FYROM’s political leadership is in the process of transferring its dispute with Athens firstly to the USA and secondly to Canada, with the objective of changing the breadth and the depth of the negotiations, which are currently being held under the auspices of Mathew Nimitz, and of “isolating” Greece as a country which severely violates human rights.The pseudo-irredentist propaganda of Skopje, by which it essentially disputes Greece’s sovereignty over the northern part of the country, will be promoted with a barrage of advertisements on the American media, and with the publication of law suits by so called “Aegean Macedonians” against the Greek state.
To achieve these aims, a quasi-legal amorphous mechanism involving US Government employees, diplomats, businessmen and analysts has been established, with input from State Department and Pentagon operatives.
The “activists”
The coordination of these activities, as well as the confrontation of the “Greek Lobby”, has been assigned to ORION Strategies, a company founded by Randy Scheunemann, Senior Foreign Policy Advisor to presidential candidate, John McCain.
In the first phase, ORION Strategies has received a fee of 300,000 USD through an organization by the name of “United Macedonian Diaspora”, a Slav-Macedonian diaspora organization based in Washington, USA, which focuses on promoting FYROM’s propaganda internationally, the president of which is a certain Metodija A. Koloski.
Approximately 10 “activists” who have been instructed to “loudly” intervene during lectures and seminars where Greek diplomats will be presenting and to provoke questions concerning the so-called “Macedonian minority” are also members of the United Macedonian Diaspora organization. Whilst many of them appear “colorful” or eccentric, their aim is to create problems, and to present Greece as a undemocratic country, where all individual freedoms are suppressed.
This FYROM propaganda support group includes, notably, the following individuals who hold official and unofficial positions within the group:
Slavko Madzarov, a prominent businessman from New Jersey, and financier of ambitious American politicians. He is involved in the building industry and is notable supporter of New Jersey congressman Bill Pascrell, who heads up the non-existent “Friends of Macedonia” group in Congress, which is comprised all-in-all of three congressmen! He has been elevated to the rank of FYROM’s honorary consul to the stat of New Jersey and carries himself as the defacto representative of Nikola Gruevski in the United States. His political power base is mostly at the local level, however.
Mike Zafirovski, president of the Nortel Company. He belongs to the entourage of President George Bush as a member of the Telecom Advisory Committee. He is a powerful supporter of the Skopje propaganda machine in the USA and has financially supported the pre-election campaigns of the Republican Party.
The Suspicions
Suspicions have been raised concerning the role of Daniel Fried, US Undersecretary of State, which he himself refutes categorically, and his connection with the FYROM propaganda machine, and in providing tacit support to FYROM’s anti-Greek pseudo-irredentist propaganda.
Well-founded concerns were expressed following his behavior and maneuvering further to the recent letter sent by Nikola Gruevski to Greece’s Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis. During a conversation with a Greek diplomat Fried seemed, quite undiplomatically, to be overcome with anger. Moreover, he is said to have stated that he will communicate with Athens to head off the angry response by the Greek Prime Minister, so that the negotiation process is not affected by the stupidity [of Gruevski].
During the course of a discussion he had with the Pan Macedonian Association of America, he again expressed disappointment [concerning the latest actions of Gruevski]. However, he steadfastly refused and did not even permit the release of a statement from the State Department publicizing his exact response to this provocation, which in the end appeared to be non-existent…. His maneuvering vindicated all those who continue to believe that Fried fosters the pseudo-irredentist propaganda of Skopje with his statements concerning a “Macedonian ethnicity” and “Macedonian language”.
The Information held by Athens
The Greek government has evidence that Paul Feiffer, a State Department Operative, is an informant and consultant to the Skopje leadership and to FYROM’s ambassador in Washington. Athens has already diplomatically complained to Washington, presenting credible evidence, about the activities of Mr. Feiffer, without any apparent result.
The Pentagon Clique and the “Analysts”
Laurence Butler, Assistant Undersecretary of State, and former ambassador to FYROM is another friend and consultant of Mr. Gruevski. His traces can be found on many of the provocations and actions of the FYROM leadership against Greece.
Athens suspects that the idea of this year’s recent “get-together” in the Florina region is the brainchild of American operatives, especially since Greek diplomats were informed of it the first time from Mr. Butler’s the inner circle.
It is notable that there is strong support of Skopje from the Pentagon establishment, citing FYROM’s military contribution in Iraq, which amounts to no more than 100 soldiers!
FYROM’s US – based propaganda machine’s relationship with Randy Scheunemann’s ORION strategies commenced after an introduction by a senior employee of the US Defense Department.
The Greek Government believes that one of the agents of Skopje’s irredentist campaign is the analyst Edward Joseph – who collaborates with the Brookings Institution. In fact, Greek diplomats in the USA and in Europe have clashed with him many times.
He is primarily known through the publication of one of his reports for the curious “International Crisis Group”, which undermined the negotiations of the government of Kostas Simitis with Branko Crvenkovski concerning the name issue.
Recently, he published a report in “Spiegel” entitled “How the Greek dispute concerning “Macedonia’s” name will be resolved”. His basic idea and contribution centered around the justification of Skopje’s pseudo-irredentism. Moreover, he made a very negative impression through his assertion that the Greek objections relating to FYROM’s name issue were due to the existence of a “Macedonian minority” in Greece.“Greece”, predicted the analyst, as if he were himself prescribing the “penalty”,“will bear a heavy political price……..”
FYROM’s American Guidance
Randy Scheunemann (Advisor to presidential candidate John McCain)
Randy Scheunemann is the Senior Foreign Policy Advisor to John McCain and coordinator of the opposition to the “Greek lobby” and of the promotion of Skopje’s propaganda, through ORION Strategies which he himself founded. His relationship with the Republican Party’s presidential candidate is an especially close one and they frequently travel together. As a down payment, his company received 300,000 USD from the organization “United Macedonian Diaspora” whose president is a certain Metodija A. Koloski. The aim of ORION Strategies is to establish a propaganda machine incorporating US government officials, operatives, diplomats and analysts.
Mike Zafirovski (George W. Bush Advisor)
Mike Zafirovski is the President of the Nortel Company. He belongs to George Bush’s staff, as a member of the Telecom Advisory Committee.Lawrence Butler (Assistant Undersecretary of State)Lawrence Butler is Assistant Undersecretary of State, and former ambassador to FYROM. His traces are to be found on many of the provocations of the FYROM leadership against Greece.
Edward P. Joseph (Analyst)
Edward P. Joseph is an Analyst and collaborates with the Brookings Institution. He is primarily known through the publication of one of his reports for the curious “International Crisis Group”, which undermined the negotiations of the government of Kostas Simitis with Branko Crvenkovski concerning the name issue. His primary contribution centered around the justification of FYROM’s pseudo-irredentism.
Article by Mihalis Ignatiou, Ethnos Newspaper, 19th July 2008
Original title of the article is .......The godfathers of the provocations.
Translated into English by Captain Agras, 22nd July 2008
WOW!
ReplyDeleteUnbelievable, shocking, jaw dropping in fact.
One question though, where is Bigfoot in this story? Oh, wait, forget Bigfoot, I bet it will be little green men from Mars.
This kind of stuff is written by the same people who sit on mountain tops in New Mexico looking for UFOs or who think Elvis is still alive and living in Fiji. Anyone who thinks any of this is even 1% true is truly beyond help and should check themselves into a mental institution.
Come on people, wake up, we all know the truth:
There are Macedonians, they are different than Greeks, period. Once Greeks come to terms with the lies that they have been spoon fed by their politicians since an early age and starting in the 1920s we, the civilized world, can get on with real issues, like the environment.
Borders mean nothing now anyways, so why bother arguing about them. As for the rest of this mess, shake hands, agree to disagree, come to some agreement on the name that makes both side happy and move on. To argue about ancient history and who is the rightfull heir to it is dumb. NO ONE can say for sure, 100%, where they came from any further back than 100-200 years, to do so any further is lying to yourself.
You said...
ReplyDelete"There are Macedonians, they are different than Greeks, period"
Period is the mother of the fails.I am Macedonian but I am not Slav. Borders were, are and will exist. Is a human invention.
Do you know what was the US policy in 40s ?
“This Government considers talk of Macedonian “nation”, Macedonian “Fatherland”, or Macedonian “national consciousness” to be unjustified demagoguery representing no ethnic nor political reality, and sees in its present revival a possible cloak for aggressive intentions against Greece”.
[ Secretary of State Edward Stettinius,U.S.State Department, Foreign Relations vol.viii Washington, D.C., Circular Airgram, (868.014/26 Dec.1944)]
What you think is changed from 44 into 2004 ?
Bush administration (and Rice) make two serious mistakes as regards this issue...
FIRST
Pr. Bush has obviously underestimated the importance of the issue for Greece and consistently used the term "Macedonia" when referring to FYROM. In terms of semantics this is a direct support to Skopje a fact not appreciated by Greek public opinion and political elite. When in 2004 US government decided to recognize FYROM under its constitutional name "Republic of Macedonia" it was done as a means to avoid further destabilization of the country. At least this was the explanation provided by the State Department. Greek worries were not just overlaid but rather treated as a symptom of national paranoia, a technicality and not an issue of direct or indirect threat to territorial status and a non-military threat to a NATO ally.
SECOND
the overt support of the State Department (Rice, Fried etc.) to FYROM hardened the positions of the nationalists in the Slav-Macedonian government. Eventually they gave them false signs since the State Department treated FYROM as a protégé. For the Greek side it was obvious that the real interlocutors during the bargaining process were the US and its NATO ally Greece. Athens was treated as a de facto minor ally whose legitimate security interests had to be sacrificed in order to cement south-eastern Europe from Russian policy built on establishing oil and natural gas pipelines.
Now you realize what are the borders between USA-FYROM-Greece? When I say borders , I mean Political, cultural,national, territorial and financial lines.
The modern Greek folly has always been its persistent but reckless denial of the existence of a Macedonian nationality. The hysteric intolerance against ethnic Macedonians has distorted the Greek collective consciousness so much that Greeks are no longer capable of differentiating between their wish that Macedonians were truly nonexistent and the actual Macedonian reality, which so defiantly confronts them.
ReplyDeleteAs their Macedonian phobia continues to feed their schizophrenic psyches, rather than dealing with the Macedonian reality like rational people, they instead cry out for sympathy and comfort while hoping to be freed from their Macedonian nightmare, just like a small child who has awakened from a bad dream and cries out to his parents for comfort.
Such was the case in 1947 when the Greek government protested to the United Nations’ Security Council regarding border violations by its northern neighbors. Greece demanded that Yugoslavia cease and desist overt military and logistical aid to the guerrillas fighting in the Greek Civil War, many of whom were ethnic Macedonians.
On December 19 1946, a Commission of Investigating was established by the United Nations pursuant to the resolution of the Security Council to examine alleged Greek frontier incidents. To the surprise and dismay of the Greek government, the Commission of Inquiry broadened its scope of investigation to include the treatment of minorities, tendentious misstatements of facts in press and radio, activities of foreign military and police missions in the four countries concerned and arraignments of free port or free zone facilities in Salonika.
Outraged by the Commission’s expanded mission, Greece threatened the immediate execution of political prisoners and captured “bandits” unless the Commission narrowed its scope of investigating to the original request. However, after heavy arm-twisting by the United States the Greek government halted the executions and allowed the Commission to proceed without further impediment.
The United States was concerned that if Greece carried out the execution of the Macedonians world opinion would turn against Greece, which would give Yugoslavia, supported by the Soviets, a pretext to invade and detach Aegean Macedonia from Greece. In order to save face, and perhaps their country, Greek Ambassador, Dendramis, was instructed by the United States to inform the Security Council that Greece’s protest was filed merely so there could be no grounds for misunderstanding regarding the interpretation of the terms of reference” (Telegram from Secretary of State to the US Embassy in Greece, February 8, 1947).
The United States understood that if Greece continued on its reckless political course it was only a matter of weeks before it fell to the Soviet block. Therefore, such a communist scenario for the future of Greece had to be prevented from becoming a reality.
Once the Commission began its work, the investigation of the Greek border incidents was downgraded as a minor issue. Such incidents, as the Commission contended, were regular occurrences in the Balkans for centuries and this issue in itself did not warrant an investigation at the United Nations level.
But the United States and Britain used this issue as a pretext to counterbalance Soviet expansion to the Balkans by preserving Greek territorial integrity. Britain and the Unites States were convinced that Yugoslavia wanted to detach the Aegean and Pirin parts of Macedonia from Greece and Bulgaria respectively and create an autonomous Macedonian state within the Yugoslav Federation.
Thus in the midst of this global political drama, the Macedonian issue again took center stage. But the ensuing colossal political battle between East and West instantly relegated Greece and Macedonia to the sidelines as spectators of their own destiny. The political drama was moved from the bloody foothills in Greece to the stately halls in Geneva. There, the ideological demarcation line between East and West was drawn alongside the Greek-Macedonian border, and as a result Greece and Macedonia continued their bitter rivalry on opposite sides of each other.
Nonetheless, the Commission’s investigation was not interrupted and it was able to gather first hand information on the issues in question. However, before the findings were officially published, Commission representatives regularly communicated their findings to their respective governments for further evaluation and for instructions by their foreign affairs departments.
In one instance, the US Commission representative, Mark Ethridge, on May 8, 1947, sent a secret telegram to US Secretary of State, Marshall, informing him that “Greece itself by its own short sighted attitude and by its discriminatory and gangster-like methods was providing grist for the mill of political indoctrination and training in northern countries. It is noteworthy that a very large proportion of the refugees from Greece are Slavo-Macedonians who bore the brunt of discrimination. It seems clear to me that unless the discriminatory treatment stops flight to the mountains or across the borders will not stop. Thus this is the interrelation between nature and the causes and conclusion that Greece’s discrimination has caused thousands to flee.”
This short but revealing passage summarizes the entire political landscape in Aegean Macedonia and accurately depicts the state of the Macedonian minority in Greece. It is also evident that the American diplomat clearly acknowledges the existence of the Macedonian minority in Greece and he leaves no room for questioning which minority he is referring to. Additionally, he doesn’t hide the fact that Greece’s domestic policy is the root cause of the plight of refugees and the discrimination against the Macedonian minority.
Ever conspiring and manipulating, Greece could not admit to the world it could be guilty of the most notorious crimes against the Macedonian minority. Greece wanted the free and democratic world to believe that the existence of the Macedonian minority, the plight of the Macedonian refugees and the execution of the Macedonian political prisoners were fallacious charges because Greece denied them. To further cover up their mess, Greece shifted the blame on Yugoslavia for stirring up trouble in Greece.
In their support, Greece offered to the Commission as evidence quotes from speeches of Yugoslav and Bulgarian statesmen from articles in the press, which to the Greeks meant unequivocal proof that Yugoslavia agitated a separate Macedonian state within the Yugoslav Federation and thus exploited the aspiration of Macedonians in Greece for an autonomous Macedonia. Thus it seems Greeks wanted to simultaneously claim both the non-existence of the Macedonian minority and blame Yugoslavia for fermenting dissatisfaction and disturbances among the Macedonians in Greece. This can’t be true in any world, not even in a Venizelos’ Greek-a-polis.
Based on its findings, the Commission’s conclusions clearly and unequivocally put the blame on Greece for a policy of systematic discrimination and persecution of the Macedonian minority in that country. Even though Macedonians in Greece were not the primary goal of the Commission, some of its conclusions undeniably confirmed the existence of a Macedonian minority:
1) It was pointed out to the Commission and not disputed that after the Varkiza agreement over 20,000 Greek citizens had fled into Yugoslavia either directly or through Albania or Bulgaria and approximately 5,000 into Bulgaria, a substantial proportion in each case being of Slavo-Macedonian origin. Evidence was also presented in support of the charge that Greece has sanctioned persecution of its Slavo-Macedonian minorities. Furthermore, the Commission heard testimony that the Slavic dialect spoken by Slavo-Macedonians who were believed to comprise about 85,000 people was not taught in schools and that in certain areas, use of this dialect was prohibited.” These findings by the Commission were so compelling in their condemnation of the Greek state that they left no room for doubt.
2) The Commission is of the opinion that as long as such discriminatory treatment continues, there will be unrest and discontent on the part of the Slavic minority in Greek Macedonia, which will provide fertile breeding ground for a separatist movement.
3) In connection with the present situation, the Greek Commission was presented with a body of evidence in support of the charges that responsibility for the situation lay with Greek domestic policy… This evidence was in effect that opposition political groups in Greece were persecuted by Greek gendarmerie and right-wing bandits, and that the civil rights of the Macedonian and Chamuriot minorities have been restricted
4) The Commission also received sufficient evidence to warrant a conclusion that immediately after the liberation of Greece, the small Slav speaking and Chamuriot minority in Greco-Macedonia and Epirus had been victims of retaliatory excesses, and Chamuriot minority had actually fled en masse from the country. As regards treatment of minorities, the Greek government asserted the acts in question were committed before it established control in the areas concerned, and that many members of these minority groups had collaborated with Axis occupying forces during war
Considering that these conclusions were unintended consequences, the findings of the Commission reveal disturbing and undeniable evidence of an official Greek policy of persecution and discrimination against the Macedonian minority. These accusations against the Greek state in 1947 were not “dreamed” up. They were findings by the United Nations Commission of Investigating and were consistent with the facts on the ground. These findings speak loudly and plainly to the world that the Greek denial of the Macedonian minority transcends all rationality. Indeed, this denial has become a Greek national blasphemy.
The Greek national obsession with the Macedonian issue continues to regenerate itself as a persistent and bloody hatred that is no longer capable of self-control. Greece has gone wrong on the Macedonian issue and Greek society cannot be expected to find a cure for its anti-Macedonian paranoia. It’s time for the international community to call upon Greece and help this nation transcend the bounds of its delusional fascination with the Megale Idea.
The report of Commission of Investigation was signed at Geneva on May 23, 1947. The conclusions were subscribed by Australia, Belgium, Brazil, China, Columbia, Syria, United Kingdom and the United States. The delegations of Soviet Union and Poland did not approve the conclusions and the French delegation abstained. The United Nations has published the Commission’s report in Official Records of the Security Council, Second Year, Special Supplement No. 2.
Anonymous (4:23 PM) you article written from Dushan Sinadinoski and post it in the site of the Slavmacedonist ultra-nationalist Lubi Uzunovski.
ReplyDeleteIn the specific article anyone can see how distort the facts and the most important how brainwash theirs people.
Dushan Sinadinoski in his article forget to mention the most critical conclusions of this report....
[................
b) Evidence was introduced in the Commission, consisting of these quotations from speeches by responsible Yugoslav and Bulgarian statesmen and from the government-controlled press, WHICH INDICATED THAT THESE GOVERNMENTS ADOPTED A POLICY OF SUPPORT FOR A SEPARATE MACEDONIAN STATE WITHIN THE YUGOSLAV FEDERATION, AND EXPLOITED THE ASPIRATIONS OF SLAVO-MACEDONIANS IN GREECE FOR AN AUTONOMOUS MACEDONIA. This exploitation had the natural consequence of fomenting dissatisfaction and disturbances among the Slavo-Macedonians.
c) In addition, the Commission heard witnesses who testified that there was in Yugoslavia AN ORGANIZATION KNOWN AS NOF (NATIONAL LIBERATION FRONT), oNE OF WHOSE OBJECTS WAS TO DETACH GREEK MACEDONIA FROM GREECE AND TO INCORPORATE IT INTO THE FEDERATION OF YUGOSLAVIA. These witnesses testified that the activities of NOF were directed from its headquarters in Skoplje and during its most active phase through a special "Aegean Bureau" in Bitolj (Monastir). The program of NOF included propaganda supporting the Macedonian movement
...................]
No neen any further comment as about what Sinadinoski FORGET to mention in his article. Anyone can read the whole report in this link.
Is very dfiificult to talk with the Slav Macedonian people when tHEY HAVE SINADINOSKIS AND UZUNOVSKIS THAT BRAINWASH THEM WITH FABRICATED PROPAGANDISTIC LIES.
The person that calls himself “anonymous” – is obviously educated in the US or Canada.
ReplyDeleteAKRITAS on the other hand does not have good command of the English language.
HOWEVER the person that sees Bigfoot and UFOs is “anonymous”!
He needs to check himself in an insane asylum. In addition he and the people that have gotten themselves to believe that the Bulgarian majority that lives or comes from FYROM; should hire George Lukas to write the next chapter of their history.
Anonymous1
"AKRITAS on the other hand does not have good command of the English language."
ReplyDeleteAnonymous1 you spot on!!(LOL)
I cant hide it.!!!!
The point of me posting the article on the UN Security Council's findings is not that there was a seperatist movement in 1947 or there abouts in Northern Greece - the point is that a third party (USA) diplomat at the time recognized and realized there was a distinct minority in Greece - Macedonians.
ReplyDeleteWake up and smell the Turkish coffee Greece. YOU HAVE BEEN LIED TO YOUR WHOLE LIFE. You are not the chosen people, you are not the only 100% homogeneous country in the world, and you have no connection to ancient Greeks, other than the fact that you live on the same piece of broken rock. The Macedonians of today do not have any connection to the Macedonians of ancient times, nor do the modern Greeeks, any sane person could tell you that.
It is rather funny how anyone who disagrees with a Greek is labled an "ultranationalist" or the like, or an agent of Skopje, or some such nonsense.
By most Greeks logic today, anyone who spoke ancient Greek was therefore a Greek. By that same logic Akritas, you would be considered English, one with poor grammer and spelling, but English none the less today.
I will stop here in this battle of wits, I don't fight unarmed people.
Anonymous (9:44 PM) are you trolling?
ReplyDeleteI gave you the whole UN report as about the issue that you post - and not concern this thread - and your answer is «Greek coffees» and other crops?
Sinadinoski article is a journalist hymn of «how to distort the facts».
and since you speak for my English ability is known that I am native Greek and not from diasporas. My English grammar is poor but my arguments arsenal is un-limited.
Nobody ever cares to read opinions of those they don't (or in your case cannot) agree with.
ReplyDeleteBut I'll say this much...the Macedonia of yore doesn't exist anymore; borders have been moved, races have been miscegenated, cultures have been assimilated or destroyed outright.
Yet I call myself Macedonian in spite of all this.
Archaeological evidence suggests MACEDONIANS lived in what you call FYROM at SOME point...
So where did we all go? Did we vanish when the slavs moved in? C'mon now.
****
I'm not so jingoistic and boorish to say that our culture, our blood, and our history is that of Alexander, because honestly I have no idea. Nor do I care, to be honest.
What I DO know, is that as far back as the parents of my parent's parents we have been calling ourselves Macedonian...well before Tito took over.
In summation I will NEVER in good conscience refer to myself as anything but. (Much less one of the many slurs you have for us).
Degrade us at your leisure my brother; just know that tearing us down won't build up Greece in the slightest.
Regards.