Yes, there is a name issue with ‘Macedonia’ - Turkish Daily News

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Source: Turkish Daily News

Yes, there is a name issue with ‘Macedonia’

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Fotios Jean XYDAS With reference to the letter from the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia’s (FYROM) Embassy, published in the Turkish Daily News on April 7, 2008, I would like to stress from the outset that Greece, as the region’s oldest NATO and European Union member, wholeheartedly supported the policy of enlargement. That is why we have always been constructive, supportive and practical regarding our neighbors. In the recent Bucharest NATO Summit, Croatia and Albania were invited to join since they were in a position to further the principles of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
At the same time, we were saddened that this was not the case for our other neighbor, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), after a collective decision of the Alliance.

Not an ‘artificial’ problem:

Concerning the FYROM Embassy’s letter, I find it strange that it even questions the fact that there is indeed a “name issue.” Do I have to remind that such an issue was recognized by the Security Council of the United Nations? This is, after all, proven by the fact that for over 15 years our two countries have been involved in U.N.-sponsored negotiations regarding FYROM’s name.

Greece has real and concrete concerns over the issue. It is not an “artificial” problem. It has historical roots, a clear political dimension and its abeyance is negatively affecting good neighborly relations and stability in the region.

What’s in a name, you may ask? A great deal, I can assure you. The term “Macedonia” has always been used to delineate a wider geographical region, approximately 51 percent of which is part of Greece, 38 percent of which is in FYROM and 9 percent of which is in Bulgaria.

The government in Skopje insists on being the sole claimant to the name of an entire area - the largest part of which lies outside its borders - and authorities in FYROM persevere in portraying Greek Macedonia as “occupied” territory. While government leaders declare they have no designs on Greek territory, they refuse to remove such claims from textbooks, state maps and national documents. Only a few weeks ago, the country’s prime minister was photographed laying a wreath on a monument to which a map of the so-called “Greater Macedonia” was attached that incorporated a considerable part of northern Greece, including Greece’s second-largest city, Thessaloniki. Moreover, it has recently decided to rename the international airport of Skopje “Alexander the Great.”

Despite those negative attitudes, Greece, in parallel to the negotiations regarding FYROM’s name, has spared no effort in responding in FYROM’s quest for economic growth and political stability. Greece is the country’s largest foreign investor, with over $1 billion invested and more than 20,000 jobs created in the last decade, and is one of its biggest trade partners.

Presently, and regardless of the Bucharest summit’s outcome, Greece is determined to continue on the same path and is willing to assist the people of FYROM, for which the Greek people continue to demonstrate their strong feelings for peaceful co-existence and friendship.

Encouraged by positive messages:

In the aftermath of the Bucharest NATO Summit, I would prefer to focus on the positive messages that were conveyed to the leadership and to the people of FYROM by Greek Prime Minister Mr. Costas Karamanlis and Foreign Minister Mrs. Bakoyannis. Encouraged by the vast support of our friends and allies, we are determined to restart the negotiations, in order to achieve a mutually accepted solution over the name.

I strongly believe that this is no time for polemics. If FYROM has the political will to engage in these U.N. sponsored negotiations, it should refrain from raising unlawful issues of the past as inaccurately as our friends from the FYROM Embassy did with their recent letter.

As a final remark, I would like to stress that the vast majority of the Greek people and all political parties support the renewed efforts for negotiations and the positive messages addressed by the Greek leadership to the people of FYROM. We expect that our neighboring country will demonstrate the same positive attitude and move toward the necessary compromise.

Fotios Jean Xydas is the Ambassador of Greece to Ankara.

 

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