Greek Hysteria stems from their Troubling Past

[Krivan]

The Greek foreign policy at the moment is trying to fix the broken reputation of the country but despite this, the attention of Athens' diplomacy is still very much focused towards their number one enemy, a neighboring country of 2-million people whose membership in EU and NATO has being hindered by Athens with all means necessary, reads an article titled ‘The Sin of Greece – History of a (Almost) Forgotten Exile’ published in German daily the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

Deutsche Welle - Program in Macedonian Language reported an analysis of the Greek-Macedonian dispute from a historical point of view. According to DW, it's not the supposed 'name', rather the Macedonians in Greece that are the 'problem' for official Athens.

- The main reason Athenian diplomats get excited when the Macedonian minority is mentioned should be sought in the past. Forced ethnic expulsion happened in Greece in 1949, which is not really something that's beind discussed or reviewed until present day. Almost one century ago, in the First Balkan War Greece occupied a large part of Macedonia from the Ottoman Empire. The other part, the so-called Vardar Macedonia was annexed by Yugoslavia and only a small piece (‘Pirin Macedonia’) went to Bulgaria. The Greeks were a minority in most parts of the newly occupied territory. Especially the northwest border area towards Yugoslavia which was heavily populated by Slavic peasants. The majority of them remembering their oppression and abuse in Greece during the Greek civil war stood on the side of the communists and paid dearly for that. Tens of thousands were evicted from their homes, forced to run and were not allowed to ever return, reports Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

The article also notes that diplomacy between the two nations had recently become tense due to request by the Macedonian PM Nikola Gruevski (who himself has a family in present day Greece) to respect the rights of the Macedonian minority in Greece which was pointed out at the meeting with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in Skopje.

http://macedoniaonline.eu/content/view/21582/2/

[Louis]

Well, actually Turkey is our No 1 enemy, you're probably No 2.

As far as I know Gruevski doesn't have a family in Greece (at the moment). Also, since his childhood, he had been totally detached from the (paternal) side of his family. So, the fact that his grandfather was a Greek war hero (under the name Grouios) doesn’t seem to have had an impact in his life and identity.

It would be interesting to see the original (German) article.

[Zakynthian]

In fact there is no hysteria towards the ROM. It is vice versa. Macedoniaonline is acting snipsterish and in full hysteria towards anything greek which is of course very sad. The conclusions based upon the FAZ article are tailormade, I read the article and it has a very different character then macedoniaonline and/or mia.com.mk are representing. Pitty.

http://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/ausland/antonis-samaras-die-panhellenische-nervensaege-11820350.html

[George S.]

Come on you guys the greeks have shown everything paranoid behaviour towards macedonia.Independent of what macedonia might exhibit in return.Who has a problem with the name greece has .Macedonia does not have any problem as they never took anything greek.It's the otherway around greece is the one who took macedonia.Also it's more of greek behaviour.So greece gets all hysterical if anything comes from macedonia.Or look they are doing this they have irrendist claims.That's grece's deliberate action to take offence at macedonia.Don't forget they claimed the greeks that the skopjians all they want is their land back is a typical greek response.On the name issue the line has been drawn in the sand & the greeks will not deviate.Also on the name issue greece has gone too far it says due to good neighbourly relations & has compromised by allowing macedonia to call itself like varska makedonia,severna makedonia slav macedonia.
ey that's bullshit they are trying to create a monopoly on the name.The greeks know fully that in 1912 they just took macedonia without legit reasons.Before that they have never set foot in macedonia.ALso Macedonia ROM is a country called Macedonia ,Greece has got a province of macedonia how could that be a problem.Think about it greeces paranoia is like a childs it says it's got a problem but in reality it hasn't.THe solution is not for macedonia to change their name but for greece to show more respect & show recognition to a soverign neighbour nation.

[Louis]

This is the article (Google translation from German to English)

Antonis Samaras- The pain in Panhellenic
07/14/2012 · The Greek Foreign Minister Antonis Samaras once fought against Macedonia. Today the Prime Minister fought the Greek debt. Germany, he holds it as a necessary evil.

Antonis Samaras

Who tells the story of Antonis Samaras, should begin at Emmanouil Benakis. Then the story begins on the island of Syros, where Benakis was born 1843rd From there it leads to Alexandria, where he arrived as a cotton merchant of wealth, and then on to Athens, where he was mayor in 1914 and 1929 died as a highly regarded benefactor and philanthropist. Benakis had six children, some of which her father played an important role in the public life of Greece. 1874, the daughter Penelope, born in Alexandria, came to prominence as a writer and married name Stephanos Delta, a rich Phanariotes. She wrote children's books and non-patriotic novels about the struggle of the Greeks to Macedonia in the 19th Century. Penelope Delta put her turbulent life in April 1941, the end - the day when the army marched in Athens. She left behind three daughters, of whom Virginia married a professional politician. Penelope Delta's grandson Pavlos was known as an art critic and translator of Proust into Greek. Her granddaughter Lena died in 2008, again was the mother of Antonis Samaras, the Greek prime minister today.

Who much-branched upper middle class family that knows a little history is to understand the man who will lead the Greeks from one of the worst crises in its recent history, the better. Have determined that Samaras' ancestors, the fate of the Greeks since the war of independence against the Ottomans and over again does not explain everything, but some in his career. For example, his strong sense of historical consciousness, which is already almost an obsession.

The desire of the Russians and Bulgarians
Of course you want the educated and eloquent Harvard graduate Samaras make history when in 1977 at the age of 26 years, wins its first seat in parliament. Of course, it decorates the family tradition when he end of the eighties in the government of Konstantinos Mitsotakis first financial, then foreign minister. He is 38 years old and already the most popular politicians of his party, the conservative New Democracy. Many consider it for granted that Samaras is a future prime minister. He also. Sure, in the family. Athens journalists who witnessed him at that time described him as a very confident man, who seemed to be sure that he could turn the world upside down. Or at least, Greece.

Samaras is as foreign minister in 1989, however, still lacks a vested theme, a popular theme on which he can establish his further advancement. This is clear when, in 1991 Yugoslavia disintegrates and results of Greece's northern border, a new state called Macedonia. Samaras recognize the opportunity and draws on a topos of Greek nationalism, which had already worked his great-grandmother in her historical novels. He stirs up the fear of the Greeks against their country go to the north, located on the dividing line between Hellenic and Slavic world, could be lost. Fears of the desires of Russians and Bulgarians, and later the Soviet Union or Yugoslavia, Greece, to share in the historic region of Macedonia was in the 20th Century, a central (and not unfounded temporarily) part of the Greek narrative.

Then came against the Greeks apparently new enemy: The Macedonians, who committed treason by its name alone at the Greek. According to Greek Macedonians because reading can only be the descendants of Alexander the Great, so Greeks. Samaras uses the mobilization potential of this fear and breaks a hysterical campaign against the Slav politicians in Skopje on the fence. "Samaras did not hesitate, to appear on CNN and most of all the world" Skopjotern "to insinuate that they would like to believe Alexander the Great was a" Yugoslav "was," says the historian Adamantios Skordos. On the summit of the European Community Samaras memoranda distributed over the historical truth in the Greek-Macedonian name dispute to the other foreign ministers.

Some of those involved, he is still regarded as nuisance Panhellenic remembered. Juergen Chrobog, then political director of the Foreign Office, remembers a dramatic night meeting in Brussels, where the decision at a late hour on the recognition of Slovenia and Croatia was. As the weary minister finally had a match made, Samaras takes the word and says that there is another issue to resolve, namely Macedonia concerning the recognition should not be under that name. Therefore, the state is officially "Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia", to this day. "At this late hour, and before the eyes of agreement, the Foreign Ministers have waved through the ultimately against their own convictions. That would have been under other circumstances might not be accepted, "says Chrobog.

Germany? A necessary evil
Samaras in Greece is celebrated - he has prevented Macedonia Macedonia is. In its quest to become the most powerful wave of Macedonian politicians of the country to be, but Samaras then estimates the balance of power incorrectly. In April 1992, after the closure of the Greek borders with Macedonia had requested, he is dismissed by Mitsotakis as foreign minister. Samaras established his own party, which decays after a short flight of again. The legendary career of Antonis S. seems to have ended.

Icarus down. These are formative years. Failure grounds immensely. Samaras had been desperate at that time, says an Athenian journalist. A former politician who can not do anything else and wants to be a politician. A return to the New Democracy party is prevented from Mitsotakis long. Only the Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis Samaras permitted to return to the party in order to have a counterbalance to the Mitsotakis clan. Samaras slowly comes back to political forces.

Now he is Prime Minister of Greece, the 185th since 1822. What will he start with the small residual power, the prime minister did not an Athenian, is hardly conceivable. What is certain is that Greece Samaras wants to keep the euro zone. To him belongs firmly to the western Greek world, at least in America. Germany is a necessary evil, nothing more. National bankruptcy, is to prevent Samaras had now, however, Greece suffered two years ago, it would then go after him. In May 2010 he left his party to vote against the rescue loans, without which the country would be bankrupt long ago. The reform guidelines imposed by the Greeks, he called a mistaken policy and wants to renegotiate. Samaras would have to actually like a row of Gottfried Benn's poem "foreign minister" dropped "Easy to say: Incorrect policy. When wrong? Today? After ten years? After a century

[George S.]

//""
Samaras is as foreign minister in 1989, however, still lacks a vested theme, a popular theme on which he can establish his further advancement. This is clear when, in 1991 Yugoslavia disintegrates and results of Greece's northern border, a new state called Macedonia. Samaras recognize the opportunity and draws on a topos of Greek nationalism, "
What New state Macedonia was declared a state in 1944 After the declaration of aasnom
that is the people's assembly calling the state "Republic of Macedonia.Greece knew that & if it was a problem did nothing about it.Also Mitsotakis softened his approach & advocated a softer approach to the name issue where he actually recognized macedonia under it's rightful name.They have to face trurth & reality.Also back in 1944 Macedonia is a registered name as republic of macedonia as a state even though it was part of yugoslavia.So the greeks did nothing to block that until macedonia declared it's independence.

[SirGeorge8600]

Well, actually Turkey is our No 1 enemy, you're probably No 2.

our

[George S.]

macedonia is not her enemy louis .The fact is greece is paranoid & macedonia is in no shape to fight greece.It should be obvious by now.Further more it's in macedonia's constitution not to have irrendist views on its neighbour.