COMMENTARY:

With the attention of Euro-Atlantic diplomats understandably focused on cooling the conflict in the Caucasus, the United States must not forget that much work remains to be done to address tensions elsewhere in the mountains of Southeastern Europe.

Enhancing and preserving the hard-won stability of the Balkans requires that Washington not become complacent about remaining irredentist agendas in this complex region. This should be Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s focus when she is in New York this week at the convening of the United Nations General Assembly with the foreign ministers of Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

In 1944, Secretary of State Edward Stettinius expressed concerns about Yugoslavian communist leader Josip Broz Tito creating a “Macedonian” province and consciousness among his people. Stettinius saw the destructive potential in Tito’s choice of a name describing an ancient geographical area, 52 percent of which is located in modern Greece, 9 percent in Bulgaria and 39 percent in Yugoslavia. His description of Tito’s actions as “a possible cloak for aggressive intentions against Greece” manifested years later when Tito’s “Macedonians” crossed into Greece as participants in Greece’s anti-communist civil war (1946-49).

Nearly half a century later, that Yugoslavian province became an independent nation in 1991 identified by the United Nations and internationally as the “Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” or “FYROM.” Yet Tito’s furtive aims live on in many ways, including the nation’s pursuit of the name “Macedonia.” Its new constitution called on all “Macedonians” in neighboring countries to rise up and unite. In addition, FYROM printed currency featuring the White Tower of Salonika (Thessaloniki), Greece, and created a flag featuring the Macedonian symbol from the dynasty of Philip of Macedon and his son Alexander the Great, which was located in Greece.

Years of productive U.S. and U.N. diplomacy moved FYROM to drop the offending language from its constitution and symbols from its currency and flag. Many believed FYROM was moving toward adopting a name such as “North Macedonia” or “Upper Macedonia” which appropriately describes its own geography.

However in 2004, the administration disregarded possible long-term consequences and focused exclusively on short-term intra-FYROM political goals. It split from U.N., NATO and EU policies to recognize FYROM as the “Republic of Macedonia” in a misguided attempt to provide cover to Western-oriented leaders in an intensely nationalistic political environment. This sudden about-face undermined international efforts to solve the name issue, and emboldened those within FYROM opposed to a diplomatic solution.

Due to FYROM’s intransigence on the name dispute, it was prohibited from joining NATO at the group’s April summit, thus thwarting American security interests. In Bucharest, NATO leaders unanimously decided that an invitation to FYROM will be extended as soon as a mutually acceptable solution to the name issue has been reached. In breaking with the international community on FYROM’s name and failing to condemn its provocations, the U.S. administration bolstered FYROM’s intransigence and inadvertently contributed to the deadlock in NATO.

To correct this, we recently requested clarification on the administration’s position on this issue. The State Department responded with a letter that stated, “Our ambassador [to FYROM] will, as well, help these leaders understand the dangers of irredentism in any form and the importance of avoiding the implications of irredentism in any form.”

From our perspective, this was an improvement on the U.S. position. Yet when this language from the letter was recently read aloud at a State Department briefing, the department’s spokesman indicated its position on the issue had not changed. We strongly believe it would be an error to eschew progress on this issue at the very moment it is most required.

Miss Rice has an ideal opportunity in New York to demonstrate America’s opposition to any form of irredentism in FYROM and resolve the question of accession to NATO. She can tell FYROM that unless it accepts an international name that describes only its territory, such as “North” or “Upper” Macedonia, to be also used in the bilateral relations with the United States, by a time certain, the U.S. will withdraw bilateral recognition of FYROM as “Republic of Macedonia.”

She can thus regenerate the American pressure necessary to resolve the problem, avoid sowing the seeds of another potential conflict in Europe and open the door for FYROM’s accession to the European Union and NATO. This requires engagement, leadership and proactive diplomacy. Such a solution will have bipartisan support in the Congress.

Bob Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat, and Olympia J. Snowe, a Maine Republican, are members of the United States Senate.

 Source : Washington Times

The famous king (Βασιλεύς) of ancient Macedonia and father of Alexander the Great, Philip II was born in 383/82 BC. He was son of the king Amyntas III and queen Eurydice. His brothers were Alexander II, Perdiccas III and Eurynoe, while he had also 3 half brothers, the sons of Gygaea,  namely Menelaus, Arrhidaeus and Archelaus. [1]

Early Life

In 368 BC when his elder brother Alexander II allied himself with Thebans, Philip was taken as a hostage in Thebes where he stayed for about 3 years.  In Thebes as Justin attests, “Philip was given fine opportunities of improving his extraordinary abilities; for being kept as a hostage at Thebes three years, he received the first rudiments of education in a city distinguished for strictness of discipline in the house of Epaminondas, an eminent philosopher, as well as commander.” [2]

His Reign

 After his brother Perdiccas, the King of Macedon,  was killed in the battle against Illyrians along with 4,000 Macedonians, Philip returned to Macedon either as a king or as a regent to his young nephew Amyntas. Based on his experiences gained close to Epaminondas in Thebes, Philip made many innovations in Macedonian army by bringing discipline, better training and new equipment like the introduction of Sarissa [3]. This way he created the famous “Macedonian Phalanx“. At the beginning of his reign he dealt with many difficult situations. On one hand he managed to get rid of the internal threats to his kingdom, namely his 3 half brothers and the pretender Argaeus, supported by Atheneans. Afterwards in 358 BC he defeated in battle the Illyrians of Bardyllis while he sealed the peace-treaty with Illyrians by marrying Audate, daughter of Bardyllis.

In a string of successful campaigns, he managed to reach as far as Thrace and took under his own control both the gold mines of Mt Pangaion, as well as the silver mines in Thrace. Next he turned on the South and intervened in the third Sacred war, against the Phocians. Unexpectedly Philip met his two first loses in the background from the Phocian leader Onormachus who introduced the use of catapults in the battlefield. However he succeeded in defeating them and Onormachus met a tragic end in his life. Now Philip took under his own control Thessaly. He took two wives from Thessaly, Philine of Larissa and later Nikesipolis. His alliance with Epirus resulted to marry with Olympias, a Molossian princess who would be destined to be the mother of one of the most famous persons of history, Alexander the Great.

The Athenean orator and leader of Anti-Macedonian party of Athens, Demosthenes tried to cause a stir of Atheneans and other Southern Greeks against Philip firstly with his “Olynthiacs”. It was at the time Philip turned against Olynthians, Athens’ allies in the area, and in 348 BC he attacked his former ally Olynthus and destroyed it on the grounds they have given refuge to two of his half-brothers, the pretenders of the thone of Macedon. At the time Isocrates urged him on his letters to Philip, to unite Greeks against Persians.

His last years

In 338 BC Philip and his allies defeated in the battle of Chaeronea the alliance of Athens and Thebes. With this battle he asserted his authority in Greece and created the League of Corinth, where he was elected as “Hegemon” by the rest of Greeks. The Greeks, except Spartans, were finally united against an old common enemy, the Persian empire. However Philip was not destined to be the one who will lead the Pan-Hellenic campaign against Achaemenids since in 336 BC, Philip was assasinated by Pausanias of Orestis, during the marriage of his daughter Cleopatra to Alexander of Epirus. He had reigned for about 25 years and according to the account of the historian Theopompus “Europe had never seen a man like Philip of Macedon“.

[1] Justin 7.4.5

[2] Justin 7. 5.1

[3] Diod. 16.3.1

Philip united Greece

Macedon, kingdom of Northern Greece

Basil Bulgarslayer defeats Bulgarian army of Samoil.

Macedonia in 1380 had an ethnic mix of Greeks, Slavs and Albanians.