My "Salade Macedoine" Politics

By David Edenden

Like many neo-cons, I also come from a leftist tradition. While the neo-cons venerated Trotsky, I came from a family tradition where it was often said that "if Stalin and Tito had not split in 1949, the communists would have won the Greek Civil War and Macedonia would be united and free! within the framework of a Balkan Federation." Or small talk over a barbecue ... "lets face it, Stalin made a few mistakes".

I have reluctantly come to the conclusion that capitalism, with all its faults, is the best system for the majority of the people. This revelation came to me while taking an economics class in university. The professor showed brilliantly, in a low key manner, that the greater the freedom, the greater the prosperity. I am now a"functional capitalist", or, if you will, a libertarian ... with a heart.

A book called 'functional socialism" made the case for government regulation of the economy without direct government ownership. I believe in the same technique, lets call it"functional capitalism". For example, I am open to the privatization of the entire public school system, with proper regulatory guidance. To me it just makes common sense and not part of a far right conspiracy. The far right favors partial privatization merely as a way of breaking the teachers' union. This I oppose ... because I have a heart.

I am a federalist, in the Balkans, the EU and in North America. I am even open to the idea of Canada joining the US, with Quebec having the status of "Puerto Rico of the North", while the other nine provinces join as individual states. (While we are at it, let's through in the Caribbean, Australia and New Zealand).

Notwithstanding political theories, the rich always seem to hold power over government and corrupt the legislative process. The result is that some people get the elevator and while others get the shaft. I do not worship at the alter of business, big or small. I take my cue from James, the Brother of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Letter of James5 (1-6)

Warning to Rich Oppressors

"1 Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you.

2 Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes.

3 Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days.

4 Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty.

5 You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter.^[a]

6 You have condemned and murdered innocent men, who were not opposing you."

And finally, because of Macedonian history, I am an anti-imperialist. I believe in "the rule of law" in international affairs which is opposite to the concept of "national interest" (the doctrine of the Devil). The UN is a flawed organization (FYROM ) (HERE) which cannot be reformed. My solution is keep the UN, but expand the OSCE to include all true democratic countries of the world and have this group take over most of the "functions" of the UN in areas of human rights and aid to the Third World. In a real sense, we can start from scratch. Eventually, the UN will wither away and "the lion will lie down with the lamb"!

All in all, a nice "salade macedoine" mixture of political philosophy.

Bush Likes Mike Zafirovski

By David Edenden

Good for Mike Zafirovkski being appointed By George Bush to this very important committee which will fight the electronic "War on Terror". Mike, if Bush was listening, I take back everything I said.

President George W. Bush to Appoint Nortel CEO Mike Zafirovski to National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee



President George W. Bush has announced his intent to nominate Nortel(1) (TSX: NT)(NYSE: NT) President and CEO Mike Zafirovski to the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC). In its advisory role to the president, the NSTAC provides industry-based analysis and recommendations on a wide range of policy and technical issues related to telecommunications, information systems, information assurance, infrastructure protection, and other national security and emergency preparedness concerns.

As a presidential appointee to NSTAC, Zafirovski would serve as a resource for the President and his national security team in efforts to safeguard critical U.S. infrastructure and telecommunications networks. In this capacity, Zafirovski would participate in discussions on a broad range of policy and technical issues related to telecommunications, critical infrastructure protection, homeland security, and other security concerns.

"I am very proud of this honor, and look forward to contributing to this important committee and serving the President during what will be a critical new era for technology and communications," said Zafirovski. "The rate of technology innovation promises to surpass that of any other time in recent history. We are entering a hyperconnected era that will not only transform the way people interact, but enable work, education and social interaction across all corners of the planet."

As President and CEO of Nortel, Zafirovski is building on the Company's strength in networking innovation to deliver new technologies that enable new levels of personalization, security and mobility to communications. Zafirovski, 53, is a 30-year business veteran with global management experience at Motorola and General Electric. He also serves on the board of directors of Boeing.

An active member of civic and business communities, Zafirovski serves on numerous professional, educational and non-profit business organizations, including The Economic Club of Chicago, Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago, Duke University Parent's Board, The Canadian Council of Chief Executives and the Macedonian Arts Council.

A native of Macedonia, he received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in 2004.

Gruevski to Bush: Come on Over!

Macedonian_News_Service : Message: Daily Bulletin:

Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski sent a letter to U.S. President George Bush in response to his personal message, in which he expressed his satisfaction from their meeting in Tirana and Macedonia's progress regarding NATO membership.

"I was honored to meet you in Tirana earlier this month. I highly value this exceptional opportunity and our direct and open discussion with our common friends and partners from Albania and Croatia on the future of the Balkans.

Under your leadership, the United States significantly enhanced our efforts to strengthen the Macedonian multi-ethnic democracy and market economy. As a result, the Republic of Macedonia has been able to assume its part of responsibilities and to participate in the important missions in Iraq, Afghanistan and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

I am grateful for the vital support you have given for our membership in NATO. The Republic of Macedonia is dedicated to finalize the reforms and we are aware that our work will continue even after we join the Alliance. We know that the opportunity to join the Alliance has become a reality and we will do everything within our power to earn that privilege. For the people of Macedonia, next April’s Summit in Bucharest is a meeting with our destiny. Our people have been waiting for too long to join the European mainstream and we will seize this historic opportunity.

Expanding NATO with Albania, Croatia and Macedonia, a timely resolution of the final status of Kosovo, and opening the European door for Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro, will transform the Balkans into a zone of freedom, stability, and economic prosperity.

I would like to invite you, after the Summit next year, to visit Biblical Macedonia, to come to Ohrid, the centre of Christianity that in the XIV century had 365 churches, one for each day of the year, so that together with my colleagues from the region, we could celebrate the crowning of your vision expressed in 2001 in Warsaw for Europe whole, free and at peace.

God bless you, your family and the American people", reads the letter of PM Gruevski to U.S. President Bush.

US and Macedonia Share Info on Islamic Terrorism in the Balkans

By David Edenden

I don't usually publish full length articles except when they are very important and speaks for itself. For further information, buy Christopher Deliso’s new book, The Coming Balkan Caliphate: the Threat of Islamic Extremism to Europe and the West

Exclusive: How the US Ordered Increased Activity against Macedonia’s Islamists after the Fort Dix Arrests

6/22/2007 (Balkanalysis.com)

The May 7 arrests of six Islamic radicals, four of them ethnic Albanians originally from Macedonia and Kosovo, led American intelligence officials to issue a direct order to their Macedonian colleagues, urging them to redouble efforts against known and unknown Islamic radical elements in the country, Balkanalysis.com can now report.

The alleged aspiring terrorists have been held without bail since their arrest and were indicted on June 5. While the majority of news reports on the subject have remained preoccupied with details such as the ‘true’ nationality of the men arrested or their prior experience as refugees, or the larger legal issues of whether the FBI had erred into using entrapment, little was said of the ripple effect the operation would have on unfolding counterterrorism developments in the Balkans specifically.

However, according to two Macedonian intelligence officials speaking off the record, in a meeting held soon after the arrests in New Jersey, “we were told by our American colleagues to intensify our work [against Islamic extremist elements], and to find out more about their operations here… and identify new players.”

This testimony contradicts the conventional wisdom that states the US is omniscient when it comes to counter terrorism work in the Balkans. This belief is cultivated by popular culture (television shows depicting ingenious agents performing daring and efficient operations, etc.) yet has apparently been instilled in the hearts of many. For example, one American official in Skopje surveyed by Balkanalysis.com regarding local security developments, shortly before the Fort Dix arrests were made, stated confidently that “we have a very good handle on the situation…we are aware of everything going on [involving Islamic radicals].”

However, the fact that the US administration was caught off-guard by the Fort Dix arrests, and their links to the Balkans, is indicative that this is not always the case. What remains unclear is whether the order to the Macedonians to pick up the pace came as a result of a directive from Washington- and if so, from whom.

In the bigger picture, the fact that the arrests came also less than two months before President Bush’s trip to neighboring Albania can also be attested as a reason for enhanced vigilance. It would have happened, in other words, with or without a botched jihadist plot in New Jersey. A second major reason for a clean-up is of course the NATO conference in Ohrid on June 28-29, which has led to unprecedented security measures in this idyllic lakeside tourist town in preparation for over 800 foreign guests.

Indeed, according to the Macedonian intelligence officers, the CIA has, over the past 9 months, dramatically increased the frequency of requests for information on the growing fundamentalist Wahhabi community in Macedonia. This new focus has been mirrored by allied services, such as the British, French and Italian, not only in Macedonia but in Bosnia and, as Balkanalysis.com recently reported, in Albania as well.

Nevertheless, the disconnect between ‘mission accomplished’-type rhetoric and the reality is still wide. A less than discreet operational protocol is occasionally revealed in the details. A veteran European intelligence officer with long experience of the Balkans mocked an alleged American “intelligence-gathering” procedure in Skopje. “Once a week, without fail, they send someone from the embassy down to an Islamic bookstore in the Carsija (old town) of Skopje…and they buy all of the new Islamist literature, if there is any, bid them good day and go back.”

A second case indicating less than perfect knowledge was seen a year and a half or so back, when a Skopje newspaper presented the US Embassy with publicly-available data received from an outside party, confirming that an Albanian-language jihadist website, previously registered in Lebanon, had been transferred to the name of a Macedonian woman in an ethnically-mixed neighborhood in the central Macedonian town of Veles. “They seemed genuinely surprised by this and thanked us,” said one newspaper representative involved. Despite the provocative jihadist content of the website, nothing more was heard about whether the investigation yielded any results- or, more likely, whether it was even begun.

The discrepancy between assumed greatness and a more pedestrian reality is not surprising, considering the internal criticism that Western counter terrorism efforts have received in the past. In Balkanalysis.com director Christopher Deliso’s new book, The Coming Balkan Caliphate: the Threat of Islamic Extremism to Europe and the West, several former security professionals in the Balkans weigh in on the topic, generally supporting the thesis that the US does not necessarily know all that goes on- and, in some cases, deliberately seeks to avoid doing so.

The most outspoken of these officials is Tom Gambill, an OSCE Security Officer in Kosovo from 1999-2004. In numerous meetings and through private correspondence, Gambill presented evidence of a concerted Islamic fundamentalist build-up in Kosovo, sometimes involving known terrorist entities, to army and intelligence officials from the US and allied countries. When he mentioned such intelligence data gleaned from sources in the field indicating a terrorist presence, however, he was often ignored. “The peacekeeping motto was, ‘don’t rock the boat.’ So long as everything bad that was going on could be hushed up or smoothed over, the policy was to leave it alone.”

Gambill’s testimony is reminiscent of the situation in Bosnia a few years earlier where, according to the Jerusalem Post, the Clinton administration had sought “to keep the lid on the pot at all costs” regarding its role in abetting the Iranian infiltration of the country with mujahedin, military trainers and heavy weapons during the 1992-1995 civil war. While that was done to suppress an embarrassing and shortsighted government policy, the disregarding of dubious developments in Kosovo has had more to do with the general mediocrity and every-man-for-himself dynamic of a non-accountable UN peacekeeping mission.

While the foiled plot to massacre soldiers at Fort Dix appears to have been more a case of wishful thinking than anything else, it was an important case in that it showed that Balkan Muslims who had previously been helped by America could in fact turn against their benefactors. There have not been any demonstrated connections between the plotters and any groups in Macedonia, though US authorities were no doubt correct to err on the side of caution in ordering their local colleagues to take a more active stance.

Despite the unlikelihood that a specific connection will be found linking the “Fort Dix Six” to Macedonia, some dedicated security officers there took satisfaction in knowing that the arrests in New Jersey had spurred the US into action. “This (the arrests) was the best thing that could have happened for us,” said one intelligence officer. “Now we can get down to work and hopefully the Americans will respect more what we have to say.”

Future counter terrorism operations in Macedonia will likely branch out to new terrain. While the major population centers such as Skopje and Tetovo remain the places where most known radicals live, at present a significant trend is the growth of fundamentalist groups in the central and central-western mountainous areas of the country, from the Karadzica-Kitka massif westward to Debar, including rural areas near Prilep, Brod and Kicevo. Outside funding from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and others is responsible for the growth of Islam in predominantly poor and ethnically-confused mountainous areas that, with time, could materialize into more significant areas of concern, as the state has done little to offer social alternatives for marginalized groups.

I like Bush

I wrote a letter to Slate magazine long ago, objecting to their Bushism column and I also now object to David Letterman's equivalent video segment, because to be funny is to be unexpected. Making fun of Bush's intelligence is not funny unless you are Roger Ailes, then it is really funny. . Both Gore and Kerry were never subjected to this kind of mean spiritedness, although Edward Kennedy, like Michael Jackson and O.J. Simpson, is. I think that journalists should study Bush's recognition of Macedonia by its real name to see what makes Bush tick. I think he did the right thing for the right reason. Not many US journalists are interested in that. Oh!, I also like Rice and Rumsfeld.

Bush Stands Firm Against Greek Lobby

Impact of Trajkovski's death on George W. Bush

Macedonia wins Recognition from US

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

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

I like Russia!

I have collected most of the posts to my blog that mention Russia. I like Russia, partly because of pan-Slavic, pan-Orthodox common values and partly as a counterweight to US/EU, which can betray Macedonia for their own self interest.

Russia, as a great power, is also able to betray Macedonia, but it will do so only as a last resort and with feelings of guilt and anguish, unlike the US/EU which will do so without a moments thought. The fist two links are from 2004 and give some detail to my thoughts. The rest of the links are in order of the most recent posts. I basically agree with the bipartisan Macedonian consensus that Macedonia join the EU (enthusiastically) and Nato (regretfully).

When communism fell in Eastern Europe, I was sure that the EU would offer to immediately include all these countries as "associate members" including Russia. Each would be able to progress to full membership at their own pace. The EU would have its own army and Nato would would immediately been dissolved. The OSCE would be reformed and re-named. The US would still part of the OSCE, but could withdraw its troops, redeploy them else where and save a ton of money. Why the EU chose to make the Eastern European countries jump through hoops and point a Nato dagger at the heart of Russia, I will leave to a later post.

Note to George Bush: The American troops in Europe would have come in handy in Iraq today!

Posts From 2004

BBC NEWS | Europe | EU hardens accession conditions (2004)

Russian Minister visits Macedonia (2004)

Most Recent Posts First

Get Russia Involved!

US/EU Balkan and Russian Policy: "Because I Said So"

US to Russia "Bring It On!"

US/EU Has Serbia's "Jace" on the Menu

Solana is a One Man Destabilization Movement

Pseudo-Human Rights Group - National Democratic Institute (NDI)

With Russia, we are 145 million!

Balkanalysis.com - Collision Course: NATO, Russia and Kosovo

EU Reconsiders Expansion

Is the EU Still the Right Road for Macedonia?

A consensus of Serbian positions on Kosovo

Macedonia and Russia Wash Each Others Hands

On Lindsay Moran, CIA Spy, From A Macedonian Who Knew Her

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]

United Macedonian Diaspora Lobbies Rice

We have to have more of these high profile communications with the White House and the State Department.

Letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice - Steve Gligorov: "Letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice

July 1, 2005

Steve Gligorov
United Macedonian Diaspora
P.O. Box 19028
Washington, D.C. 20036
Phone: (202) 294-3400
E-mail: umdiaspora@gmail.com

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice

U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, D.C. 20520

To The Esteemed Secretary, Ms. Condoleezza Rice:

The purpose of this letter is: a) to underscore state sponsored discrimination against minorities because of their race, skin color, creed, national origin, or respective religion by the Greek government; and, b) to encourage the United States to remain firm on its policy decision recognizing the country of Macedonia, under Macedonia's constitutional name, 'Republic of Macedonia.'"

The morally correct decision to recognize the Republic of Macedonia, by the Bush Administration, stirred much controversy from the country of Greece, and it stirred much controversy from many Greek-Americans, such as Senator Olympia J. Snowe (R-ME). The primary problem, as the Greek government presents it, is that The Republic of Macedonia has nothing to do with the "cultural heritage of ancient Macedonia."

Conversely, the real problem with recognizing Macedonia (as presented by oppressed Greek citizens, as presented by the U.S. Department of State 2004 Country Report on Human Rights Practices, and according to the United Nations Human Rights Committee) is the systematic state sponsored civil rights discrimination by the Greek government and the specific "unwillingness of the [Greek] government to allow any private groups or associations to use associational names that include the appellation ...Macedonian, based upon the state party's assertion that there are no ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities in Greece..." who are in fact of Macedonian national origin or ethnicity.

Moreover, "[t]he [U.N.] committee notes that individuals belonging to such minorities have a right under the Covenant (the U.N. International Covenant on Civil and Political Human Rights, article 27) to the enjoyment of their own culture, the profession and practice of their own religion, and the use of their own language in community with other members of their group."

In the United States, all Americans, despite the color of their skin, creed, national origin, or their religion, are generally free from unconstitutional state sponsored discrimination. Equally, it is important that minorities of Macedonian national origin living in Greece be free from unconstitutional discrimination because of their creed, religion, or national origin. We live in a day and age where state sponsored hatred based on ethnic discrimination is absolutely intolerable. Civil rights discrimination, including Anti-Semitic or religious discrimination by Greece is not consistent with American foreign and domestic policy; moreover, the United States should not acquiesce to any government that uses such horrid and detestable tools of societal oppression.

The following excerpts and attestations are directly from an April 26, 2005 letter drafted by Greek citizens who are being discriminated against because of their Macedonian ethnicity, national origin, or their Macedonian religion. The letter was delivered to the President of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament, to the Commissioner on EU Enlargement, and to the 25 Ministers of the EU countries, as well.

As Greek and European citizens we are obliged to point out that today the key to this so-called "Macedonian issue" lies elsewhere, and not in the conceptual and linguistic objections of the Greek government. The problem that the Greek government diligently conceals is its (as well as Bulgaria's) refusal to recognize the existence and to respect the rights of the Macedonian nation. This of course also entails the refusal to recognize the existence and the rights of the Macedonian minority in Greece. The problem as the Greek government presents it has nothing to do with the so called "cultural heritage of ancient Macedonia", or that a portion of the Greek territory bears the administrative name of the District of Macedonia and the neighbor state calls itself also Macedonia or the Republic of Macedonia.

What the Greek government stubbornly refuses to admit is that it does not agree with the ethnic use of the terms "Macedonia," or "Macedonian" because of the existence of the Macedonian minority in Greece. Greek politicians maintain that the Macedonian minority in Greece is likely in the future to rise up with separatist demands. This - and not the name of the Republic of Macedonia - is the real and diachronic problem for every Greek government. However, if the Greek government admits this, then it must also proceed with corresponding measures to recognize and respect the rights of the minority - which, unfortunately, it does not currently do. We believe that it is precisely the contrary policy - i.e. the repression and violation of a minority's rights - that leads to unrest and disturbances of the peace. The former Yugoslavia taught us this lesson not very long ago.

To quote the famous American civil rights activist, Dr. Martin Luther King, "[i]njustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." The injustice against minorities by the Greek government cannot and should not continue. On June 23 2005 President George Bush forwarded a letter to Congress noting his concern as to "acts obstructing the Ohrid Framework Agreement of 2001 in the Republic of Macedonia" and "[t]he crisis constituted by the actions of person engaged in, or assisting, sponsoring, or supporting (i) extremist violence in the Republic of Macedonia, and elsewhere in the Western Balkans region..." To this end, the extremist acts of the Greek government (as documented by Greek citizens, by the United Nations, and by the U.S. Department of State) require international oversight, international investigation, and international intervention.

The Bush Administration and the Republic of Macedonia both deserve praise in their partnership to eliminate ethnic discrimination in the Balkans. Moreover, former United States Ambassador to the Republic of Macedonia, the esteemed Lawrence Butler, has stated numerous times how America views Macedonia, the Macedonian government, and the Macedonian people. "Today it [Macedonia] stands out as the Balkans only multiethnic, multicultural society. It has [a] truly multicultural, multiethnic government," says Ambassador Butler. Accordingly, the Greek government should learn by example from its neighbor, the Republic of Macedonia. Thus, any attempts by the Greek government to detract attention from their documented state sponsored violations of civil and human rights against minorities cannot and should not go unnoticed; specifically, it is these civil rights violations by Greece that are at the heart of the Macedonia name issue.

Bipartisan support underscoring the need to end oppression against minorities by the Greek government is strongly urged. Any talks relating to the Macedonia name issue must incorporate, and focus on, the discrimination of the Macedonian minority in Greece, as well. At the end of the day, a country's official name generally poses very little harm to ordinary people, but the harm posed by turning a blind eye to bigotry, prejudice, and fanaticism allows discrimination to thrive. Please help stop the discrimination by supporting the Republic of Macedonia and all affected minorities in Greece and the greater Balkans.

Sincerely,
Steve Gligorov, Esq.
Civil Rights Advocate
United Macedonian Diaspora

Enclosures: 1. Letter By Greek Citizens to EU Council of Foreign Ministers (26 April 2005), 2. Letter from President of the United States to Congress (23 June 2005), 3. U.S. Department of State Country Report on Human Rights Practices (2004), 4. Concluding Observations of the United Nations Human Rights Committee (Eighty-third Session 31 March 2005), 5. Greek Helsinki Monitor-Minority Rights Group Press Release (18 April 2005), 6. United Nations Information Services-Human Rights Committee Concludes Review of Report by Greece (24 March 2005).

1. (President Bush Letter)

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/06/20050623-5.html

2. (United Nations Information Service)

http://www.unis.unvienna.org/unis/pressrels/2005/hrct664.html

3. (Letter by Greek Citizens of Macedonian ethnicity)

http://www.florina.org/html/2005/2005_letter_to_eu.html

4. (U.S. Department of State Country Report: Greece)

http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2004/41684.htm

5/6. (United Nations recommendations on Greek discrimination)

First Click on: http://cm.greekhelsinki.gr/index.php?sec=194&cid=610

Next Click on:

http://cm.greekhelsinki.gr/uploads/2005_files/ghm682...

Stevo Pendarovski on Trajkovski

I liked Trajkovski. He will be missed.

Institute for War and Peace Reporting

Trajkovski - A Leader who Crossed the Divide

The tone was typical of a man whose faith impacted strongly on his politics, urging him constantly in the direction of forgiveness even when it was not always the surest way to survive politically. Trajkovski’s political career involved taking big risks. He used all his authority to push for a peace agreement with Macedonia’s ethnic Albanian rebels. The result was the 2001 Ohrid peace deal, which paved the way for the creation of a multi-ethnic state and rescued the country from all-out war. Trajkovski taught his fellow Macedonian politicians to understand that nationalist rhetoric was not the way ahead. He introduced a new model for politicians that had hardly been seen in Macedonia. He was a real people’s man, direct, easy to approach, honest and above all human. If those attributes are now expected of all politicians, that is part of his legacy. What, then, is the rest of the legacy of a president whose political ideas will surely outlive the brief time he spent in office, and which were not always hugely popular at the time. For one thing, he put his small country on the world map. In May 2001, he prayed together with President George Bush. Alongside the most powerful man on earth, he knelt in a small chapel in the White House. This was an event that Macedonia, with a population about a fifth of New York City’s, is unlikely to witness the like of again. The same year he met Russian president Vladimir Putin three times, including a meeting in the Kremlin that ran to three times the length envisaged in the protocol.

Bush Likes the company of Macedonian

Powerfull Macedonian lobby at work!



Reality Macedonia : Detroit: Bush Attended Macedonian Kolede Celebration

George W. Bush, the President of U.S.A., climbed down from the stage to shake hands with Svetozar Stameski – Svetle, at the Kolede (Christmas) celebration organized in Detroit, in the area predominantly inhabited by Macedonians.

"By this act Bush bestowed great honor on Stameski, a Macedonian lobbyist and Republican Party member, but this also meant great honor for all Macedonians in attendance," stated for Dnevnik Petko Zafirovski, member of the Macedonian-American National Association.

American President thanked for the support during the presidential elections. Several members of the Association were invited at the meeting, with Stameski as special guest.

Impact of Trajkovski's death on George W. Bush

One of these days, a journalist is going to ask George Bush a question about the tragic situation of the oppressed ethnic Macedonians in Greece who are looking to the United States of Amercia for freedom and liberty.



In my opinion the death of Macedonian President Boris Trajkovski, a fellow Methodist Christian of the US President, had a profound effect on George W. Bush. He could not have helped but be impressed that Macedonians who are 98% Orthodox Christians would be so open minded as to elect a Methodist Minister as their President.



It didn't help that Colin Powell was prevented from attending the closing ceremonies of the Olympic Games which were financed mostly by American television rights!





Daily Press Briefing for November 29 -- Transcript



QUESTION: Another issue. FYROM, Mr. Boucher. I am fully aware of your aversion to ancient history, but there is a matter in which ancient history affects present-day reality. The November Background Note you just released the other day on the so-called "Republic of Macedonia," internationally known as FYROM, as written, since legitimized the arrogant disclaims of FYROM, no more, no less. This DOS note implies that the so-called "Republic of Macedonia," like the U.S. Marine manual for which the Greek Government protested earlier, leaves the clear impression that this state has its mission the liberation of the rest of Macedonia.



Is the Department of State aware of the implication arising from its practices of attributing "national identity" via geography?



MR. BOUCHER: I guess I -- my basic point would be I don't agree with your interpretation of the Background Note, that you say it implies this, it leaves the impression of that, that somehow we're supporting wider claims of a broader Macedonia. That is not the policy of the U.S. Government, nor is it the policy of the Macedonian Government, and I just don't -- I'll look at our Background Note again, but I really don't think it leaves that impression or implies that, frankly.



QUESTION: (Inaudible) of the Background Note, including the new appointed Ambassador to Greece, Charles Ries, who at the present time is in charge for the European affairs, too, here at the State Department, explain to the average Greek why a state that comprise of only 38 percent of the total land of ancient Macedonia should be treated as the "liberated segment" after it accept totally the name of the Greek region with the same name that consisted of 58 too of the total of the ancient land?



MR. BOUCHER: Who's referring to it at the "liberated section"?



QUESTION: Yes.



MR. BOUCHER: We are doing that? No, you are. I'd say you are. I just want to make sure.



QUESTION: Let me explain. In the whole historical page --



MR. BOUCHER: First of all, I don't think we imply or leave the impression or want to intimate, in any way, that we support Macedonia beyond Macedonia's borders. We think that the Republic of Macedonia deserves to be called by that name. We've explained that already. But that is not implying something about expansionism or a greater Macedonia or any of those terms that you keep throwing around.



Nor do we view the Republic of Macedonia as the liberated portion of Macedonia. We see it as an entity that deserves recognition and respect from the United States and the international community because of the way it's handled its own affairs, and that it's not itself committed, nor are we pushing it or encouraging it, to take any expansionist ideas in mind.



QUESTION: Let me be more -- to clarify. Why did Department of State force history, based on this move, presented Alexander, parenthesis, quote, "the Great," unquote, parenthesis, why, in parenthesis and quotation? May we have an explanation? It's in the text.



MR. BOUCHER: I honestly don't know.



QUESTION: It's a very serious matter.



QUESTION: It sounds like a movie review.



QUESTION: It's from the text.



MR. BOUCHER: I honestly don't know why he's referred to that way. There must be a style manual somewhere that says it.



Okay, let's move on to other things.



QUESTION: Wait, wait, I have a Macedonia question.