From: ST403092@BROWNVM.BITNET (Leandros Arvanitakis)
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.hellas
Subject: gramma pros Economist (alloi alntes...)
Date: 19 Nov 92 01:08:35 GMT
Reply-To: Leandros Arvanitakis <ST403092@BROWNVM.BITNET>
Comments: Gated by NETNEWS@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU
Comments: To: Macedonia@husc.harvard.edu

Filoi geia xara,

Dystnxws gia alln mia fora 9a sas talaipwrnsw ligaki...

Bgnke xtes to veo teyxos toy Economist me eva ar9ro fysika evavtiov tns
Ellnvikns 9sens sto zntnma twv Skopiwv. H 9ematologia kiveitai sta plaisia
tou ar9rou tns Wall St. Journal, gia to opoio yparxei ndn etoimn apavtnsn
stis listes Hellas kai Macedonia.

Para9etw tnv apavtnsn pou stelvw se aftous tous alntes, me tnv elpida va
kavete kai eseis to idio - faivete pws mas tnv peftouv oloi kai apo pavtou,
alla dev prepei va tous perasei...

Paidia, oloi pvigwmaste, alla lign ypomovn kai 9a perasei n mpora...

Leavdros
Providence RI

=======================================================================

                                Mr. Leandros Arvanitakis
                                Biomedical Center, Box G-8376
                                Brown University
                                Providence RI 02912
                                USA

                                November 18th, 1992


The Editor
The Economist Newspaper
25 St. James's Street
London SW1A 1HG
England


Dear Sir,

I am writing to express my concern with respect to the article
entitled "Macedonia - An old cockpit" which appeared in the
November 14th issue of the Economist.

More specifically, I am disgusted by your correspondent's
perception of the Skopjan neighbours as "covetous" and his
implicit assumption that Greece has territorial desires on
Skopje.  Furthermore, the whole tone of the report is one
that depicts Greece as a malevolent and self-motivated
nuisance in the process of independence of a poor, weak
and overwhelmed new republic; such portrayals can only
be described as childish and maliciously motivated.

As for the sentence "Aegean Macedonia which fell to the
Greeks in the Balkan war of 1912" I can only gasp at your
correspondent's ignorance.  It seems that 4,000 years of
Hellenic history in that geographic area are not enough to
establish ethnicity in this person's mind.  Instead, he prefers
to conjecture that since Greeks claimed (actually reclaimed)
this land through war it could not have been theirs to begin
with; such a level of understanding is indeed pitiful and I am
shocked to think how many unsuspecting readers you have
thus far misled.

In reference to "Constantine Mitsotakis is caught between
ultra-nationalists on his right and a Socialist opposition that
cares little about Macedonia but will use any stick to beat
the government", allow me to point out that

(i) the phenomenon of ultra-nationalism is not found in
Greece, and it is ridiculous to use such terminology with
reference to a nation that is merely protecting its own
integrity, and

(ii) although perhaps surprising for Hellenic internal politics,
all political parties are united in these unjust and
unprovoked assaults to our nation.

Finally, with regard to the implied Macedonian's fears of
invasion, let me point out that according to recent CIA
sources there are at least two known production plants for
illicit drugs the profits of which are directed at massive arms
deals mostly from Bulgaria, Turkey and Russia.  In the face
of Greece's November 12th formal initiative to guarantee
the borders of the Skopjan republic and hence attempt to
avoid an overt Balkan crisis, who do you think is the
"covetous" party in the area?

It would appear that your Belgrade correspondent in Skopje
who wrote this article is either severely uninformed or
prefers to obtain his material from the Skopjan propaganda
agency in order to expeditiously meet his deadlines.
Whichever the case may be, I find it totally unacceptable
that material of such malice and low quality can escape
editorial revision and appear in what is supposedly a
reputable publication.



                Sincerely concerned and disappointed,





                Leandros Arvanitakis, B.Sc., M.Sc.
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