Mac on Macedonia and Burns' Night

The whole naming of FYROM, the Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia, is our current hot potato in Greece – especially here in the north, in Macedonia. The issue is that the people of FYROM, since the break-up of Yugoslavia, understandably wish to carve out a national identity that is separate from Bulgaria and the other Balkan states.

 The area known as Macedonia has changed over the years and, certainly, the Ancient Kingdom of Macedonia reached the area of what is now Skopje. But since then occupation by Bulgarians and then the Ottomans left their impression on the area as did the influences and interests of Communism.

The people who now live there speak a tongue that is of the Eastern South Slavic variety, with Bulgarian being the language with the greatest degree of mutual intelligibility. These people are Slavs who settled in that area supposedly after the fall of the Roman Empire; their arrival is sometimes placed as around the 6^th century AD. Since the Macedonian Kingdom reached its zenith during the reigns of Philip II (359 -336 B.C.) and Alexander the Great (336-323B.C.), the FYROM residents’ claim to be direct descendants of that royal house would appear unfounded.

 This may seem like an insignificant issue to those who have no point of reference, but the name is of great importance. FYROM was the interim, provisional name given to the region on admission to the UN in 1993. One of the stumbling blocks to reaching agreement has been Greece’s insistence that whatever name is agreed be erga omnes – that is, a statutory right that it be used by all. By this, the not-EU-recognized but currently used name of ‘Macedonia’ would not be acceptable – the fully agreed title must be used at all times.  The confusion arising otherwise could be considerable.

From my own experience when I went to FYROM, I was welcomed to ‘Macedonia’, yet that was the region I had set out from to visit the neighbouring country.  A friend sent a letter from Brazil, and on the envelop the word ‘Greece’ had been scored out in red pen, so that the remaining address information: ‘Thessaloniki, Macedonia’ meant it was sent on to Skopje.

Recently I posted something on Facebook. 

My post : Congratulations to all those who organised and attended Sunday's rally where some 400,000 people assembled to express their strong disapproval of the term 'Macedonia' being considered for the name to be adopted by FYROM.
The whole event was magnificently carried out in good humour, with respect and dignity - bravo!!
This obviously gave voice to and focused on a critical national issue but, unfortunately, some chose to reduce it to the base level of party politics. That ERT3, the local television channel, did not provide live coverage of the event was shameful. 

And accompanying pic

Unfortunately, a lady whom I had met in Prilep (and whose name I have deleted) has taken umbrage:  

Lady X’s response: Is this really how you feel Joan Macphail?? I feel so sorry that you do. I personally want this conflict resolved and I can not care less about national identity (I am just someone born on Earth) but that someone like you would choose to say this is very hurtful. I would have thought that someone with your knowledge, background and origin have at least refrained from such a comment .Everyone is entitled to their opinions I guess. i wish you all the best in YOUR beautiful country Greece. I was thinking and even planning of coming to Thessaloniki to see you but I can tell we are no longer welcome. Take care.  X from FYROM (or whatever)

As I said, a hot potato.

 Our local mayor, Ioannis Boutaris has stated that those that claim ‘Macedonia is Greek’ are uneducated and stupid. I have heard, but not found any reference so far, that Odysseus Elytis, the Nobel Prize winner for Literature, claimed the only compound name for FYROM could be Pseudo-Macedonia. I love to imagine what a debate on the subject between these two would be like? Which one would prove to be the ‘uneducated’ one, I wonder!

And finally: 

 

 Our monarch’s hindmost year but ane

Was five-and -twenty days begun,                      

Twas then a blast o’ Janwar win’

Blew Hansel in on Robin

      

                                            

Savour a mouthful of haggis, neeps and mash for me!!

Happy Burns’ Night to you all.