linguistical way, i.e., by the meaning of an apparently closely related Slav etymon.  For example, the name Avarikos (p. 10) should derive from Avorne, Ahorn-ort (in Slavic languages:  javor) meaning a maple tree.  In fact, it can only be explained with aur (sun) > jaur, i.e., a sunny site.  It is only a coincidence, that the name is so similar to that of the maple tree. - The name Berstia (p. 146) does not derive from berst, in Slovenian:  brest (Ulme, elm).  It is certainly a form of the Indo-European *bhers (to rise sheerly). - The name Varen (cf. Varna, in Bulgaria, p. 234) certainly does not derive from vrana (Krähe, crow).  It can be explained sensefully only through the Slovenian "v' ravnah" (in the plains).
      Further on, Orehovo (p. 96) is not a Nußort (a place of nut trees), but evidently connected with "vrh" (summit, top). - The name Visentekon (p. 23) certainly is not connected with "višnja" (Kirsche, in fact Weichselkirsche, i.e., marasca), but it derives from "visok, višji" (high, higher).  The explaining of the name Misina (p. 94) as Mäuserort (from miš, Maus, mouse) is certainly wrong.  I put near the name of Meißen - Mišin and its possible meaning, connected with its position in the valley chiselled in by the Elbe River.  Thus, from meißeln (chisel).  The name Svina (p. 172) Vasmer explained as Schweineort (a site of pigs).  But it derives very probably from "zviti" (to fold) and means very possibly a curved crest . . .
      Linguists are making a great mistake when they imagine that the nomenclature is only a linguistic question.  Also the most important Slovenian linguist, France Bezlaj, in spite of his great knowledge, provided several wrong explanations concerning the meaning of the hydronyms and toponyms.  I adduce an example, of which I was advised by Vojko Rutar (Dobrovo, Slovenia).
      It is about the name of the village Vipolže (close to Dobrovo), the meaning of which Bezlaj explains with the help of the Russian:  vypolzkovskije žiteli, i.e., "freemen", and he states:  »It is about the ancient-Slav dialectal juridical term, which was brought to us (i.e., in Slovenia) by the same migration wave, which formed the nucleus of Novgorod Russia« (Fr. Bezlaj, Eseji... p. 104).  But it is certainly that Fr. Bezlaj never saw the geographical position of Vipolže, a village situated on an incline which arises from the plain.  The meaning "vy polje" (out of the plain, field), in the older form "vy poljane" pl. (j > ž).  The supposed migration wave might have occurred, but the name Vipolže certainly is not a proof of it.
 
An interdisciplinary approach is needed
 
      The existence of a one-time ethnic group in a certain territory cannot be individuated only on the basis of the preserved place names.  For this purpose an interdisciplinary method must be used.
      So when I, for the first time, encountered in Swiss and other areas of Central Europe a multitude of place names, the meaning of which could have been clearly explained on the basis of the Slovenian language, I did not venture to say that one time this territory was populated by the Slovenians or Slavs.  From the interdisciplinary point of view, I searched to individuate the ethnic appurtenances of the people who left behind the aforesaid names.
 
So, I found out the presence of the linden as the tree of life in the villages (like in Slovenia), and not the oak, the tree of life of the Celts and Germans.  In the preserved social structure there were no traces of the Celtic clan or German kinship, but only the tradition of the village community.  This is the same community which has been preserved by the Slovenians and the other peoples of Central Europe, but not by other Slavs, the social organization of which was the great family (zadruga, rod).
      The archaeological studies and finds showed that this population was the successor to the bearers of the Urnfield (after 1200 BC) and Halstatt cultures (ca. 800 – 400 BC), which many scholars like, G. Devoto, individuated as the ancient Veneti.  Their statement was confirmed by many names based upon Venet- or Wend- which still today are to be found in Tyrol, Switzerland, Germany, etc.  All these elements did not bear witness to the presence of the »ancient Slavs«, as a linguist would have concluded on the basis of the Slovenian or Slavic names preserved in this territory.
      It was clear that these people were of an autonomous ethnicon whose name was Veneti (ancient).  I think they were clearly individuated as the bearers of the Urnfield and of the Hallstatt cultures for the first time.  Of course, scholars had already encountered this people.  But because of the names they would have had to have called them »Slavs«.  They could not have imagined them as such, and so in the scientific literature the Veneti appear only as »bearers« (of Urnfield and Hallstatt cultures).  In contrast to this, the later Celts, the bearers of the La Téne culture (ca. 400 – 15 BC), are called by their very name without any problem.
 
The very remote heritage
 
      On the basis of the aforesaid facts, it is clear that the question of language must be considered apart from the question of ethnicity.  To illustrate, I would like to adduce some »Slovenian« names, which one can still encounter in Northern Africa to this day.
So, we find in Morocco the city called Zagora, which in Slovenian means »beyond the mountains«.  Indeed, this city is found beyond the Atlas mountain ridge.  In Algeria, we encounter the city Brèzina, in Slovenian meaning a »gentle incline of the mountain«.  It really has just such a position.  South of Tripoli, in Libya, the site Garian (717 m) is found at the edge of a plateau.  The corresponding Slovenian name (a > o) is Gorjane, a site on a higher position.  In the great desert, a lot of names with the root of Bir appear, like Bir Tarsin, Bir Iar . . .   In Slovenian the word »vir« (b > v, betatism) actually means a 'source'.
      The famous oasis between Libya and Egypt is called Siwa, and it expresses the same meaning like in Slovenian »živa« for a source of fresh water.  Indeed, the oasis is full of such sources.  Near the Suez canal we find the name Gharib (1751 m), in Slovenian »hrib« means a middle high mountain.  The name Tabor in Palestine is equal to many Slovenian names, which mean a »fortress on a higher place«.  The name is also found in Ethiopia.  There, we encounter among other names also Gara Mullata (3381 m).  In Slovenian »gora« (a > o) means mountain, and the dialectal word »mulast« means nude.  Etc, etc.
      In the sense of the method used until now by the linguists and Slavists, one must have concluded, that one-time the territory of Northern Africa was populated by Slovenians, too.  No one can imagine this, and he is right.  But the »Slovenian« names found there require an explication.
      The only connection I find between North Africa and Slovenia is as follows.  In pre-Indo-European times during the mesolithic period, the same shepherd cultures extended from North Africa over to Europe up to the Ural mountains and over.  In this period, in Central Europe the agriculture of Band ceramics (ca. 4200 – before 2000 BC) arose.  It was based on the matriarchate.  The incursions from the east ca. 2000 BC brought the so-called Indo-Europeanization of Europe based on the patriarchate, in which the Band Ceramic people survived only as a substrate.  From this substrate, as one can conclude, the culture of Lusatia (after 1500 BC) arose followed by the Urnfield culture (after 1200 BC), in which the people of the Veneti were formed.
      More elements can be adduced as proof of the cultural heritage, which followed from the Band Ceramics until the Urnfield culture and its Venetic people.  For example, the equipartite position of the wife in the social structure of the Veneti, which must be considered a heritage of the ancient matriarchate.  Such an equipartite position was characteristic also for the ancient family tradition of the Slovenians, that I consider to be the heirs of the Veneti.  In this way, the existence of »Slovenian« names in Northern Africa can be explained.  Anyway, their original Slovenian forms certainly present a significant surprise today!

Selected Bibliography:

Max Vasmer:  Die Slaven in Griechenland, Berlin 1941
France Bezlaj:  Slovenska vodna imena / Slovenian Water Names /, Lublana I (1956), II (1961)
France Bezlaj:  Eseji o slovenskem jeziku / Essays about the Slovenian Language /, Lublana 1967
Jožko Šavli:  Imena v Afriki / Names in Africa /, in: V nova slovenska obzorja z Veneti v Evropi 2000, Tretji venetski zbornik, Vienna 2000, p. 50 ff.
Jožko Šavli:  Veneti in vprašanje podstati / Veneti and the substrate Question /, in:  Veneti in Etruščani, Drugi venetski zbornik, Vienna 1995, p. 85 ff. (based on the Pokorny's substrate studies)

Posted by Ilija

Issues

What is the origin of the "differences on name"

Skopje /21/01/ 13:22

      The negotiations between Macedonia and Greece on the name differences are gaining momentum as official Skopje steps up its Euro-integration efforts. 
      The Macedonian name and history became a subject of discussion between the two countries after the break-up of Yugoslavia in 1991. The main argument of the Greek side was that using of the term "Macedonia" by any other country except Greece poses as a "security threat".
      In the following years, Greece was resorting to this "argument" to justify all political and economic pressures on Macedonia, although numerous "irrational weaknesses" of their position have been constantly emerging in the past 17 years.
      Once it declared independence in 1992, Macedonia lodged an application for admission in the United Nations under its constitutional name the Republic of Macedonia.
      On 7 April, 1993, the UN Security Council pointed out that although the country meets all the necessary requirements to join the Organization, the name issue should be resolved "to the benefit of the peace and good-neighborly relations in the region."
      Consequently, the UN General Assembly endorsed by acclamation the admission of Macedonia in UN, but under the interim name the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM).
      The acronym FYROM was accepted by most of the international establishments, including EU, NATO, International Monetary Fund and the International Olympic Committee.
      The process of resolving of the issue started unfolding after adoption of the Security Council's Resolutions 817 and 845, calling the two parties to continue bilateral talks on the name under the auspice of the UN Secretary General.
      In the meantime, the heads of the EU member-states adopted the Lisbon Declaration in 1992, containing an ultimatum to Macedonia to refrain from using of its name in written or verbal communication with official Brussels.
      This document diminished Macedonia's hopes that it may be able to pursue political and economic activities under its constitutional name.
      However, under US's pressure and after Russia's decision to recognize Macedonia's constitutional name, some European allies of the United States started to change the course and to soften up their positions on the name issue.
      Greece responded to these developments by imposing an economic embargo towards Macedonia, forcing the country to make additional concessions, including changing of the national flag and the Constitution, which were described by official Athens as containing "irredentist elements".
      The relations between the two sides took "more positive course" in 1995, when Greece lifted the embargo. This paved way for signing of the Interim Accord on 13 September, 1995, with validity term of 10 years.
      The Accord had normalizing effect on the bilateral relations. The document envisaged the name issue to be subject of bilateral talks in line with the Security Council's resolutions. The aim of the talks was to replace the interim with a "mutually acceptable name".
     US diplomat Matthew Nimetz, who was appointed by the UN as chief mediator in the talks between the two sides, received a number of proposals by both sides about the name.
      Different political conditions, developments in the region and power holders, resulted in several failed proposals, including New Macedonia, Northern Macedonia, Republic of New Macedonia and Republic of Macedonia-Skopje.
      For the first time after many years, on 25 April, 2005, the name issue was mentioned in the conclusions of the EU's General Affairs and External Relations Council, encouraging both sides to find a mutually acceptable solution.
      This marked the first signal of Brussels's intention to speed up the process of solving of this issue, even more so after granting Macedonia a status of a candidate-country for membership in December 2005.
      Nevertheless, EU's move was preceded by recognition of the Macedonia's constitutional name by United States on 4 November, 2004. US were the third permanent member of the Security Council after China and Russia to call the country as the Republic of Macedonia, along with another 110 states from across the globe.
      Since then, UN Special Envoy Matthew Nimetz put forward several proposals. Macedonia accepted that some of them might serve as a good basis for the negotiations, but there were also proposals that were adamantly rejected. The Greek side reacted in similar manner.
      Nimetz's last proposal came last December in a form of Framework for Understanding, calling Macedonia to use a name different from the constitutional one in the international correspondence. Official Skopje did not hesitate to reject this idea too.
      The negotiations process that resumed today in Ohrid - marking the first meeting between Macedonian and Greek negotiators out of New York - are viewed as opening of "a new door" in the relations with the neighboring Greece.

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Opinions

A couple of things to note about modern Greek historiography

      1. The use (frequency) and meaning (identity) of the term 'Macedonia' in Greek historiography has been applied retrospectively. There has never been a ''Macedonian identity'' that is also ''Greek'' and efforts to create such a new identity are generational. The fruits of this new identity construction are only beginning to appear in the youths of modern Greeks in the last few decades. Historically, it has no precedent in the sense that we can't point to any long term normative historical processes at a cultural level that demonstrate this new identity has a basis in reality. It is in other words a very modern 'ideological' construct. In fact the 'Star of Vergina' was adopted as a national symbol of 'Greece' only AFTER Macedonians recognized it as their own.
      2. At least a dozen prominent 19th century Greek historians make no mention of Macedonia.
      3. In addition to point 2, there is a strong body of evidence that demonstrates that the events and people of modern Greece over the last 200 years beginning with the so called 'War of Independence' have been deliberately falsified. This abuse of normative historical processes was first brought to the attention of the world by 19th century Greek historians writing about the 'War of Independence'. The entire account is based on shameless lies.
      4. On historical grounds the modern Greek claim to 'Macedonia' is an anachronism.
      5. On legal and technical grounds the modern Greek claim to a part of 'Macedonia' have no base.
      6. When King George of Greece in official diplomatic correspondence said "There are very few Greeks in Macedonia" he demonstrated the historical and critical non-Greek character of ethnic Macedonia.

Paul

      You will not see Egejtsi (Macedonians from Greece) post here until things get better for us in Greece. People are afraid of expressing their opinion because they think they will be traced. One cannot imagine what some local papers in Greece will write about Macedonians who openly declared their ethnicity. They should sue the newspapers, but they do not want to get things worse for them and their families. This ugly Greek politic about Ro Macedonia created a very heavy atmosphere, here, almost unbearable. So, do not be so impatient with them.

Vodenka

Turkish! Not Greek!
 
      I was having a latte' at this coffee shop recently where I overheard this (dark) "artificially Ellinized" - non-'Greek' individual say the following remark to this gullible, white-Anglo/Australian man: "You know we,...the ancient Greeks used to have blond hair and blue eyes, but the Turks changed us and that’s why a lot of us are now dark"!
      Reply: Hmmm... Hello!! The real so-called 'Greeks' ('Argaeans') were a group of indigenous, proto-Balkan/(the white man) southern Aegean proto-Slav 'Pelasgians' who lived at 'Argaea' before 1,600 BC. (*'Argaea' referred to the ancient town of Argos at Morea and its surrounding territory. Morea is the territory of the modern day Peloponnesus).
      After 1,600 BC the sub-Saharan/Afro-Asiatic colonists/invaders mixed with the Pelasgian 'Greeks' ('Argaeans')! The sub-Saharan/Afro-Asiatic colonists/invaders subsequently became 'Ahhijawans'. 'Ahhijawa' is an African term which literally translates to (has the same meaning as) 'Argaea'! The sub-Saharan/Afro-Asiatic colonists/invaders ultimately assimilated with the indigenous Pelasgians.
      Between 1,050 BC and 950 BC the indigenous proto-Slavic Dorians from the north of Mt. Olympus conquered and mixed with the "Afro-Euro" 'Ahhijawans'! (Many proto-Slavic Dorians remained north of Mt.Olympus).  
      The Eur-African (independent of each other) "City States" begin to form at 'Morea' around 800 BC. Proto-Slav Phoenicians begin to arrive at Morea around this time too. Eventually, the 'south of Mt. Olympus' Dorians and the Phoenicians also assimilated with the earlier 'Afro-European' 'Ahhijawans'!
In 338 BC, from the north of Mt. Olympus, the 'united proto-Slav tribes' of Macedon conquered and mixed with the provocative City States at the decisive battle of Chaeronea!
About 200 years later the Romans conquered and mixed with the City States from which they never recovered!
      Over the next 2,000 years the territory of the ancient City States was colonized by (Romans), 'Black Slaves from Africa', Goths, Huns (and other barbarian invaders), Venetians, Franks, Vlachs, Jews, Armenians, Egyptians, Gypsies, Albanians, Turks (from 1389 AD - 1829 AD), Turkish Christian Prosfigs, etc, etc!!!
      -This (dark) "artificially Ellinized" - non-'Greek' individual could actually be an ethnic Turk and not even know it! He is not a descendent of the indigenous, pre-historic, proto-Slav Pelasgians of 'Argaea' -the "real" 'Greeks'! 
      *George Roumeliotis in his article "I Believe Some of Your Claims But..." (from Digest #18) writes: "Some of the e-mails (in the Macedonian Digest) are so hypocritical, for instance telling us Greeks we have no right to call ourselves Greek but its ok for you to proudly call yourselves Macedonian...".
      Reply: Hmmm... "us Greeks"!!! hahaha! Please. Also, why do modern, ethnically diverse, "artificially Ellinized" non-'Greeks' have to compare themselves with us Macedonians? They should take a good look at themselves and find out who they "themselves" really are rather than worry about us! Having said that, could George Roumeliotis somehow 'genetically' descend from the indigenous, prehistoric, proto-Slav Pelasgians of 'Argaea' -the "real" 'Greeks'? George Roumeliotis: "...I am not of average height with dark hair and dark features. You see I'm 6 foot 4, 250 lbs and I have light brown hair with blue eyes and my beard is kind of reddish. It was even worse as a kid because my hair was blond...". Reply: Hmmm?
      (Ps. There is nothing wrong with being either black or white. If you go back far enough you will find that our ancestors originated from Africa.)
 
By Vlado V.

'Doric' Style Columns?!
 
      I've heard reports that there are two 'Doric' style columns at the front of King Philip II's tomb. If so, it is not at all surprising. The proto-Slavic Dorians (who lived on the territory which later became known as Ancient Macedonia) mostly migrated to the south of Mt.Olympus (before the 'early' ancient Macedonian state was formed). Those remaining constituted part of (the 'united proto-Slav tribes' of) Ancient Macedonia. The 'south of Olympus' Dorians ultimately assimilated into the 'heterogenous' people of the ancient City States.
Do-ri/Do-li > Do/"D(i)o"/Zeus, li/Iliy. The Dorians were a proto-Slavic people who believed in Zeus and Iliy.

By Vlado V.     

      Not Another Anti-Macedonian Impostor Organization & An Artificially "Bulgarianized" Non-Bulgarian Impostor Politician!

      The numerically inferior "real" Bulgarians, the Turko-Mongols eventually became assimilated into the larger indigenous Slavic speaking population of Thrace and adopted their language and customs!
      The artificial "Bulgarian" state was "manufactured" by the Western Powers in 1878! The various ethnicities which made up its population were swept under the (false) Turko-Mongolian umbrella! The non-Balkan/anti-Slav/anti-Russian name of "Bulgaria" suited the west just fine!
      IMRO (or VMRO) was the 'Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization". It was formed in 1893 in Solun (today in the artificial 'Greek' occupied part of Macedonia) by ethnic Macedonians in their attempt to liberate Macedonia from the Ottomans. Although in 1903 the Macedonian national uprising ultimately failed (thanks largely to artificial 'Bulgaria', the saboteur), the Turks were soon routed and Macedonia was divided by its (newly created, artificial) neighbours. Approximately 10% of Macedonia (along with its population) was illegally annexed by artificial 'Bulgaria' in the Second Balkan War in 1913.
      In both World Wars the artificially "Bulgarianized" non-Bulgarian army (allied with Germany) invaded and temporarily occupied parts of Serbian occupied Macedonia and parts of artificial 'Greek' occupied Macedonia!
      The artificially "Bulgarianized" non-Bulgarian impostor-politician Mr Krasimir Karakachanov is the demented leader of the anti-Macedonian impostor organization, the so-called "Bulgarian" VMRO!!! Not too long ago, this guy (would you believe) had tabled a draft declaration in the artificial 'Bulgarian' parliament stipulating that "corrections in the Macedonian history schoolbooks needed to be made which would omit qualifications on the 'Bulgarian' occupation during World War II"!!!
      Reply: "Hold it right there Pal! The Republic of Macedonia, unlike the artificial state of 'Bulgaria', is not in the business of falsifying history and adopting other peoples’ names!!! We tell it as it is and how it was!"
      The declaration read: "removing ideology from the textbooks in order to get rid of the falsified facts about the national character of the historic persons belonging to the Bulgarian majority in the population that lived in the area of Macedonia in 1944"!!!
      Stop falsifying history buddy! There were very few, and hardly are, "any" artificially "Bulgarianized" non-Bulgarians (like yourself) in Macedonia! Your alleged "Bulgarian" majority was, and in actual fact "is" the ethnic "Macedonian majority"!!! This, of course, you know very well but can't and don't want to admit!

      In the 1994 Council of Europe supervised national Census of The Republic of Macedonia a mere 1.81% ("Others") of its approximate 2 million citizens (34,960 people) were comprised of; Croatians, artificially "Bulgarianized" non-Bulgarians, Czechs, Slovaks, Russians, Romanians, artificially "Ellenized" non-Greeks, Ukrainians, Poles, Italians and Germans! 
      The demented Krasimir Karakachanov (you see) uses the acronym FYROM when referring to Macedonia, although his artificial 'Bulgarian' nation has officially recognized The Republic of Macedonia by its constitutional name! But wait a minute! Artificial 'Bulgaria' has recognized The Republic of Macedonia by its constitutional name but cunningly has not recognized the Macedonian nation!!!? (Hmmm?! expansionist territorial ambitions?!) Continuing, Mr. Karakachanov proposes from artificial 'Bulgaria' "to impose measures aimed at protecting the Bulgarian minority in Macedonia together with its cultural and historic heritage"! (ha!, this, is already more than adequate!) Instead Mr. Karakachanov should 'propose' from artificial 'Bulgaria' "recognition of the Macedonian ethnic minority in the artificial 'Bulgarian' occupied part of Macedonia along with "their" basic human rights and protection of "their" cultural and historic heritage!!!"
      Another request by Mr. Karakachanov is "forming a commission comprised of European officials tasked to monitor and present annual reports on the progress of the democratization process in FYROM and reform of the repressive special services, inherited by the country from the (former) totalitarian Yugoslav regime"!!! (ha ha ha!!! man, you are full of it!!! Keep making a fool out of yourself!) Yes, this is exactly what the artificial state of 'Bulgaria' needs to implement "for itself" in order to safeguard the rights of its ethnic Macedonian minority!
      Finally Mr. Karakachanov explains that "Macedonia's disrespect of basic human rights" prompted his move! (ha ha ha!!! look who's talking!!!) One wonders how, and why, does this guy have the nerve to speak with such stupidity, especially in light of recent (and ongoing) farcical events whereby the artificial state of 'Bulgaria' is illegally refusing to recognize its ethnic Macedonian minority, their legitimate basic human rights and their legitimate political party - the OMO Ilinden?! The reason why is because artificial 'Bulgaria' is finding itself in a deep identity crisis! Artificially "Bulgarianized" non-Bulgarian Impostor-Politicians and Impostor-Intellectuals are feeling the heat!

By ZAC I -THE FIRST
 

 Words to the Wise

      There is a person in Bulgaria today that goes by the name Bozhidar Dimitrov who recently was paraded by the Bulgarian media as a so called Historian who not only insulted every Macedonian on this planet but in the process may have insulted himself.

      In an attempt to show his loyalty to his beloved Bulgaria, during a recent TV broadcast by the Bulgarian program “Navigator na Zhivo” hosted by Alaksandar Andrev, Dimitrov, representing one of the highest institutions in that State, made the following remarks:

“Macedonians are of an unusually low level of intellect which does not exist in Bulgaria, not even in those who are of the lowest social class”

      I guess Dimitrov does not travel much outside of his small circle in Bulgaria and doesn’t know any Macedonians or the fact that the comments he made are insulting and downright racist, chauvinist and nationalist.

      I am sorry to say this Mr. Dimitrov but I am afraid that your own words betray you. An intellectual of any caliber in today’s world would never make such comments, not even in private, let alone on public television. Your own comments betray you and prove that you are nothing more than an ignorant bigot.

      Besides insulting all the Macedonians you have also insulted all the Macedonists like Dr. Victor Freedman, Dr. Christina Kramer and Dr. Reginald De Bray to name a few, who believe in the Macedonians and have vested interest in them.

      If you truly believe what you say Mr. Dimitrov, you must be a sad soul who understands very little, even about yourself. If you are a historian, even a quasi-historian then you would understand that prior to the 19^th century “Bulgar” was synonymous with “ignorant” and one would expect that you and your cohorts would have some understanding of what it means when the “kettle is calling the pot black”.

      Mr. Dimitrov if you are half the historian you profess to be you will also know that Bulgaria was artificially created during the 19^th century and the so called Bulgarian nationality consists of the ethno-religious groups belonging to the Macedonians, Tatars, Turks, Jews, Armenians, Vlachs and others. Obviously you are not a Jew because you are a Christian Orthodox, you are not a Tatar because you don’t look like one, then you must fall under one of the other categories from which the vast majority are Macedonians, the identity you love to negate that belongs to the autochronous group of people who have lived on those lands since Neolithic times.

      So the next time you feel like insulting the Macedonian people Mr. Dimitov, look in the mirror, you may be one of them.

Risto Stefov

 

The Artificially "Bulgarianized" - Non-Bulgarian - Impostor-Professor From "THE EASTERN BALKAN (BLACK SEA) REPUBLIC", Not 'Bulgaria'!

      Mr Bozhidar Dimitrov is an artificially "Bulgarianized" - non-Bulgarian Impostor-Professor/Historian! He is also the Director of the so-called "Bulgarian" National Museum of History! Mr Dimitrov says he has "written a book on the truth of the so-called Macedonian issue. Copies of the book will be disseminated among MEP's (Members of the European Parliament). I hope that some of our ("Bulgarian") MP's could disseminate the book in the EU Parliament and show the point of view of our country and what the truth is on this issue"! According to him: "....the doctrine on which the Macedonian state was formed is not true...,...1.2million people in the 21st century live in a state and society which is a great deceit,..."!
      Reply: "KEEP WRITING RETARD!!! NO NORMAL PERSON WILL BELIEVE YOUR PROPAGANDA!!!"
      Claims made by Mr Dimitrov and the modern, artificial state of so-called "Bulgaria" are flawed and contradictory! To begin with, the "Eastern Balkan (Black Sea) Republic", (which in reality is NOT "Bulgaria") has a long and well known track record throughout the whole of Europe of being a "forger", not only of Macedonian history (as does artificial 'Greece') but also of all kinds of documents! Artificial 'Bulgarian' institutions have forged diplomas, passports and all kinds of documents! Artificially 'Bulgarianized' - non-Bulgarian agents, too, have been implicated in the assassination attempt of the late Pope John Paul II in 1981. (Already, what credibility does this forged country have?!) 
      The descendants of the Ancient Macedonians were already living in all of (geographical) Macedonia and speaking their Slav language long before the first Bulgar khans with their Turko-Mongolian hoards arrived and settled in 'neighbouring' Thrace at approximately 670 AD! The (indigenous) Thracians, like the neighbouring (indigenous) Macedonians, were proto-Slavs! Both Thrace and Macedonia at the time were ruled by the (multi-cultural) Byzantine Empire (NOT GREECE!) The Turko-Mongolian Bulgars (whom belonged to the yellow race) came with armies to the Balkans, they were small in numbers, around 15,000 soldiers. It is well known that they never built up their populations. They remained a small minority, even in the 'west' of Thrace where they supposedly existed. Evidence shows that the numerically inferior Bulgars became assimilated into the larger indigenous Slav speaking population of Thrace and adopted their Slav language and culture!!! Apart from the indigenous proto-Slavic Thracians, the population of Thrace, around this time, likewise contained proto-Slavic Anti, some 'north of the Danube Slavs', Vlachs, Gypsies, Armenians and others.
      In the beginning, well equipped armies of the numerically inferior Turko-Mongolian Bulgars frequently raided and temporarily occupied Macedonian lands to the south-east and east of the country (seldom the north). They, however, never managed to obtain a permanent grip on these lands.
      In the 9th century AD, it was the Macedonian brothers Kiril and Metodi from Solun (today in the modern artificial 'Greek' occupied part of Macedonia) whom enlightened "all" the people of 'Thrace'! It is paradoxical that the numerically inferior Bulgars, a Turko-Mongolian people, whom eventually became assimilated in the larger Slavic speaking population of Thrace and who adopted Slavic language and customs, took a significant role in standardizing Slavic writing!!!
      The modern, artificial state of so-called "Bulgaria" was hastily created by the 19th century (Cold Blooded) Great Western Powers of Europe at a stroke of a pen in 1878 purely for political and strategic purposes which suited their own agendas! It was intentionally given a non-Balkan/anti-Slavic name! In 1913 approximately 10% of Macedonia was illegally annexed by artificial 'Bulgaria'. In artificial 'Bulgaria' today there live Slavs and Thracians (whom don't even know they are!), Macedonians (whom are deliberately not recognized) Vlachs, Turks, Gypsies, Armenians, Tatars and others. The modern Tatars are related to the former Turko-Mongols! 
      Artificially "Bulgarianized" - non-Bulgarian and artificially "Ellinized" - non-Greek impostor- professors and historians have, over the years, written more propaganda books trying to disprove Macedonia's history and the Macedonian people's identity than they have on their own artificially created states, false histories and questionable identities!
      On the occasion of the launch of the new encyclopedia of The Republic of Macedonia, where the Artificial "Bulgarian" occupied part of Macedonia is shown as being a 'part' of 'Macedonia', Mr Dimitrov replied: "The only reaction, that the new Macedonian encyclopedia causes in me is laughter!"
      Reply: "KEEP LAUGHING BUDDY!!! THE MENTAL HOSPITAL IS NOT FAR AWAY!!!"
     The 'artificially Bulgarianized' - non-Bulgarian impostor-professor goes on...."Macedonia has never been a geographical integrity, as the book reads." Reply: "YOU ARE WRONG AGAIN PAL! THIS IS THE 3rd TIME MACEDONIA HAS BEEN A COUNTRY!!!"

Furthermore.....
      Towards the end of 1944, artificial Bulgaria had accepted that the Macedonians (in the artificial 'Bulgarian' occupied part of Macedonia) were a distinct nationality and should be given substantial administrative and cultural autonomy. Macedonian schools were established and Macedonian teachers arrived from the Socialist Republic of Macedonia (then part of a federal Yugoslavia).
      Artificial Bulgaria recognized a distinct Macedonian nationality in the census of 1946 which recorded that 70% of the people in Pirin Macedonia were Macedonians.
      The artificially "Bulgarianized" non-Bulgarian Communist Party had decided that Pirin Macedonia would be tied to Vardar Macedonia in a Balkan Socialist Federal Scheme, and the Macedonian language, literature and history would be taught in Pirin Macedonia. Even the development of the Macedonian national consciousness in the people living in that region had been encouraged for almost a decade. The Yugoslav- Artificial 'Bulgarian' initiative was tried but failed.
      The Tito-Stalin dispute was another turning point in the developments affecting Macedonia. Tito broke away from the Soviet sphere of influence in June 1948 and the artificially "Bulgarianized" non-Bulgarian Communist Leader Dimitrov died in 1949.
      The artificial 'Bulgarian' census of 1956 recorded that there were 187,789 Macedonians who constituted 63.7% of the population of Pirin Macedonia.
      The artificial "Bulgarian" policy towards Macedonia and the Macedonians was soon to completely change! Not long after, all the recently opened Macedonian schools were to be closed and the teachers sent packing back to artificial Yugoslavia!
      In 1959 artificial 'Bulgaria' officially declared that it did not recognize a distinct Macedonian identity, also claiming that the Socialist Republic of Macedonia was not the republic of the Macedonians but an artificial, politically manufactured creation structured by Tito and the Communist Party of Yugoslavia! (This of course suited artificial Greece just fine! Artificial Greece also applied this rhetoric when it suited their political needs!)
      The artificial 'Bulgarian' census of 1965 officially declared that there were only 9,632 Macedonians in artificial 'Bulgaria'! (WAS THIS RIGGED OR WHAT!!!)
     Artificial 'Bulgarian' policy is aimed at slowly assimilating its Macedonian minority. Artificial Greece at times labeled the Macedonians in (the then) Socialist Republic of Macedonia as (artificial) Bulgarians! This in the hope that some day artificial Bulgaria would lay a claim to that republic!
      In the artificial 'Bulgarian' census of 1985, the Macedonians, Turks and other minorities in artificial 'Bulgaria' were recorded as (artificial) "Bulgarians"!
      Although in January 1992 artificial 'Bulgaria' was the first country to recognize the independence of The Republic of Macedonia under its constitutional name, it did not recognize the Macedonian nation and/or ethnicity!
     It is not at all surprising, therefore, that the artificial 'Bulgarian' government and the artificially "Bulgarianized" - non-Bulgarian impostor-professor Mr Bozhidar Dimitrov continue to refuse to recognize the ethnic Macedonian minority in artificial 'Bulgaria'! Artificial Bulgaria's denial and constant infringement on the ethnic Macedonian people's basic human rights is in itself a blatant violation of International Human Rights Conventions! Macedonian celebrations on historical dates are regularly blocked by government authorities, if need be, with security and military forces. Macedonian organizations, the likes of OMO-ILINDEN continue to be the subject of oppression.
      Artificial Bulgaria should not have been allowed entry into NATO and the EU until they had recognized the ethnic Macedonian minority. (as well as other groups there) Macedonians throughout the world will continue to assist them in their struggle until this has been achieved!
      The "real" (numerically inferior) Bulgarians were Turko-Mongols and belonged to the yellow, not the white race! The Turko-Mongols are relatives of the modern Tatars! As mentioned, today's artificially "Bulgarianized" non-Bulgarians (i.e. the population of artificial Bulgaria) belong to a variety of ethnicities! The biggest problem facing the artificially "Bulgarianized" - non-Bulgarian impostor-professor is to try to explain how the majority white race descended from a small population of the yellow race!!! (for the record, Macedonian genes are ancient/proto-Slavic with no Turko-Mongolian yoke!)
     Macedonian stories and folk songs praise and embrace the likes of Philip II, Alexander The Great, Tsar Samoil, etc. They don't praise and embrace the likes of Khan's Presian, Boris, Simeon, Petar, Kaloyan, Shishman and others!!!
      The Holy Bible mentions Macedonia! There is no mention of B.S.garia!!!
Bozhidar Dimitrov;  b>v. Bulgar > Vulgar (Vulgar is what I think of your laugh!)
Bo-zh-i-dar: Bo-zh > '(zhi)vo-zh(e)'/the living zeus, dar>gift. "Gift of the 'living' Zeus" (God no!) Di-mi: Di>zeus, mi>my. "Zeus my". 
      So, Mr Bozhidar Dimitrov, the artificially "Bulgarianized" - non-Bulgarian Impostor-Professor, not only has history all confused, but also has a Slavic name! His DNA too is not of Turko-Mongolian origin! This guy's got no credibility!

By ZAC I -THE FIRST

Concerns

Dear Honourable Prime Minister Stephen Harper;

      The Liberals have accused Prime Minister Harper of insulting Greeks and are demanding a public apology yet they ignore racism within their own party.

      In an interview with the Globe & Mail dated September 21st, 2007.  Liberal M.P. Jim Karygiannis committed a hate crime against the Macedonian community when he called them "Skopjans".  This term is so offensive, it is like calling someone of Italian descent "wops" or coloured people "niggers".

      The Liberal party has proven once again to be unethical and will do and say anything to gain power.  I cannot tolerate and allow such an unjustified attack on our Prime Minister.  A true Leader doesn't always go along with the "power-lusting" lobby groups and will stand tall and fight those who perpetrate human rights abuses against the innocent and vulnerable.

      My fellow Canadians and I see the Liberals for who they truly are.  We will stand by you and your party.

Sincerely yours

Z. P.

Letter from: John L.N. Bitove, C.M.

To: President and Prime Minister of Macedonia

February 12, 2008

Sent via email: natasas@president.gov.mk

Sent via email: martin.protoger@primeminister.gov.mk

Dear Mr. President and Mr. Prime Minister

      As you are aware, I have dedicated a large part of my life to the Macedonian cause.  Financially and physically I have been committed to doing whatever is required for Macedonians to be able to enjoy freedom and prosperity in their country, with a name chosen by its citizens.

      I am writing this letter out of my concern that people like former Foreign Minister Denko Maleski and others are trying to influence you and other prominent Macedonians to give in to the unjust demands of the Greek government.

      I was there when Mr. Maleski worked extremely hard trying to convince the President, myself and others that we should not proceed with our independence, but instead we should remain associated with Serbia.  He told us we could NEVER achieve true independence.  Despite his protestations, we did, and every citizen of Macedonia is better off for it.

     Now Mr. Maleski is saying we must give in to the Greeks on the issue of our name.  This is not an option.  We have fought oppression and unwanted influence our whole lives.  We have succeeded most of the way.  Now we must get to the finish line and allow Macedonians to live under the name freely chosen by its citizens.  People like Mr. Maleski and others can not take away what we are most proud of – our own independent country with the freedoms that have earned and a name chosen by Macedonians.

      I do not have to recount history for you and restate the injustices, oppression and maltreatment forced upon Macedonians for many, many years.  It is sufficient to say that we have survived and we want the world to know about our great country.

      My parents, grandparents and relatives, many of which were forced to flee their homeland, were so proud of what this little nation has accomplished in the last 15 years.  Simply being able to look at their homeland and knowing that their children, grandchildren and generations to follow will be able to identify a country as “their” place would surely make them smile from the heavens above.

      Macedonia is for Macedonians!  The Republic of Macedonia is the chosen name of the Macedonian people!

      As for NATO, I believe this is just politics, but if they are serious about not allowing our Republic to join the organization – shame on them!  It will clearly show that we were not respected by them in the first place.  But I truly do not believe this to be the case.  We are strategically located, but more importantly, we are fiercely loyal and NATO leaders know that.  We will be welcomed with open arms!

      Macedonia now has an honest progressive Premier and an honest and progressive President.  As it continues to put the historical problems such as corruption behind it will be welcomed by its friendly European neighbours.  These neighbours will support Macedonia and together they will be stronger.

      I am also confident that the global superpowers – USA, Russia, China, etc. will lend their support - not just moral, but hopefully through investment and foreign aid.

      Macedonians have fought long and hard for their right to independence and to name their country.  Globally we are known as Macedonia!  Please do not give in!  Let’s ensure we achieve our final step on the path to total independence.

Yours truly,

John L.N. Bitove, C.M.

JLNB/lb

Attention Peeter Kopvillem, Executive Editor, Overseas World Issues
             Tony Keller, Managing Editor, Oversees Educational Issues
Sirs,

     The following is very controversial and may initiate flak by some and opposition from others but nevertheless based on historical and scientific facts.  The prime issue is, are our public educational institutions teaching material which is known not to be factual and are they then inadvertently promoting the propaganda of just a few.
     As a nation we abhor any suggestion that our native people were Canadians before becoming a nation.  Yet, most of us accept many false premises created by the western European monarchs of the 18th century when they created Greece.   Many facts which were well documented long before Greece became a nation were then either deliberately destroyed or lost to further enhance their creation.
     As a retired teaching specialist, former president of the Ontario Educational Association (Technical Section) and founder of the Canadian Macedonian Historical Society (www.macedonianhistory.ca), my primary concern is;  the integrity of our teaching profession, the validity and relevance of material presented and as a Canadian what image do we create in the minds of some minorities, many of whom  had to stand up to an oppressive world
relative to their own identity.
     Should you chose to follow up on the above, the Canadian Macedonian Historical Society will be made available to you and your associates.  We have a library which is known worldwide as one of the best historical resources on Macedonian history and identity.   To this we may also add associates who are most willing to assist such as professionals, teachers, writers, historians and professors in Canada and the U.S., and by e-mail from Australia, parts of Europe, and even the office of the president of the Republic of Macedonia may be available to you and your associates should you initiate a thorough follow up on what we have initiated.
 
Most respectfully,
Pete James Kondoff
pkondoff1@sympatico.ca

NIMITZ MUST RESIGN!

      (The Republic of Macedonia should pull out of the farcical UN mediated so-called 'Macedonia' name issue!)
       Recently, kanal 5 (Macedonian) T.V reported that the United Nations mediator, Mathew Nimitz (the indirect Godfather) is planning a so-called "Triple Formula" for Macedonia's name! (despite the fact that some 120 countries have recognized  "The Republic of Macedonia" by its constitutional name including 3/5 of the permanent members of the UN! The other 2/5, including France haven't and won't because they purposely and artificially created the expanding, "Southern Balkan (Mediterranean) Republic" - anti-Slav - buffer state of 'Artificial Greece' from 1829 to the detriment of Macedonia to cunningly suit their own selfish political and economic agendas! The UN itself is a laughing stock and needs to be dismantled and reformed!)
Under the plans, Macedonia will use its constitutional name at home and for bilateral relations with countries that have already recognized it, "another name acceptable to (artificial) Athens for relations with (artificial) Greece", and "a third mutually acceptable name for multilateral use in international institutions"! (acceptable to 'Artificial Greece', England-Great Britain and France?!)
-Diplomats say that the third name will be "most crucial" for Skopje and speculate it could be "Republika Makedonija", the Macedonian translation of "The Republic of Macedonia". Reply: This alone is not good enough! "Republika Makedonija" would have to be used together, alongside "Republic of Macedonia" to make sure the 'artificially Ellinized' non-'Greeks' don't steal and manipulate our identity and history, having already stolen 51% of our territory and population! Otherwise, this will enable them to argue down the track that "Republika Makedonija" is the 'Slavic Macedonia'! and they and Alexander The Great are the so-called "Greek Macedonians"! Cunning rats! If enforced, the above proposal would also have to apply to 'Artificial Greece' or 'Artificial Hellas', in that their 'names' too would have to be written in the bastardized 'Koine' language (not Greek!), a language that no one else understands!
Mr Nimitz you forgot something! What about 'Artificial Greece's' side of the bargain?
Their illegally annexed northern province would have to be re-named to accommodate the Republic of Macedonia! Possible names could be: "New Territories", Northern 'Artificial Greece', "New Asia Minor" or "Fake Makedhonia". Although I don't entirely agree with it, "The 'Artificial Greek' province of New Macedonia" may be a concession that the Republic of Macedonia could make to 'Artificial Greece' to refer to their illegally annexed province?! (If they don't like it they can always hand the land back to the Republic of Macedonia). 
      RE: "another name acceptable to (artificial) Athens for relations with (artificial) Greece" (eg. "Republic of Macedonia - Skopje" written in Cyrillic). Reply: Mr Nimitz the artificially created "Southern Balkan (Mediterranean) Republic" is not 'Argaea/'Greece'! It is not a continuation of the pre-historic proto-Slavic Pelasgian Argaea! (See previous Macedonian Digests!) Rather, The Republic of Macedonia Mr Nimitz would need another acceptable name (not "Greece") for its relations with the artificially created "Southern Balkan (Mediterranean) Republic)! "Arvanovlachia" (written in 'bastardized koine', not "Greek" could be a suitable name. The population is predominantly comprised of Albanians and Vlachs, many whom have been "artificially Ellinized"! (Pelasgian Argaean/Greek was a proto-Slavic language! Koine was a later hybrid language!) Why should we Macedonians have to address these people as 'Greeks' (whom they're not) and they can call us anything bar Macedonian?
      Mr Nimitz what about the ethnic Macedonian minority in 'Northern Artificial Greece' and 'Artificial Greece' proper ("Arvanovlachia")? Why weren't they? And why haven't they been officially recognized with full rights and privileges by the 'Artificial Greek' state, ever since they were illegally incorporated in 1913? What will happen to them? What label are you going to give them? 
      Mr Nimitz, the reality is that your "Triple Formula" doesn't go far enough and only benefits the 'artificially Ellinized' non-'Greeks' (the 'Arvanovlachs') of the "Southern Balkan (Mediterranean) Republic" (not Greece). It is not good enough for the Macedonians everywhere and the Republic of Macedonia.
      Mr Nimitz if the UN wants to be seen as having any credibility they should put a vote on this one sided issue. Macedonia has no problem with its own name. If England/Great Britain and France are serious they will abstain. Then again, who are the UN to determine who we are?!
 
By Igor D.

Choices

Here is a letter I sent to Secretary Rice

Dear Secretary of State Rice,

      I am a professor of Slavic languages and literature, and I have studied and taught in a number of Eastern European countries over the forty years of my professional career. And in my experience there is no greater absurdity in Eastern European politics than the demand by Greece that the Macedonian people relinquish their name and ethnic identity, expressed through their language and culture. I would hope that you might ask the foreign minister of Greece in your upcoming meeting, why the Greek nation has such an irrational fear of a people numbering less than two million, with an army of a few thousand, and virtually no means to pose a threat, militarily, socially, economically or culturally to Greece. Why can't that prosperous, stable, NATO and EU member nation treat the cultural differences between their two peoples as the minor affair it ought to be? Do we see the English screaming for Welsh blood because that people voted some years back for national autonomy and a return of their identity expressed through the Welsh language and culture? I urge you to ask the Greek political leadership to "grow up". They whine and cry about the Macedonian decision to name airports and the like after ancient Macedonian cultural heroes. Where is the harm in that? The chief port city of Egypt is ancient Alexandria. Do the Greeks also intend to insist that the Egyptians rename their ancient seaport because it infringes on the Greek claim to sole ownership of all things of ancient Macedonian origin? There are numerous examples of childish Greek behavior encouraged by the absurd Greek foreign policy in relation to Macedonia. Greek beauty pageant contestants try to rip the name sashes off Macedonian contestants. The Greek Orthodox Church refuses to allow Macedonian Orthodox church leaders to show respect for a fellow Orthodox Church leader in Greece by attendance at his funeral. It is time for you to give the Greek political leadership a stern lecture and warning that such childish behavior will not be tolerated. It is time that they were also warned that human rights violations by the official Greek state against Greek citizens of the minority Macedonian ethnic community will have consequences. It is high time that the Greek political leadership cease their campaign to deny their Macedonian neighbors their ethnic identity. And you, Secretary of State Rice, are the person in the right place at the right time to make that perfectly clear to your Greek colleagues in your upcoming meeting.

Dr. Michael Seraphinoff

Dear Secretary of State Rice,

      I understand that you will be meeting with Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis on February 14, 2008 to discuss various issues regarding USA-Greek relations and Greece’s objection to the Republic of Macedonia’s name.  As a concerned Macedonian-American, I encourage you to reiterate to Ms. Bakoyannis that the United States recognized Macedonia by its constitutional name and supports its NATO admission in 2008. 

      As a Macedonian from Greece, I would also like to remind you that Greece has yet to recognize the ethnic Macedonians living on its soil. There are Macedonian people living in Greece today who have no human rights not even the most basic right to call themselves Macedonian or speak their Macedonian mother tongue. I believe Greece has more important issues to deal with, like recognizing its own minorities at home, instead of making absurd demands that the Macedonian people relinquish their name and ethnic identity. And you, Secretary of State Rice, are the person in the right place at the right time to make that perfectly clear to your Greek colleagues in your upcoming meeting.

      Thank you for taking the time to review my concerns.

Sincerely,

Risto Stefov

February 5, 2008

Dusan Sinadinoski

21286 Venice Dr.

Macomb, MI 48044

Dr. Condoleezza Rice

Secretary of State

Washington DC 20520

Dear Madam Secretary,

      A few years ago I had a rare opportunity to meet you at a White House reception honoring NATO’s membership of Bulgaria and Romania.  “We’ll keep the lights on for Macedonia” were your words to me, and they are still resounding in my thoughts. I hope that a few months from now I will be able to come to White House again, this time honoring the Republic of Macedonia as one of NATO’s newest member. 

      The Macedonian American community is very concerned by the attempts of the Greek government to veto Macedonia’s membership in NATO. Ever since the break-up of Yugoslavia, Greece has been exerting political, economic and diplomatic pressure on the Republic of Macedonia to give up its constitutional name in exchange for a membership to the United Nations, European Union and NATO.  In addition, Greece has been consistently pursuing a policy of discrimination and human rights violations of Macedonians not experienced in the West since the end of World War II.

      While Macedonia has played a constructive and positive role in maintaining peace and stability in the Balkans, and has also contributed to the war against terror in Iraq and Afghanistan, Greece has been pursuing a policy of bullying and intimidation which is greatly increasing the tension and a chance of instability in the Balkans. It seems only reasonable to believe that the international community has the right to expect a higher standard of political behavior from its mature members such as Greece. 

      The Macedonian American community hopes that your upcoming meeting with your counterpart from the Greek Government, Dora Bakoyianni, will contribute toward peace and stability in the Balkans. Our hopes rest in you. We strongly believe that in Bucharest this April the Republic of Macedonia will receive an invitation to join NATO.    

Very truly yours,

Dusan Sinadinoski

                     Kole Mangov                     

                     Jane Sandanski 87/2-8, 1000  Skopje

   Republic of  Macedonia

                     Tel & fax: +389 2 2448204

                     E-mail: dignity@sonet.net.mk

THE HONORABLE CONDOLEEZZA RICE

US Secretary of State

WASHINGTON D.C.

                                                                                                   12 February 2008

Your Excellency,

      After the 1997 Annual report of the State Department on Human Rights, I addressed the United States Secretary of State, Ms. Madeleine Albright with a letter dated 26 February 1998 concerning the “reference” “former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.” (FYROM), adopted in the UN in 1993. I sent  my letter to the United States Secretary-General Mr. Kofi Annan, too. Mr. Kofi Annan apologized for using the “reference” FYROM in the daily newspaper Nova Makedonija dated 10 March 1998. The Deputy Secretary of State of Ms. Madeleine Albright uttered Republic of Macedonia a few times in his lecture in the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts around 20 March the same year. The USA names the Republic of Macedonia with its constitutional name since 2004.

      For the President of the Republic of Macedonia Branko Crvenkovski as reported in the Greek newspaper Katemerini FYROM is a humiliating coinage, which was also reported in the Macedonian daily newspaper Utrinski dated 4 June 2006 – violation of Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).

      It is entirely clear to me that Greece leads unmilitary aggression for destruction of Macedonia and the Macedonian nation. I have been directed towards international activity in order to protect from the aggression – for equality of the Macedonians with “all members of the human family” (paragraph 1 of UDHR).  The Greek aggression excludes us Macedonians from enjoying our rights and freedoms of the UDHR. It violates our right to be “equal in our dignity and  our rights with all human beings” (article 1 of UDHR).

      The Greek aggression excludes us from enjoying “all rights and freedoms declared” in the UDHR (Article 2 of UDHR).

      Every Macedonian can be “subjected” to a “degrading treatment” because of the Greek aggression (Article 5 of UDHR).

      Greece and the Greeks attack our ‘honor and reputation” (Article 12 of UDHR)

Greece and the Greeks violate our right to “freedom of opinion and expression” (Article 19 of UDHR).

      Greek aggression excludes us from “international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in the Declaration can be fully realized.” (Article 28 of UDHR).

The main objective of the Greek aggression is adoption of the Macedonian ancient history, of our Alexander Macedonian from Macedonian history and Macedonian folk tales.

I am Kole Mangov. I am not Nikolaos Mangos as I was registered in the General Register Office in my Banica, renamed into Vevi, as all settlements and all Macedonians were renamed after the Greek occupation of a part of Macedonia. This model of renaming is applied to the name of the Republic of Macedonia, also.

      After our exile as Macedonians from 1945 to 1949, Greece excluded us from visiting our birth places. After certain international activities of mine, since 1997 Greece has allowed visit of our birth places. I should expect to be banned to visit my birth after this letter place.

      I would like to express my gratitude to You Ms. Condoleezza Rice.

Sincerely Yours,

Kole Mangov

UMD Sends Letter to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Regarding Greece

      Last week, UMD sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urging her to reiterate America’s recognition of Macedonia’s constitutional name, support for Macedonia’s NATO admission, and position that the “name dispute” between Greece and Macedonia is immaterial to Macedonia’s NATO bid during her upcoming meeting with the Greek Foreign Minister on February 14, 2008.

Dear Secretary Rice:

      The United Macedonian Diaspora (UMD) urges you to reiterate America’s recognition of Macedonia’s constitutional name, support for Macedonia’s NATO admission, and position that the “name dispute” between Greece and Macedonia is immaterial to Macedonia’s NATO bid during your upcoming meeting with the Greek Foreign Minister on February 14, 2008.
      The United States of America, as well as NATO members Turkey, Bulgaria, the United Kingdom, Poland, Romania, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, and Canada, and approximately 120 other nations, including China and Russia, all recognize Macedonia by its constitutional name.
      In keeping with its petulant stance towards Macedonia, Greece promises a veto of Macedonia’s NATO bid unless Macedonia capitulates to Greece in the “dispute.”  A veto of Macedonia’s NATO admission on such a scurrilous basis is contrary to American and NATO interests, will diminish NATO’s prestige in southeastern Europe, and will impede regional stability.  
      America does not have one ally in southeastern Europe but several and neither American nor NATO interests can be advanced in the area without Macedonia in NATO.  Every state in the Balkans is crucial to regional stability and any claim that one state is more important than another in securing such stability is dangerous and naïve.   Macedonia’s admission to NATO, along with its fellow candidates Croatia and Albania, will further integrate southeastern Europe with NATO and will enable the maintenance of lasting regional peace.  
      Macedonia has been and is at the forefront of NATO efforts in the Balkans and has earned its place in NATO.  Macedonia served as the key staging area for NATO’s 1999 Kosovo intervention and provided refuge to hundreds of thousands of Kosovars during said intervention.  Macedonian forces are now deployed alongside American troops in American-led efforts in Iraq and in NATO operations in Afghanistan; Macedonia is also home to logistical support operations for KFOR forces in Kosovo and is participating in international missions in Bosnia and Lebanon.

Macedonian soldiers have proudly served, and some have even lost their lives, for the advancement of peace, stability and freedom in NATO and other international missions.  Most importantly, Macedonia enacted and implemented the necessary reforms required for NATO membership.  Macedonia’s military is a professional all-volunteer force equipped with the latest military technology that meets or exceeds NATO standards and is ready for rapid deployment.  
      On the political front, in an amazingly short time Macedonia has risen from the failed communist country of Yugoslavia to an independent democratic nation.  Macedonia’s meteoric progress even caused U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Macedonia Gillian Milovanovic and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Kurt D. Volker to refer to Macedonia as an “exporter of security” around the world.
      In setting forth American policy regarding Macedonia’s potential NATO membership, Undersecretary of State, Nicholas Burns asserted in testimony before the Subcommittee on Europe of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs on November 14, 2007 that Greece cannot veto Macedonia’s accession to NATO or any international organization as long as Macedonia joins under the Provisional Reference, and that Macedonia’s NATO admission must be based on the merits of its application and not the “dispute” with Greece.  It is quite clear that America does not view Greece as Macedonia’s “passport” to NATO.  
      American policy on Macedonia’s NATO admission is in alignment with Article 11 of the Interim Accord, which bars Greece from impeding Macedonia’s accession to international bodies, including NATO, as long as Macedonia accedes under the Provisional Reference.  A veto of Macedonia’s NATO admission based on Greece’s objection to Macedonia’s name would nullify the Interim Accord.  Such a pernicious outcome is contrary to American and NATO interests as the final status of Kosovo looms over the region.
      As you know, Greece instigated the “dispute” over Macedonia’s name in 1991.  The 1995 Interim Accord between Macedonia and Greece normalized relations, ended an illegal Greek trade embargo, and allowed Macedonia’s admission to the United Nations under the provisional reference term, “The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” (the “Provisional Reference”).  
      Macedonia has made several concessions since 1991 and simply cannot be asked to concede more.  Macedonia changed its flag, amended its constitution, agreed to the Provisional Reference, and even proposed a “Double Formula” to resolve the “dispute” under which the international community would use Macedonia’s real name and Greece would use its own term for bilateral relations.  In recent weeks, Macedonia again assured Greece that it does not harbor territorial claims against Greece and proposed a joint declaration by both nations affirming their commitment for neighborly relations.  The proposed declaration also called for the formation of a joint Macedonian/Greek commission to examine historical matters with due regard for the sensitivities of both nations.  Macedonia’s most recent efforts, just like all of its past concessions, were rebuffed and belittled by Greece.
      Greece, however, has not made a single compromise to resolve the “dispute.”  Greece rejected the “Double Formula,” will not atone for its illegal embargo, misrepresents the nature of the Provisional Reference by creating a derogatory acronym for referring to Macedonia, and will not forswear territorial claims against Macedonia.  This is most disconcerting given recent irredentist calls by Greek Orthodox Church leaders for the annexation of portions of the Republic of Macedonia to Greece.  While claiming that Greece wants good relations with Macedonia, Greek border police harass Macedonian citizens and refer to them with racial epithets.  Greece will not even allow American citizens who were born in Greece but are ethnic Macedonians to enter Greece and visit their birthplaces.  Greece’s actions belie its disingenuous words and demonstrate which nation is truly “intransigent” in this “dispute.”
      Claims that Greece is now willing to compromise by adding a modifier to the Republic of Macedonia’s name distinguishing it from parts of geographic Macedonia within Greece only reflect Greece’s desire to save face in a diplomatic debacle of its own creation.  Moreover, those other nations that include parts of geographic Macedonia, Albania, Bulgaria, and Serbia, do not object to Macedonia’s name and do not seek any “compound name” for the Republic of Macedonia.
      Some in this nation, along with the Greek government, seek a reversal of America’s recognition of Macedonia’s name.  These groups are advancing baseless claims to American officials including that the proper name for Macedonia is “Vardarska Banovina,” that the communist dictator Tito “invented” Macedonians, and that the Republic of Macedonia cannot use the term “Macedonia.”
      “Vardarska Banovina” is not a proper name for the Republic of Macedonia’s territory.  This term was instituted during the reign of Serbian King Alexander I in the 1929 administrative reorganization of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes.  This reorganization changed 33 “oblasts” (provinces) into 9 “banovinas,” all named after rivers and geographic features, of the newly-named “Kingdom of Yugoslavia.”  If Macedonia is “Vardarska Banovina,” then Croatia is “Sava Banovina,” and Slovenia is “Drava Banovina,” as they were called then.
      Macedonian national consciousness and identity were well established long before Tito was even born, as reflected in the Macedonian revolutionaries working to free Macedonia from Ottoman rule in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and by the descendents of those Macedonians who immigrated to America well before Tito’s communist state was formed.  According to Ellis Island records, approximately 15,000 Macedonians entered the United States of America between 1895 and 1925.  Furthermore, in the 1920 U.S. Census the Macedonian language was one of the options to the principal foreign language question.
      The myth that Tito “invented” the Macedonians seemingly fits with a statement by former Secretary of State Edward R. Stettinius, Jr., regarding Macedonia.  Secretary Stettinius’ statement is understandable given the time in which he served – the beginning of the Cold War and the Greek Civil War.  However, the world today is not the world faced by Secretary Stettinius and those who cite to his statement would truly honor his legacy by encouraging Macedonia and Greece to work within the UN framework that he worked to build.
      Finally, some claim it is improper for a country that is part of a geographic region to define itself in an official manner as representing the whole region; therefore, no nation can be called the “Republic of Macedonia” or the “United States of America.”  Under this theory, Belgium, which includes a province of Luxembourg, can force its independent neighbor, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, to change its name.  Likewise, all the nations in North, Central and South America should have objections to the name of the United States of America.
      The frenetic arguments against Macedonia’s name and Macedonian identity are best understood as what they truly are:  distractions masking Greece’s mistreatment of its ethnic Macedonian minority.  Greece’s horrendous treatment of its minorities, including Macedonians, Albanians, Roma, and Turks, is well documented by such bodies as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the Greek Helsinki Monitor, and the State Department.  The European Court of Human Rights has even entered judgments against Greece for denying human and civil rights to ethnic Macedonians in Greece.
      Greece can redeem itself by recognizing the Republic of Macedonia’s name, affording its minorities the human and civil rights that all people deserve, and by welcoming the Republic of Macedonia into NATO.
      Again, UMD urges you to clearly inform the Greek Foreign Minister that (1) the United States of America recognizes the Republic of Macedonia by its constitutional name, (2) the United States of America supports the Republic of Macedonia’s NATO membership, and (3) a resolution of the “name dispute” between Greece and the Republic of Macedonia is not a condition for Macedonia’s NATO accession.
      Thank you for taking the time to consider UMD’s concerns and for your service to our great nation and to the American people.

Sincerely,
Metodija A. Koloski
President

cc:    Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte
Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs R. Nicholas Burns
Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia Daniel Fried
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Kurt Volker
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia Matthew Bryza
Director of Southern European Affairs Kathy Fitzpatrick
U.S. Ambassador to NATO
U.S. Ambassador to Macedonia
U.S. Ambassador to Greece
Macedonian Desk Officer
Greek Desk Officer
Congressional Leadership

4 February 2008

Dr Condoleezza Rice

Secretary of State

United States of America

2201 C Street NW

Washington, DC 20520

Dear Dr Rice,

      My name is Pavlos Voskopoulos and I am a member of the European Free Alliance – Rainbow, the political party of the ethnic Macedonian minority of Greece.

      I am writing to you in relation to the so-called “name dispute” between our country, Greece and the neighbouring country, the Republic of Macedonia.

      While we are not the direct subject of those discussions and wish not to act as a “spokesperson” for the Republic of Macedonia, we feel obliged to say a few words on the issue. The denial by the Greek state of the right of a neighbouring people and state to be called by the name which it has chosen for itself indirectly influences our Macedonian identity.

      As members of the ethnic Macedonian minority of Greece, we feel it is of crucial importance for our continued existence that our national identity and distinctiveness is respected. We believe that we too should be able to freely choose our identity, to enjoy that right and to be respected. If Macedonian identity is denied generally, then so is the case with our own identity. Unfortunately such a denial is being done by the state which we are citizens of. The right to self-determination and choosing one’s own identity is based on universal principles of respect for human and minority rights.

      As you are aware now the Greek state denies the existence of a Macedonian minority within its borders. Moreover, in line with Greek nationalist ideology, successive Greek governments have failed to acknowledge the existence of a distinct Macedonian ethnic identity and Macedonian language.

      We believe in order to have a lasting peace, good neighbourly relations and solidarity between the Balkan countries, the larger nation-states, specifically, Serbia, Greece and Bulgaria, must finally come to terms with the right of the Macedonian people to full self-determination, respecting at the same time the rights of the ethnic Macedonian minorities within their borders. At the same time, the minorities in the Balkans should reject to be instruments for irredentist policies of states, which unfortunately was the case in the last decades with the wars in the former Yugoslavia.

      It is true that when the international community constituted that there were violations of basic human rights in the wars in Bosnia and Hercegovina, and Kosovo, it decisively took action and intervened by military means with UN consent. The purpose of this intervention was to protect the local population, to stabilise the region and also to teach a ‘lesson’ to the totalitarian and undemocratic regime as was the Milosevic regime in the former Yugoslavia.

      In the case of the Macedonian question we feel that the international community can (in this context, the UN too) play a key role when it comes to peace, stability and the future of the region. Greek policy, unfortunately, in the last decade or so, has been extremely destabilising in the Balkan region, firstly by giving support to the Milosevic regime in the 1990s and secondly by denying the right of is neighbouring country, the Republic of Macedonia and people to choose its own name, i.e. its identity.

      Such behaviour, luckily, has not had any negative consequences in relation to the cohesion and stability of the Republic of Macedonia, thanks to the support of the international community towards this relatively young state. However it is a fact that Greek policy indirectly in the last 15-20 years was an ‘obstacle’ on the road of the Republic of Macedonia to European and world integration.

     In this context, we trust that the international community will not make the mistake of supporting aggressive Balkan nationalisms, specifically in this case Greek nationalism, by denying Macedonian identity. We know that this state antagonism at the beginning of the last century together with the denial of Macedonian identity by the Balkan states ‘fed’ this antagonism for the purpose of territorial expansion of the Balkan states at the time. Unfortunately, the international community back them did not respect the will of the Macedonian people for national and state emancipation which would have resulted in the formation of a Macedonian state with a separate ethnic and national identity. As a consequence of those Balkan policies there was much hardship and suffering occurred, as documented and described by international reports such the Carnegie Commission. We sincerely hope that history will not be repeated.

      For these reasons, we believe that the international community should finally send a clear political message in relation the existing negative position of our state, Greece, regarding the Republic of Macedonia. We believe that such this will assist in the task of beginning a progressive ideological reform of the Greek state and indeed of Greek society, which are essential in order to make Greek policy in the region positive and constructive. This is particular importance for the peace and stability of our region, especially given that the “Yugoslav crisis” is coming to an end with the imminent decision on the future status of Kosovo.

      We believe that the United States has made a significant contribution towards achieving stability in our region. In this connection we trust that you will once again play a positive role in the so-called “name dispute” and on the issue of recognition of the Macedonian minority of Greece.

      We have attached a number of documents which we strongly urge you to read prior to your upcoming meeting with our Foreign Minister, Dora Bakoyanni. In particular, we encourage you to examine our most recent letter to Mr Nimetz (5 November 2007) which exposes the fundamental flaws in the Greek position.

Please find enclosed:

•Letter to Mr Matthew Nimetz, Special representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations, 5 November 2007.

        Read: http://www.florina.org/html/2007/2007_letter_to_Nimetz_us.html

 •Letter to Carla del Ponte, Chief Prosecutor at the UN International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, July 2005.

        Read: http://www.florina.org/html/2005/2005_del_ponte_letter.html

•The Macedonians of Greece - Denying Ethnic Identity, Human Rights Watch, 1994.

         Read: http://www.hrw.org/reports/pdfs/g/greece/greece945.pdf

•The Hellenic tail must not wag the European dog, Marko Attila Hoare, 31 December 2007.

        Read: http://henryjacksonsociety.org/stories.asp?pageid=49&id=473

      I trust that this is information will be of some use to you and please do not hesitate to contact us for further information.

Yours sincerely,

Pavlos Filipov Voskopoulos

Member of the Political Secretariat

Member of the Bureau of the European Free Alliance – European Political Party

Free Advice

Why not Independent Aegean Macedonia?

      Macedonians can no longer wait for Athens to give us our rights. It is time for us to take matters into our hands just as Kosovo does and declare our independence. Kosovo is on the right track. We the Macedonians from Aegean Macedonia need to take a first step and announce to the world that we can no longer live under the intolerable conditions imposed on us by Greece and we want to separate from Greece but in a peaceful manner. Please let us not beat around the bush and let the world know how we really feel. If Vino Zhito is not willing to take the first step then we will find other Macedonians who will.

Steve 

What is this whole Macedonian issue really about?

      It is about freedom, respect and tolerance as opposed to oppression, disrespect and intolerance. We have gone around and around in circles from 3000 BC to 1912 AD and what have we discovered? We have discovered that the Balkans were one of Europe’s most multi ethnic regions. The Balkans have been the crossroads for many different peoples wanderings some of who have settled and all of whom have left some mark on the character of the modern Balkan people.
      We have also discovered that there was no magic line that separated and insulated Greece from the rest of the Balkans, and consequently modern Greece is as mixed up as anyone else, if not more due to the influx of the Anatolian and Pontian Christians.
      So let’s stop dancing around with Procopius and Fallmareyer. I believe that most of our Greek posters here are men of goodwill and are as brainwashed about their history as we were in the former Yugoslavia. So its simple my southern neighbors, to use one of our posters moniker, whoever we are descendant from we are now Macedonians, just like whoever you are descendent from we acknowledge you as Greeks. Isn’t it about time you afforded us the same respect freedom and tolerance we afford you?

Osiris

Greece an Immigrant Nation?

      Modern Greece is an immigrant nation in the same way that Australia and Canada are. A Bavarian king established a kingdom there in the 1820s and opened it up to immigrants. Modern Greeks are far and away the newest kids in the Balkans -- even though your pretentious mythologies cast you as the descendants of the ancient Greeks.
      As for the Macedonians, they've had 1500 years living together in Macedonia. You do the math.

Maknews

      The ancient Greeks were long ago absorbed into various cultures and identities but traces of the Greek language survived in small communities. Without the utilization of Koine as part of the Eastern Roman Empire the usage of Greek would have been incidental or trivial. It may not have survived at all. This is why Greek was chosen for scientific terminology, because it was a dead language, like Latin and therefore stable and unchanging. It was resurrected by the Bavarians in the 1830s. Your own family 'Greekness' most likely comes after this date.
      The Arvanovlach, Greek-speaking Slavs and various merchant empires (like Venetians and their entourage) are the old 'Greeks'. These are the 'Greeks' the Bavarian monarchy found when it came to the South Balkans to create a 'Hellenic' kingdom, and even these so-called 'Greeks' represented only a fraction of the population.
      In Macedonia the push to impose a 'Greek' or 'Bulgarian' national identity began in earnest after the 1870s when 'Bulgarians' and 'Greeks' were given authority to build churches and schools in Ottoman Macedonia. Greece and Bulgaria used this opportunity to convert the Macedonian population to their nationalist agendas. By 1913, after the partition of Macedonia, a Greek identity became the law in Aegean Macedonia and everyon