Dimitri says:

The name game regarding FYROM has gone on long enough.
First off, it's time to stop all these pathetic attempts to "re-write" history.
Macedonia and Alexander's legacy was and always will be Greek,
carved in ancient stone and marble for all to see.

The FORMER Yugoslav (so-called) "Republic of Macedonia" was
and, unless some common sense prevails regarding a realistic
and practical future as a "country", always will be a sad state of affairs.

The main reason that this absurd "claim" by the Bulgarian
half of FYROM has not succeeded in hi-jacking the ancient Greek
name of Macedonia is that, despite all the cynical and hypocritical
"Realpolitik" games going on in the region, there are real world issues
and historical facts that cannot be avoided.

It is also why all the "angry demands" and "claims" by these
hi-jackers of history which, when seen all together, only manage
to mostly contradict themselves or end up in "indignant" yet totally
baseless and historically absurd "arguments".

It is also why the UN and EU are -- in the very least -- still insisting
on a compromise on the name (which is more than this fabricated
mish-mash of a country deserves) as regrettably, it is deemed that
such a settlement will serve other interests in the region.
Greece though for historical but more crucially future geo political reasons,
should NOT compromise on the "new name" and how it is used.

It remains a sad state of affairs when a mixed group of slavo-Bulgarians
-- who did not even arrive in the region until after 600AD!!! and are mostly
a left over from the Balkan wars and Tito's clumsy attempts of territorial
gains and access to the Mediterranean sea -- try to hijack the ancient Greek
name of Macedonia to give themselves an "identity".

Something which was clearly exposed by US Secretary of State
Edward R. Stettinius in 1944, stating in no uncertain terms that:
"This (US) government considers talk of Macedonian “nation,”
Macedonian “fatherland,” or Macedonian “national consciousness”
to be unjustified demagoguery representing no ethnic nor political reality,
and sees in its present revival a possible cloak for aggressive intentions
against Greece." This reality remains even if there has been a shift in
some quarters of US "policy" in the region.

This sad and latest episode of these displaced Bulgarians -- who also
have to deal with a large Albanian minority with their own agendas -- is
more a case of 'the mouse that roared' (with the cynical "support" of those
with rather devious agendas in the region) than a case of legitimate "claims"
to a so-called "ethnic" identity.

Further more it should also be made clear that even Bulgaria
-- despite it's past and present agendas -- doesn't recognize
the existence of so-called "slavo-macedonians" in the so-called
republic -- quite rightly considering all FYROM "makedonjianovskis"
as Bulgarians.

On the other hand, the heritage, cities and monuments of Alexander
were, are and always will be GREEK, carved in ancient stone and
marble that no devious or pathetic attempts to re-write history -- or
brown nosing those who indulge in so-called "great games" in the
region -- can change, let alone erase.

If the "supporters" of the FYROM genuinely want a solution
to their problems and stability for this "country" and the Balkans,
it is time to put a stop to this nonsense and deal with the realities
of not only the region but also of the real world and very serious
social-economic and environmental problems that we ALL have to
face in THIS century. It would also be wise to remember that, given
recent events, Mother Nature doesn't do QE or bail outs.