From: sk@groo.sunbim.be (Sasa Konecni)
Subject: Re: 2 points about the "M" thing
Reply-To: sk@sunbim.be ()
Organization: BIM Everberg Belgium
Date: Fri, 4 Sep 92 10:19:34 GMT

Followup-To: soc.culture.yugoslavia,soc.culture.greek

In   article   1992Sep2.031436.3067@panix.com   on   2 Sep 92
gcf@panix.com (Gordon Fitch) writes:

>The Greek attitude towards the  name  of  Macedonia  seems  like
>comic relief compared to the rest of this; at least they're 
>not killing anyone, yet.  But I don't really  understand  it  
>and  I keep thinking there must be something behind it we 
>haven't heard yet.

In article <1992Sep3.153724.5703@odin.diku.dk> on 3 Sep 92
rancke@diku.dk (Hans Rancke-Madsen) writes:

>This professed fear of a war with Skojpean Macedonia is either a
>completely bogus propaganda issue or baseless paranoia. Tell me
>Mr. Caroutas, are you really afraid of a war with your neighbour,
>and if you are, do you really think that thwarting them on this
>name issue will make you safe from attack?

In article 1992Sep1.201342.28559@eecs.nwu.edu> on Tue, 1 Sep
 efstse@epsilon.eecs.nwu.edu (Serafim Efstratiadis) writes:

>Dear Peter:
>
>You have made the typical mistake that everyone who's not aware of the
>real problem. I understand you completely. That is:
>(1) You THINK that the problem is the name alone, and
> ....... (Things deleted)

In article <Sep03.194832.61676@yuma.ACNS.ColoState.EDU> on 3 Sep 92
cc433336@LANCE.ColoState.Edu (Constantinos A. Caroutas) writes:

>What do you know about Cyprus? Eh?

The following is an excerpt from an article by John
Newhouse entitled "The Diplomatic Round" and
published in the August 24 issue of the New Yorker.

	...With Bosnia technically independent --the
term mocks reality--the issue of recognising the
former republic of Macedonia loomed up. It is
complicated by contesting claims around the Balkans
for control of Macedonia, which lies between Serbia
and Greece. The Serbs call it South Serbia. The
Bulgarians, who fought Greece and Serbia for it in
the eighteen-seventies, regard Slavic Macedonia as an
extension of their country. The Albanians see the
western part as ethnically akin to them. Feeling runs
highest in Greece, although the issue there is not
possession of the land--birthplace of Aristotle and
Alexander the Great--but the right to the name of
Macedonia, which Greeks claim as theirs, and theirs
alone. The Macedonians do not feel Greek--they
haven't felt so since around the sixth century--and
are now mostly Slavs and Albanians. But they do call
themselves Macedonians, and intend to continue doing
so.

	What to do about Macedonia is another issue
over which the E.C. has embarrassed itself. Of the
various republics applying for recognition, only
Macedonia met all the Badinter Commission's criteria.
Macedonia is prevented by its constitution from
making any claims on neighboring territories. It
respects human rights. The Macedonian President, Kiro
Gligorov, is a moderate democrat of benign intent.
Western officials and diplomats who have dealt with
various Yugoslav leaders cite him as the only
reliable and trustworthy of the bunch. But Gligorov
is isolated politically. Greece has blockaded his
country, and he cannot borrow money anywhere.
Gligorov's problem lies in the unwillingness of
either the E.C. or America to provoke Greece by
recognizing Macedonia. The issue arose at Maastricht,
although it had not yet become current.

	"The Greek Foreign Minister made it a
condition of signing the treaty that his interest in
Macedonia be accepted," says a German figure who
played a key role there. "The problem of the name
came up. It is hard now to apply pressure to Greece
when we agreed in those very special circumstances of
December 16th to recognise its interest."

	Early this summer, I asked a senior member of
the British Government why the E.C. wasn't leaning on
Greece. "The Greeks are major beneficiaries of E.C.
membership," he said. "I am not against using
pressure on them with regard to those benefits." But
there was no follow-through--no pressure put on
Greece from the E.C. as a body or from any of its
members.

	So loath to offend the Greeks is the E.C.
that its public statements refer not to the "former
Yugoslav republic of Macedonia" but to the
"authorities in Skopje," the capital city. Greece, it
seems, would lift its opposition to recognition if
the Macedonians agreed to call themselves the
Republic of Skopje. The Greeks reject various
compromises--New Macedonia, for instance, and the
Macedonian republic of Skopje--that contain the name
Macedonia. E.C. members seethe, but nothing happens.
"It is unheard of that a society cannot name its own
state," a German diplomat says. "You cannot tell
Macedonians not to call themselves Macedonians." But
this is happening.

	The Bush Administration, seething less, fears
that the pro-American, pro-NATO government of Prime
Minister Constantine Mitsotakis might fall if
Greece's allies showed a disregard for its strong
feelings on the Macedonian issue. Its successor would
probably be the anti-American Socialists. Even more
important, the Administration isn't going to
antagonise the potent and unforgiving Greek-American
lobby between now and the election.  "We, the U.K.,
are telling Macedonians, `You should go straight to
the U.N.  and apply for membership,'" a British
diplomat says. We are telling them that very
discreetly. Enter Washington which says to us, `No,
they mustn't do that before November 3rd.'"

	The frenzy arising from the issue was
captured in a recent Washington Post piece from
Skopje: Across Greece, banners, badges, billboards,
T-shirts and a new Olympic Airways aircraft all
announce that `Macedonia is Greek.'  The Athens
government has imposed a 19-month jail sentence on
four members of a left-wing student group who were
caught distributing a pamphlet calling for the
recognition of Macedonia."

	Gligorov has travelled to Western capitals,
warning that Serbia may use the nonrecognition--that
is, the nonstatus--of his country as a pretext for
invading it. He is quoted in the Post piece as
saying, "The E.C. and the United States should not
wait for war to spread to Macedonia. If war comes
here, it is going to be a Balkan war, because none of
our neighbors are going to remain quiet."

	Experts concur in this gloomy estimate.
"Macedonia is the next Bosnia," a former ambassador
to Yugoslavia says. Another former ambassador says,
"A brawl there will draw in Greece, Bulgaria, and
Albania." It could be touched off in any number of
ways, starting, as Gligorov suggests, with an
invasion by Serbia. Washington knows that Greece and
Serbia have "agreed informally," in the words of a
senior Bush Administration official, "to split up
Macedonia." The initiative was Greek-- an ill-advised
one, even a stupid one, Wasington thinks. Another,
even more plausible scenario--is a war that starts in
the neighboring republic of Kosovo. Its institutions,
security forces, and media are controlled by Serbs,
although Serbs constitute less than 10% of the
population, which is overwhelmingly Albanian Muslem.
The 7th century Kingdom of Serbia was born in Kosovo,
and Serbs still regard it as the cradle of their
nation. Miloshevich is thought to believe that his
sacred mandate is to rid Kosovo of its 2 million
Muslems, mainly by driving them into Albania. Not
surprisingly, these people refuse to leave
voluntarily.  They want their own fully independent
state--one without ties to Serbia.  There the matter
stands, but probably not for long. Miloshevich's
current tactic, a German diplomat says, is "to starve
the Muslems economically and culturally." Soon,
however, he is expected to begin terrorising them
with his security forces. The actual battle, many
diplomats think, will be touched off by the deeply
aggrieved Muslems. Their cause would almost certainly
draw in Albania, even though its moderate government
would like to cool the situation. Macedonia's
Albanians, about a third of its population, would
then join in what could become a struggle for a
single Moslem state. Greece could enter the fray on
Serbia's side and at that point Bulgaria, under
pressure from Macedonia's Slavs, might reluctantly
come in.  And at some point Turkey, which has stood
aloof, could feel pressed to do something about the
ever greater atrocities being committed against
Muslems.  Area experts and senior officials in
various Western capitals are uniformly pessimistic.
The scenario is unclear, but widespread
bloodletting--far worse than Bosnia has
experienced--is given high probability.
--------------------------------------------------------

(There is more, and I highly recommend the whole
article to anyone interested. SZ)






Sasa.

Xref: sparky soc.culture.yugoslavia:8398 soc.culture.greek:8289