Macedonia faces delay in the EU as Greece is dragged screaming to the principal´s office
Alexandra AleksovskaDecember 17, 2009
When you are a little kid at school – you are afraid of the principal. You see him as some kind of ogre who is responsible for punishing both kids and teachers. When you get to high school you realize that principals are much more vulnerable and struggle to maintain order with students and keep teachers from killing each other. When you get to university you almost feel sorry for principals when you realize they were jaded ex-teachers stuck at the top of their job ladder counting down the days to retirement.
But apparently principals have a new career path. In the EU it seems, principals are allowed to dictate accession conditions to candidate countries. Don´t believe me? The Australian 'Macedonian' Advisory Council´s recent article "FYROM´s inability to adhere to EU principals ends in delay of accession talks" seems to indicate so. And you were thinking principals were there to council children about not smoking on school premises!
Apart from their inability to tell the difference between the words ´principal´ and ´principle´, the Australian 'Macedonian' Advisory Council has some other interesting characteristics. It isn´t 'Macedonian' (as most of the world understands it) but is actually rabidly Greek. It isn´t really Australian in that most of it´s handful of people that comment on its website are from other countries. It doesn´t really 'advise' as much as it cuts and pastes from other Greek propaganda sites and it really isn´t a 'council' in that until a few months ago it wasn´t a registered organization and it solely consisted of a bulletin board. So it´s real name should probably be something like 'Global Greek Cut and Paste Bulletin Board´ – but lets get back to their article.
They tried to portray the delay of the EU´s Macedonian accession discussion until March as an EU mandate for Greece´s position on Macedonia. Nothing could be further from the truth. The EU has merely postponed a discussion. Statements that have emerged from the discussions show that the EU was split on the issue – pretty much France and Greece against the rest of Europe. It is true that Greece opposed it, but another part of the issue is that it is close to the end of an EU presidency in 2 weeks and that it may be better to discuss it in the next presidency that is about to start.
But the delay may provide time for other events to help break the deadlock. On 20 January 2010, Greece needs to appear before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to answer whether or not it has violated the 1995 Interim Accord with Macedonia. Macedonia took them to court after the last time they obstructed Macedonia´s accession to an international organization. There has been no legal reason for Greek obstruction.
You see Macedonia has already bought Greek cooperation for its entry into NATO and the EU. They bought it in 1995. Article 11 of the 1995 Interim Accord states:
11. Upon entry into force of this Interim Accord, the Party of the First Part (i.e. Greece) agrees not to object to the application by or the membership of the Party of the Second Part (i.e. Macedonia) in international, multilateral and regional organizations and institutions of which the Party of the First Party is a member (ie. NATO and the EU)
In obtaining this agreement, Macedonia agreed to change its flag and alter its constitution to appease its neighbor – something that no other nation has done. It also was required to apply for registration to international organizations under the temporary designation – which Macedonia has done for both NATO and the EU. Greece has not held up its side of the bargain. All Greece was required to do was to "not to object to" Macedonia´s entry into international organizations. Greece has repeatedly objected.
In 2008 Greece objected to Macedonia´s entry to NATO. That is what sparked this current court case. The ICJ will look for evidence of Greek objections to Macedonia´s entry into international organizations. They won´t have to look far.
The Greek foreign minister at the time, Dora Bakoyannis stated in the Greek media:
"It should be clear that no Greek government can accept the existence of a so-called Macedonian ethnicity, identity and language. This was in fact the spirit of the NATO summit veto"
Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis boasted about Greece´s veto:"Raising a veto at the NATO Alliance was a case that required boldness and courage."
If we are to believe the two politicians responsible for the NATO veto – they both claimed that they exercised a veto and this veto was exercised because they can´t accept a Macedonian identity. This is the real problem.
We don´t have to look far to see more evidence that this is really about ethnicity. The UN, and each major global human rights organization, has stated that Greece has a Macedonian minority. Greece denies they exist. Greece is afraid of acknowledging them – they dislike the idea of a Macedonian ethnicity in Greece and in Macedonia. There appears no way of satisfying Greece short of renaming ourselves, our country and our language something else to appease them. This is ridiculous – but it is what Greece is really seeking.
The so-called 'name problem' is not going to go away. Anybody who has seen what Greek politicians say in Greek media knows it is nothing about a name. It is about Macedonian identity. Greece is insisting on the changes being made in every public building, on passports, the name of the language, even how people refer to themselves and is trying to dictate how the 127 countries who use Macedonia´s constitutional name refer to Macedonia. Even if Macedonia changed its name as part of a deal – who can trust the Greek government not to seek more of the Macedonian identity next time? They got Macedonia´s flag changed in 1995 and reneged on that deal. Macedonia got nothing out of it; Greece got Macedonia´s flag for free.
If you can´t accept someone´s identity you are denying their human rights. Greece is abusing its positions in both NATO and the EU in order to force a denial of human rights upon a neighboring country. It can also be argued that Greece is trying to force Macedonia to change its constitutional name – which is outside the context of the original UN process. The original agreement related to the name used at the UN – not the constitutional name.
What can the ICJ do? Well the ICJ has no power to make anything binding on a nation. It does however have influence on the UN – it is the UN´s court. If the ICJ shows that Greece has failed to abide by the Interim Accord, we can use this, with our friends, to launch a motion in the UN to allow our membership under our constitutional name. Macedonia has 127 countries supporting it; Greece has 14. If this resolution were to go to the UN, the UN name issue would be instantly solved. With no argument in the UN about Macedonia´s name – the NATO and EU issues would disappear. It is very doubtful that either NATO or the EU would create a 'NATO use' name or an 'EU use' name merely to appease nationalist sentiments in Greece, one of their weakest and poorest members.
This would probably suit the current Greek government. The issue is burning a lot of goodwill in NATO and the EU. Given Greece´s opposition to NATO policies in Serbia and Afghanistan and the fact that they contribute very little militarily to the alliance, the type of drama they are creating in NATO is not endearing them to the others. In the EU, Greece´s lying in relation to the true nature of its economy has burnt a lot of goodwill. If the Macedonia issue is taken out of the Greek government´s hands – it enables Greek public opinion to blame "world powers" rather than their government. Greek PM Papandreou can give a speech about NATO or EU betrayal then get back on with trying to dig Greece out of its economic hole.
Maybe the Australian 'Macedonian' (actually Greek) Advisory Council was correct when they misused the word ´principal´. Although rather than the ´EU Principal´ – it is technically the ´UN Principal´, as on 20 January Greece is being dragged to the UN´s ´principal´s office´ to explain themselves. An ICJ judgment against Greece will further show the injustice that Macedonia is suffering. The world is on our side; France´s token (and paid by military contract) support aside – Greece is isolated on this issue.
We don´t need to sacrifice our identity to participate in international organizations with the rest of the world. Greek denial of our identity has gone back a century – and this is just the latest attack. But now have a lot of supporters, and if we stick to the human rights we enjoy - and make sure that we don´t sell these for more empty Greek promises – the world will see the injustices we have suffered. From the first struggles of Macedonian nationalism, the blood spilt by oppressors who denied our existence, and now the abuse of international process by the children of those very same oppressors – we have paid more than almost anybody for our own identity. We should never forget that and soon, with an ICJ judgment in our hands, we can remind the UN of the first sentence of their International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights:
"All peoples have the right of self-determination."
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Alexandra Aleksovska
I am a Macedonian girl in my late 20s. I studied journalism in both Australia and Japan. I have written for a number of major Australian newspapers and magazines and a few Japanese ones.
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Alexandra AleksovskaDecember 17, 2009
When you are a little kid at school – you are afraid of the principal. You see him as some kind of ogre who is responsible for punishing both kids and teachers. When you get to high school you realize that principals are much more vulnerable and struggle to maintain order with students and keep teachers from killing each other. When you get to university you almost feel sorry for principals when you realize they were jaded ex-teachers stuck at the top of their job ladder counting down the days to retirement.
But apparently principals have a new career path. In the EU it seems, principals are allowed to dictate accession conditions to candidate countries. Don´t believe me? The Australian 'Macedonian' Advisory Council´s recent article "FYROM´s inability to adhere to EU principals ends in delay of accession talks" seems to indicate so. And you were thinking principals were there to council children about not smoking on school premises!
Apart from their inability to tell the difference between the words ´principal´ and ´principle´, the Australian 'Macedonian' Advisory Council has some other interesting characteristics. It isn´t 'Macedonian' (as most of the world understands it) but is actually rabidly Greek. It isn´t really Australian in that most of it´s handful of people that comment on its website are from other countries. It doesn´t really 'advise' as much as it cuts and pastes from other Greek propaganda sites and it really isn´t a 'council' in that until a few months ago it wasn´t a registered organization and it solely consisted of a bulletin board. So it´s real name should probably be something like 'Global Greek Cut and Paste Bulletin Board´ – but lets get back to their article.
They tried to portray the delay of the EU´s Macedonian accession discussion until March as an EU mandate for Greece´s position on Macedonia. Nothing could be further from the truth. The EU has merely postponed a discussion. Statements that have emerged from the discussions show that the EU was split on the issue – pretty much France and Greece against the rest of Europe. It is true that Greece opposed it, but another part of the issue is that it is close to the end of an EU presidency in 2 weeks and that it may be better to discuss it in the next presidency that is about to start.
But the delay may provide time for other events to help break the deadlock. On 20 January 2010, Greece needs to appear before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to answer whether or not it has violated the 1995 Interim Accord with Macedonia. Macedonia took them to court after the last time they obstructed Macedonia´s accession to an international organization. There has been no legal reason for Greek obstruction.
You see Macedonia has already bought Greek cooperation for its entry into NATO and the EU. They bought it in 1995. Article 11 of the 1995 Interim Accord states:
11. Upon entry into force of this Interim Accord, the Party of the First Part (i.e. Greece) agrees not to object to the application by or the membership of the Party of the Second Part (i.e. Macedonia) in international, multilateral and regional organizations and institutions of which the Party of the First Party is a member (ie. NATO and the EU)
In obtaining this agreement, Macedonia agreed to change its flag and alter its constitution to appease its neighbor – something that no other nation has done. It also was required to apply for registration to international organizations under the temporary designation – which Macedonia has done for both NATO and the EU. Greece has not held up its side of the bargain. All Greece was required to do was to "not to object to" Macedonia´s entry into international organizations. Greece has repeatedly objected.
In 2008 Greece objected to Macedonia´s entry to NATO. That is what sparked this current court case. The ICJ will look for evidence of Greek objections to Macedonia´s entry into international organizations. They won´t have to look far.
The Greek foreign minister at the time, Dora Bakoyannis stated in the Greek media:
"It should be clear that no Greek government can accept the existence of a so-called Macedonian ethnicity, identity and language. This was in fact the spirit of the NATO summit veto"
Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis boasted about Greece´s veto:"Raising a veto at the NATO Alliance was a case that required boldness and courage."
If we are to believe the two politicians responsible for the NATO veto – they both claimed that they exercised a veto and this veto was exercised because they can´t accept a Macedonian identity. This is the real problem.
We don´t have to look far to see more evidence that this is really about ethnicity. The UN, and each major global human rights organization, has stated that Greece has a Macedonian minority. Greece denies they exist. Greece is afraid of acknowledging them – they dislike the idea of a Macedonian ethnicity in Greece and in Macedonia. There appears no way of satisfying Greece short of renaming ourselves, our country and our language something else to appease them. This is ridiculous – but it is what Greece is really seeking.
The so-called 'name problem' is not going to go away. Anybody who has seen what Greek politicians say in Greek media knows it is nothing about a name. It is about Macedonian identity. Greece is insisting on the changes being made in every public building, on passports, the name of the language, even how people refer to themselves and is trying to dictate how the 127 countries who use Macedonia´s constitutional name refer to Macedonia. Even if Macedonia changed its name as part of a deal – who can trust the Greek government not to seek more of the Macedonian identity next time? They got Macedonia´s flag changed in 1995 and reneged on that deal. Macedonia got nothing out of it; Greece got Macedonia´s flag for free.
If you can´t accept someone´s identity you are denying their human rights. Greece is abusing its positions in both NATO and the EU in order to force a denial of human rights upon a neighboring country. It can also be argued that Greece is trying to force Macedonia to change its constitutional name – which is outside the context of the original UN process. The original agreement related to the name used at the UN – not the constitutional name.
What can the ICJ do? Well the ICJ has no power to make anything binding on a nation. It does however have influence on the UN – it is the UN´s court. If the ICJ shows that Greece has failed to abide by the Interim Accord, we can use this, with our friends, to launch a motion in the UN to allow our membership under our constitutional name. Macedonia has 127 countries supporting it; Greece has 14. If this resolution were to go to the UN, the UN name issue would be instantly solved. With no argument in the UN about Macedonia´s name – the NATO and EU issues would disappear. It is very doubtful that either NATO or the EU would create a 'NATO use' name or an 'EU use' name merely to appease nationalist sentiments in Greece, one of their weakest and poorest members.
This would probably suit the current Greek government. The issue is burning a lot of goodwill in NATO and the EU. Given Greece´s opposition to NATO policies in Serbia and Afghanistan and the fact that they contribute very little militarily to the alliance, the type of drama they are creating in NATO is not endearing them to the others. In the EU, Greece´s lying in relation to the true nature of its economy has burnt a lot of goodwill. If the Macedonia issue is taken out of the Greek government´s hands – it enables Greek public opinion to blame "world powers" rather than their government. Greek PM Papandreou can give a speech about NATO or EU betrayal then get back on with trying to dig Greece out of its economic hole.
Maybe the Australian 'Macedonian' (actually Greek) Advisory Council was correct when they misused the word ´principal´. Although rather than the ´EU Principal´ – it is technically the ´UN Principal´, as on 20 January Greece is being dragged to the UN´s ´principal´s office´ to explain themselves. An ICJ judgment against Greece will further show the injustice that Macedonia is suffering. The world is on our side; France´s token (and paid by military contract) support aside – Greece is isolated on this issue.
We don´t need to sacrifice our identity to participate in international organizations with the rest of the world. Greek denial of our identity has gone back a century – and this is just the latest attack. But now have a lot of supporters, and if we stick to the human rights we enjoy - and make sure that we don´t sell these for more empty Greek promises – the world will see the injustices we have suffered. From the first struggles of Macedonian nationalism, the blood spilt by oppressors who denied our existence, and now the abuse of international process by the children of those very same oppressors – we have paid more than almost anybody for our own identity. We should never forget that and soon, with an ICJ judgment in our hands, we can remind the UN of the first sentence of their International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights:
"All peoples have the right of self-determination."
Print Email
Alexandra Aleksovska
I am a Macedonian girl in my late 20s. I studied journalism in both Australia and Japan. I have written for a number of major Australian newspapers and magazines and a few Japanese ones.
Author's Profile
Author's Other Articles
Author's RSS Feed
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