Seymour Hersh Agrees With Me on Iran!

Below is a Seymour Hersh article, in the New Yorker, reporting that the US is using Iranian minority groups to undermine the authority of the government of Iran. In August 2006, I predicted this would happen in an online letter to Salon commenting on a Joe Conason article To Iran with Love. See my letter: American Neocon Dreams and the New Middle East, August 25, 2006.

I wrote a similar letter in response to a Juan Cole article, also in Salon, called Partitioning Iraq. See my letter: Neocons Dream On, Oct. 30, 2006.

And finally I posted the same article to my website with a link to a Washington Post opinion by Joe Biden, The Minimum Necessary. See my post: The Balkans and Iraq, Nov. 20, 2006.

When I have time, I will write about how I accurately predicted the fall of the Berlin Wall to a friend during a skiing weekend just before Gorbachev was scheduled to address the East German Communist Party Congress in 1989. Her parents were originally from Dresden and they were going to visit West Germany in the next week. I suggested that they should postpone the trip to Christmas, at which time, they could visit Dresden since the Berlin Wall would have been torn down by then.

I swear, CSI should really do a story about my telepathic abilities!

THE NEXT ACT

Is a damaged Administration less likely to attack Iran, or more?

by SEYMOUR M. HERSH

New Yorker, Issue of 2006-11-27

Another critical issue for Gates will be the Pentagon’s expanding effort to conduct clandestine and covert intelligence missions overseas. Such activity has traditionally been the C.I.A.’s responsibility, but, as the result of a systematic push by Rumsfeld, military covert actions have been substantially increased.

In the past six months, Israel and the United States have also been working together in support of a Kurdish resistance group known as the Party for Free Life in Kurdistan. The group has been conducting clandestine cross-border forays into Iran, I was told by a government consultant with close ties to the Pentagon civilian leadership, as “part of an effort to explore alternative means of applying pressure on Iran.” (The Pentagon has established covert relationships with Kurdish, Azeri, and Baluchi tribesmen, and has encouraged their efforts to undermine the regime’s authority in northern and southeastern Iran.)

The government consultant said that Israel is giving the Kurdish group “equipment and training.” The group has also been given “a list of targets inside Iran of interest to the U.S.” (An Israeli government spokesman denied that Israel was involved.)

The Balkans and Iraq

Neocons Dream Sweet Dreams

Below is a link to Senator Joe Biden's latest plea in the Washington Post to set the stage for the partition of Iraq. He is really starting to annoy me. I'm not sure if Uncle Joe is actually conspiring with the Neocon's or whether he is just too naive for his own good, but I would like to make a prediction, that the future Bush policy in the Middle East will be one of destabilization, not democracy. This is based on my "telepathically communing" with the Neocons in the White House and also based on my knowledge of what has happened in Yugoslavia.

The preview of this new policy was the 2006 war in Lebanon, where the bombing of Beirut was designed to ignite a civil war against the Shia (Hezbollah) by the Sunnis and Christians. Fortunately, the Sunnis and Christians have seen that movie before, knew how it ended and decided not to play the part that was scripted for them by Olmert and Bush.

Even though it didn't really work that well in Lebanon, destabilization will be retooled for Iraq, Syria and Iran.

For Iraq, the first step will be to promote tripartite "federalism" dividing Iraq into three distinct federal units which has been championed by US Senator Biden (NYT Op-Ed, May 1, 2006, WaPo August 24, 2006 ironically named "A Plan to Hold Iraq Together"). This is basically, partition lite, because Iraqis will have to define new boundaries for each of the three provinces. This process, in itself, will be the catalyst for ethnic cleansing on a massive scale.

Pundits will not have to ask whether Iraq is in a state of civil war. Like the war in Bosnia, it will be easy to determine when Iraq slips into civil war. The Kurdish Members of Parliament will leave for Kirkuk; the Shias MPs will leave for Basra; the Sunni MPs will leave for Fallujah. There will be convoys of people on donkeys leaving mixed neighborhoods for ethnically pure neighborhoods. Baghdad will look like Beirut or Sarajevo.

Then American politicians will say "things have changed"! The will ask now ... "who do we support, who do we betray"? (The Kurds had better hold on to their hats because US policy can change on a dime.)

This is the "Lord Owen" solution, which was applied during the Bosnian war when he proposed new internal borders for Bosnia that recognized ethnic cleansing as "the facts on the ground". This in turn led to a new round of ethnic cleansing, especially between Croats and Bosniaks.

For Syria, it means the overthrow, with the aid of some bombs, of Assad regime and his minority Alawite religious group and handing power the Sunni majority. This should pry Syria away from the hold that Iran has on it and stop the shipments of arms from Iran through Syria to Hezbollah.

Iran is the hardest nut to crack. It would be too costly, in terms of manpower and money, for the US to attempt to get ride of the Iranian mullahs by itself. Instead, using Yugoslavia as a model, the US will bomb Iran, giving cover to local separatist groups such as the Kurds, Azeris, Baluchis and you guessed it the Arabs bordering on southern Shia dominated Iraq (where all the Iranian oil is). When Washington makes it known to all concerned that it will break Iran into pieces, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Iraqi Kurdistan, and you guessed it the Shia in Iraq will join the US and all descend on Iran to get their part of the spoils. Similar to the German invasion of Yugoslavia during WW2.

See the ethnic map of Iran: http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/middle_east_and_asia/iran_ethnoreligious_distribution_2004.jpg

Iran's infrastructure will be destroyed, it oil province gone. Its Persian population representing 60% of current Iran will have lost the will to carry on. (Let that be a lesson to those call Bush the evil Satan.)

So what kind of Middle East will we have? There will be no talk about democracy in Egypt or Saudi Arabia. Lebanon will have a cowed Hezbollah, which will have lost access to Iranian money and weapons. A Sunni lead Syrian government will be crippled after a civil war with the Alawites. In Iraq, after a protracted civil war three separate states will emerge: Kurdistan, Shia Iraq and Sunni Iraq. Finally there will be a rump Iran that has lost almost half of its territory and population. Everyone will be at each other's throats and all will look to the US to find favour so that each country can get whatever scraps the US will through at it.

Just like in the Balkans. Just like Yugoslavia.

Turkey will be the wild card. Will it try to intervene to stop the emergence of an independent Kurdistan. I don't think so. The US will make it clear that it is in the US national interest that these countries should "liberated". Turkey will be given the option of being with the US or against it. I think that Turkey will go with the US.

The Minimum Necessary
By Joseph R. Biden Jr.
Wahsington Post
Sunday, November 19, 2006

First, Baker-Hamilton must tackle the issue of U.S. troop deployments. Most Democrats believe we should begin the phased redeployment of our troops in the coming months but not set a hard deadline for their withdrawal. We would refocus the mission of those who remain on counter terrorism, training, logistics and force protection.

Macedonia takes Care of Its Own

The Macedonian government must be feeling strong enough to dare suggest that it has a role to play in protecting minority rights for Macedonians in other Balkan countries. My thought, without any proof, is that it has gotten the green light from th EU and the US to pursue this course because support for the Greek position is not viable. With Kosovo about to get its independence and Cyprus coming to a head, they need stability in the Balkans. Giving Greece a kick in the pants is one way to accomplish this.

Makfax vesnik Skopje /25/10/

Macedonian government is concerned with the situation of the Macedonian minority in the neighboring countries, however, it restrains from crossing the point of meddling in internal matters of other countries.

Macedonian Foreign Minister Antonio Miloshoski said this in the interview with Makfax and the biweekly magazine on Euro-integrations "Macedonia in Europe".

"In line with the constitutional commitment, Republic of Macedonia is concerned with the treatment of the Macedonian minority in the neighboring countries, however, all actions relating this do not exceed the limits of internal affairs of the respective country".

Wikipedia on Macedonians

These two Wikipedia links to Macedonian information are great. Wikipedia is a user generated encyclopedia in which individuals can submit their own articles. I'm not sure exactly how they manage "the Macedonian question", but the information seems to be reliable, with the exception that you can obviously tell the bias of the person submitting the article. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts. Wikipedia is important in relaying the fact.

An example is the listing of Macedonians in various census around the world. I did not know that Bulgaria (5071) even allowed Macedonians to be identified as such. Who new their were there were so many in Serbia (25,847) or that Australia (81,899) had more Macedonians that Canada (31,265) and the US (42, 812) combined. The Greek (962) census only recorded those migrants who hold Macedonian citizenship.

Wikipedia - Macedonians (ethnic group)

The Macedonians (Македонци, Makedonci) - also referred to as Macedonian Slavs ^[1] - are a South Slavic ethnic group who are primarily associated with the Republic of Macedonia. They speak the Macedonian language, a South Slavic language, and most of them are part of the Macedonian Orthodox Church. The overwhelming majority of ethnic Macedonians live in the Republic of Macedonia, although there are also minority communities in neighboring Serbia, Greece (in Greek or Aegean Macedonia where the overwhelming majority Greeks also refer to themselves as Macedonians), Albania and Bulgaria, as well as in other diaspora communities in a number of other countries

Slavic language (Greece)

Slavic (Greek: Σλάβικα Slávika, reported self-identifying names: makedonski, bugarski, balgarski [1]) is the term sometimes used to designate the dialects spoken by the Slavophone (i.e. Slavic-speaking) minority of the region of Macedonia in northern Greece; other names include Slav-Macedonian or Dopia. Linguistically, these dialects are classified as Bulgarian or Macedonian Slavic depending on the abstand (distance) of each dialect from the standard languages

Buy Macedonian

This seems to be a website, funded by the EU which tries to promote Macedonian products to the world.

BuyMacedonian.com proudly invites you on a journey to the small Republic of Macedonia, a land steeped with history and natural riches. Macedonia has just begun to blossom into the global marketplace, and it is only natural that the first flower to bloom is one that will affect all your senses and leave you wanting more

RFE Let This One Slip By

Radio Free Europe is not known for promoting the plight of ethnic Macedonians in Greece. This post from 2003 must have slipped by mistake. Good article.

GREECE SET TO OPEN BORDERS FOR ETHNIC MACEDONIAN CIVIL-WAR REFUGEES. Fifty-five years after the end of the civil war that ravaged his country between 1946 and 1948, Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Andreas Loverdos gave a remarkable interview to the Athens daily "Eleftherotypia" of 8 June. In the first-ever such statement by a Greek official, Loverdos signaled that his government is set to change a 1982 law on political emigrants so that Greek-born ethnic Macedonian civil-war refugees would be allowed to re-enter the country. The announcement came just in time for the preparations for the third international meeting of civil-war refugees, which will take place in the northern Greek town of Florina on 15 July.

YOU KNOW YOU ARE MACEDONIAN WHEN

Nice little observaton on Macedonian culture in Australia (US and Canada to). Go to the site for more.

YOU KNOW YOU ARE MACEDONIAN WHEN:

- Your granfather always has a shot of Rakija for breakfast.
- The minute church services are over you go straight for the bar and get smashed.
- You only go out of town for Macedonian Tournaments and Dances.
- Even if you're a girl, your parents (who can't remember your name) call you "sine".
- You are hopelessly trying to bring the Macedonian community in Australia together.
- Your uncle makes his own wine that's stronger than 'rakija'.
- Your mother insists that 'promaja' will kill you.
- Your mother insists you must eat something with 'Sirenje' at least three times a week.
- You base your whole life on the fortune in your coffee cup.
- You use 'Rakija' to cure all illnesses, celebrate all occasions and as a massage lotion.
- You celebrate Christmas, Easter and New Years two weeks after everyone else.
- Your baba will not accept the fact that you're just not hungry

I 'm Sorry for Doubting Nacolec

In response to a posting on by Samovilla at Alt.News.Macedonia, I totally apologise. I now agree with you that the headline was not bombastic, but instead a uncannily accurate reporting of the length and breadth of the canals in in Nacolec. I'm sure that Dolno Dupeni (the hole below) is a very fine place, notwithstanding its name. However, in the spirit of Macedonian unity, we can all agree to make fun of Podmochani even though it will totally "piss" them off. I was going to make fun of Smrdesh, but I did not want to have Slavko Mangovski create a big stink about it. Has anyone ever admitted to being born in Podmochani?

"Another similar incident occurred with the editor and rights activist Slavko Mangovski, the son of a political refugee who was born in the Macedonian village Smrdesh or Kristalopigi in Northern Greece. Slavko Mangovski is editor-in-chief of the weekly magazine Makedonsko Sonce, published in Skopje, and is also known for his defence of the rights of Macedonian minorities in the Balkans. On 28 August, 2000 he attempted an entry at the border crossing of Negochani or Niki in order to visit a festival in a Macedonian village. After the routine computer check, he was advised to wait and after approximately 10 minutes was summoned to the office of what appeared to be the chief of the police and given a Notification Certificate for the Refusal of Entry specifying "other reasons" as grounds for the refusal. At the same time a crossed stamp was placed in his U.S. passport, apparently in order to alert border authorities that he is effectively banned from ever entering Greece."

Note created Oct 1, 2006

Slavko Mangovski: ZoomInfo Business People Information -

www.zoominfo.com/...

The Macedonian Tendency: The Novel

(hopefully … to be a major motion picture)

Preface: Copywrite: David Edenden, 4th, Oct 2006

This novel is a work in progress on the web. As I write this story, any links that might be of interest to the novel would be appreciated. I am especially interested in real individuals at work in the Balkans during the Thirties and Forties with information on the Web.

My two favorite modern mystery authors are Robert Ludlum and John le Carre. Eric Ambler, who started writing in the Thirties, is also interesting to me because of his novels on the Balkans. His novel, The Schirmer Inheritance, which is set in Florina during the Greek Civil War, has some nice local color of ethnic Macedonian partisans.

The “Macedonian Tendency” was originally thought of as a name for a novel. I always liked the Robert Ludlum titles: The Bourne Identity, The Holcroft Covenant, The Osterman Weekend and The Chancellor Manuscript. The Macedonian Tendency seemed to fit right in and has a good ring to it.

Ludlum and le Carre are at opposite ends of the spectrum. With Ludlum, the reader is taken along on a vast thrilling roller coaster ride. Like some rides, you may want to close your eyes and skip a few pages because it won’t really matter. It is the process of reading the improbable plot that provides the entertainment.

My model for the novel, however, is John le Carre because of his ability to weave a probable story with complexity, double identities and double crosses. You can’t miss a page or you will be lost, like in a fog. I will foucs on the behavior of “outside forces” at work in the Balkans. Too many articles have been written with the view that most problems in the Balkans are the result of “ancient hatreds”. This is not true. Two people can always find an accommodation with each other, unless a third party is determined to sow discord: see Jean Paul Sartre’s “No Exit”.

These outsiders will have to distinguish between those who are pro-Communist vs. anti-Communist, pro-Greek vs. pro-Bulgarian vs. Macedonian nationalist. Sometimes, these people could be in the same family, sometime even within the same person

The main character is a naïve young woman, a recent Harvard University graduate, who has been recruited to work for the CIA, circa 1990, before the collapse of Yugoslavia. (I swear, I had this character already formed in my mind before I read about Lindsay Moran). She is intensely religious which means she believes in God and … the devil. Her first assignment is as a desk officer for Yugoslavia, specializing in (you guessed it) Macedonia. All the characters will be fictional but real people will make their appearance when she read newspaper accounts, CIA field reports and prepares classified documents for her superiors

She is not aware of it, but she has some secret family ties to the Balkans since her grandfather was parachuted into the Balkans during WW2 to help in the struggle against the Nazi’s and then against the communists (and Macedonians) during the Greek Civil War. Captain Evans, N. G. L. Hammond and Horace Lunt, will all make an appearance in some fashion.

A Macedonian partisan group in Greece will be working with American agents during WW2 and against them during the Greek Civil War. A few will eventually immigrate to the United States. There will be a Jewish partisan from Florina, who will also find himself in the US after the Greek civil war.

There will be betrayal, division, lies and despair. There will also solidarity, unity, truth and hope. It will be a lot like Macedonia and its history.

The Euorpean Free Alliance

The European Free Alliance is a federation of political parties representing ethnic minorities with representation in the European Parliament. Members include the Scottish Nationalist Party, The Breton Democratic Union, National Party of Corsica, Republican Party of Catalonia and last, but not least in our hearts, Vinozhito Rainbow Party of Greece representing the great ethnic Macedonians of Greece! Below is a link to Answers.com

European Free Alliance

Macedonian Movie better than Da Vinci Code!

"The Secret Book", a film written by Jordan Plevnes, is Macedonia's entry to the Cannes film festival. I can't wait to see this movie. Fiachra has a good sense of humour. Like her, I smell a plot! I think she should look into the Greek film Ulysses' Gaze, by Theo Angelopoulos through the prism of Greek treatment of its Macedonian minority. We will find a real plot there!

Cannes, Cathars and Conspiracy

Fiachra Gibbons
Friday May 26, 2006
The Guardian

Purporting to rock Christendom and the Papacy to its white silk slippers, the Da Vinci Code opened the Cannes film festival last week and quickly became one of the fastest grossing films of all time. But has a hidden hand been at work here?

Why, you may wonder, with so much money at stake, did its producers take the risk of releasing it at the world's snootiest film festival, knowing it might suffer the critical mauling it got?

It may be because they knew that another film about the real heretical "bible" suppressed by the church for the past 1,000 years - a film begun before Dan Brown even set pen to paper -was finally about to be shown.

The Secret Book is the official Macedonian entry at Cannes. But you won't have read anything about it. Oh no. They have made sure of that. Call the Cannes press office and you will be told, as I was, "Quel film est ca? Mais il n'existe pas . . ." It may as well not, for its premiere was hidden away in a tiny screening room at the festival' fag end.

Coincidence or conspiracy? You decide. Brown's novel is based on the "discovery" of a set of highly disputed parchments called Les Dossiers Secret identifying members of a secret society, the Priory of Sion, allegedly descended from the Cathars. The Macedonian film is based on Le Livre Secret, a real mystical book written by the Bogomils, a Manichean cult whose ideas, carried back to France and Italy from the Balkans by returning crusaders in the 11th century, became the basis of the Cathar heresy. Like them, the Bogomils were massacred by the church and their name almost burned from history.

Two later copies of the Secret Book survive - one still hangs in punishment from the ceiling of the Museum of the Inquisition in Carcassonne - but the original written in Glagolic, the old Slavic script wiped out by the cyrillic alphabet imposed by the church, has never been found. Strangely, there is no mention of the book, or indeed of the Bogomils, in Brown's book.

Since it wrapped four years ago - a year before the Da Vinci Code was published - the Secret Book has been beset by obstacles. But Jordan Plevnes, one of three brothers who wrote the script (symbologists take note), is too much of a diplomat to suggest that the whole Da Vinci Code phenomenon is an elaborate smokescreen cooked up to obscure the light they shed on the Bogomils. He is after all, the Macedonian ambassador to France, one of the Balkans' leading playwrights, and his latest novel, the Eighth Wonder of the World, has won one of France's top literary prizes, the Silver Jasmine.

"But it does make you think," he confessed. "And yes, there is definitely a conspiracy at work - a conspiracy of blandness. There is a tyranny of banality now ruling the world; Hollywood and Dan Brown are part of that. This is our European story and we should be allowed to tell it ourselves."

So will we ever see Plevnes' film? That depends on a secretive, semi-masonic group, more powerful than any inquisitor, who decide in darkened rooms what films we get to see - the Distributors of the Priory of Soho.

So if you never hear of the Secret Book again, you will know that they, like Opus Dei and the mad monk Silas, have done their work.

The Secret Book's website is www.tajnatakniga.com.mk

Macedonian Abecedar re-published in Greece after 81 years

It is really good news that the Abecedar is being published in Greece. It is interesting to note that the first government publication in the Macedonian language was produced (but not published) by the Greek government in 1925. It's hard to argue (but not impossible, I suppose) that Tito invented the Macedonian language with this book floating around in Greece.




Macedonian Abecedar re-published in Greece after 81 years

Makfax Skopje, October 3, 2006

The Macedonian-language primer entitled Abecedar, which was published in Athens in 1925 as a result of recognition of Macedonian ethnic minority after the World War I, was re-published in Greece.

The re-publication of the Abecedar, which actually never reached the children of the Macedonian national minority in Greece, was wrapped up recently in Thessaloniki, Skopje's Dnevnik daily said.

The promotion of Abecedar will take place soon in Athens as well as in Thessaloniki and other cities with Macedonian population.

Athanasios Parisis, head of Greek Committee at the European Bureau for Lesser Used Languages (EBLUL), told Dnevnik daily that re-publication of Abecedar is a living proof on Greece's failure to deny the existence of Macedonians.

The publication of the Abecedar was supported by the European and the Greek Bureau on Lesser Used Languages, including the Rainbow party funded by Macedonians in Greece, a member of the European Free Alliance.

The Abecedar, featuring the letters of the Macedonian language spoken in the Aegean part of Macedonia, was printed in Latin alphabet as Greek authorities wanted to make a distinction between the Macedonian, Serbian and Bulgarian language.

In 1920 the League of Nations initiated the signing of treaties relating to the protection of the minorities in a number of European countries, which specified the obligations of the states with regard to providing such minorities with civil and political equality. On August 10, 1920 such a treaty for the protection of the non-Greek ethnic minorities in Greece was signed between the Great Powers and Greece; it was named the Treaty of Sevres. The Treaty of Sevres guaranteed that minorities in Greece free use of their mother tongue in their personal and official relations. /end/

Some thoughts on George Papandreou, Former President of Greece

Below are two articles about the intention of Greek Prime Minister Papandreou to recognize the Macedonian language in the former Yugoslavia and in Greece.

I believe this issue is so important as to put it the scale of Misirkov's "On Macedonian Matters", the ABCEDAR and the founding of the Macedonian literary language in 1944. I have yet to find a good detailed article about this issue. Any good information would be appreciated whether it is a link or some insight. At a minimum, the "Elefteros Tipos" article(s) should be translated.

My theory is that Greece's policy of denying the ethnicity of its Macedonian minority was a model (along with Turkey's treatment of its Kurdish minority, and the invasion of Cyprus) for every fascist, every racist and every ethnic cleanser in the Balkans. It is one of the factors that led to the vicious fighting during the fall of Yugoslavia that seemed to puzzle so many western journalists. Yet few journalists even thought about this issue.

According to "Elefteros Tipos" Papandreou was ready to recognize the Macedonian as a language of Yugoslavia in 1986 and recognize Macedonians as a minority in in Greece 1988. I believe (but am not sure) that Mitsotakis used the "soft on Skopians" argument to defeat him in 1991 with the assistance of the USA and most of the EU who viewed Papandreou as an erratic bogeyman.

Meanwhile Mitsotakis allowed (or continued to allow) Greek students to study in at Kiril and Metodi University in Skopje which indicated a passive recognition of the Macedonian language.

It is my understanding that Papandreou used this issue to outflank Mitsotakis the right by denouncing it as a betrayal of the Greek position on the non-existence of Macedonians. He returned to power in 1994. Like George Wallace in Alabama, he was not going to be "out niggered" on the question of human rights of ethnic Macedonians in Greece and the status of the Republic of Macedonia.

Let us now pause and consider the US position on Greece, which supported the Greek Right and totally ignored human rights abuses against ethnic Macedonians. Papandreou received no "brownie points" from the US/EU for his progressive treatment of Macedonians. Calling US/EU policy hypocritical is like saying the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. It may be human rights abuse in "The West" but in the Balkans its called "life".

It is also worth noting that Robert Kaplan (Balkan Ghosts ) lived in Greece at this time, yet never mentioned this affair in any of his writing.

In Greece, the 1990's were used by the left and the right to see which party could be more hysterical on the "Macedonian Question". US and European reporters (which seemed to suffer from "50 First Dates" syndrome), were perplexed at the Greek position. In all the articles that I have read, no one to my knowledge linked the behavior of the Greek government towards Macedonians as part of the "Balkan problem.

What to do? Why Bother?

There are large forces in operation against Macedonian interests but things change. We have to develop a broader written record of the issue affecting Macedonia to be able to maneuver when change happens. We cannot wait for others to do it for us. Someone with knowledge of Greek should translate these articles.

The Greek paper "Elefteros Tipos" announces that Prime-Minister Papandreu in the talks with Yugoslav presidency member Stane Dolanc has agreed to recognize the Macedonian language as one of the official languages in Yugoslavia. 1988]

Greek Prime-Minister Papandreu and the Foreign Affairs' Karolos Papulias, agree to recognize the Macedonian language in Greece. The banker's affair "Koskotas" brings down the PASOK government, and the documents were never signed

M I L S N E W S Skopje, 20 September, 1994

PAPANDREOU RECOGNISED MACEDONIAN LANGUAGE?
The opposition right wing Greek paper "Elefteros Tipos" (paper
of Nea Demokratia) published a "confidential document" from the
former Yugoslavia, issued 16 March, 1988, proving the then
PASOK govt, i.e., Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou and Foreign
Minister Karolos Papoulias officially agreed to recognise the
Macedonian language. The paper believes president Gligorov is
using the document, which has a decisive influence on
negotiations on the Macedonian question. The document was
signed following a two-day meeting of the then Yugoslavia's
foreign minister Budimir Lonchar and his counterparts from
Bulgaria, Albania, Greece and Romania. It also states minority
issues and improvement of co-operation from aspects of
language, passport regime and border areas. The paper claims
this concession by PASOK dated from a previous Lonchar-
Papoulias meeting back in 1985, and the 1986 meeting between
Papoulias and Stane Dolanc, member of the then Yugoslav
presidency. "Tipos" claims the PASOK did not only recognise the
Macedonian language, but was also ready to recognise the
Macedonian minority in Greece, as well.

Macedonian Students State Department

It's nice to know which American State Department official (Paul Pfeuffer) has Macedonia's balls in his hands.

Macedonian Students at State Department

They also met with Paul Pfeuffer, the department's desk officer for
Macedonia, who said Macedonia has had a greater impact in the southeast
European region than might be expected of a nation of only 2 million
people.

"You're hitting above your weight," Pfeuffer said, an expression used for
boxing competitors who compete successfully in a weight class above those
for which they qualify.

Zoren, who plans to study business and economics in college, said
unemployment is Macedonia's biggest problem, while Ana pointed out that the
country "has a lot of talented young people, but many can't go to the
university because their parents can't afford to send them."

Pfeuffer responded that bolstering the Macedonian economy by setting up the
conditions to attract foreign investment could help fight poverty and
reduce unemployment. He also said U.S. Ambassador to Macedonia Gillian A.
Milovanovic recently visited the United States and encouraged
Macedonian-American groups to establish scholarships for talented students.

The United States will "stand by Macedonia and help it achieve its goals of
EU and NATO membership and a prosperous future," Pfeuffer said. "We want to
be Macedonia's best partner."

The Lost Opportunity of Vasil Tupurkovski

Oct 3, 2006

To: Vasil Tupukovski,
From: David Edenden,


Vasil, when you broke with Kiro Gligorov and indicated that you would write a book about "Ancient Macedonia" I was speechless. I could not understand why you would waste your time with this subject which has been beaten to death by better writers and better historians, when you could have written,
intelligently, about the collapse of the former Yugoslavia and gained a wide audience among the opinion leaders of the US/EU. Among the Western elites, there was a genuine desire to try to understand the collapse of Yugoslavia, which was the most advanced and liberal communist country in Europe.

You were well thought of by the western media and with your command of English would have gained a large sympathetic audience for the Macedonian cause. I had the thought that the position of President of Macedonia should have been ceremonial and real power should have rested with the Prime Minister. Vasil, you should have been President and spent most of your time outside of Macedonia promoting Macedonian recognition. As Macedonian President, world leaders would have been more likely to meet with you, than with some foreign minister whose command of English was limited. Gligorov would have been Prime Minister.

As the Macedonian member of the last Yugoslav "Presidency", you were in an enviable position to write about the collapse of Yugoslavia, which would have found a large audience in the English speaking world. Instead Macedonians have had to content themselves with writers (some more sympathetic than others) like Loring Danforth, Robert Kaplan, Misha Glenny, or Hugh Poulton With your roots in Greek Macedonia, you could have influenced a generation of writers about the Macedonian question.

Its not too late to share your experiences. If you do write a book about the collapse of Yugoslavia, please concentrate of on why the Germans thought Croatia deserved independence while the Kurds of Turkey were being suppressed. Was US/EU/Nato promoting human rights, if so why no action on the plight of Macedonians in Greece.

Louie Dimitrovski's "I am Macedonian (Canadian)

I don't know Louie Dimitrovski, but he is a very funny guy. This is a great satire on what it means to be a Macedonian in Canada. I am trying to collect more fun inofrmation about being Macedonian that is already published on the web. Please send your links to the Macedonian Tendency.

Louie Dimitrovski's "I am Macedonian (Canadian)

I have started a website, powered by Google Pages, so I can put material that no other website has published. Just a work in progress.

The Macedonian Tendency Links

Freedom House On Macedonians in Greece

Freedom House is a pseudo-human rights group. It gives Greece a #1 for being fully free thereby removing any pressure on Greece to change any of its behaviour towards its ethnic minorities. The second paragraph is a joke, let me edit it properly:

"Despite government (stated) efforts, racial intolerance is still pervasive. (Maybe because) The government does not officially recognize the existence of any non-Muslim minority groups, particularly Slavophones (n-words). In addition, the government does not recognize Macedonian as a language, as officials fear the secessionist aspirations of this group (who are not free)".

If any country adopted the Greek position on minority rights ... well, you know the drill.

Greece

Greece tentatively considered a new name for the Republic of Macedonia-Republic of Makedonia-Skopje-proposed by a special UN envoy. Greece has waged a long campaign to deny its northern neighbor's use of the "Macedonia" name, which is also that of a northern Greek province.

Despite government efforts, racial intolerance is still pervasive in society and is often expressed by people in the media, in politics, and in the Orthodox Church. Ethnic and religious minority groups face a number of barriers. The government does not officially recognize the existence of any non-Muslim minority groups, particularly Slavophones. In addition, the government does not recognize Macedonian as a language, as officials fear the secessionist aspirations of this group. Using the term Turkos or Tourkikos ("Turk" and "Turkish," respectively) in the title of an association is illegal and may lead to persecution. Police officers have recently been provided with sensitivity training with respect to human rights and the prohibition of racial discrimination.

1995 US State Department Report on Human Rights in Greece

As I have said before, the US State Department is providing more information on the plight of ethnic Macedonians than either Radio Free Europe and Freedom House. "It's-a-low-down-dirty-rotten-shame."


Greece

The government and public opinion considered that minorities were defined exclusively in the Treaty of Lausanne and reacted negatively to any definition of "minorities" based on the mathematical standard of a group being referred to as a "minority" because it does not form a "majority" or a plurality of the total population.

The government did not recognize the Slavic dialect spoken by persons in the northwestern area of the country as "Macedonian," a language distinct from Bulgarian. Most speakers of the dialect referred to themselves as "natives." A small number of Slavic speakers insisted on the use of the term "Macedonian," a designation which generated strong opposition from the ethnic Greek population. These activists claimed that the government pursued a policy designed to discourage use of their language.

On October 20, the ECHR ordered the government to pay $42,294 (35,245 euros) to the Rainbow Party for violations of 2 ECHR articles: the right to a fair hearing and the right to freedom of assembly and association. The ruling faulted police for failing to take measures to prevent, or at least contain, violence during a 1995 demonstration instigated by the town council and local priests, during which Rainbow Party members were assaulted after the group hung a sign written in both Greek and the "Slavomacedonian dialect" outside party headquarters. The ECHR also held that the seven years and one month that authorities took to investigate the case was an excessive and unreasonable amount of time.

In May 2004 a former Greek Orthodox priest who became a priest of the Macedonian Orthodox Church was issued a three‑month prison sentence, later suspended, for holding religious services without a house of prayer permit. He appealed the sentence, but at year's end there was no decision.

The law permits the government to remove citizenship from persons who commit acts contrary to the interests of the country for the benefit of a foreign state. While the law applies to citizens regardless of ethnicity, it has been enforced in all but one case only against persons who identified themselves as members of the "Macedonian minority." The government did not reveal the number of such cases, but it was believed to be low, and there were no reports of new cases during the year. Dual citizens who lost their citizenship under this provision sometimes were prevented from entering the country on the passport of their second nationality. Activists charged that several expatriate "Slavo-Macedonians" whose names appeared on a "black list" were barred from entering the country.

A number of citizens identified themselves as Turks, Pomaks, Vlachs, Roma, Arvanites (Orthodox Christians who speak a dialect of Albanian), or "Macedonians" or "Slavomacedonians." While some members of these groups sought to be identified as "minorities," or "linguistic minorities," others did not consider that these identifications made them members of a "minority." The government formally recognized only the "Muslim minority" and did not officially acknowledge the existence of any indigenous ethnic groups, principally Slavophones, under the term "minority." The previous government, however, affirmed an individual right of self‑identification. Some individuals who defined themselves as members of a "minority" found it difficult to express their identity freely and maintain their culture. Use of the terms Tourkos and Tourkikos ("Turk" and "Turkish") is prohibited in titles of organizations, although individuals legally may call themselves Tourkos (see section 2.b.). To most Greeks the words Tourkos and Tourkikos connote Turkish identity or loyalties, and many objected to their use by Greek citizens of Turkish origin.

US State Department (again!) Takes Greece to Task Over Ethnic Macedonian Minorit y Rights

I love ironies and this is a big one.There are a number of psuedo-human rights groups, starting with Radio Free Europe and Freedom House, which ignore human rights abuses against ethnic Macedonians by the Greek government. These groups are funded by the US government. However, US government reports, such as this one on religion,and one on human rights, put a spotlight on Greek government abuses. If someone can put together a good analysis as to why this should be so, I would love to hear it.

Greece
International Religious Freedom Report 2006
Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor

In May 2004, Nikodim Tsarknias, a former Greek Orthodox priest who is now a
priest of the Macedonian Orthodox Church, was sentenced to three months in
prison, a sentence which was suspended by the Aridea Criminal Court of
First Instance, on charges of establishing and operating a church without
authorization after he held Macedonian language religious services without
a house of prayer permit. Tsarknias's sentence could not be appealed in the
country; he intended to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.

Catalan MEP Comes to the Rescue of Macedonians in Greece

The report below is from Bernat Joan i Mari, the Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the European Free Alliance Party which represents minorities from Scotland, Spain and Greece, among ohters. It is just par for the course that in meetings with Greek Officials, the Macedonian representatives of the European Free Alliance (Rainbow Party) were excluded from the meeting. These are EU values at work! This is the link for the Rainbow Party of the same meeting.

Greece and Bulgaria fail to comply on national minority rights says Catalan MEP

Florina/Lerin & Blagoevgrad/Gorna Dzumaja, Wednesday, 20 September 2006 by Georgios N. Papadakis
http://www.eurolang.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2711&Itemid=0

Greece and Bulgaria are continuously failing to comply with international accords concerning human rights and protection of ethnic and linguistic minorities, while historic-based propaganda is used to justify the hostile attitude of both states towards their Macedonian minorities. These were the main conclusions of the European Free Alliance's, a European Parliament political party (EFA), fact-finding mission in the region held last week. It was led by the Catalan MEP and EFA Vice President , Bernat Joan i Mari, and the Partys co-director Guenther Dauwen.

In a press conference held in the city of Florina/Lerin after the European Free Alliance delegations meetings with Greek local authorities, Bernat Joan i Mari stressed that it is unacceptable and counter-productive to continue to deny the existence of the Macedonian people and their language and urged Greece to organize an open census allowing Macedonians to declare their ethnic, linguistic and cultural origin.

The Catalan MEP, who sits on the Culture Committee of the European Parliament and a sociolinguist by profession, rejected the Greek allegations that Macedonian is a not a distinct and different language. He concluded that now is the time to overcome the burdens intentionally raised by Greeces obsession with disputable historical facts and look towards the future based on the present situation.

The EFA representatives had the chance to witness how Greece deals with the issue of Macedonians living in the country in a meeting with high-ranking officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and university professors in Thessaloniki/Solun.

Although the delegation was invited to visit Greece by local EFA affiliate party EFA-Rainbow, which campaigns for recognition of the Macedonian minority, the representatives of this party were expelled from the above-mentioned meeting because they did not have a personal invitation. It is considered by EFA Rainbow that it is part of the policy of the Greek state to avoid any kind of direct dialogue with Macedonians.

The fact finding mission of EFA continued in the Pirin region of Bulgaria, home to the majority of ethnic Macedonians. According to Guenther Dauwen the situation there resembles that in Greece, Bulgaria recognises no separate Macedonian nation or language and puts all sorts of obstacles in order to avoid electoral participation of Macedonian political parties. For example, Bulgaria changed the law for the formation of a legal political party. Now 5,000 signatures are required for the official application instead of 500 in the past.

OMO Ilinden Pirin, the organization for Macedonians in Bulgaria, and EFA observer member, is so far the only victim of the 5,000 quota policy, they also face hostile Bulgarian authorities and press. Stojan Georgiev, vice president of OMO Ilinden Pirin, told the delegation that after a request to host an event in the city of Blagoevgrad/Gorna Dzumaja, the mayor replied that they should go to Macedonia to do it.

According to OMO Ilinden Pirin the mainstream media often use defamatory statements when referring to the Macedonians in Bulgaria. EFA were told during the visit that there were reports that OMO Ilinden Pirin tried to bribeRoma and Turks in the city of Goce Delcev with 50 leva (24 euro) in order to collect the necessary amount of signatures for the registration of the party. Georgiev categorically rejected these allegations, pointing to the miserable financial situation of the party and its members and urged EFA to intervene so that the EU makes the recognition of the Macedonian minority conditional to Bulgarias EU accession.

Last Sunday in Istanbul, speaking to a conference organized by Turkish associations from western Thrace in Greece, Turkish PM, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, accused Greece of ignoring international treaties and not applying the commitments it undertook regarding the protection of minorities. He also urged the EU to take a closer look at member states that do not fulfil certain human rights criteria while at the same time being extremely critical to candidate countries over the same issues. (Eurolang 2006)

Related links:
www.e-f-a.org
www.focus-fen.net (Bulgarian News Agency)
www.maknews.com (Macedonian News Portal)

Hiding Your Ethnic Macedonian Identiy

Because I am a Macedonian from Greece, I am fascinated by people, who have gone to great lengths to hide their ethnic identity. Jews are one group that seem to be susceptible to this pressure, even in free societies. Yet when outsiders look at the Macedonian question, they seem to be amused by the concept of people choosing to be something they are not. Loring Danforth is someone who has written well on the Macedonian question, but has not done enough to show other people, such as Jews (you know… the self-hating kind) respond.


Story about a Macedonian visiting his Grkoman Relatives in Canada

This is a story I heard about a young Macedonian visiting from the Republic of Macedonia. He made the rounds to all the relatives including two Grkoman cousins.

Both brothers were married to Greeks. The younger one was married to a fair haired, good looking woman, (probably a Vlach ... as my mother would say), while the older one was married to someone that looked like Maria Callas ... you know the type ... a real Greek.

It turns out when he arrived at the house both brothers and their families were waiting for him. The brothers first starting talking to him in Greek. Since he did not speak Greek, they switched to English. He also did not speak English. There was an awkward pause and they then started to speak in Macedonian.

The good-looking wife of the younger brother, naively started asking, in a chirpy voice, what language are you speaking? How did you learn to speak this language. How come you did not tell me you spoke another language. Probably realizing that is must be the language they speak in "southern Serbia" she said that she want to learn this language. The two brothers totally ignored her, as did her sister-in-law.

The jaw of the wife of the older brother ... dropped. It seems that she must have immediately realized that she had unknowingly been married to a "slavic gypsy pig" for all these years. Yikes!

Not Only Macedonians Hide Their Identiy

This is an interesting article by Charles Krauthammer about Jews hiding their ethnic identity, even to their own families. This is happening in America with no offical policy of discrimination against Jews. As an ethnic Macedonian from Greece, I know that I have relatives in Greece who do not know that they have ethnic Macedonian roots. I am sure that they have gone to demonstations shouting "death to slavic-gypsy-pig-skopians". Greece does have a well defined strategy against its ethnic Macedonian minoirty. The aricle after this relates to an incident in Toronto

Everyone's Jewish

Strange doings in Virginia. George Allen, former governor, one-term senator, son of a famous football coach and in the midst of a heated battle for reelection, has just been outed as a Jew. An odd turn of events, given that his having Jewish origins has nothing to do with anything in the campaign and that Allen himself was oblivious to the fact until his 83-year-old mother revealed to him last month the secret she had kept concealed for 60 years.

Slate, Franklin Foer, and Michael Kinsley (An Itch I Cannot Scratch)

It is just over nine years ago that the paragraph below was published in the on-line news magaize, Slate. I immediately sent a correction to the writer Franklin Foer (who is currently editor of "The New Republic") and then editor Michael Kinsley, to no avail. In the past 9 years, I have made a nuisance of myself sending letters to almost everyone at Slate including "Corrections", "Kaus Files", "Explainer" etc, plus I posted this letter to Alt.News.Macedonia. I no longer receive confirmation emails from Slate, so I think that I must be blocked by the "spam" filter.

A few years ago, Howard Kurtz, media critic, of the Washington Post, was amazed to learn that during the "Jason Blair affair", no one, who was quoted by Blair, called the New York Times to report that Blair's articles were complete fabrications, and that they had never met the man. Their reason was that it would do no good to contact the Times, because nothing would be done. I believe that Kurtz' comment was "incredible".

Well Howard, this coming April 27th, 2007 will be the 10th anniversary of this article and I intend to publish a reminder that this article will not, as I expect, have been corrected.

This is an itch I cannot scratch.


Eastern Europe
By Franklin Foer
Sunday, April 27, 1997

Macedonia (-3.2 percent growth; 50 percent private. Democracy relatively strong: free elections, though minority groups claim oppression.) Though Macedonia avoided the Balkan War, ethnic tensions and instability are a problem. Last year, the country's liberal, pro-West president was seriously injured in a car-bomb attack. A Greek minority demands that Macedonia, with its ethnically Albanian majority, be absorbed into Greece.

Lets Build a Statue to Donald Rumsfeld in Macedonia's Capital City, Skopje.

Glad we can help Rummy, by providing Macedonian troops to fight terrorism in Iraq!

Thanks for your role in recognising the Macedonians, against Greek objections, as "a people" and not, as the Greek slander would suggest slavophones "with no history, no culture, no religion, no identity."

DefenseLINK News: Rumsfeld Honors Macedonian Troops, Visits Romanian Airbase

Earlier today Rumsfeld was in Skopje, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, where he met with President Branko Crvenkovski and other officials and attended a bilateral meeting with Defense Minister Vlado Buckovski.
The secretary signed an agreement in Skopje calling for U.S.-Macedonian military cooperation to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The United States also agreed to provide Macedonia with technical assistance, training, equipment, and $250,000 to be used in the fight against global terrorism.
During an awards ceremony, Rumsfeld thanked three Macedonian soldiers cited for their actions in Iraq that helped save U.S. servicemembers' lives. One other Macedonian soldier who'd been similarly cited wasn't present at the ceremony.
Rumsfeld arrived in Skopje on the evening of Oct. 10, after spending the day in Iraq visiting U.S., coalition and Iraqi troops at Al Asad, Baghdad, Kirkuk, and Irbil.
At a press conference held at a Macedonian government building, Rumsfeld praised Macedonian troops in Iraq for "standing shoulder-to-shoulder with American and coalition forces to help to create a free Iraq, a liberated Iraq." There are now about 32 Macedonian soldiers in Iraq, including Special Forces troops.
Macedonia's work in NATO's Partnership for Peace program and the Adriatic Charter, Rumsfeld noted, "is helping to improve stability in the region."
The secretary also praised Macedonia's actions to reform and democratize its military and political system, noting he assured senior Macedonian government officials that the United States supports those reforms and Macedonia's desire to join NATO.
The secretary said he deeply appreciates Macedonia's "steadfast support" in the global war on terrorism. The U.S. looks to continued partnership with Macedonia, Rumsfeld said, "to strengthen our military cooperation in the future."

Condi Rice named "Person of the Year" by The Macedonian Tendency

You have to read this article by Gene Rossides, President, American Hellenic, Institute and former Assistant, Secretary of the Treasury. I like to watch Greeks as they piss in their own soup. He blames a number of high ranking Republicans for past, present and anticipated future setbacks for Greece and Cyprus. These people have Greece by the "yaceh" and he proceeds to spit in their face. Thank you Gene!

Based on Gene's report, we are pleased to announce that Ms. Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of State Designate is The Macedonian Tendency's "PERSON OF THE YEAR"!

Ms. Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of State Designate, has been in the center of all the foreign policy decisions of President Bush. During the first Bush administration she was the foreign policy person closest to the President. She will have a far greater influence on foreign policy than Secretary of State Colin L. Powell.

Ms. Rice, as National Security Advisor, was involved in the betrayal of Greece in the administrationʼs unilateral decision to recognize the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) as the Republic of Macedonia. The U.S. policy had been that we would use the name FYROM until Greece and FYROM by negotiations determined a solution to the name issue. The U.S. broke its pledge. It appears that a staff member of the NSC proposed the change in policy which Ms. Rice approved as did the State and Defense Departments.

77 US Politicans Adopt the Greek Postion on Human Rights for Ethnic Macedonians

September 7, 2006

From: David Edenden, The Macedonian Tendency
To: The 77 Co-Sponsors of H. Res. 521: (see below)

Re: "People good, politicians bad"

When my grandmother used to talk about the the Germans in WW2 or the Greeks and communists in the Greek Civil War, or why ethnic Macedonians, struggling for human rights in Greece, cannot gain support from the government of the US, EU, and Canada, she always said, in broken English, that "people good, politicans bad". That is why ...

Ethnic Macedonians Hate the 77 Co-Sponsors of Resolution 521, They Love America

Using the issue of human rights for Macedonians in Greece, I want to discuss with you the perception that people around the world hate the United States. Some say that only extremists hate the US because of its' values of freedom and democracy. Others say this hatred is based, not on what the US is, but what it does. The debate in the US has been clouded by the war on terror, Islamic fascism and anti-Semitism. However, I stand with those who say hatred of the US around the world is based on what the US does.

Your resolution supports the Greek position that Macedonians should change the name of their country (The Republic of Macedonia), their religion (The Macedonian Orthodox Church), their language (Macedonian), their national anthem (Denes Nad Makedonija - Today Above Macedonia) because the very word "Macedonian" belongs to Greek culture. I guess, for good measure, every ethnic Macedonian folk song that has the word Macedonia in it should also be changed. At the same time, you applaud Greece as being a close friend of the US in the Balkans.

You are obviously aware that Greece's values regarding minority rights are based on the denial of the existence of ethnic Macedonians. Greece does admit to a "slavophone" minority that speaks an "idiom" and does not have a language, history or culture, you know … a bunch of "N….. Words". Even so, you ardently support Greece in its' cold war with the Republic of Macedonia over the "name issue". You must agree that your support of Greece's (Nato member) minority rights values are also your values. You are with them (Greece) and against us (ethnic Macedonians). Certainly Greece's values are Nato values, by definition, since Greece is a member in good standing of Nato. You must also agree that any former communist country in Eastern Europe, using Greece as a model for minority rights, will be admitted into Nato, no questions asked … by definition.

Most ethnic Macedonians in Greece, Bulgaria, Albania, and the Republic of Macedonia love the US. They have close family ties with the Macedonian Diaspora in the US. In addition, everyone in the Republic of Macedonia is aware of the assistance the US gave to its capital city, Skopje during the 1963 earthquake, which almost destroyed the city. With US assistance, Skopje, one of the most backward cities in communist Yugoslavia became the most western looking. You may not know this, but a much young and a much thinner US State Department employee, Lawrence Eagleburger spearheaded the relief effort. In Macedonia today, he is still known as "Lawrence of Macedonia" in honour of his efforts.

But, let's get back to the hatred of the US around the world. For all ethnic Macedonians, living in all the Balkan counties and around the world, it's not the CIA, it's not Walmart, it's not US rap music, it's not Hollywood movie sex and violence, it's not American drug culture,its not Donald Rumsfeld, its not Condoleezza Rice and it's especially not President Bush (1), (2), that they hate. It's you, every member of the "Greek Issue Caucus". The refusal of the "Greek Issues Caucus" to even look at the human rights abuses of ethnic Macedonians in Greece, may be useful in gathering political donations to your election campaign from the Greek community, but is hurting America. It is what you have done, not what you are.

My suggestion, is for you to ask the American Hellenic Institute to fund your fact-finding trip to Florina (where most ethnic Macedonians in Greece live). When you get to Greek customs, bring along a Macedonian language Bible and Macedonian dictionary to see if they will allow you to bring them into Greece or will they confiscate them at the border (good luck). Ask to attend an ethnic Macedonian wedding to see if people are courageous enough to sing in the Macedonian language (no way). Ask to be taken to an ethnic Macedonian Church (so sorry) or ethnic Macedonian language radio or TV station (dream on). You can meet with the ethnic Macedonian political party, the Rainbow Party (watch your back). Go to a high school to see if Macedonian is taught as a second language (don't even think about it).

Anyway, at least you have taken the time to read this. Good luck and God bless.

77 C0-Sponsors of H. Res. 521: (09th U.S. Congress (2005-2006))

"Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) should cease its distribution of negative and nationalist propaganda and should work with the United Nations and Greece to find a mutually acceptable official name for the FYROM."

Sponsor: Rep. Carolyn Maloney [D-NY]

Cosponsors

Rep. Robert Andrews [D-NJ]

Rep. Brian Baird [D-WA]

Rep. Shelley Berkley [D-NV]

Rep. Michael Bilirakis [R-FL]

Rep. Timothy Bishop [D-NY]

Rep. Jeb Bradley [R-NH]

Rep. Henry Brown [R-SC]

Rep. Sherrod Brown [D-OH]

Rep. Lois Capps [D-CA]

Rep. Michael Capuano [D-MA]

Rep. Benjamin Cardin [D-MD]

Rep. Dennis Cardoza [D-CA]

Rep. Russ Carnahan [D-MO]

Rep. William Clay [D-MO]

Rep. John Conyers [D-MI]

Rep. Joseph Crowley [D-NY]

Rep. Danny Davis [D-IL]

Rep. Rosa DeLauro [D-CT]

Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart [R-FL]

Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart [R-FL]

Rep. Michael Doyle [D-PA]

Rep. John Duncan [R-TN]

Rep. Anna Eshoo [D-CA]

Rep. Chaka Fattah [D-PA]

Rep. Bob Filner [D-CA]

Rep. Barney Frank [D-MA]

Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen [R-NJ]

Rep. Raymond Green [D-TX]

Rep. Alcee Hastings [D-FL]

Rep. Maurice Hinchey [D-NY]

Rep. Rush Holt [D-NJ]

Rep. Darlene Hooley [D-OR]

Rep. Steve Israel [D-NY]

Rep. Jesse Jackson [D-IL]

Rep. Marcy Kaptur [D-OH]

Rep. Sue Kelly [R-NY]

Rep. Patrick Kennedy [D-RI]

Rep. James Langevin [D-RI]

Rep. Barbara Lee [D-CA]

Rep. Sander Levin [D-MI]

Rep. Zoe Lofgren [D-CA]

Rep. Nita Lowey [D-NY]

Rep. Edward Markey [D-MA]

Rep. Doris Matsui [D-CA]

Rep. Carolyn McCarthy [D-NY]

Rep. James McGovern [D-MA]

Rep. Mike McIntyre [D-NC]

Rep. Michael McNulty [D-NY]

Rep. Martin Meehan [D-MA]

Rep. Gregory Meeks [D-NY]

Sen. Robert Menéndez [D-NJ]

Rep. George Miller [D-CA]

Rep. Jerrold Nadler [D-NY]

Rep. Eleanor Norton [D-DC]

Rep. Frank Pallone [D-NJ]

Rep. Donald Payne [D-NJ]

Rep. Nick Rahall [D-WV]

Rep. Charles Rangel [D-NY]

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen [R-FL]

Rep. Steven Rothman [D-NJ]

Rep. Bobby Rush [D-IL]

Rep. Loretta Sanchez [D-CA]

Rep. Janice Schakowsky [D-IL]

Rep. Adam Schiff [D-CA]

Rep. Allyson Schwartz [D-PA]

Rep. Robert Scott [D-VA]

Rep. Christopher Shays [R-CT]

Rep. Brad Sherman [D-CA]

Rep. Hilda Solis [D-CA]

Rep. Charles Taylor [R-NC]

Rep. John Tierney [D-MA]

Rep. Edolphus Towns [D-NY]

Rep. Christopher Van Hollen [D-MD]

Rep. Diane Watson [D-CA]

Rep. Henry Waxman [D-CA]

Rep. Anthony Weiner [D-NY]

Rep. Curtis Weldon [R-PA]

Venice of Macedonia? I doubt It.

A bombastic headline conceals an interesting article about ancient boats in Nakolec, Republic of Macedonia. Nakolec, an ancient Venice ... yeah right! Therefore, Dolno Dupeni must be the Paris of the ancient Balkans! And don't get met started on Podmocani! Next time Ivan, write your story before you consume a bottle of "rakia".

Forgotten Macedonian Venice Reveals Pre-Historic Artifacts:

Monday, 04 September 2006

Source: Macedonian daily newspaper Vreme

Written by Ivan Blazhevski

Translated by UMDiaspora Staff

For decades now, the Cultural Center in Resen has housed boats, some 4,000 years old. They belonged to the Prespa inhabitants of the Stone Age, and were discovered on the shores of Lake Prespa."

Sacred Mysteries of Macedonia

This is an upscale "adventure travel"firm that is taking people to Macedonia. Anyone who has any non-Macedonian" friends, and who really want an adventure, direct them to this site. As an added bonus, this Richard Brangs adventure to Macedonia has really pissed off the Greeks!

Richard Bangs Adventures Presented by Yahoo!

Sacred Mysteries of Macedonia

This month we visit Macedonia, a country better known in legend than in fact. Historians know Alexander the Great came from this mountainous land north of Greece; Bible-school children learn that Paul made his first Christian converts here. But few know that Macedonia has endured through the ages, its cultural integrity intact. We'll unearth some of its ancient mysteries and share its modern-day pleasures.

As usual, the dispatches are written by Richard Bangs, one of today's leading travel writers. He has led first descents of 35 rivers around the globe, including the Yangtze in China and the Zambezi in southern Africa, and has published more than 500 magazine articles, over a dozen books, a score of documentaries and several videos and CD-ROMs. He founded the adventure travel company Sobek Expeditions in 1973, and since has traveled the world, taking a global audience with him.

Sean Connery Plays the Reincarnation of Alexander the Great

This is a good movie about the Kalash people in Pakistan who are said to be descendents of the army of Alexander the Great. Macedonians and Greeks are fighting an internet war ( No support for a Greek Origin of the Kalash) as to whether they are the descendents of Greeks or ethnic Macedonians ... good fun!

The Man Who Would Be King
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

The Man Who Would Be King (1888) is a short story by Rudyard Kipling concerning two British ex-soldiers who set off from 19th century British India in search of adventure and end up as kings of Kafiristan (now part of Afghanistan). The story was inspired by the travels of American adventurer Josiah Harlan.

The story was first published in The Phantom Rickshaw and other Eerie Tales (Volume Five of the Indian Railway Library, published by Wheelers of Allahabad in 1888). It also appeared in Wee Willie Winkie and Other Stories in 1895, and in numerous later editions of that collection.

In 1975, it was adapted into a feature film by director John Huston, starring Sean Connery as Daniel Dravot, Michael Caine as Peachey Carnehan, and Christopher Plummer as Rudyard Kipling (giving a name to the story's anonymous narrator). The doomed Billy Fish is played by Saeed Jaffrey."

In Soccer, Sedloski is Macedonia's Man Of Steel

Nice article about Macedonian soccer team.

Macedonia’s man of steel - Football - Times Online
The Sunday Times September 03, 2006

Macedonia’s man of steel
JONATHAN NORTHCROFT
Goce Sedloski may not have made an impact during his time in Sheffield but he is set to lead Macedonia when they face England on Wednesday

The player “made his mark in history”, according to Uefa. That there has been no rush of acclaim in his direction was due partly to the “feat” in question, scoring the first goal of the Euro 2008 qualifying competition, a landmark sufficiently contrived to bring to mind those small towns in the US whose road signs trumpet “Home to the World’s Largest Paperclip” or some such.

The obscurity of the player was also a factor. Goce Sedloski? No, me neither.

Yet the name means something to certain people. “Ah, you’ll be phoning about Sedloski,” said Steve Chu, the communications manager at Sheffield Wednesday, as soon as I uttered the word “Macedonia”. The Sedloski who was captain and scorer in Macedonia’s 1-0 victory over Estonia last month is the same Sedloski who signed for Wednesday in 1998, to be billed by Ron Atkinson as the Balkan Tony Adams. His transfer cost £750,000, with Wednesday agreeing to pay Hadjuk Split a further £1m once he had gone on to make 100 appearances.

Learn Macedonian

This is the only computer course on learning the Macedonian language that I know of. It requires Windows 2000 or higher. If anyone has had experience with it send a brief review or comment and I will publish it.

Learn Macedonian or 31 other lang Publish Post uages with free software downloads

Ethnic Macedonians Hate Ileana Ros-Lehtinen , They Love America

Sept 1, 2006

From: David Edenden,
The Macedonian Tendency

To:Ileana Ros-Lehtinen,
US Republican Congresswoman
Greek Issues Caucus
18th District, Florida

Dear Ileana Ros-Lehtinen,

Using the issue of human rights for Macedonians in Greece, I want to discuss with you the perception that people around the world hate the United States. Some say that only extremists hate the US because of its' values of freedom and democracy. Others say this hatred is based, not on what the US is, but what it does. The debate in the US has been clouded by the war on terror, Islamic fascism and anti-Semitism. However, I stand with those who say hatred of the US around the world is based on what the US does.

Your article, in the National Review took the position that Macedonians should change the name of their country (The Republic of Macedonia), their religion (The Macedonian Orthodox Church), their language (Macedonian), their national anthem (Denes Nad Makedonija - Today Above Macedonia) because the very word "Macedonian" belongs to Greek culture. I guess, for good measure, every ethnic Macedonian folk song that has the word Macedonia in it should also be changed. At the same time, you applaud Greece as being a close friend of the US in the Balkans.

You and your staff are obviously aware that Greece's values regarding minority rights are based on the denial of the existence of ethnic Macedonians. Greece does admit to a "slavophone" minority that speaks an "idiom" and does not have a language, history or culture, you know … a bunch of "N….. Words". Even so, you ardently support Greece in its' cold war with the Republic of Macedonia over the "name issue". You must agree that your support of Greece's (Nato member) minority rights values are also your values. You are with them (Greece) and against us (ethnic Macedonians). Certainly Greece's values are Nato values, by definition, since Greece is a member in good standing of Nato. You must also agree that any former communist country in Eastern Europe, using Greece as a model for minority rights, will be admitted into Nato, no questions asked … by definition.

Most ethnic Macedonians in Greece, Bulgaria, Albania, and the Republic of Macedonia love the US. They have close family ties with the Macedonian Diaspora in the US. In addition, everyone in the Republic of Macedonia is aware of the assistance the US gave to its capital city, Skopje during the 1963 earthquake, which almost destroyed the city. With US assistance, Skopje, one of the most backward cities in communist Yugoslavia became the most western looking. You may not know this, but a much young and a much thinner US State Department employee, Lawrence Eagleburger spearheaded the relief effort. In Macedonia today, he is still known as "Lawrence of Macedonia" in honour of his efforts.

But, let's get back to the hatred of the US around the world. For all ethnic Macedonians, living in all the Balkan counties and around the world, it's not the CIA, it's not Walmart, it's not US rap music, it's not Hollywood movie sex and violence, it's not American drug culture and it's especially not President Bush that they hate. It's you Ileana … and every other member of the "Greek Issue Caucus". The refusal of the "Greek Issues Caucus" to even look at the human rights abuses of ethnic Macedonians in Greece, may be useful in gathering political donations to your election campaign from the Greek community, but is hurting America. It is what you have done, not what you are.

My suggestion Ileana, is for you to ask the American Hellenic Institute to fund your fact-finding trip to Florina (where most ethnic Macedonians in Greece live). When you get to Greek customs, bring along a Macedonian language Bible and Macedonian dictionary to see if they will allow you to bring them into Greece or will they confiscate them at the border (good luck). Ask to attend an ethnic Macedonian wedding to see if people are courageous enough to sing in the Macedonian language (no way). Ask to be taken to an ethnic Macedonian Church (so sorry) or ethnic Macedonian language radio or TV station (dream on). You can meet with the ethnic Macedonian political party, the Rainbow Party (watch your back). Go to a high school to see if Macedonian is taught as a second language (don't even think about it).

Anyway, I am asking a lot from you since probably no ethnic Macedonian has ever contributed to your electoral campaigns. Instead, why not meet with members of the St. Demetrius (oh-god-dam-it … it's a Greek!) Macedonian Orthodox Church, Plantation, Florida.

Anyway, at least you have taken the time to read this. Good luck and God bless.


Macedonia’s unresolved title has been an obstacle to Balkan stability.

By Ileana Ros-Lehtinen

On May 8, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) for the first time in its history marked Europe Day. A few weeks earlier, foreign minister Ilinka Mitreva met with ambassadors of NATO countries to emphasize her country’s serious aspirations to become a member of the transatlantic security network.

A candidate country for European Union membership since December 2005, and lobbying for a positive signal from the NATO summit in Riga this fall, FYROM is actively preparing to become a full member of the international community. But one crucial precondition of this process is still missing — the country is still referred to by its transitional name, FYROM.

As a senior member of the House International Relations Committee and dear friend of the Greek people, I am troubled by the unresolved dispute over the name used to identify this West Balkan nation. Finding an internationally acknowledged name could bring substantial stability to the region and pave the way for further integration of FYROM into the international community.

Since FYROM declared its independence in 1991, it has asserted its right to be recognized as the Republic of Macedonia. Greece has objected to this name, saying it causes confusion with regard to the Greek region of Macedonia. Even though Greece and the FYROM have been consistently consolidating their relationship, and Greece, being FYROM’s leading trade and investment partner, just recently confirmed its support for FYROM’s EU membership, the name issue continues to be an irritant.

This dispute has slowed Greece’s efforts to help FYROM through far more consequential problems in the region. Greece, recently referred to by Condoleezza Rice as America’s “best friend in the Balkans,” is the region’s giant in terms of democracy, economic investment, security, and stability. Over 3,500 Greek firms are already operating in the Balkans; Greek investment exceeds $10 billion and trade exceeds $4 billion; and Greece’s GDP is twice as large as the combined GDP of the six other Balkan countries. Greece’s full engagement will be necessary for success in the Balkans.

It is now time to solve the only serious obstacle remaining: the name issue.

I welcome the Bush administration’s efforts to deepen their diplomatic engagement in the Balkans, as illustrated by Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns, when he testified on Capitol Hill earlier this year. As former U.S. ambassador to Greece and former U.S. ambassador to NATO, Burns knows the Greek and Balkan sensitivities involved in the name issue very well.

I view the undersecretary’s engagement as a positive signal that the U.S. will return to a more balanced approach to the name dispute. In November 2004, the Colin Powell-led State Department decided to suddenly change its policy and recognize FYROM as “The Republic of Macedonia,” a step which caused great dismay to Greece. NATO, the EU, and the U.N. continued using the name “the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.”

In a letter I recently sent to Secretary of State Rice, I noted that “it is important that our government return its focus to solving this difficult name issue and to helping officials in FYROM understand now that their domestic vote issue has passed, they must move back to sincerely trying to find a name that is acceptable to both sides.”

An American engagement makes sense for a number of reasons. The Administration’s switch in title recognition for FYROM was not a change of principle. All along the U.S. has maintained that FYROM’s final name should be acceptable to Greece, and we have encouraged the U.N. and others to maintain that position.

In March, the Greek government also accepted as a basis for negotiations a title presented by the Special Representative of the U.N. Secretary General, Matthew Nimetz. He recommended “Republika Makedonija” for domestic use and “Republika Makedonija-Skopje” for international use.

The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia has played a small but symbolic role with regard to the Global War on Terror and our mission in Iraq. FYROM employs troops in Iraq and also supports the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan.

The U.S. has encouraged FYROM’s preparations for NATO membership by signing the Adriatic Charter initiative, which underlines Albania’s, Croatia’s, and FYROM’s dedication to strengthening their individual and cooperative efforts to intensify and hasten domestic reforms which enhance the security, prosperity, and stability of the region.

As a member of the Hellenic Caucus, I have co-sponsored various pieces of legislation encouraging the involved parties to find a mutually acceptable name for the FYROM. One such bill received more cosponsors than 97 percent of 809 House resolutions introduced in the 109th Congress. For the benefit of FYROM and the benefit of the region, the U.N.’s proposal should be accepted as a basis for serious negotiation. I am confident that Greece and FYROM can negotiate a mutually acceptable win-win title for both countries.

Peace and stability in the Balkans are crucially important to the United States. and resolving the FYROM name dispute will be an essential step toward this goal.

— Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen is a senior member of the House International Relations Committee as well as the Chairwoman of the Subcommittee on the Middle East and Central Asia