From: ptg2351@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Panos Tamamidis )
Subject: Re: MIRacles No. 13
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1992 21:57:14 GMT

Joel Sax <jsax@igc.apc.org> writes:


>From: Joel Sax <jsax>
>Subject: MIRacles No. 13

>"What's the problem?" Macedonian peace activist Vladimir Milcin 
>asks.  He answers himself:  "Macedonia as a geographical term is 
>much wider than this place, Republic of Macedonia.  It is 
>absolutely true that in Greece is also Macedonia.  And in Bulgaria 
>there is also a part of the ancient earth that was Macedonia." 

 I heard such things before.  The area of the so called "Republic
 of Macedonia" was given the name Macedonia after WWII.  This is
 a creation of Communist Tito.  Before WWII this area was called
 south Serbia, or banovina (=province) of Vardar.  Tito invented this
 term on April 30, 1945.  His purpose was to create a Great Macedonia,
 which would include northern Greece (part of which is Macedonia), and
 the Pirin area of Bulgaria.

>"We are Slavs," he continues.  "Our ancestors came to this place 
>called Macedonia in the Fifth Century after Christ.  I am not 
>descended from Alexander the Great!"  Most of the Macedonian 
>people are puzzled that Greek newspapers should claim that they 
>want to steal this heritage.  Guides to the history of Skopje 
>clearly describe many successive occupiers of the area.  The Slavs 
>who came after the Greeks and the Romans, these guides explain, 
>produced the modern people who call themselves Macedonians.  No 
>claim of relationship to the ancient Macedonians is made by these 
>guides or by anyone I meet. 

 First of all, the Slavs started settling on the sixth century AD, not
 the fifth.  Second, why are they puzzled by the Greek claims?  Since
 they are admitting that they don't have anything to do with the ancient
 Macedonians, why are they using his symbol in their flag?  Third, other
 things admit officially, and other things do unofficially.  This is a
 dirty propaganda.

 Fourth, the fact that they are claiming that they constitute a distinct
 nation, called Macedonian, is an outrageous claim, and obvious part
 of their propaganda.  No Macedonian nation exists, and none of its
 neighbors admits it exists.  Period.

>"I don't understand it," a young Macedonian man tells me.  "We 
>used to spend every summer in Thessaly.  Now they say we want to 
>make war with them and we can't go."  The Greek border is closed 
>to Macedonians and foreigners with Macedonian surnames.  One young 
>Macedonian American was prevented from visiting the grave of his 
>father near Florina.  By its very existence, the Greeks believe, 
>the Republic of Macedonia resurrects the intention to wrest 
>control of Greek Macedonia and its valuable port of Thessaloniki 
>from their rightful owners. 

 So, are they admiting that the creation of this republic by Tito was
 made in order to annex the northern part of Greece, which rightyfully
 bears the name macedonia for 2,000 yeras?

>Macedonia, it seems, can never satisfy Greece.  It keeps trying to 
>meet Greece's demands halfway.  Greece insists that Macedonia 
>change the name.  Macedonia makes yet another, reasonable 
>concession to Greece, meeting it halfway again.  Unless Macedonia 
>surrenders on the name issue and, consequently gives up the 
>identity the Slavic Macedonians have been making for themselves 
>for the past one hundred and fifty years, the Greek Tortoise will 
>continue to lumber ahead, oblivious to the cries of hunger from 
>the north. 

 This is crap.  Greece offered this state to use another name like
 "Slavic Republic of Macedonia"  (New York Times, April 1, 1992, p. A4).
 They refused.

 So stop repeating this bullshit about the position of Greece.
 Greeks are peacefull people.  Stop provoking them.

 Panos Tamamidis

Newsgroups: soc.culture.greek