Investment prospects in fYRoM touted

11/29/2008

Greece is amongst the biggest foreign investors in the neighbouring former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYRoM), according to figures presented during an event on investment opportunities in the country, hosted on Thursday by the Federation of Northern Greece Industries in Thessaloniki.

According to official statistics, 80 percent of companies belonging to Greek interests active in fYRoM’s textiles sector (totaling 58 companies) are found in the southern part of the country, primarily in the vicinity of Bitola and Gevgelija, and employ roughly 6,000 people.

Food and beverages is another sector with an increased Greek business presence. Specifically, a total of 22 companies employ 2,500 people, with roughly half operating in the city of Skopje or its outskirts.

The economic and trade secretary at the Greek Liaison Office in Skopje, Eleni Karayanni, noted that the distribution of Greek investments in the neighbouring country shows that 28 percent involves the banking sector; 25 percent in energy; 17 percent in telecoms; 15 percent in industrial production; 10 percent in the food and beverages sector, while 5 percent is in other sectors.

Most opportunities for Greek investments are found in the sectors of energy, transportation and IT technology, according to speakers at the event, which was attended by entrepreneurs from both countries.

Caption: A worker cuts iron parts for recycling in the old iron reprocessing plant at Makstil, one of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia’s (FYRoM) biggest metal processing factories, located in Skopje, 20 October 2008. The Makstil plant has so far not been adversely affected due to the fact that the company produces final products already ordered by its customers.

ANA-MPA/EPA/GEORGI LICOVSKI

http://www.ana.gr/anaweb/user/showplain?maindoc=7079151&maindocimg=6958084&service=96

By Vasko Gligorijevic

November 17, 2008

The news that Nikola Gruevski, the Prime Minister of FYROM and his Government have chosen to file a lawsuit against Greece, claiming that Greece broke the 1993 Interim accord by vetoing FYROM’s acceptance into NATO at the Bucarest summit, comes not as surprise. During the entire mandate of Gruevski’s VMRO-DPMNE led Government, several attempts of playing the victim card have been tried. After his idea to open the “Aegean”* Question after the relavant chapter of the history has been closed for 60 years, in a naive manner, by issuing resolutions and Spam-like correspondence, this new actions comes just few months before the local and Presidential election in Mr. Gruevski’s despotate. The purpose of the lawsuit is understandable. It is not an appeal for legal solution of rightful grievances but a continuation of the “war of symbols” practiced by VMRO-DPMNE. Following the Orwellian maxim “however controls the past, controls the future” the fascistic regime of Gruevski instilled fake sense of identity among Slavs of FYROM, at the same time creating a conviction among the general population that preserving and cherishing this falsified heritage is an act of uttermost priority, a categorical imperative that sets preconditions for social success. Consequently, this last move of desperation from an ideologically bankrupt regime, which views the world in 21st century with the mentality typical of 19th century, when the original VMRO, a gang of nationalist butchers cherishing the idea of Greater Bulgaria, was founded.

After the announcement of the decision in the afternoon hours at 17-X-2008, the media loyal to the regime commented that this is an adequate answer to the policy of official Athens. No mention has been made for the reactivation of irredentist behavior, usage of Greek symbols, promotion of falsified history in a methodical, systematic way, which was ubiquitous for several months.

The lawsuit accuses Greece that it broke the article 11 from the 1995 Accord, but that is not a case

The article in question reads:

“Article 11

1. Upon entry into force of this Interim Accord, The Party of the First Part agrees not to object to the application by or the membership of the Party of the Second Part in international, multilateral and regional organizations and institutions of which the Party of the First Part is a member; however, the Party of the First Part reserves the right to object to any membership referred to above if and to the extent of the Party of the Second Part is to be referred to in such organization or institution differently than in paragraph 2 of the United Nations Security Council resolution 817 (1993). ”

This article obviously does not apply to the fact that FYROM’s application for membership at the NATO Summit in Bucharest resulted from a convergence of opinions that FYROM isn’t ready and it was caused by a multiple failures of reforms wanted from official Skopje. Finally the aforementioned barrage of provocative actions affirmed that FYROM, headed by Gruevski, shows unacceptable, irredentist behavior towards a Greece as a NATO member of long standing.

The latest move by Skopje is therefore, nothing more than a public relationship stunt with aim to fortify hardline totalitarian attitude of FYROMian population, to divert attention from true problems. It is a logical next step after intensive demonization of Greece during VMRO-DPMNE’s mandate at one hand and evidence of refusal on behalf of FYROM to end the ongoing negotiation in reasonable time, since most legal experts confirmed that if the lawsuit is accepted by the International Court in Hague, it will take no less than three years before a final decision.

The lawsuit was strongly criticized by FYROM’s President Branko Crvenkovski who characterized it as a “catastrophe on behalf of foreign policy makers”.

“Aegean Macedonia”, “Aegean Macedonians” are recently invented irredentist terms with intention of usurpation of the singular, Greek Macedonia as well as to give impression a number of migrants from villages around the North-Western Macedonian towns of Florina and Kastoria (most of them defeated Communist guerrillas) were the primary population of entire Macedonia. This term implies some connection to the Aegean sea, while in reality this small community was always far removed from the Aegean littoral, and without any historical, naval tradition.

http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/81859

The following collection of Macedonian Newspapers is what Skopjans hate most since it completely shatters their illusions that “Macedonia was a term forbidden in Greece” prior to 1988. Contrarily Macedonian Newspapers were in use  from 19th cent. even prior to the invention of the Skopjan fictitious “nationality”.

Newspapers like:

- Echo tis Makedonias

- Dytiki Makedonia

- Makedonikos Epinohr

- H Pammakedoniki

- Makedoniki Enosis

- Makedoniki echo

- H Makedoniki

- Makedonikos Astir

- Makedoniki foni

- Elliniki Makedonia

- Makedonika Xronika

- Makedonia

- Makedonikos

- MAkedonika Salpismata

- Makedonia

- Makedonomachos

- Makedonikos Typos

- Makedoniki Echo

- Makedoniki

- Chronika Dytikis Makedonias

- Makedonikon Vima

- Makedonis Gh

- Makedoniki Floga

- Makedonika Themata

- Makedonika Spor

- Makedonika Nea tis Thessalonikis

- Makedoniki Neolaia

- Makedonikes selides

- Makedonopoulo

- Makedonika grammata

- Makedonika

- Makedonikon hmerologion

- La Macedoine

are the best evidence against FYROM’s misinformation and Lies.

Congrats to Samios Makedonas for his collection!!

The Anatomy of a Big Lie: Nationalistic Ideology and FYROM

During times of crisis, from times immemorial,  humans have sought to activate the traditionalistic qualities in form of “mythos” that serves as a building material for the new “ethos”, the least being contemporary to action in crisis.

In order to investigate the patterns of the Pseudomacedonian ideology, it is important to study the FYROMian economical and sociological background.

As of late 2008, the evidence of diachronic collapse of the pillars of society is multiplying itself at an ever exponential rate. Economical policies of Gruevski: defiscalization and patronage of private institutions for higher learning, for some time has a stabilizing role in local economy. The latter, however is virtually untouched by any substantial foreign investment.

The core ideology of the leading political party among Slavs in FYROM – The Internal Macedonian Revolutionary (VMRO-DPMNE) is mirrored from the Western dichotomy of Conservatism, traditionalism and economic libertarianism, thus replacing the early to mid-1990’s role of ethnic socialism and rigidly folkloresque  symbolism. Today VMRO-DPMNE consolidated itself a Demo-Christian party, with slight minarchistic tendencies in economy, but with stronger points of consolidation regarding the imported and applied ideology of “Macedonism” in every aspect of individual and social life, with a strongly anti-individualistic, collectivist stance.

Chief task of VMRO-DPMNE in recent months and years is creation of consistent nationalist myth, something which, in case of normal development of Post-Communist culture, would have a justification as a basis for spiritual reconstruction of the young Balkan nation.  However the process  today represents an eclectic formulation which conceptually integrates the imaginary space of the “Macedonian people”, which is the 19^th century definition of “Geographic Macedonia”, its history and its cultures into a distinct “Slavomacedonian” high culture, based on Ancient Macedon as a cornerstone of the projected national history. This nationalist ideology is best described as “Pseudomacedonism”, something that according to Ex-Minister Denko Maleski (now a proffesor in Skoplje) was imported by marginal groups and individuals from outside.

The ideology of Pseudomacedonism is based on faulty historiographic premises, the key of which are:

The distinct character of the Slavomacedonians, based on superior historical base and formed as preserved cultural lineage from the earliest consolidation of ancient Macedonians. Consequently, the spirit of exceptionalism developed, whose adherents believe in inferiority of all neighboring countries based on fictionalized narratives of their genesis that contain anthropological features deemed dysfunctional.

Segregation from Bulgarians, meaning usurpation of the Bulgarian history and “Macedonisation” of any historical retrospective and nurture of chauvinism towards Bulgarian ethnic and lingistic characteristic, regardless of the very great similarity among both national vernaculars

Labeling as “Macedonian” the entire sum of cultural heritage in opposition to the fact that historical sources do not label the local Slavic-speaking population as such.

The rise of Pseudomacedonian symbolism in recent years obviously represents low-complexity psychological operation whose authors seek to solidify the collectivist ethos. Major events in the “Macedonist” propaganda are:

-The renaming of the Skopje and Ohrid airports “Alexander the Great” and “St. Paul”, respectively.

-Decoration of the surroundings of Government’s offices with Hellenistic and Roman statues, creating highly visible symbolic links with claimed antiquity.

-The staged and much-ridiculed visit of a delegation of Pakistani tribal leaders, mythically linked with the soldiers of Alexander the Great, presented to the public in FYROM as “part of our people”.

-Erection of statues of Alexander the Great in Prilep, to be followed with a monument of Phillip II in Bitola/Monastir and a giant, 50 ft. statue of Alexander the Great in Skopje

-The painfully absurd proposition held by MANU (“Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts”) from 2006 onwards that the famous epigraphic monument , the “Rosetta Stone” produced in Ptolemaic  Egypt contains a text written in language almost identical to the current standardized Bulgarian idiom of FYROM.

-Increased recent usage of the term “Macedonia” by officials in domestic context without observing the unwritten rule for more than a decade to use the qualifier “Republic of”.

All of these examples of irredentist behavior by official Skoplje have a function to create a parallel universe of symbolism that sets a border between FYROM on one and Bulgaria and Serbia on another hand. The virtual creation of illustrious ancestry, rooted in antiquity provides a reference base for identity politics which seek to isolate FYROM from the currents of global academic centers.

The deficit of practical means for cultural production in the sphere of identity politics, coupled with the fact that the only alternative to “Ancient Macedonian” identity is the history of South Slavic medieval period together with the Ottoman era which shows strong Bulgarian and also to a certain level, Serbian character is one of the factor that the “continuity theory” rises almost unchallenged. For quite a time, any offer of different, truthful perspective is likely to cause great hardships for authors in minimum and consequently, no academic opposition which would challenge the dogmatic nature of the fabricated “Macedonian” identity.

The gigantic structure of historical revisionism in FYROM showed the weakness of historiography that is still based on obsolete and didactic Marxist theories sustained by a network of mostly senior academics. Sensationalism found its logical outlet in a society where the very identity is permanently challenged by historiographies of neighbors and other countries as well. The strong Graecophobia, latent for two centuries, was chief determinant for articulation of the Pseudomacedonian nationalism. In this sense, reliance on instant answers provided by the great number of amateur historians which produce fake narratives of local history, proved itself superior vis-a-vis the autodidactic approach that provides intellectual gratification only after long research, an enterprise which is technically beyond the means of the general population.

It remains to be seen where the designers of the Pseudomacedonian ideology will continue to fool the people for an extended period of time with local and isolated historiographical, anthropological and linguistic theories of the recent several years, the absurdity of which needs no further explanation. While the hope lies in the new generation of more responsible members of the intellectual class, the current conditions in education is unlikely to nurture such emergence. It is possible that following eventual higher, tectonic disturbances of the status quo, the young Balkan nation’s leadership will retreat from the loudly articulated pseudoscientific positions held today.

Vasko Gligorijević

Skoplje, FYROM

Let Them Eat Cake

The Similarities between Marie Antoinette and the Greek Political Elite

by Marcus A. Templar

There is a definite disconnect within the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On one hand when Gruevski takes nationalistic actions against Greece Greek MFA officials triumphantly claim that Gruevski’s actions confirm Greece’s positions on the name dispute.  On the other hand, the same people give in more and more to the FYROM’s whims and demands.  As someone in a meeting put it, “we tend to negotiate with ourselves, make the concessions then hope the other side goes along. Just because we have made the concession it doesn’t mean that the other side will; in fact, it will be emboldened to ask for further concessions, case in point Gruevski’s behaviour.” Such thinking does not inspire confidence to the Greek people that expect to see a better future.

Nationalism turns devotion to the nation into principles or programs. It thus contains a different dimension from mere patriotism, which can be a devotion to one’s country or nation devoid of any project for political action. One cannot confuse nationalism with patriotism or even xenophobia.  Patriotism is defined as love of one’s country or zeal in the defense of the interests of one’s country and xenophobia is an unreasonable fear, distrust, or hatred of strangers, foreigners, or anything perceived as foreign or different.[1]

The above phenomenon is analyzed in an excellent book on Intelligence Analysis authored by Richards J. Heuer, Jr.  In his book, Heuer explains that the worst thing one could do is to put oneself in someone else’s mental position. In this case, “what would I do if I were, a Skopjan?”  The answer of course is, “well, you are not a Skopjan, you do not know how the Skopjans think, and every indication and warning you have is against the way you think that the Skopjans would react.  Why in the world do you continue taking the path you are taking? Why don’t you change direction?”  But, as Heuer explains, “failure to understand that others perceive their national interests differently from the way we perceive those interests is a constant source of problems.”[2]

The above brings us to the matter of leadership. As erratic as they might seem, Skopje has leaders devoted to their cause, their “Macedonia.” From the day they are born to the day they die, from the moment they wake up to the moment they fall asleep, they have their “Macedonia” in mind. They breathe, eat, and drink having their “Macedonia” in mind. 

Modern Greece thus far has produced managers with only one thing in mind: their personal political success at the expense of the fellow citizens whom they supposedly represent.  They would do enough to get re-elected relying on their political party’s machine. That’s all. From the day they get a degree in their hands they devote their life to only thing: themselves, and since politics in Greece is a very profitable profession, they follow politics. How else can they earn a hefty salary for a position that comes with clout and fringe benefits (oftentimes immoral or even illegal) while pretending that they help the country and get away with it? 

The difference between managers and leaders is that managers do only what they are required to do managing everyone and everything.  On the other hand, leaders do what it is right, which means leaders go the extra mile needed to accomplish their mission while taking care the welfare of the country’s human resources; in this case the people of Greece. In addition, leaders lead people, but manage missions, operations, and the affairs of the country.  They lead by example! 

The people of Greece keep voting for incompetent people because it is the only choice the political party machines provide.  But incompetence begets insecurity that turns out to be the crux of the problem.  Insecure people fearing exposure of their incompetence prefer to employ subservient and unqualified subordinates. Competent subordinates would unwillingly expose the inability of their boss’s ineptitude. One must bear in mind a consequence of incompetence is arrogance that brings to the picture the syndrome of one being a know-it-all.   

It is a well known fact that one does not have to be intelligent to gain wealth, nor to become a politician.  Unfortunately, it is also true that one does not have to be competent nor overly intelligent to receive a degree.  A certain teacher once told me that the hardest thing for a person was to matriculate into the university.  Foreign students do not even have to take entrance college exams and so getting into college in a foreign country is easy.  One must also understand that the above statements do not apply to all.  It simply means that just because certain individuals have a degree in their hands, including a PhD, they are not necessarily intelligent.  We have all seen how many so-called “scientists” with PhDs end up authoring studies whose quality is synonymous to trash.

All the above are behind the low tone foreign policy of successive Greek governments that hope that their constituencies would not find out the decay of their government. They are afraid that blogs, websites, blackberries that they cannot control are going to spread the word that they do not know what they are doing.  The “do not dig into a certain course of action” policy or “do not publish this map or that document” are a thing of the past.  In the age of information such thoughts make one wonder on which planet does the Greek political establishment live?

Some of the above incompetent politicians are amazed with the lack of understanding of Greek national issues on behalf of the Greek diaspora.  The problem is that the Greek diaspora understands Greek national issues much deeper than does the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA).  Mrs. Bakoyanni was the one who told the Pan-Macedonian delegation a few years ago that the Macedonian name dispute with Skopje was not a national issue leaving the said delegation stunned!  

The following parallelism gives a better understanding as to why does the Greek diaspora sees things far more clear than the Greeks of Greece and definitely the MFA.  The scene is in a football field with fans, coaches, referees, and players of both teams and two dirigibles with observers above the field.  The players are divided into blues and reds representing the two MFAs: Greece and the FYROM.  The fans are people of the two countries who are looking from somewhere above the field; the coaches are the Prime Ministers, and the observers in the dirigibles are the diaspora of both countries. The referees are Matthew Nimetz, and the U.S. State Department.  From where all these people are located, the best view belongs to the observers of the diasporas.  They have the birds’ eye view. The problem is that while the coach of the red team listens to the instructions of his own observers/diaspora and directs his team’s game, the coach of the blue team listens to his own blue players who do not have any view of the goalpost yet keep yelling “good job.”  All this is happening, while his own blue fans that can see a little better than the coach scream at him: “you are sending the players in the wrong direction!”  Unfortunately, he does not listen to anyone but himself. 

Yes, there is a definite disconnect within the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  It is up to the readers to judge and up to the people of Greece to take care of the coach and his team.  In a democracy it is called: elections.  The problem is even if the people of Greece change the team and coach, the new team and the new coach will be the same or even worse.  What a predicament for a country to be in.

[1] Marcus A. Templar, MS Thesis “The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia: A Challenge to the Macedonism of the Slavs - Implications for the Intelligence Analyst,” National Defense Intelligence College, Washington, DC, 2008. 

[2] Richards J. Heuer, Psychology of Intelligence Analysis, Chapter 6 (Keeping an Open Mind), Center for the Study of Intelligence, Central Intelligence Agency, 1999. https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/books-and-monographs/psychology-of-intelligence-analysis/index.html

The following pic is taken from a FYROM’s site. The article was written about 2 years ago and it shows explicitly the Irredentist dreams of Skopjans against Greek sovereignty and the anti-Greek feelings promoted in every possible way in FYROM. Notice the flag of FYROM on the top of White Tower in Thessalonike.

A small but quite revealing part of the Text:

“Remembering ‘Solun’

Yesterday it was exactly 94 years ago that Macedonia has lost the city of ‘Solun’ to the Greeks officially. It was on the day when the Greeks conquered Macedonia’s biggest city and expelled the Macedonians living there.”

By Samios Makedonas

ATHENS, Greece – A 6,000 year-old set of household gear, including crockery and two wood-fired ovens, has been found in the buried ruins of a prehistoric farmhouse in northern Greece, officials said Thursday.

A Culture Ministry statement said the discovery “provides invaluable, unique information” on late Neolithic domestic architecture and household organization.

“This is a very rare case where the remains have stayed undisturbed by farming or other external intervention for about 6,000 years,” the ministry statement said. “The household goods are in excellent condition.”

The rectangular building, which covers some 624 square feet, was discovered during work to lay water pipes earlier this year at the village of Sosandra near Aridaia, some 360 miles north of Athens.

Archaeologists who excavated the site between March and July found a large number of clay vessels for cooking and eating, stone tools, mills for grinding cereals and two ovens.

The house was separated into three rooms. It had walls made of branches and reeds covered with clay, supported by strong wooden posts. The building was destroyed by fire, which baked the clay, preserving impressions of the wooden building elements, as well as the post holes.

Archaeologists believe the inhabitants managed to escape the fire, taking with them their valued stone blades and axes.

“They left behind the large stone tools which would have been difficult to move away,” the ministry statement said.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27348143/

In Europe there are many place-names which have strong historical associations, but none more so than Macedonia [1]. It is a measure of the fame of the ancient Macedonians, that their name has survived for over 2,500 years to describe a corner of the Balkan Peninsula, long after they themselves ceased to play any important part in European history.

Today the geographical boundaries of Macedonia are difficult to define, however, little is known about the new ‘Macedonian question’. For instance: How well known is it in the world that in the Balkans there are two Macedonias, separated by a common frontier?

How many people know that the northern small landlocked Slavonic Macedonia, known officially as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), has a seat at the UN, whereas the historical Greek Macedonia does not, because it is not a state but only a province of Greece?

How many people know how and when this multi-ethnic state was created?

In order to forge a new nation-state from a population, various parts of which possess a different national / ethnical background or consciousness, you need three key elements: a political motive, fabricated history and a fabricated language.

Let’s examine how the state of FYROM was created. The geographical area which makes up FYROM today did not appear as ‘Macedonia’ on any map before the Second World War. Its population is mainly Slavonic and Albanian. In 1944 Tito announced the creation of the ‘People’s Republic of Macedonia’ in order to provide a launching pad from which to lay claim to Greek Macedonia and the warm-water port of Thessaloniki [2].

While the Western Allies were busy planning the future of the Balkans, others had already shaped it. By the last quarter of 1944, the communists were the indisputable rulers in Yugoslavia and were working hard to become so in Bulgaria too. POLITICALLY Tito had turned the old “Southern Serbia” (named as Vardarska Banovina) into the “People’s Republic of Macedonia”, without taking the trouble to consult his Bulgarian or Greek comrades as he entertained designs for the incorporation of all parts of geographical Macedonia into his new federal unit [3].

The ‘People’s Republic of Macedonia’ was a political creation only, since its population, a polyglot conglomeration of nationalities, had no substantial “Macedonian” national consciousness. Tito’s Macedonia, with Skopje as its capital, was created in the same manner as Stalin’s Belorussia after the end of the Bolshevik revolution.

ETHNOLOGICALLY, Tito’s new “Macedonian” republic was to be forged out of a population with ethnic and linguistic ties to Albania, Bulgaria or Serbia. The 1940 official Yugoslav census recognized only two large ethnic groups in Vardar Province: Slavs at 69% and Muslims at 31%. In 1945, three years after the formation of the ‘People’s Republic of Macedonia’, the Slavs disappeared from the census and were replaced by 66% ‘Macedonians’! By recognizing the existence of a separate ‘Macedonian’ nation, the Communist Party of Yugoslavia was able to gain control of Vardar Macedonia and justify retaining it as part of the Yugoslav federation [4]. In order to accomplish this it was necessary to eliminate the sense of Bulgarian national identity shared by many inhabitants of the area. Since this was clearly not in the interests of Yugoslavia, and since the inter-war policy of Serbianization under the Yugoslav Kingdom had failed, the only alternative was to recognize the Slavs of Vardar Macedonia as neither Bulgarians nor Serbs, but as something else as………..”Macedonians”.

Recognizing the ‘Macedonian’ nation and establishing the ‘People’s Republic of Macedonia’ was the most effective way for Yugoslav officials to integrate Vardar Macedonia securely into the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Another motive behind the Communist Party of Yugoslavia’s decision to recognize the existence of a separate Macedonian nation was its desire to extend Yugoslav control over Bulgarian and Greek Macedonia as well [5].

LINGUISTICALLY the new nation needed a language and script. Initially the spoken dialect of northern geographical Macedonia was chosen as the basis for the “Macedonian” language. To sever the linguistic bonds between the “Macedonians” and the others slavic speakers (Serbs and Bulgarians), this new language was fabricated and touted as a separate Macedonian language, the language, it was said, of Alexander the Great!

Hupchick explains: “The new ‘Macedonian’ literary language intentionally was based on a dialect spoken in the central Vardar area (Prilep-Bitola region) to remove it geographically as far as possible from Bulgarian and Serbian linguistic ‘contaminations’. A separate ‘Macedonian’Cyrillic alphabet (including wholly new letters & a few Serbian

characters) was devised to make the language different from Bulgarian.

‘Bulgarianisms’ were replaced by folk substitutes, and modern Bulgarian, Serbian or Russian technical words and modern expressions intentionally were avoided in favor of Western (including American) terms. Literary Macedonian was as different as humanly possible from other slavic languages, being a veritable linguistic hodgepodge approaching the French meaning of macedoine when referring to a mixed salad” [6].

To complete the charade, Tito’s regime commissioned the linguist Blago Konev (he changed his name later to Blaze Koneski) to devise an new alphabet. Koneski modified the Serbian version of the Cyrillic alphabet and called it the “Macedonian alphabet”. Koneski and his linguistics also modified the Old Church Slavonic, (now named in the FYROM as “old Macedonian”), and fabricated the lexicon of the “Macedonian” language from a mixture of Bulgarian, Serb, Croat, Slovenian, and other Slavic languages. The alphabet was accepted on 3 May 1945 and the orthography on 7 June 1945.

The writing of a history for the ‘People’s Republic of Macedonia’ had the same goal as the creation of the language - to de-Bulgarianize the Slavs of Vardar Macedonia and create a separate national consciousness. Since Marx claimed to have discovered the immutable laws of history, communists have considered the “correct” interpretation of history as the foundation of all social science and a key element of nationality. As usual in the Balkans, history is a primary ingredient in the development of national consciousness. Hence, the Yugoslav communists were most anxious to mould the history of the Macedonian region to fit their conception of Slav-Macedonian consciousness.

In the 1960s and 70s, the Yugoslavs established committees to concern themselves with the “Macedonian” language and ethnicity in Yugoslavia and abroad, trained teachers in the language, and sent linguists to America, Canada, and Australia to teach the language and present lectures on the existence of a special Slavic race, related to ancient Macedonians.

According to a 1944 U.S State Department Airgram, the U.S considered, “talk of Macedonian “nation”, Macedonian “Fatherland”, or Macedonia “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” [7].

What has changed so that the USA and the Bush administration, through its recognition FYROM as ‘Macedonia’ in 2004, now supports these aggressive intentions against Greece?

To be continued……..

by Akritas

for www.macedoniaontheweb.com

http://modern-macedonian-history.blogspot.com/

1] http://www.etymonline.com

. English term of “Macedonia” derived from the Latin Macedonius “Macedonian,” from Gk. Makedones, lit. “highlanders” or “the tall ones,” related to makednos “long, tall,” makros “long, large”

(see macro-).

2] International Organization, Vol. 1, No. 3, (Sep., 1947), pp.

494-508. Appointed under the Security Council resolution of December 19, 1946, the “Commission of Investigation Concerning Greek Frontier Incidents” on May 27, 1947 submitted a report, to the Security Council.

The general conclusion of the UN Commission as about Macedonia issue, was that Yugoslav and Bulgarian Governments themselves revived and promoted a separatist movement among the Slav minorities in Macedonia.

In making this finding, the Commission pointed out that some 20,000 Greek citizens had fled to Yugoslavia and some 5,000 to Bulgaria — most of them Slavs — and that the treatment of this group by Greek officials had “provided fertile breeding ground for separatist movements.” In Yugoslavia, Macedonian separatism was the special goal of an organization called the NOF (National Labor Front) which had its headquarters in Skopje and Monastirion(Bitola).

3] The Macedonian Question, Britain and the Southern Balkans 1939-1949, Dimitrios Livanios, page 245.

4] Yugoslav Communism and the Macedonian Question, Palmer and King , page 199.

5] The Macedonian Conflict, Loring Danforth, page 66.

6] Dennis Hupchick, The Balkans from Constantinople to Communism, 2002, p.430.

7] US Department, CircularAirgram(868.014/26 Dec. 1944)

http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/78775

FYROM: The Troublemaker of the Balkans?

Nicolas Mottas
October 21, 2008

One of the most significant decades-long problem in South Eastern Europe is the irripresible political use of history and national symbols by region’s governments. The case of ‘Macedonia’ is an example of the above assumption. Since its birth as a state entity in 1991, just after the dissolution of the united Yugoslavia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) has based its own existence in the appropriation and use of ancient Greek names and symbols. That created de facto a clone-state without a concrete national identity; a ‘ticking bomb’ in the heart of the Balkans, as the UN High Representative in Kosovo described FYROM in December 2000.

Since its independence from Yugoslavia the state of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia remains a thorn in the heart of South Eastern Europe, being a factor of political unsteadiness for the broader region. There are two major issues which create justifiable concern and doubts regarding FYROM’s contribution to Peace and Security in the Balkan peninsula: A first - and most significant - issue is the known naming-dispute with neighbouring Greece. Since its creation in 1991 and until today, Skopje bases its policy on imbecilic and anachronistic irredentist ideologies. The Greek position, being in accordance with the principles of International Law, is that nationalistic, chauvinistic and irredentist policies do not have place in the region. Therefore the appropriation of Macedonia’s name, of ancient Greek symbols (e.g Vergina Sun) and the invention of supposed minorities (e.g. Macedonian Minority) must not be used as the ‘Trojan Horse’ of irredentism. That is the actual and fundamental problem in the relations between Athens and Skopje. Greece does not express a hypersensitive or insubstantial theory about its historical heritage - on the contrary, Greece clearly defines that chauvinism must be completely abolished from Balkan politics, something which FYROM’s leadership seems not to understand. Or, perhaps, it does not want to understand it.

Furthermore, the governments of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia have failed to consort with the UN-sponsored Interim Accord of 1995, broking specific provisions of that agreement. According to a U.S. Senate Resolution (SR 300), submitted in August 2007 by senators Barack Obama, Olympia Snowe and Robert Menendez, Skopje must “stop the utilization of materials that violate provisions of the United Nations-brokered Interim Agreement between FYROM and Greece regarding hostile activities or propaganda” (Article 7, Paragraph 1 of the Interim Accord). Additionally to that, the current Prime Minister of FYROM have done his best in order to break provisions of the 1995 Agreement, by grossly interfering in domestic Greek politics. He did that through public statements and interviews, either by refering to Greece’s political scandals - which have nothing to do with his business - or by posing to international organizations nonsensical issues regarding supposed repression of ethnic minorities in Greece. But such actions consist violation of Article 6 (Paragraph 2) of the Interim Accord which prohibits Skopje’s interference in the internal affairs of neighbouring Greece.

A second issue has to do with Human Rights’ protection in FYROM, within the frame of Democracy’s establishment in the country. According to the 2003 Amnesty International report for the former Yugoslav Rep. of Macedonia, opposition journalists and Human Rights activists face extrajudicial executions and intimidation. Furthermore, the Internationa Helsinki Federation for Human Rights has reported Police harassment of ethnic minorities, including Albanians and Roma. But its not only that. On January 11, 2004, the local authorities arrested Bishop Jovan of Ohrid and Exarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Skopje, a case which created obvious concern in the European Union regarding the protection of religious freedoms in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. In addition to the above, FYROM’s political stability is still in doubt as long as 25% of its population are ethnic Albanians. Despite the 2001 Framework Agreement of Ohrid which brough an end to the fighting between Slavophones and Albanians, the problem still exists as a factor of fluidity in the broader region. The solution to the issue passes through the European perspective of FYROM as well as its participation in the North-Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

However, Skopje’s declinatory political attitude of irredentism leads the country far from the international organizations; actually, it leads to nowhere. From its side, Greece wants FYROM’s existence as a stable state-entity, full member of the EU and NATO. It should be noted, once more, that the Greek governments have supported EU economic aid to FYROM, while Greece is the number one foreign investor in the country with around $1 invested capital, creating thousands of job opportunities. Athens has expressed its constant support to FYROM’s European perspective, but with the infrangible prerequisite that there will be an accepted solution: a compound name with a geographic qualifier for all uses. Nevertheless, even today, Skopje remains attached to its years-long perverse intrasigence, trying to dynamite dialogue: recently, FYROM’s leadership rejected another one proposal, submitted by the UN Mediator Matthew Nimetz. Until when? If the leadership of Skopje wants to stabilize FYROM’s creaky existence, then they have to fully understand something: that intrasigent and nationalistic practices must be abandoned as soon as possible. The future of the country is within the European Union and NATO, in harmonious co-existence with its neighbours, including Greece. Otherwise, FYROM will remain a ‘ticking bomb’ in the heart of South Eastern Europe - but then, it won’t last for ever.

http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/78494

In these rare maps of 17th c. coming from various countries of Europe like Belgium, Netherlands, Italy we can witness the general notion of the era that Macedonia is a part of Greece. Of course Skopje was always OUT of Macedonia.

 Ptolemaeus, Claudius

Publish 1621 in Padua

Map of Hellas 1624, from Belgium

Muenster, Sebastian
Das Sechste Buch Griechenlandt nach seinen Landtschafften unnd Eigenschafften.

Basel, Henricus Petri. 1628 [16 x 12,7 cm]
Woodcut, hand colored in wash. Decorative hand colored woodcut map with a view of the country of Greece, published in a German text edition of the ‘Cosmographia’ by Sebastian Muenster.

Greece
Blaeu, Joan & Guiljelmus

Graecia. - Joh. et Corn. Blaeu exc. - Illustri, & incomparab, viro, Claudio Salmasio, Equiti, et comiti consistoriano, tabulam hanc D. D. D. Joh. et Cornelius Blaeu.

Amsterdam, Blaeu, J. & G. 1666 [41 x 52,4 cm]

By CHRISTOS