Risto Stefov - Articles, Translations & Collaborations

[George S.]

Redefining the Name Issue



By Jason Miko

July 19, 2012



On July 7 in Dubrovnik, US Assistant Secretary of State Philip Gordon spoke at the Croatia Summit 2012. In his prepared remarks on Macedonia, Gordon began by stating “Macedonia’s name dispute with Greece continues to thwart its aspirations for NATO membership and the start of EU accession talks.” Notice the way Gordon defines the issue: “Macedonia’s name dispute with Greece….”



Notice how Gordon labels it as a possessive issue for Macedonia – it is Macedonia’s dispute. But that is completely incorrect. Macedonia has no dispute. It is the other way around: Greece has a dispute with Macedonia’s name….and Macedonia’s identity of course, the root of the problem. Gordon should have said “Greece’s dispute with Macedonia’s name continues to thwart its aspirations for NATO membership and the start of EU accession talks.” (He could add “and identity” but that would be asking the US State Department to do too much.)



Here’s my point – we need to redefine this issue and call it what it is: “Greece’s dispute with Macedonia’s name and identity is thwarting Macedonia’s ability to join NATO and the EU.” I would argue that it is always vital to add “identity” when speaking about the name issue.



Gordon goes on: “We were disappointed that NATO was unable to welcome Macedonia at the Chicago Summit. But as NATO is a consensus organization, Macedonia and Greece must first resolve their bilateral disagreement before the Alliance can fulfill the membership offer extended at the Bucharest Summit.” On the first issue – that he was “disappointed” – frankly, I don’t believe him. I think he simply doesn’t care anymore. He is tired, like all unelected diplomats are, with this issue.



An example from Europe: Just last week, the foreign ministers of Austria and Slovakia – like so many before them – wrote in the EU Observer that “We are aware that a name dispute is a central and highly sensitive - but bilateral issue - between two countries.”

On this issue – that of this being a “bilateral disagreement/issue,” I must vehemently disagree. It is “bilateral” only in the sense that one party, Greece, objects to another party, Macedonia. The dispute is, in essence, unilateral. Here’s my second point: we need to call it that. It is a unilateral dispute which Greece has with Macedonia.



And as a refresher course, what is the source of this disagreement/issue? I point back to UN Resolution 817 of April 7, 1993 which governs the entrance of Macedonia into the UN but under the fictitious “provisional and temporary reference.” In that resolution the UN notes that Macedonia has fulfilled all criteria for membership but also notes “Noting however that a difference has arisen over the name of the State, which needs to be resolved in the interest of the maintenance of peaceful and good-neighbourly relations in the region…”



The UN – in its infinite lack of wisdom or moral backbone – simply states that a “difference has arisen.” But from where does this difference come? The UN refuses to say. It refuses to lay blame. This is one reason why the UN is worth so little. Because it cannot take a position. The UN asks the world: follow me, for I stand for nothing.



Moving on. I went back and looked at previous US State Department statements and found a curious thing. In previous statements – in the past year – Gordon has made reference to “the ongoing dispute between Greece and Macedonia over the latter’s name” (April 14), and said, on November 15 of last year, “The name dispute with Greece continues to thwart Macedonia’s aspirations for NATO membership and the start of EU.” Even Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s most recent statements on the issue do not lay blame with Macedonia. Witness what she said at the Chicago NATO Summit: “We strongly support a resolution of the ongoing name dispute and urge the parties to reach an agreement so Macedonia can join the alliance as soon as possible.”



At this point, I’m confused. Is Gordon postulating a new US position with his statement that Macedonia is at fault because Macedonia has a name dispute with Greece? If he does not mean that, then I would call upon the US State Department to clarify his statement. Quickly.



But it is what Gordon said after the summit that really shocked me. In an interview with Al Jazeera Gordon said “And I think once it [the name issue] was agreed people would stop obsessing over precisely what the formal name of the country was and they would get on with it as in so many other cases around the world.”



Frankly, I’m shocked. When I read it I could hardly believe what he said. “Obsessing over precisely what the formal name of the country was?” By deliberately using the loaded word “obsessing,” Gordon is attempting to belittle the Macedonians who hold their name and identity sacred. Another statement that needs to be clarified. I can tell you that the day that Americans stop “obsessing” over our name and identity will be the day that blood flows in the streets.





The identity and the name of the people are intertwined, the two are one. That is precisely why the name issue is so important and why the name of the country must remain what the people has chosen: the Republic of Macedonia. It is high time we make sure the elected and unelected around the world know that as well. No negotiation.



This article was originally published in the Macedonian newspaper Dnevnik on Thursday, July 19, 2012

[George S.]

ABOUT GREECE





Greece illegally dumping Immigrants into Macedonia

Saturday, 18 August 2012

http://macedoniaonline.eu/content/view/21654/2/

Between 2 and 3am in the morning, Greek police illegally dumps immigrants from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Syria and other countries onto Macedonian territory, reports Macedonian police adding the Greek authorities are using illegal border crossings.



Macedonian police sources say the situation is very alarming because of the situation in Syria and the Middle East which has created over 100,000 refugees thus far.



- Greece's Government authorities in an organized fashion are dumping sometimes truck loads of over 100 illegal immigrants on Macedonian territory via multiple unmarked border crossings. This is always done during the night hours. We have already contacted the European Union and FRONTEX regarding this problem - says a diplomat in the Macedonian Government.



Meanwhile Greece has been warned by the UN and EU groups for protection of human rights for their inhumane police actions as well as the appalling conditions in which immigrants are detained and kept.



There are an estimated 1.8 million illegal immigrants in Greece, or 17 percent of the total population.



Trpe Stojanovski from the regional center for Migration and Refugees (MARRI), says at this time Greece is a source of instability for Macedonia and the region.



- We are having a wave of illegal immigration, and this is coming from a EU country (Greece), this is a very dangerous precedent as the authorities in Greece aren't capable of controlling their borders nor their immigration. We are receiving refugees from Iraq, Afghanistan, and even from Mauritania. We have to constantly be increasing our budgets to deal with the new wave of refugees, says Stojanovski.

-

Macedonian authorities have vowed to increase patrols along the Greek border and prevent further dumping of illegal immigrants by Greek authorities into Macedonia.

[George S.]

Anxiety in Athens because of past
Date: 03/08/2012, 12:00

http://www.dnevnik.com.mk/default.as...7FC3858B1C1890

Greek foreign policy is currently trying to repair the disturbed image of the country, but despite the attention of Athenian diplomacy is still directed towards the foreign enemy, the neighbor with two miliona residents, whose membership in the EU and NATO Athens interfere with all means.

This in his long article titled "Sin of Greece - history of a (nearly) forgotten persecution," writes the German daily "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung". The newspaper, as transferred to the Macedonian edition of Deutsche Welle, analyzes the Greek-Macedonian dispute the historical aspect.

- The cause of the irritability of the Athens diplomacy at the mention of a Macedonian minority should be sought in the past. In Greece in 1949 occurred ethnic persecution, which until today is not really developed. Almost exactly a century in the First Balkan War Greece occupied a large part of the historic region of Macedonia from the Ottoman Empire. The other part, called Vardar Macedonia finally went to Yugoslavia and a little bit ("Pirin Macedonia") in Bulgaria. Greeks in large parts of territory novookupiranata were minority. Especially severnozapadnata border area to Yugoslavia was inhabited by Slavic peasants. The majority of them, remembering their oppression in Greece, Greek Civil War sided with the Communists, who have paid dearly. Tens of thousands had to flee, and must not, otherwise than 'pure Greek' refugees never return, write "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung".

The text states that recently came again to tighten the diplomatic dictionary due to the requirement to respect the rights of the Macedonian minority in Greece, Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski said at the meeting in Skopje with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

[George S.]

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The Macedonian Digest - Edition 81& 82 - September & October 2012

31/08/2012
Reply ▼
risto stefov
To ;
The Macedonian Digest

“From the readers for the readers”

Edition 81& 82 – September & October 2012



======oOo======



Јас не сакам востание со луѓе што ќе ме напуштат при првиот неуспех, јас сакам револуција со граѓани кадарни да ги понесат сите искушенија на една долготрајна борба, каква, поради жестоките политички услови, ќе биде и нашата - или ќе водиме говеда на касапница"

ГОЦЕ ДЕЛЧЕВ





IN THE NEWS



Time to Look Beyond Macedonia's Ohrid Agreement

http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/arti...hrid-agreement

More than a decade after its adoption, the Ohrid Framework has become a part of history and it is time now to start a debate on the future.



Harald Schenker
BIRN
Skopje



When the Ohrid Framework Agreement was adopted under extremely delicate and difficult circumstances, the international community hailed a victory of international diplomacy.

Local communities in Macedonia were more down to earth. For many among the majority Macedonians, the agreement imposed a limit beyond which it was impossible to make more concessions.

Many in the ethnic Albanian community considered the deal an acknowledgment of their struggle for more rights and equal treatment and a necessary step.

The other, smaller communities felt they got something out of it, but were wary of being marginalised by the ethnic Albanians when it came to the issue of minority rights.

Today, more than a decade later, much has changed and much has remained the same. The statements above can remain almost unaltered, although the reality has evolved.

Some eulogised the agreement on its tenth anniversary one year ago and I will not repeat that now, beyond saying that it has fulfilled its purpose. It stopped a conflict.

It changed the face of Macedonia, turning it legally into a multi-ethnic state, governed with elements of power sharing. And it impacted on its citizens’ reality. Most state institutions reflect to a large extent this multi-ethnic reality and the monopoly of only one language has gone.

A lot of questions about implementation of the agreement remain. The one with most impact is the political postulate of quantity before quality. Following this logic, it seems better to fill up numbers of party-affiliated persons in the administration in order to reach the quota of “equitable ethnic representation” rather than to uphold professional and educational standards.

Macedonia’s administration is paying the price for this policy; the absorption capacity of EU funds being still at a very low level. But the higher goal of short-term ethno-social pacification is at least achieved for now.

The agreement is undergoing yet another review, pushed by the EU, and the conclusions from this are likely to be included into future planning. But these remain administrative matters. And the fact that the two guarantee powers of the agreement, the EU and the US, will continue to play their role is an insurance policy that these administrative matters will receive appropriate attention. The political work, however, is done. There is no more to achieve there.

Now Macedonia faces other essential problems, which need to be solved this decade, if possible. A provisional list would include:

Identity:

From the onset of Macedonia’s independence, a paradox has existed between the need of ethnic Macedonians to canonise their ethnic identity and the need to find a formula of citizenship that attracts all the country’s inhabitants.

The constitution and legislation try to combine the concepts of individual-based citizenship and group-based ethnic identity with elements of power sharing, such as the double majority principle, or so-called “Badinter majority”, which means that a majority among ethnic community MPs is needed in addition to the parliamentary majority for legislation impacting on ethnic communities. While this may function at the level of day-to-day business, it does not solve the paradox.

The multi-ethnic setup as defined by the constitution has received little more than the lip service required by protocol. Political and intellectual elites, which are too little distinct from each other, have not invested intellectual or political capital in seeking a distinct Macedonian (cross-) national identity that transgresses the narrowness of ethnic definitions and the mythology surrounding them.

On the contrary, the national discourses have been accentuated. The powerful process of creating a new, distinct and antique Macedonian identity is in full flow. It calls for a total change of paradigms. Its success can be measured in opinion polls and partially relates to the immense financial means and political capital invested in pushing this process forward, as well as the collective subjective need to address the identity question.

While pursuing this process, the political and intellectual elites driving it must be aware that it is not countering the strong group identity of the Albanians, who define themselves as part of a larger, cultural nation. Little is on offer for the ethnic Albanian group or the other, smaller minorities to add a layer of collective Macedonian patriotism to the catalogue of multiple individual identities.

Thus, Macedonia’s nation-building process does not cover the entire population and actually opens the way for strengthening existing distinct collective identities, or forming new ones. For examples of this, look at the way that some Macedonian Muslims are striving to become an ethnic community.

To make things worse, the academic debate on the abovementioned issues is marred by an almost Babylonian confusion of terminology. Terms like multiculturalism, multi-ethnicity, multilingualism, etc. are thrown around without reflection, adding to the confusion. When media and politicians pick up the phrases and build them into their discourses, the damage is difficult to undo.

The unsolved conflict with Greece about the name of the country, the dormant conflict with Bulgaria about the Macedonian language and with Serbia about the recognition of an independent church also do their part to keep the identity issue in limbo.

Administrative reforms:

A hurried process of decentralisation and a variety of administrative reforms have failed to produce a sustainable model, balancing the central level and a variety of regional and local levels of interest.

These processes have produced a large number of municipalities that are not going to be able to raise the resources to sustain themselves. It is only natural that as they cease to try and find funds that will never be sufficient at the central level, they will start gravitating around the larger urban centres. This process is ongoing and pooling of resources and expertise is something that every donor will encourage.

All this is unproblematic - until the realisation comes that a de facto regionalisation is under way, which may give rise to discussions about a different administrative setup that would take into account the different and differing interests of the respective regions. This poses two threats to the central level: one is the loss of political leverage and the other is the partially ethno-linguistic dimension of these processes.

In a general context, in which there is a clear push among the ethnic Albanians to establish Albanian as a second, fully equal official language, and if this push succeeds, it would be naïve to think that this would have no political implications for the whole of Macedonian society.

A more open society:

Macedonia’s constitutional and legal frameworks stipulate inclusiveness and guarantee a wide range of rights and freedoms. The debates on the anti-discrimination law and on the de-criminalisation of libel have shown political limitations but have also started processes that will eventually lead to results that are in sync with European reality.

Nevertheless, the social and political developments of the last two decades have produced at least two parallel societies with little interaction and high levels of segregation. Ethnic distance is growing and tolerance towards non-mainstream groups, be they religious, based on sexual orientation, etc. is decreasing.

This in itself is a worrying development, which, combined with a crisis in the education system, offers a platform for the manipulation of generations of young people entering society. Critical thinking is not on the agenda, and young people are educated to obey rather than use their reasoning.

With ethnic and social gaps widening, there is a need for structured communication among citizens, whatever their background. There is need to create a social glue as well as a philosophical and possibly even ideological one, to help bridge these gaps and avoid further separation.

The only feasible path Macedonia can take is towards an open and inclusive society. But for that to happen, the culture of talking and listening to each other has to be nurtured. This culture has to take into account that we are living in the 21st century, in a period of urban concentration. It is not enough to know each other’s folklore and history.

In order to co-exist, it is necessary to know each other’s modern reality. The only way to achieve this is through communication, not spontaneous encounter, left to hazard, but structured communication, which has as its target the construction of a joint narrative for this society.

This list is by no means comprehensive, I simply touched some of the more visibly burning subjects. Others, to which I shall come back later, include arts and culture, economy, regional integration, and, of course, EU accession.

These issues all need to be talked about across society. The results of dealing publicly with them are difficult to predict. On the other hand it is safe to say that the lack of public discourse as well as their taboo status will not have a positive effect on the wellbeing of the society.

By keeping these issues out of the public realm, political elites nurture an illusion that these processes can be controlled and steered. It remains an illusion. Policy planning has to take into account the opinion, interest and wellbeing of the sovereign people. The times of “cabinet policies” have long passed and it is time for Macedonia’s policy makers to take this reality into account.

Party politicians and strategic thinkers need to understand that debate does not pose a threat to policy-making. On the contrary, it democratically legitimises decision-making, when both the process and the contents of public debate are taken into account by policy makers.

This is the moment also for the intellectual elites to step up and get beyond narrow personal or group interests and show the real grandezza of intellectual work: to look beyond the day-to-day administration of reality and realise the need for a vision for Macedonia as a whole: a joint narrative that takes into account all particularities but integrates them for a common aim.

In this respect, the Ohrid Agreement was a first, necessary step. Treating it like the Holy Grail is ignoring the fact that the work has just begun. Or rather, it is about to begin.





AUSTRALIAN MACEDONIAN KARATE KID - PECE NAUMOVSKI

M.A. ICO NAJDOVSKI – PERIN



In July 2011, Pece Naumoski, also known as the Macedonian Karate Kid, arrived in Athens, the capital of Greece, strongly motivated to participate in the World Youth Championship assured that he would continue to have the kind of successes and victories characteristic of his past.


Pece loves to win. He wants to be in first place. And then he wants to celebrate his success. Best of all he wants to celebrate it with the Macedonian sixteen ray flag. After all it is the national symbol of Macedonia, his first homeland, located just above the north of Greece, in the southern part of the European continent.


Pece was initially accepted, warmly greeted and admired by the organizers and by his peers in Athens, as a member of the Australian national team. Members of the karate team from Greece, hosting the event, accompanied Pece and on many occasions quoted some of their more “famous” phrases like “Greece is the cradle of democracy!?”


Pece was then transferred to a higher category

However, when the Greeks found out that Pece was of Macedonian descent, things began to change. The athletes from Greece no longer associated with him. They all disappeared. Obviously they did this under duress from their organizers and coaches who like to mix sports with politics. In other words Athens used the opportunity to get back at Macedonia. Greece has a problem with the Republic of Macedonia using the word “Macedonia” in its name, a nightmarish scandal for the Macedonian people not yet fully understood by the rest of the world. Imagine a neighbour forcing another neighbour to abandon his rightful name and bullying him into what to call and not call himself. It is absurd, shameful and damaging to relationships especially when sports are used to play political games. Politics don’t belong in sports especially when younger generations are involved.



“Greeks are like waves,” says Naumovski “First they climb up high then immediately drop down low!”

Pece was scandalously set up by the Greeks. Set up so that Pece and only Pece would not win a medal. The Greek organizers rearranged the ranking so that instead of Pece being placed in a 52 kilogram group of competitors, where he belonged according to his ranking, in line with all karate norms and standards, Naumovski, without being consulted, was shifted to compete at a higher level, in the 57 kilogram group, where he was automatically handicapped.


With that the Greeks drowned Pece’s chances for new triumphs. Placed in this category by the organizers, Pece lost to the German representative in the semifinals. He truly tried hard but in the end Pece finished fourth in the karate World Youth Championship in Athens.


Let it be known and let it be written that Pece was robbed of his chances of winning a medal with a kind of shameful and outrageous play at the International level under well established norms. Nevertheless, it took a real fighter to come fourth in such a tough competition. What must be recognized here is Pece’s great success and valour. He must be recognized for his outstanding effort, training, strong will and for having to fight the injustices in the Hellenic territory.





AUSTRALIAN MACEDONIAN KARATE KID - PECE NAUMOVSKI



M.A. ICO NAJDOVSKI - PERIN



Брука во Атина - Грците му подметнаа на Пеце



Во Атина, во престолнината на Грција, Пеце Наумовски во месец јули 2011 допатува на Светското младинско првенство, силно мотивиран да ги продолжи успесите и победите кои го красат неговиот лик и му ја збогатуваат спортската биографија.



Сака победа. Сака да освои едно од првите места. И потоа да прослави. Но, да прослави и со македонското знаме со шеснаесетзрачното сонце. Бидејки е тоа национален симбол на неговата прва татковина Македонија, која инаку е распослана погоре на север од Грција, во јужните делови на европскиот континент.



Како член на австралиската национална репрезентација, Пеце отпрво во Атина беше приман, уважуван и срдечно дочекуван од организаторите и врсниците. Со него се дружеа каратисти од земјата домаќин, која милува да каже позната фраза, дека тие биле колевка на демократијата !?



Префрлен во друга категорија



Меѓутоа, само што се дозна дека е Пеце со македонско потекло, одма се сменија работите. Повеќе ги немаше нивните спортисти да се дружат со него. Исчезнаа. Веројатно тоа го сторија под диригентската палка на некои наредбодавци кои спортот го измешаа со политиката. Бидејки Атина форсира проблем оспорувајки и го името на Република Македонија, што е кошмарен скандал и непознат пример досега во светот. Комшија на комшија да му се меша како ќе се вика. Апсурдно, срамно и штетно е кога политиката става рака и таму каде што најмалку треба, инволвирајќи ги дури и раномладешките генерации.



,,Грците се како брановите,, рече Наумовски. ,,Еднаш се искачуваат високо нагоре, за веднаш потоа да се симнуваат како осеката на далгите. Да понираат надолу” !



Скандалозно беше грчкото класично подметнување. Само и само Пеце да не освои медал. Го направија тоа своевидно елиминационо рангирање така, што, наместо да биде ставен во групата натпреварувачи до 52 килограми, каде што и објективно припаѓа според пропозициите, и колку што треба според сите норми и стандарди во каратето, Наумовски без никаков аргумент го префрлија да се натпреварува во погорната, во таа до 57 килограми, што е и автоматски хендикеп.



Со тоа грците му ги потопија шансите за нови триумфи. Во таквата категорија со помош на диверзијата на организаторите, тој во полуфиналето загуби од германскиот претставник. Навистина стори се. Вложи максимум, но, сепак на крајот го освои четвртото место во Атина на светското одмерување на силите на младите каратисти.



Нека се знае и нека остане запишано дека со срамното изигрување на мегународните и општо познати норми, му беше направена елиминација од можно освојување на медал. И покрај се, го зазеде високото четврто место. Што мора да се признае е голем успех и валоризација на исклучителните напори, тренинзите, силната волја и борбата со неправдите на елинска територија.





Vladimir Putin has come under fire after a video of him shaking his fist at a priest surfaced online.

http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Vid...211/story.html

The incident occurred when Putin visited the famous Valaam monastery on Lake Ladoga to attend a meeting of the Russian Geographical Society. After shaking hands with a number of society board members, the Orthodox priest attempted to kiss Putin on the hand, and the Russian president jerked away in surprise before briefly raising a fist. Footage of the exchange was uploaded on YouTube by Russia Today.

Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday that Putin has had to warn the man about physical gestures in the past.

The priest, who is from Macedonia, defended his gesture. "We have this tradition in the Balkans of always honoring your superiors, and I always kiss the hands of parents, grandparents and so forth as a sign of love and respect," he told Interfax.



O'Neal: Time for Macedonia to enter UN as Macedonia

http://macedoniaonline.eu/content/view/21591/1/

Now it’s the right time when the Republic of Macedonia can rightfully seek from the UN General Assembly and from those 130+ countries that have already recognised it under its constitutional name, to agree to be recognised in the world organisation under this name.

British diplomat and first international mediator in Greek-Macedonia name dispute, Robin O'Neil, assessed this in an interview with MTV's ‘Porta’ program.



The recent visit of the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to Macedonia means support, who commented that current dispute is ‘regretful’ and should be ‘urgently’ resolved adding that he is personally committed to help in this, O’Neil said.



He explained that two foreign political goals of the Macedonian Government – sooner membership in NATO and EU and resolving the name dispute are connected, but are not identical, adding that 1995 Interim Accord offers solutions to first of the two problems. The Government in Greece agreed in Article 11.1 of this Accord that will not hinder admission of Macedonia in international organisations under the name FYR of Macedonia.



The International Court of Justice in the Hague verified that Greece is obliged to obey this obligation. As far as I know so far Macedonia has not submitted request to join in any of these two organisations under the name FYR of Macedonia. It should be remembered that the Interim Accord recognises the name FYR of Macedonia only as provisional name, O’Neil said.



The UN Security Council Resolution 817 (1993) is the same, which recommended Macedonia to be admitted in the UN under that name while the talks between Greece and Macedonia last. It is second important aspect of this issue for which entire international community agrees that the name issue is simply bilateral dispute between Greece and Macedonia, he said, adding that this is somehow forgotten by the international community.



The dispute between Macedonia and Greece is purely bilateral and accordingly other counties should not be interested in this. Other countries can be interested in the dispute if it is a threat for the peace or stability of the Balkans, but it is not the case. UN Security Council resolutions requested from Greece and Macedonia to resolve their bilateral dispute however in the period of 20 years Greece refused any kind of reasonable compromise.



Since the dispute is only between Greece and Macedonia one possible direction towards progress would be Greece in relations with Macedonia to use name different from “Republic of Macedonia,” and Macedonia to accept it in this relations. Macedonia would continue not to have problem to use the constitutional name of “Hellenic Republic” and I do not see any problem here, and I hope that Macedonia will be flexible in relation to the name, which Greece will use towards (it) Macedonia.



Such an agreement would only have bilateral meaning and the same will not be used or will have influence on the name under which Macedonia will be known in the UN or international organisations including here NATO and EU.



Commenting the statement of Daniel Serwer on importance of Macedonia’s admission in NATO as the factor of providing stability in the region, O’Neil reiterated his position saying “is the most relevant for Greece which has many direct interests in the stability of the region and in good-neighbourly relations with all around it.” This interest will be fully met through establishing close relations with Macedonia as member of the NATO and as EU partner, O’Neil said.



The name dispute is exaggerated as highly emotional political problem and for this no one should be blamed but political parties in Greece. Once resolved, it would show that the solution will not bring any wrong either to Greek state or Greek nation, Robin O'Neil said in his interview with MTV's ‘Porta’ program.





Australian MP lobbying for Macedonia
Date: 03/08/2012, 11:55

http://www.dnevnik.com.mk/default.as...238F0E57E0628D

With all my energy will be zalozham Australia to recognize Macedonia under its constitutional name, said Stephen Jones, a member of the Australian Parliament during today's visit to Bitola.

- I'll try to be recognized Macedonia under its constitutional name in Australia, it will put my whole enegija and will seek support from friends in Parliament. We will do for Macedonia to be included in the EU and NATO since you are a small nation in a very large region, and security of your borders and the future of this country require the inclusion in the international community. For Australia, Macedonia is a new country with a very old history - the senator said Jones. He visited Macedonia at their own expense desiring closely to meet the country of origin of the Macedonians in Australia who gave voice to his party. Here he met with the President, ministers of foreign affairs and finance, as well as mayors of Ohrid and Bitola. - It is our great supporter and lobbyist to accept the Republic of Macedonia, our name in all documents in Australia. As I said to the New Year's plans to succeed in it by its maximum effort and support. To perform before the local parliament wanted to inform people of Macedonia - Bitola Mayor Vladimir said Taleski. (ZH.Z.)



Stavros Lambrinidis appointed first EU Special Representative for Human Rights

http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedoc...aff/132029.pdf

On a proposal by Catherine Ashton, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and
Security Policy/Vice President of the European Commission, the Council today appointed
Stavros Lambrinidis as EU Special Representative (EUSR) for Human Rights. Mr
Lambrinidis will take office on 1 September, with an initial mandate running until 30 June,
2014. His role will be to enhance the effectiveness and visibility of EU human rights
policy. He will have a broad, flexible mandate, giving him the ability to adapt to
circumstances, and will work closely with the European External Action Service, which
will provide him with full support.


EU High Representative Catherine Ashton said: "I am delighted to appoint Stavros
Lambrinidis as the first EU Special Representative for Human Rights. Human rights are
one of my top priorities and a silver thread that runs through everything that we do in
external relations. This is therefore a key portfolio for the European Union and for me
personally. With his talent and huge experience, Mr Lambrinidis will be a tremendous
asset to us. I look forward to working with him in putting the protection and promotion of
human rights and democracy at the heart of EU external action, and enhancing the
coherence, effectiveness and visibility of our work in this field."


Born in Athens, Mr Lambrinidis is an attorney, a former Minister of Foreign Affairs of
Greece and a former Vice-President of the European Parliament. Between 2004 and 2009
he served as Vice-President of the Parliament's Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs
Committee. Earlier in his career he was Chairman of the Committee for Human Rights in
the Bar Association of Washington, D.C.


AMHRC/MHRMI/VINOZHITO DOUBLY QUESTION THE APPOINTMENT OF A ‘CRUSADING’ EU SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

Melbourne, Toronto & Lerin

26 July 2012

The Australian Macedonian Human Rights Committee (AMHRC), Macedonian Human Rights Movement International (MHRMI) and the European Free Alliance – Rainbow/Vinozhito, a political party of the Macedonian minority of Greece, question the wisdom of a Special Representative for Human Rights to focus on non-EU states and are deeply concerned about the appointee.

On 25 June 2012, the EU High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs & Security Policy, Catherine Ashton, announced that former PASOK Foreign Minister of Greece, Stavros Lambrinidis will be the inaugural Special Representative.

The appointment of a Special Representative for Human Rights follows the EU’s adoption in June of the Strategic Framework and the Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy for the purpose of dealing with the EU’s external relations i.e. with third countries.

In principle, any initiative addressing the promotion of human rights and democracy should be welcomed. However the limited scope of this plan is disappointing. Regrettably, it appears that the Special Representative won’t possess a mandate to address human rights violations and concerns within EU Member States. This is a missed opportunity to strengthen human rights protection within the Union, especially in relation to persistent human rights violators such as Greece, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary.

As Mark Dawson, Professor of Law at the Hertie School of Governance, has observed:

“These violations can only be tackled, however, if an EU envoy is given the necessary powers. Existing EU human rights bodies—such as the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights—have struggled to live up to expectations precisely because they have been given a highly limited mandate, able to provide “information” but not to critically and independently assess the conformity of national and EU institutions with human rights standards. The new special representative's ability to make a difference will depend on going further: this representative should not just be an external voice for human rights but should be given internal powers too, for example the ability to scrutinize legislation or even recommend legal measures against states who persistently act in violation of the EU Charter. To be a credible “external” actor, the EU must also be credible in terms of its own human rights commitments.”

In the programmatic statement of the EU Framework for the Promotion of Human Rights and Democracy, it is asserted that the EU will: “intensify the promotion of ratification and effective implementation of key international human rights treaties”. Yet it is the Greece of Mr. Lambrinidis, which is not a “third country”, but a foundation member of the ‘crusading’ EU, that has refused to ratify essential human rights instruments.

The appointment of Mr Lambrinidis to this post has tarnished the office of the Special Representative even before work has commenced. Mr Lambrinidis is a former Foreign Minister of Greece and diplomat in the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Under his leadership the Greek Foreign Ministry continued to vehemently deny the existence of Macedonian, Turkish, Vlach and other minorities within Greece. The treatment of these minority groups has been heavily criticised by the United Nations’ Independent Expert on Minority Issues, various bodies of the Council of Europe and by domestic and international human rights organisations.

Prior to becoming Foreign Minister, from 2004-2011 Mr Lambrinidis was a member of the European Parliament elected from the ranks of the PASOK party. He remained silent on the issue of minorities in Greece and in particular, in concert with fellow Greek MEPs, continued to deny the existence of Macedonian minorities in the Balkans.

Mr Lambrinidis’ profile and record demonstrate that he is unfit for the position of EU Special Representative of Human Rights, even if the position has an international (non-EU) focus. There are a number of very fine human rights advocates in Greece; however, Mr. Lambrinidis cannot be counted as one of them.

#####

Established in 1984, the Australian Macedonian Human Rights Committee (AMHRC) is a non-governmental organisation that informs and advocates before international institutions, governments and broader communities about combating racism and promoting human rights. Our aspiration is to ensure that Macedonian communities and other excluded groups throughout the world, are recognised, respected and afforded equitable treatment. For more information please visit www.macedonianhr.org.au, email [email protected] or via +61 3 9329 8960.

Macedonian Human Rights Movement International (MHRMI) has been active on human and national rights issues for Macedonians and other oppressed peoples since 1986. For more information: www.mhrmi.org, twitter.com/mhrmi, facebook.com/mhrmi, [email protected], 1-416-850-7125.

The European Free Alliance – Rainbow is the political party of the Macedonian minority in Greece. The party has offices in Florina/Lerin and Edessa/Voden. For more information please visit www.vinozito.gr, or by email: [email protected] or on +30 23850 46548.


AUSTRALIAN MACEDONIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE (AMHRC)
Suite 106, Level 1,
55 Flemington Rd ,
North Melbourne VIC 3051, Australia
Tel/Fax: +61 3 9329 8960
Email:[email protected]
Visit our website: www.macedonianhr.org.au

__._,_.___





EDITORIALS





Coming Crisis not the Best Time to Join the EU



Igor Siljanoski - 10/21/2011



Now is the absolute worst time for some of the Balkan countries to seek entry into the European Union. The EU is in no mood for expansion and the reason is a major existential crisis looming on the horizon. What is the proof of the gloominess? Well, it is not hard proof as all of the rhetoric coming from the enlargement secretariat is filled with messages that the EU is open for expansion. It is the foul attitude of EU institutions, politicians, diplomats and bureaucrats toward countries that want to join the EU, notably the Western Balkan applicants.

The poster child for EU expansion this time around is Croatia, slated to join in the summer of 2013. Every effort is made to make this accession a success. The message is positive and placated for all to see. The EU is not tired, slow and ineffective but merely more cautious and more mature. The process is hardened but not the promise.

The real message however is sent to everyone else by stark faced diplomats and politicians uttering de facto ultimatums. For Serbia it is the Kosovo issue, for Macedonia it is the indecent proposal to change its name and seemingly identity as well. The Bosnia and Herzegovina’s ultimatum is to make a real country out of an impossible and improbable one. For Albania, the task seems to be basically to reinvent what is perceived as archaic political culture and system. Only tiny Montenegro does not have a fundamental flaw that would bring its hopes to a screeching stop and look for this country to be the next poster child.

Angela Merkel delineated this divide between acceptable and long shot aspirants in her recent visit to Croatia and Serbia. Her messages could not be more different for the two countries. Croatia received as warm a treatment as you can get from a German Chancellor and Serbia got a grumpy old rub with attitude, coldness and body language that said it all. Words were even more scathing. You indeed have to make a choice between recognizing Kosovo as a separate state and joining the EU. Serbs were hoping to hear that the extradition of key war criminals from the Bosnian and Croatian wars was their ticket to get their foot in the door with Kosovo hanging as something that will be resolved in the nick of time before the other foot was in the door. They did not expect to hear a firm raus as a response to such major breakthrough.

The sad story with Macedonia was breaking all dimensions of decency when the EU institutions started a habit of completely disregarding the need to placate their sensibilities about the existence of the Macedonian nation and language and stood in solidarity with Greece. It is hard to discern if this was done as an overall support given to Greece in the midst of a severe financial crisis or it was a turning point in the overall policy.

Either way, the reaction in Macedonia should be transformational. If there was a doubt that the EU would throw Macedonia under a bus for the sake of a member state, the latest EU progress report should totally remove this doubt. Perhaps the EU had it with the conflict and has made a call. Merkel and other key politicians don’t even plan on stepping a foot in the banished land. Maybe cruel to the enthusiastic EU applicant, it nonetheless erases hopes for accession talks anytime soon as the Greeks will only be emboldened by such a stance. Whether the Macedonian state caused this EU attitude or not is irrelevant to the process. It is one less problem for the EU to have on the plate at times of extreme crisis.

The language of the EU reports and appraisals changes to suit the EU agenda all the time. Montenegro became a viable EU candidate state on the wings of such language. It erased worries about corruption and organized crime and every other objective obstacle for EU accession. It is the same language that brought Bulgaria and Romania into the EU fold. Getting into the EU has now nothing to do with hard and defined criteria (as such does not exist or is vague). It is a political decision, mainly by France and Germany. Britain, as it may be the case is not a factor as it supports virtually every EU applicant and has for a long time. The British strategy is that it welcomes the widest possible union as long as it is limited in its depth. The British have long isolated their state form EU integration momentum by not taking part in the Euro and the Schengen agreement.

The problem that is causing these policies in Brussels may not be confined to the insolvency of Greece and the debt ratios in other Euro Zone countries. It is about the end of the European integration process itself. It seems to be halted and working in reverse where it truly maters, in the minds and the hearts of European citizens. What makes it even more troublesome is that the lure of the EU for the small countries standing outside the wall is deteriorating with increasing speed.

Whatever promises the EU and the Euro held in the populations of those not integrated in the EU or the Euro zone now seems unachievable and empty. If Greece, the thinking goes, with its three decades of serious EU attention and re-engineering is on the brink of an economic collapse what chances do other post socialist countries have for achieving anything better?

Many EU officials, analysts and economists now predict that the EU must move toward more integration of current EU members, not less. In other words, to stave the collapse of the Euro, the EU has to come closer to a fiscal union. Have the masters of Europe gotten the concept all wrong? Should the fiscal and political union be the precondition for a monetary union? Economists worth their salt would argue that even if this is not a precondition for a monetary union, fiscal and political affairs must be resolved in favour of a common financial zone. The instruments may vary, from having a transfer union with guarantees of payment of anyone’s debts by all to a common treasury and fiscal policy. Even a complicated system would be preferable to the chaos of the EU fiscal house.

There were heavyweight economists in 1999 who warned of this crisis and the premature end of the monetary union if it was done in a fiscal and political vacuum. Today, the same economists give some room for redemption and salvation of the currency if there is a political will to bring in a fiscal union or a Eurobond like solution. If fiscal closeness is difficult to implement, the transfer mechanism may be impossible to accept. With no further integration, fiscal or otherwise, the EU is likely to lose the Euro and regress from its current achievements. If the Euro fails, bets on the success of the EU itself are not favourable to its existence a decade out.

The crisis with Greece crystallized the true approach of the EU toward its peripheral members and aspirant countries. There is still a core of the union of which Germany and France is the absolute kernel. This brings uncomfortable realization that they used the Euro while it was in their interest and would have no problems discarding the Euro as soon as they find a suitable firewall for their banks and their economies. When these two countries get cold feet the altar is utterly cold and empty, the marriage unconsumed and the future for the union is rather bleak. Luckily, integration so far took a heavy toll on opting for disunity. It is no longer an easy option.

The hope of millions of Europeans living in the peripheral EU states depends on the likelihood that France and Germany in particular would warm up to the ever closer union mantra they have grown fond of over many years and change their mind on further integration. It is not even about a sustained attitude but rather about a mood. Despite their statements, the two countries increasingly seem to favour getting out rather than continuing on the path of EU integration. Being on the fence is also a terrible situation that is clearly noticed in global financial markets.

Negative momentum is a terrible thing when it comes to unity. Yugoslavia is a good example of a troubled unity based on a slogan. The ever closer union now resembles brotherhood and unity, and the 27 countries of the EU strikingly resemble the six republics that parted ways. The most outlandish reply to a light interview question about the future of the Balkans in the EU came from a musician in the 1990’s who stated that either the EU is our future or our fate becomes the EU’s future. Should we brace for the latter?

There are two differences, however, between the EU and the former Balkan power. Yugoslavia had a strong federal government and institutions that disintegrated, allowing the federal structure to fall apart. The EU never developed a strong central government or institutions that would make policy and decisions to surpass those of the national governments. The result is the same, a weak union.

The second, and admittedly a controversial difference is that for geopolitical reasons of the great powers at the time Yugoslavia was pushed over the proverbial cliff. There is no indication that anyone desires to push the EU over a cliff, especially its offspring in America and elsewhere or its economic stakeholders in the East. One interesting scenario is that it would be someone else, other than other EU countries that will bail out the troubled EU countries in the end. It is most likely to happen if the kernel of Europe simply holds hands on a rock surrounded by lava. It is not that the crisis will not be resolved this way but how long will it take for the home to be livable again. It is the ashes in a volcanic eruption that do most of the irreversible damage to property.

Looking at a prospect of a cold night on the grass lawn outside of the EU castle, this is a time to build a better tent and wait until the fog is lifted and the fortress is aired out.

It seems that for these reasons, the EU is experiencing an uncharacteristic diplomatic deficit. The language of the EU representatives in the applicant countries is exposing an unwelcomed EU hypocrisy. The diplomats and the EU supporters will increasingly be isolated and ineffective as no one wants to join a grumpy union that never helped anyone before lining their own interests first. Greece is a prime example of what can go wrong and a warning to would be EU states.

If there is a reason for sadness for countries such as Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Albania it is that they are back where they began, before the dreams of a Slav or Balkan federation and all of the brutal wars and turbulence of the 20th century. The gates of Europe are being erected at a very old frontier. Once ruled by the Ottomans the people in these countries, for a short while, gained some dear friends on the other side of the frontier and thought of themselves as true Europeans. The hope is that if and when EU is healthy again, the smiles on the diplomats will return and the promise of Europe will once again be cozy. At the moment, that tent outside the wall will have to do. To want to enter the EU fortress under the current circumstances is, quite frankly, not rational.

Igor Siljanoski is a policy professional working and residing in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. His previous experience was in the public sector as an economist, economic development consultant and business and financial planner. Igor is lecturing macroeconomics at the St.Clair College of applied arts and science in Windsor, Ontario. Igor holds Masters Degree in Political Science and Honours Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from the University of Windsor, Canada.



Email: [email protected]





Bulgarian Anti-Macedonian Bigotry from an EU MP


Press release issued by OMO Ilinden PIRIN, the Australian Macedonian Human Rights Committee and Macedonian Human Rights Movement International

Blagoevgrad/Gorna Dzumaja, Melbourne and Toronto, 14/8/2012 - A statement denying the existence of minorities in Bulgaria was made last week to the Macedonian media by an MP of the European Parliament, Andrej Kovachev - a member of the ruling party in Bulgaria (GERB). Similar views have also been recently expressed by Bulgaria’s Foreign Minister, Mladenov. Such an attitude raises the question of how sincere Bulgaria was in ratifying the Framework Convention for National Minorities and aids in explaining its practical non-application in Bulgaria.

The claim that there are no minorities in Bulgaria can be considered to be an expression of fascism, a yearning for a “pure nation”, something which the European Union should condemn as scandalous and unacceptable. Moreover the specific denial by Mr. Kovachev of the existence of the Macedonian minority in Bulgaria is not only a flagrant lie but also a severe act of discrimination.

We, of course, support the right of every individual to freely determine her/his identity and we condemn any sort of discrimination on that basis wherever it may occur. This also applies to Bulgarians in the Republic of Macedonia. However, the artificial conversion by Mr. Kovachev, of cases to do with criminal conduct in Macedonia, into cases of “ethnic discrimination” cannot be described as anything other than a conscious and deliberate policy of provocation - a childish attempt to vilify Macedonians and to poison relations between Bulgaria and Macedonia. It also serves as a hindrance to European stability and cooperation in general.

Before it places conditions on others, Bulgaria itself would do well to satisfy those same conditions. The recognition of and according of rights to minorities, including the Macedonian minority, as well as making serious efforts to end hate speech, are criteria which Bulgaria has still not satisfied.

###

OMO Ilinden PIRIN is a political party supporting the rights of the Macedonian minority in Bulgaria. It has been banned since 2000, despite a 2005 European Court of Human Rights Judgement ruling that the decision was a violation of the European Convention on Human Rights. For more information please visit www.omoilindenpirin.org.

Established in 1984, the Australian Macedonian Human Rights Committee (AMHRC) is a non-governmental organisation that informs and advocates before international institutions, governments and broader communities about combating racism and promoting human rights. Our aspiration is to ensure that Macedonian communities and other excluded groups throughout the world, are recognised, respected and afforded equitable treatment. For more information please visit www.macedonianhr.org.au, email [email protected] or via +61 3 9329 8960.

Macedonian Human Rights Movement International (MHRMI) has been active on human and national rights issues for Macedonians and other oppressed peoples since 1986. For more information: www.mhrmi.org, twitter.com/mhrmi, facebook.com/mhrmi, [email protected], +1 416-850-7125.


Dimitras: No recognition of Macedonian minority unless Athens is pressed by int'l community



Skopje, 11 August 2012 (MIA) - No Greek government will recognize the Macedonian minority until the country is pressed by the international community, says Panayote Dimitras from the Greek Helsinki Monitor in an interview with the Macedonian Radio Television.



"There is not a chance that a government led by Samaras does anything over the issue. This is a taboo topic for all Greek governments. The rejection to register a home of Macedonian culture, despite a judgment by the European Court, is another proof that Greece does not intend to enforce decisions regarding Macedonian associations. Greece will not give in until it is forced by the international community", says Dimitras.



Regarding Greece's failure to respect international recommendations and obligations, he says the EU does not care about human rights, regardless of them claiming the opposite.

"Greece will fight to the very end, until it is forced by some 'troika' for human rights, such as the one for economic issues. Greece probably has the worst record among EU members regarding human rights and minority rights", he adds.



Pertaining to Greece's veto on Macedonia's NATO and EU accession, Dimitras says EU gave Greece that right.



"Since the very beginning, EU member-states gave Greece the right to veto Macedonia's EU accession under the constitutional name and under any other name, including fYRoM. Now it is very difficult for members to change this until one day the European Parliament majority passes a clear resolution that would force the European Council to change its stance or impose pressure", underlines Dimitras.



Imagine all the countries…


Can you imagine UN and EU to be persuaded by…



Mexico - to use the reference the Former British Colonies of United States of America for the USA, because the "America" part of the regular name implies territorial pretensions to the whole geographical area of America?
DR Congo - to use the reference the Former French Colony of Central Africa for the Central African Republic, because the "Africa" part of the regular name implies territorial pretensions to the whole geographical area of Africa?
USA - to use the reference the Former Spanish Colony of Mexico for the United Mexican States, because the "Mexico" part of the regular name implies territorial pretensions to south-western state of New Mexico?
USA - to use the reference the Former Soviet Republic of Georgia for the Republic of Georgia, because the "Georgia" part of the regular name implies territorial pretensions to their southern state of Georgia?
Azerbaijan - to use the reference the Former Ottoman Possession of Albania for the Republic of Albania, because the "Albania" part of the regular name implies territorial pretensions to the geographical region with that name in the Caucasus?
Macedonia - to use the reference the Former Yugoslav Republic of Montenegro for the Republic of Montenegro, because the "Montenegro" (in original: Crna Gora) part of the regular name implies territorial pretensions to the Macedonian region of Crna Gora Mountain?
Sweden - to use the reference the Former Russian Province of Finland for the Republic of Finland, because of the claim that Santa Claus is the "most famous Finn," while Sweden considers this cultural figure as its own?
France – to use the reference the Former Norman Possession of Great Britain for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, because the "Britain" part of the regular name implies territorial pretensions to the geographical area of Bretagne?
Russia – to use the reference the Former Ottoman Possession of Bulgaria for the Republic of Bulgaria, because the "Bulgaria" part of the regular name implies territorial pretensions to the geographical area covered by the historical country with the same name along Volga River?
Macedonia – to use the reference the Former Yugoslav Republic of for Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Serbia, because all of them were indeed republics in former Yugoslav federation, and it's unfair only one of them to carry this identity burden.
No?


Then please raise your voice against the continuous discriminatory use of the "temporary" reference the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia by both UN and EU when they refer to Republic of Macedonia. Help putting and end to the surreally ridiculous, but very damaging "name dispute" instigated by Greece.







ABOUT MACEDONIA





PM Gruevski: We don't allow anyone to step on Macedonian dignity, there are problems in governmental coalition



Kicevo, 22 August 2012 (MIA) - There is a crisis in the Government's coalition as a result of altering in attitude of some members of DUI leadership since the last parliamentary elections, who do not act fairly as before, and the crown of this behaviour is the event in Slupcane, Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski told reporters on Wednesday.



We don't wish for early parliamentary election but if DUI (Democratic Union for Integration) estimates it is necessary we are ready for that, the PM said.



In the three years before the last elections, DUI as a coalition partner was fair and respected the reached agreements, which was also the case with VMRO-DPMNE, Gruevski said. But this year, maybe because DUI considers that its MPs cover the parliament's majority for VMRO-DPMNE, which has 56 deputies, or due to other reasons, the party's attitude has changed. Gruevski said he talked on several occasions with DUI leader, pointing out that some individuals had been acting inappropriately. The (Slupcane event) was the crown of such inappropriate behaviour, which doesn't contribute to realization of neither DUI goals nor the issues that are important for ethnic Albanians in Macedonia, but only to creating tensions. So, yes there is a crisis in the Government's coalition, the PM said.



Preserving the honesty and fairness in any partnership is rather important for me, Gruevski said.

"The preservation of our and the dignity of the Macedonian people and the citizens of the Republic of Macedonia is of exceptional importance for us and we will not allow nobody to step on the Macedonian dignity at any price. Last year the citizens entrusted us to lead the Government for the next three years in line with our defined programme and that is what we wish and make attempts to do," Gruevski said.



VMRO-DPMNE, he said, wishes to respect everybody, all ethic communities, all citizens of the Republic of Macedonia, having no desire to play with the feelings of other ethnic communities. But if someone else wishes to do so and considers it is a way for gaining certain political points, then I believe in this case he has chosen the wrong partner. VMRO-DPMNE is not a partner that will allow somebody to undermine, humiliate and play with its feelings and dignity, Gruevski said.



PM Gruevski says Slupcane event bad move, DM Besimi's regret - positive one





The event in Slupcane was a private excursion of the Defense Minister, Fatmir Besimi, or his party task, while his regret expressed today in regard to this event offers opportunity for calming the situation, Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski told reporters on Wednesday.



"He had neither asked nor would have gotten an approval from the Government for some kind of an official honoring or visiting of that place. It is even worse that he went there with uniformed persons and thus hurt the feelings of Macedonians. I've heard that he expressed regret today over this event. It is good that he has realized that (his move) was neither visionary nor an act of brave leadership, but one that brings harm to inter-ethnic relations and creates tension," Gruevski said.





DM Besimi regrets if he has offended anyone with Slupcane event


Skopje, 22 August 2012 (MIA) - Minister of Defense Fatmir Besimi voiced regret if anyone had been offended by his move to lay flowers in Slupcane. Speaking after a meeting Wednesday with U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Philip Reeker, he said his intention had never been to offend anyone, but to contribute to reconciliation.



"My intention is and has always been to equally represent all citizens of the Republic of Macedonia and to do everything in my power to contribute to reconciliation of all communities. Reconciliation is an essentially important act in the Republic of Macedonia, especially between the two sides involved in the 2001 conflict. I believe that the Macedonian Army is highly capable of leading the process of healing past wounds and contributing to building a common Macedonia," Besimi said.



He added that he fully supported the messages of Macedonia's President, Premier, DUI president and other political leaders in the country regarding Ramadan Bayram urging tolerance, inter-ethnic reconciliation and mutual respect amongst all citizens.



"In the Republic of Macedonia, we are facing several challenges, including the need of advocating reconciliation and understanding amongst different ethnic and religious communities. This is a strategic objective in the program of the current Macedonian Government. We strive toward overcoming differences and turning them into our value i.e. building an open and safe Macedonia that offers peace and prosperity of all citizens regardless of their ethnic, religious affiliation, gender or their political views. The laying of flowers in Slupcane last week was in that spirit," the Defense Minister stated on Wednesday.



Besimi said there was no adequate time for reconciliation and for moving forward into the future together. "There is only one time and that is now. Now is the time to do that. We should be proud as citizens of Macedonia for the progress made to date," the Minister noted saying that recent developments and public backlash suggested that a lot of work must be done to accomplish this goal, which was beneficial for the future.



"As President Ivanov has recently said, it all depended on all of us Macedonians, Albanians, Turkish, Vlachs, Bosniaks what kind of state we are going to have. I am convinced that we can achieve our goals for Euro-Atlantic integration and full-fledged membership in NATO," Besimi said.



U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Philip Reeker welcomed the statement by DM Besimi.



"I welcome the words of the minister on reconciliation, because it is never easy. According to the American experience, our army in fact was a foundation contributing to building our society and our aspiration for building a better society in the future. The department of defense and armed forces were in the front lines in the country's integration and establishment of that trust. Reconciliation is in the spirit of NATO as well," Reeker stated.



He pointed out the reconciliation between the UK and Germany, Germany and France, Hungary and Romania, Greece and Turkey.



"As Clinton has said in Chicago, we need to focus on NATO enlargement in our discussions with the countries in the region and we must not allow today's news to distract us from the challenges and future goals," the U.S. diplomat noted.



He reiterated the U.S. support for Macedonia's bid to join NATO. "Nobody wants to see Macedonia in NATO more than the U.S.," Reeker stated.



Besimi and Reeker discussed bilateral, regional and multilateral defense cooperation as well as MoD's efforts with respect to Euro-Atlantic integration and NATO membership. Interlocutors also discussed the A5 initiative aimed at strengthening regional cooperation in the interest of peace and stability in the region. The Minister thanked for the participation of U.S. troops in last week's parade on the occasion of ARM's 20th anniversary.



"It is another confirmation for the strategic partnership between the Republic of Macedonia and the U.S.," DM Besimi stressed.



The partnership between Macedonia and Vermont i.e. the Vermont National Guard and the Macedonian Army is an additional foundation and example of how a cooperation should be developed. I always refer to this cooperation whenever I will speak on the matter in the region," Philip Reeker concluded.





Macedonia marks 109th Ilinden Uprising, 68th ASNOM anniversaries



Skopje, 2 August 2012 (MIA) – The two historic Ilinden holidays – 109 years from the Ilinden Uprising and 68 years from the first session of the Anti-Fascists Assembly of National Liberation of Macedonia (ASNOM) - are marked Thursday at Meckin Kamen in Krusevo and the memorial centre in Kumanovo village Pelince.



President Gjorge Ivanov addressed the central event in Krusevo noting that only united can we realise ideals and create a European Macedonia.



We are again on Meckin Kamen in memory of our Ilinden fighters who fought for justice and freedom; fighters for a better future. We are remembering with great gratitude our famous Ilinden fighters Delcev, Gruev, Karev, Satev, Petrov and Sandanski. We also remember with great respect the participants in the national liberation war and anti-fascists struggle for liberation of Macedonia; Brasnarov, Pitu, Cento, Cuckov, Agoli and many others. We remember the participants of ASNOM who laid the foundations of the Macedonian state in 1944 and to the third Ilinden on Sept. 8, 1991 when a centuries-long dream of the Macedonian people for an independent and sovereign Republic of Macedonia has been finally realised, President Gjorge Ivanov said.



Ivanov referred to the 1913 Treaty of Bucharest, when Macedonia and Macedonians were divided and the Macedonian name and Macedonian language were denied. However, they failed to close the Macedonian issue, he underlined.



To be free means to step on the road of sovereignty, which is lit by our ideals: freedom, justice and dignity. We live in freedom and we are experiencing it strongly. And we are still fighting for justice. Someone today wants to deprive us from our name, language, identity and that’s why the ideal is not realised. We are still fighting for the ideal. We must not be discouraged. We are Macedonians and we speak the Macedonian languages, Ivanov said.

On behalf of the Macedonian citizens I will not accept reports for the Republic of Macedonia where our identity entries are excluded. I as president of the Republic of Macedonia will insist that we be addressed with respect in accordance with international law and universally approved principles, Ivanov said.



Strategic determination of our multi-thnic, multilingual and multi-religious society was, is and will be full-fledged membership in NATO as a guarantee for peace, security and stability of the Republic of Macedonia and membership in the European Union as a precondition for peace, development and progress.



He called on the citizens to remain committed to reforms, to continue to be a factor of stability in the region with a peaceful policy of openness and good-neighbourliness.



I call upon you to create European Macedonia with our own hands, implementing the European values in our everyday life. No one and nothing must and cannot discourage us. It depends on all of us, Macedonians, Albanians, Turks, Vlachs, Serbs, Roma, Bosniaks from all citizens of this country what kind of Macedonia we want to be, Ivanov said.



He also pointed out that only if we are united with a lot of work and by our own strength can we realise the ideals.



We need visionaries who will have views for the future, committed patriots and modern heroes, we need open minded people and not destructive, negative and pessimistic people, Ivanov underlined.



Ivanov appealed for political divisions on a daily basis to stop, because if we focus on strategic goals we will stay on our road that leads to our goals, which unites the citizens of the Republic of Macedonia regardless of their religious, ethnic or political affiliation.



To be Macedonian and citizens of the Republic of Macedonia means to be tolerant and to respect the culture and customs of others, Ivanov said. He also appeals to citizens to build Macedonia as a developed, progressive and democratic country.



Let’s defend the interests of the Macedonian citizens, independence, peace and stability for the prosperity of all. That’s why from this place where the first democratic republic in the Balkans was born, I call upon all of you to unite under the flag of independent Macedonia, President Gjorge Ivanov said.



Parliament Speaker Trajko Veljanoski, addressing the ceremony on the occasion of the national holiday Ilinden in ASNOM memorial centre in Kumanovo village Pelince, said that we should continue to build Macedonia as a successful and eternal story.



The house of Macedonia is built and our holiest obligation is to preserve it. Our ancestors did not leave us a past from which we should be ashamed and that's why we should celebrate it. Macedonia is faced with a constant fight to conquer freedom. This fight today should be led for prosperity, development, higher standards and a better life. Our task as a generation is to lead this fight unyieldingly. Macedonia has always been on the right side, Veljanoski said.

We need unity as never before. Finally I call on all of us to leave our differences behind. To be united in regard to progress. Let’s stand together as our fathers; our grandfathers did, to continue to build Macedonia as a successful, eternal story where democracy and prosperity are our everyday event, which we develop constantly, he said.



The dream succeeded to exist as the Ilinden and ASNOM ideal through Sep. 8, 1991 until the present day and I am convinced that it will exist forever. Because of this let’s here, on Pelince, say together: our identity is our existence, the root of life. Strong and united we continue to make much more because no other path exists. Our task today is to take Macedonia into NATO and the EU. Unity is the path. If there is no unity there will be no progress, Veljanoski said.



Progress is what we are striving for but sometimes it can be hindered by irrational disputes regardless of our will and commitment. Good-neighbourly relations and the spirit of cooperation have no alternative. The Republic of Macedonia has always been committed to the development of relations of cooperation in all spheres with our neighbours. This is a principle, which must be respected. Only in this way can we build a stable and prosperous region, but also economic, cultural and any other progress of each country individually, Veljanoski said in his address on the occasion of Republic Day – August 2.



A Parliamentary delegation laid fresh flowers in the ASNOM memorial centre in Kumanovo village Pelince.



Church bells marked the beginning of the Krusevo uprising on the eve of Ilinden in 1903. About 800 rebels liberated the town, whereas Nikola Karev, who was elected president, declared the Krusevo Republic two days later. The free republic lasted for ten days. Under the command of Bahtijar Pasha, an 18,000-strong Ottoman army attacked Krusevo in order to restore authority. The last gunshots at Meckin Kamen and the killing of voivode Pitu Guli signalled the end of the Krusevo Republic.



Forty-one years later, 115 delegates held the first session of the Anti-Fascist Assembly for the National Liberation of Macedonia (ASNOM) in the monastery, St. Prohor Pcinski, near Kumanovo, confirming Macedonia's social-legal position as an equal federal unit within Yugoslavia. The oldest delegate and witness of both Ilindens Panko Brasnarov opened the assembly, whereas Metodija Andonov-Cento was elected ASNOM President.



The assembly adopted several statehood documents, including the decision to introduce the Macedonian language as the official language in the country, along with the Declaration on the fundamental rights of man and the citizens of democratic Macedonia.







Macedonian Lustration Body Names Informants

Darko Duridanski

Skopje 31 Jul 12 / 16:12:44

http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/macedonian-lustration-commissions-names-informants-again

The Macedonian Lustration Commission named 11 people as collaborators with the former police and state security agencies on Monday, under the newly adopted Lustration Law.



The eleven alleged police informants are the same people who had been lustrated under the old law that was scrapped by the Constitutional Court, which ruled that 12 provisions of that law were unconstitutional.



“We reviewed the cases that had previously been overturned by the Administrative Court. According to Article 40 of the Lustration Law those cases met the legal criteria and we ruled on them,” said Tome Adziev, the President of the Lustration Commission, on Monday.

According to Adziev, some of the 11 lustrated people are currently serving state officials, and some are former state officials.



One of them, Vladimir Milcin, the head of the Macedonian Open Society Foundation, published documents on Monday on a local internet portal to try to demonstrate to the commission that rather than collaborating with the ex-Yugoslavian secret police, he was actually being spied on by them.



“Here are the facts. Verify them,” Milcin wrote in his article.

He claims that it is obvious that he was a victim of the police and not a collaborator and announced that he will submit an appeal to the Administrative Court as soon as he sees the Commission decision.



Milcin published documents from his dossier that he obtained in the year 2000 under the Law for Access and Insight of Personal Dossiers.

However, the new law did not end disagreements that have dogged the work of the Commission since its inception.



Cedomir Damjanovski, a member of the commission, says that no one should be publicly named as an informant before the Administrative Court has considered their case.

“There should be a moratorium on the part of the new law that says that the names of the lustrated should be published only through an executive decision [of the Commission], but without a court ruling. I also asked for the principle of the presumption of innocence to be respected”, Damjanovski said.



The new law stipulates that the names and the dossiers of former police informants should be published online, and that all citizens have a right to access the details of those dossiers.

The Constitutional Court scrapped the previous law in late March, saying that it was unconstitutional to oblige people from professions including the clergy, journalists, NGO activists and others, to swear that they had never collaborated with the secret police during the Communist period or afterwards.



There are no longer any specified professions that have to be lustrated, but people are given the right to initiate the lustration process, if they suspect someone of having collaborated with the police.

The Court also said that the law can only apply for the period until 1991, when ex-Yugoslavia fell apart.

However, the new law, like the old, still sets the date for lustration until 2006, which goes against the Constitutional Court’s ruling.



An appeal contesting the new lustration law has been filed again in the Constitutional Court, but the court is currently in recess and will probably discuss the law in September. By then the Commission is expected to lustrate more police informants.





Foreign investments take off in Macedonia

http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setime.../26/feature-02

The Macedonian government's campaign to attract foreign investment is paying off as investments begin to materialise and big-name investors continue to visit the country to examine venture opportunities.

"We [hope to] bring [to Macedonia] as many foreign investments as possible, show professionalism, readiness and flexibility to co-operate," Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Peshevski said.

On Wednesday (July 25th), the government signed a 415m-euro deal with Canada's EurOmax Resources to build and work the Ilovica gold and copper mine. Last week, the Turkish Cevahir Holding initiated a 300m-euro investment for a luxury residential complex in Skopje's Aerodrom municipality.

Similarly, Germany's Lisa Draxlmaier GmbH will join a local partner in a 35m-euro project to produce car parts in a new facility in Kavadarci, which will employ 4,000 people in the first five years.

Within a year, Draxlmaier will build another factory in Kavadarci, which will supply car manufacturer Mercedes.

Officials said Draxlmaier's choice of Macedonia validates Macedonia's efforts to create attractive investment conditions -- including attractive locations with support infrastructure and amenities -- often government-supplied -- in the seven technological-industrial development zones as well as expeditious electronic paperwork.

"We are practically giving investors land for free," Victor Mizo, director of Macedonia's Foreign Investments Agency, told SETimes.

Analysts said another attractive feature is Macedonia having the lowest taxes in Europe; capital gains and personal income are taxed at a flat rate of 10%. Foreign investors who re-invest the gains are freed from paying taxes.

World-renowned brand companies like Kemet Electronics, Tehnohose and Protek are finishing their factories in the industrial-development zone Skopje 1 -- popularly known as Bunardzik -- and will begin production this autumn.

Others, like the Belgian bus and industrial vehicles producer Van Hool as well as India's Montherson and the US's N to N Fiber, have bought land parcels or are already building facilities in the Skopje 1 zone.

Another aspect of the government's efforts is bringing in some of the world's wealthiest investors -- including Mexico's billionaire Carlos Slim, the Emir of Qatar Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and Subrata Roy who heads India's biggest employer, the Sahara Group -- to Macedonia to examine the investment opportunities.

"Their presence has a calming effect on troubled regional economies," Atanas Dzurovski, professor of public finance at St Kliment Ohridski University in Bitola, told SETimes.

The investors' visits are followed by company specialists for a closer examination of opportunities which range from developing tourist zones in Macedonia's primary lakeside destinations -- Ohrid, Struga, Prespa and Dojran -- to locations for shooting movies.

"The region should view these forays as opportunities because the world's big players seek to cut costs and seek inexpensive destinations as well as favorable business conditions," Dzurovski said.

He explained that companies from the Middle and Far East and beyond increasingly value Macedonia for having signed agreements on free trade and market access to the EU.

"It is important to put the region on the map for the global investors. The big-name investors tend to look to invest in the whole region once they have established a beachhead," Ljube Trpeski, former governor of Macedonia's national bank, told SETimes.




Macedonia Suspects Boskoski of Unsolved Murder

Sase Dimovski

BIRN

Skopje



News 25 Jul 12 / 08:55:22

http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/macedonia-suspects-boskoski-over-unresolved-murder

Jailed former police minister Ljube Boskoski is the prime suspect for the killing of Marjan Tusevski, who was shot dead by unidentified hitmen 11 years ago in Skopje.

Macedonian police on Tuesday arrested nine other former police officials who are also suspected in relation to the unsolved murder of Tusevski, a figure from the Skopje underworld.

“There are 15 suspects in total. Nine were apprehended this morning and police are still searching for the other six people,” police spokesperson Ivo Kotevski said, adding that four suspects are foreign nationals.

“Three Serbian nationals, Predrag Cubrilo, Milan Ilic and Milorad Kovacevic, are suspected as direct perpetrators of the murder. Criminal charges have been raised against them and we will issue an international arrest warrant,” Kotevski explained.

Boskoski, who still leads the opposition United for Macedonia party, is suspected of having commissioned the murder of Tusevski in 2001, the police say.

He is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence in a Skopje prison for obtaining illegal financial support for his political campaign.

Zoran Trajkovski, Boskoski’s former security chief when he was police minister, is among the arrested.

According to police, Tusevski, who then had poor relations with the then Police Minister Boskoski, was killed by the police. Former officials then covered up the clues and hindered the investigation.

Prior to the arrest, police questioned several people close to the businessman Orce Korunovski, who was later killed in Bulgaria. He was also suspected of having ordered the killing.

“These people informed [the police] that Boskoski gave consent for the killing of Tusevski,” a source from the investigation who wished to stay anonymous told Balkan Insight.

Boskoski denies the claims.

“This is the biggest nonsense that they could have come up with. It was well known that I was in bad relations with Korunoski and he, in fact, threatened me. Tusevski on the other hand was close to the ex-police minister, Dosta Dimovska,” Boskoski said in a telephone statement from Idrizovo prison given to Balkan Insight.

He confirmed that a prosecutor and two police inspector have been questioning him about the murder but he had nothing to tell them, so the meeting ended after 10 minutes.

Boskoski’s wife, Violeta, and his party, United for Macedonia, insist that Boskoski is being framed by the ruling VMRO DPMNE party of Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski.

“Although he was already jailed [in November 2011] in a framed case, the government is now pressuring individuals to appear as protected witnesses and say that Boskoski is behind this murder as well,” Violeta Boskoska said.

Boskoski, who also has Croatian citizenship, is also being prosecuted in Pula, Croatia, for the killing of Pakistani migrants that took place in Macedonia when he was Interior Minister. The trial in the Pula court will take place in October and November.

His family also claims that the Macedonian government has been pressuring people to go and testify as witnesses in that case.

Boskoski was prosecuted by the Hague war crimes tribunal, ICTY, for breaking international humanitarian law in the 2001 conflict in Macedonia, but after four years in detention he was acquitted. During the election campaign of 2011, he was a sharp critic of the Prime Minister Gruevski’s party.

If found guilty, the arrested suspects face sentences ranging from 10 years to life in prison.







Macedonia’s NATO admission as part of wider plan for the region



Washington, 30 July 2012 (MIA) – Greece should allow admission of Macedonia into NATO under provisional reference and all countries from the Balkan region should agree to ensure highest human rights standards for its minorities, US analyst Daniel Serwer writes.



Serwer, who is former US special envoy to Bosnia, presented several proposals for securing stability in the Balkans mainly intended to avoid danger from Balkan borders redrawing.



The Macedonia “name” issue is unique. I can’t think of another situation, current or historical, in which a country wants a neighbour to change its name. It is also a zero sum problem: if Athens gains, Skopje loses, and vice versa, Serwer said adding that best possible solution is Greece to implement 1995 interim accord and to accept 2011 International Court of Justice decision and to accept admission of Macedonia into NATO under provisional reference. Serwer pointed out the calls of redrawing of borders as main reason for concern in the region and considered that name issue resolving should be part of larger regional package which will disable this threat, which according to Serwer is current in all countries in the region and in Cyprus.



This question could lead to an unending series of partitions along ethnic lines, something some of my colleagues in Washington do not fear. I do. Ethnic partition is a proven formula for precipitating violence, death and destruction on a grand scale. All those folks who agree on governing themselves find it difficult to decide where to draw the territorial lines, which is what leads to ethnic cleansing and war. The question is how to stop it, because once it starts it will spread from Kosovo and Macedonia at least as far as Bosnia and even Cyprus, with de jure division of the northern Turkish Republic from the rest of the island, Serwer assessed.



These measures should be explicit and far-reaching, including implementation of the Ahtisaari plan in northern Kosovo, with additional details required worked out in talks between Pristina and Belgrade, admission of Macedonia into NATO as “The FYROM” in accordance with the 1995 interim accord, with explicit guarantees to Greece on its border if Athens wants them, negotiation of EU membership only within a framework determined by central governments (in particular in Bosnia and Kosovo), a fixed time frame for a negotiated end to the de facto division of Cyprus, a region-wide agreement that each state will ensure the highest human rights standards for its minorities, with periodic verification by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Serwer said adding that Germany, Britain and US should support this initiative.



Gallup International: Macedonians most religious in Europe



Skopje, 30 July 2012 (MIA) – Macedonians are the most religious nation in Europe, shows global survey of the Gallup International Religiosity and Atheism Index, which was carried out in Nov. and Dec. 2011 among 52.000 respondents in 57 countries in the world.



Ninety percent of the polled Macedonians responded to be religious.

After nationals of Macedonia the most religious in Europe are Romanians (89%), Moldavians (83%), Poles (81%), Serbs (77%) and Italians (73%).



According to Global Religiosity Index, Macedonians are on fourth place. The most religious are nationals of Ghana, Nigeria, Armenia and Fiji, Gallup survey reads.



Non-believers are mostly concentrated in East Asia, where 47% of the Chinese and 31% of the Japanese say they are atheists and 30% of the Czechs. Survey finds that only 1% of the Macedonians consider themselves atheists. Sk





Redefining the Name Issue



By Jason Miko

July 19, 2012



On July 7 in Dubrovnik, US Assistant Secretary of State Philip Gordon spoke at the Croatia Summit 2012. In his prepared remarks on Macedonia, Gordon began by stating “Macedonia’s name dispute with Greece continues to thwart its aspirations for NATO membership and the start of EU accession talks.” Notice the way Gordon defines the issue: “Macedonia’s name dispute with Greece….”



Notice how Gordon labels it as a possessive issue for Macedonia – it is Macedonia’s dispute. But that is completely incorrect. Macedonia has no dispute. It is the other way around: Greece has a dispute with Macedonia’s name….and Macedonia’s identity of course, the root of the problem. Gordon should have said “Greece’s dispute with Macedonia’s name continues to thwart its aspirations for NATO membership and the start of EU accession talks.” (He could add “and identity” but that would be asking the US State Department to do too much.)



Here’s my point – we need to redefine this issue and call it what it is: “Greece’s dispute with Macedonia’s name and identity is thwarting Macedonia’s ability to join NATO and the EU.” I would argue that it is always vital to add “identity” when speaking about the name issue.



Gordon goes on: “We were disappointed that NATO was unable to welcome Macedonia at the Chicago Summit. But as NATO is a consensus organization, Macedonia and Greece must first resolve their bilateral disagreement before the Alliance can fulfill the membership offer extended at the Bucharest Summit.” On the first issue – that he was “disappointed” – frankly, I don’t believe him. I think he simply doesn’t care anymore. He is tired, like all unelected diplomats are, with this issue.



An example from Europe: Just last week, the foreign ministers of Austria and Slovakia – like so many before them – wrote in the EU Observer that “We are aware that a name dispute is a central and highly sensitive - but bilateral issue - between two countries.”

On this issue – that of this being a “bilateral disagreement/issue,” I must vehemently disagree. It is “bilateral” only in the sense that one party, Greece, objects to another party, Macedonia. The dispute is, in essence, unilateral. Here’s my second point: we need to call it that. It is a unilateral dispute which Greece has with Macedonia.



And as a refresher course, what is the source of this disagreement/issue? I point back to UN Resolution 817 of April 7, 1993 which governs the entrance of Macedonia into the UN but under the fictitious “provisional and temporary reference.” In that resolution the UN notes that Macedonia has fulfilled all criteria for membership but also notes “Noting however that a difference has arisen over the name of the State, which needs to be resolved in the interest of the maintenance of peaceful and good-neighbourly relations in the region…”



The UN – in its infinite lack of wisdom or moral backbone – simply states that a “difference has arisen.” But from where does this difference come? The UN refuses to say. It refuses to lay blame. This is one reason why the UN is worth so little. Because it cannot take a position. The UN asks the world: follow me, for I stand for nothing.



Moving on. I went back and looked at previous US State Department statements and found a curious thing. In previous statements – in the past year – Gordon has made reference to “the ongoing dispute between Greece and Macedonia over the latter’s name” (April 14), and said, on November 15 of last year, “The name dispute with Greece continues to thwart Macedonia’s aspirations for NATO membership and the start of EU.” Even Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s most recent statements on the issue do not lay blame with Macedonia. Witness what she said at the Chicago NATO Summit: “We strongly support a resolution of the ongoing name dispute and urge the parties to reach an agreement so Macedonia can join the alliance as soon as possible.”



At this point, I’m confused. Is Gordon postulating a new US position with his statement that Macedonia is at fault because Macedonia has a name dispute with Greece? If he does not mean that, then I would call upon the US State Department to clarify his statement. Quickly.



But it is what Gordon said after the summit that really shocked me. In an interview with Al Jazeera Gordon said “And I think once it [the name issue] was agreed people would stop obsessing over precisely what the formal name of the country was and they would get on with it as in so many other cases around the world.”



Frankly, I’m shocked. When I read it I could hardly believe what he said. “Obsessing over precisely what the formal name of the country was?” By deliberately using the loaded word “obsessing,” Gordon is attempting to belittle the Macedonians who hold their name and identity sacred. Another statement that needs to be clarified. I can tell you that the day that Americans stop “obsessing” over our name and identity will be the day that blood flows in the streets.





The identity and the name of the people are intertwined, the two are one. That is precisely why the name issue is so important and why the name of the country must remain what the people has chosen: the Republic of Macedonia. It is high time we make sure the elected and unelected around the world know that as well. No negotiation.



This article was originally published in the Macedonian newspaper Dnevnik on Thursday, July 19, 2012





ABOUT GREECE





Greece illegally dumping Immigrants into Macedonia

Saturday, 18 August 2012

http://macedoniaonline.eu/content/view/21654/2/

Between 2 and 3am in the morning, Greek police illegally dumps immigrants from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Syria and other countries onto Macedonian territory, reports Macedonian police adding the Greek authorities are using illegal border crossings.



Macedonian police sources say the situation is very alarming because of the situation in Syria and the Middle East which has created over 100,000 refugees thus far.



- Greece's Government authorities in an organized fashion are dumping sometimes truck loads of over 100 illegal immigrants on Macedonian territory via multiple unmarked border crossings. This is always done during the night hours. We have already contacted the European Union and FRONTEX regarding this problem - says a diplomat in the Macedonian Government.



Meanwhile Greece has been warned by the UN and EU groups for protection of human rights for their inhumane police actions as well as the appalling conditions in which immigrants are detained and kept.



There are an estimated 1.8 million illegal immigrants in Greece, or 17 percent of the total population.



Trpe Stojanovski from the regional center for Migration and Refugees (MARRI), says at this time Greece is a source of instability for Macedonia and the region.



- We are having a wave of illegal immigration, and this is coming from a EU country (Greece), this is a very dangerous precedent as the authorities in Greece aren't capable of controlling their borders nor their immigration. We are receiving refugees from Iraq, Afghanistan, and even from Mauritania. We have to constantly be increasing our budgets to deal with the new wave of refugees, says Stojanovski.

-

Macedonian authorities have vowed to increase patrols along the Greek border and prevent further dumping of illegal immigrants by Greek authorities into Macedonia.





THE SOCIO-CULTURAL ROOTS OF THE GREEK ECONOMIC CRISIS
Dimitris Epikouris

http://www.freeinquiry.gr/pro.php?id=2367

The economic crisis in Greece which threatens to act as a locomotive power that will force most of the countries in the European south to exit the Eurozone, has triggered many discussions and predictions concerning the future of Europe as an entity. Numerous analyses find their way to the media on a daily basis, all attempting to explain the repercussions of Greece’s inability to reform and lead itself to an economic growth that will eventually free the country from the constantly increasing need of borrowing money to satisfy its basic needs.

However, all those reports and economic analyses have something in common. They fail to deeply examine the socio-cultural roots of the Greek crisis. If one does not take into account the idiosyncrasy and the psycho-synthesis of the Modern Greek people, will just miss the point.

Modern Greece is by no means related either genetically or culturally to the ancient cosmos and the people who once occupied this land. The modern Greeks are just an intermixture of Balkan tribes (Albanians/Arvanites, Slavs, Vlachs) which in the process of time mingled with northern Africans, Armenians and other tribes of Anatolia, not to mention the Francs and the Venetians who were also dominantly present in this land.

Those groups were mainly involved in agriculture and animal breeding. A significant number of them had been employed by the Ottomans to serve in the army because the local inhabitants were hard natured and warlike.

During the Byzantium era, those tribes were Christianized while the few remaining descendants of the ancient Greeks who refused to convert to Christianity were either persecuted and killed by the Christian emperors or died of several plague waves that occurred quite frequently back in those days. Another factor that contributed to the reduction of the population was piracy. It is a well known fact that the city of Sparta had been almost abandoned and unoccupied for 400 years while Athens and especially the area around the Acropolis was a place for pasturing sheep.

The attempts to “Hellenize” those intermixed tribes were mainly made by European sovereign states which needed a protectorate to promote their interests. The geographic location of Greece is still considered as the connecting doorway between East and West. The European romantics who dreamed of reviving the ancient Hellenic cosmos through the mountain savages also bear a degree of responsibility for the false identity that was given to the modern Greeks.

The superfluous and simultaneously disastrous decision to name as “Hellenes” (Greeks) that intermixture of tribes eventually placed a very heavy burden upon them simply because they lacked the proper educational background that would enable them to develop the necessary awareness that would help them identify themselves with the ancient inhabitants of this land.

These mountainous hard natured shepherds were made to believe that they were not only the offspring’s of the ancient Greeks but also the Christian God's blessed people. Everyone can observe that there is no comparison between these people and the ancient Greeks. No resemblance whatsoever physically, aesthetically and mentally.

The Eastern Church was forcefully against any kind of education as it wanted its subservient believers not to read anything but the Bible. The role that the Church played during the years of the Ottoman presence was catastrophic for the majority of the people because it was the main and the most effective collaborator of the Sultan either through collecting taxes or contributing to the suppression of every revolt against the ottoman authority. The Church was surely rewarded by the Divan with a humongous amount of land enough to rank it as the biggest landowner of the country.

The confusing identity of being a Hellene and a Christian at the same time still haunts most of the people in this land. Most of the people in Greece have been made to believe that they are the pure descendants of Pedicles, Socrates, Leonidas and Alexander the Great while they consider it quite natural to be Christian orthodox as well. Two completely conflicting worlds co-exist abnormally in the socio-cultural background of modern Greeks.

The revolution of 1821 against the Ottomans that eventually led to the formation of the Modern Greek state couldn’t have been achieved without the contribution of the European superpowers of that era. The sea battle of Navarino that marked the creation of modern Greece reflects the need of the Europeans to use this land as their protectorate governed by regimes that were either appointed or imposed by the European financial interests. Modern Greece has always been victimized and exploited by the superpowers while its role in the sociopolitical arena has never been autonomous.

The Modern Greek citizens who had never experienced the gifts of Renaissance, Enlightenment and Industrialization remain culturally underdeveloped even today. Greece has been governed by the offspring of the family clans that ruled the land right after the collapse of the Byzantine Empire and although it is true that democracy was born in this part of the world, it is not true that the ancestors of modern Greeks are the ones who first created it.

The Church continues to dominate the politics in this land. Greece is the last theocratic state in Europe. If someone wishes to have a career in politics, he had better "bow" to the local Church bosses first.

In the 50’s and 60’s thousands of modern Greeks were forced to abandon their villages and either migrate abroad or seek employment in the big city centers where factories were built and needed cheap labor. The countryside was abandoned and the cities experienced an unprecedented overpopulation that led to severe demographic and environmental problems since there was no urban planning (there isn’t one even today).

The rural depopulation, however, created another great problem that few politicians have dared to tackle: The disease of urbanism. The constant flow of villagers showed that the motives to abandon their villages were not only based on their need for employment but also on their desire to experience the “urban style” of living with a sense of hedonistic lust. Contrary to the US southerners who take pride in their heritage and their land, the Greek villagers preferred to come to big city centers and work as industrial workers or clerks instead of remaining in their land and cultivating it. They believed that “easy living” can only be found in the big cities.

The military junta in 1967 encouraged the “love for urbanism” of the villagers even more.

Two main political parties emerged after the fall of the military junta. The “New Democracy” party and the “Panhellenic Socialist Party” also known as “PASOK”. The first one had a conservative approach and the second one a supposedly socialist one. Both of them, however, had one thing in common: They made sure that everything should be directly or indirectly controlled by the state. In order to achieve their goal which was no other than to remain in power as long as possible, they found a destructive way of doing that. Thus, the state was transformed into an enormous employment agency.

Those two political parties hired thousands of unqualified individuals to work in the public sector. The regimes borrowed money from the European Union to finance the fat salaries and the special privileges of their public servant armies. Prosperity in the private sector came only if it interweaved with the public one. No matter what somebody did, no matter what public service he wished to have, he simply couldn’t have it unless he bribed. Bureaucracy and corruption have always been interwoven.

The degree of corruption in modern Greece is by far higher than the one in many Asian, South American and African countries. The country stopped producing anything since ¼ of its workforce was employed by the state. Finding a job in the public sector became every young person’s dream. It was no longer important what academic credentials one had. What mattered was what kind of political connections he had so as to be placed somewhere in the public sector where he would be handsomely paid without doing anything! The populist rhetoric applied by both those political parties created a new kind of Roman-like ethics among the people. Undoubtedly, this grotesque political system is a unique Modern Greek invention. Having conservative (right wing, anti-communist) regimes with a Stalinistic approach of implementing the authority of the state is something that can only be found in the country of Greece.

The modern Greeks are noted for having mastered the art of creating conspiracy theories. The whole world is supposedly plotting against them because of their racial "superiority".

John Maynard Keynes’ suggestion of “first stabilize and then reform” cannot find any application here because the Greek economy can never be stabilized as it overflows with useless and counterproductive public servants.

All the above mentioned facts may sound a bit surprising to someone from another western state. Well, nothing should be surprising, nothing at all.

It is impossible for the descendants of chicken and sheep thieves, who lived on top of mountains and inside caves, rarely took a shower, kidnapped their hick wives from their parents and robbed villages, to understand how civilized nations function not to mention to feel European. It is also impossible for a nation that never experienced the gifts of Enlightenment, Democracy and the Industrial Revolution to be able to adapt to the constantly evolving international economy.

If someone wonders why the rest of European Union countries are so stiff against Greece, it is perhaps because they are ignorant of the real situation here. They lack the necessary knowledge to fully comprehend the socio-cultural roots of the Modern Greek state.

Greece will never be a purely European country. It can’t be. It doesn’t want to be.



Racist murder in Greece reflects rising neo-Nazi influence

By Christoph Dreier
15 August 2012

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/aug2012/gree-a15.shtml

Early on Sunday morning, five dark-clad figures mounted on four motorcycles rode through the neighborhood of Omonia Square in central Athens, hunting down immigrants. Upon encountering a 19-year-old Iraqi, they beat him with their fists and stones and stabbed him several times with a knife. The young man died the same day in a hospital.



This racially motivated murder is the brutal culmination of a systematic manhunt of immigrants organized by the state in recent weeks. The motorcycle gang had already attacked a Romanian and a Moroccan in the same district, unmolested by the police. The first two victims were able to get to safety in time, however.



The murder in Athens is part of a wave of racist violence in Greece. On Saturday a violent attack was launched against a group of Pakistanis in Heraklion, Crete. Shops owned by migrants in the port city of Piraeus have been repeatedly attacked. Smoke bombs were hurled into one shop that that also serves as a mosque.



Five hundred immigrants have been admitted to hospital due to racist attacks in the first half of 2012. According to reports in the newspaper Ta Nea, based on various non-governmental organizations, this is nearly double the total of victims of similar attacks over the same period last year.



These attacks are the direct result of a government policy supported by the EU. Just a week before the murder, 4,500 policemen were involved in a major operation to hunt down migrants. They took 6,700 foreign-looking people into custody and interned 1,555 in special camps where they are now awaiting deportation. Hundreds have already been deported.



The minister responsible for civil protection, Nikos Dendias of the conservative New Democracy party, justified the manhunt by comparing immigrants to “occupiers” in “the biggest invasion that Greece has ever experienced.” With such repulsive comments, the minister encouraged attacks on migrants and put the perpetrators of fascist attacks on immigrants on a par with resistance fighters during Nazi occupation in World War II.



In recent years the fascist party Chrysi Avgi (Golden Dawn), which plays a leading role in the attacks on immigrants, has been systematically built up by various Greek governments. In 2004, Ta Nea had already reported on close ties between the fascists and the state apparatus.

The fascist party works closely with the police. In demonstrations by leftist or anarchist groups, police officials handed batons and radios to the fascists so they could provoke violence. In addition, police have allowed members of Golden Dawn to carry various weapons.



Golden Dawn member Antonios Androutsopoulos—who murdered a leftist student activist in 1998—was able to avoid capture for seven years, very probably with the assistance of the police. He was eventually apprehended in 2005. Although more people were involved in the murder, only Androutsopoulos was prosecuted.



Also in 1998, the Eleftherotypia newspaper reported that race riots in Thessaloniki had been organized by “racist forces within the police.” No one was arrested after the riots.

This list of collaboration by the police with the fascists could be extended up to the present. In the last elections, the daily To Vima reported that 50 percent of police officers voted for Golden Dawn.



Greece’s migrant rights’ organization Expel Racism has reported hundreds of cases where police officers watched by idly during attacks on migrants. There have also been reports of foreigners being beaten in police stations, and police officers giving residents the telephone number of Golden Dawn when they complained about immigrants.



“We are scared to go on the streets,” one migrant told the daily newspaper Kathimerini. “It’s Ramadan, we were invited to dinner, but we will not go. If we go out we will be intercepted either by the police or Golden Dawn.”



The German newspaper Die Welt reported on a woman from Georgia who was sexually threatened in Athens by a member of Golden Dawn. After they went to the police, the man returned in the evening accompanied by officers from the local station and boasted: “Do you see now who my friends are?”



The Greek government—New Democracy (ND), together with the social-democratic PASOK and Democratic Left (DIMAR) parties—supports the fascist forces in order to create a political atmosphere in which any popular opposition can be violently attacked. Their foremost goal is to prepare the brutal suppression of any movement in the working class against the unpopular austerity measures demanded by the EU, which have wrecked the Greek economy.



The social attacks undertaken by the government, which have already led to widespread misery and poverty and are to be intensified, are increasingly incompatible with even the forms of democratic rule.



Under conditions where bourgeois “left” parties such as SYRIZA have blocked the emergence of mass working class struggles against the EU and the policies of the Greek bourgeoisie, fascistic forces can pose as the only alternative to the existing political set-up. As social tensions grow, the ruling elite promotes ever more right-wing forces, and bourgeois rule assumes an ever more dictatorial character.



In this context there have been demands raised for a ban of Golden Dawn, notably by the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Nils Muiznieks. Noting that Golden Dawn is among the “most overtly extremist and Nazi party in Europe,” he has asked the Greek government to “probe the legality of the party,” according to Kathimerini.



Such a ban, however, would not afford any protection for migrants or put an end to the influence of far-right forces. Indeed, they are tied to and protected by the very security forces of the Greek bourgeois state that such a ban would task with repressing Golden Dawn.



Instead it would strengthen the state apparatus and provide an excuse to criminalize political opponents and disband oppositional and leftist political organizations. This would strengthen the apparatus of repression and lead rapidly in the direction of authoritarianism.



The defense of immigrants’ rights requires the mobilization of the working class to fight the austerity policies of the EU and the rising influence of fascist forces. This struggle can only be successful when it is based on a socialist struggle against capitalism, which is increasingly turning towards the most right-wing elements.





Greek police accused of stoking racist attacks

http://www.euronews.com/2012/08/14/greek-police-accused-of-stoking-racist-attacks/

14/08 22:03 CET

Human rights groups say hate crimes in Greece are rising and that police behaviour is making the situation worse.

They say in the past six months there have been hundreds of victims and that state crackdowns on illegal immigrants are encouraging nationalist sentiment.

Activists say it is not just the frequency of the attacks that has increased but also the ferocity.

“In the past six months from the testimonies that we have, there have been about 500,” says Javied Aslam, president of the Pakistani Community of Greece. “Just over 500 people have told us that they were attacked by fascists. And now, in the past three weeks to one month it’s moved on from verbal attacks to knuckle-dusters and bats and now they go out with knives – so in the past three weeks more than twenty people have been stabbed and have had to have hospital treatment.”

Because of recent police operations against illegal immigrants, rights groups say people are now fearful of even going to the authorities if they are attacked.

“People are really scared now and they don’t say anything to anyone. It’s terrible, a really bad situation,” Aslam added.

Migrant groups say there is evidence to suggest that the people carrying out the attacks are associated with vigilante groups and Golden Dawn.
The extreme right-wing party gained seven percent of the vote at the last election



Greece in economic and social chaos

By Dean Carroll

08 August 2012

http://www.publicserviceeurope.com/article/2314/greece-in-economic-and-social-chaos

The economic outlook in Greece has been revised to "negative" by one of the 'big three' ratings agencies despite the country's eurozone bail-out and there were suggestions that the nation may need an extra €7bn to stay afloat financially. The move to alter the Hellenic Republic's sovereign credit rating from "stable" to "negative" by Standard & Poor's suggests that politicians and officials may have to return from their summer holidays, should the single currency crisis escalate further. Street protests and violent racist attacks have also spiked in recent weeks.

Many economists had already predicted that Greece would soon be forced to exit the eurozone. And the S&P's report suggested that Greece would have to seek further bail-out funding of up to €7bn from the European Union and International Monetary Fund, in order to remain inside the single currency. But the ratings agency also maintained that the Greek government would fail to make the further public spending cuts necessary for the country to receive the next trance of its agreed bail-out, which was due for payment in the autumn.

Explaining the rationale for the revision, a spokesman for S&P's said: "The negative outlook reflects the potential for a downgrade if shortfalls in Greece's 2012 deficit and arrears targets established under the current EU/International Monetary Fund programme are not met by new funding or other relief from members of the Troika - the EU, the European Central Bank and the IMF. We see the likelihood of shortfalls, owing to election-related delays in the implementation of budgetary consolidation measures for the current year, as well as the worsening trajectory of the Greek economy. We project gross domestic product will contract by 10 to 11 per cent cumulatively during 2012-2013, versus the negative 4 to 5 per cent assumed by the EU/IMF programme.

"In our opinion, the deepening contraction in Greek GDP beyond the EU/IMF programme's assumptions and the related worsening of the fiscal position imply a high likelihood that Greece will require additional financing of as much as €7bn or 3.7 per cent of GDP for 2012. This takes into account a fiscal deviation of at least €3bn or 1.5 per cent of GDP."

Evaluating the country's economic performance at the start of this year, the S&P's stated: "In the first quarter of 2012, Greek real GDP contracted by 6.5 per cent year on year, with domestic demand collapsing by nearly 11 per cent over the same period. Assuming a contraction of 7 per cent during 2012, Greek GDP is likely to be 21 per cent below its 2007 peak by year-end in volume terms; reflecting five consecutive years of economic depression, during which unemployment has soared from 7.9 per cent to 22.5 per cent. As a result of this economic weakness and due to an absence of progress on tax administration reforms, collection of personal, corporate and indirect taxes is well below target.

"The severe liquidity squeeze in the Greek economy is visible in rising public sector arrears and negative credit and deposit growth. At present, we understand that public sector arrears amount to approximately €6bn to €7bin, or an estimated 3 to 3.5 per cent of GDP - as the central government and public companies continue to delay payment to suppliers. Over the last two years, the total stock of lending to Greek residents has contracted by 12 per cent of GDP. Without credit returning to the real economy - the perspective for a recovery in economic activity, employment and fiscal consolidation continues to be gloomy."

Setting out the uphill battle Greece faces to achieve the reforms necessary to receive its next bail-out payment, the S&P's report stated: "To convince the EU and IMF will mean moving ahead with a mixture of further public sector salary cuts, headcount reductions, pension adjustments, as well as most probably the elimination of energy subsidies. On the revenue side, the Troika is likely to require more measurable progress on reorganising the tax administration, as well as on collection of the special property tax. We continue to see major impediments to the full implementation of these measures, many of which are institutional in nature. Moreover, the fiscal adjustments, if implemented, will in our view prolong the contraction of the economy, leading to a further loss of popular support for future fiscal and structural reforms and hence weakening the new government's already tentative mandate. "

Meanwhile, campaign group Human Rights Watch has reported that the Greek authorities have been rounding up migrants for deportation "based on little more than their physical appearance" in violation of international and EU laws. The efforts were thought to be an attempt to reduce the country's welfare bill, stamp out the black economy and win electoral support from nationalist voters.

"Greece has the right to enforce its immigration laws and after a fair process, to deport people with no legal basis to stay in the country," said Benjamin Ward, deputy director of the Europe and Central Asia division at Human Rights Watch. "But it doesn't have the right to treat people like criminals or to presume irregular immigration status just because of their race or ethnicity." The campaign group also highlighted a rise in xenophobic violence in the country – with gangs attacking migrants and asylum seekers without punishment by the authorities. "Greek police have a duty to protect all foreigners from violence, just as they do Greek citizens," added. Ward.

In a further development that signalled additional pain for the eurozone, German industrial production fell by 0.9 per cent in July. A spokesman for the British-based Capital Economics think-tank said: "Business surveys point to much steeper rates of contraction over the coming months. As such, there are few signs as yet of any boost from the drop in the euro exchange rate. With the supposedly ultra-competitive German manufacturing sector in recession, the omens for the rest of the eurozone economy are extremely worrying. Spanish industrial production figures already released this morning showed a 6.3 per cent contraction in the year to June. Needless to say, such a weak economic environment will make further fiscal progress in the indebted peripheral economies very difficult indeed."


Read more: http://www.publicserviceeurope.com/a...#ixzz22zcfoo8N





Anxiety in Athens because of past
Date: 03/08/2012, 12:00

http://www.dnevnik.com.mk/default.as...7FC3858B1C1890

Greek foreign policy is currently trying to repair the disturbed image of the country, but despite the attention of Athenian diplomacy is still directed towards the foreign enemy, the neighbor with two miliona residents, whose membership in the EU and NATO Athens interfere with all means.

This in his long article titled "Sin of Greece - history of a (nearly) forgotten persecution," writes the German daily "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung". The newspaper, as transferred to the Macedonian edition of Deutsche Welle, analyzes the Greek-Macedonian dispute the historical aspect.

- The cause of the irritability of the Athens diplomacy at the mention of a Macedonian minority should be sought in the past. In Greece in 1949 occurred ethnic persecution, which until today is not really developed. Almost exactly a century in the First Balkan War Greece occupied a large part of the historic region of Macedonia from the Ottoman Empire. The other part, called Vardar Macedonia finally went to Yugoslavia and a little bit ("Pirin Macedonia") in Bulgaria. Greeks in large parts of territory novookupiranata were minority. Especially severnozapadnata border area to Yugoslavia was inhabited by Slavic peasants. The majority of them, remembering their oppression in Greece, Greek Civil War sided with the Communists, who have paid dearly. Tens of thousands had to flee, and must not, otherwise than 'pure Greek' refugees never return, write "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung".

The text states that recently came again to tighten the diplomatic dictionary due to the requirement to respect the rights of the Macedonian minority in Greece, Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski said at the meeting in Skopje with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.







History



Scattered heritage – Part 5 of 6


By Nove Cvetanoski


PLUNDER BY PRIESTS SPEAKING ANOTHER LANGUAGE


Caption: Besides Greek, Bulgarian and Serbian priests, in the 19th and 20th centuries many armies came from different parts of the world, and all of them ravaged Macedonia. Shown above, the most valuable objects from the Ohrid churches and monasteries, now in the National Museum in Sofia.

DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS FOR THIEVERY


During the Balkan Wars and World War I, the Bulgarian state used to send missionaries into the new countries to make surveys of their cultural treasures. This meant the collection and removal of valuable objects under the pretense of protecting them from wartime hazards (other armies, possible future conquerors, or military actions in general).

In those so-called cultural missions many scholars and professors were involved, some of whom were people of Macedonian ancestry – Mihail Arnaudov, Nikola Milev, the Ohrid-born Georgi Valačev, George Miletič; and from Bulgaria – prof. Jordan Filov, a well-known archaeologist and the Sofia Archaeology Museum's director, and later (during World War II) the president of the Bulgarian government. More precisely, in August of 1916, Filov was sent and financed by the Bulgarian army headquarters in order to catalogue the Ohrid monuments. As Filov writes in the reports about his first stay in Ohrid – on August the 5th, at the Ohrid bishop Boris quarters, he saw the shroud that was given to the Ohrid bishop by the Emperor Andronicus. About it, nothing further was known until it turned up in the Sofia's National Museum in the late 1990s.

The historian and researcher of Bulgarian archives, Dr. Zoran Todorovski, has discovered a document by Čaulev, stating that as per the request of the Bulgarian president Boris Radoslavov an icon of Jesus Christ dating from the 13th century was taken to the National Museum in Sofia. The icon was a gift from the Ohrid archbishop Dimitrij Homatijan. The National Museum in Sofia also received a bronze chandelier panel with an inscription by archpriest's hermit the Justinian dating from the 15th century. During his archive research, Dr. Todorovski also found a list of 21 objects that were appropriated at the time, and in the late 1990s started to appear, one by one, on Bulgarian museum shelves. The people from Ohrid had even sent a direct written request to the president Radoslavov, asking for the return of those icons and saying they could take care of them by themselves.

Yet, let's see what the Serbian reports on the "Serbian rival in plunder" contain. In the documents on file in the Bitola historical archive there is information on various objects that can be considered both material and cultural wealth, i.e. those documents reveal that the monasteries and churches were robbed of everything that was possible to be carried away – from candlesticks and candles to icons, carvings, textile, wheat and ordinary furniture. Even objects of no material value were taken away or destroyed, so in that context, the attitude of the Bulgarian armies and military officials towards the valuable historical and artistic works is more than clear. The lists of appropriated objects are lengthy indeed, but we will enumerate only the more characteristic examples concerning valuables.

From the church in the Dobruševo village in the Mariovo region, everything was taken away, and then all of the buildings (the church, the bell tower, the church school) were mined and demolished. Everything was taken from the churches in Dolna Čarlija (things such as a missal, two books of hours, irmology), Podmol (an octoechos), Lopatica (a gospel) and Crničani (an epistle, a book of hours, a psalter, two menaions, two octoechoses), and then the holy buildings were torn down.

The books and the icons, together with the church bells and furniture, were taken from the churches in Staravina and Gradešnica. Many things were appropriated from the Čebren property (cattle and food), and sixteen buildings were destroyed, including the church. The books and the iconostasis were taken from one of the two churches in the Sredno Egri village. All the books and icons were taken from the churches in Brod (in the Bitola region), in Tepavci, Gneotino, Gradilovo (which doesn't exist today). In addition to the ones in Gradilovo, churches in Orehovo, Vranjevci (two), Paralovo, Meglenci, Trap, Dobromiri, Suvodol, Ribarci, Biljanik, Karamani, Kukurečani, Raštani, the monasteries in Krklino and in Velušina were destroyed.

Until the Balkan wars and World War I, almost every Macedonian church and monastery had old manuscripts, books and icons, as well as golden, silver, bronze and copper artefacts – and all of them were stolen. From the church in the Malovišta village Bulgarian soldiers took 20 missals, two silver-plated gospels, and 100 icons. From the church in the Vašerejca village, the gates were taken, as well as eight icons, a gospel, a missal, a holiday menaion, two octoechoses, an epistle, a prayerbook, a book of hours and 15 icons.

The Beranci village church was robbed of, among other things: a gospel, a menaion, two octoechoses, a lenten triodion, a church triodion and an epistle, and from the monastery in the same village, besides other material things, six ornamental icons, two gospels, two epistles, a prayerbook, a missal, 12 menaions, two octoechoses, and a Book of Hours were taken. From the church in the Bukovo village, in the Bitola region, 10 missals were taken away, and from the Krstoar church – twenty missals. The churches in Trnovo, Dihovo (two churches), Niže Pole, Brusnik, and Lavci were robbed and demolished, as well as the monastery in Magarevo.

All the monasteries and several churches in Prilep and the vicinity were robbed, and the churches in Slepče, Strovje, Melnica, Topolčani, Stepanci, Ruvci, Marul and Vitolište were torn down.

Caption: The Serbian administration erased the traces of its "collecting" activities throughout the Macedonian churches and monasteries during the 1912-1918 wars, but it left behind documents about the Bulgarian army's plundering.

THE OHRID TREASURES


There are historical documents detailing countless barbaric thefts of historic objects from Macedonia, which greatly damaged the identity of our people. Such lists seem endless, and the information they contain is staggering, so here we will list only some of the more typical examples documented by the Serbian administration after World War I, on their rivals in plunder – the Bulgarian government officials and their special thievery missions. One has to bear in mind, however, that in some of the cases mentioned perhaps not everything was destroyed by the "rivals" in plunder. It is possible that some misdeeds were overblown or dismissed as someone else's acts, but the truth is that all those things were destroyed or stolen. On those long lists there are all kinds of things that were kept in the sacred buildings, from objects of no financial worth, to objects of great value, to objects that are masterpieces of Macedonian cultural heritage.

During a raid, the soldiers of the 52nd Bulgarian infantry regiment damaged the Kurbinovo church in the Resen region, set the Pretor church to fire, tore down the church in the Asamati village, and burnt many icons. The monastery in Gopeš was also burnt, and the churches in Carev Dvor, Drmeni, Stipan, Perovo, Volkodere, Stenje, and Slimnica were robbed, as well as the monastery in Jankovec.

The Serbian church administration also recorded great damage to the churches and monasteries in the Ohrid/Struga area. The St. Naum monastery was under Bulgarian rule for just one year, but the monastery property in the Stipan monastery (in the Prespa region) and the property in the Trpejca village were under Bulgarian rule until 1918, when the military forces departed. Besides money, they also took many valuable relics from this monastery. Following the orders of the Metropolitan Boris, the relics were transferred to the National Museum in Sofia, and among other things, there were: a shroud embroidered in gold, a holy goblet made of silver, a gilded holy goblet, a treasure chest of massive silver with relief pictures, a long silver box with the remnants of several saints and two old silver-plated gospels. There is an official committee memorandum about these objects, authorised by the Metropolitan Boris. The St. Spas monastery, according to one report of the Serbian church administration, suffered the most by the activities of the Metropolitan Boris and his men. Great damage was also done to the St. Svetiteli and St. Bogorodica monasteries in Kališta (among other things, 4 kg of silver were stolen). Only the St. Petka monastery in Velgošti wasn't robbed, as it was relatively destitute.

At the time of their departure from Ohrid, the Bulgarian church administration left in the Mitropoly archive the original notes on every valuable relic sent to the National Museum in Sofia during World War I. According to those notes, some of the things taken from the St. Clement church were: the shroud of Andronicus Palaeologus, St. Clement's gold crown with precious stones and a little cross (which was made in Venice, and which during Turkish rule was being hidden in people's homes), St. Clement's repaired ivory sceptre ornamented with a snake, discovered in 1911 at Imaret, where St. Clement was buried, a bronze chandelier consisting of 19 parts, and the tzar gates. From the St. Nikola Bolnički, only the tzar gates were taken.

However, in addition to these objects, others were also taken, although it's not clear from which churches: a St. Matrona silver box with ribbons; a small silver gilded cross embedded with precious stones; two embroidered towels—a gift from the tzarina Ana Komnena; a handwritten gospel with a red velvet covers; a Skalica annal in a wooden box; a big silver cross—gilded; twenty old manuscripts; an silver-plated old gospel with the images of St. Clement and other saints; a silver icon of many saints in relief; two silk bishop caps; a holy goblet dating from 1719; a Jesus Christ the Saviour with a wreath of thorns icon—which was a gift from the Ohrid Archbishop Dimitrij Homatijan in the 13th century; and a bronze panel from a bronze chandelier with an inscription that it was a gift from Prohor the Archbishop to Justiniana Prima.

In 1923 and 1924 the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, via the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, asked Bulgaria to return the Ohrid church relics. However, the restitution request was never granted, and the correspondence reveals, as is stated in the Bulgarian letters, that the relics were left for temporary storage in Skopje and that they never reached Sofia, let alone the National Museum there. Yet, in the 1990s those relics started to materialise one by one – in Sofia's National Museum! There's another interesting fact: In that time, the Serbian bishop in Ohrid, Jovan Cvijović, was involved in the procedure of returning the relics from Sofia, as is evident from his correspondence with the Ministry of Faiths of the Kingdom SCS. The bishop was very persistent about the restitution of the historically cultural monuments—even though he himself, when he was Metropolitan in Bitola, was very zealous to collect relics from the Bitola monasteries and churches, and then to send them to the National Museum in Belgrade.

There are also documents on the objects taken from churches and monasteries in the Kruševo region. Thus, from the St. Nikola church in Kruševo, among other things, more than 1 kg of pure silver was taken; a silver cross was taken from the town's Vlach church (St. Jovan), and a silver cross was taken from, and a gospel destroyed in, the St. Paraskeva church in Žvan. From the St. Bogorodica in Bučin two octoechoses were taken, as well as a pentecostarion, an irmology, a missal, a triodion, and a holiday menaion. From the Arilevo church a hymn book and a missal were stolen, and from the St. Jovan monastery in Slepče, 60 manuscripts and books were taken.

According to the report by the Serbian governor in Veles, in the Veles area there weren't many robberies or much damage to the churches and monasteries during the Balkan Wars and World War I, with the exception of the St. Dimitrija monastery near Veles and of the St. Nikola one near Omorani, where at least one silver-plated gospel was stolen, and other material damage done. However, according to other sources, the St. Dimitrija monastery had many icons stolen (or damaged), although their exact number isn’t known.

THOUSANDS OF THEFTS DURING JUST ONE WAR


In the document left behind by the Serbian government (after the Serbian ecclesiastical, military and state administration despoiled the Macedonian churches and monasteries during the 1912-1918 wars), which describes the plunder and ravaging by the Bulgarian armies and emissaries in the same wars, there is information on the holy buildings in the Gevgelija region that were most damaged, or demolished, from 1916 to 1918. There too, besides movable property, other church objects were stolen, from bells and priests' robes, to candlesticks and candles. These thefts caused great material damage, but even greater was the damage done to Macedonian cultural heritage.

From the St. Spas church in Gevgelija, among other things, the iconostasis was dismantled and carried away, as well as the gates, the Northern and Southern door, six tzarist icons, 16 icons of the holidays of the Lord and the Holy Mother, 16 epistles and icons of various sizes, a silver cross and 30 church books. In 1916, both this church and the other town church, St. Troica, were demolished. From the latter, the iconostasis was taken, along with the Northern and Southern gates, eight tzarist icons, 20 icons of the holidays of the Lord and the Holy Mother, 14 epistles and icons of the Christ's Crucifixion, as well as 30 church books. From the Molneni church (also demolished), the iconostasis with icons and three gates were taken, along with a holy cross, a holy silver-plated gospel, and 18 church books. From the Grčiste church eight big tzarist icons and five more icons of various sizes were taken. The Davidovo church lost ten various church books, and the one in Bogdanci lost 15 icons, five of which were large ("throne") icons.

From the Gjavato church, in 1917, 36 icons were taken (12 of them large), a holy silver-plated gospel, and all the church books – and afterwards, the church was torn down. From the Paljurci church, among other things, 10 large icons and 20 smaller ones were taken, as well as a gospel and the church books. The iconostasis was destroyed in the Stojakovo and the Bogorodica churches. The church books were taken away from the Negorci church; from the Mrzenci church, a whole case of books was taken, as well as the iconostasis with the icons. Just as the rest of its property, the Prdejci church books weren't spared either. Long is the list of stolen objects from the Hum church, too. For instance, in 1919, among other things, the iconostasis with the icons were "lifted", as well as all of the church books, a gospel and a silver cross.

In 1919, a list was made of the damages and robberies in the Kavadarci region churches and monasteries, too. According to that list, which was written by church officials, a marble stone—artfully carved and bearing a historical inscription—was taken from the Drenovo church altar on April the 23rd 1918 and transported to Sofia. Another stone was removed from the Eastern side of the church; the stone was artfully shaped and had an historical inscription. In addition, five columns were taken, and all of them were ornamented and had historical inscriptions.

In April 1916, the Bulgarian education inspector took to Sofia, from the Kavadarci church, a triptych that used to belong to the St Gjorgji monastery in Polog. The triptych contained, among other things, information about this monastery's construction. Incidentally, a property of great value was taken from this monastery on September the 9th 1916, at the orders of the major Nikolov from the Bulgarian army's Fifth infantry regiment. In those years of war, the Moklište and Bošava monasteries were also robbed, as well as the Roždenci church, the Ulanci church, from which the Bulgarian soldiers upon their departure, on September the 8th 1918, took all the church books and all other sacred objects. On September the 3rd, upon their retreat, they burnt the Čemerci church. During their occupation, though, the Bulgarian soldiers and governors took four copies of the church protocols from each of the 31 churches in the Kavadarci region.

The documents in the Bitola archive also point to damage and theft in the churches in the Mavrovo region, Polog and Poreče. In Poreče, among other things, the frescoes and the wall icons were painted over (while the other ones were taken away), and the church inscriptions were destroyed. From the Plasnica village church two icons were taken, and from Brod one icon of the Holy Mother, a big silver cross and four protocol books. An octoechos, six church protocols and a cross were taken from the church in the Benče village (where even in the late 1980s many valuable old manuscripts, illuminated very artistically, were discovered). From the village church in Tomino Selo, two silver crosses were taken, as well as an "Antimins", a collection, a missal, two irmologies, two common menaions, two prayerbooks, two large icons and two marble panels with inscriptions on them. As the documents say, the damage of the Tomino Selo church, in December of 1915, was done by the Bulgarian governor of the then-Poreč county, Stojan Blažev from the Dolno Vodno village, and the village priest. The books and some other items were burnt in front of the church, some valuables were taken away, and the inscriptions and frescoes were painted over and damaged. Also at that time in the Topolnica village church two wall icons and two inscriptions were whitewashed, and two missals were taken, as well as an irmology and a prayerbook.

In the St. Nikola church in Gorno Krušje, Poreče, four protocol books and five icons were damaged or seized. Two wall icons in the St. Gjorgji church in Slatina were painted over with whitewash, and an irmology (a church book containing prayers and holiday praise songs) was taken. Seven wall icons were painted over in the Grešnica village church, which was robbed of a silver cross, a gold-plated gospel, 12 menaions, two Books of Hours and two epitraphils, a missal, an irmology, an epistle and an Easter service book. The Kovač village church was left without an epitrachil, a missal and eight icons; the Lupšte church was robbed of an epitrachil and five icons. Epitrachils were taken from the Zrkle and Ramne churches, one from each, whereas a common menaion and a Book of Hours were taken from the Zdunje village church. The St. Bogorodica monastery in the Manastirec village, on the other hand, was plundered not fewer than five times during World War I by Bulgarian soldiers, priests and governors. Anything that could be carried away, was taken – even the monastery supervisor's clothes and personal belongings.

From both of the churches in Mavrovo (the old and the new one) three silver crosses were taken away—one of them made partly of ebony—as well as the prayerbooks. During World War I, church books and other objects were also taken from the churches in Lazaropole, Tresonče, Selce, Rosoki, Galičnik, Janče, Rostuše, Bituše, Sence, Volkovija, Beličica, Kičinica, Vrben, Ničpur, Brodec, and Nistrovo. The churches in Reč and in Sredzimir were demolished on July the 20th 1917, when the Štrkovica village was also destroyed due to a rebellion.

History is full of examples of robberies. However, in this manner only the worst heathens robbed monasteries and churches of the cultural, historical and sacred treasures that were saved there until then.

The preceding information relates only to the damage done by Bulgarian soldiers, emissaries and priests during World War I, but as such it is enough to suggest an incredibly large amount of cultural and historical treasures taken away from Macedonian churches and monasteries. (Adding up only the numbers of the old manuscripts and books carried away, one can see that the previously mentioned estimate of the total sum of manuscripts and books taken from Macedonia—to Bulgarian libraries, museums and archives—is very realistic.) Since everything valuable is being kept, the biggest part of it is surely being kept unofficially in the Bulgarian treasuries and archives, chiefly in the National Museum in Sofia (just as the Serbian museum keeps everything the Serbian army and administration stole). In fact, even after years of inquiries and subsequent denials, valuable, previously undisclosed relics still surface from time to time in foreign collections. Though many items are mentioned in the preceding paragraphs, they represent only a small fraction of the artefacts taken from Macedonia. One can only guess at the amount of Macedonian ethnological heritage being kept in foreign countries.




Scattered heritage – Part 6 of 6


By Nove Cvetanoski


THE ICONS' JOURNEY


Not only manuscripts and books were carried away from Macedonia and scattered across the world, but also many church relics, icons, archaeological and ethnological objects and other various pieces of movable cultural heritage. Macedonian churches, monasteries, archaeological sites and museums were plundered for centuries, and thefts happen even today. Icons were especially interesting to people who legitimately scattered Macedonian cultural heritage.

A French customs official had a Macedonian friend, and during a conversation in the 1990s the customs official happened to mention that his coworkers and he confiscated three icons, the origin of which was unknown, but about which there was an unusual story. His Macedonian friend happened to be a bit more knowledgeable and informed about icon thefts in Macedonia and began an investigation. After Macedonian police reviewed his findings, Interpol became involved, and it was established that one of the three icons came from Macedonia.

If the French customs official didn’t happen to have a Macedonian friend, the seized icon's identity may not have been discovered, since the story the customs officials had been told about the icons wasn't in any way related to Macedonia. The three icons were discovered in the luggage of a French physics professor while he was crossing the border. He claimed they didn’t belong to him, but to his friend Marie Helex Musner from Morocco, and she in turn claimed she painted them herself in her spare time. Yet, the accidentally discovered icon was examined by Macedonian medieval iconography experts and found out to be an icon of Jesus Christ dating from the 16th century, which was painted in the St. Jovan Kaneo monastery in Ohrid.

Another detail from the unusual story about this icon is interesting. After the icon was examined, it turned out that it hadn't been catalogued anywhere in the Macedonian institutions, nor had it been included in the inventory of cultural heritage done in 1956, so that almost no-one in Macedonia knew of its existence. That, in turn, created another problem: It couldn’t be proved that it was stolen from Macedonia! (And if its origin cannot be proven, then there's no basis for asking for its return.) But this case poses a dilemma: Were there accidental omissions in the inventory of our valuable movable cultural heritage, which isn't complete even now, at the beginning of the 21st century?!

Many other icons had fates similar to the fate of Ohrid's Jesus. They often end up in Western private collections and can rarely be reclaimed. As a result, Macedonian institutions have very limited information on the whereabouts of Macedonian icons, as well as other ethnological and archaeological items.

Caption: No-one knows, nor will ever know, the number of icons taken from Macedonia. Since they were being systematically seized and relocated, their number is much higher than the several thousand icons that have been saved

The icons from the Macedonian churches and monasteries suffered the most during the Balkan Wars and World War I, when almost all valuable icons were carried away (except the ones that were accidentally saved or hidden). However, icons were also stolen before and after the war – even after World War II, when Macedonia already had its own institutions responsible for the care of cultural heritage. There are recorded thefts, but probably there are even more unrecorded ones. From the end of the war until 1952, many churches, monasteries, museums, and galleries were robbed of many valuables, such as: icons, frescoes, carvings, old manuscripts and books, gold objects, silver objects etc. But not until 1952 did Macedonia start to make an inventory of the objects that are considered cultural and historical monuments, among which are the icons. After the inventory was completed, in 1963, around 22,800 icons were registered in around 1,700 churches and monasteries, no small number considering all the thefts. The icons were assigned numbers, photographed and described, but some of them vanished in the meantime nonetheless – from museums, archaeological sites, churches, and monasteries. Thus, from 1963 to 1991, 61 thefts were recorded from churches and monasteries, 49 of which were thefts of icons. Only 7 of them were solved, however, i.e. only 44 icons were located (two of them destroyed) of the 368 icons that were stolen.

In the future it will be even harder to find the icons that have yet to be discovered, since their final destinations are private collections in Western Europe. And there are icons there that were obtained a long time ago. No-one knows, nor will ever know, the number of icons that have been taken away from Macedonia. But as regards the systematical thefts and relocations of those icons, we can safely say that there are more icons abroad than there are icons saved in Macedonia. Which means that such icons number in the tens of thousands. One can only estimate the value of such a cultural heritage.

SCATTERING OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL OBJECTS


Artefact thefts happen almost continuously in Macedonia, and even from sites that are cultural monuments or from institutions whose responsibility is to protect the movable heritage. Just in the last decade of the 20th century, around five thousand stolen archaeological objects were repossessed, and it's presumed that there are many more items that have been taken out of the country unbeknownst to the authorities.

There isn't any person or institution that would know even the approximate number of the Macedonian cultural heritage items taken to other countries, since over the centuries many precious relics were being systematically, and in large quantities, taken out of the country—and the thieves' traces were erased. Most of the stolen treasures are kept today, unofficially, in many foreign libraries, museums, archives, churches, monasteries or private collections. That's why information on Macedonian relics is so hard to come by.

Macedonia didn't take appropriate care of its cultural heritage even after World War II, and even less attention was paid to decorations and relics in sacred buildings. The newly established Macedonian state didn’t take a timely inventory of buildings and items of cultural and historical value, which is why many monuments ended up in Belgrade libraries, museums and archives even at a time when the Macedonian people had a state and institutions of their own.

From 1946, when the care of cultural heritage was officialised, until 1952, when the cataloguing of valuable items began, an enormous amount of movable cultural heritage was taken out of Macedonian churches, monasteries, museums and other places.

Not until 1990 did the Republic Council of Cultural Monument Protection systematically begin to collect information on the displaced cultural heritage and to prepare a revealing list of such items. (That responsibility is now assigned to the

[Carlin]

Risto Stefov´s historical revisionism of the Greek War of Independence in Macedonia
Posted by Admin in Articles

March 15, 2009

Aside from contemporary accounts, the Suliotes were considered Greeks even by their enemies. Beli Pasha, son of Ali Pasha, sent letters to his father from April to December 1803 calling the Suliotes “Romans”, “Romioi” and “Romegans” (Romegous), that is, ethnic Greeks.

I don't get it.

Contemporary documents show that Suliotes were ROMANS / ROMIOI / ROMEGANS. How was the "conclusion" reached that they should be/were ethnic Greeks (in 1803), when in fact they are ROMANS ("VLACHS")? Why did you interprent ROMANS to signify "Greeks"?

I'm at a loss to explain these crude attempts at historical manipulation and imposture. Who do you think the "Greeks" of Epirus, Macedonia, Thessaly and Albania were as late as 1862?

Vlahiko Komitato anlu 1862 - YouTube

[George S.]

On the Road of Time – Chapter 12 – Part 1



By Petre Nakovski

Translated and edited by Risto Stefov

[email protected]

October 7, 2012



We left Korcha in the morning. I drove on a muddy road now under construction. Perhaps this year or maybe next year we will be able to drive from Korcha to Pogradets on a wider, flat and more modern road. About ten kilometres down the road we turned back to look for the road to Zvezda (Zvezde) and Poian; the first two large villages where, a long time ago, civilians fleeing from Prespa, DAG (Democratic Army of Greece) fighters from the 14th Brigade and other DAG Units spent the night. This was the first place where they had a bit of a rest, enough to get their strength and find each other...



They hardly slept that night. They were more concerned with finding each other and tracking down their animals, which were scattered all over the yards and fields. But in spite of their long searches they could not find their animals, it seemed like someone had already done that but no one knew who and where the animals were taken…



The next day they were told to move on but no one told them where to go. Obediently and without argument they left their carts and all the possessions that they had carried with them this far, including their oxen, sheep and goats, and picked up only what they could carry on their own backs and, with bitter feelings for being turned into refugees, they went on their way. Black clouds could be seen forming over the Korcha valley with fierce lightning cutting through the sky, brewing a wild, angry storm over them.



I drove over the same road, or what seemed like a road, and for a short time we were diverted at Podgorie, where we inquired if anyone remembered a large crowd of refugees passing by here a long time ago. No one seemed to remember, not even the old people sitting under the shade of a mulberry tree playing Iuch. Did they truly not remember or did they not want to speak to strangers?



No, they and all those from the surrounding villages did not want to talk about those days. They did not want to admit to having rounded up the stray animals belonging to the refugees from Prespa and to taking everything that they could lay their hands on and craftily making it disappear. They did not want to admit that they had sold the property of others for gold and that their animals were quickly moved to the yards and stables of new owners.



And what did these crafty people say to the people of Prespa when they questioned them as to the whereabouts of their property? They said don’t worry, your property is in safe hands and it will be returned to you after the enemy’s neck has been broken at Gramos and when you go back to your homes. Were the people of Prespa convinced of that? I don’t think so but what choice did they have? Without being given any assurances or any other explanations they were ordered to hit the road on foot, all while being beaten down all night by the rain, before arriving at the meadows in Pogradets where trucks and people with open notebooks were waiting for them. Here their names were recorded and they were asked to line up on the side of the road in the line that bore the name of their village.



“Here,” they called to the people, “is where you from German should line up, there you from Pply, over there you from Medovo, on the side…” and after that they led the people to the trucks and one by one they loaded them on board… The trucks then drove off on the same road that we were currently travelling. We arrived in Pogradets in the afternoon.



Pogradets was a living town. Macedonian could be heard being spoken everywhere on the street, in the shops and in the cafés. There were new houses, new streets and hotels everywhere but we could not find a place to rest after driving for almost the entire day. Someone suggested we spend the night in a hotel located at the end of the road leading to Elbasan, on the lakeshore of Lake Ohrid. We decided to take this person’s advice and took the bumpy road leading to the Lake Ohrid lakeshore.



Pogradets was a bustling town with its streets overflowing with old Mercedes and a variety of other cars. Crowds of people were moving around like it was market day. At almost every kilometre on the road there were aquariums set up, full of fish, from which young men, at the sight of an approaching car, pulled out a trout or an eel attempting to entice the travellers to buy it. About ten kilometres from Pogradets, in a locality called Poiske, immediately next to the lakeshore we saw a huge billboard. Written on it were the words, “Welcome Lyhnidas kompleksi turistik”. That meant that we had found the hotel that was recommended to us.



The large neon sign flashing the hotel’s name looked inviting. There was a small parking lot fenced all around with an iron fence, in front of which was an iron gate. The yard was clean and surrounded with a variety of blossoming flowers. To the left and to the right were beautiful wooden bungalows and between them was the way to the hotel. A tall man, calling himself Nako Bregu, greeted us in front of the hotel entrance. He said he was the owner of the entire complex and was glad to receive guests from Macedonia. He spoke Macedonian well.



At the hotel they rented us an apartment overlooking the mountain, under which was the second and main four storey tourist complex of this hotel, on whose roof was a glowing sign with the words “LYHNIDAS”.


Situated in a beautiful ambiance, this tourist complex, the work of architect Zoran Raftovski from Struga, had 29 double bedrooms, 15 apartments, an outdoor pool, a restaurant that served both local and European cuisines, a conference hall with a buffet and the most modern electronic equipment for holding meetings, seminars and workshops. It is here that specialists from UN organizations and other international associations from Albania, Macedonia, Bulgaria and Italy held debates in the fall and winter. We were amazed at the comfort, latest equipment and excellent service this hotel provided.



Cost per day? Out of season 30 euros, in season 40 euros with breakfast.



In the morning after breakfast we returned to Pogradets. I had a burning desire to once again visit the villages and places through which the population from Prespa and Koreshtata and the Partisans of DAG retreated on August 16th and 17th in 1949.
We asked the people in the surrounding villages if they remembered the refugees who, many years ago, had passed through their villages and travelled along their roads, fields and meadows? We found an eighty year old man in the village Podgorie who said he did remember the refugees from sixty years ago but when we asked him who these people were and where they had come from he did not have much say, or knew and did not want to talk to strangers?


We returned to Nako’s hotel and after spending the night there we left for Prenies in the morning.



The road to the Kiafasan border crossing was difficult, coiling through the treeless hills overgrown with tall grass. The biggest impression left on us, at first glance, were the rows of concrete bunkers, to the left and to the right, which seemed as if they were going to open fire through the dark gun holes at any moment. It felt as if they held you in their sights from all sides. On the opposite side of the first curve in the road, beyond the wide crossroads in the middle of the hill among the growing shrubs, there was a whole row of bunkers. It seemed like the dark eyes of the gun holes kept an eye on us, targeting our foreheads and would at any moment open fire.



Those who constructed the bunkers surely chose these locations so that they could bring their opponent down with a single shot to the forehead. The very thought of this caused you chills and cold sweat. The new authorities did not remove the bunkers. Perhaps they left them there to surprise the tourist and the traveller, or they left them there as a reminder of a different time during which those who led the country held power with these numerous concrete bunkers, confirming just how committed they were to the spirit of defending their country? For now the bunkers were not bothering anyone, but unwittingly they attracted the eye of the traveller and evoked many questions.



At the great bend in the road there was a big sign. To the left it pointed to the road that led to Pogradets and Korcha, to the right it pointed to the road that led to Elbasan and Tirana and further down, before the bend in the road leading to the Kafasan border crossing, there was a great big blue sign with large Latin letters with the writing “MACEDONIA”. Past that there was one more smaller sign with the same writing but the letters on this sign were smudged with black paint, indicating that someone had a problem with the name.



After a short stay in the car park, and after enjoying the beautiful panorama of Lake Ohrid, we turned left and took the road to Elbasan. We drove slowly keeping to the third lane in the wide strip of asphalt as we descended the winding steep hill, keeping a safe distance behind the large trucks which moved at turtle speeds, hugging the road in front of us. Others, on the other side of the road, travelled uphill at even slower speeds, carefully hugging the sharp turns. Finally the wide road levelled out into a gentle decline as we descended into the green valley surrounded by a ring of mountains and there, on a blue traffic sign, we saw the letters “Perrenias”.

We parked on the side of the road, turned off the engine and left the car. From what I had been told, I knew who was here and what their lives were like. As we got closer my knees began to tremble with excitement and slowly, as if trying to walk through a dark shadow, painful memories began to appear before my eyes. These were the memories I had inherited from my parents and from the many others who had spent a very difficult time in Perrenias right after the purge from their birthplace.



Located at the end of the valley was Perrenias, probably easier to pronounce and remember it as “Prenies”, which, when looking from above, resembled a huge cauldron. Sixty years earlier, our people were settled in the barracks, horse stables and stores of an abandoned Italian military base. But I remember Prenies from having passed through it. It was late November 1948, more precisely November 28th, a day I will never forget, a day which will remain forever in my tortured and bitter memory. I was only eleven years old then but what I saw and experienced stuck in my memory forever. But from what my mother Fimka had told me, she along with thousands of others, suffered painful and difficult times here that lasted sixteen months. I carried that memory with me for a long time, determined not to forget it and to safeguard it by writing it down.

About the end of that November day when we passed through Prenies, years later, my mother Fimka told me the following:


“It was early morning and from down where the ovens were, a sound, not a sound but a scream was heard – “They are coming!” And we knew that it was trucks. But this time they were not carrying recuperating fighters, they were carrying our children. We ran out of the barracks, rushing, stepping over one another to get to the trucks, to our children, as soon as possible. We ran beside the trucks falling down into the ditches and calling out for them to stop, but they would not stop. We ran faster and followed the trucks calling the names of our children but still nothing. A whole crowd of people gathered...


I fell down but the others kept running, some jumped over me others stepped on me and yet others tripped and fell beside me, then got up again and ran on all fours trying to catch up to the trucks. I was in pain unable to get up and lay by the roadside. I felt stabbing pains all over my body but I kept yelling calling my children by name. When the trauma subsided a bit I got up but only managed to kneel and with my arms lifted up towards the heavens I began to yell and yell louder, crying out the names of my children. Then from over there, from the trucks I heard shouts and cries...



‘Mom!!! Mom!!! Mom!!!’ the children, with their arms held out, were calling out to the people running after the trucks…



These were not screams of joy but shouts of pain, of sorrow and anguish, they were loud, desperate, heart wrenching and inconsolable cries and howls, cast upon us, spreading all over, driving us wild and tearing our hearts out... And those damn trucks kept passing us without stopping, taking with them our appeals, our loud, sad groans and our prayers... They did not stop but kept going and going until they disappeared in the distance of the winding curvy uphill road leading to the top of the mountain…



There were so many trucks that the dust they picked up and dropped behind them had no chance to settle. Up, over on Kafasan a new cloud appeared and another behind it and another behind that seeming like they were bound by a chain, running down along the great winding curves… We knew these trucks were loaded with wounded but we stood at the side of the road, waiting for a chance, hoping that someone may have heard something about our dearest children. But again the trucks came and went without stopping, noisily passing by, drowning our cries and screams with their loud roar and with the cries and moans of the wounded that they carried.


And every day after that, some going this way others going the other way, the trucks kept coming and going, bringing more pain... Every day we stood motionless on the side of the road, crying, staring at the mountain with our faces and eyes covered with black headkerchiefs... and so we waited and cried every day... Then ... Then, as we did every day, we gathered together in the barracks and in the horse stables and again and again we told and retold our painful stories and in our most mournful whimpers we prayed for relief from our anguish...


So, every day, no day passed when there was no crying in Prenies... I did not see my children that day but it seemed to me that I had heard their voices. Perhaps they saw me? … I had fallen at the side of the road and had been stepped on but I did hear children shouting ‘Mama - Mama - Mama!!!...’


How many mothers had fallen down by the side of the road that day and did not see their children? And as such I did not see mine… the only time I saw my children, crying and extending their arms to me, begging me to hug them, was in my dreams, that is, when I did manage to get some asleep… Then I suddenly awoke and, shaken, I wondered where they were and would anyone be there to wipe their tears, to speak comforting words to them, to hug them and pat them on the head and gently kiss them on their cheeks?... My chest hurt inside from the heavy sighs, the prayers and curses that I hurled but still I did not know who to curse the most. Who was at fault?...



That night a woman went crazy... The same night, next door, two infants died in the barracks. They were wrapped in worn out Italian blankets and buried after midnight. They said they died a terrible death... I do not know how to describe the pain we felt over those deaths... That day we did not line up to get food from the cauldron. We sat huddled together on straw mats and imagined ourselves running behind the trucks, following them as they climbed their way uphill, high up the mountain beneath the clouds... There, up high, was where we believed our children had been taken, behind those foggy hills. That was where our cries and tears were directed but the pain always remained with us... That’s how it was… that day in late November. The next day the weather turned cold and it snowed.”



Thirty or so years later the Skopje Publishing House, “Kultura”, published my first novel entitled “Postela za Chemerite” (A bed for Sorrows) in which I dedicated my first pages in memory of those times. This is what I wrote:



“On the hard soil and stone ground, on the side of the road, there are long gray rotting barracks, built with bricks and covered with rye straw. On the left there are old ovens. On the uphill there are common toilets. Under the hill there is a cemetery and under it there are barracks lined up in a long line with narrow, tiny windows through which, because of the iron bars, the sky is reflected in squares. In the middle there is a dusty open space. Slightly to the side is a low house, built of carved white flint. This is Prenies.


The road was narrow and packed with thick flint gravel. The ditches were wide, deep and overgrown with weeds and thorn bushes. On the days when it rained, red silt and muddy water flowed down from the hill. It was very cold during the night when the sky was clear and very hot during the day. The stones were washed clean by the rain and baked and cracked by the burning sun. When the wind blew, which came in waves from the mountains, red clouds of dust hung over the barracks.

[George S.]

On the Road of Time – Chapter 12 – Part 2



By Petre Nakovski

Translated and edited by Risto Stefov

[email protected]

October 14, 2012



Of all the places our people could have gone to save themselves, they had to come here, to this godforsaken place. Bitter, ruined, restrained – very old men, widows of six wars, exhausted sick women, loners, nursing mothers and among them, sick men and men enslaved by their own fear.

A cloud of dust gathered over Prenies twice a day. Once early in the morning and again in late evening when a column of trucks passed by. If the dust rose from down below where the ovens were, the trucks would be carrying recuperating fighters from the hospitals in Elbasan, Tirana, Durres and Suk. With them they would also be carrying food and ammunition for those on the battlefields of Vicho and Gramos. The trucks would transport the food and ammunition to the border and from there it would be carried to the mountains on the shoulders and backs of people, donkeys, horses and mules.



When the valley was filled with grey fog, the trucks would reach the place where the ovens were with their lights on. And when the grey light given off by the first rays of the morning sun began to shimmer on the tops of the surrounding mountains, the trucks would begin their snaking downhill descent from above the hill, making their way down to Prenies. Descending down the cobblestone road they would carry wounded; bleeding, moaning and cursing...



Twice a day the words ‘they are coming’ would be heard over Prenies and every day, morning and evening, the people would pour out of the barracks and horse stables moaning, groaning, disturbed and disheartened and run to the road. And the closer the column of trucks got, the greater was the hustle and the surge pouring out of the barracks and horse stables and running towards the road. People treading over the beaten ground, running from all sides and calling, calling, pushing and falling. And in the loud cries nothing was heard, not a name and not a surname, only ‘oh-oh-oh-a-a-a-!,’ weeping, crying, praying, cursing and swearing. Everyone was calling and searching for their closest, their most beloved, their dearest...



Everyone was looking for their closest: they ran towards those old Czech and Italian trucks which did not want to stop, pushing each other, hitting one another. Those who fell lay there like ninepins, trampled by the rush… they did this day after day, twice a day. Every evening a pile of women and old men ran behind the trucks all the way down to the ovens, to the first guardhouse, to the first bunker behind which the road to Elbasan extended. They stopped there… and left behind, lying on straw mats in the barracks, were crying infants, grunting, groaning and moaning, uncertain of their life and existence.



Every day they ran behind the column of trucks snaking its way up hill… at the crossroads, bayonets mounted on rifles shone under the first rays of the morning sun. The surge stopped there and the trucks quickly disappeared around the last corner. The old people waved at the column and then crossed themselves. They blessed those returning from the hospitals and heading for the battlefields... Some, with tears in their eyes, would mumble: ‘May their scars remain healthy…’



In silence, with black headkerchiefs in their hands, they bid farewell to those headed for battle. After that, slowly they made their way back down but would not immediately return to their straw mats in their barracks and horse stables. Sorrowfully they would search the road, the ditches, the tall grass, the shrubs, looking for letters that the trucks may have dropped. And then, in the barracks and horse stables, from dusk to dawn and from dawn to dusk there would be constant weeping and wailing. Shadows would be seen moving from barracks to barracks. Relatives gathering together to mourn and weep for those who had lost their lives in the battlefields of Gramos and Vicho, Epirus and Thessaly and for those who were badly wounded and died in hospitals in foreign lands... And when their cries and tears had dulled their pain, they would whimper in the dark, muttering words, as if those they spoke to were still alive...



On the hard soil, on the road on which, with the birth and death of the day, black turmoil poured, grass did not grow; everything was stamped down. For the sorrowful, beaten and tormented, living in the barracks and horse stables, lying on straw mats, there was only one-hundred centimetres of space available for each person. Above them there were long, half rotten, beams and underneath them were cobblestones on which, who knows for how many centuries, horse urine had been absorbed. The healthy wished the sick a quick and painless death - to save themselves from their own agony and to save the healthy from being tormented.


Even though the place was well guarded between the two checkpoints where the trucks passed, and in addition to people being frightened and intimidated, there were always the few who secretly slipped out and climbed the summit. And from there they would look at the large bodies of water and the mountains and grey mountain peaks all around them and then whisper to each other with fingers pointing: ‘Look, over there, that’s my house.’



Every day here in Prenies, with burning desire, they waited to hear the words: ‘People, come out, we are going home!’ This is how they always spoke: ‘People give, people bring, people be patient, people persist.’ Every day they waited for the day when a voice would call out: ‘People, we are returning to our homes.’ They always had their belongings ready, waiting to be tossed over their shoulder, waiting for the long trek home.”



“That’s how it was,” said my mother Fimka, wiping a tear, running down her face with the edge of her black headkerchief… She threw a sad glance in front of her and after a long silent pause, with a heavy sigh and motioning with her hand, said: “There, along the road, after the trucks left, every day we searched in the shrubs and grass looking for letters, one woman found a letter. She quickly hid it in her chest, the only place they would not look when they searched us. We got someone to read the letter during the night by moonlight. The letter said the children from so and so villages were located in ‘Duresi’ (Durres). That’s all it said. Not who wrote it and not who dropped it. That’s all it said, nothing more. It did not even say what ‘Duresi’ was, was it a city, a country, was it a village?... Only ‘Duresi’. So we began to ask what was this ‘Duresi’ but we did it in a secret way and we only asked those we trusted. No one knew. What do you expect from people that had never travelled? In Prenies we were stuck in a chicken coop, getting out during the day and returning at night. That’s all we knew. One night we sent an old man to Shkumbin. That’s an Albanian village outside of Prenies. We begged him to go and ask an Albanian what ‘Duresi’ was and where it was located. The old man went and returned at dawn. He said ‘Duresi’ was a provincial town, a big provincial town near the sea.



Oh my God, we began to yell, shake our arms in the air and pull our hairs out crying. If our children were near the sea, surely they would drown. Three or four women got together and asked the old man to go back to the Albanian village and ask how far it was to ‘Duresi’ and how to get there. After much begging the old man did go and when he came back he said: ‘Duresi is a provincial town located about ten days travel from here by foot.’ It was not too far we thought. After all we traveled for an entire month on foot and fully loaded with our belongings, what’s ten days compared to that, especially for a man? We decided to send a man, but whom? We found ourselves in a big dilemma about who to ask. It had to be someone who wanted to see his own children. In the end we decided to ask Traiko. He had strong legs and knew a few Albanian words, so he would be able to find his way if he got lost on the way.



All week we collected small pieces of bread, breaking pieces off the bread they gave us in the food line. Piece by piece we filled a sack full of bread and dried marmalade. We got the trusted old man to whisper instructions into Traiko’s ear on how to get there. ‘First you must pass by Librazhd and stay along the side of the road, if you find a truck, you can go by truck and when you arrive near a large city called Elbasan, take the upper, I mean lower road. If you take the upper road you will be heading to Tirana, if you take the lower road, along level ground, you will arrive in Duresi and there you can ask where they have many children.’ This is what they told the old man and this is what he told Traiko.



Traiko left during the night. Many days and nights had passed since he left and there was no sign of Traiko; no one knew where he was. His wife became very upset yelling, screaming and cursing, wondering how she was going to live and survive without him. ‘Traiko my dear, oh Traiko why did you leave me alone, what am I going to do without you, being without you is like being blind,’ she screamed out loud and cried and cursed.



We all began to think of the worst. Something terrible must have happened to him. You never know. This is a foreign country, many things are unfamiliar, travel would be difficult for a man who has never travelled… When six weeks passed, we decided we should send Ilio. Ilio was familiar with travel, before the Great War Ilio used to go to pechalba (migrant work) in Thessaly. He had worked on the farms in Thessaly during the spring and summer ploughing, sowing and harvesting crops and after that he used to travel to Thrace to make coal.



Ilio went to Duresi and two weeks later he returned. He told us that he found Duresi and the place where the children were and that several times during the night he secretly met with Evgenia, the oldest woman responsible for the children. She told him that all the children were alive and well, that they were all clothed, clean and well-fed. She told him to give her regards to all the mothers, fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers and to wish them all well and to tell them not to worry. She also sent regards to all from all there.



After many months of waiting and wondering, this was great news for all. It brought much happiness to the mothers. People were going in and out of Ilio’s barracks every day. Every mother wanted to ask details about her own child or children. Traiko’s wife too stopped her yelling, crying and cursing. Ilio whispered in her ear that Traiko was alive and well and that he was hiding in Duresi and secretly visiting the children and that when times changed and things improved, he promised he would return… That’s how it was…



One day the visits and conversations ended. Some high ranking officials came to Prenies and called all the men to a meeting. They spoke to them about the great battles and how our side was always winning but to shorten the war and bring victory faster they needed their help. The officials spoke for two or three days about these great battles and took turns visiting the barracks. There they found crippled and maimed people, some holding their hip, some holding their back, some walking with a cane, some bracing themselves against the wall, some coughing badly, some lying on straw mats, some dashing for the toilets...



When the officials saw the condition of those men, they decided that battles could not be fought with these kinds of men and victory could not be achieved. They found only five men capable of delivering victory, Ilio was one of them who the officials took with them when they left. Almost four months later, during a cold, snowy winter day, Ilio returned. They sent him to Prenies back to his wife because he was no longer needed. His right sleeve was hanging empty…



That day our trucks did not come twice as they did many times before. I call them ‘our trucks’ because they carried our young men and women from and to the battlefields. They brought our wounded and maimed young fighters to the hospitals and when they recovered, the trucks took them back, back to the battlefields. Sometimes the trucks brought one or two officials, clean and shaven, boots shining and cheeks glowing red. They came to Prenies to let the men know that victory was near and for victory to be even nearer they needed to give, they needed them to give it their all, but all these men had to give was their lives and the rags they wore on their backs.



Our sheep and goats were grazing up in the mountains, being looked after by very old Macedonian men hired by the Party. Our larger animals were strays, left alone out in the fields and meadows and no one knew their number, how many were sick, how many had died and how many were still alive. Being deserted their numbers surely had declined. People were saying that some had died from sickness and others had been killed by wolves. But the truth was something different all together…



One of the women, one time, went to an Albanian village and there she saw her two oxen harnessed under a yoke. The sheep and goats, they too found themselves in the yards of Albanian villagers. Resourceful people sold the animals to the Albanian villagers and all the while they were telling us that they took them to the Party and were returned to the front for our fighters to have something to eat. There were people who secretly left the complex to collect tea in the mountains and recognized their own goats and sheep grazing among the Albanian livestock. We had no problem if our livestock ended up in the cauldrons of the Partisans. It was wrong however for it to be in the yards of the Albanian villagers. And as such we lost everything we had taken from our homes, everything we had managed to bring with us all the way to Prenies. Surely gold coins were slipped into someone’s hand…



And this picture, this view of running behind the trucks, the crying, the pain, the yelling are all experiences buried in my memory and now, being reminded of them, they are coming back like a wave, like a swarm, they spring to life, they burn… they are strung like pearls; word beside word, cry beside cry, moan beside moan, tear beside tear, sigh beside sigh, all bound together by a chain, pressing, squeezing, scratching and hurting...
That memory weighs on me, it squeezes me, it chokes me and makes my soul ache...”



We turned right from the main road and parked the car under the shade of a willow tree, and, with tears in our eyes, went for a tour. Both the left and right side of the street were laid with a blanket of fresh asphalt. There was a whole line of long buildings standing in a row finished with a grey-white façade. Up above there were square windows covered with iron bars and below were large crooked doors. These looked more like stores than stables. Among them were also small houses. In front and underneath each large colourful tent were discarded plastic coca cola and a variety of colourful juice bottles. There were also stacks of empty packages from smuggled sweets and candy.



We decided to go up the street. Children ran in front and all around us curiously inquiring as to who we were. We seemed strange to them because they had never seen us before. We stopped at a place that resembled a café. There were two tables and about ten plastic chairs. A young lady in her early twenties was waving a broken mulberry tree branch left and right chasing annoying flies. From her movements and from her smile we gathered that she was inviting us to the café. She did not speak any other languages besides Albanian so we stood there mute. But gesturing did help a little. Then a young man in his twenties came to assist. He said he gathered that we were from Skopje because of our car license plates. He told us that he spoke a bit of Macedonian but was fluent in Greek and Italian. He had learned these languages while working in those countries.



“Are you looking for someone?” he asked.



“Yes we are but we prefer to find someone older,” I replied



“Right now I will bring you someone,” he said and a few minutes later he came back with an old man.



“Are you from here, from Prenies?” I asked the old man after we greeted each other.



“Currently I live here in Prenies, but originally I am from a neighbouring village behind these mountains,” said the old man while gesturing east with his head.



“When did you move to Prenies?” I asked.



“When Enver Hoxha collected us and brought us here to build the factory and the rail line to Pogradets,” answered the old man.



“And where do you live?” I asked.



“Over there, in the last houses, behind the mosque. That’s where they relocated us,” answered the old man.



“What about these houses?” I asked while pointing at the stores or horse stables whatever they may be.



“In those days the army was located there. There were a lot of troops here then. They were guarding the border and us,” replied the old man.



“What about before that?” I asked.



“Before that we were at home in our village. I told you they brought us here to build the factory and rail line and to dig chromium…” answered the old man.



“Do you recall if there was a cemetery located near here?” I asked.



“Yes I do. There were two cemeteries here. Up there, at the corner, where they are digging now, above the road there was a cemetery where they buried Italians. The other was where they buried Albanians but on the other side,” answered the old man.



“Before they brought you here, were there any other people here?” I asked.



“People? No, there were no ordinary people, only a lot of soldiers…” answered the old man.



As we continued our conversation another man joined us. He looked like an older man from the wrinkles on his face.



“Pliak, how many years did God give you?” asked our translator.



They all laughed out loud at the question.



“What God are you talking about? Hoxha uprooted us and Him from our minds and hearts. When someone mentions God, we go silent and look around. We hope no one from the security services is around. It’s a habit. Then, in those days, they even pushed our children to spy on us. That’s what they were teaching them,” concluded the other old man.



“And today?” I asked.



“Today? You can say whatever you want and no one will scold you or say anything bad to you, or look at you strangely. That’s democracy… And you and the lady, are you looking for something?” asked the other old man.



“Yes we are. We are looking for a cemetery,” I replied.



“What? Did someone close to you die on the road?” asked the first old man.



“Yes, many died on the road and on other roads here in Prenies and we want to know where they were buried,” I said.



“And when was that?” asked the old man.



“It was during 1948 and 1949,” I answered.



“That was a long time ago. I don’t know if you could find anyone here at Perrenias that knows such things. And who were the dead?” asked the old man.



“They were our people, Macedonians…” I answered.



“And what were they, your Macedonians, doing here?” asked the old man.



“The war brought them here,” I answered.



“The war, but which war?” asked the old man.



“The war in Greece…” I answered.



“Oh, a long time ago when I was back in my village I heard that there was a war there and I remember that after that we had to give some of our wheat, rye and corn. But I never heard of your people being here in Perrenias. No one living in Perrenias today is a native. We are all immigrants. Maybe in the villages up the mountain there may be people who might know. But that was a long time ago. People have died, people have aged and their memories have been diluted. Go up the mountain, maybe there you will find someone who remembers. But not with this kind of car, the road is no good for this kind of car. It’s best to go on foot,” advised the old man.



The old man finished drinking his coffee, greeted us with both hands and sluggishly walked away up the lane. Then suddenly he paused for a moment, turned around and gave us a hand signal to approach him.



“Ask the people from these houses. When they were digging foundations for their houses they said that they found bones. Ask them. Maybe the cemetery is under their houses,” suggested the old man.



“Yes,” said the woman, “here we found many bones from people. It looks like the place was a cemetery…”



Further up a bent over old man approached us and asked:



“Are you the people asking about the cemetery? Yes there was a cemetery. Over there…” said the bent over old man while pointing with his cane.



We took the bent over old man along with our interpreter to our car and drove to where the cemetery used to be.



“Right here, the cemetery was at this place,” said the bent over old man.



The place did not look like it ever was a cemetery. We saw a wide three lane road marked with white lines. Above the turn was a hill.



“It seems to me that the cemetery was dug up with the excavation for widening the road… the cemetery was not ours (Albanian), it was Italian. Over there where the road widens that too was part of the Italian cemetery. Soldiers were buried there. Last year people came from Italy and took two truck loads of bones in boxes. And over there, on the other side of the hill there was a cemetery, and to whom it belonged I don’t know,” said the bent over old man.



“And is there anyone very old here in the Perrenias...” I asked.



“You will not find anyone older than me. Don’t waste your time. It was the way it was but now it has passed. The times are different now. As you can see people are building houses, widening their yards, opening cafés and trying to make a life for themselves, they don’t care about any old cemeteries. They dig and build wherever they can find space. The people have become greedy…” concluded the bent over old man.



I thanked the bent over old man for his help and, without mentioning God, I wished him many more years, one-hundred-and-one years, and then placed a box of cigarettes and a bag of coffee in his hand. He placed the cigarettes in his chest pocket and took a whiff of the bag, then smiled meekly and said:



“There is no need. Now we have all kinds of things, as much as you want. People bring things from everywhere… But if it is given from the heart then I accept it with all my heart.”



Our interpreter then translated:



“Pliak, the man thanks you and says that you told him many things…”



“Well, you, I told him… I told him what I know,” he said in a disappointed tone of voice and walked away sluggishly.



And as such they took us from place to place to where once there were cemeteries and everywhere they took us the places were empty.

[George S.]

Почитувани,

Ве известувам дека од 17ти до 23ти октомври ке бидам во посета на Канада. Планот за посета е следен:

18ти (четврток) - Трибина со македонците во Црквата Свети Наум Охридски во Хамилтон од 18:30 часот.
19ти (петок) - Трибина со македонците во Црквата Света Недела во Ајакс од 19:00 часот.
20ти (сабота) - Трибина во Црквата Свети Илија во Мисисага од 12:00 часот.
20ти (сабота) - Присус...
тво и обракање на банкетот по повод 50 годишнината од градењето на Црквата Свети Климент Охридски во Торонто од 18:30 часот.
21ви (недела) - Трибина во Црквата Свети Димитрија Солунски во Маркам од 12:00 часот.
21ви (недела) - Трибина во Црквата Свети Никола во Виндзор од 19:00 часот.
22ри (понеделник) - Трибина во Црквата Света Богородица во Кембриџ од 19:00 часот.

Ве замолувам да ги искористите следните неколку денови и да ја пренесете посетата на вашите пријатели, организации и медиуми. На трибините ке се дискутира за случувањата во Република Македонија, постапките окулу вадењето на македонски пасош и државјанство и други проекти на кои работиме во Македонија.

Срдечнo

Rev. Ilija Donev
[email protected]
(905) 502 - 0495
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MHRMI Met with Canadian Foreign Affairs, Called on Canada to Denounce Name Negotiations

Македонската верзија е подолу (Macedonian version below)

Toronto, Canada (October 10, 2012) - On October 1, 2012, MHRMI President Bill Nicholov, MHRMI member Chris Balkos (Balkovski), and Vinozhito member Dimitri Ioannou (Jovanov) met with senior members of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada. Among the topics discussed were human rights abuses against Macedonians in Greece, Bulgaria, Albania, and throughout the Balkans, the denial of entry into Greece to Canadian-Macedonians, Greece's embassy and consulates denying assistance to Canadian-Macedonians, and Canada's position regarding the Republic of Macedonia and the name negotiations.
MHRMI called on Canada to condemn Greece, Bulgaria, Albania and other countries' persecution of Macedonians, and to take concrete steps in ensuring that it ends or force these countries to face repercussions. Specifically, we called for Canada to publicly denounce the name negotiations and support immediate international, not just bilateral, recognition of Macedonia. We expressed our expectation that countries which have recognized Macedonia must fully support its name and we denounced the United States and Western Europe's hypocrisy in calling for a "compromise" or "solution" to the so-called name dispute.

MHRMI pointed out that there is no human right more basic than that of self-identification, and, ironically, that it is Greece's position on the very use of the word Macedonia that has changed in the past 25 years and that Macedonia and Macedonians have always been known as such. Greece initiated the "name dispute" in order to deny the existence and persecution of its large Macedonian minority.

We highlighted Canada's international reputation of leadership in the field of human rights, and called for it to be showcased in Canada's denouncement of the name negotiations and condemnation of those countries that persecute Macedonians.

###

Macedonian Human Rights Movement International (MHRMI) has been active on human and national rights issues for Macedonians and other oppressed peoples since 1986. For more information: www.mhrmi.org, www.twitter.com/mhrmi, www.facebook.com/mhrmi, [email protected], +1 416-850-7125.

Show your support for Macedonian human rights by joining the MHRMI Human Rights Fund. Your donation will go directly to funding vital Macedonian human rights activities in the Balkans.


ММДЧП оствари средба со канадските министерства за надворешни работи, побара од Канада да ги осуди преговорите за името

Торонто, Канада (10 октомври, 2012) - На 1 октомври 2012 година, претседателот на ММДЧП Бил Николов, членот на ММДЧП Крис Балкос (Балковски) и членот на Виножито Димитри Иоану (Јованов) остварија средба со високи функционери на канадските министерства за надворешни работи и за меѓународна трговија. Покрај останатото, тема на разговор беше и кршењето на човековите права на Македонците во Грција, Бугарија, Албанија и воопшто на Балканот, забраната за влез во Грција на канадски Македонци, одбивањето да се помогне на канадски Македонци од страна на грчката амбасада и грчките конзулати, како и позицијата на Канада за Република Македонија и преговорите за името.

ММДЧП побара од Канада да го осуди прогонувањето на Македонците од страна на Грција, Бугарија, Албанија и да преземе конкретни чекори кои што или ќе стават крај на таквиот нивни однос, или да создадат услови со кои што овие земји ќе се соочат со последици. Попрецизно, беше побарано Канада јавно да повика прекин на преговорите за името и веднаш да даде цврста поддршка за меѓународно, а не само билатерално, признавање на Македонија. Од страна на ММДЧП беше искажана надеж дека земјите кои што ја признаа Македонија мора целосно да го поддржат нејзиното име, а беше упатена и критика за лицемерието на САД и земјите од Западна Европа кои што повикуваат на „компромис" или „изнаоѓање решение" на т.н. спор за името.

ММДЧП истакна дека не постои поважно човеково право од правото на самоидентификација, а иронијата да биде поголема, Грција го има сменето своето употребување на зборот Македонија во последните 25 години, и дека Македонија и Македонците отсекогаш биле препознавани токму по тие термини. Грција го иницираше „спорот за името", со намера да го негира постоењето и да го прогонува големото македонско малцинство во нивната земја.

Од страна на ММДЧП беше потенциран меѓународниот углед на Канада и нејзиното влијание во полето на човековите права и беше побарано Канада да го изнесе својот став за преговорите за името и да изрече осуда за оние земји кои прогонуваат Македонци.

###

Македонското меѓународно движење за човекови права (ММДЧП) активно работи на полето на човекови и национални права на Македонците и другите обесправени народи од основување 1986 година. За повеќе информации: www.mhrmi.org, twitter.com/mhrmi, facebook, [email protected], 1-416-850-7125.
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ЧЕТВРТ ПОВИК

За кандидирање на кандидати за

Претседател на Задгранични комитети на ВМРО-ДПМНЕ

Согласно одлуката на ИК на ВМРО-ДПМНЕ, а врз основа на Статутот на ВМРО-ДПМНЕ се објавува Повик за кандидирање на кандидати за Претседатели на Задгранични комитети на ВМРО-ДПМНЕ во:

- ЗК Бризбејн;

- ЗК Лос Анџелес;

- ЗК Подгорица;

- ЗК Бон; - ЗК Франкфурт; - ЗК Солун;

- ЗК Џилонг;

- ЗК Филаделфија;

- ЗК Загреб;

- ЗК Минхен; - ЗК Белград; - ЗК Атина;

- ЗК Оукланд;

- ЗК Бафало;

- ЗК Букурешт;

- ЗК Хаг; - ЗК Ниш; - ЗК Пустец;

- ЗК Рочестер;

- ЗК Будимпешта;

- ЗК Гронинген; - ЗК Јабука; - ЗК Требиште;

- ЗК Сиракјуз;

- ЗК Истамбул;

- ЗК Копенхаген; - ЗК Драгаш; - ЗК Тирана;

- ЗК Монтреал;

- ЗК Грац;

- ЗК Гетеборг; - ЗК Софија; - ЗК Корча;

- ЗК Москва; - ЗК Благоевград; - ЗК Поградец;



Напомена: Доколку вашиот град не е наведен на листата ве охрабруваме да го пријавите вашиот интерес за вклучување на активностите на ВМРО-ДПМНЕ во дијаспората. Како партија ќе најдеме начин за активирање и ангажирање на сите Македонци кои имаат желба да помогнат во остварувањето на целите на ВМРО-ДПМНЕ.

Кандидатите треба да се членови или поддржувачи на ВМРО-ДПМНЕ во моментот на доставување на кандидатурата. За поднесување на кандидатурата не се потребни потписи, туку доставување на биографија и програма за работа.

По доставувањето на кандидатурата, односно биографијата и програмата, секој кандидат дополнително ќе биде контактиран од седиштето на ВМРО-ДПМНЕ и со него ќе биде извршен разговор.

Сите кандидати имаат подеднакви шанси да бидат избрани, зависно од личните квалитети, успесите во минатото и визијата за иднината. Секој пријавен кандидат ќе биде третиран со строга дискреција, со цел за заштита на кандидатите кои нема да бидат избрани.

Потребните документи треба да се достават најдоцна до 30.10.2012 година, на следната е-пошта: [email protected]

ВМРО-ДПМНЕ го задржува правото да ги провери податоците доставени во биографијата и прашалникот на секој кандидат.

По завршувањето на процедурата на избор секој кандидат има право да ја подигне неговата документација, односно прашалникот и биографијата, по негово сопствено барање.



Со почит

ВМРО-ДПМНЕ

[George S.]

On the Road of Time – Chapter 13



By Petre Nakovski

Translated and edited by Risto Stefov

[email protected]

October 21, 2012



We returned to Prenies. There we took a right turn. On the left was the mosque, behind which was a residential settlement. Two and three storey houses had been recently built there and a little above that, next to the intersection, was the Orthodox church.



Suddenly a question popped into my mind, “Why was there, in those days when Italians were here, an Orthodox church in the middle of an Italian military base, shouldn’t it have been a Catholic church? Or was this church built to honour the memory of those who died here? The question bothered me as I became more and more curious. But who to ask?



There were many flowers decorating the outside yard door and there was a locked padlock hanging on the door. People passing by stopped for a moment and shook their heads, gesturing that they did not understand what I was asking them. Then, when speaking among themselves, they shrugged their shoulders. I began to feel isolated and disappointed.



Suddenly our translator appeared from somewhere and spoke to people and from the conversation concerning the church we understood only two words; some said Catholic and others Orthodox. We realized that nobody knew anything about the church. For them it did not exist, even though they passed by it many times each day, they had no clue as to whom it belonged. Unfortunately the question kept gnawing at me; “What is this Orthodox church doing here? Is it an Orthodox Church or not?...”


Then suddenly I remembered. Well, yes. At that time a friend of ours was here in Prenies and before coming here we had visited him and told him that we were coming here. God bless those who invented the mobile telephone. Anxiously I pressed the buttons with the numbers and then I pressed the green button.



“It’s ringing,” I said to my wife. “He is answering…”



I heard a sleepy voice answer on the other side. Afternoon is usually nap time.



“Hello, Done, good day, how are you? Wait, don’t answer, I have a question for you first. You have been to Prenies, right?”



“Yes I have,” he answered.



“Do you remember if there was an Orthodox church in Prenies then?” I asked.



“No there wasn’t one. I am sure there wasn’t one,” he replied.



“What about a mosque?” I asked.



“No, there was no mosque either,” he said.



“Was there a cemetery?” I then asked.



“Yes…” he said.



“And where was it?” I asked.



“Well, where are you now?” he asked.



“We are in Prenies. We are standing on the right side of the main road. In front of us we see a row of long buildings with wide doors and small windows up above that have iron bars in front of them. The buildings look like camp barracks and between them there is a road…” I replied.



“Those were the stores and horse stables where our people were housed. Now look in the direction of the field. You should be able to see a large number of long wooden barracks on the other side of the road…” he advised.



“I am looking but I don’t see any barracks. There is something there that looks like a playground and in the middle of it there are stakes placed into the ground on which old boards had been nailed. The place looks more like an open bazaar…” I replied.



“That’s were the barracks were. And a little to the side do you see a white house?” he asked.



“Yes I see it,” I said.



“That’s were the Administration and Party Committee were located. And at that time that was the only house built in the area, everything else was barracks, large and long stores and horse stables with large doors on the north and south side….” he said.



“Yes, I see them. They are exactly as you describe them,” I replied.



“Now, follow the road up. When you reach the last store or horse stable, turn slightly to the left… Are you there yet?” he asked.



“Yes, we are there…” I replied.



“Do you see a small hill to the right?” he asked.



“I see it,” I said.



“Go to the bottom of the hill and about ten steps further you will find the cemetery,” he instructed.



“All I see here are only single level houses…” I replied.



There was silence on the receiver... After a moment or so a long sigh and after that was Done’s voice saying: “The cemetery was there…” He hung up and that was the extent of our conversation.



It was hot… The valley slumbered in the encirclement of the surrounding mountains. It is hot here all day during the summer. They say the heat is unbearable in the summers and the winters are stone cold. Then, in those days, the frail and sick, the old, the babies and the young children suffered the most. Their salvation was the cemetery which we are now trying to find...


We brought candles with us so that we could light them at the Prenies cemetery. We knew that from the end of July 1948 to the end of October 1949 many people had died in Prenies from various ailments and diseases; the majority were old people, babies and one and two year olds. So there must have been a cemetery in which they were buried. These were our people and the cemetery in which they were buried is our cemetery, even though it is located in a foreign country.



We lit candles for the souls of those who sixty years ago lost their lives here. For those whose destiny was met with eternal darkness. We lit candles to revive the memory of them and keep them from being forgotten... We wanted to light candles in the Orthodox church but how were we going to find the priest or someone who had a key?



“Why don’t we go to the café,” suggested the interpreter, “maybe we will find someone who knows more.” We agreed; it was a good idea.



There were three tables under the branches of a grapevine and past that there was a door, probably leading to the kitchen. One of the four men sitting around the tables got up, took a few steps towards us and greeted us with a big smile and wide open arms as if he had known us for a long time. He invited us to one of the empty tables. The man kept talking with a wide smile on his face and we, understanding nothing that he said, smiled back and shook our heads in agreement. We gathered he was the owner of the café and did not look a day over thirty. Our interpreter struck up a conversation with him. I think he explained to him who we were and what we were doing here.



Before sitting us down, the man swatted the flies off the table with his not so white towel, turned towards us and, with the help of the translator, asked for our order.



“Coffee please,” I ordered.



“Hurie, vale tria kafedakia,” (Bring us three coffees.) ordered the translator in Greek.



“Milate Elinika?” (do you speak Greek?) I asked in Greek.



“Yes I do, very well. I am also teaching my wife to speak Greek. We are planning to go to Greece in the fall to work there. We want to build a house and we need the money. I worked in the Peloponnesus for twelve years. And you, from what my friend tells me, are from Macedonia, right?” the man asked.



“Yes,” I replied.



“You have big problems with the Greeks, right? It is difficult to live with Greeks. I know them very well. They are not honest people. They are big liars. I am familiar with them. I worked like a slave for my bosses. But what are you going to do when you have obligations. You will work as a slave for your bread… Let them be what they are, that’s how God made them, even God endures them. He puts up with them cursing His Son and swearing at his Son’s Mother… Every second word is a swear word… Please madam, forgive me, it is not decent of me to talk about these things…” he said to my wife.



“Tell me,” I asked, “since when have you lived in Prenies?”



“This is my second year. Why do you call it Prenies? This place is called Perrenias, a name which it got from the many slopes found in the mountains on the west side of the settlement. ‘Prii’ means slope and Perrenias means many slopes. Earlier the place was called ‘Domozdroba’ and in the fifties it began to develop as a town,” said the man.



“Tell me when was the church built here?” I asked.



“The church and the mosque that are built on the same street, on the opposite side, were built after communism fell. If you want to know more we will call the church custodian and he will be able to tell you more. I don’t go to church or to the mosque. In communist Albania we were all forced to become atheists and since then I have remained that way. But please allow me to finish. You know the large field behind us, the one by the road that spreads east and south and slopes down the mountains? Well that field was owned by a Beg before the war. I don’t remember his name. The Italian government purchased the part of the field that we are standing on in the thirties of the last century. This was the most unproductive part of the field, which Italy purchased to use for 99 years and they built a military base. The only thing that remains of that base today are those ugly buildings which some say were stores and others say were stables. Everything built around them and over the road was built on usurped land. Last year Italians came and said that this place was theirs and that we Albanians were building our houses on stolen land. We said that there were another 30 years before the 99 years expired, so until then we were staying right here,” concluded the man.


While the man spoke I could not help but think about our people stuck in those stables and stores, now eaten away by the elements and time.



The barracks were gone. The place where they stood was now flat and in their place were poles stuck in the ground on which rotting old boards had been nailed. Those grounds today are the market place of Perrenias. Above them are the stores and horse stables. They had been painted with bluish and white paint, which in some places had eroded by the passing of time and in other places had cracked, exposing old layers of paint in a variety of colours.



Underneath one of the layers, I could see, but just barely, an outline of painted letters. I used a piece of glass to scratch away and under the paint I exposed the letter “Д” painted with pale red paint. The letter “Д” is a Cyrillic letter. At that moment it seemed like cold drops of sweat were dripping from my forehead. The letters were at chest height so I began to scratch even faster, exposing more of the pale red paint. I continued scratching for another thirty or forty centimeters until the entire Macedonian word “БРАТСТВО” (BROTHERHOOD) was exposed. There was no doubt that both words were part of a slogan and most likely remnants of the then very popular slogans with which “bratsvo i edinstvo” (brotherhood and unity) was promoted between the Macedonian and Greek people.



I went and got a larger piece of glass from a pile of broken glass and continued to scratch a bit higher. I scratched an entire strip and under a brown layer I noticed a bit of white paint. I realized that the wall has been painted over at least three times. I again began to scratch from right to left and under the brown layer I found a pale red line and a dot under it. It looked like an exclamation mark. I scratched further and after exposing more of the wall the letters : “а, т, а, д, е, б, о, п...” appeared in that order from right to left.



I took a step back and looked at the exposed letters. I read from left to right and noticed that they spelled: “победата” (victory). I wiped the sweat off my forehead and face with my sleeve and continued to scratch until I had exposed all the writing to the last letter. The last letter turned out to be the first letter in the slogan, which to this day, sixty years later, was hidden under three layers of paint.



I then stepped back and read: “Сите на оружје! Се за победата!” (All to arms! Everything for Victory!)



I stepped to the side and sat on a half rotting stump and stared at the slogan. After being silent for a long time I wondered out loud: “How many more walls are adorned by this kind of slogan, put there to invite the exiled to battle?


Here in Prenies, preserved under layers of paint, are the slogans, a testament to the times, when every day they nourished the trust and encouraged the spirit... of a war that extended all the way here, calling and beckoning... They collected all who were capable, and then they collected all who were less capable and after that they waited for the young to grow so that they too could be collected and sent to battle. They collected people, property and food by force and using the slogan “Everything for victory.”

[George S.]

Macedonia v. Greece: The Truth Behind the Name Dispute

by Risto Stefov
[email protected]

February, 2002

click here for a printable version

I write here to inform the unaware reader and to remind the weary Macedonian why it is important for Macedonians to fight, by any means possible, to survive. I strive to inspire others to initiate debates and join with me in telling our story. I invite historians and academics to revisit history and re-open the Macedonian question.

Since her inception as a country in the 1820's, Modern Greece has instituted and to this day is enforcing discriminatory policies towards the Macedonian people. The name dispute is nothing new. It is ongoing Greek interference in Macedonian affairs.

I intend to explore the results of policies instituted by Greek Governments and the harm they have done to the Macedonian people. I intend to show that for the sole benefit of her selfish needs, and to cover up acts of ethnic cleansing and cultural genocide against the Macedonian people, Greece has consistently denied the existence of a Macedonian nationality.

I intend to show that since Greece became a country in the late 1820's, successive Greek Governments have systematically and deliberately promoted discriminatory actions and policies to suppress the identity of the Macedonian nation. I intend to provide evidence resulting from the implementation of such actions and policies. I also intend to show how, by passing carefully worded laws, Greek Governments have isolated Macedonians and robbed them of their rights and privileges as Greek citizens.

I also intend to show how Greece has highjacked Classical and Hellenistic history to aid in her quest for annexing Macedonian territory and denying Macedonians their heritage.

Finally, I intend to challenge the most popular club and donut shop debated Greek claims of the origin of Modern Macedonians, Modern Greeks and the purity of the Modern Greek nation.

As George Orwell once pointed out, "Who controls the past controls the future; who controls the present controls the past." If you believe George Orwell as I do or the saying that "history is written by the victors," then continue reading.

I would like to begin this document with a few personal observations of my own that measure, unscientifically, today's mood and the political opinions of ordinary Macedonians and Greeks. As an added bonus, I would like to provide some measure of the general public's level of awareness and understanding of issues facing Macedonia today.

Over some time I informally inquired from ordinary people that identify with Modern Greeks what they think of Macedonians?

The results are summarized as follows:

1. "Macedonians don't exist."

2. "There is no such thing as Macedonians."

3. "Macedonians have been extinct for a long time."

4. "There is a region called Macedonia but it belongs to Greece."

The similarity of answers provided by various individuals is most curious.

I did the same with people that identify with Macedonians. The question this time was what do Macedonians think of the Greeks?

In almost every instance I witnessed signs of frustration, anger and disappointment before a single word was uttered.

1. Some shook their heads and walked away saying "there is nothing good to say."

2. Others wished the Greeks would "leave us alone so that we can get on with our lives."

3. Some spoke of the "Greek injustices" perpetrated over the years.

I did a similar test with people who were not of Greek or Macedonian nationality. I asked the question, "What do you know about Greeks and Macedonians and the issues that face them today?"

Here is a summary of the results:

1. Many responded by saying, "Greeks, Macedonians, same thing".

2. Most knew nothing of Macedonians and a little of the Greeks.

3. Virtually none were aware of any specific issues facing the two countries except that problems existed, which they learned from watching television or reading the newspaper.

The results of this informal mini survey revealed the following:

1. Greek people have a preconceived mind set about Macedonia and the Macedonian people.

2. Ordinary Macedonians are frustrated by Greek interference in their affairs.

3. Ordinary individuals outside of the two groups are not well informed about issues facing the two countries.

Macedonians, who have the most to gain from this, have not done enough to publicize the issues and bring them out into the open.

To understand the nature of the current problems between the two countries, I must take you back to watershed points in history, to the events that gave birth to the problems.

I believe the initial turning point began before the creation of the Modern Greek state with the world's discovery of the old Greek city-states.

During the Renaissance when scholars of the Christian world turned their attention to science, mathematics and philosophy, Muslim scholars from occupied Spain lead them to the discovery of the ancient Greek world. Fascinated by the discovery they began to translate ancient works and publish books that popularized the exploits of the ancient Greeks making them famous.

The next turning point took place in the early 1820's when Greece rebelled, unsuccessfully, against five hundred years of Ottoman rule. Eventually, her newly-found fame would turn the tide in her favour.

The rebellion prompted a harsh response from Turkey against the Greek people and this gained the attention of the world. Cries of sympathy and protests prompted the superpowers France, Britain and Russia to dispatch their navies and liberate Greece.

At that time Greece was a small country at the foot of the Balkans, its population was a mix of indigenous Greeks, Albanians, Vlahs, Slavs, Turks and other minorities.

The unexpected liberation caught the small country by surprise and threw her population into chaos, struggling to assert their individual identities. With help from her allies she recovered and began to rebuild.

During this crucial period of soul searching, Greece forged new ideas that would later have negative consequences for Macedonia.

With allied help, the Greek people formed a new government, crowned a king, revised history, created a literary language, instituted education, created a military and began to plan territorial expansions, all in a span of a few decades. The Ottoman Empire was weakening and there would be plenty of opportunities for acquiring new territories in the future. While the military was planning campaigns, scholars were busy forging a new identity for the Greek people. In an effort to capture some of the glory of the ancient past the new nation would be called Hellas and its people would be referred to as Hellenes. A carefully chosen name and identity, which would serve Greek propaganda well in the future.

Forward thinking politicians, revisionists and policy makers made sure nothing was left to chance. They literally designed the new nation to take advantage of the past and to exploit the future. These were also the people who decided Macedonia's fate.

By the beginning of the twentieth century Greece had tripled in size by conquering and annexing all of the territory she occupies today -- except for Macedonia.

Athens had now taken an active role in all archeological affairs and instituted censorship. All information and artifacts were regulated to ensure the past was in agreement with the present.

The next turning point takes us to the last thirty years before the 1912-1913 Balkan wars. It was during this period that Greece took extraordinary measures to conceal the identity and character of the Macedonian nation.

Greece, due to her control of Christian interests inside Macedonia, was granted unrestricted access in and out of Ottoman territory, provided it was for religious purposes only. Since the abolition of the Macedonian Church in 1767 by Ottoman Sultan Mustafa III, having no other choice, Macedonians turned to the Greek Church for prayer. Up until the middle of the 19th century the Greek Church had exclusive rights over Christianity inside the Ottoman Empire.

At that time the Ottoman administration was not yet reformed and functioned poorly at best. There was no statistical information available regarding the composition of nationalities in the region. When the Ottomans took a census they were interested in numbers relating to religious affiliation, mainly consisting of Muslims and Christians, not nationalities.

The lack of proper statistics was opportune for the Greek census takers who quickly took advantage of the situation and cleverly substituted "Greek" for "Christian" in the old Ottoman census.

Substituting "nationality" for "religion" went unchallenged until the Bulgarian Church became involved in Macedonia. Near the end of the 19th century Bulgaria was granted consecration rights and started its own church. The Ottomans sensed the growing power and influence of the Greek Church in the region and decided it was time to give them some competition.

By this time Bulgaria had also staked her claim on Macedonian territory and was headed on a collision course with Greece.

Bulgaria also understood the importance of concealing the Macedonian nationality and she too adapted the method of substituting "Bulgarian" for "Christian".

Even after the unsuccessful Macedonian (Ilinden) rebellion in 1903 against the Ottoman Turk, Greece and Bulgaria made no mention of Macedonians.

Both countries were claiming the same population virtually doubling the numbers overnight. To avoid undue attention and to show proof of claim, both parties initiated campaigns to attract new or convert old parishioners. Macedonians now had a choice of Church, the old conservative Greek Patriarch Church or the new Bulgarian Exarchist Church.

Not to be outdone by Greece and Bulgaria, Serbia, (a little later) also joined in and started operating her own churches in Macedonia. As competition intensified the churches offered free education for children and other perks. As competition further intensified, church agents turned to violence, intimidation and murder to keep up their numbers. Hooligans and mercenaries were hired to intimidate, beat and murder people. Priests who left one church for another, paid with their lives. If you wish to know more about the atrocities committed by Greek authorities during this period read about Karavangeli's exploits in Macedonia (Arheio Makedonikou Agona, Pinelopis Delta, Apomnimoneymata, Germanou Karavaggeli, Georgiou Dikonymou Makri, Panagioti Papatzanetea).

The next turning point takes us to the Balkan conflict of 1912-1913 and Macedonia's partition.

Before 1912 her three suitors had one objective in mind, to divide and conquer. In spite of their bickering over the same territory they managed to agree on how to divide it. Then in 1912 (first Balkan War) plans were put into action and they successfully expelled the Ottomans from all of Macedonia's territory. When it came to dividing Macedonia, however, greed got in the way and war (the 1913 second Balkan War) broke out between them. Greece allied itself with Serbia and fought against Bulgaria.

Things really went out of control when other Balkan Countries became involved, hoping to recover long lost territories. It took superpower intervention to stop the conflict but it didn't help Macedonia.

In August 1913, by the Treaty of Bucharest, Macedonia's partition was sanctioned. Things worsened for Macedonia at the conclusion of World War I on June 28th, 1919 the superpowers at the Paris Peace Conference ratified the 1913 Treaty of Bucharest and with minor territorial adjustments, left Macedonia partitioned to this day.

Macedonia was divided for the first time since the Roman wars. New borders were drawn and secured, leaving villages, families, and friends permanently separated.

As soon as Greece consolidated her control over her share of Macedonia's spoils she initiated ethnic cleansing. Macedonians affiliated with the Exarchist Church were expatriated. Serbia exerted no influence in this region, so there were no Serbians to expatriate. After the purges, the remaining population was forced to take an oath of allegiance to the Greek nation and denounce all others including their own. Those who refused were expatriated.

More populations were expatriated after the war with Turkey (1920's). Besides purging, Greece also exchanged Muslims for Christians in the population exchanges with Turkey. Most of the newcomers were sent to Macedonia and by way of land re-distribution and reforms, were given the lands and homes belonging to the evicted Macedonians. No Macedonian was ever awarded damages for confiscation of property or loss of possessions.

Even Macedonians that fought side by side with the Greeks in Turkey were discriminated against and their assistance was never recognized. The families of Macedonian soldiers who died in combat received no recognition or compensation for their loss.

At the conclusion of the war with Turkey (1920's), Greece initiated new assimilation policies in Macedonia to forcibly Hellenize the Macedonian nation. The policies required that every name be changed to have a "Greek sounding" character. Those with Slavonic sounding names were required to choose or were given new names.

All traces of Cyrillic writing found in public buildings, churches, gravestones, etc., were erased. Macedonian place names were changed. Every village, mountain, lake, stream, river and road was given a Greek name. Laws prohibited use of the Macedonian language. A heavy dose of castor oil was punishment for a child caught speaking Macedonian. A hefty fine (and much worse) was punishment for an adult.

Those who needed to communicate to do their jobs were in real trouble. For some it was safer not to speak than to risk being fined. Even animals (dogs, oxen, horses, donkeys, etc.) had to be re-educated to obey commands in Greek. Older people who could not afford the fines were sent to court and forced to pay. In many cases it meant having to sell their meager assets.

The next turning point was the Greek Civil War (1944 to 1949). In spite of all attempts by Greece to ethnically cleanse, forcibly assimilate, Hellenize, and suppress the Macedonian nation, its Macedonian identity remained alive. During the occupation (World War II), free from Greek oppression, Macedonians began to publicly re-assert their identities. They began to talk, sing and publicly perform plays in Macedonian. Some learned to read and write for the first time using the Cyrillic alphabet.

The Greek Communist Party having influence in the region took advantage of this. They promised the Macedonian people equal rights and recognition of the Macedonian nationality under the Greek nation. This created a division between those who wanted an independent Macedonia and those who wanted partnership with Greece. Greek military forces pushed out, the Partisans who wanted an independent Macedonia, across the Yugoslav border where they joined the Macedonian brigades there. The rest fought side by side with the Greeks.

After the expulsion of Germany and Italy they again fought side-by-side with the Communist Greeks in the Greek Civil War, and lost. No equal rights or recognition of the Macedonian nationality ever materialized. In contrast, the Macedonian contribution for liberating Yugoslavia from the Fascists was rewarded with the creation of the People's Republic of Macedonia. The Macedonian people earned their place in the world by shedding blood. But Greece is still refusing to recognize them, insisting on calling them "Skopians" (a derogatory euphemism for Macedonian).

For their bloodshed in liberating Greece from the Fascists, the Macedonian people were rewarded with more ethnic cleansing.

During the Greek Civil War tens of thousands of refugee children ages four to fourteen were rounded up and evacuated to Eastern Block countries (spring of 1948). Later they were not allowed to return. Greece prepared carefully worded laws to include Greek (by genus only) and exclude Macedonian children from returning.

Then in the fall of 1949 the general population from Macedonia, mainly for the Lerin (Florina) and Kostur (Kastoria) regions, was evacuated as war refugees. Most of those who left the country were not allowed to come back, not even to visit family, attend funerals or light a candle at the graves of their loved ones. Between 1945 and 1949 the Macedonian demographic was so drastically altered that Macedonians became a minority in their native land.

From the Greek Civil War onward many Macedonians originating from Greece have immigrated to countries like Canada, Australia and the USA in search of a better life. Their political standing in Greek society, at home and abroad has hardly changed since Macedonia was occupied in 1912. At home, Macedonians still face discrimination and abuse at the hands of Greek Governments.

If you "feel Macedonian" and attempt to assert your identity, you will encounter discrimination. You may lose your job. Your children may not be able to attend higher education. You will not be promoted in the Greek military.

So far I have presented evidence of acts perpetrated by successive Greek Governments including ethnic cleansing, forced assimilation and systemic discrimination against the Macedonian people. I have also given examples of how Greek Governments time and time again denied the existence of a Macedonian nationality.

I will now attempt to explain how successive Greek Governments committed cultural genocide by manipulating history to deny Macedonians their heritage.

Earlier in this document I mentioned that after her inception, Greece experienced an identity crisis. Her premature liberation from Turkey and lack of unity in her ethnically diverse population threw her into soul-searching chaos.

The problem of ethnicity was not solved by recognizing the existing ethnic diversity of the population or by allowing numbers to determine majorities and minorities. Instead, the Greek nation builders decided to build a new national identity, one that would take advantage of ancient history and lay the foundation for the future.

The modern Greeks were told they were the Hellenes, descended from the ancient Hellenic world and rightful heirs to ancient Hellenic history. At the same time they were told that Greece had many enemies who would try to take their inheritance away from them. Along with pride and fear, xenophobia was instilled into the Greek consciousness. This perhaps explains why Modern Greeks have a mindset and strong feelings not only towards Macedonians but towards Bulgarians and Turks as well.

Scholarly revisionists began to create the modern version of Greek history. To further strengthen her claims of the past, Greece resurrected an old Attican (Athenian) language and used it as the basis for its modern literary language. This language was difficult to learn and used mostly by scholars, the church and legal institutions. Surprisingly it survived for over a century before it was abandoned in favour of the simpler language people use today.

Her popularity in the world assured Greece her liberation and shaped her national identity. Her claims to the past were about to shape her future. Before annexing new territories she made sure history would back her claims. With intense propaganda she prepared her people and with vigour she pursued her exploits. After annexing most of the northern territories unabated, she was ready for Macedonia.

Unlike before, however, her claims to Macedonia did not go unnoticed. As I pointed out earlier, competition for Macedonia grew with intensity that eventually boiled over into full-scale war (wars of 1912 and 1913).

To protect her interests, first, from the Macedonian people and second, from her competitors (Bulgaria and Serbia), Greece came up with ingenious defensive methods. She vigorously fought to censor publications of archeological discoveries and offered her own expert opinions on ancient matters.

To protect her future, she frequently published demographic statistics to debunk the claims of others, always being careful to avoid use of the "M" word for Macedonians. Meanwhile at home, the propaganda machine made sure her population was stayed in line with her policies.

Publications without censorship were (and still are) vigorously protested. Eventually, as many authors and researchers of ancient studies would attest, the "M" word became a dirty word. For a time it was banned from the Greek vocabulary. The Macedonian territory annexed by Greece was re-named "Northern Greece".

Today Greek newspapers (Amfiktyon, Syllogiko Enotiko Organo Symvolis sti diasosy tou Ellinismou, November/December 2001) in their zeal to prove there are no more Macedonians left in Greece, unwittingly have betrayed past acts committed by their Governments against the Macedonian people.

Archeological discoveries did not escape the Greek censor either. Anything disagreeable quickly disappeared. After more than 1400 years of "Slav" (Slavonic Macedonian) presence in the region, not a single bit of "Slav" evidence was reported to be found. There wasn't any because Greece made sure it disappeared the moment it was discovered.

Look at the extreme measures Greece took during the 1920s and 1930's to erase all evidence of Macedonian existence. They changed people's first and last names, geographical toponyms, and banned use of the Macedonian language outright.

What happened to the relics found beneath the shorelines of Lake Prespa (Prespa Island was King Samoil's fortress)?

What happened to the buried treasures and artifacts found from pre 1767 Macedonian churches? They all disappeared. The reason the Ottomans banned the Macedonian Church was because it was a symbol of strength and influence in the old Balkan world.

The Greek Church instigated the ban by spying and reporting on Macedonian activities to the Ottoman Authorities. More recently many old Macedonian churches were razed to the ground and new (Greek) churches were built to cover the ruins. Including the old Church of St. Pantelimon in Lerin (Florina).

What happened to the old Cyrillic gravestones in the village cemeteries? It is estimated that tens of thousands of relics have disappeared in the last century to conceal all evidence that may give credence to a Macedonian presence.

Look at the works of ancient studies and compare the interpretations of Greek versus non-Greek versions. Why is there such a vast difference? Why is Greece striving so hard to tip the scale in her favour when it comes to ancient history?

Why do history books refer to the " Hellenistic civilization" and not the "Macedonian civilization?" What difference does it make anyway? It does to Greece so that she can maintain a firm grip on Macedonia.

Was it not the Macedonian Empire that made the conquests and bridged east and west (dispersion)? Was it not the Macedonian Empire that commissioned the building of many cities like Alexandria of Egypt? Was it not the Macedonian Empire that spread knowledge and civilization to the world? Wasn't it Alexandria and not Athens that became the intellectual capital of the ancient World?

Doesn't Macedonia deserve a bit more mention in the history books or a bit more credit for her past deeds?

So far I have provided arguments to show the extreme measures (cultural genocide) that Greece has taken to safeguard her claims on Macedonia. From misleading her people about their origin, to highjacking ancient history, to concealing artifacts and publishing misleading statistics on nationalities.

Greece and perhaps others thrive and prosper today at the expense of Macedonia and her people. For over a century now Greece has denied the existence of the Macedonian nation, robbing Macedonians of their heritage.

I would like to offer alternatives to some of the more popular beliefs about the origins of Greeks and Macedonians and about the purity of the Greek people.

Who are the Greeks?

The official claim is that modern Greeks are descendents of an ancient tribe of Hellenes that came from the heartland of Europe, traveled through the Balkans and settled by the southern shores of Modern Greece.

By observing behavioral patterns, it is more plausible to assume that the ancient inhabitants of the southern Balkan shoreline came from the south, most likely from the Nile River delta regions. Over population, drought or pressures from invasions may have forced them to migrate. Naturally, being sea-faring people they settled on the shoreline where for many years they lived off the sea and thrived. They loved the sea and as their populations grew they colonized the Mediterranean coastline.

Recent population studies using DNA analysis have put the lie to the Greek identity myth. Scientific evidence now shows that modern Greeks are more closely related to sub-Saharan Africans than to any Mediterranean peoples - including Cretans.

Furthermore, modern Macedonians (who Greeks allege only recently entered the Balkans) are shown to be genetically related to the other Mediterranean populations. Click here to read the abstract.

Are the Ancient Greek and Ancient Macedonian people related?

The Ancient Greeks did not think so. There is ample evidence to prove linguistically and culturally that the Ancient Greeks and Ancient Macedonians were different people. See http://www.macedon.org/anmacs for more information on this.

It has been documented in ancient sources that the Macedonian elite, in addition to speaking the common language (Koine) also spoke another, a uniquely Macedonian language. There are several extant examples of Alexander the Great using this language to give orders to his Macedonian soldiers.

What is the connection between Ancient Macedonians and Slavs?

Greece set out to convince the world that the Macedonians (whom they refer to as the "Slavs") are newcomers to the area and cannot lay claim to any part of ancient Macedonian history. There are very few objective or unbiased students of the Slavs so first let's take a look at what the Greeks have to say.

Greeks claim the "Slavs" originated from the regions near Modern Russia and the Ukraine and migrated southward reaching the Balkans around the sixth and seventh centuries AD. They claim that before settling the land the "Slavs" killed off the local inhabitants (I assume they mean the Ancient Macedonians) then colonized the region.

Most students of Slavonic history tend to agree with the Greek assessment. More recently however, with the independence of the Republic of Macedonia, scholars and researchers have uncovered new evidence to challenge these claims. The first discoveries came from archeological digs where over a hundred and fifty monuments have been found with linguistic evidence showing similarities between modern Slavonic languages and Ancient Balkan languages. In addition, Macedonian students of Homer who have studied the Iliad, have found similarities between the language in the Iliad and today's Macedonian language.

These new discoveries, along with the recent DNA population studies, provide enough evidence to seriously question the veracity of the old claims. They suggest a proto-Slav language was already being used in the Balkans prior to the so-called "Slavonic Invasions" of the sixth century AD. Furthermore, these "Slavs" are genetically related to the other Mediterranean peoples, including the Cretans -- but specifically, not the Greeks.

In a more current vein I want to point out that the poisonous Greek propaganda spewing forth for over a century is not confined to her borders. Greek consulates and embassies work hard at promoting Greek propaganda by giving away thousands of free books, newspapers and magazines and support many academics and lobby groups to influence organizations and Governments worldwide. Their influence is not limited to propaganda alone.

The consulates and embassies are also hard at work keeping tabs on the activities of organizations and people, even their own people. Greek authorities quickly react to any perceived threat on their founding mythology to the point of using violence if necessary.

Many Macedonians who came from Greece and are now living in the Diaspora are afraid to participate in Macedonian events. They will not attend Macedonian festivals, parades, picnics, and dances or even attend Mass at Macedonian Churches for fear of being reported to the Greek authorities who would then punish their relatives back in Greece.

Finally, I hope I have provided you with enough convincing evidence to help you understand the plight of the Macedonian nation and why Macedonians must fight to survive. Giving up the fight with Greece is like committing suicide because Greece will protect her interests at any cost, even our extinction.

I hope I have inspired you to pick up the torch and carry it forward for Macedonia's sake.

[George S.]

On the Road of Time – Chapter 16



By Petre Nakovski

Translated and edited by Risto Stefov

[email protected]

November 11, 2012



After breakfast the next morning we left the hotel and went to the intersection at the promenade near the sea. There were pigeons flying individually, in clusters and in waves all around us, sweeping down at the quay, collecting everything that had been discarded by the visitors the night before. They were very aggressive and pecked at crumbs, seeds, fruit peels and other discarded food right from under our feet. They were not afraid and were used to being around people.



There were tall buildings in front of us and behind the buildings we could see the port cranes rising. We encountered only a small number of visitors at this hour and truck and car traffic was also light. The city was just waking up. Street sweepers were cleaning and washing the streets and the quay. We crossed the street and arrived at a crossroad. On the left at the corner, about a couple of metres above the sidewalk, was a board on the wall with the inscription: “Rruga Anastas Dursaku.”


We had found the street we were looking for. The entrance to it was surrounded by palm trees. This was the place where the night before we had made arrangements to meet Ismet and Marieta. We did not wait long and after they arrived we all went up the road towards the royal palace. To the right were thick walls that had belonged to the old fortress. The street was divided from the park by a row of benches, tall palm trees and cast iron poles with lamps on top of them.



“They look the same,” I said to Ismet, “they look the same as sixty years ago.”



We continued to walk looking for the house where we were accommodated and… we found it. We recognized it by the greenish metal window shutters and by the balcony. We found the iron, now rusty, crooked double door leading to the cigarette factory. Both sides of the door were tied together with a thick chain and a large padlock hung on it. Nothing had changed here, on this part of the street. The palm trees had grown taller on the other side of the street.



The grass had been cut short, the benches were painted and the paths were cleared. We stood there staring at the three-storey grey building with its small windows and closed shutters. The children from the village Ezerets were placed on the ground floor which had windows at almost the same level as the pavement. The children from the village Krchishta were placed on the first floor and the children from the village Grache were placed on the second floor. There was one more floor now but it did not exist then. From the cracked façade on the old walls it looked like it was added later. Nobody lived there now.



The narrow street between the building and the cigarette factory still exists. Then, when we were here, there was a door with four rows of barbed wire on it. The door was put there to keep us from leaving.



I mentioned to Ismet and Marieta several times that this was the house where we once lived and from the expression on their faces I realized that they were sharing our excitement. Then, while they sat on the park bench, we continued to explore our former place of residence.


We took to the narrow cobblestone lane. On the left there was a large yard from which we entered our then home. In one of the corners, the furthest one, under the tall mulberry tree, there was a constant fire burning. We had boiled water in a cauldron to wash our clothes. The yard was now hidden behind a gate, fenced with wooden boards. We knocked repeatedly on the gate until finally a girl, wearing a transparent summer shirt and very tight blue jeans, opened it. We greeted her with the three or four Albanian words we knew but that was the extent of our conversation. We were stuck; we could not tell her what we wanted, especially of our great desire to see the house. A man came out of a small house, probably built illegally in the middle of the yard, and asked something. We stuck our heads inside the gate and said we wanted to come inside. The man shrugged his shoulders, indicating that he did not understand, waved his hands and went back into the house.



The yard was unrecognizable. The large mulberry tree and the water tap were gone. The orange trees were gone. They had been replaced by a ten storey building now under construction. We came back to “Anastas Dursaku” street and crossed to the other side. There, while standing under the shade of a large palm tree, we stared at the window shutters behind which were our rooms. We were cramped in those chambers which had two sinks but we never saw water come out of them. We had to go out to the yard to wash. Now, after so many years, we stood there staring at the window shutters behind which we spent seven months of our lives...



After catching up with Marieta and Ismet we left “Anastas Dursaku” street and following the narrow passages, remnants of the old city, we headed for the city centre. Ismet later told us that he was a retired colonel, a graduate of the military academy of Kiev. He told us that after Nikita Khrushchev and Enver Hoxha had their fallout, he was removed from the army and sent to a prison camp where he served for five years.



The city centre was surrounded by a chain of ten storey buildings among which were many old, one storey houses. We were looking for the houses in which we were placed after being moved from the “Pesutsite” but there was no trace of them. The houses were gone, replaced by new residential skyscrapers. The narrow street which then was our exclusive place, where we played soccer with a ball made of rags, was now a wide road driven on almost exclusively by Mercedes.



From what I remember, there was a soccer stadium around here somewhere. They used to take us there, not to watch soccer matches, but to spend half a day of our time playing in the low cut green grass. And then, at noon, we would march single file, singing songs, along the main road straight to the port, then turn right past the Albanian Navy barracks, and end our march under the willow tree.



We did not find “our” stadium. Neither did we find the large field where, after a severe rainstorm, we were sent to collect the flattened out grain stems that were not harvested. We collected all the grain heads and placed them in huge piles beside the harvesting machine. Marianthy went from group to group, urging us, telling us that by doing this we were helping the people’s government and that we were fighting against Anglo-American imperialism. I guess she was not at all concerned about us baking under the summer sun and burning with thirst.



We held competitions to see which unit would collect more heads of grain, sing louder, and make a bigger pile. So, through our effort and sweat, burning and enduring thirst in the big field, we became stronger and bolder in our preparedness for bigger things in the future. There was plenty of space in our child’s minds for memories, which is why we did not forget the words of our daily slogans that were drilled into our minds day after day.



The big field was no longer there, but on the same site there were large residential buildings which, unlike the former, complemented the new character of the now unrecognizable Durres or Durasi, as some liked to call it. But, in the midst of modern Durres, there were also little signs that reminded us of the old Durres. There was the municipal building with the big clock, the street that was now called “Anastas Dursaku”, the grey building in which we were placed, the royal palace; all almost untouched by modern times. These were places that had not yet been touched by the Albanian renaissance.



Looking to our left we recognized the short houses, the cobblestone path and the small yard with the crooked iron gate standing in front of the palace. We had never been inside the yard. We didn’t go this time either even though the entry was not guarded by armed guards. From here, from this height, in the place where once a swamp used to sit, one could see the most beautiful part of modern Durres. One could watch the port and the ships in the open sea waiting in line to dock. And beyond that, blurred in the light summer fog, one could see tall buildings divided from the sea by a long sandy strip of beach. And beyond there, far away, barely visible to the naked eye, was a small corner. There, where the land met the sea, ended the sandy area of the great beach...



* * *



That’s how we remembered it. How many times had we run up and down this street? How many times had we gone up to the locked iron gate at the royal palace where there always was an armed guard on duty? How many times had we run up and down in step, making a tap… tap… tap… sound like that of a single person running. When running together you had no time to catch your breath, to let the pain in your side subside, to stop and gasp for air… you just ran, you ran to unconsciousness. That’s what Marianthy taught us, that’s how she wanted us to be. She wanted to hear the sound tap… tap… tap… tap… a single military tap per step no matter how many were walking, marching, or running.



And now, sixty years later, as I remembered the tapping sounds, it seemed that I could still feel the pain in my side, the shortness of breath and the drenching sweat...



Tap - tap – tap! Tap – tap – tap! Our child’s steps rang on the street now called “Anastas Dursaku”… And those who couldn’t stay in step because they had pain in their sides, were denied breakfast and were humiliated in public. That’s how Marianthy wanted it; to bring us up as soldiers… And when we returned all sweaty and exhausted, our peers waited for us in front of the barbed wire gate with guns on their shoulders. Why?... That’s how Marianthy wanted it… She often used to say that General Markos had pulled her out of the combat formations and sent her here to Durres for the sole purpose of turning us into fighters; to teach us to want to fight and to grow quickly and continue the work of our fathers and brothers who were bravely fighting against the Anglo-American imperialists.



That’s what she used to tell us. But in 1947 when Macedonian schools were opened, our Macedonian teacher used to tell us that our fathers and brothers were fighting for Macedonia. Who to believe? We understood and loved our Macedonian teacher, but we did not understand Marianthy and on top of that we hated her. We had no place in our hearts for her, even as young children. Then when we found out that she was fooling around with an Albanian we called Fortsa Karotsa (a night watchman, a Greek from Epirus snitched on her) we demanded that she leave. And sneaking under her room window, we swore at her and called her every dirty word in the book.



Marianthy left at the end of September 1948. It was peaceful the next day. The harsh sharp ringing sound of the bell that used to wake us up early in the morning was silenced. The days of having to run in the early dawn, in the dark, still sleeping while getting into formation out in the square were over. The days of having to run along the designated route as fast as we could, all in step, past the barracks, every morning at the same time as the Albanian navy was doing gymnastics were over. Every day when the sailors came out of the barracks they were met with our jeers and mockery because that’s what Marianthy encouraged us to do. By doing this we were told that we would become stronger and braver and better prepared for greater things in comparison to the Albanian defenders of the sea.



Evdoxia introduced new rules. We were to wake up at six o’clock in the morning, do ten minutes of gymnastics at seven o’clock (no gymnastics for the small children), wash, get dressed (our clothes were in tatters) and then eat breakfast. The hard marches, the long runs, the running to the palace, the marching songs, the jeering at the sailors, the standing under the willow tree and the calling out of slogans about Markos were all removed from our daily routine. The box disappeared from the willow tree and the voices of the two women on the radio, who every day at twelve o'clock sharp spoke about the great battles and about DAG’s (Democratic Army of Greece) victories, went silent. It was strange that all of that suddenly disappeared and we finally had some peace and began to feel like children again…



October came and with it came the cold. Strong cold winds began to blow from the sea turning the cold concrete floor even colder. We slept on the concrete floor in our rooms. We were issued two blankets to every five children. We used one on the concrete floor and the other as a cover. We were lined up like rifle shells all in a row and hugged one another to keep warm. The clothes we came with were summer clothes, worn out and useless against the cold. Our shoes were also worn out and torn up and we, more or less, walked barefoot.



A day or two after Marianthy left, we found out that the Albanian city committee fired Fortsa Karotsa. All we had left after that was the caretaker, who having no job to do snoozed under the willow tree. The first days we had no one to supply us with food, but soon they appointed another Albanian. In addition to food this person also supplied us with socks and shoes. The food was better too. Each day every child received a bun of rye bread the size of two fists and a spoon of sugar. Almost every day we were served potatoes for lunch. The potatoes were sliced lengthwise, seasoned with flour and very sweet red pepper and boiled in a large cauldron.



In the shelter we called the appointed Albanian officer in charge of supplying us with food, “Shoku Karotsa.” We constantly accompanied him and his Albanian assistant who spoke a little Macedonian. The Albanian assistant pulled a chariot (similar to an Indian rickshaw) filled to the top with bags usually containing pasta. From May to late August 1948 we ate exclusively pasta for lunch every day. By volume and by weight, we received more food than the Albanians. We were not starving but we were not sufficiently fed either.



One day a truck came inside the shelter yard and offloaded a whole bunch of military shirts. They gave us one each. The shirts served us as winter coats. They were so large, we got lost inside of them. They were long, stretching all the way down to our knees. We also had to fold the sleeves several times in order to see our fingers. The shirts were not new and had been scorched in many places. There were also dried up blood stains on some. In some of the pockets we found photographs of women, children, girls and whole families. There were also letters, mostly written in Greek. Some written in pencil, some in ink and some had drops and spots of blood on them. We got those who could read Greek to read them to us out loud. Most of us did not know the Greek alphabet so we could not read but we listened very carefully and felt very, very sad. We did not know these people, but through their letters and pictures we shared their joys and sorrows. Through their letters and pictures we became very close to them because, like us, they too were separated from their families, but unlike us they were able to make contact with their loved ones through letters....



We received neither letters nor pictures and we sent none either because we had no idea who was where at the time. One thing we knew was that our homeland was at war and that was for certain. When we heard familiar names of mountains and hills from the box hanging on the willow tree we knew clouds of war hung over our villages and our homes were on fire and burning. Did our folks stay home? We did not know. And even though we knew that the letters and pictures that we had found in the pockets of the bloodied military shirts, bloodied by the war, would leave us with cumbersome and awfully painful memories, it seemed that they were the only living thread that tied them to their family while they were still alive. We were alive and yet we had no thread running from us to our families and from them to us. We felt very sad and grieved over each letter we read and over each photograph we looked at; images that gave us nightmares. We no longer dreamed of green meadows, of ripe fruit and of birds singing... we now dreamt of burning houses and weeping mothers...



It became even colder in November. Dark clouds hung over the city and over the sea, it rained more and stronger winds blew colder air from the sea. The time to return home grew longer. Our parents told us that we would be back home soon. That’s what they were told. They said the sooner the conflict ends, the sooner your children would be returned to you. Your children would be back as soon as the government forces were defeated, they were told. As soon as the government was expelled and the military planes and the artillery disappeared, your children would be coming back they were told. That’s what they were told. Had the military planes and artillery disappeared?



At the end of the month one afternoon, twenty military trucks arrived and were parked on the road a little further from the naval barracks. They were brand new vehicles and people were saying that they had just arrived from Russia. We heard a loud voice in the evening saying:



“Pack your bags! We are leaving!”



We had nothing to pack. Half the clothes our mothers sent with us by now were worn out. We took very little clothing because we were told we would be coming back very soon.



“We are going home, we are going home!!! Home!!! Home!!!” our voices thundered as we prepared to return to our homes.



We were overwhelmed with happiness and joy. The news was sudden like lightning coming down from the sky. We yelled, jumped, embraced and shook one another and filled the place with laughter at the great news which filled us with hope. Never before until now had we had such radiance and clarity in our eyes. Filled with immense feelings of joy we could not sleep and impatiently waited for dawn to arrive. The next day they woke us very early in the morning. They grouped us and lined us up by villages. We knew very well how to stand in line. Then single file, they loaded us onto the Russian military trucks.



We did not turn back, not even for a last look at the three storey grey house, the willow tree, or the playground where we had spent seven months of our young innocent lives, of our not so happy childhood. The trucks left early in the morning and with them ran and flew our thoughts and imagination. It seemed to us that the trucks were not moving fast enough and that we could walk home faster. All this time we imagined how it would be; how fast we would run to our mothers, to embrace them and hug them; how it would feel to be hugged back and be called by name; how our mother’s tears would roll down their cheeks when they first saw us; how they would smile and be full of happiness. We imagined ourselves running in our yards, in our village streets. We imagined filling every street and every corner with noise and laughter, we imagined…



…No, the new Russian military trucks did not take us home. They took us high up the mountains to a meadow covered with snow near the border. There we were loaded onto different trucks that took us to trains which transferred us even further north to wider and greener fields…

[George S.]

The Enemy from within



By Risto Stefov

November 21, 2012



After reading my articles about “Greece’s dispute with Macedonia’s name”, some of my readers have written many times to remind me that while I waste my time chasing after an obviously phantom destruction specifically designed to take “our” attention away from “real” issues, some people in the Republic of Macedonia are busy undermining little Macedonia from within!



It seems that not a single day goes by without some brazen act being committed not by hooligans, not by ordinary citizens, but by the very same people who yesterday brandished their Kalashnikovs against the Macedonian population in this tiny country and are today ruling in its Parliament!



Now it appears that they are starting to cause us problems in Pustets. Pushing around indigenous Macedonians living on their own ancestral lands, occupied by Albania in 1912, as if they are immigrants, like Golden Dawn their counterpart does in Greece. This is also reminiscent of the 1913 and 1945-46 terror tactics used by the Greeks to force Macedonians to leave their homeland. Macedonians were left with two choices; leave or pick up a gun, fight back and get killed. In other words leave or die! Is this what we have come down to again; in the 21st Century?



I am told that the terror activities occurring in Pustets, Albanian occupied Macedonia, are synchronized with the intimidations taking place inside the Republic of Macedonia. If this is true, which I believe it is, then there is a concerted effort to ethnically cleanse the entire region and get rid of the Macedonians. We all know and have said it before what happens next, especially if politics shift to the extreme rights as we see happening in Greece.



Speaking of Greece, if Golden Down comes to power in Greece let me be the first to warn you that, to prove its ferocity and might to the world, it will attack the Republic of Macedonia just to rid itself of the “danger from the north” which has been a preoccupation of Greece for many decades. When they do attack, I hope Macedonia will be prepared! I have great faith in the Macedonian military; it will defend our little country!



For years I have been told that those seeking peace and doing “good” would be rewarded but as I am finding out that is not true! It seems that those who seek war and break the rules are the ones being rewarded. Need I say more?



Macedonia and the Macedonian people, yet again, are being put in a precarious position! What to do? Let them do what they want and hope that some day they will stop? This has been going on for the last 20 years and ignoring it, as it has been done to this day, has not stopped it. So, if giving in, signing agreements, amnestying criminals and forgiving law breakers has not worked, then what will work? Declare war on them?



We could do that but then we would have to overlook what happened to Serbia when it declared war on its lawbreakers! Besides, look at our own history. Every time we raised arms, be it during the Ilinden Uprising or the Greek Civil War, we nearly ended up becoming extinct. So please let us learn from our past mistakes and not repeat them!



Perhaps they want us to “raise arms” so that they can prove to their patrons that we are yet another savage Balkan nation worthy of being bombed to smithereens and sent back to the Stone Age! No, we have to be smarter than that!



It would break my heart to see all those new buildings recently built everywhere in Macedonia being leveled and turned to dust! And what about our people, do we want what little is left of us to be bombed to dust? Raising arms has not been the answer for Macedonia; not since Alexander’s time! We should only be raising arms to defend ourselves from outside threats. Besides, like it or not, we still have to live with these people and we certainly don’t want to cause “bad blood” between us!



Speaking of Alexander isn’t it about time that we apologize to the world for the crimes he committed against all those nations that he invaded and occupied? Every Macedonian generation after Alexander has suffered immensely and has paid for the crimes he committed. Don’t you think we are cursed because of that?



So on behalf of all the Macedonian people I would like to be the first Macedonian to apologize for the sins and crimes that Alexander the Great committed against humanity. He may have made a name for himself but he left his people cursed for many generations.



So ignoring the enemy from within, as we have for the past 20 years, has not helped us and if raising arms against them is out of the question, then what?!



The answer my friends is very simple; Macedonia, no matter how tiny it is, is still a sovereign, independent democratic country. And like any other democratic country Macedonia has laws that govern the lives and activities of its citizens and visitors. The laws are there to protect people when they can’t achieve “understanding”!



There are local, municipal, regional, national and international laws; they are there to set limits, define behaviour and prevent crimes. At least in principle! But these laws are only good if they are enforced; otherwise they are words written on a piece of paper.



I don’t know why Macedonians say this and I often catch myself saying it too. We say: “They have more rights than any minority in the Balkans, what more do they want?” Well my friends, they will take what we give them and they will take everything we give them. And can we blame them for “looking after their own interests”? Don’t we seek and want the same thing from Greece, Bulgaria and from every country in the world we live in? Of course we don’t go around calling every piece of land we live in “Macedonia” but would we, if no one objected? So please don’t blame these people for looking after their own interests. But the question is “How much is enough?”



Well here is where “The Law” comes in!



Let me say here and now that “No One” is going to object to “using” democratically established laws, be they national or international, for solving our problems.



Let us do less complaining and urge our lawmakers and law enforcers to put some of these laws to use.



First apply the law on “census” and figure out the real picture of our citizens; how many are there, where they live, what ethnic group they belong to etc. Then from that use international norms to measure and determine rights and limits. It then becomes the responsibility of lawmakers and enforcers to monitor and make sure rules are applied equitably. By the same token, those attempting to exceed the limits must understand that they are breaking the law.



What this means is “No more amnesties for crimes committed against citizens” and those who break the law must be prepared to be punished to the full extent of the law! Law enforcers must also be given the right to apply the law fairly and equally to all citizens irrespective of their ethnicity or religion!



If Macedonia is to survive it must learn to treat its citizens equitably and fairly and punish the lawbreakers to the full extent of the law.



I often joked with the Macedonian military officers studying English at Base Borden about how harsh and unforgiving traffic laws are here in Canada in comparison to those in Macedonia. But you have to mean what you say if you want to be taken seriously! There is no talking yourself out of a traffic fine if you are caught speeding in Canada; no matter who you are, who you know, how many threats you make or by attempting to bribe the officer who caught you! In fact, if you do any of those things you will get yourself into further trouble!



Macedonians must learn to respect those who “genuinely struggle for their rights and interests” and “punish” those who break the law; it’s as simple as that! Everyone gets what they deserve according to the law! That’s how lasting civilized societies live!



Everything I have said so far is within reach! It does not depend on outsiders brokering deals and on dreadful and embarrassing agreements.



It is now up to Macedonian Citizens, to every Macedonian Citizen, to demand of their Government, their Lawmakers and their Law Enforcers to draft fair and equitable laws and to rigorously enforce them! It’s that simple!

[George S.]

This is Albanian territory – Get out of Albania


November 18, 2012



According to a newspaper report, a group of people stormed into a local school and began to yell “This is Albania”, “These are Albanian lands”, “Get out of Albania”. This visibly upset the Macedonians living in Pustets.

http://press24.mk/story/pustec/gi-brkale-makedoncite-od-pustec-ova-e-albanska-zemja-nadvor-od-albanija

A number of Albanian ultra-nationalist party activists, belonging to the Red-Black Alliance, along with twenty Albanian media people arrived at the Pustets Municipality on Friday and began to harass the local Macedonian population demanding that it leave Albania, insisting that these were Albanian lands and they did not belong there, reported Dnevnik.



According to the same report, a group of these people stormed into a local school and began to yell “This is Albania”, “These are Albanian lands”, “Get out of Albania”. The group went beyond yelling and posted stickers with the inscription “This is Albanian land” in all the bilingual municipalities. This visibly upset the Macedonians living in Pustets.



The Macedonian organizations and Macedonian political parties in Albania condemned the intrusion and called on the Albanian police to intervene. Unfortunately their calls were ignored.



The Albanian state is bound by agreement to respect the rights of its Macedonian minority, just like the Macedonian state respects the rights of the Albanian minority in Macedonia.





Ги бркале Македонците од Пустец: Ова е албанска земја - надвор од Албанија



Македонија | 18. ноември 2012 - 20:26

http://press24.mk/story/pustec/gi-brkale-makedoncite-od-pustec-ova-e-albanska-zemja-nadvor-od-albanija

Како што пишува весникот, групата влегла во локалното училиште, и извикувала, „Ова е Албанија“, Ова е албанска земја“, Надвор од Албанија“. Ова видно ги вознемирило Македонците кои живеат во Пустец.



Активисти на албанската ултранационалистичка партија Црвено-црна алијанса заедно со уште дваесетина албански медиуми, во петокот дошле во општина Пустец и на локалното македонско население викале да се оди од државата бидејќи тоа е албанска земја, пренесува Дневник.



Како што пишува весникот, групата влегла во локалното училиште, и извикувала, „Ова е Албанија“, Ова е албанска земја“, Надвор од Албанија“. Ова видно ги вознемирило Македонците кои живеат во Пустец. Групата отишла и подалеку лепејќи налепници со натпис „Ова е албанска земја“ на сите табли во општината кои согласно локалните закони биле двојазични.



Организиациите и политчките партии на Македонците во Албанија го осудија настанот и побараа интервенција од албанската полиција, но таа не се огласила.



Албанија е обврзана да ги почитува правата на малцинствата. За споредба, во Македонија Албанците ги имаат сите права.

[lavce pelagonski]

Battle in Greece over old family surnames

Battle in Greece over old family surnames

Athens erasing Macedonians from Turkish documents

By Hristo Ivanovski

Translated and edited by Risto Stefov

November 27, 2012



His name is Pavle Filipov, however for the Greek state he is Pavlos Voskopoulos. Petse Benishev is Petros Vasiliadis. Krste Ashlakov has documents from the Greek State that show him to be Kostas Stavros Anastisaidis. The family roots of hundreds of thousands of Macedonians in Greece have been erased by the Greek State. Every Macedonian’s first and last name has been replaced with a Greek sounding name ending mostly in “os”, “is” “poulos” etc.



Six years ago four Macedonians started a court case for the reinstatement of their first and last names. They wanted their surnames back, which had been with their family from time immemorial. Even though every person has the legal right to have his or her name changed, in this case returned to the old name, these people are still experiencing problems. It seems like these four individuals and members of the Macedonian nation are leading a Don Quixote battle with Athens. The six persons are telling us that they have started this process in order to bring awareness to the problems Macedonians still experience in Greece to this day. This is a test of the democratic rights about which Greece boasts. Greece claims that it is a well-developed democracy where each Greek citizen can realize their individual rights without problems.



“Under the Greek law for changing surnames, everyone has the moral right to choose their own surname. When a woman gets married, for example, she has the legal right to change her surname or stay with her maiden name. For us, however, the Ministry of the Interior knows that we belong to the Macedonian nation and if they allow us to change our surnames they are afraid that they will receive a flood of similar requests. If this happens it will have a great impact on the “Greek-ness” of Greece!” says Pavle Filipov who has been waiting to hear from the courts for the last six years.



According to Mr. Filipov, Greek institutions deliberately delay the application process in hopes that the applicants will get tired and abandon their expensive and costly request. For example, Mr. Filipov paid 1,700 Euros for taxis alone while submitting his application before the Supreme Court.



“This is cheating democracy. Fortunately Europe and the world are now realizing that Greece is a black sheep. Greece says one thing in Brussels and does quite another at home. But when the European troika came to Greece because of the economic crisis, it discovered that Greece has been spreading a lot of lies!” said Mr. Filipov.



Petse Benishev (52) is from the village Vrbeni, Lerin Region. Mr. Benishev said that he had a court hearing date on November 13th this year but then he was advised that the hearing was postponed indefinitely.



“I do not know why my hearing was delayed and I don’t know when it will be rescheduled again,” said Mr. Benishev.



Mr. Filipov who is also a leading Macedonian and representative of the “Rainbow” Party, says he carries the surname “Filipov” because it belonged to his great grandfather Filip.



“I want my surname restored because I want to honour my great grandfather and keep his memory alive, it is a respectable thing to do and my moral right to do so. The court unfortunately is stalling and claiming that such a surname does not exist. My great grandfather’s name was Kocho Filipov; he was born in 1891 when Macedonia was a province of the Ottoman Empire. From that the Greeks came up with the fictional name Kostas Voskopoulos after Macedonia was annexed by Greece in 1913. Soon after that the Greeks changed all the Macedonian people’s names; living and dead. During Ottoman times there were no surnames ending with “os”, “is” “poulos” etc. This means that the Greeks had to forge documents and certificates issued before 1912, which is a sad shame!” said Mr. Filipov.



Mr. Benishev has a similar family story. His family name was changed by the Greeks in 1936 from Benishev to Vasiliadis.



“I am a Macedonian in my heart and I want to restore my old Macedonian surname. It is my right by law!” said Mr. Benishev.



They all said that they will continue their struggle for their rights at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. In the meantime they are exhausting all legal avenues inside Greece before they proceed with their application in Strasburg.



According to a human rights specialist however, one can apply to the Strasbourg Court if the process is not completed in the Greek courts within three years. So the requirement to apply to the Strasbourg Court has already been fulfilled.



“Another issue is how the Court will react in a situation when it is congested with cases and when will we be able to see visible cracks in their judgment. On the other hand, I expect serious political pressure will be placed on the Greek court. But in any case, I applaud the courage of those people who started such an important procedure. If one of them gets it, it will undermine the thesis that the Greek nation is 97% homogeneous,” said the expert, who insisted on anonymity.





БИТKА ВО ГРЦИЈА ЗА СТАРИТЕ СЕМЕЈНИ ПРЕЗИМИЊА

Атина ги бришe Македонците и од турски документи
Датум: 27.11.2012



Тој е Павле Филипов. Меѓутоа, за грчката држава е Павлос Воскопулос. Пеце Бенишев е Петрос Василијадис. Kрсте Ашлаков има документи од грчката држава дека е Kостас Ставрос Анастисајдис. На стотици илјади Македонци во Грција им е сотрен семејниот корен, а грчката држава им накалемила грчки презимиња кои завршуваат најчесто на -ос или на -ис. Пред шест години четворица Македонци почнаа судска битка за враќање на своите имиња и презимиња, кои нивните претходници ги имале од памтивек. Иако постојат законски услови за враќање на презимињата, тоа право с` уште не можат да го остварат. Овие четворица припадници на македонското малцинство водат донкихотовска битка со Атина. Ни објаснуваат дека „заради македонизмот“ ја почнале постапката. Но, биле испровоцирани на такво нешто затоа што припадниците на грчката држава секаде се фалат дека грчкото општество е развиена демократија во која секој поединец може да си ги оствари своите права.



- Според грчкиот закон за промена на презимињата, секој има морално право да си избере презиме. Kако, на пример, кога невестите се венчаваат, си избираат кое презиме ќе го носат. Меѓутоа, од министерството за внатрешни работи знаат дека ние сме припадници на македонското малцинство. Тие се плашат од поплава од такви барања. Од друга страна, свесни се дека на тој начин веднаш ќе се издиференцира грцизмот - вели Павле Филипов, кој веќе шест години чека судско решение за неговото барање.



Според него, грчките институции намерно го одложуваат процесот за барателот да се откаже од постапката, која чини пари. На пример, за апликација пред Врховниот суд Филипов платил 1.700 евра само за такси.



- Ова е изигрување на демократијата. За среќа, во Европа и во светот сфатија дека Грција е црна, катран овца. Таа едно зборува во Брисел, а сосема е друга ситуацијата во земјава. Но, европската тројка што дојде заради кризата виде дека станува збор за држава која шири лаги - вели Филипов.



Пеце Бенишев (52) од селото Врбени, Леринско, вели дека за неговото барање требало да се одржи судско рочиште на 13 ноември годинава, но му рекле дека тоа се одлага на неодредено време.



- Не знам зошто е одложено рочиштето, ниту пак кога ќе се закаже ново - ни изјави Бенишев. Еден од лидерите на партијата што ги претставува Македонците, „Виножито“, Павле, ни вели дека презимето Филипов го носи според прапрадедо му Филип.



- Сакам да му направам чест и да го зачувам споменот на мојот прапрадедо, да си го вратам презимето, што за мене е висок морален чин. Но, од судот велат таков тип презиме не постои. Мојот прадедо се викал Kочо Филипов, роден во 1891 година. Замислете, тие го прекрстиле во Kостас Воскопулос. Ги менувале крстилните документи и на умрените по 1913. Арно ама, во турско немало овде презимиња на -ос или на -ис. Тоа значи дека Грците фалсификувале документи и на родените пред 1912 година, што е срамно - истакнува Павле.



Слична е и семејната приказна на Бенишев. Нивното семејно презиме Грците им го смениле во 1936 година кога станале Василијадис.



- Македонштината ми е во срцето и сакам да го вратам старото македонско презиме. Тоа ми го овозможува и законот - ни изјави Бенишев.



Сите тие најавуваат натамошна борба за своите права пред Судот за човекови права во Стразбур. Чекаат само да завршат постапките пред сите судски инстанции во Грција за да може нивната апликација да биде прифатена.



Меѓутоа, според еден специјалист за човекови права, условот за да може да се аплицира пред Судот во Стразбур е веќе исполнет затоа што постапката не завршила во разумен рок од три години.



-Друго прашање е како ќе реагира Судот во услови кога е тој пренатрупан од случаи и кога можат да се видат видливи пукнатини при одлучувањето. Од друга страна, очекувам сериозен политички притисок врз судот од Грција. Но, во секој случај, им честитам на храброста на тие луѓе што почнале ваква важна постапка. Ако еден од нив добие, со тоа ќе ја нарушат тезата за 97-процентната хомогенизација на грчката нација - вели експертот, кој инсистираше на анонимност.



Христо Ивановски

[momce]

Its sad with the greeks. For people who are constantly whining about the opression they went through they are the biggest hypocrites. Really sad.

Battle in Greece over old family surnames

Athens erasing Macedonians from Turkish documents

By Hristo Ivanovski

Translated and edited by Risto Stefov

November 27, 2012



His name is Pavle Filipov, however for the Greek state he is Pavlos Voskopoulos. Petse Benishev is Petros Vasiliadis. Krste Ashlakov has documents from the Greek State that show him to be Kostas Stavros Anastisaidis. The family roots of hundreds of thousands of Macedonians in Greece have been erased by the Greek State. Every Macedonian’s first and last name has been replaced with a Greek sounding name ending mostly in “os”, “is” “poulos” etc.



Six years ago four Macedonians started a court case for the reinstatement of their first and last names. They wanted their surnames back, which had been with their family from time immemorial. Even though every person has the legal right to have his or her name changed, in this case returned to the old name, these people are still experiencing problems. It seems like these four individuals and members of the Macedonian nation are leading a Don Quixote battle with Athens. The six persons are telling us that they have started this process in order to bring awareness to the problems Macedonians still experience in Greece to this day. This is a test of the democratic rights about which Greece boasts. Greece claims that it is a well-developed democracy where each Greek citizen can realize their individual rights without problems.



“Under the Greek law for changing surnames, everyone has the moral right to choose their own surname. When a woman gets married, for example, she has the legal right to change her surname or stay with her maiden name. For us, however, the Ministry of the Interior knows that we belong to the Macedonian nation and if they allow us to change our surnames they are afraid that they will receive a flood of similar requests. If this happens it will have a great impact on the “Greek-ness” of Greece!” says Pavle Filipov who has been waiting to hear from the courts for the last six years.



According to Mr. Filipov, Greek institutions deliberately delay the application process in hopes that the applicants will get tired and abandon their expensive and costly request. For example, Mr. Filipov paid 1,700 Euros for taxis alone while submitting his application before the Supreme Court.



“This is cheating democracy. Fortunately Europe and the world are now realizing that Greece is a black sheep. Greece says one thing in Brussels and does quite another at home. But when the European troika came to Greece because of the economic crisis, it discovered that Greece has been spreading a lot of lies!” said Mr. Filipov.



Petse Benishev (52) is from the village Vrbeni, Lerin Region. Mr. Benishev said that he had a court hearing date on November 13th this year but then he was advised that the hearing was postponed indefinitely.



“I do not know why my hearing was delayed and I don’t know when it will be rescheduled again,” said Mr. Benishev.



Mr. Filipov who is also a leading Macedonian and representative of the “Rainbow” Party, says he carries the surname “Filipov” because it belonged to his great grandfather Filip.



“I want my surname restored because I want to honour my great grandfather and keep his memory alive, it is a respectable thing to do and my moral right to do so. The court unfortunately is stalling and claiming that such a surname does not exist. My great grandfather’s name was Kocho Filipov; he was born in 1891 when Macedonia was a province of the Ottoman Empire. From that the Greeks came up with the fictional name Kostas Voskopoulos after Macedonia was annexed by Greece in 1913. Soon after that the Greeks changed all the Macedonian people’s names; living and dead. During Ottoman times there were no surnames ending with “os”, “is” “poulos” etc. This means that the Greeks had to forge documents and certificates issued before 1912, which is a sad shame!” said Mr. Filipov.



Mr. Benishev has a similar family story. His family name was changed by the Greeks in 1936 from Benishev to Vasiliadis.



“I am a Macedonian in my heart and I want to restore my old Macedonian surname. It is my right by law!” said Mr. Benishev.



They all said that they will continue their struggle for their rights at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. In the meantime they are exhausting all legal avenues inside Greece before they proceed with their application in Strasburg.



According to a human rights specialist however, one can apply to the Strasbourg Court if the process is not completed in the Greek courts within three years. So the requirement to apply to the Strasbourg Court has already been fulfilled.



“Another issue is how the Court will react in a situation when it is congested with cases and when will we be able to see visible cracks in their judgment. On the other hand, I expect serious political pressure will be placed on the Greek court. But in any case, I applaud the courage of those people who started such an important procedure. If one of them gets it, it will undermine the thesis that the Greek nation is 97% homogeneous,” said the expert, who insisted on anonymity.





БИТKА ВО ГРЦИЈА ЗА СТАРИТЕ СЕМЕЈНИ ПРЕЗИМИЊА

Атина ги бришe Македонците и од турски документи
Датум: 27.11.2012



Тој е Павле Филипов. Меѓутоа, за грчката држава е Павлос Воскопулос. Пеце Бенишев е Петрос Василијадис. Kрсте Ашлаков има документи од грчката држава дека е Kостас Ставрос Анастисајдис. На стотици илјади Македонци во Грција им е сотрен семејниот корен, а грчката држава им накалемила грчки презимиња кои завршуваат најчесто на -ос или на -ис. Пред шест години четворица Македонци почнаа судска битка за враќање на своите имиња и презимиња, кои нивните претходници ги имале од памтивек. Иако постојат законски услови за враќање на презимињата, тоа право с` уште не можат да го остварат. Овие четворица припадници на македонското малцинство водат донкихотовска битка со Атина. Ни објаснуваат дека „заради македонизмот“ ја почнале постапката. Но, биле испровоцирани на такво нешто затоа што припадниците на грчката држава секаде се фалат дека грчкото општество е развиена демократија во која секој поединец може да си ги оствари своите права.



- Според грчкиот закон за промена на презимињата, секој има морално право да си избере презиме. Kако, на пример, кога невестите се венчаваат, си избираат кое презиме ќе го носат. Меѓутоа, од министерството за внатрешни работи знаат дека ние сме припадници на македонското малцинство. Тие се плашат од поплава од такви барања. Од друга страна, свесни се дека на тој начин веднаш ќе се издиференцира грцизмот - вели Павле Филипов, кој веќе шест години чека судско решение за неговото барање.



Според него, грчките институции намерно го одложуваат процесот за барателот да се откаже од постапката, која чини пари. На пример, за апликација пред Врховниот суд Филипов платил 1.700 евра само за такси.



- Ова е изигрување на демократијата. За среќа, во Европа и во светот сфатија дека Грција е црна, катран овца. Таа едно зборува во Брисел, а сосема е друга ситуацијата во земјава. Но, европската тројка што дојде заради кризата виде дека станува збор за држава која шири лаги - вели Филипов.



Пеце Бенишев (52) од селото Врбени, Леринско, вели дека за неговото барање требало да се одржи судско рочиште на 13 ноември годинава, но му рекле дека тоа се одлага на неодредено време.



- Не знам зошто е одложено рочиштето, ниту пак кога ќе се закаже ново - ни изјави Бенишев. Еден од лидерите на партијата што ги претставува Македонците, „Виножито“, Павле, ни вели дека презимето Филипов го носи според прапрадедо му Филип.



- Сакам да му направам чест и да го зачувам споменот на мојот прапрадедо, да си го вратам презимето, што за мене е висок морален чин. Но, од судот велат таков тип презиме не постои. Мојот прадедо се викал Kочо Филипов, роден во 1891 година. Замислете, тие го прекрстиле во Kостас Воскопулос. Ги менувале крстилните документи и на умрените по 1913. Арно ама, во турско немало овде презимиња на -ос или на -ис. Тоа значи дека Грците фалсификувале документи и на родените пред 1912 година, што е срамно - истакнува Павле.



Слична е и семејната приказна на Бенишев. Нивното семејно презиме Грците им го смениле во 1936 година кога станале Василијадис.



- Македонштината ми е во срцето и сакам да го вратам старото македонско презиме. Тоа ми го овозможува и законот - ни изјави Бенишев.



Сите тие најавуваат натамошна борба за своите права пред Судот за човекови права во Стразбур. Чекаат само да завршат постапките пред сите судски инстанции во Грција за да може нивната апликација да биде прифатена.



Меѓутоа, според еден специјалист за човекови права, условот за да може да се аплицира пред Судот во Стразбур е веќе исполнет затоа што постапката не завршила во разумен рок од три години.



-Друго прашање е како ќе реагира Судот во услови кога е тој пренатрупан од случаи и кога можат да се видат видливи пукнатини при одлучувањето. Од друга страна, очекувам сериозен политички притисок врз судот од Грција. Но, во секој случај, им честитам на храброста на тие луѓе што почнале ваква важна постапка. Ако еден од нив добие, со тоа ќе ја нарушат тезата за 97-процентната хомогенизација на грчката нација - вели експертот, кој инсистираше на анонимност.



Христо Ивановски