Newsgroups: bit.listserv.hellas
Date:         Thu, 10 Sep 1992 16:24:18 EDT
Reply-To:     "Efstratios N. Kontogiannis" <enkontog@MAILBOX.SYR.EDU>
From:         "Efstratios N. Kontogiannis" <enkontog@MAILBOX.SYR.EDU>
Subject:      MACEDONIA -THE EUROPEAN NEWSPAPER

At almost every level, Greece is being criticised for complicating the
handling of the Yugoslavian war- ignoring sanctions imposed on Serbia,
persecuting ethnic minorities within its borders, or fuelling a long
dispute with Turkey.

The criticism has reached such a crescendo that many wonder whether
admitting Greece into the EC was a mistake. Many of these mutterings
are based on fundamental misconceptions.

Greece is not suffering from a terminal case of "neurosis" as many of its
detractors allege. The Balkans are still a geographical expression, not a
medical term, and Grecce's behaviour is perfectly rational, for it is
determined by western Europe's manifest willingness to tackle the
problems of the arena.

The end of the Cold War has offered Greece no respite. Instead of the largely
hypothetical danger of a Soviet attack, the Greek government now has to
contend with an exploding Yugoslavia to its north, an utterly impoverished
Albania in the West, and Turkey, whose importance in the region is enhanced.

Turkey is the gateway to the Middle East and the Caucasian Republics, abd is
 courted by every western government. For the Greeks this situation has clear
strategic implications. The Greeks have searched for their security
within European institutions. Suddenly they find these institutions are
no longer welcoming.

After strenous diplomatic efforts, the Greeks were accepted as full
members of the Western European Union at last year's summit. Yet they
were also asked to provide guarantees that they will never invoke some
of the security provisions in this organisation, a requirement at best
contradictory and at worst downright insulting against a full member of
the EC.

Nevertheless, Prime Minister Constantine Mitsotakis went out of his way to
solve many of the disputes with Turkey. The leaders of the two countries
meet frequently and military incidents over the Aegean Sea are
deliberately played down. Greece, Turkey and ethnic communities of Cyprus
have just completed yet another round of negotiations at the UN to sort
out the problems of this divided island. The negotiations failed, but
none of the UN Security Council's members blames Greece for this
outcome. Far from being a thorn in the side of the Balkans, the
government in Athens has contributed to regional security.

Nevertheless, Greece is pilloried for refgusing to accept Macedonian
independence, a stance which supposedly threatens to enlarge the
Yugoslavian civil war. Nothing could be further from the truth. First,
swift international recognition for every Yugoslav republic is not
necessarily the best solution, as the example of Bosnia now indicates.
More importantly, Greece has never opposed MAced
Macedonian independence, provided the republic change its name.

Again, it is easy to dismiss this demand as trivial. And Greek officials
have not helped theis case by anchoring their arguments in historic
justifications which appear laughable to any other European. Yet the
reality is more serious. It is not copyright over the name of Macedonia
which is at stake, but security arrangements in the Balkans. Sandwiched
between sworn enemies, Macedonia cannot fail to attract Bulgaria,
Serbia, Albania and Greece into a new competition for spheres of
influence, as it has done often in the past.

While Greece is accused of stifling the republic's independence,
Macedonia's other neighbours are advancing arguments which can be
devastating to regional security: Bulgaria recognised independence
, but will not recognise the existence of a Macedonian nation;
Albania refuses to deal with Macedonian authorities as long as the
republic's ethnic Albanians are not accepted as a separate nation. Seen
in the light, Greek sensitivity to Macedonia's name is hardly the most
demanding...

LOOK FOR PART II
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