From: michael.polymenakos@factory.com (Michael Polymenakos) 
Newsgroups: soc.culture.yugoslavia,soc.culture.greek,soc.culture.bulgaria
Subject: THE NEW BULLY OF THE BALKANS [ Part 23,454 from 2,767,344 ]
Date: 30 Aug 92 00:35:00 GMT
Distribution: world
Organization: Invention Factory's BBS - New York City, NY - 212-274-1243v.32bis
Reply-To: michael.polymenakos@factory.com (Michael Polymenakos) 


SK>From: sk@groo.sunbim.be (Sasa Konecni)
SK>Parts from : THE NEW BULLY OF THE BALKANS for the benefit of
SK>the readers who can not access the original( a beautiful piece
   Ofcource we cannot access the original. You haven't even bothered to
   tell us what language/country/date/page this garbage appeared on.

SK>  Noel Malcolm on how Greece's profound neurosis about its own
SK>identity is the biggest single impediment to any sensible EEC
SK>policy in the region
  The "Greek" neurosis? You can call me neurotic all you want, all I know
  is that we have the whole world on our side, and you are just sitting
  there in the middle of the Balkans in total isolation. Nahna, Nahnana!
  Tell me, why should Greece give up? Our protests have been highly successful,
  haven't cost us anything, and have strengthened the national unity both
  among Greeks in Greece, and among Greeks abroad. I would still be hapilly
  gabbing over at the comp. groups, had you fellas not made me wake up and
  smell the roses about the Balkans. Plus I really must thank you: Thanks to
  you I had the chance to meed and talk to a couple of people that I had lost
  contact with since the 80s. We met again at the May 31 march in D.C.

  The "Greek" neurosis? You stand there isolated, rejected, unrecognized,
  just because you insist on using a name that does not belong to you!
  You could be on your way to joining Western Europe right now, had you
  not acted so foolishly. Greece has no objection to Skopjian independence,
  our sole objection is to the use of the word "Macedonia". Tell me, Sasa,
  who's acting foolish in this matter?

SK>     The Greek Slav Macedonians are caught between the hammer
SK>ant the anvil of Greek policy on minorities: assimilation or
  What's a hammer ant?

SK>expulsion. To see successful assimilation in action, one has

   BS. Mutlu is complaining that minorities are trapped in Greece and not
   allowed to leave, you are saying that they are being forced to leave!
   You are both BSing without proof.

SK>northern Greece. The Vlachs who speak a language closely
SK>related to Rumanian, have a population of perhaps no more than
SK>50,000 in Greece.... Most modern Greek writings about the

   Are you claiming that the Vlach people are opressed? Perhaps you can
   ask Averof family in Greece, one of the most powerfull families
   politically and economicallly since the beginning of the century. The
   Averof family financed the Greek navy during the Balkan wars (hint: the
   Greek flagship during WWI was named Averof), and they still remain
   powerful today, with Evangelos Averof-Tositsas the defence minister
   in the 70's and the ND party leader in the early eighties. (What is he
   doing today?). The Averofs and other prominent Vlachii are generally
   considered very patriotic Greeks, with very conservative  and pro-military
   affiliations. My high-school Gym instructor was Vlach, and he was one of
   the most nationalistic Greeks I remember.
   The National Guard (ex-Royal Guard) in Syntagma square is wearing a Valchii
   military uniform, and the Vlachii people are proud to be identified as such
   within Greece, with huge annual re-unions, that celebrate their culture.

SK>was sentenced to 18 months in prison for using the word
   By some stupid local judge that was not good enough to be at a higher court.
   This decision was critisized all over Greece. Last I had heard this he did
   not even have to serve this term.

SK>     ...this summer's Amnesty report on torture and ill-
SK>treatment in Greeks prisons and police stations happen to

   Post them, IN THEIR ENTIRETY, including their publication dates, so
   I can look them up. You seem to be making a very general statement about
   these reports. I had read a few AI reports in the past, and while they
   do critisize greek in the matter of consiencious military objectors,
   they never mentioned anything about minorities.

SK>new Greek electoral law will prevent Dr Ahmet from being re-
SK>elected next time, and when he loses parliamentary immunity he

   Wanna bet $1,000 that at least 2 moslem representatives will be present at
   the next Greek parliament? Perhaps even mr Ahmet. The new electoral law
   has nothing to do with mr Ahmet. Mr Ahmet is hiding behind the electoral
   law (which is not really that different from the old law) to justify his
   dropping popularity among his people, and the unlikelyhood that he will
   be re-elected in the future.

SK>may face another deferred prosecution. And the long-standing
SK>policy of driving these Turks out of Greece continues....More
   Well, Mutlu is complaining that Turks in Greece are being held in Thrace
   against their will! You two have a meeting and make up your mind!

SK>seize 15,000 acres of farm-land which at present support
SK>20,000 Turks ......
   Less than an acre/person? Besides, even if your figures are real (which
   they are not), do you know how many acres of land have been nationalised
   (with their owners compensated) every year for public works? Even my
   grandfather once lost 4 acres for some stupid water project in Mani. He
   was really upset, but was he victim of discrimination? I don't think so.
   (Continued next message...)
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Newsgroups: soc.culture.yugoslavia