Prespa Agreement

[Niko777]

That sign is for the village of Gorno Nevoljani, known as Skopia in Greek.

No, it's not. Evzoni is the border crossing near Gevgeli, no where near Nevoljani.

[Karposh]

"We have decided to rename the Philip II Stadium as the Toshe Proeski National Arena to honour a personality who left a deep mark on Macedonian and regional history," Prime Minister Zoran Zaev was quoted as saying.

First there was the very gay-sounding "Friendship" Highway (renamed from Alexander the Great Highway) and now this. What's next?...The Esma Redgepova Airport in Ohrid? After all, St.Paul wrote in Greek to the churches in Macedonia and not Slavic so, in the spirit of the agreement, this could be seen as contentious as well.

https://www.france24.com/en/20190409-north-macedonia-names-stadium-honour-greek-deal

[Statitsa]

https://www.ecfr.eu/article/commenta...ent_fall_apart


I have been amusing myself in the comments.

Priceless!

[Risto the Great]

I have to admit, I felt the need to vent somewhere. Yes, it's me. Phoenix and I were doing this stuff back when the internet was getting invented. I should be tired of it, but there you go. It isn't hard to trip them up.

[Spirit]

https://www.ecfr.eu/article/commenta...ent_fall_apart


I have been amusing myself in the comments.

So have I Risto, I have a sneaky suspicion that you might be the one who is doing the comments under the name Chris Mil, it does seem like your posting style. Whoever it is has that Greek troll going around in circles with his intelligent thoughtful comments. Correct me if I am wrong

[Gocka]

https://www.ecfr.eu/article/commenta...ent_fall_apart


I have been amusing myself in the comments.

LOL I talked about this in the name thread on the name change.

The absurdity of it all was bound to show its ugly head at some point, who would have thought it would be so soon.

I look at the agreement like a bad relationship. In the beginning both parties are willing to grin and bear it. Both parties let a lot of things go and pretend that everything is great. Until one morning they wake up and realize that they fucking hate each other.

The delicate dance both sides are playing is comical and can't last forever, because one things remains true:

You can't change an entire nation's identity and erase their entire history with a piece of paper and a couple signatures. Maybe after a couple generations of brainwashing, but this thing will fall apart long before that is achieved.

[Risto the Great]

Could the Prespa Agreement fall apart.

https://www.ecfr.eu/article/commentary_after_prespa_could_the_north_macedonia_name_agreement_fall_apart

I have been amusing myself in the comments.

[Tomche Makedonche]

Who's allowed to sell 'Macedonian wine'?

https://www.dw.com/en/whos-allowed-to-sell-macedonian-wine/a-48040910

Who's allowed to sell 'Macedonian wine'?

The Prespa agreement has put an end to the decades-old name dispute between Greece and North Macedonia, but it hasn't settled every related question. For example: Who has the right to sell "Macedonian wine" now?

Crucial questions in the Prespa agreement, which only came into force a few weeks ago, have still not been clarified sufficiently, if at all. Regarding the use of commodity brands and brand names, the agreement only stipulates that both sides should try, in the context of an open and "honest dialogue," to reach a mutual agreement. A group of international experts is supposed to help with this, and to deliver results within the next three years.

However, this means fresh tensions are inevitable. There was a foretaste of this at the international wine trade fair Prowein in Düsseldorf, which took place from March 17-19. The association Wines of Macedonia (WoM) represents North Macedonian winemakers, and its participation had Greek exhibitors up in arms. In the run-up to the trade fair, they complained to Prowein and demanded that WoM abide by the Prespa agreement and its terms.

The Question of Patents

"What we want is for the wines from North Macedonia to be called just that, and for our wines to be called Macedonian wines, which is how they've been patented at the EU level for 20 years now," says Stelios Boutaris. He's one of the best-known winemakers in Greece, the son of Yannis Boutaris, founder of Boutaris Wines and mayor of Thessaloniki. "Macedonian wine" is indeed an EU-registered product with so-called "Protected Geographical Indication," like Thuringian bratwurst. This means that only wines from the region of Macedonia in Greece, and made from very specific varieties of grape, are allowed to bear this name.

WoM, however, interprets things differently. "We have been selling wines from Macedonia for decades," it says, "and we hope we will still be able to do this in 10 or 20 years' time.” A representative of WoM, who asked to remain anonymous, said that all parties should be allowed to use the label "Wines of Macedonia,” i.e. the Greeks, the North Macedonians —and even producers in Bulgaria, where part of the ancient kingdom of Macedonia also lay.

In that case, though, how would the consumer be able to distinguish the different products correctly? "Quite simply: The country of origin is always stated on the label. In this case, 'Product of North Macedonia' or ‘Product of Greece.'" A North Macedonian wine producer suggests that they could take the Germans, French and Luxembourgers as an example: "The Moselle river passes through all three countries, so all of them are entitled to sell Moselle wines."

Registered and protected brands

These and other arguments are sure to be presented when the negotiations envisaged by the Prespa agreement take place between the two sides in the near future. However, these certainly won't be easy. In theory, the Greek side holds the better cards. It can refer to the fact that the appellation "Macedonian wines" has already been a registered and protected brand for two decades. Greek winemakers are also saying that Greece could threaten to block North Macedonia's bid to join the European Union if it doesn't concede.

The small Balkan country won't give up that easily, though. It may not have a comparable legal argument, but it could use purely economic reasoning. In recent decades, North Macedonia has fought for and secured a strong market policy position. Even Greek vintners admit that "if you ask Germans about 'wine from Macedonia,' most will point to what is now North Macedonia, not Greece." They say that this is the result of an export-oriented strategy, which the Greeks did not pursue with equal vigor.

However, despite their divergent positions and the expectation of tensions, wine producers from both Greece and North Macedonia remain confident. Speaking to DW, they concluded that a solution had to be found, because it would be to the advantage of both sides.

[MHRMI]

Macedonians in Greece Condemn the Prespa Agreement

Macedonians in Greece Condemn the Prespa Agreement

"We have been fighting for our existence as Macedonians our whole lives, as did all of our ancestors. Nobody has the right to change our name, ethnicity, identity and history at the stroke of a pen", said Father Nikodim Tsarknias, well-known Macedonian human rights activist from Sobotsko, in the Voden region of Aegean Macedonia (annexed by Greece after Macedonia's partition in 1913). Father Tsarknias continued, "Macedonians in Aegean Macedonia are 100% against the Prespa Agreement."

Greece has framed the artificial "name dispute" as a diplomatic issue between neighbours, yet they have admitted that their goal in creating the name dispute is to eradicate the existence of Macedonians in Greece. With the imposition of the Prespa Agreement, they have achieved this goal.

There can never be an agreement that is designed to redefine and eradicate an ethnic group. The Prespa Agreement cannot be viewed as simply "resolving" the issue of a state-name, as it specifically dictates how an age-old nationality can define itself. See:

Article 7 (2): “These terms (Macedonia and Macedonian) denote not only the area and people of the northern region of the First Party (Greece), but also their attributes, as well as the Hellenic civilization, history, culture, and heritage of that region from antiquity to present day”.

The Macedonians of Greece officially do not exist as per the implementation of the Prespa Agreement. The newly-found claims by non-Macedonians in Greece to a "regional Macedonian identity" cannot supersede the ethnicity, identity and history of an entire ethnic group - Macedonians. The cultural misappropriation of the Macedonian name by Greece (and Bulgaria for that matter) cannot be rewarded by the Western-imposed Prespa Agreement. It is ironic that the Macedonian name - denied by Greece for so long - is now being claimed by them(beginning in 1988), and used in their attempts to deny the existence of the Macedonian ethnicity.

Further, this illegal agreement cannot be viewed as solving a diplomatic row, as basic human rights such as self-determination and self-identification are enshrined in international law, the UN charter, and all international human rights conventions. UN Independent Expert Gay McDougall declared in 2009:

"Greece should withdraw from the dispute over whether there is a Macedonian minority on its territory and focus on protecting the rights to self-identification, freedom of expression and freedom of association of this community"

Moreover, the European Court of Human Rights convicted Greece, repeatedly, for failing to register the Home of Macedonian Culture and for specifically violating Article 11 of the Framework Convention for the Protection of Human Rights.

Finally, in addition to the blatantly racist anti-Macedonian statements frequently made by Greek politicians, they have now been emboldened by the Prespa Agreement and now point to its existence as justification for the denial of Macedonians' right to exist. Greek PM Tsipras said:

"We will not call them Macedonians, but Slavo-Macedonians. The agreement does not recognize a Macedonian nation."

Macedonian Human Rights Movement International, SNS Makedonium, Father Nikodim Tsarknias, the Macedonians in Greece, throughout the Balkans and the world demand support for our basic human rights and our right to be who we are and who we have always been - Macedonians. No other ethnic group should, or would be subject to the blatant eradication of its ethnic identity. Prevent the application of the illegal Prespa Agreement now.

###

Macedonian Human Rights Movement International (MHRMI) has been active on human and national rights issues for Macedonians and other oppressed peoples since 1986. For more information: 1-416-850-7125, [email protected], www.mhrmi.org, www.twitter.com/mhrmi, www.facebook.com/mhrmi, www.mhrmi.org/OurNameIsMacedonia

[Liberator of Makedonija]

Welcome to Northern FYROM, Europe's new fascist state.

[Dove]

Sho ubao Grchko ime - Sfet as

[Liberator of Makedonija]

First breach/unfriendly move by Greece?

That sign is for the village of Gorno Nevoljani, known as Skopia in Greek.

[Carlin]

First breach/unfriendly move by Greece?

[vicsinad]

By amorphous mass, he means we're a tumor on their ass caused by...well, you know.

[Tomche Makedonche]

I don’t think any of that is insulting enough for these traitors. They need to come up with something more insulting for the whole world to be able to laugh at. I’m sure if Bulgaria, Albania and the Greeks all work together they can come up with something truely special to teach the kids.