The Macedonian Digest

From the readers for the readers

Edition 67 July 2011
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Editors Notes
Banitsa 100th Anniversary. See photos (courtesy of Alex Gulin):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cm2GmNVC7MM
Our Name is Macedonia www.mhrmi.org/our_name_is_macedonia

Feature Stories
Macedonia Plays Up Past Glory
By MATTHEW BRUNWASSER Published: June 23, 2011 http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/24/world/europe/24iht-macedonia24.html?pagewanted=1&_r=3&ref=global-home SKOPJE , MACEDONIA In the view of many here, the neighbors have been bullying this little Balkan country for a long time. Bulgarians see its people as Bulgarians with accents. Serbia used to consider the land Southern Serbia and refuses to recognize its church. Greece accuses the country of nothing less than stealing its name, history and national symbols. This week, Macedonia pushed back. In a precisely calibrated display of political and civil engineering, workers lifted a 14.5-meter, or 47-foot, bronze statue of Alexander the Great, weighing 30 tons, and placed it on a 15-meter-high pedestal in the central square of Skopje , the capital. This is a way for Macedonia to affirm its national existence, said Vasiliki Neofotistos, an anthropologist from the State University of New York at Buffalo studying identity politics in Macedonia . Macedonia wants to advance the thesis that it is a cornerstone of Western civilization. This is no mere philosophical dilemma. Macedonia has been stuck in one of the most intractable disputes of the postcommunist world: Greece has held international relations hostage for 20 years because it considers the name Macedonia an appropriation of its own Hellenic identity and its northern province of the same name. If it cant have riches, Macedonia , a country of two million with 31 percent unemployment, wants recognition. Playing up ties to an ancient global celebrity resonates with people who feel they have been marginalized for centuries. We are proud of Alexander, said Petko Bozhinovski, 48, who wore a black T-shirt with the Macedonian flag as the statue was raised Tuesday to the applause of several hundred bystanders.

Finally, our Alexander has come back to his homeland, he said. The project is controversial it cost 9.4 million, or $13 million. But some things, say statue fans, are priceless. If you lose your identity, you are a nobody, said Alexandar Ristevski, 32, an ethnographer. Macedonia was promised an invitation to join NATO in 2008, but this was vetoed by Greece because the name issue was unresolved. In 2005, Macedonia also became a candidate for the European Union, but still has no date to start accession talks because of Greek resistance. Why should we change our name because of Greece ? said Alex Trajanovski, a retired diplomat, who said Macedonia had been recognized under that name by 135 countries. No European Union is worth changing the name, said Zoran Iliev, a border policeman. Greece is equally stubborn. On Tuesday, as the Greek Parliament debated a crucial vote of confidence in the government, Stavros Lambrinidis, the foreign minister, told deputies the statue was a major point of foreign policy, a provocation that fanned irredentism, the greatest threat to the Balkans. Mr. Lambrinidis said Greece had proposed a name with a geographical qualifier to settle the dispute. The Macedonian Foreign Ministry declined to comment. When Macedonia declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, Greece immediately protested the name and flag accusing the new country of staking claims to Greek territory and of trying to separate ancient Macedonian civilization from Hellenic culture. Athens refused to recognize its northern neighbor and organized an embargo. The two countries signed an interim accord in 1995 under which Macedonia would be referred to internationally as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia . In exchange, Greece lifted its embargo, recognized this provisional name and agreed not to block membership in international institutions. Almost 16 years later, both sides are still negotiating a new name. They have indicated they might consider a geographical modifier of Macedonia , such as Northern Macedonia favored by Greece or Macedonia ( Skopje ), which the Macedonians like. Meanwhile, Macedonia has filed suit with the International Court of Justice in The Hague against Greece , accusing it of violating the 1995 agreement. A decision is expected in September. The statue is part of a controversial facelift for Skopje a city whose old center was flattened in an earthquake in 1963 including 15 new buildings, the renovation of old ones and a triumphal arch. The government estimated the bill for renovation at 80 million in 2009, but the opposition says costs have already risen to 200 million. No official figures are available. The government of Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski has also given Alexanders name to the airport in Skopje , a highway and a stadium. The inauguration of the Alexander statue is expected on independence day, September 8. This attempt to rebuild the Macedonian nation is definitely destroying the chances for compromise with Greece , said Vladimir Milcin, executive director of the Open Society Foundation Macedonia . Mr. Milcin noted that the European Unions enlargement commissioner, Stefan Fle, called the statue a provocation and suggested for the first time that Macedonia s move toward Europe was going backward. But neither Mr. Milcin nor a Western diplomat who insisted on anonymity thought this would deter the prime minister. Its just adding fuel to his power and image that he is the final and only defender of Macedonian name, identity and culture, Mr. Milcin said. Macedonia s identity politics are further complicated by the restive 25 percent of its population who are ethnic Albanians. In 2000, the ethnic Albanian National Liberation Army fought a six-month war against the majority. Rafis Aliti, a former fighter with the Albanian rebels, and now deputy speaker of parliament, said the name dispute worried Albanians because there will be no prospects for the future, no security and foreign investment. The lure of Macedonian lore has grown in recent years. Alexander has helped buttress the nation against the trauma of the free market, political strife and independence, said Pasko Kuzman, an archaeologist with the Ministry of Culture. Alexander conquered the world, he added. Would you ever give up something like that? I dont think so.

A 'common destiny' for Greece and Macedonia

Link: http://www.publicserviceeurope.com/a...common-destiny Greece and Macedonia must let go of the past and focus on a joint future based on mutual respect, writes Gnther Dauwen At a time in Europe when even in very centralised states such as Poland, France, UK and the Netherlands many political discussions are held on implementing the European Charter for regional and minority languages Greeks and Macedonians are stuck in a juridical-constitutional limbo. At a time when the euro and eurozone members are under serious threat and Greece seems to be heading for total financial bankruptcy, Macedonia still seems not to be allowed to enter the EU anytime soon, 20 years after its independence Greece and Macedonia continue to disagree on the name issue. At a time where Greece actively uses a veto to block Macedonia 's rights to a new future both countries should be focusing on a joint future, especially in this fragile Balkan regional area, if they do not want to risk missing out on this historical moment of change. One could say that Macedonia has not progressed as it had hoped, after freeing itself from dictatorship 20 years ago. We could also say that Greece today has not progressed in the same way it hoped, when it freed itself from dictatorship 37 years ago. Both countries are in crisis, but let's not waste time in defining the problem again but start to solve it. Very often people say that crises are opportunities for change but very often those involved in the crises, caught up in conflict, don't see it that way. And yet very often those looking at the conflict from a distance are the first to acknowledge the truth of this common sense. My several visits to this area of the Balkans, and meetings here in Brussels with relevant partners, have taught me that it is time to let go of history and that both countries should choose a common destiny. This can only be done with mutual respect. Mutual respect means recognising one another, respecting one another's territorial integrity and one another's minority groups. It is high time Athens, 15 years after accepting a party representing Macedonians in Greece, faces facts and recognises and accepts Greek citizens of Macedonian descent as equal citizens in society and gives them the rights that are taken for granted in other European democracies. Linguistic and cultural rights are also increasingly implemented as universal rights, simply because they are. It is high time that Greece no longer contests what cannot be contested, the right of a country to auto-define itself. Where on earth is this name discussion between the citizens of the two countries in crisis leading to? Nowhere. It is also high time that Greece, instead of spending money it no longer has on actively denying that the Macedonian community in Greece exists, instead spends it on recognising it, coming together and building bridges. Without this recognition, no real communication can take place and if they do not know each other's languages, no respectful dialogue can take place. We have therefore supported the project to create a Macedonian-Greek dictionary not due to sentimental or symbolic reasons but purely for utilitarian motives. The Greek-Macedonian version was published some years ago and this work is now concluded by publishing Macedonian-Greek version. People from both sides should be given the chance and should give dialogue a chance. I am a dictionary collector and I know that many combinations between different languages are not yet established communications between Uighurs and Basques, between Kurds and Sorbians are not likely to be undertaken because of a lack of infrastructure, and of dictionaries. But that two neighbouring countries with a long and rich history should not have the instruments to shape the future is an absurdity that belongs to the Ren Magritte museum in Brussels but not to European institutions or to the two communities in the divided societies of Greece and Macedonia . Shall we again focus all our energy and money into interpreting and re-interpreting history or shall we put all our cards on the table and choose a future with, dialogue, respect and mutual recognition? I know that very soon now

Macedonians who live and work in Greece will not be denied the right to teach their children to speak their mother tongue together with Greek. I know that the FYROM abbreviation will soon be abandoned as a heartless artifact created out of a lack of dialogue and understanding. Let's build bridges. The first bridge is to recognise the reality in Lerin and the second to recognise the reality in Skopje . Greece and Macedonia are such beautiful nations that today only stand to gain if they opt for a future with communication, mutual respect and recognition. Gnther Dauwen is secretary-general of the Centre Maurits Coppieters

Not another BIG Greek Lie?

The Big Fat Greek Gravy Train: A special investigation into the EU-funded culture of greed, tax evasion and scandalous waste
By Andrew Malone http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2007949/The-Big-Fat-Greek-Gravy-Train-A-special-investigation-EU-fundedculture-greed-tax-evasion-scandalous-waste.html Last updated at 9:09 AM on 25 June 2011 Even on a stiflingly hot summer's day, the Athens underground is a pleasure. It is air-conditioned, with plasma screens to entertain passengers relaxing in cool, cavernous departure halls - and the trains even run on time. There is another bonus for users of this state-of-the-art rapid transport system: it is, in effect, free for the five million people of the Greek capital. With no barriers to prevent free entry or exit to this impressive tube network, the good citizens of Athens are instead asked to 'validate' their tickets at honesty machines before boarding. Few bother. This is not surprising: fiddling on a Herculean scale from the owner of the smallest shop to the most powerful figures in business and politics has become as much a part of Greek life as ouzo and olives. Indeed, as well as not paying for their metro tickets, the people of Greece barely paid a penny of the undergrounds 1.5 billion cost a sweetener from Brussels (and, therefore, the UK taxpayer) to help the country put on an impressive 2004 Olympics free of the citys notorious traffic jams. The transport perks are not confined to the customers. Incredibly, the average salary on Greece s railways is 60,000, which includes cleaners and track workers - treble the earnings of the average private sector employee here. The overground rail network is as big a racket as the EU-funded underground. While its annual income is only 80 million from ticket sales, the wage bill is more than 500m a year prompting one Greek politician to famously remark that it would be cheaper to put all the commuters into private taxis. We have a railroad company which is bankrupt beyond comprehension, says Stefans Manos, a former Greek finance minister. And yet, there isnt a single private company in Greece with that kind of average pay. Significantly, since entering Europe as part of an ill-fated dream by politicians of creating a European super-state, the wage bill of the Greek public sector has doubled in a decade. At the same time, perks and fiddles reminiscent of Britain in the union-controlled 1970s have flourished.
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Ridiculously, Greek pastry chefs, radio announcers, hairdressers and masseurs in steam baths are among more than 600 professions allowed to retire at 50 (with a state pension of 95 per cent of their last working years earnings) on account of the arduous and perilous nature of their work. This week, it was reported that every family in Britain could face a 14,000 bill to pay for Greece s self-inflicted financial crisis. Such fears were denied yesterday after Brussels voted a massive new 100bn rescue package which, it insisted, would not need a contribution from Britain . After running battles with riot police, who used tear gas to disperse protesters, thousands are still camped out in the square ahead of a vote by Greek politicians next week on whether to accept Europe-imposed austerity measures. Even if this is true and many British MPs have their doubts we will still have to stump up 1billion to the bailout through the International Monetary Fund. In return for this loan, European leaders want the Greeks free-spending ways to end immediately if the country is to be prevented from infecting the worlds financial system. Naturally, the Greek people are not happy about this. In Constitution Square this week, opposite the parliament, I witnessed thousands gathering to campaign against government cuts designed to save the country from bankruptcy. After running battles with riot police, who used tear gas to disperse protesters, thousands are still camped out in the square ahead of a vote by Greek politicians next week on whether to accept Europe-imposed austerity measures. Yet these protesters should direct their anger closer to home to those Greeks who have for many years done their damndest to deny their country the dues they owe it. Take a short trip on the metro to the citys cooler northern suburbs, and you will find an enclave of staggering opulence. Here, in the suburb of Kifissia, amid clean, tree-lined streets full of designer boutiques and car showrooms selling luxury marques such as Porsche and Ferrari, live some of the richest men and women in the world. With its streets paved with marble, and dotted with charming parks and cafes, this suburb is home to shipping tycoons such as Spiros Latsis, a billionaire and friend of Prince Charles, as well as countless other wealthy industrialists and politicians. One of the reasons they are so rich is that rather than paying millions in tax to the Greek state, as they rightfully should, many of these residents are living entirely tax-free. Along street after street of opulent mansions and villas, surrounded by high walls and with their own pools, most of the millionaires living here are, officially, virtually paupers. How so? Simple: they are allowed to state their own earnings for tax purposes, figures which are rarely challenged. And rich Greeks take full advantage. Astonishingly, only 5,000 people in a country of 12 million admit to earning more than 90,000 a year a salary that would not be enough to buy a garden shed in Kifissia. Yet studies have shown that more than 60,000 Greek homes each have investments worth more than 1m, let alone unknown quantities in overseas banks, prompting one economist to describe Greece as a poor country full of rich people. Manipulating a corrupt tax system, many of the residents simply say that they earn below the basic tax threshold of around 10,000 a year, even though they own boats, second homes on Greek islands and properties overseas. And, should the taxman rumble this common ruse, it can be dealt with using a fakelaki an envelope stuffed with cash. There is even a semi-official rate for bribes: passing a false tax return requires a payment of up to 10,000 euros (the average Greek family is reckoned to pay out 2,000 a year in fakelaki.) Even more incredibly, Greek shipping magnates the king of kings among the wealthy of Kifissia are automatically exempt from tax, supposedly on account of the great benefits they bring the country.

Yet the shipyards are empty; once employing 15,000, they now have less than 500 to service the once-mighty Greek shipping lines which, like the rest of the country, are in terminal decline. With Greek President George Papandreou calling for a crackdown on these tax dodgers who are believed to cost the economy as much as 40bn a year he is now resorting to bizarre means to identify the cheats. After issuing warnings last year, government officials say he is set to deploy helicopter snoopers, along with scrutiny of Google Earth satellite pictures, to show who has a swimming pool in the northern suburbs an indicator, officials say, of the owners wealth. Officially, just over 300 Kifissia residents admitted to having a pool. The true figure is believed to be 20,000. There is even a boom in sales of tarpaulins to cover pools and make them invisible to the aerial tax inspectors. The most popular and effective measure used by owners is to camouflage their pool with a khaki military mesh to make it look like natural undergrowth, says Vasilis Logothetis, director of a major swimming pool construction company. That way, neither helicopters nor Google Earth can spot them. But faced with the threat of a crackdown, money is now pouring out of the country into overseas tax havens such as Liechtenstein , the Bahamas and Cyprus . Other popular alternatives include setting up offshore companies in Cyprus or the British Virgin Islands , or the purchase of real estate abroad, says one doctor, who declares an income of less than 90,000 yet earns five times that amount. There has also been a boom in London property purchases by Athens-based Greeks in an attempt to hide their true worth from their domestic tax authorities. These anti-tax evasion measures by the government force us to resort to even more detailed tax evasion ploys, admits Petros Iliopoulos, a civil engineer. Hotlines have been set up offering rewards for people who inform on tax dodgers. Last month, to show the government is serious, it named and shamed 68 high-earning doctors found guilty of tax evasion. We will spare no effort to collect what is due to the state, said Evangelos Venizelos, the new Greek finance minister of the socialist ruling party. We promise to draft and apply a new and honest tax system, one that has been needed for decades, so that taxes are duly paid by those who should pay. Yet, already, it is too late. Greece is effectively bust relying on EU cash from richer northern European countries, but this has been the case ever since the country finally joined the euro in 2001. Two years earlier, the country was barred from entering because it did not meet the financial criteria. No matter: the Greeks simply cooked the books. Two years later, having falsely claimed to have met standards relating to manufacturing and industrial production and low inflation, the Greeks were allowed in. Funds poured into the country from across Europe and the Greeks started spending like there was no tomorrow. Money flowed into all areas of public life. As a result, for example, the Greek school system is now an over-staffed shambles, employing four times more teachers per pupil than Finland , the country with the highest-rated education system in Europe . But we still have to pay for tutors for our two children, says Helena, an Athens mother. The teachers are hopeless they seem to spend their time off sick. Although Brussels has now agreed to provide the next stage of its debt payment programme to safeguard the countrys immediate economic future, the Greek media still carries ominous warnings that the military may be forced to step in should the countrys foray into Europe end in ignominy, bankruptcy and rising violence. For now, the crisis has simply been delayed. With European taxpayers facing the prospect of saving Greece from bankruptcy for the second year in a row, some say even the 100bn on offer will pay off only the interest on the countrys debts meaning it will be broke again within two years. Meanwhile, there are doom-laden warnings that the collapse of the Greek economy could be the catalyst for another global recession.

Perhaps if the Greeks themselves had shown more willingness to tighten their belts and pay taxes due to the state, voters across Europe might not now be feeling such anger towards them. But having strolled the streets of Kifissia, and watched the Greek hordes stream past the honesty boxes on the underground, it does not take a degree in European economics to know when somebody is taking advantage at our expense.

Greeces legacy of deep Pasok

By Tony Barber The Financial Times Published Friday, Jun. 24, 2011 4:30PM EDT Last updated Friday, Jun. 24, 2011 4:34PM EDT http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-news/european/greeces-legacy-of-deeppasok/article2074850/ Misfortune spread throughout the state. There were many cases of corruption. Our creditors asked for a settlement; and the ambassadors were very pressing. Yannis Makriyannis, Greek military hero and memoirist (1797-1864) Economic distress, bribery, debts and foreign pressure: it can sometimes seem as if not much has changed in Greece down the ages. The events to which Yannis Makriyannis referred took place soon after the war of independence against the Ottoman empire , a costly 11-year struggle that culminated in 1832 with the Greek state no sooner born than facing demands for loan repayments from European powers. Today, Greece s debts are so large that the country is again a ward of the international financial system, obliged to swallow unpleasant economic medicine prescribed by foreigners so that they can get their money back. True, certain differences stand out. Though Greece accounts for only 2.5 per cent of the 17-nation euro zones economic output, its debt crisis has the potential to destabilize the public finances and banking sectors of other European countries on a scale unimaginable in the 1830s. However low an opinion Germans have of Greece s fiscal improvidence and blood-sucking of the state, it is unthinkable that they would emulate the Europeans of Makriyanniss era and impose a teenaged Bavarian prince as Greece s head of state. External pressures on Greece are nevertheless rising. All week the nations euro zone partners made clear that they wanted Greeces socialist government and its conservative opponents to unite behind a five-year program of tax increases, spending curbs, public sector job cuts and privatizations agreed with the European Union and International Monetary Fund. Euro zone finance ministers went so far as to term national unity a prerequisite for success. The appeal fell on deaf ears in Athens . Antonis Samaras, leader of the opposition New Democracy party, said he would vote against the austerity program in parliament. Evangelos Venizelos, the newly appointed finance minister, irritated his European colleagues with hints the government might seek to alter the program, even though the austerity measures hold the key to a 12-billion EU-IMF loan without which Greece will default next month. For some EU policy makers, such behaviour comes across as obstinate, slippery and not untypical of a country that has often looked the odd man out since it joined the old European Economic Community in 1981. In the early years of membership, such defiance tended to arise mainly over foreign policy. Notoriously, Andreas Papandreou, a former premier whose son George is the present Prime Minister, broke ranks with his allies and visited Poland in 1984, three years after the suppression of the free trade union Solidarity under martial law. In the 1990s Greece displayed ostentatious solidarity with the Serbia of Slobodan Milosevic, the deceased dictator, during the wars of the Yugoslav succession. Since the euros birth in 1999, foreign policy disputes have faded in comparison with European concerns about Greek economic mismanagement, corruption and inefficient public administration, which appear incompatible with long-term participation in Europe s monetary union. Greek reformers acknowledge the truth of these complaints and often sound as angry or despairing as their counterparts in Brussels or Berlin .

One reformer tells the story of the head of a government department in Athens who discovered that all but one of his staff was taking bribes. So low were his expectations that he did not ask himself how to clean up the corruption. All he wanted to know was why his staff had let one lone wolf get away with being honest. The corruption and political patronage that infest Greece s public sector are sometimes attributed to the experience of centuries of Ottoman overlordship, a time when people needed highly placed patrons to protect them against arbitrary power. After Greece achieved independence, the under-developed economy meant that the public sector usually provided the most secure jobs. Government evolved into a beehive of clientelism. Greece s pre-industrial history throws light on its modern troubles, but the patronage cancer metastasized after the elder Papandreou led his Pasok socialist party to election victory in 1981. The bloated state sector is to a considerable extent a legacy of his era, and the difficulties his son faces in downsizing it reflect the hostility of entrenched interests in the party, its public sector trade union allies and the bureaucracy at large. These elements comprise what is known in Greece as deep Pasok, a dense network of traditionalist forces which for the past year has sabotaged the reforms on which Greece s future in the euro zone - and perhaps the future of the euro zone itself - depends. Some Greek political sources say that a cabinet reshuffle announced on June 17 strengthened the influence of deep Pasok over the government, just when the EU and IMF are desperate for Greece to reinvigorate its fading reform effort. If the outcome is a debt default, the consequences are likely to include not just economic anarchy but an outburst of national outrage at the political establishment for having betrayed Greece s modern European identity. For centuries Greeks did not feel truly part of Europe , in spite of all the praise that well-meaning foreigners heaped on them as the supposed descendants of the creators of European civilization. It was only after entry to the EEC, and later the euro zone, that younger, more affluent, better-travelled Greeks grew up comfortable with the thought that they were as European as the Germans or Dutch. This self-confidence is one of Greece s most precious achievements since democracy replaced the military junta of 1967-74. It may soon have to survive its hardest test.

From the International Scene

Katowice , June 24th 2011 Dear Sir/Madam, This is to inform you that a national population census was held in Poland from April to the end of June. The Silesian Autonomy Movement, a regional party active in the region of Silesia ( l skie) where it has formed a ruling coalition, has just been informed that there was a serious violation of fundamental human rights during the census procedures. It is noteworthy to mention that the census is conducted by three different means: using a so-called hand-held device carried by census collectors during their visit of citizens, through the internet and by telephone. Even though it was possible by the first two means for people to declare their Silesian nationality through choosing the option other nationality and entering Silesian, by the third means all data collected was automatically entered as Polish in the nationality option. The occurrence of this violation was reported to Silesian Autonomy Movement officials by a person from the town of Piekary l skie (some 20 km away from Katowice , the regional capital) who was refused to be classified as Silesian during a telephone interview conducted by a census consultant. Moreover, the census consultant has confirmed that all people interviewed by telephone will automatically be classified as Polish by nationality, which was further confirmed by a representative of the local Polish Central Statistical Office in Katowice , responsible for conducting the national census. The procedures employed in this census are not only scandalous but violate basic human rights by distorting census results with regard to the various different nationalities existing in Poland .

We therefore would like to ask for your help with this. Please give us your support in our endeavour to publicize this issue. If possible please request an explanation from Polish officials. With our best regards, Jerzy Gorzelik RAS President, Bart omiej widerek RAS International Relations

Opinions
Contempt for Macedonia
By Pelister I'm going to post a series of articles and quotes that demonstrate without a doubt the sheer contempt that the European Council and the E.U. institution has for the Macedonians. The E.U. is enforcing Greek policy. In actual fact, the policy of the Greek government and the European Council are one and the same. It has been the official policy of the E.U. since 1994 to erase all references of the name ' Macedonia ' as it applies to the Macedonian Republic . I cannot begin to describe the level of contempt they must have for us to be able to deny an entire nation of people their identity. I'll start with one E.U. agency and look more closely at its Policy to erase our identity. The E.U. Agency: 1. The European Agency for Reconciliation (E.A.R) This European agency funds three influential NGO's in Macedonia . 1. Action for Democratic Initiative 2. Macedonian Centre for International Cooperation 3. Center for Peace and Democracy In 2005 the Director of the E.A.R (Mr. Luigi Sandrin) issued an E.U directive to the directors of all NGO's in Macedonia that have an 'agreement' with the E.A.R. "The name of the " Republic of Macedonia " or " Macedonia " IS NOT TO BE USED." Source: Prof. Mirjana Maleska, "The Dirty Deeds of E.U Politics in Macedonia ", Sunday, July 15, 2007 "Please ensure that all printed documents and external communication, as well as the web-sites, books and other material related to E.U funded projects follow this policy." Source: Prof. Mirjana Maleska, "The Dirty Deeds of E.U Politics in Macedonia ", Sunday, July 15, 2007 Mrs. Jutta Bulling of the E.A.R. "The word ' Macedonia ' must not appear - you should delete it. I do not have to tell you at all that the word Macedonia cannot be inside the book" Source: Prof. Mirjana Maleska, "The Dirty Deeds of E.U Politics in Macedonia", Sunday, July 15, 2007 Professor Mirjana Maleska, then editor in chief of New Balkan Politics and one of the authors of the 'Research Report on Power Sharing' brought this issue to our attention in an article that appeared at a Macedonian blogspot, back in 2007. She noted that: This is shameful evidence of a policy of the E.U. and its agencies, which have become accomplices of the Greek national. The denomination ' Macedonia ' and ' Republic of Macedonia ' has been deleted from the text (of the Research Report) contrary to the will of its authors. Originally Posted by Professor Mirjana Maleska

It should be stressed that these NGO's are based in Albanian dominated area, such as Gostivar and that they advocate a "Civic society" for Macedonia and "human rights" for minorities.

Concerns
A SHORT REMARK DEALING WITH A BANNED LANGUAGE
Do not allow them to trim even a curve of your fingerprints. (Ares Alexandrou) "On the third day" 1959 The question repeats itself constantly: is it really worth writing our ephemeral words in a newspaper with dozens of thousands of readers? And we are willing to sacrifice our self-respect in order to secure our post in the newspaper. And although we are well aware of certain facts, we have to pass them over in silence and replace them with others, more pleasant and accepted by common consent. I take a strong stance against such an attitude: I do not believe that certain subjects are forbidden; on the contrary, we should speak about everything in our short lifetime. I could write on insignificant subjects: enchanting beaches, shady trees, gurgling streams and believe me, I love all these things. But it is not worth keeping a public forum, if we are not allowed to speak for banned languages and expelled people. So, today I will be speaking to you of some of our fellow-citizens (using the metaphor: to a kind of birds in the woods of creation), towards whom since decades a restriction was imposed, a ban of their mother tongue and language, a ban of their singing their parental songs and the laments composed and performed in this particular language, a ban against their declaring, without remorse or hesitance, their national identity -- a ban of their right to self determine. These people are the Macedonians, citizens of Greece. Posted by Dedo Mano

History
THE MACEDONIANS IN USA AND CANADA
(HISTORICAL VIEW)
By Slave Nikolovski - Katin slavekatin@gmail.com 7. MACEDONIAN EMIGRATION IN THE USA AFTER WORLD WAR II The United States of America is a federal republic in Northern America that lies between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans , between Canada and Mexico . It consists of 50 federal states and one federal district. Together with Alaska and Hawaii it is one of the biggest in the world with a population of 250 million people. The majority of Americans migrated from Europe, many from Great Britain and Ireland, Spain, France, Germany, Germany, Italy, Russia (till the October Revolution and after the decline of the Soviet Union), from Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Croatia, Serbia, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Slovenia, and from Macedonia. It also has a large Negro population, Indians, Eskimos, Jews, Japanese, Chinese, Puerto Ricans, Mexicans and other peoples. Its capital city is Washington , which is in the District of Columbia , and it has a population of over 3 million people including the suburbs. Other important metropolises include New York , Chicago , Los Angeles , Philadelphia , Detroit , Boston , Baltimore , Cleveland , San Francisco , Dallas and others. The landscape of USA varies a lot. The continental part consists of several large geographical regions which differ in space and natural resources. Predominant climates include a continental, subtropical, coastal, continentalmountainous, and arctic to a mildly warm ocean climate. USA has large resources, and a large number of mountains,

rivers, and lakes. Among the most significant lakes are: Upper, Huron, Michigan , Erie , and Ontario . The most significant rivers include the Mississippi and Missouri , the Rio Grande , Colorado , and many others. The oldest known residents of the present territory of USA are the Eskimos and Indians. It is believed that the Normans were the first of the Europeans to come to the North American Continent about a thousand years ago. Christopher Columbus discovered the Central America in 1492. At the beginning of the XVI century the first European colonists began arriving from England , France , The Netherlands, Sweden , and Spain . They waged wars with the Indians in order to conquer land. The first English colony was Virginia , founded in 1584, where England sent 500 convicts every year starting at the beginning of the XVIII century. The next colony was Massachusetts in 1620. New Holland was founded in 1614. In 1662 the name of its capital New Amsterdam was changed to New York , the worlds most important metropolis at the moment. Since its foundation USA has always had a rich and turbulent history. Hence, in addition to the battles with the Indians, in 1775 the first conflicts began between the American voluntary detachments and the English army which in fact marked the beginning of the struggle of the North American continent for independence. With the Versailles Peace Agreement in 1783 England acknowledged the independence of USA . This brought great changes not only in USA , but throughout the world. The USA was shaken by the Civil War in the period 1861 1865; the world economic crisis during 1929 1935; the Second World War, especially the war against Japan and the use of atomic weapons over Hiroshima and Nagasaki; the consequences of the inhuman vandalism over the World Trade Centre in New York on 11 September 2001; and the present crisis in Afghanistan. According to its economic structure, USA is an industrial and agricultural country, which has accomplished a very high level of development of the productive forces in all of its commercial branches. This has enabled USA to establish economic domination of the capital throughout the world. It is one of the world leaders in the heavy and light industries, in food production, agriculture, the automobile, and other industries. It is the biggest and most significant economic, political, and military force in the world. Presently USA is imposing itself upon the entire world through the language of technology of the XXI century the English language, computer, astronomical, and other achievements in various fields. The English language has become the worlds language without which communication cannot be imagined even in the poorest countries. It has become the road sign to the future. Approximately 150 thousand Macedonians from every part of Macedonia live in USA . As the common Macedonian person will say, they are the pioneers in emigration across the sea. They live in practically every city across the rich American land. However, as is usually the case with other migrants in what the people called the promised land, the Macedonians also gathered into groups and settled in a certain number of states. Thus, most Macedonians emigrants can be found in the following states: Indiana (Gary), Ohio (Columbus, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Kenton, and Akron), Michigan (Detroit and Flint), New Jersey (Passaic, Garfield, Totowa, and Cider Grove), New York (Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo, and New York), Illinois (Chicago and Fort Wayne), California (Los Angeles), Pennsylvania (Philadelphia), Florida (Miami), Washington (Seattle), Arizona (Tempe), and other places. AMERICAN-CANADIAN-MACEDONIAN ORTHODOX EPARCHY Among the decisions of the church-peoples assembly held in Ohrid during 17-19 July 1967, when the autocephaly of the Macedonian Orthodox Church within the Ohrid archiepiscopate was declared, was also the decision of the Holy Archpriest Synod to establish an American-Canadian-Australian Eparchy. One of the aims of this significant church institution is to deepen relations and to strengthen love, faith, and hope among the Macedonian emigrants in the Trans-Atlantic countries with their fatherland and with the church, and to be the bridge that will bring Macedonia closer to the countries where they lived. Initially there was one Eparchy for USA , Canada , and Australia . Later there was a decision to establish an Australian-Macedonian Eparchy for Australia , which broke away as a separate institution. This was followed by the establishment of a European Eparchy. According to the decisions of the Synod of MOC, G. Kiril, who was then vicar bishop of Tiveriopol, was chosen to be the first archpriest of the entire eparchy. On 10 August 1969 he was enthroned as its authorized eparchy archpriest. The act of enthronement was conducted in Toronto , the biggest Macedonian emigrant colony and church and cultural center of the Macedonians from every part of the world. It was carried out by Bishop Metodij, who was the metropolitan of Debar and Kichevo at the time. The service during the enthronement was conducted by priests in the presence of a large number of Macedonians from every Macedonian colony in Canada and USA , numerous guests and officials of the Macedonian organizations and associations, as well as representatives of the Canadian government and the media. For the first time an Eparchy Assembly as the most supreme body of this eparchy was founded on 4 October 1969 at the premises of the MOC of St. Clement of Ohrid in Toronto at which numerous delegates and guests participated. They also elected a Diocesan Eparchy Board, Diocese Ecclesiastical Court , and Diocesan Church Educational Council. Twelve years later the American-Canadian Eparchy was officially registered with the authorities of New York State . This act was a historical moment for the Macedonian emigrants and one of the most significant events in the life and activities of the MOC on the North-American continent. The registering of this supreme governing body of

MOC in USA and Canada strongly influenced the future affirmation of the Macedonian name and spiritual values of the Macedonian immigrants in their new environment. The 12 September 1981 was a happy day for the Macedonians in USA and Canada when metropolitan Kiril signed the documents and marked the legal registration of the Eparchy at the MOC of St. Dimitrija in Rochester , New York State, in the presence of priests and prominent people of the Macedonian communities. Namely, after prayer at the St. Dimitrija Church, for the first time beyond Macedonian borders, at the Americana hotel, the signatures of the archbishop and his depute meant legalization and recognition of the Macedonian Orthodox Church. At that time the Eparchy consisted of about fifteen church parishes and about ten parish priests. The Eparchy had now become an inseparable part of St. Clements Church, the mother church in Macedonia . News of the registration of the Eparchy quickly spread through the media in Macedonia , USA , and Canada . However, special attention was devoted to this event by the New York daily newspaper Times Union which announced the legal registration of the Eparchy, the existence of the Macedonian Orthodox Church, and of the Macedonian nation in general. One of the most important activities of the American-Canadian Eparchy is the work of the church-peoples assembly held every year since 1975. By 2002 this Eparchy had held a total of 28 church-peoples assemblies. The last assembly in 2002 was held in Cleveland and was hosted by the Macedonian Orthodox Church of St. Clement of Ohrid in Loraine. The idea to hold church-people's assemblies of the Macedonian emigrants who live in USA and Canada came from the Macedonian ethnic community in Gary , Indiana , more precisely the church of Sts. Petar and Pavle. The idea was accepted by the church members and later by the other Macedonian Orthodox churches in Northern America . Hence, on 19 and 20 May 1975 a meeting was held at the Assumption of St. Mary Church in Columbus , Ohio . A decision was reached that a church-peoples assembly would be held every year in different cities in Northern America where there are Macedonian Orthodox churches. The basic aim of this meeting would be to strengthen unity of the Macedonian emigrants, and to improve and advance activities of the Eparchy. It was decided that the meeting would take place every first Saturday and Sunday of September during the American Labor Day holiday, and that it would last two days. They also decided to determine the seat of the Eparchy, and if possible, to provide conditions for permanent residence of the authorizedbishop of the Eparchy. They also discussed ways of strengthening moral support of the Macedonian emigrants in the other cities so that they, too would establish church parishes, build churches and cultural and educational centers, and create conditions and a tradition for the Macedonian emigrants to meet once a year at a joint spiritual and patriotic manifestation. This speeded the process of elimination of the influence of foreign propaganda from one part of the Macedonian migrants who had arrived before the Second World War. The second meeting of the representatives of all Macedonian Orthodox Churches and church parishes was held at the Birth of St. Mary Church in Detroit . Here they made the first concrete program for the meetings and decided to begin preparations for the first assembly. Hence, the first church-peoples assembly of the American-CanadianMacedonian Orthodox Eparchy was held in Toronto in 1975. Since then these assemblies have been hosted several times by the Macedonian Orthodox churches in Toronto , Columbus , Hamilton , Gary , Rochester , Detroit , Passaic , Chicago , Buffalo , Windsor , Syracuse , Mississauga , and Cleveland . During this assembly there is a central meeting of the Eparchy committee. This church-peoples assembly contributes toward affirmation of the national and cultural values of the Macedonian emigrants in USA and Canada . Different kinds of performances, sports, musical, and cultural, are held during this manifestation. Thus, the first evening is devoted to the Eparchy Assembly where there are discussions of the conditions, opportunities, and issues related to the church and spiritual living of the Macedonian migrants. The second evening, Saturday, is devoted to the folklore so there are numerous performances by cultural and artistic clubs, folk dance groups, and folklore clubs from every church and church parish. The folklore dancers perform without competing. The third day, Sunday, is devoted to the spiritual and sports living. In the morning there is a joint service usually held by a Macedonian bishop assisted by every Macedonian priest in the Eparchy. Throughout the day there are football matches which have a winning character. Here the most is seen of the young Macedonian generations who show great engagement and joint living throughout the entire Assembly. In the evening there is a collective, all Macedonian banquet, which ends the Assembly. The American-Canadian Eparchy has a Statute which it follows. It was adopted at a regular meeting of the Eparchy Assembly held on 1 September 1995 in accordance with the Constitution of the MOC. The Statute was approved and acknowledged by the American church-peoples assembly in full presidium at its meeting held on 15 December 1995 , decision no. 1/95. The Statute predicts all the rights and responsibilities of the Eparchy, its members, and management of the Eparchy. Metropolitan Kiril, whose Christian name is Nikola Popovski, is the first authorized archpriest of the newly established American-Canadian-Australian Eparchy during the period 1967-1985. He was born on 23 June 1934 in the village of Carev Dvor , near Prespa. He finished primary school in his native village, and theology in Prizren. In 1964 he entered a monastic order at the monastery of Sveta Precista near Kichevo. For some time he worked as an employee for the Macedonian Archiepiscopate. In 1965 he began studying at the Moscow Spiritual Academy . Two years later he was called back to his fatherland. In 1967, prior to the restoration of the autocephaly, he was

inthronised to archpriest of Tiveriopol. He completed his theological studies at the Faculty of Theology, St. Clement of Ohrid, in Skopje . Following the restoration of the autocephaly he was appointed authorized archpriest of the American-Canadian Eparchy, which he managed till 1985. In 1971 the Polog-Kumanovo Eparchy was established and he was appointed its first administrator. Later he became its metropolitan, his present position. Archbishop Stefan, whose Christian name is Stojan Veljanovski, and who is the present head of the Macedonian Orthodox Church, was the second authorized archpriest of this eparchy for a short period after 1985. He was born on 1 May 1955 in the village of Dobrushevo , near Bitola . He finished primary school in his native place. In 1969 he enrolled at the school of Macedonian Orthodox Theology St. Clement of Ohrid in Drachevo, near Skopje , which he finished in 1974. He immediately enrolled at the Belgrade Orthodox Faculty. After graduating in 1979, the Holy Archpriest Synod of the Macedonian Orthodox Church appointed him professor at the theology school in Drachevo. In 1980 he was sent to do post-graduate studies at the Ecumenical-patrologicalinstitute of St. Nikolaj in Bari , Italy . At his return from Italy he was appointed lecturer at the St. Clement of Ohrid Faculty of Theology in Skopje , teaching Holy Scripture of the Old Testament and Patrology. While attending this position he was elected archbishop. He entered monastic order on 3 July 1986 at the monastery of Sveti Naum Ohridski Chudotvorec (St. Naum of Ohrid Miracle Worker) in Ohrid. He was inthronised to metropolitan of Zletovo and Strumica, or Bregalnica, on 12 July 1986 at the St. Dimitrij Church in Skopje . Later, on 9 and 10 October 1999 he was elected and enthroned as fifth in order Archbishop of Ohrid and Macedonia . As archbishop of the MOC, Metropolitan Stefan continues to be authorized archpriest of the American-Canadian Eparchy. For a certain period of time the following heads of churches of the MOC had been elected by function as archpriests of this Eparchy: g.g. Dositej, g.g. Angelarij, g.g. Gavril, and g.g. Mihail. Archbishop Dositej, whose Christian name is Dimitar Stojkovski (Sojkovik) was the first, archbishop and creator of the restored Ohrid Archiepiscopate within the Macedonian Orthodox Church. He was enthroned to the archbishops throne of St. Clement of Ohrid in October 1958. He was born on 7 December 1906 in Mavrovo. He entered monastic order in 1924 at the monastery of St. Mary-Precista, near Kichevo. During his 23 year-long position of archbishop between 1958 to1981, he managed the MOC wisely, sincerely, and with a lot of self sacrifice. The church was then renewed thoroughly including all of its vital organs - the episcopate, clergy, eparchies, church parishes in the fatherland and the Diaspora, churches and monasteries, education, and the name and work of Christianity and the MOC in general. His name is inscribed in golden letters in the history of the Macedonian Orthodox Church. He died in 1981. Archbishop Angelarij, whose Christian name is Cvetko Popovski, stood at St. Clements throne between 1981 and 1986. During his five years as archbishop he continued building the Macedonian Orthodox Church with a lot of enthusiasm and great hopes. He believed deeply in the unity of orthodoxy and he saw the church which he managed as only one more star in the string of Orthodox churches. Led by these deep Christian impulses, with unlimited selfsacrifice, he affirmed the work of our holy church as a dignified among the dignified churches, by spirit and life. Archbishop Gavril, whose Christian name is Gjorgi Miloshevski, began preparations for publishing the New Testament in the distant year of 1949. He spent almost his entire life investing his knowledge and energy in the education activities of the Republic of Macedonia as a state official, but he was never far from the church. Instead, he was a close collaborator of the archbishops and church authorities. The projects which archbishop Dositej began construction of St. Clements Church in Skopje , and publishing of the Bible in the Macedonian literary tongue will remain as diamonds in his archbishops crown. However his old age and fragile health were too much a burden, so he retired from the throne in 1993. He died in 1995. Archbishop Mihail, whose Christian name is Mihail Gogov, was elected head of the Macedonian Orthodox Church on 4 December 1993 . Archbishop Mihail is a living page in the most recent history of the Macedonian people and the holy Church. He took the burden of the archbishops dignity upon himself as a brave clergyman, who had devoted his entire life to religious service. For many years archbishop Mihail had also been professor and dean of the Faculty of Orthodox Theology in Skopje