Akritas Macedonian blog: Pan Macedonian Canada Letter to Liberal leader Bob Rae

Friday, September 30, 2011

Pan Macedonian Canada Letter to Liberal leader Bob Rae

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Dear Sir,

On behalf of the members of the PanMacedonian Association of Canada, the largest organization of Canadians of Greek origin from the region of Macedonia in Greece, we are writing to you to express our concern regarding your congratulatory statement to our fellow Canadians from the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (the FYROM) on September 8, 2011 [1]. This date marked the 20^th anniversary since Skopje declared its independence from Belgrade in 1991. Just like you do, we share the same conviction that liberty and freedom should be celebrated, promoted, and congratulated, and we extend our congratulations to our northern neighbours and their diaspora communities. However, in your letter you addressed our fellow Canadians from the FYROM as “Macedonian-Canadians”, and you lauded their contribution to a “harmonious” Canada. The PanMacedonian Associations all around the world have been at the forefront of protecting the Hellenism of Macedonia ever since that...

famous US State Department circular Airgram in 1944 to all US diplomatic missions stated that talk of a “Macedonian nation” was “demagoguery” aimed at “aggressive intentions” against Greece [2, 3].

The Liberal Party of Canada has always been a party that Canadians of Greek descent have had a great working relationship with. When Prime Minister Harper’s Conservative government – following US President Bush’s lead – recognized the FYROM as “Republic of Macedonia” in 2007, this was seen as an affront to the sensitivities of all Greeks worldwide even though the action was of course made naively and without any malicious intent. As Macedonians, we too were alienated and continue to be so. Thankfully, we were relieved to see that the Liberal Party opposed this action by Canada’s Tory government.

Greece and its northern neighbour have been at the UN negotiating table since 1995 when both parties agreed to an Interim Accord and an interim name (the FYROM) until a new name could be mutually agreed upon under the auspices of the UN. The fact that Skopje has promoted itself as “Republic of Macedonia” – against the wishes of the UN – at the bilateral level is irrelevant. However, it is important to state that the promotion of this mistake by third countries such as Canada has only hardened Skopje’s stance and has thwarted all attempts of a solution to this imbroglio. There are many examples of irredentism at the expense of Greece (and Canadians of Greek descent) by official Skopje and its diaspora. At the anniversary celebrations, ruling government officials presided over events that promoted the violent break-up of Greece’s north with annexation to their country [4]. Skopje’s diaspora lobby group – the “United Macedonian Diaspora (UMD)” – promoted the partition of Greece in 2010 in Toronto. All this was in front of cheering crowds of “Macedonian-Canadians” [5].

This is disturbing and is anachronistic for our times. It is also against the vision of Canada and what we hold dear for the future of the world. We trust Mr. Rae, that the Liberal Party of Canada and you can see our concern in these developments. As a result, our representatives look forward to, and welcome, a planned meeting with you along with other Greek-Canadian organizations in the very near future.

Sincerely,

Haralambos Moutousides

President

PanMacedonian Association of Canada

1) http://www.liberal.ca/newsroom/news-release/statement-liberal-leader-bob-rae-independence-day-republic-macedonia/

2) The Department [of State] has noted with considerable apprehension increasing propaganda rumors and semi-official statements in favor of an autonomous Macedonia, emanating principally 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 nor political reality, and sees in its present revival a possible cloak for aggressive intentions against Greece.

From: http://www1.mfa.gr/images/docs/fyrom/dilosi_stettinius_dec_1944.pdf

3) And, http://www.panmacedonian.info/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=336:stettinius-circular-airgram-us-state-department&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=50

4) In the following video, the FYROM’s Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski and his government officials (including President Gjorge Ivanov) are seen enjoying a performance of the song “Biser Balkanski” (Pearl of the Balkans) and it has the following lyrics:

“Hey, Macedonia, Pearl of the Balkans, Aegean [region of Macedonia in Greece] and Pirin [region in Bulgaria]: join with the clear waters of the Vardar. Leave conquerors...enemies!”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpNYBQom79A (last accessed September 9, 2011).

5) Toronto businessman and community leader John Bitove Sr. being interviewed by UMD president Metodija Koloski in Toronto (2010). He stated to a cheering crowd that he wished for a "United Macedonia". (see especially from 3 minutes on; last accessed June 1, 2011): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3UAV0kj_l0&feature=related

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Regarding the Greek debt Crisis....

Greece, a peripheral european state was encouraged to join a badly designed single currency by the rich elite of countries that dominated it. Those countries, having set up borrowing rules for the currency union, were the first to break them and did so with impunity.

Through complacency and inept financial regulation, and lacking good investment opportunities in their own stuttering economies, they then encouraged their banks to lend recklessly to the country on the periphery.

When those investments went sour, the elite governments -influence from Germany- with theirs globalizing neoliberal leadeships, rushed to bail out their banks first by loading up the debtor government with yet more loans to pay them back and then by imposing a foreign overlord to extract repayments through legal force.

We need History Lectures based on FACTS not political motives!

In November 5-8 2009 at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City took place the so-called "7th Macedonian-North American Conference on Macedonian Studies".
Although a number of presenters strictly deal with subjects of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, there are politically motivated lectures that attack and disparage the people of Greece, the Greek Cultural identity and as they twist historical facts through their disturbing presentation.
These motivated lectures are influence under the umbrella of the Slavmacedonism [5], a post-modern ultra nationalist ideology.

Read more here.

Modern Macedonian question - What is it all about?

Ancient Macedonia was a Greek kingdom situated in the north end of Greece. It became the most powerful Greek state during the 4th century bc after the decline of Athina (Athens) and Sparta. Under the leadership of King Philippos II and his son Alexandros III (Alexander the Great) the Macedonian army conquered most of the world and created the world's largest empire ever, including South-East Europe, most of Asia and North Africa.
After the death of Alexandros, Macedonia followed the fate of the rest of Greece. It became a Roman province, later a Byzantine province, it was occupied by the Ottoman empire and finally it became part of the indepented Greek state in 1912.
Today a Slavic nation attempts to adopt the history and culture of Macedonia as their own and present themselves to the world as "ethnic Macedonians" and "descedants of ancient Macedonians"
This is a blatant attack against Greece and its world wide respected history.
The FYROM Slavs who claim to be "Macedonians" have no historical, cultural or linguistic relation with ancient Macedonia. They descended into the region not before the 6th cent. A.D. long after ancient Macedonia was homogenized with the rest of Greece. Their 'Republic of Macedonia' occupies less than 10% of ancient Macedonia.
Therefore their claim on ancient Macedonia's name, history, culture and symbols can not be justified.

Aegean Macedonia.........

is a FYROMacedonian Slav nationalist term used to refer to the region of Macedonia in Greece, in the context of a United Macedonia.
The origins of the term seem to be rooted in the 1940s but its modern usage is widely considered ambiguous and irredentist.
The term has occasionally appeared on maps circulated in the FYROM, which envisioned Greek Macedonia (referred to as "Aegean Macedonia") as part of a "Greater Macedonia", and is regarded as a challenge of of the legitimacy of Greek sovereignity over the area.

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Friday, September 30, 2011

Pan Macedonian Canada Letter to Liberal leader Bob Rae

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