The Future of the Macedonian Nation by Risto Stefov

I have said it before and I will say it again, the Greek dispute with the Republic of Macedonia over the name "Macedonia" is nothing more than a ploy, a con, a ruse, to sidestep the real issues; the status of the Macedonian minority in Greece.

Like a crooked politician, Greece is doing everything it can to take attention away from its dismal human rights record and focus on something intangible like the name dispute.

The name dispute for Greece is another excuse to avoid coming clean with the Macedonian people.

What will Greece gain if Macedonia is not called Macedonia?

NOTHING!

Greece already has everything that is Macedonian, the Macedonian heritage, Macedonia's history and 51% of Macedonia's territory.

So, why is Greece complaining?

Greece is cleverly down playing the Greek-Macedonian name dispute and making it look like it is about ancient history.

"Macedonia is Greek from ancient times" is a way of making an issue out of a non-issue. Why should anyone care about such a ridiculous claim?

By doing so Greece is achieving the following objectives;

1. In the eyes of the world, they are down playing the dispute and making it appear trivial,

2. They are drawing our attention away from the real issues,

3. They are putting us on the defensive and forcing a fight for what appears to be a non-issue.

What in fact we should really be doing is asking the following questions;

1. How did Macedonia REALLY become Greek?

2. How did Greece get the Macedonian heritage?

3. How did Greece get Macedonia's history?

4. How did Greece get 51% of Macedonia's territory"?

Greece is afraid that if the answers to these questions become known, then the truth will come out and there will be hell to pay.

So, what can we do to bring our issues with Greece on track?

It is very important to first recognize Greece's tactics and simply not play their game.

We must also bring attention to the following issues and make them our goals. Before we negotiate the name, we must insist that Greece;

1. Recognize the Macedonian minority inside Greece,

2. Grant human rights with full privileges to all minorities living inside Greece,

3. Allow the exiled Macedonian refugee children to return to Greece,

4. Compensate the families whose properties the Greek State confiscated,

5. Allow all Macedonian who were forcibly evicted by the Greek State to return and reclaim their homes and properties,

6. Take responsibility for the atrocities it committed against the Macedonian people during the Balkan Wars and the Greek Civil War.

It is every Macedonian's responsibility to disassociate himself or herself from debating with the Greeks on non-issues and bring the dispute where it really belongs, to the human rights arena.

Everyone concerned, including the international negotiators and mediators, MUST become familiar with the history of how Macedonia became Greek?

1. It is a well documented fact that Greece, in 1912, 1913 during the two Balkan wars, entered and forcibly occupied Macedonian territory illegally without the consent of the Macedonian people. It then, along with its partners Bulgaria and Serbia, went on a rampage bombing Macedonian villages and indiscriminately killing and murdering entire populations.

2. It is a well documented fact that as soon as Greece consolidated its hold on Greek Occupied Macedonia, it murdered or forcible exiled all Macedonians who refused to accept its conditions.

3. It is a well documented fact that after ethnically cleansing the Macedonian population, Greece brought Greek settlers from Asia Minor, Epirus and other regions and settled them on Macedonian territory, mostly on the lands of the exiled Macedonians, without their consent.

4. It is a well documented fact that during the early 1920's Greece began a campaign of denationalization by banning the Macedonian language and making it illegal to speak Macedonian in Macedonia. It then proceeded to forcibly change all peoples' names and toponyms.

5. It is also a well documented fact that during the Greek Civil War, Greece exiled a large part of the Macedonian population, including the refugee children, illegally expropriated properties and issued them to new settlers.

The territory which Greece today calls "Greek Macedonia" is in fact "Greek Occupied Macedonia" and has been occupied since 1912. The so-called "Greek Macedonians" are not really Macedonians at all, in fact they are the "Greek Settlers" who Greece has been depositing on Macedonian lands since the Balkan wars (1912, 1913).

So, what else can we do to progress to the next step?

1. The Macedonian people cannot and must not be content with the status quo. We need to work towards a common strategy that will involve the entire Macedonian nation regardless of where we live, be it in the Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Greece, Albania, Canada, Australia, the USA or the world over. We must recognize that we are one and the same people and we must not allow those who benefit from our misfortunes to divide us. We must promote ourselves vigorously as one nation, one people irrespective of religious, political, or ideological interests.

2. We must work within the laws of the states in which we live in order to achieve our goals. We must also use those laws designed to help us by being diligent and not accepting the status quo.

3. Our strategy is to join world institutions, like NATO and the European Union (EU) because they offer security and human rights. The EU constitution contains human rights provisions which will help the minorities in Greece and Bulgaria when implemented. It is up to us, however, to ensure that those provisions are implemented.

4. When it comes to our interests, we must take action ourselves and not allow Greece, Bulgaria, or any other foreign power to lead us or to interfere in our affairs.

5. We must help the Republic of Macedonia choose its foreign policies wisely so that all Macedonians benefit from them.

I envision a borderless Macedonia as part of the European Union where the Macedonian people will once again have the freedom to call themselves Macedonian, speak their Macedonian language, enjoy their Macedonian culture and have the freedom to travel all throughout Macedonia without fear or repercussions.

For comments regarding this article contact the author at rstefov@hotmail.com