What’s in a name?....(like MACEDONIA)

Originaly posted on myspace, Friday, December 14, 2007

What's in a name? Well, it could be as little as just a name, simply, or a whole lot more.
Take the name "Macedonia" for example. Anyone with a basic education would know it for being a province or part of northern Greece and birthplace of Aristotle and his most known student, Alexander the Great. So it goes without saying that Macedonia is Greece and that Alexander was Greek and so on.

But you see, there are those that have chosen to ignore those facts. I'm talking about The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. FYROM in short. Just because Yugoslav dictator Tito told them in 1945 that they should be "Macedonians", they now think they are.

Tito's plan was to instill a "Macedonian" consciousness in his southernmost province of Vardarska (their real name) hoping that one day he'd be able to annex the Greek geographical region of Macedonia to Yugoslavia and by doing so gain direct access to the Mediterranean for his communist friends in the north-east. It didn't happen.

However, the FYROM, after claiming their well deserved independence in 1991, started using that name and demanding to make it their own. (And I have to admit, they have done and continue to do some first rate propaganda towards that end, or "Skopaganda" as I like to call it...!!!)

They want to be Macedonians who speak the Macedonian language and are descendants of Alexander. That's all very nice except for one thing, to be Macedonian means you have to also be Greek. You see, Macedonians where and still are and speak Greek, not Slav. Not that there is anything wrong with being Slav of course. It's just that history has been written and it can not change to accommodate the new state's whims.

As far as I know, the Yugoslavian Military Encyclopedia lists the ancestors of the present FYROM inhabitants as Slavs, people of the first Slavic tribes of Brsjaci, Dragudati, Smoljani, Rinhini, Velegiziti and others, that arrived in the area in the 6th century AD. Do you see anything "Macedonian" there?

Building a nation on falsehoods, as Greece's northern neighbors are attempting to do, is like building on sand. Eventually the structure collapses and destroys the very people it was meant to protect and nurture.

The name Macedonia is an integral part of the historic and cultural legacy of all Greeks. Macedonia's history, including its name, was not, is not, and can NEVER become a negotiable commodity for any reason. Too bad Greek politicians seem to have overlooked that. Or they just don't care enough as long as they have their prestigious seat in the parliament, but more on them later.

President G.W. Bush and the United States recognized FYROM as Macedonia. However, I do not see what right do they have to do so. The U.S.A have a history of what, roughly 300 - 400 years? And they never had to defend their homes, their family, their land or their language and way of life in general. Same can be said for Steven Harper and Canada.

So how can they tell Greece to give up part of the history it has fought for, for thousands of years to preserve, is beyond my capacity for understanding.

I'm willing to bet that had this been an American "problem", they would've dealt with it swiftly, forcefully and with only outcome their victory.

Greece on the other hand, has a history of over 4.000 years. We have fought to preserve our history, language, heritage, religion and way of life for millennia. Every inch of Greek earth has been moistened with the blood of Greeks dying to preserve it for the future generations. So YES, we have every god damned right to be angry and to not want to share or lend our glorious and bitter history to plagiarists and felons. If Mr. Bush doesn't understand that, then he either does not know any history other than american history or he does not care about world peace as much as he says he does.
(yes I know...I'm shocked too!!!!)

So he makes the UN do the work .

Not that the UN is any better at making decisions. I could state examples but I don't think it is necessary. They appointed as President of the General Assembly a certain Mr. Srgjan Kerim. Now this man is from the FYROM. And to the best of my knowledge, to be a president you have to belong to a state that already is a member in good standing in the UN.
FYROM's candidature is pending approval.

To show how impartial and objective he is, Mr Kerim addressed as "President of the Republic of Macedonia" the president of FYROM !!!!!! Two or three times I believe and while talking to the general assembly in the UN!!!!

Now in my book, Mr. S. Kerim's behavior, demonstrates utter contempt and no respect for the United Nations, and Security Council Resolutions 817 and 843. I see a clear conflict of interest in Mr. Kerim continuing to serve as President of the General Assembly don't you think? Then again, it seems to me that FYROM never cared what anyone says,
especially what the UN says.

And as long as the UN doesn't see or doesn't condemn all the violations the FYROM makes, everything is good for them.

One indication that the FYROM never cared about changing its name, even agreeing to a composite name, is that its e-mail address in the UN is MACEDONIA@UN.INT, Uumm..shouldn't that be FYROM@UN.INT? ??
Isn't that the name the UN asked them to use until a resolution to the name dispute has been found? If they want to join the UN, shouldn't they abide by the UN's rules at the very least to show good faith? There are so many examples that I will not go into further details to mention for the simple fact that doing so will only piss me off even more.

Unfortunately, all this is pointless unless I address the bigger cause of all this.
The Greek government!!!, regardless of political parties, since they all did ... NOTHING to avert or prevent the situation!!!!

Back in 1991 when the FYROM left Yugoslavia to form their own independent state, and demanded to be called Republic of Macedonia, the Greek government should have said HELL NO to that name. Loudly, strongly NO! But these are politically correct times. Greece wanted to be "correct" and so they did nothing drastic about it thinking everyone knows our history, they will not get away with this. Bad news folks. Seems that not everyone has studied history. If the Greek government had been more firm in their dealings with FYROM in the beginning, all this mess would have been averted.

All they had to do was say NO!. Just a simple, solid and authoritative NO! No talks, no compound names, no investments, no trade, no nothing. Withhold your trade and investments, use them as weapons. You want to steal our history, then don't look to us for help. Instead, Greece has become FYROM's biggest investor and trade partner. Because we want the world leaders to know that we "play nice", (nice going boys!! Doing a hell of a job there.....) except that this is NOT a time to play nice.

Meanwhile, they are trying to make a deal on a "compound name". To hell with any name that has a big "chunk" of Greece in it. And that so they won't appear to be the bad guys?

Hello??...newsflash, FYROM are still making Greeks out to be the bad guys with the funds the Greek government has invested there. They invest their profit from those funds in top-notch propaganda against Greece and lobbyists to coerce world leaders into recognizing them as the Republic of Macedonia (which is so far working beautifully for them.)

And the Greek government is doing what they do best,....next to nothing, AGAIN!!!! In my eyes they are a bunch of voiceless traitors and nothing else for only a traitor would quietly go along with this fiasco. I understand that going against world opinion is not a good thing but hey, do you see G.W. Bush losing any sleep?

I'd rather have my history and name intact and hold my head up high than to backstub my forefathers and the land that gave me life just to be someone's puppet even if that means a short period of disapproval in public opinion. I'm not a fool. I know there would be consequences. But I, just like most Greeks, know that I could sleep like a baby having done the right thing by my homeland, and not by the eyes of.... (Insert world organization or leader of your choice here).

The consequences of loosing this battle will be much worse in the future. Fellow Greeks everywhere, we must all stand together on this. This is no time for petty squabbles, unite your voices and make sure the Greek government knows we don't approve of the way they're doing things. If we do nothing, then we're as much traitors to our land and our history as they are. Let's remind them that ultimately: the people have the power over their government, not the government over their people.

Until the final round of talks at the UN in April 2008, remember this: Nowhere on earth but in Greece can there exist a Macedonia.