'Macedonia' inspires conflict for the ages
By Andrew Borowiec
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
October 26, 2005
NICOSIA, Cyprus -- The "battle for Macedonia" has been revived with a
vengeance, threatening to poison Greek-American relations as well as peace and
harmony in a neglected corner of the Balkans.
The
center of the dispute is a trapezoid-shaped region of 2 million inhabitants that
emerged from the turmoil of the former Yugoslavia as an independent nation with
its ancient name of Macedonia.
The Greeks insist
that it should be called "the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" -- FYROM
for short -- because "Macedonia" is an area of Greece. But the new nation was
unwilling to live with the unwieldy acronym and defied Greece by calling itself
Macedonia.
Last week, Greece threatened economic and
political sanctions against the impoverished republic.
Matthew Nimetz, a special U.N. mediator on the
issue, is expected to submit a final compromise formula. There are doubts of its
acceptability by the protagonists, Athens and Skopje, the capital of the
fledgling state. According to U.S. sources in Athens, Mr. Nimetz is planning to
resign in November without making a dent in the dispute.
Diplomats believe that by now the stakes have been
extended beyond what to outsiders was a jocular problem of semantics. It has
become a tangle involving wounded Greek pride, American impatience and
Macedonia's future.
According to the Greeks, the
name "Macedonia" should apply only to their northern province, where Alexander
the Great was born. Using the term "Macedonia" for another country, they argue,
was arrogant and even created the impression of territorial claims.
With the Greek clamor building up to block
Macedonia's (or FYROM's) plans to join the European Union and NATO, last week
for the second time the United States entered the fray when R. Nicholas Burns,
U.S. undersecretary of state for political affairs and former ambassador to
Athens, described such pressures as "shaming for Greece."
Angry Greek politicians across the spectrum retorted
with a vow to use all diplomatic weapons to defend their opposition to anything
but FYROM.
Editorials in Athens questioned whether
Greece should remain America's favored and most reliable partner in the Balkans.
Last fall, Greek tempers flared when President Bush
referred to "the Republic of Macedonia." Athens interpreted it as formal
recognition of the country under that name and a signal to other governments. At
least 10 nations followed suit, brushing aside Greek sensitivities.
Mr. Nimetz was thinking of proposing the name
"Republika Makedonija-Skopje," but the suggestion has been rejected by the
government of President Branko Crvenkovski in Skopje.
Greeks feel they should stick to their guns, if
necessary blocking Macedonia's economic lifelines to Europe and its aspiration
to join NATO.
