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Macedonia is ready to accept a "fair compromise" with Greece in their long-running name row, the ex-Yugoslav republic's president said Thursday, days ahead of fresh UN-mediated talks.
However Macedonian President Branko Crvenkovski, who held talks with EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn in Brussels, admitted that he and his Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, more hardline on the matter, did not agree on the way to resolve the issue.
Macedonia is an official EU candidate nation but one of the hurdles to beginning formal membership talks is its more than 15-year-long dispute with Greece over its right to the name "Macedonia," which is shared by a northern Greek region.
Crvenkovski said that UN negotiator Matthew Nimetz, who has already held a number of meetings on the issue, had scheduled more talks with the two sides for next Tuesday.
Both Macedonia and Greece will present their latest proposals to Nimetz who will use them to come up with what Crvenkovski said he hoped would be a "final proposal" to solve the long-running dispute.
"The Republic of Macedonia is prepared for a fair compromise that will not go against our cultural and national identity and I hope that the Republic of Greece will (also) show some flexibility," he told reporters during a joint press conference with Rehn.
The president gave no indication of what kind of compromise might be acceptable.
After the collapse of Yugoslavia, Macedonia was recognised by the United Nations in 1993 under the name Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM).
According to poll released last month, only 30 percent of Macedonians would support membership of NATO, which the country also hopes to join, if that meant having to change the country's name to suit Greece.
The Macedonian president acknowledged that he was "aware of the weakness we have shown in the last couple of weeks and months," in regard to the wider objective of moving towards EU membership.
Last month a Council of Europe report detailed allegations by inmates in Macedonia's prisons of beatings by police officers and degrading conditions in the prisons.
Earlier foreign observers said the parliamentary elections held in Macedonia in June failed to meet international standards.
The European Commission has set up eight political benchmarks for Macedonia to reach before membership negotiations can start.
The benchmarks cover areas like political dialogue, implementation of police laws, the fight against corruption, judiciary and public administration reform, and measures to boost employment and business.
Rehn, while welcoming reforms in some areas such as language laws, the police and judiciary, warned that "substantial efforts are still needed."
He didn't go into many details, noting that the commission will publish a new progress report on Macedonia in November.
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(18) Reactions
Ethnicity of Skopjians
„Ние сме българи, повече българи от самите българи в България“.
— Kръстe Мисирков
“We are Bulgarians, more Bulgarians than the Bulgarians in Bulgaria themselves”.
— Kr'ste Misirkov
Macedonia
Democracy means the will of the people. Macedonians have decided and their will is that their country is Macedonia, respect that EU. Crvenkovski is not Macedonia's president, he does not have the support of Macedonians, and he definitely does not speak for them. The EU has no right to issue ultimatums to Macedonia to change its name. Macedonia has no problem with its name, Greece and now the EU and NATO have have made it their problem, so they need to solve their problem, not Macedonia. Gruevski has a parliamentary majority in Macedonia, they are the ones who govern and bring laws, so why is Brussels distorting this democracy by constantly insisting on dialog with other parties who clearly lost in parliamentary elections. I guess for the EU democracy is fine as long as it is what it wants like the Lisbon Treaty that the Irish rejected, then democracy doesn't count. Democracy, you either stand for it or you don't. The EU doesn't and that is the definition of anti-democratic which is to say authoritarian, like telling Macedonia change your name or else. As a Macedonian I tell you "NO THANKS" Macedonia has been around longer then the EU and even longer then Europe. Maybe we should call Europe Macedonia instead.
Overuse of Nazi and Greece comparison
Hey andrianna, I'm sorry but you and your people's attempt to compare greece to nazi germany is not going to get you very far either. And by the way, it was your people, the Skopjians who greeted the nazi german army in WWII with banners and joy when they entered the Macedonian region thinking that they would give you Greek Macedonia and eliminate the Greeks.....SHAME ON YOU!
Tito's Propaganda
Here is a 1944 statement by US Secretary of State Edward Stettinius, which clearly shows the beginnings of an organized attempt by Tito to claim Greek territory by creating a non-Greek "Macedonian" ethnicity…
"The Department has noted with considerable apprehension increasing propaganda rumors and semi-official statements in favor of an autonomous Macedonia emanating from Bulgaria, but also from Yugoslav partisan and other sources with the implication that Greek territory would be included in the projected State. This Government considers talk of "Macedonian Nation", "Macedonian Fatherland", or "Macedonian National Consciousness" to be unjustified demagoguery representing no ethnic or political reality, and sees in its present revival a possible cloak for aggressive intentions against Greece."
- U.S. State Dep. Foreign Relations Vol. VII, Circular Airgram [868.014]
Judging by the irredentism that continues to emanate from FYROM, it appears that Tito has gone but the propaganda remains.
Greek racism and xenophobia have no bounds
I see Greeks have tried to hijack the thread, it won't get them far. Their claims that Macedonia is racist pale in comparison to the legal judgements against Greece by international organizations. There is reality, fantasy and propaganda and in the end Greece's propaganda against Macedonia will fall to the wayside. The Greek government claims that Greece is a pure country with no ethnic or national minorities. The Modern Greek mindset reminds one of the days of the Nazis in Europe, when national purity was the order of the day. This is Europe in the 21st century and I must say the ghosts of the fascists and Nazis are alive and well in Greece.
Turning truths on their head
In 1944, Tito renamed the southeastern province of his Yugoslavia, from Vardaska to Macedonia.
All else follows...
Seek and you shall find.
Underneath its diplomatic mask, the government of FYROM has a very different face..
Seek and you might find.
http://monkeydonia.blogspot.com
FYROM
Stop the ethnic genocide of Greek Macedonians by FYROM. We are Macedonians and Skopje has no right to monopolize the Macedonian identity! Skopje are the biggest bullies of Europe!
FYROM
To all Skopjians: BUILD A BRIDGE and learn how to get OVER it
Skopjians love peace eh?
Peace loving Macedonians? Who do you think you're fooling? My friends visited Skopje a month ago and they had stones thrown at them for being albanian. You are anything but peace loving which is just as well since this will make it easier for us to make Greater Albania a reality!
Skopjians love peace eh?
Peace loving Macedonians? Who do you think you're fooling? My friends visited Skopje a month ago and they had stones thrown at them for being albanian. You are anything but peace loving which is just as well since this will make it easier for us to make Greater Albania a reality!
Irrational?
I'm sorry, but the claims of FYROM citizens that Greek Macedonia belongs to them is irrational. Just look at any FYROM facebook site, website and other publications and you will see maps of FYROM that include Greek Macedonia. This irrational behaviour goes as far as publishing pictures of the White Tower of Thessaloniki with the Fyrom flag on it. Even more irrational and evidence of immature and inappropriate behaviour on the part of FYROM is their belief that Thessaloniki will be their capital one day. Greece has no territoreal ambitions on Fyrom territory and yet in all of Europe FYROM displays the most ambitious when it comes to another country's territory so you tell me who the scum of Europe is. Perhaps Fyrom should be concerned w/ it's internal problem as shown by the latest election problems which revealed to the world what FYROM really is. And also, as mentioned, Greece has no territorial ambitions on FYROM but it is apparent in one of the comments below, the albanians have ambitions on FYROM so perhaps FYROM should concern itself with Greater Albania then spreading hatred and racism against Greece.
what is in a name
The Greeks have no right to tell the Macedonians what they can or can't call themselves. They should concern themselves with improving things in Greece than worry about the name of other nations. The very notion is completely irrational. The rest of Europe should dismiss the Greeks protests for the irrational emotionalism for what it is, irrational.
Macedonian identity
I'm a Albanian Macedonian from the Macedonian part of Albanian and we too are discriminated by the Slavo Macedonians as they do not recognize us as ethnic Albanian Macedonians. They say that they are the only true Macedonians and they also lay claims on our region of Macedonia. I cannot imagine such a corrupt country to be admitted to Nato or EU and I would suggest the Slavo Macedonians to back off b/c Greater Albania will prevail over Skopje!
Skopje = Racists
My Macedonian Bulgarian community in FYROM is suffering ethnic genocide at the hands of the Skopjians because we also claim to be Macedonia as we come from Pirin Macedonia. We suffer greatly as the Skopjians try to monopolize the Macedonian identity. Just the other day we were discriminated against in a restaurant in central Skopje as we were denied service since we claimed to be Bulgarian Macedonians. They even shouted that one day our Pirin Macedonia will be theirs again. The Hague and Brussels must be made aware of this ethnic genocide against us by FYROM. They should not be allowed into the EU as they taint Europe's image.
FYROM RACIst
My Macedonian Bulgarian community in Skopje is suffering severe ethnic genocide by the Skopjians as they deny us the right to call ourselves Macedonians. They severely discriminate us as they want to monopolize the Macedonian identity. Just the other day we were in a restaurant in central part of Skopje and we were kicked out of a restaurant and denied service due to our claims that the Macedonian identity is also Bulgarian. They shouted as we left the restaurant that our Pirin Macedonia will belong to them again in the future. Brussels and the Hague must be made aware of these hatred and racist crimes commited in FYROM despite the fact that FYROM claims to be a multicultural society. THEY ARE LIARS AND THE BIGGEST RACISTS IN EUROPE.
How Racist the European Union Has Become
The European Union needs to move away from Greece's policy of ethnic genocide. It's absurd that it would ask a country to change its name and a people to deny their ethnic identity merely to join some political club. The EU needs to get its act together and deal with Greece once and for all as this kind of racism seriously undermines the EU's image.
PSeudo facts
You need to stop pretending to be the victim here. There was no ethnic genocide in Greece and the Turkish minority has privilege rights as there language, culture and religion are preserved. If there was really an ethnic genocide then were is the Hague and war crimes tribunal? Also, according to empirical data, Ottoman records, Byzantine records, and Roman records, Greek Macedonia has ALWAYS been inhabited by Greeks. The fact that many Greeks from Turkey came and started new lives in Macedonia does not imply it is not Greek. For instance, many Greeks from Turkey came to Athens to start new lives (in fact more came to the Athenian region then compared to any other part of Greece including Macedonia) so does this make Athens not Greek according to your logic? Another point is that it was your people that committed ethnic genocide during the Greek civil war as you tried to take Macedonia away from Greece and aligned yourselves with the evil communist. With their aide, your people committed countless atrocities. I would like to call upon you to explain why do you publish articles, school books and countless facebook sites that claim Greek Macedonia as your own territory? Or please explain why are there pictures circulating in your Fyrom facebook sites w/ your fyrom flag on the White Tower of Thessaloniki? Also how do explain the fact that in those same sites and publications why do you state that Thessaoliniki will one day be your capital again? Stop playing the innocent little victim here when in you are the one who is making territorial claims on a neighbour and spreading hatred on that neighboure
Oh and by the way, it's THESSALONIKI, NOT solun. solun is your fantasy place that never existed and WILL NEVER EXIST
MAcedonia is One and Greek FOREVER!
Macedonian name issue what a joke .
Ive had enough of this!
Macedonia is Hellenic forever. I dont care how many PHONY websites are put up on the net or how many maps have been manipulated or how many no name people have written articles . This is about tourism.
SKOPJIANS preach HATE !!!!!!
HATE HATE HATE!!
The Bush administration made this mess ! VOTE OBAMA!!!
LOOK OUT FOR THE MACEDONIAN GREEK RALLY ON OCTOBER 27th in NYC!