--Nations cannot be created and prosper on borrowed or stolen foundations
of
false cultural identities. Neither can democracy survive by replacing
historic
vision with revision of history. I fully support the existence of
this
country north of Greece with the interim name of The FYROM. I
support her
efforts to join the EU and NATO, provided her official name does not
include
the term "Macedonia" or its derivatives. Further, I harbor
no animosity or
any ill feelings towards the FYROM's citizens or her Diaspora. My
only
objection is to their use of the name of "Macedonia", which
belongs
exclusively to the Hellenic identity, culture, history and heritage and I
condemn the continued propaganda emanating from The FYROM falsifying the
Hellenic heritage of Macedonia.
--The very name Macedonia has been Hellenic for millennia. In the Hellenic
language it has a particular meaning. It is not Slavic; it is not Russian,
English, German or Chinese. Our friends and neighbors in FYROM have indeed
the
right to call themselves anything they want provided that they do not
infringe
on the rights of others. That is the way democracy works. If they want to
be
part of democratic Europe they must respect the rules of law and
democracy.
Even if the whole world recognizes them as Macedonians, they will never be
Macedonians if Greece does not recognize them as such.
-- The composition of the population in the Skopje area creates a risk of
the
provocation of renewed ethnic conflict in the Balkans. The Albanians who
make
up one third of the total population of the Skopje Republic have already
made
plain their objections to the Skopje government and have demanded
self-determination. In the event of recognition, the lack of homogeneity
in
the population of the Skopje Republic (which includes Albanians, Turks,
Vlachs, Gypsies, Bulgarians, Serbs and others) could lead to one of the
minorities gaining dominance over the others - with consequences which are
impossible to predict. Recently Albanian leaders strongly objected to the
existing national anthem of the FYROM which lauds and glorifies heroes of
the FYROM, such as Gotse Deltchev (actually he was Bulgarian) and rather
adopt classical music for a common anthem. Therefore the name should not
be
a composite one that only Therefore the name should not be a composite one
that only includes the Slavs but also the other major minority, the
Albanians.
Albanoslavia, or rather Slavoalbania would be a proper name for the
country,
since the predominant ethnicity are the Slavs. Such a name would play a
unifying role in the area, and it wouldn't bear the divisive element that
Macedonia and Macedonian actually do carry.
Sincerely,
Dr. Nectaria Gizani
