SAE U.S.A - World Council of Hellenes Abroad (SAE)

Metodija A. Koloski, President

United Macedonia Diaspora

Washington, D.C. 20036

Thursday, May 10, 2007

Dear Mr. Koloski,

Sincerely

Re: From Vardaska to "Macedonia"

Your letter to Congresswoman Maloney requires a response due to its errors and its misstatements. The first error that requires correcting is your statement that 1900’s maps of Macedonia purportedly showed the northern region of Greece and the current former Yugoslavian republic of Macedonia ("FYROM") as one.

Dear Mr. President,

During the 1900's, still under Ottoman dominion, the area was divided into three vilayets. Skopje was the capital of the Kosovo vilayet and it was never a part of the ancient geographic area of Macedonia. Until 1944, the area that is now legally referred to as the FYROM was called "Vardarska Banovina" until the Hellenic name of Macedonia was usurped by Marshall Broz Tito for expansionist and propaganda goals.
Second, there is no "identity crisis" in the Greek government. Greece does not need to prove anything to anyone; her history, culture and presence throughout the millennia speak for her volumes. On the contrary, FYROM- a new entity- seeks the recognition of other states. Additionally, the number of countries recognizing FYROM as “Macedonia” is highly questionable. You try to paint the picture of FYROM as a cooperating beacon of democracy, yet you insist on using the name “Republic of Macedonia” disregarding the directives of the UN. According to the interim accord and as per UN Resolutions in 1993 the name of the country is "the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia", or simply the FYROM, until a permanent name is agreed between this country and Greece.

Third, it is unfortunate that President Bush has decided to back up the name "Republic of Macedonia" despite ongoing United Nations efforts. This acknowledgement, however, does not change the diplomatic efforts underway by the United Nations and many countries, which support the United Nations and its efforts to reach a resolution fair and agreeable to both concerned parties.Fourth, you stated that coming to an Interim Agreement with Greece caused humiliation to your country. Well, it depends on how your country understands humiliation. Greece, as an example, does not consider the efforts undertaken by two countries in reaching an agreement for their mutual benefit as humiliation. Here we need to emphasize that this is exactly what the Interim Agreement attempted to accomplish. 

Fifth, the Greek government and the Greeks from Greece and the Greeks Abroad Diaspora do not intend to usurp any nation’s history and culture. We are very content with our rich cultural history, a history that is hard to deny or ignore. To juxtapose that, there are other countries and cultures that decide to resort to propaganda in order to artificially create a culture; at times, they even try to steal from other country's cultures by borrowing names, symbols and other elements.

Greece and FYROM cooperate in matters of military and security efforts, cross-border investments and cultural exchanges. Greece is the most important investor in your country, with 57% of the total foreign investment coming from Greece. Furthermore, Greece has supported FYROM’s accession efforts into the European Union. If Greece harbored hostile sentiments towards FYROM as you claim, then how do you justify all of the above?

Finally, if FYROM's intention was to work with the United Nations and indeed has agreed to an interim name, namely if its intent is really cooperation, then why insist on using a name that has been taken from its neighbors?

If FYROM's intention is cooperation and the establishment of a democracy like the United States, why then not work with the country whose economic impact on FYROM is important to its development? It appears as though that the propaganda and rewriting of history that you accuse Greece of has actually been perpetrated by the efforts of your State. Greece has no reason to engage in identity theft. Can FYROM claim the same?

Sincerely

Ted G. Spyropoulos,

Coordinator of S.A.E.- U.S.A. Region

 Cc: The Honorable Carolyn Maloney

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi

The Honorable Gus Bilirakis

The Honorable John Boehner

The Honorable Jim Costa

The Honorable Eliot. L. Engel

The Honorable Luis Fortuno

The Honorable Elton Gallegly

The Honorable Ruben Hinojosa

The Honorable Robert D. Inglis

The Honorable Tom Lantos

The Honorable Thaddeus McCotter

The Honorable Brad Miller

The Honorable William Pascrell, J.

The Honorable Ted Poe

The Honorable Ileana Ros-Lehtinen

The Honorable Linda T. Sanchez

The Honorable Albio Sires

The Honorable Mark Souder

The Honorable John S. Tanner

The Honorable Robert Wexler

The Honorable Joe Wilson