Alexander statue arrived in Skopje

[lavce pelagonski]

We truly have forgotten the days of our revolutionists
will this day ever come again for the Macedonian people.
YouTube - ‪ilinden krusevo 1903.wmv‬‏

[George S.]

The macedonians lavce have forgotten what it is to be free.They must relearn that lesson as the complacency is used by our enemies.We need inner strenghth to produce revolucionaries from within.

[Vangelovski]

Александар Македонски = Александар Велики = Воин на Коњ = Грк јава ФИРОМец (Скопје)

This is the slow progression we are heading down...

[George S.]

in other words guys wre screwed once more by the grk.It reminds me of the saying in the 2nd world war of allied pilots beware of the hun in the sun.If we don't keep our backs to the wall the grk is going to screw us.

[vojnik]

in other words guys wre screwed once more by the grk.It reminds me of the saying in the 2nd world war of allied pilots beware of the hun in the sun.If we don't keep our backs to the wall the grk is going to screw us.

Correction we are screwed once more by our own politicians

[Bill77]

[George S.]

Vojnik i think getting screwed by the politicians is always presumed so we a screwed twice
any takers for 3???No jokes aside really we have been let down badly.

[lavce pelagonski]

Macedonia Showered with Ancient Heroes Statues, Criticism
World | June 22, 2011, Wednesday
Bulgaria: Macedonia Showered with Ancient Heroes Statues, Criticism
A massive statue of Alexander the Great on his horse Bucephalus stands on its position on a pedestal on Macedonia Square, the central square of the capital of Skopje, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, 21 June 2011. Photo by EPA/'BGNES

Two new statues of Philip II of Macedon were opened Tuesday, one in Skopje and one in Bitola, as the Balkan country's government continues its ambitious renovation plan.

Even though Philip II was "outshone" by his son Alexander the Great, whose gigantic monument was opened later the same day, people flocked to see the father's new statues, too.

http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=129536

On Tuesday, the controversial 13-meter high statue depicting Alexander the Great on horseback was officially opened in Skopje, adding fuel to the conflict with Greece, which also claims inheritance of the historical figure.

On Monday, EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule said that if Macedonia continues to take actions perceived by Greece as "provocations" and fails to make faster progress in its reforms, the country could lose its EU candidate status.

Meanwhile, Facebook users have started a peculiar initiative for the renaming of Skopje and Bitolia as Alexandria and Heraklea respectively in order to further emphasize what Macedonians perceive as their "ancient" history.

Since becoming an independent state in 1991, the ex-Yugoslav republic of Macedonia has had a number of protracted historical disputes with neighboring Bulgaria and Greece, in particular about the Macedonian or non-Macedonian nationality of a number of historical figures. Among them are Alexander the Great and Tsar Samuil (997-1014), whom Bulgarians recognize as one of their great Medieval rulers.

[Ljubanec]

http://www.demotivacija.mk/izdavam-apartman-vo-centar-9533.html

[julie]

Love it , bring it on I say ! Rename skopje to alexandria and bitola to heraklea , its a provocation for macedonians to assert their own identity in their own country ????? And e u threatening with Macedonia not to enter their bullshit club , Yes this is fantastic news ! How about grks worry about their debts and Bulgaria the same and leave us be . Thanks lavche for posting , and may facebook users gain momentum perhaps it may rub off on the Macedonians in Macedonia , to stop being pussy whipped into serfdom and acquiescing to the s of their opressors . We have the right to our great Alexander and filip , Macedonia was not partitioned then

[Soldier of Macedon]

We don't see England changing London to Londinium or Austria changing Vienna to Vindobona, why should we change the names of our cities? I don't agree with that at all. Bitola is Bitola, it a local name chosen by the local population over a 1000 years ago. What possible reason is there to revert it to the one used in antiquity? It's not like anybody is denying that Bitola and Heraclea are one in the same. Macedonians shouldn't be putting up statues or changing names for the sake of provocation and bargaining power, it should only be for genuine purposes and furthering the Macedonian Cause.

[Volk]

Macedonians shouldn't be putting up statues or changing names for the sake of provocation and bargaining power, it should only be for genuine purposes and furthering the Macedonian Cause.

Exactly, furthermore there is nothing to bargain about.


Good to see the statue of Alexander has started doing what it should:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/24/world/europe/24iht-macedonia24.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

Macedonia Plays Up Past Glory
By MATTHEW BRUNWASSER



SKOPJE, MACEDONIA — In the view of many here, the neighbors have been bullying this little Balkan country for a long time.

Bulgarians see its people as Bulgarians with accents. Serbia considers the land Southern Serbia. Greece accuses the country of nothing less than stealing its name, history and national symbols.

This week, Macedonia pushed back.

In a precisely calibrated display of political and civil engineering, workers lifted a 14.5-meter, or 47-foot, bronze statue of Alexander the Great, weighing 30 tons, and placed it on a 15-meter-high pedestal in the central square of Skopje, the capital.

“This is a way for Macedonia to affirm its national existence,” said Vasiliki Neofotistos, an anthropologist from the State University of New York at Buffalo studying identity politics in Macedonia. “Macedonia wants to advance the thesis that it is a cornerstone of Western civilization.”

This is no mere philosophical dilemma. Macedonia has been stuck in one of the most intractable disputes of the post-communist world: Greece has held international relations hostage for 20 years because it considers the name Macedonia an appropriation of its own Hellenic identity and its northern province of the same name.

If it can’t have riches, Macedonia, a country of two million with 31 percent unemployment, wants recognition. Playing up ties to an ancient global celebrity resonates with people who feel they have been marginalized for centuries.

“We are proud of Alexander,” said Petko Bozhinovski, 48, who wore a black T-shirt with the Macedonian flag as the statue was raised Tuesday to the applause of several hundred bystanders.

“Finally, our Alexander has come back to his homeland,” he said.

The project is controversial — it cost €9.4 million, or $13 million. But some things, say statue fans, are priceless. “If you lose your identity, you are a nobody,” said Alexandar Ristevski, 32, an ethnographer.

Macedonia was promised an invitation to join NATO in 2008, but this was vetoed by Greece because the name issue was unresolved. In 2005, Macedonia also became a candidate for the European Union, but still has no date to start accession talks because of Greek resistance.

“Why should we change our name because of Greece?” said Alex Trajanovski, a retired diplomat, who said Macedonia had been recognized under that name by 135 countries. “No European Union is worth changing the name,” said Zoran Iliev, a border policeman. Greece is equally stubborn. On Tuesday, as the Greek Parliament debated a crucial vote of confidence in the government, Stavros Lambrinidis, the foreign minister, told deputies the statue was a major point of foreign policy, “a provocation” that fanned “irredentism, the greatest threat to the Balkans.”

Mr. Lambrinidis said Greece had proposed a name with a geographical qualifier to settle the dispute. The Macedonian Foreign Ministry declined to comment.

When Macedonia declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, Greece immediately protested the name and flag — accusing the new country of staking claims to Greek territory and of trying to separate ancient Macedonian civilization from Hellenic culture.

Athens refused to recognize its northern neighbor and organized an embargo. The two countries signed an interim accord in 1995 under which Macedonia would be referred to internationally as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. In exchange, Greece lifted its embargo, recognized this provisional name and agreed not to block membership in international institutions.

Almost 16 years later, both sides are still negotiating a new name. They have indicated they might consider a geographical modifier of Macedonia, such as Northern Macedonia — favored by Greece — or Macedonia (Skopje), which the Macedonians like.

Meanwhile, Macedonia has filed suit with the International Court of Justice in The Hague against Greece, accusing it of violating the 1995 agreement. A decision is expected in September.

he statue is part of a controversial facelift for Skopje — a city whose old center was flattened in an earthquake in 1963 — including 15 new buildings, the renovation of old ones and a triumphal arch.

The government estimated the bill for renovation at €80 million in 2009, but the opposition says costs have already risen to €200 million. No official figures are available.

The government of Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski has also given Alexander’s name to the airport in Skopje, a highway and a stadium. The inauguration of the Alexander statue is expected on independence day, September 8.

“This attempt to rebuild the Macedonian nation is definitely destroying the chances for compromise” with Greece, said Vladimir Milcin, executive director of the Open Society Foundation Macedonia. Mr. Milcin noted that the European Union’s enlargement commissioner, Stefan Fόle, called the statue a “provocation” and suggested for the first time that Macedonia’s move toward Europe was going backward.

But neither Mr. Milcin nor a Western diplomat who insisted on anonymity thought this would deter the prime minister. “It’s just adding fuel to his power and image that he is the final and only defender of Macedonian name, identity and culture,” Mr. Milcin said.

Macedonia’s identity politics are further complicated by the restive 25 percent of its population who are ethnic Albanians. In 2000, the ethnic Albanian National Liberation Army fought a six-month war against the majority.

Rafis Aliti, a former fighter with the Albanian rebels, and now deputy speaker of parliament, said the Alexander dispute worried Albanians because “there will be no prospects for the future, no security and foreign investment.”

The lure of Macedonian lore has grown in recent years. Alexander has helped buttress the nation against the trauma of the free market, political strife and independence, said Pasko Kuzman, an archaeologist with the Ministry of Culture.

“Alexander conquered the world,” he added. “Would you ever give up something like that? I don’t think so.”

[Soldier of Macedon]

“No European Union is worth changing the name,” said Zoran Iliev, a border policeman.

Bravo be Zorane, samo da bea i drugite gragjani ko tebe!

On Tuesday, as the Greek Parliament debated a crucial vote of confidence in the government, Stavros Lambrinidis, the foreign minister, told deputies the statue was a major point of foreign policy, “a provocation” that fanned “irredentism, the greatest threat to the Balkans.”

Putting up a statue is the greatest threat in the Balkans? These people are on some heavy drugs.

Almost 16 years later, both sides are still negotiating a new name. They have indicated they might consider a geographical modifier of Macedonia, such as Northern Macedonia — favored by Greece — or Macedonia (Skopje), which the Macedonians like.

That, my friends, is what happens when you vote for people like Gruevski who tell you one thing in Macedonia and tell the world a completely different story. Because of his treachery, now the world thinks we are OK with a name change.

[lavce pelagonski]

YouTube - ‪OVA MORA DA GO VIDI SEKOJ MAKEDONEC!!!!!!!!‬‏

[makedonche]

YouTube - ‪OVA MORA DA GO VIDI SEKOJ MAKEDONEC!!!!!!!!‬‏

Lavce
Thanks for the reminder again!