Australian position on Macedonia

[Brian]

Are these the reason for the change in Australia's position?

Aussie Document: Greece eventually will have to accept the use of 'Macedonian'

http://macedoniaonline.eu/content/view/20414/1/

23 February 2012
An internal Australian government document released to the Australian Macedonian Human Rights Committee (AMHRC) under the Freedom of Information Act reveals that in relation to the use of the term 'Macedonian', the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAT) advises that:

"…Greece eventually will have to accept the use of 'Macedonian' to describe nationality and ethnicity" (Ministerial Submission, 09-1054, 26/05/2009, page 12).

The confidential and frank Ministerial Submission prepared by DFAT for the Minister for Foreign Affairs provided background information and advice on the "name issue" between Macedonia and Greece. The document, although heavily redacted on alleged national security grounds, also contains information on the 1994 'Slav Macedonian Directive' which renamed the Macedonian community. The brief claimed that a change in the Australian Government's 'Slav Macedonian' policy might lead to a reaction from the Greek government and Greek community in Australia "who would fear a subsequent change in policy on the country name" and that a change in policy would "advantage" the Republic of Macedonia (Ministerial Submission, 09-1054, 26/05/2009, page 11-12).

On 13 February 2012, the Australian Macedonian Human Rights Committee (AMHRC) announced that after a sustained lobbying campaign, the Australian Government finally withdrew its discriminatory and racist 'Slav Macedonian' Directive which renamed the Macedonian community in 1994. The Department of Immigration and Citizenship has also confirmed the re-adoption of the term 'Macedonian' in relation to the Macedonian community.

In relation to Greece's refusal to accept the official name of the Republic of Macedonia, the Australian Government has encouraged both sides to find a mutually acceptable solution to this issue. The Australian Macedonian Human Rights Committee (AMHRC) encourages the Australian Government to convey its own advice to the Government of Greece that it will "eventually have to accept the use of 'Macedonian'. This advice should also be extended to include the inevitable acceptance of the recognition by Greece of the Republic of Macedonia's right to its democratically chosen name.

Over 130 countries (two-thirds of UN members) recognise the official name of Republic of Macedonia in their bilateral relationships. Despite the fact that all of Australia's major allies have recognised the Republic of Macedonia (eg. USA, UK, Canada) as well as other powers such as Russia, China and India, Canberra continues to use the so-called 'provisional reference' which was only intended for "all purposes within the United Nations", 'pending resolution of the so called name issue'.

Whilst the AMHRC is pleased with the Australian Government's current shift in policy toward the Macedonian community, it now reiterates its call upon the Government to take the sensible step of recognising the Republic of Macedonia by its democratically chosen name. We also reiterate our call upon the Macedonian government to end all name 'negotiations' with Greece.

UMD calls for opening of Australian embassy in Skopje

http://www.mia.com.mk/default.aspx?vId=91588546&lId=2

Melbourne, 24 February 2012 (MIA) - As a result of its submission to the Inquiry into Australia's Overseas Representation on 28 November 2011, the United Macedonian Diaspora - UMD (Australia) was invited to a public hearing by the Parliament of Australia, Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade, in Melbourne on Thursday.

The hearing enabled the Committee to gain in-depth information from UMD Australia on the recommendations for improving Australia's diplomatic impact. In particular, the Committee was interested in UMD's views on the activities that Australia's diplomatic posts must undertake; their geographic location and spread; the appropriate level of staffing including locally engaged staff; and the affect of e-diplomacy and information and communication technology on the activities of diplomatic posts.

In the opening address, UMD Australia's Director of Australian Outreach Ordan Andreevski congratulated the Committee for initiating this timely and important inquiry, welcomed the Macedonian Consul General in Melbourne Savo Sibinoski as a special guest and gave a brief overview on the history, reach and impact of UMD in Australia, Canada and the USA.

"Australia's overseas representation and its ability to deliver soft power and better diplomatic, social, economic and international outcomes can be enhanced through fresh thinking, new leadership and new investments in strategy, operations and stakeholder engagement. This transformation can be enhanced and sustained if Australia's overseas representation is made a higher priority in the Australian federal budget and if it is expanded in neglected regions like South Eastern Europe in general and the Republic of Macedonia in particular", said Andreevski.

He noted, "Australia should recognise the Republic of Macedonia under its constitutional name and open an embassy in Skopje and a Consulate General in Bitola in 2012".

[Momce Makedonce]

First time I am hearing about this man who gave an interview about the Macedonian issue to an Australian radio station a few years ago I believe. He speaks very well and perfectly portrays our side of the story. His name is Victor Bivell and is apparently a Macedonian from Western Australia.


Australian Macedonians push for human rights in Greece ( Interview with the Australian Macedonian Victor Bivell )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qybTMMWhRfI

[George S.]

mm sentiments exactly there are some good Macedonians around who are active and want to do something.

[Vangelovski]

First time I am hearing about this man who gave an interview about the Macedonian issue to an Australian radio station a few years ago I believe. He speaks very well and perfectly portrays our side of the story. His name is Victor Bivell and is apparently a Macedonian from Western Australia.


Australian Macedonians push for human rights in Greece ( Interview with the Australian Macedonian Victor Bivell )
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qybTMMWhRfI

Victor runs/owns Pollitecon Publications:

http://www.pollitecon.com/

He's actually from Sydney as far as I know.

[Momce Makedonce]

Victor runs/owns Pollitecon Publications:

http://www.pollitecon.com/

He's actually from Sydney as far as I know.

Yes I think thats true from what I read. Born in W.A and then moved to Sydney later on.

[George S.]

Austalia has bowed to threek lobby pressure only recognizing us as fyrom or slavs.

[Soldier of Macedon]

Austalia has bowed to threek lobby pressure only recognizing us as fyrom or slavs.

It would have been ideal for Australia to recognise Macedonia given the significant Macedonian community here. But truth be told it is Macedonia who has bowed to Greek pressure. If the Macedonian government asserted itself at the UN then Australia (and most other countries in the world) would have no choice but to recognise Macedonia by its national name. Australia's position is that it will take its cue from the UN.

[makedonche]

SOM

" Australia's position is that it will take its cue from the UN."

Which begs the question, WTF are Macedonia's politicians waiting for, lodge an application with the UN, roll the dice and get a resolution.....or stop pretending to have Macedonia's interests at heart.......and also stop taking money for a job half done!

[Nikola]

Australian MP voices Macedonians Anger after FM Bishop Letter

Luke Simpkins, member of Australian Parliament from the ruling Liberal Party, was harshly critical in Parliament on Tuesday, following a letter from Foreign Minister Julie Bishop in which she said that Australia will continue to address Macedonia under the temporary reference name “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”.

Bishop gave her response ten days ago, after an organization representing ethnic Macedonians living in western Australia asked her and the Tony Abbott Government, to change the long held Australian position, which is influenced by pressure from ethnic Greek Australians. The negative response from Bishop angered the Macedonian community in Australia, and Simpkins, who represents a district in Perth with a significant Macedonian community, expressed this outrage.

The issue I speak of is that of the failure of successive Federal governments to call the Republic of Macedonia by its constitutional name. On every occasion that the ‘name issue’ comes up with those Australians of Macedonian heritage, some 100,000, they feel insulted by this country’s continued use of the term, ‘former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia’. Yugoslavia itself ceased to exist some 20 years ago and our country continues to be locked in the past. There is no doubt that both sides of Australian politics are ultimately fearful that this one issue will somehow galvanise the Australian Greek community into a block vote against whoever makes this change to recognise the Republic of Macedonia. Of course there are a handful of Australians of Greek heritage that do contact MPs talking about how many votes would be lost by whoever made such a change, but it remains a handful and despite the talking, there are not enough people that would vote only on this issue to affect the result in a single electorate. It is tragic that literally a handful of nationalists can exert such power as to control the foreign policy of this nation”, Simpkins told Parliament.

Simpkins acknowledged that most Greek Australians are not captive by this paranoid fear that, if Australia would use the Macedonian constitutional name, Greece would somehow lose part of its territory. But, Simpkins added, a small and vocal group of Greek nationalists maintains this pressure, and makes sure that Australia remains in a very small group of nations that continue to use the interim reference to refer to Macedonia. This pressure, Simpkins said, keeps Australia on the other side of the issue from its traditional allies like the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada.

Simpkins points out that Greece has made it clear it has no intention to solve the name issue, makes no concessions in the discussions, fails to respect the verdict of the International Court of Justice, and even has designs to cause instability in the region, as evidenced by the statement made by former Prime Minister Andonis Samaras that for Greece the best solution to the issue would be if Macedonia fell apart in inter*ethnic strife. In her letter, addressed to Chris Angelkov, Vice President of the Macedonian Community in Western Australia organization, Minister Bishop writes that Australia will continue to use the temporary reference contained in the 1995 Interim Accord.

All credit to: http://macedoniaonline.eu/content/view/27132/45/

[Nikola]

As a Macedonian who lives in Perth/Australia I'm appalled that we have still not been recognized by our constitutional name, especially seeing as most of Australia's main allies (UK, America, Canada) have recognized us, I feel as if it is parties acting for their own interests other than the interests of the country (Australia), however I'm still glad that we have some sort of voice in Australia, even if that is only because the particular electorate has many Macedonian voters.

[kompir]

What Macedonians in Australia fail by and large to realise, is that third and fourth generation Greek Australians are well entrenched within the power structures within Australia. As a result of this position of power they have, they are able to sway both sides of the political coin to do their bidding. And because siding with the Greeks doesn't affect the budget bottom line, they both willingly play ball.

[Vangelovski]

What Macedonians in Australia fail by and large to realise, is that third and fourth generation Greek Australians are well entrenched within the power structures within Australia. As a result of this position of power they have, they are able to sway both sides of the political coin to do their bidding. And because siding with the Greeks doesn't affect the budget bottom line, they both willingly play ball.

This is a key factor and yes, most Macedonians in Australia don't understand how Australian politics (or politics in general) work. Even if the Greek community did not have the advantage in terms of numbers, their active participation within the party system, large scale donations and personal relationships with party members at all levels would allow them to dominate the agenda when it comes to the Macedonian community. Macedonians think that their place is as servants of the state rather than active participants and co-owners (in Australia) and their role is to ask for patronage from their rulers rather than become part of the ruling system and work to achieve their political goals.

[Nikola]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNjE1f2RMQs&t=25

Video of Simpkins speech in parliament.

[DedoAleko]

Australia urged to change official names for Macedonia, Burma

The blast of air horns filled a stadium on the other side of the world, as anxious Socceroos fans watched Macedonian players make a quick-flash break from the touchline.

Down the right, across the middle, the speedy Macedonians looked a threat on goal until an Australian defender butted the ball away from danger.

The result was a stalemate – at full time, a scoreless draw.


Macedonians in Skopje send protest cards in 2004 to the Council of Europe to promote the constitutional name of the Republic of Macedonia. Photo: AFP

But Australian supporters tuning in to this friendly match early Tuesday morning may have noticed the opposition actually had a little something extra. Three obscure letters at the start of the team name: "FYR Macedonia".

The presence of those three letters rankles Macedonia's government in the capital Skopje much more than a lowly world ranking of 108 for the country's football team. Every child is taught the "sticks and stones" defence to name-calling, yet it is clear countries feel real hurt from what they are called.

The letters stand for "former Yugoslav Republic". Croatia, Serbia and the other remnants of what was once Yugoslavia each bear names of their choice – but more than two decades after declaring independence, Skopje remains locked in an interminable dispute with neighbour Greece over the right to be known simply as "Republic of Macedonia". The dispute is more than symbolism; Greece has refused to accept Macedonia into NATO or the European Union until the name question is resolved.
The dispute has even spilled into diplomatic relations with Australia, sharply dividing local communities – but only as one of several prickly challenges the Abbott government must confront in deciding what names to bestow on countries and places around the world.

"Common sense tells us that we should not continue to burden a country with a name that it hates," Labor backbencher Alannah MacTiernan complained in Parliament last week about Australia's longstanding – and bipartisan – insistence in official dealings on the name FYROM, as Macedonia is presently known at the United Nations.

FYR Macedonia is used by the international football federation and other global sports organisations, and by most European nations too.

Yet Britain, Canada and the United States have gone the other way, brushing off Greek concerns about territory in northern Greece also known as "Macedonia", and formally abandoned references to Yugoslavia in their diplomatic relations with Skopje.

Western Australian Liberal MP Luke Simpkins – who shot to national prominence this year as one of the first backbenchers to call for a spill motion against Prime Minister Tony Abbott – wants Australia to follow suit. Simpkins warned last month that the more than 100,000 Australians of Macedonian heritage feel deeply "insulted" by Australia's policy – although Peter Jasonides of the Australian Hellenic Council says the real insult would be for Australia to make any change.

The government maintains Australia's use of FYROM is "temporary", and will continue only until Skopje and Athens find a resolution. That stalemate seems unlikely to soon break.

Greece's ambassador in Canberra, Charalampos Dafaranos, praises Australia for taking "a very good position". His Macedonian counterpart, Vele Trpevski, disagrees. "Yugoslavia died a long time ago," Trpevski says.

The sensitivities of name choices became obvious last year when Attorney-General George Brandis made a clumsy attempt to drop the word "Occupied" from the government's description of East Jerusalem.

While some in Israel applauded, Arab countries quickly muttered about a cost to Australia's agricultural trade. The government soon clarified there was no change.

Australia also got into a tangle after the 1970s about the choice of "Kampuchea" or "Cambodia" during the rule of the Khmer Rouge and then the Vietnamese-sponsored regime, and escaped the conundrum by recognising countries, not regimes.

But this strategy has now opened another challenge in the region. Former foreign minister Bob Carr decided in 2012 to reward newly reinstated political freedoms in Burma by officially recognising the name "Myanmar", an ancient description for the country adopted by its military rulers.

But the Coalition switched back again, puzzling the government in the capital Naypyidaw and analysts alike. "An inexplicable retrograde step that can only have harmed Australia's interests, both in Burma and the region," says Andrew Selth, a country specialist and close observer.

However,the change back to calling the country Burma hasn't been complete, leading to seemingly bizarre contortions in official documents to distinguish the government from the country. In February, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop announced a new ambassador "to the Republic of the Union of Myanmar" (the country's formal title) and praising the "Myanmar government".

But in the same statement, Bishop went on to explain "Burma is now one of south-east Asia's fastest growing economies".

Britain resolves naming disputes by taking advice from the little-known "Permanent Committee on Geographical Names", established in 1919 and made up surveyors, water experts, diplomats and military officials. The committee is hang-over from days of Empire, where Britain had naming responsibilities across the globe. On Burma, the guidance is "Myanmar". On Macedonia, the committee states: "This is the name used by the state itself and is used by the UK for all bilateral purposes." Britain continues to refer to FYROM in international forums, such as the UN.

The loosely equivalent Committee for Geographical Names of Australasia has responsibility only for place names in Australia and New Zealand. Sensitive decisions on what to call other countries still rests with the government, advised by the diplomats.

No one wants to lose in this game.

izvor: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politi...04-1mcg3q.html

[Soldier of Macedon]

Even if the Greek community did not have the advantage in terms of numbers, their active participation within the party system, large scale donations and personal relationships with party members at all levels would allow them to dominate the agenda when it comes to the Macedonian community.

This is certainly one of the bigger problems. While there are some Macedonians and Macedonian organisations that have made progress by influencing Australian politics, as a community I think we have some way to go before we can adequately counter the negativity of Greek chauvinists who have wormed their opinions into the perceptions of Australian politicians.