From: vkb57@cas.org ()
Subject: Article on Macedonia from the Belgian weekly "Knack", Oct.21
Organization: Chemical Abstracts Service, Columbus, Ohio
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 1992 15:13:05 GMT

This as a translation of an article from the Dutch-language Belgian weekly
"Knack" #41 from October 21-27 1992. I am grateful to Mr. Sasa Konecni for
providing a copy of the article and a Macedonian translation


A PARIAH IN EUROPE

At the edge of the Yugoslav civil war Macedonia lays on a time bomb.  Under
Greek pressure the EC has not recognized it and it suffers the consequence of
the UN boycott against Serbia.  "Europe is the whore of Babylon" is written the
walls of the capital Skopje.


A REPORT FROM MACEDONIA

THESSALONIKI IS PROUD OF ITS PROTECTOR DEMETRIUS. Whenever the city is in
danger,  he gets out in shiny armor to cheer the defenders in the fight against
the barbarians.  On the Greek icons from the nationalist 19th century he rides
a fiery red horse and stabs Skiloyannis,  John the Dog,  the king of the
Bulgars.  The story dates back to year 1207 when emperor Kaloyan, John the
Beautiful,  of Bulgaria was murdered by a rival at the doors of Thessaloniki.
For the inhabitants this was providence of their patron.

In 1430, twenty three years before the fall of Constantinople, the Ottomans
put Thessaloniki under their foot.  This lasted until 1912 when the Turkish
yoke was overthrown.  Nevertheless the Thessalonikans are proud that their
city has never fallen into Slav hands.  Whoever speaks here of Solun,  the
Slavic name for Thessaloniki risks getting a noose around his neck by the
Greeks that call themselves Macedonian.  Macedonia is Greek and for the
inhabitants of the capital of the North-Greek province their Thessaloniki is
the spearhead of the Hellenism.  The metropolis boils with nationalist
emotions and symbols.  The Thessaloniki airport was renamed "Airport
Macedonia."  The newest Airbus of the national airline has been given the same
name.  On the beach T-shirts are sold which transform the carefree tourist
into mobile propaganda:  "Macedonia - 3000 years Greek."  At the beginning of
the year Thessaloniki was the stage of mass demonstrations against the
recognition of the former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia.  In the first rows
walked many Greek stars.  All this theater stands in contrast to the ugly
view of Thessaloniki.  Urbanistically the city has the structure of a broken
fence and the excavation look like open urinals.  The sea is the color of lead
and nothing mirrors in it.

WITHOUT  CONCESSIONS.  No one doubts the Hellenic character of the northern
Greek province.  Athens is often accused for the bad treatment of its Slavic
minority in Greek Macedonia.  "In the Yearly Report of the US State Department
Greece was sharply criticized for the mistreatment of the 150.000 Slavic
Macedonians,  which are forbidden to call its language and culture Makedonski,
stated loudly Georgi Marjanovic,  a criminal-law professor in Skopje,  the
capital of the new republic of Macedonia.

In the ministry of Northern Greece in Thessaloniki this is denounced as
nonsense.  "There are no more Slavs living in northern Greece,  Until the end
of World War II there were Bulgarians here,  but they run away after the war
together with the Bulgarian Occupiers.  In Florina,  Aredea there are still
people that speak an old Slavic dialect but they consider themselves Greek.
They would be insulted if someone calls them Slavic Macedonians.  Twenty or
thirty Slavs that still call themselves Macedonians are political agents paid
by Skopje."

The Greeks did not spare efforts in their ethnic cleansing of Northern Greece
during this century.  Contrary to all international conventions,  the names of
the Slavic towns and villages  were Hellenized in the twenties, the Slavic
inhabitants had to take Greek names, the Makedonski language could not ne
spoken in the churches and the old church books in this language were
destroyed.  The Slavic Macedonians that fought in the Greek civil war
(1945-1849) on the side of the communist were chased over the border.  The
access to their native land is still denied for them and their children, about
150,000 of them.

One of them, Kole Mangov,  leader of the organization "Dignity" from Skopje,
points to the administrative terror that Greece applies to the Slavic
Macedonians of Greek descent.  At the age of 5 he had to leave his native
village Vevi (Banitza in Slavic) since his father died on the side of the
communist.  He has been able to cross the Greek border only once since, to
visit his mothers grave.  "The Greeks do not concede an inch, declares Mangov.
When we request in writing a birth certificate from the Greek authorities they
do not reply.  This a shame for Europe."

A monument consisting of three rocks is a reminder of the division of
Macedonia in three pieces in 1913.  the Greeks and the Serbs took the largest
pieces.  Bulgaria,  the looser of the second Balkan war,  got the rest.  The
name Macedonia resurfaced when Tito's communist in World War II decided that
Yugoslavia should consist of six republics.  Skopje became the capital of the
Socialist Republic Macedonia.

NO MORE OIL.  It never bothered Greece before that a state across its northern
border was using the name Macedonia.  She was accepting the name Macedonia as
a geographic term.  Greece also did not find it necessary to use the same name
for an administrative district in its north.  For a long time after World War
II the Macedonian part of Greece was simply called Northern Greece.  But as
soon as the Greek politicians smelled the decay of the Yugoslav union they
state making noise about the Macedonian question.  The turning point was the
publication of "The Falsification of the Macedonian History" by Nikolas K.
Martis, former minister of Northern Greece, who in 1984 put forward the
dubious thesis that the ancient Macedonians were pure Greeks and that
Macedonia was always a Hellenic land.

In Skopje Professor Marjanovic goes back 2400 years into history.  "One can
hardly doubt that Demosthenes was a Hellenic patriot.  To the Greeks that claim
that they are descendants of the ancient Macedonians I recommend his "Third
article on Fillipus" where he states:  He (Phillipus) is not a Hellene and he
has nothing in common with the Hellenes.  He is a barbarian who comes from a
land of which absolutely nothing good could be said,  a land where you can not
even buy a god slave.

The Hellenes were enemies of Fillipus. He destroyed the city of Thebe. His
son,  Alexander the Great conquered Greece.  he named himself king of Macedonia
nag hegemon over the Hellenes."

The historization of national myths is a destructive plague of the Balkans. in
the same time the vehicles on the street, excerpt for taxis buses and training
vehicles, can move only if being pushed by their owners.  Marjanovic is glad
that we came by taxi so that he can ride with us back to town. on the way he
points to the columns of car that look as if they were parked forever.  "I
dont even know where exactly is mine anymore.  i can barely remember when a
rode in it last."

Under the pretext that they do not want to be accused by EC of breaking the
embargo against Serbia the Greeks refuse to deliver oil to all former
republics of the Yugoslav federation. This hits very hard the small poor
republic of Macedonia.

Macedonia was economically oriented toward Serbia.  president Kiro Gligorov
did not want to hear of independence until the other republics broke off.  He
stated however that Macedonia did not want to be part of a small Yugoslavia
where Belgrade would play the first violin.  More than anything, he was
afraid that Macedonia would have the same fate in such an alliance that
Kosovo and Vojvodina (two autonomous provinces that lost their autonomy at
at the end of the 1980's).  Further,  the Macedonian nationalist,  which won 38
of the 120 seats in the December 11 elections,  became the strongest political
formation in Macedonia.  For Serbia, the refusal of Skopje to take its side
in the civil war was a low blow.

After Croatia and Slovenia proclaimed independence in June of 1991 Skopje held
referendum on September 8 on which 95% of the voters opted for independence.
Macedonia seceded from Yugoslavia and put a shining sun on its new flag.  The
federal military withdrew without incidents.  The Badinger commission,  which was
charged by the EC with determining which of the Yugoslav republic meet the
democratic conditions for recognition,  gave the green light for Macedonia.
Despite all this, the EC decided on June 29 to recognize the new republic only
by name that does not contain the word Macedonia.  EC thus gave in to the
pressure from Athens.  On the walls in Skopje the writings appeared: "Europe,
the whore of Babylon."

DOUBLE BLOCKADE:  Of course we are disappointed, says Sash Ordanovski(28), the
sharpest journalistic pen in Skopje.  I knew that the Greek conservative
government of Constantine Mitsotakis would fall if Macedonia is recognized,
but that is an internal Greek problem.  Europe should not override its
principles because of that.  Athens brought the problem to the point of no
return.  For any Macedonian politician,  even hinting of a name change would be
political suicide.  Is Luxembourg going to change its name because there is a
Belgian province with the same name . Does Greece carry so much weight that  even
in the UN no one talks of our recogniton.  There isn't a single reasonable
argument against recognizing us under the name Macedonia."

The Macedonians feel cheated and humiliated.  When the international community
put sanctions on Serbia,  The Macedonians stuck to the sanctions,  although
they may bring economic suicide.  On top of that Greece blocked the oil
imports.  Since then Macedonia is under double blockade.

This is unbelievable, says Georgi Marjanovic.  We follow all the European and
international decisions toward Serbia,  and the reward for this is that
Greece, an EC member tightens the noose around our neck.  When the oil
deliveries from Greece stopped, our industry was put on the brink of a
collapse.  Despite all that we continue to behave in a civilized manner.  Sixty
percent of the Greek continental exports pass through Macedonia.  If Greece
is the bottle we are the cork.  We could also close the borders for Greek
exports but we don't do that.  In the past we were spending our money in
Greece.  Ten percent of our population was spending their vacation on the
Aegean see and shopped in Thessaloniki. Now the Greek government does  not
recognize our passports.  So we stay home."

In Thessaloniki the Greek diplomats ring other bells.  Skopje must give up the
name Macedonia since that is the only way to strike the Macedonian
irredentism.  The dream of Great Macedonia lives in the hearts of the
nationalists which are grouped in MAAK (Movement for Panmacedonian Action) and
VMRO (Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization).  In every bookstore in
Skopje the map of Greater Macedonia, printed in Sofia, is posted in a prominent
place.  The Greeks were furious when the false rumor started that the
Macedonian government is considering putting the White Tower of Thessaloniki on
the Macedonian currency.  For Greece, that was a proof of the territorial
pretensions of Macedonia.

Skopje is doing everything possible to calm the Greek paranoia.  The
amendments to the new constitution state that Macedonia has no territorial
pretensions toward the neighboring countries.  Of course this is not the
strongest argument.  The strongest argument is that two million Macedonian
mosquitoes stand against ten million Greek elephants.  Macedonia is an
international pariah while Greece is a member of the powerful NATO and EC.
Skopje does not have a single warplane, its military is being formed and is
equipped with outdated arms.  The federal army took all the military equipment
when it withdrew.  Even the hardwood floors in the barracks and the light
switches were dismantled.  Even if Macedonia had the power to conquer Northern
Greece what would it gain by it.  "It would only put us in inferior position"
says Marjanovic, "since the larger nation always assimilates the smaller one."

On the other hand, Tirana and Skopje are worried by the growing agressivness of
Greece.  The Greek papers and the military authorities threaten military
intervention in Macedonia in case "vital Greek interests are threatened".
There is fear  that the EC is about to create another Serbia on the south of the
Balkans, under Greek pressure.  A Balkan war would be an invitation for
Bulgaria and Albania, and possibly Turkey and Hungary to enter the "theater."

THE SLAVIC-ISLAMIC BELT.  In the old part of Skopje the Albanians give the
main accent.  Their white hats look like dug-out Holland cheese.  The Gypsy
children mingle through the narrow streets and gather around the tables at
noon to collect the table scraps.  The hojas call for prayer through the
loudspeakers at the mosques.  Further northeast,  around Kumanovo,  live forty
thousand Serbs.  Greeks, Turks, Hungarians and Vlachs fill the Macedonian
mixture.

There have not been major ethnic problems so far.  The young premier, Branko
Crvenkovski,  was able to form the new government without the help of the
nationalist.  Saso Ordanovski says that it was a mistake not to include the
Serbs by name as one of the nationalities in the new constitution.  But the
government is a guarantee for the internal stability.  He does not expect any
more obstruction from the five hundred thousand Albanians.  The Albanians
have more than twenty members in the parlament and 5 ministers in the
government.  One of them is vise president,  another finance minister.

"Macedonia is a model for the participation of minorities in the government,"
says Ordanovski.  Like Marjanovic, he thinks that this model may inflame the
oppressed minorities in Greek Macedonia.

Athens denies the existence of a Slavic Macedonian minority in Greek
Macedonia.  On the market in Thessaloniki  the vendors praise their products
in Greek, Turkish and Slavic languages.  In reality, the Greeks became a
majority in Thessaloniki only recently.  In the beginning of the century the
Jews and the Turks were more numerous in than the Greeks, Macedonians, Albanians,
Armenians and Gypsies.  In 1913 Thessaloniki had 157 899 inhabitants,
including 61 439 Jews, 45 899 Turks and 39 956 Greeks.  The fall of the
Turkish empire, the Greek-Turkish population exchanges and the destruction of
the Jews during World War II destroyed the ethnic structure of this
essentially oriental city.  After the Greek civil war in 1949 the Greek
majority in Thessaloniki became a reality.  Now after the fall of the Soviet
empire the old demons reappeared in Northern Greece.  She feels surrounded by
enemies  Albania, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Russia.  Under the White Tower crowd
Poles, Russians, Chechs, arriving in full buses.  "Economically speaking, the
Greeks need to have reasonable relations with Macedonia,"  says Ordanovski.
If few years ago someone asked the Macedonians if they would rather enter into
a confederation with Greece or Bulgaria the majority would have chosen Greece.
The Greeks closed this door shut now.  They are pushing us toward Albania,
Bulgaria and Turkey,  the states that recognized the independence of
Macedonia."  Greece always wanted to prevent the building of a Slavic-Islamic
belt that would cut them off from Europe.  It is hard to comprehend why are
they promoting such belt now.  Albania and Turkey are planing to cooperate
militarily,  Bulgaria is praised by Turkey for its support of Skopje.  An
autobahn connecting Tirana, Skopje Sofia and Istanbul is in the planning.

THE AMERICAN HAND:  When the Turkish president Turgut Ozal visited Washington
in March of 1992 he did not hide the fact that the present situation presents
an opportunity for revival of the Turkish economic, diplomatic and cultural
influence on the Balkan states that were part of the Ottoman empire.  This
evolution did not pass unnotticed by the American diplomacy.  The US play the
Turkish hand as the key stabilizing nation in this region threatened by war.
The Greeks will find themselves in a tight spot when the US,  that already
establishing diplomatic channels with Tirana,  Skopje and Sofia,  recognizes
Macedonia after the elections.

Thats at least what the American foreign minister Lawrence Eagleburger
promised Kiro Gligorov.  There are even rumors that the Russian president
Boris Yeltsin recognized Macedonia under pressure from Washington.

"The EC carries major responsibility for the destabilization of Macedonia and
the rest of the Balkans"  says Ordanovski.  They warned the Albanians from
Kosovo, Albania and Macedonia that they will not get any support in changing
the borders by force or forming a Great Albania.  The maintaining of the
present borders is a prerequisite for maintaining the peace. A major conflict
between the Serbs and the Albanians on Kosovo would create a flood of Albanian
refugees in Macedonia.

That would disturb the balance in Macedonia and would push our republic into a
civil war.  Right now there are 35 000 refugees here and that is too much for
a poor country with 250 000 unemployed.  If a war comes to Macedonia it would
be provoked from outside.  We have a lot of enemies that like nothing better
than to provoke a war in Macedonia.  What we want is an open Macedonia which
maintains good relations with all neighboring countries and is integrated in
the European Community.

						      Piet De Moor