From: sommar@enea.se (Erland Sommarskog)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.greek
Subject: Re: DON'T RECOGNIZE SKOPJE-23 REASONS
Date: 15 Nov 92 17:02:29 GMT
Organization: Enea Data AB

Time for some more drivel, I see...

Serafim Efstratiadis (efstse@epsilon.eecs.nwu.edu) writes:
)Appeared in The Hellenic Discussion List <HELLAS@UGA.BITNET) by
)"(Efstratios N. Kontogiannis)" <enkontog@MAILBOX.SYR.EDU):
)
)The following are twenty-three reasons why the US should not recognize the
)Skopje regime under the Greek name of Macedonia.
)
)1- There is no qualified universally accepted rule of international law that
)authorizes a state to name itself anything it wants.

And? There is no rule in the other direction as well.

)3- It is not proper for a country which is part of a region to degine itself
)in an official manner as representing the whole region. Macedonia, like the
)Americas, Europe, Scandanavia, and the Balkans, is a region. Just as in
)no country in North and South America would call itself the "American
)Republic," and no European country would call itself the "Republic of
)Europe," the Skopje regime in naming itself cannot assume the mantle of all
)Macedonia.

You mean, not like "America" for the US, or "Europe" when you mean EC,
or Luxembourg when you only mean the country, or the same about Moldova?

)5- PRESIDENT GLIGOROV OF SKOPJE, TITO'S PROTEGE, CAN END THE PROBLEM
)OVERNIGHT BY REINSTATING THE NAME THE SKOPJE AREA HAD IN 1944--VARDAR
)BANOVINA--BEFORE TITO CHANGED IT.

No, he can't. He is not a dictator. There is a parliament in Skopje
which makes such decisions.

)6- Macedonia is a Greek name in origin. Its use in Ancient Greece as the
)Kingdom of Macedonia of Philip II and Alexander the Great, even then denoted
)a region, not a nationality. Macedonians, like Athenians, Spartans, Cypriots and
) the Cretans were Greeks.

And? Belgium is a name of Celtic origin. Do Greeks believe they are
superior in some way?

)7- The northern province of Greece, which borders the Skopje regime, is
)Macedonia.

See Luxembourg, Azerbaijan, Moldova.

)10- Tito's and Stalin's actions resulted in the death of over 50,000 Greeks
)and 685,000 were left homeless and 25,000 Greek children were kidnapped. The
)Skopje regime and its communist leadership were in the forefront of Tito's
)efforts against Greece.

So event in the 1940s should affect policies in 1992?

)11- The US opposed the use of the mane Macedonia by Tito in 1944 and we
)should oppose it now. In a circular Airgram (Dec. 26, 1944) Secretary of
)State Edward R. Stettinius, Jr. stated:

It's 1992 now. Why do some people live in the past?

)18- Greece has no territorial claim to the territory of the Skopje regime and
)welcomes trade ties with good neighboe relations, if the regime change its 
)name.

What the hell has this to whether the US should recognize Macedonia?

)20- On June 27, 1992, the EC unanimously accepted the Greek position that the
)Skopje regime should only be granted recognition ONLY if the word "Macedonia"
)was not included. The EC stated:

That seems to be history now.

)      3- that there will be no declaration of the new state without a
)formal written declaration from Skopje that it recognoze's Greece's borders
)and has no territorial claims against Greece;

Which there is in their consititution.


Again, the Greek argumentation appears as a funny mixture of half-truths,
outright lies, misconceptions and an attitude that Greece is soooo
special, so rules which apply in other places don't apply in Greece's
neighbourhood.
-- 
Erland Sommarskog - ENEA Data, Stockholm - sommar@enea.se