FYROM
Alexander Shiarella, Staff Writer
November 17, 2009
Filed under International Spotlight, Top Stories
In the spirit of Le Jardin’s newly found commitment to internationalism, I decided to reestablish my own understanding of the globe and write an article for the International Spotlight section of this newspaper. In doing so, I read various maps and atlases, and became aware of the numerous countries whose existences have long eluded my knowledge. As such, through the humble stories of these unfamiliar, exotic nations, places like Kyrgyzstan, Burkina Faso, and Canada, I began to gain a new fascination for the vast world outside of Hawaii. Still, there was one country in particular whose ambiguity caught my eye, one enigmatically labeled “FYROM”.
The FYROM, or perhaps better known as The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, or just the Republic of Macedonia, or simply Macedonia, is a country that that has gone by many names. Still, ‘what’s in a name?’ you might ask. Well, Shakespeare aside, in the case of the FYROM there is actually quite a bit. In hearing the name Macedonia, you are likely drawn back to the simpler days of freshman World History with stories of Philip II of Macedon and Alexander the Great. However, unlike Alexander the Great, the inhabitants of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, are neither ethnically Greek or out to conquer the globe. In fact, “Macedonians” as they like to be called, are a South Slavic people who correspondingly speak Macedonian, a South Slavic language. ‘Why then are these Slavic people called Macedonians?’ you might again ask. Well, the inhabitants of the FYROM give varied reasons for the name, ranging from claims to ancestral ties with Alexander the Great to references to the historical geographic region of Macedonia. Valid or not, such claims first gained public attention in 1946 when the People’s Republic of Macedonia was established as a federal state of the Federal People’s Republic of Yugoslavia. In 1963, when Federal People’s Republic of Yugoslavia changed to the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the People’s Republic of Macedonia also transitioned to the Socialist Republic of Macedonia. Finally, in 1991, when the Socialist Republic of Macedonia gained independence from the former Yugoslavia, the country changed its name to the current constitutional form, the Republic of Macedonia. This immediately incited strong opposition from their Greek neighbors who also claim direct ancestral ties from the ancient Macedonian Empire and also cite Macedonia to be a region of Northern Greece. In resistance to this ambiguous use of the word Macedonia, Greek Macedonians protested around the world. In addition, the Greek Government, which is both a member of the European Union and NATO, threatened to veto any attempt by the Republic of Macedonia to enter either organization under that name.
Adding to the dispute was the fact that the new flag of the Republic of Macedonia featured the Verginia Sun, a symbol associated with the ancient Kingdom of Macedon. In 1993, the United Nations decided to admit the Republic of Macedonia under the name “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”. At this point, even seating in the General Assembly became an issue when Greece rejected the FYROM from being seated under the letter M, and the FYROM refused to be seated under the letter F. As a compromise, the nation was placed under the letter T, next to Thailand. Following this, most other international organizations, including the EU, the European Broadcasting Association, and the International Olympic Committee, began referring to the Republic of Macedonia under the name the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. However, since this change, most other UN member countries, including the US, Russia, the UK, and the People’s Republic of China, have recognized the FYROM under its constitutional name, the Republic of Macedonia. Global protests over the issue from both Greek Macedonian and Slavic Macedonian communities reached a climax in 1994 when Australia’s recognition of “the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” incited a series of arson attacks in Melbourne. In October 1995, an interim accord was agreed upon by both nations which included a change in the Republic of Macedonia’s flag as well as other agreements. However, in November 2008, following Greek opposition to the FYROM’s admittance to NATO, the Republic of Macedonia instituted proceedings before the International Court of Justice against Greece for violating the terms of the interim accord. In April 2009, the president-elect of the FYROM, Gjorge Ivanov, held a meeting calling for a reasonable compromise over the name dispute. Many names have been proposed including, “New Macedonia”, “Upper Macedonia”, “Slavo-Macedonia”, “Nova Makedonija”, and “Macedonia (Skopje)”. However all of these names have been rejected by the Greek government, which does not want the new name to contain any reference to “Macedonia”. In response, they proposed the names “Vardar Republic” or “Republic of Skopje”, but the government of the Republic of Macedonia insists that the term “Macedonia” be incorporated in the name. More recently, the Greek government has supported the name the “Republic of Northern Macedonia”. The issue has yet to become completely resolved.
So there you have it. Now, whether your maps say FYROM, Republic of Macedonia, or the Republic of Skopje, hopefully you have a little more awareness of this modest, Vermont-sized nation, and their long struggle to establish a national identity. As for the future, who knows? Maybe the United States will decide to become to the Republic of Northern Mexico. Anything is possible.
With reference to the paragraph “In April 2009, the president-elect of the FYROM, Gjorge Ivanov, held a meeting calling for a reasonable compromise over the name dispute. Many names have been proposed including,“New Macedonia”,“Upper Macedonia”,“Slavo-Macedonia”,“ Nova Makedonija”, and “Macedonia (Skopje)”. However all of these names have been rejected by the Greek government, which does not want the new name to contain any reference to “Macedonia”. In response, they proposed the names “Vardar Republic” or “Republic of Skopje”, but the government of the Republic of Macedonia, which does want the term “Macedonia” to be incorporated in the name.”
Though the article is balanced and detached, this specific paragraph is in error. Greeks indeed do not consider the Slavic identity to extend to anything Macedonian so use the term Skopia and refer to them by their original name Vardarska. Nevertheless it was the Greek government in 2006-2007, not Ivanov, who considerd the names Upper Macedonia, Northern Macedonia, etc. Northern Macedonia seemed the most “acceptable” among those suggestions in a Greek poll, though most Greeks do not want to hear about any such compound naming and surrendering any right to the term “Macedonia” to a group of Slavs and Albanians whose country’s behaviour on the issue has been so ill-conceived (Greater FYROM, territorial aspirations, false claims in schoolbooks, cold war propaganda, false claims on history, heritage, etc).
FYROM has made no compromises or suggestions of any kind, other than for Greece to call FYROM as Northern Macedonia, while everyone else calls them Macedonia – a plain insult.
The UK agreed to be called the UK for all uses rather than Great Britain in order to enter the EU. The UK was indeed a real empire less than a century ago, not just a fake claim to an ancient empire. But a small republic, that needs the EU, UN and NATO instead goes about insulting Greece claiming a name that has plainly no historical right to and making not a single compromise in 16 odd years, despite having signed an Agreement under UN auspices to do so. Instead we have a prospecting exercise in which by stalling the name negotiations and thus forcing other nations to recognise them bilaterally as Macedonia, attempts to present Greece with a fait accompli. While bad-mouthing Greece who is the biggest economic investor in their country.
This behaviour is so bad, it is impossible to compare it with anything before it.
[Reply]
Kiro Velkovski Reply:
November 21st, 2009 at 7:59 am
“Original name Vardarska”!?!
Are you mad or blind? It was the administrative name imposed by the ruling serbian King over my country. And it was only between 1921 until 1941. Before that it was Macedonia, and after that it was Macedonia…
Use Wikipedia. And Google. Not BS propaganda from Athens. I understand that by using lies and false propaganda you can sell your story better, but your stupid lies are obvious.
Secondly, why should we put geographic qualifier? Are there any other countries that are called Macedonia? No? Should we call ourselves Republic of Non-Greek Macedonia? Bullying tactic – we changed our state flag in 1994 as you wished, and you do not even use it as an official flag or symbol!!!
Your only target is deleting the Macedonian name so you can prove that your occupation in 1913 and moving 1 million christians (you say greeks) from Asia Minor after Greco-Turk wars is legitimate…
[Reply]
United Macedonians Reply:
November 25th, 2009 at 9:10 am
Three hundred and fifty academics from around the world (http://macedonia-evidence.org/) have argued that what you are claiming is plain silliness and that FYROM was not called Macedonia before 1945. They argue also that the name does not correspond to the ethnicity of the citizens of FYROM. There was a Macedonia before 1945: Hellenic Macedonia was indeed a country in ancient Greece, but not located where FYROM lies today. Macedonia was an administrative district during the Roman period, when the coinage and most inscriptions found were in Greek. Macedonia as an administrative district (thema) existed during the Byzantine empire, when the language and culture, religion, etc were also Greek as well as the language of the official administration. Macedonia was liberated by Greece in 1912 and indeed an administrative district was immediately set up as Macedonia. It was a Greek district in the kingdom of Greece. However, in the region of Vardarska there was not an administrative district called Macedonia until 1945. Oddly enough for a “Macedonia”, the inhabitants of this new Yugoslav district were not Greeks but Yugoslavs.
[Reply]
Not to sound hysterical, but I believe we have all seen this before:
“Oh, it is just the Saarland; it is just Austria; it is just the Sudentenland; it is just Czechoslovakia.”
The lesson is this: an aggressive state will not be satisfied with being appeased with its first demands, but will always push for more concessions.
With FYROM, first they claimed direct descent from the ancient Makedonians (and, yes, I am a kappa purist) and all the while claiming that modern Greeks were a mixed lot. I suppose they believed they could fool the rest of the world into swallowing the idea that they had somehow prserved their ethnic purity while all other around them had not.
Then, when they found that this line of propaganda was no longer working, they devised a new tactic: something about a long oppressed/suppressed “Macedonian” minority in Hellas’ province of Makedonia.
Next will be calls to allow this so-called minority to unite with “Mother Macedonia” (aka FYROM).
I have become so tired of hearing third-parties – either dupes of FYROM, its active propagandists, or the just plain ignorant – lecture Hellenes about their own history. And I include in this group such “knowledgeable” scholars of Hellenic history as the infamous Bernal, Danforth, Shea and the rest of that bunch.
Unfortunately, far too many can be too easily deluded. Now, what did Chamberlain once say, oh yes: “Peace in our time.”
[Reply]
What a lengthy text… And FYROM, FYROM, FYROM, FYROM… Not only insulting, it is a non-existent acronym. If you want to properly call my country, then use Republic of Macedonia, or Macedonia, or MK and MKD (according to ISO). “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” is a provisional reference for internal use within UN. It is not a name. It is not possible to be shorten to FYROM. AND IT SHOULD NOT BE USED OUT OF UNITED NATIONS.
Well, for 15 years Athens manages to spread lies and disinformation on this issue. Again, we have no problem with the name Macedonia, we love it and use it. Check this official document (albeit UN changed the heading, the rest is untouched). Check them all in the UN archives.
http://www.un.org/Docs/journal/asp/ws.asp?m=A/64/500
Regards,
Kiro
Skopje, Macedonia
[Reply]
United Macedonians Reply:
November 25th, 2009 at 9:19 am
FYROM is the name used by the International Olympic Committe, IAAF, FIBA, FIFA and all other international organisations that Greece helped FYROM become a member of, based on the New York Agreement that FYROM also signed. The Agreement also stipulated an obligation from FYROM, with FYROM’s signature, that the name of the Republic must be settled through negotiations and therefore clearly should not be Macedonia, or Republic of Macedonia or any of the other options you give. These options seek to bypass an international agreement your country signed before the United Nations for an official name your country should adopt. By definition therefore, the names you offered are unofficial and temporary, and not just within the UN because that is certainly not what the New York Agreement was about. Fourteen years one might say are a long enough time to think of a name for your country, if your fellow citizens do not like the name FYROM.
[Reply]
Although the Macedonian sovereignty just became a reality in 1944 by gaining independence, its nation has been dormant for much much longer.
Cultural nations are social in concept and are the root of the political nation. Without the cultural concept the people have no need for a nation or a country to be identified with. So it starts with common consciousness amongst the people develops into an ideology and a nation is created. At that point the people practice their human right for:
- Self determination
- Freedom of association
- Right to a nation and nationality
This world is governed by laws and the international law has the domain to regulate these issues. Regulated among political subjects in cases of political sovereignty and democratic states such as Macedonia and Greece. Both are democracies and modern sovereign nations and have equal rights, but Macedonia’s rights are disputed.
The current interpretation of the dispute needs to be revised, NOW. Macedonians have rights!
[Reply]