Macedonia & Greece: Name Issue

[Niko777]

Skopje "Alexander the Great" Airport to be renamed "Skopje International Airport"

They didn't even have the willingness to rename it to "Gotse Delchev"

Article: https://www.mkd.mk/makedonija/politi...erodrom-skopje

[vicsinad]

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-macedonia-greece/macedonia-says-ready-to-change-its-name-and-end-row-with-greece-idUSKBN1FQ2OY?utm_campaign=trueAnthem:+Trending+Content&utm_content=5a79fb3604d3015fa9187ed9&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter

Zaev agrees to a geographical qualifier.

Macedonia says ready to change its name and end row with Greece


SKOPJE (Reuters) - Macedonia is ready to add a geographical qualifier to its name to help resolve a dispute with Greece that has held up its prospects of joining the European Union and NATO, Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said on Tuesday.


Macedonia joined the United Nations in 1993 with the provisional name “The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” because its neighbor Greece objected to the one-word name saying it implied a territorial claim to a Greek province of the same name.
“I would like the negotiations (with Greece) to succeed ... We are ready for a geographical qualifier in the name,” he told reporters in the capital Skopje on Tuesday.

[vicsinad]

Skopje "Alexander the Great" Airport to be renamed "Skopje International Airport"

They didn't even have the willingness to rename it to "Gotse Delchev"

Article: https://www.mkd.mk/makedonija/politi...erodrom-skopje

Because didn't you know, Goce Delchev belongs to Bulgaria's history and not Macedonia's?

[Odi Zvezdo]

Because didn't you know, Goce Delchev belongs to Bulgaria's history and not Macedonia's?

ZZ will proudly name the Airport in due course after one of Upper Macedonia's national heroes....Ali Ahmeti!!!

[Phoenix]

Skopje "Alexander the Great" Airport to be renamed "Skopje International Airport"

They didn't even have the willingness to rename it to "Gotse Delchev"

Article: https://www.mkd.mk/makedonija/politi...erodrom-skopje

‘Delchev International’ has a nice ring about it...but as Vic has mentioned it’s probably another piece of our identity that ZZ has given up for a sprinkling of fools gold.

[Risto the Great]

Well, here are a bunch of geographical terms.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_geography_terms

How about "Badlands Macedonia" ... Sounds edgy.
A brave new Macedonia.

On another note, I commend the Greeks for testing Macedonia on this issue. Macedonia has been consistent in its uselessness over the last 25 years.

[Risto the Great]

The airport should be called "Formerly Alexander the Great airport'. Let's not get ahead of ourselves here. To pick a new name is too much to ask and there isn't much original thought going on in the not_homeland.

[Phoenix]

Well, here are a bunch of geographical terms.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_geography_terms

How about "Badlands Macedonia" ... Sounds edgy.
A brave new Macedonia...

‘Badlands Macedonia’...beware the Condom Revolutionaries and their smiley simpleton leader who will sell anything for a few shiny plastic beads.

[Niko777]

‘Delchev International’ has a nice ring about it...but as Vic has mentioned it’s probably another piece of our identity that ZZ has given up for a sprinkling of fools gold.

Maybe naming the airport to "Gotse Delchev" will offend the Bulgarians who claim him as his own, offend the Greeks because he was born in what today is Greece, offend the Albanians because, well, he's not Albanian... The new Macedonia will be the most "politically correct" country in the world, they will strive to ensure that no one (Greeks, Bulgarians, Albanians) is ever offended!

[Phoenix]

Maybe naming the airport to "Gotse Delchev" will offend the Bulgarians who claim him as his own, offend the Greeks because he was born in what today is Greece, offend the Albanians because, well, he's not Albanian... The new Macedonia will be the most "politically correct" country in the world, they will strive to ensure that no one (Greeks, Bulgarians, Albanians) is ever offended!

My fear is that those ever so clever fyromians, you know the ones who believe they are so smart that regardless of what the world calls us they will always know who they are, or that it's ok to change little bits of this and little bits of that...what those stupid cunts don't realise is that Macedonians are quickly becoming the first acultural ethnic group in human histrory.

[Tomche Makedonche]

https://www.economist.com/news/europe/21736426-ancient-row-greece-might-question-what-call-macedonia-finally-be-resolved

Might the question of what to call Macedonia finally be resolved?

IT WAS a veritable tale of two cities. On February 4th Macedonians ambled around the centre of their capital, Skopje, enjoying a quiet Sunday. Athens, meanwhile, was jammed with protesters against any compromise in the 27-year-old dispute about what Greece will accept as a name for its northern neighbour. The organisers claimed a crowd of 1.5m; the police put it at a still-impressive 140,000. After a flurry of diplomatic activity, a deal could be struck within weeks. If so, it would be a huge breakthrough—and put pressure on the other Balkan states to solve their own disputes with their neighbours.

The roots of the conflict run deep. When the Ottoman Turks were driven from the region in 1912, Macedonia was carved up by Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria. The bits grabbed by Serbia ended up as part of the new Yugoslavia. When Yugoslavia collapsed in 1991, Greece objected to that part of it being recognised as the Macedonian republic, arguing that this implied a claim to its own region of the same name. From then on Greece, the United Nations, the EU and many other international organisations have had to call it FYROM—the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

In 2008, breaking an agreement with Macedonia, Greece used its effective veto to stop the country from joining NATO, and has since prevented it from even starting EU accession talks. A UN mediation process got nowhere. But now a recent change of government in Skopje and greater goodwill in Athens offer a real chance of a resolution.

Among names being circulated are Upper Macedonia, Northern Macedonia, New Macedonia and Macedonia (Skopje). But the terminological difficulties do not end there. For example, even if everyone agreed on Upper Macedonia but the Greeks insisted that in future its people must be called “Upper Macedonians” who speak “Upper Macedonian”, then, says Nikola Dimitrov, Macedonia’s foreign minister, there will be no deal. “Macedonians need to be assured they will remain Macedonians,” he insists.

Time is of the essence, says Mr Dimitrov. Macedonia wants an agreement as soon as possible so it can get an invitation to join NATO and open negotiations with the EU in the next few months. To help things along, from February 6th Skopje’s airport will no longer be called Alexander the Great, a source of immense irritation to the Greeks. After the NATO rebuff the previous Macedonian government had begun to claim symbols which the Greeks had considered theirs alone, but Mr Dimitrov’s government has rowed back on this. “National identity can’t be projected back to the time of Alexander the Great,” he says. “I agree with [the Greek prime minister] Alexis Tsipras that 2,300 years ago there were no nations. We are the result of historical processes.”

Although it is clear that Mr Tsipras would like a deal too, his government relies on the support of a small nationalist party which objects to compromise. The Greek opposition can use the issue to beat the government with, and the costs to Greece of failing to strike a deal would be small. But that would leave Macedonia “locked in the waiting room”, unable to progress to either the EU or NATO, says Mr Dimitrov. “It is the forces of the past battling the forces of the future...Myths, glorious defeats and victories and pride are all important. We can’t change the past, but we can shape the future.”

On February 6th the European Commission unveiled a new Balkan enlargement strategy. It is aimed at revitalising the otherwise stalled accession process of the six western Balkan states: Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Kosovo. A breakthrough on Macedonia might demonstrate to the rest of the region that no outstanding issue is too difficult to solve

[Tomche Makedonche]

https://www.rferl.org/a/macedonia-greece-renames-airport-highway-alexander/29023972.html

Macedonia Renames Airport, Highway In Bid To Settle Row With Greece

Macedonia's Prime Minister Zoran Zaev says his country is ready to add a geographical qualifier to its name in a bid to resolve a 27-year-old dispute with neighboring Greece over the name of the former Yugoslav republic.

"I want the negotiation process [with Greece] to succeed, we are ready for a geographic designation and I will stop here since I know this is a sensitive issue," Zaev on February 6 in the Macedonian capital, Skopje.

Greece's objections to Skopje’s use of the name Macedonia since the country's independence in 1991 has complicated bids by the former Yugoslav republic to join the European Union and NATO.

Athens says the use of the name Macedonia suggests Skopje has territorial claims to Greece's northern region of Macedonia.

Leaders of the two countries have said progress has recently been made in settling the dispute, with indications that any agreement could include Macedonia adding "Upper," "New," or "North" to its name.

The Macedonian government on February 6 officially renamed the country’s main airport and a north-south highway, both previously named after Alexander the Great, the famed ruler of the ancient Kingdom of Macedonia who is also celebrated in Greece.

The capital’s airport was renamed International Airport Skopje and the highway became the Friendship Highway.

"With today's decision ... we are confirming our step toward building friendship and confidence with Greece," Zaev said.

The Macedonian prime minister was speaking after tens of thousands of people demonstrated in Athens on February 4 against any solution that would include the name Macedonia.

The Greek government has said it is prepared to accept a composite name that is clearly distinct from Greek Macedonia.

Matthew Nimetz, the UN envoy dealing with the matter, voiced optimism on February 1 that the Balkan neighbors could end the dispute during 2018.

At the UN, Macedonia is formally known as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM).

However, the Security Council has agreed that it is a provisional name.

Macedonia has also been admitted to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund under the FYROM moniker.

Most countries, including Russia and the United States, recognize the country's constitutional title, the Republic of Macedonia

[Vangelovski]

Watch this fight come back to Australia. I have no doubt that the Greeks (supported by Macedonia's embassy) will try to rename us and our language in all official documents. And to be quite honest, I've noticed that the imports coming from whatever the fuck that country's called now are part of the problem. Most have already accepted the ventilator and I have no doubt they will happily adjust to their new identity, causing a split within the community here.

Whatever those useless pricks do there will ultimately affect us in a very personal way.

[Risto the Great]

Macedonia has defiantly and consistently maintained a singular stance of apathy over its entire modern existence. It has literally whispered its existence since 1991. It has failed its people and its people have failed their country.

FYROM has nothing to do with me or my people.

For all my protest marches and letters and acts of kindness towards Macedonians.
For helping new immigrants from Macedonia.
For trying to secure work for the pathetic whinging arseholes in Macedonia (who couldn't even reply after my discussions with local clients and businesses).
For fighting someone else's fight.

All a waste of time in relation to that waste of a modern nation.

I hope the fyromians get precisely what they deserve. If they get "Macedonia", then they will have done something to deserve it.

Macedonia for the (100%) Macedonians
or
Macedonia NOT for the Fyromians

[Phoenix]

Watch this fight come back to Australia. I have no doubt that the Greeks (supported by Macedonia's embassy) will try to rename us and our language in all official documents. And to be quite honest, I've noticed that the imports coming from whatever the fuck that country's called now are part of the problem. Most have already accepted the ventilator and I have no doubt they will happily adjust to their new identity, causing a split within the community here.

Whatever those useless pricks do there will ultimately affect us in a very personal way.

It will be a repeat of the 1990's shit storm when the greeks tried hard to change the language and nationality by making up their own prefixes and suffixes...only this time, they might just have something 'official' to work with...hunker down folks, it's going to get very ugly.