Part 1 - Introduction - Part 09

This chapter is dedicated to all those “good natured”, “kind” Macedonians who try so hard to “convince” the Greeks that “Macedonians really do exist” and “Macedonians are people too and should be treated with respect”. Welcome to my world! I am ashamed to admit it but I too was once like you. I thought that by explaining myself I could get Greeks to listen to my side of the story and surely they could also see things my way and we could reach a “common understanding”. I spent the better of my last thirty years trying to accomplish just that by taking the time to explain to the Greeks that “yes, Macedonians do exist and here is proof” only to be ridiculed and insulted even more. Unfortunately, to this day, I am sorry to say that I have not convinced even a single Greek of anything. Why? Have I not been truthful and forward with them? Have I not provided enough evidence to them? No! The problem here is not with “me” or with “us” not trying hard enough or not being forward enough, the problem is that Greeks are “brought up” believing that, with the contradictory information which we provide to them, we “intend” to bring them harm. From the moment a Greek is born they are taught to believe that we are their enemy out to rob and murder them and steal their heritage. They are suspicious of everyone, the “Slavs” (whoever they may be), the Bulgarians, the Turks and the Americans and particularly of us who call ourselves Macedonian. The Greek educational system and the Greek Church have brainwashed them to believe that Macedonians don’t exist and those of us who say we are Macedonians are doing this to bring them harm and to steal “their” Macedonia from under them. Naturally they don’t know their true history and have no clue how they acquired Macedonia. They don’t even know that they are not “real” Greeks either. Most Modern Greeks, at least the ones I dealt with in the past, no matter what we tell them will not believe us, not only because it contradicts what they learned from their government sponsored educational system and from the Greek Church but because, in the back of their minds, lurks the fear and suspicion that “we are out to get them”, to do them harm, to steal their Macedonia from under them or to rob them of their “precious” heritage. Also, above and beyond their programming to be “suspicious”, Greeks are programmed to believe that they are “superior” to us on account of being told that they are the descendents of the “superior ancient Greeks”; an ancient race of racists and xenophobes turned demigods by the Philhellenes of the 19th century. In addition to being programmed to be frightfully suspicious, Modern Greeks are also programmed to be “all knowing” and “egotistical”. A combination such as this not only makes them “not want to listen to us” but they feel the need to lecture us, to educate us about “who we are” and they do that with an air of arrogance and with a superior attitude. Greeks are not the kind of people who would give an impression of “doubt” or “uncertainty” about anything or would take kindly to you telling them your side of the story especially when it contradicts theirs. Greeks do not need to provide “real” proof of anything, “Greek logic” will suffice and their word alone is proof enough. This is why they go along using meaningless slogans like “Macedonia is Greek” but have no idea how, why, when, or how much of “Macedonia became Greek”. Anything you say that contradicts their understanding of history, particularly about Macedonia, will be met with fierce vitriolic opposition full of overconfidence and spite. Normal law abiding, kind Greeks will turn into raving lunatics just by mentioning that you are Macedonian. Macedonians from Greece are used to this but Macedonians from the Republic of Macedonia and non-Macedonians find it shocking. Dear Macedonians, from what I have told you so far, what chance do you think you have of ever convincing a Greek of anything? So why waste your time trying? Take it from someone who has been there, don’t waste your time!

Apart from wasting your time, you are also being distracted and mislead to fall into the classic “Greek trap” from which there is no escape of being drawn into nonsensical discussions about who was who 2,000 years ago. The only thing Greeks are good at discussing is ambiguity and mythology! Our “beef”, if I can call it that, with the Greeks is not about what happened two thousand years ago but about what has happened since 1912 and 1913 when our country was invaded, occupied and partitioned by Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria without our consent. Talking and debating about who was who and what happened two thousand years ago is a “Greek distraction”, a ploy to keep us busy and away from discussing and learning about more recent and tragic events like the atrocities committed by the Modern Greeks against the Macedonian people. The changing of all our names, the banning of our language, the non-recognition of our ethnic identity, the confiscation of our lands, the exiling of our people including innocent children, the torture of our people in their concentration camps, the killing of our people, the burning of our villages, the destruction of our books, monuments and cemeteries, and so on are the real issues that we should be discussing with the Greeks. These are important issues that we need to bring to the forefront! The next time you are confronted by a Greek asking a rhetorical question “demanding to know what language Alexander the Great spoke” think about what is more important (1) to debate a nonsensical issue that will lead you into an endless “cyclical trap”, or (2) to say leave ancient history to the ancient historians and let’s talk about what you Greeks have done to us Macedonians since 1912! I know it is unfair to “paint all Greeks with the same racist brush” and I apologize to those who are not like that but please prove me wrong! Stand out in the crowd and say “I am a Greek and I understand and support you Macedonians”, give me a reason to also say something good about you! Why do Greeks behave this way? This is a question that I have struggled with for the last decade. To get a real appreciation as to why “Modern Greeks” behave the way they do we need to understand some things about their predecessors before they were “made” into “Modern Greeks” by their Philhellene patrons. The quest for creating a “Modern Greece” began in late 18th century; years after the Arabs in Spain made Western Europeans aware that an “ancient civilization” existed in the Region of Morea, modern day Peloponnesus. Although the Western Europeans had learned much about this civilization’s accomplishments, they had no plans to use them until the late 18th century when a need arose to develop an all exclusive European Civilization. Unfortunately the “ancient civilization”, which declined with the Macedonian conquests in the fourth century BC, had completely ceased to exist. But two thousand years later that did not stop the Philhellenes from attempting to resurrect it. Not completely satisfied with its disappearance, the Philhellenes were confident that they could recreate their civilization if only they could “train” the local people who lived on the same lands to behave and imitate the ancients. In their zeal to “create” such a civilization, the 19th century Philhellenes “convinced, coaxed, coerced, or bribed” the living and vibrant local cultures to “give up” their true “ethnic and cultural identities” for the promise of becoming “Greeks”, something supposedly “bigger”, “better” and “more glorious” than what they already had. Naturally there was opposition to this but those opposing lost out in the end. So in order to protect their investment from “being eroded” the Philhellenes surrounded it with a number of “defensive mechanisms”; one of these being the instilment of mistrust in the new generations. Through the educational system and through the Greek Church new generations of Greeks were taught to “mistrust” those who opposed or strayed away from the Philhellene indoctrination.

Two centuries later this defense mechanism is still active and working as expected. To keep those who signed on as “Greeks” to stay on as “Greeks” and to attract new “Modern Greeks” the first generation of “Neo-Hellenes”, with help from the Philhellenic Academia, not only gave Modern Greece a glorious past but convinced the New-Greeks that they were “truly” the descendants of the Ancient people who once created that “sought after” civilization. After creating the tiny Greek Kingdom and consolidating their power the “Neo-Hellenes”, with help from the Philhellene patrons, continued the process of incorporating new lands and new people into the Modern Greek fold. Since its inception in 1829 the Greek State has incorporated Thessaly, Epirus, Crete, 51% of Macedonia, Thrace, the Dodecanese Islands, etc. It would have also incorporated Asia Minor but its ambitions were cut short by its catastrophic defeat by Modern Turkey. Now that the Republic of Macedonia has become independent, removed from the clutches of Serbia, Greece is developing new taste for old ambitions and the wish to incorporate another 39% of Macedonia into its Greek fold. If that is not the case then why advertise to the world that “Macedonia is Greek”? In its greed to expand its territory and assimilate people into its Hellenic fold, to date, Modern Greece has swallowed up and assimilated the Albanians and Slavs of Morea, the Albanians of Epirus, the Vlachs of Thessaly, the Macedonians of 51% of Macedonia, the Cretans from Crete, the Turks from Thrace and the Christian Turks from Asia Minor, not to mention the Roma, Latin, Armenian, Baltic, Russian and other ethnic groups living in Greece today. Of all the ethnic groups assimilated into the Modern Greek “phenomenon” the Macedonians are the most dangerous and pose the greatest threat to Greece. This is because of two important factors. First, by the 1920’s Macedonia was divided into four pieces and was given to Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria and Albania. What was once a single ethnic Macedonian entity became four diametrically opposed entities separated by artificial borders. Macedonians have not only not forgotten this but they can hardly accept that their kin over the “false” border are now “ethnically different” from themselves. Macedonians cannot accept being “51% Greeks”, “39% Serbians”, “10% Bulgarians” and “some small” percentage Albanians; all at the same time. Second, Macedonians has an illustrious history with deep roots and traditions that extend to ancient times. Modern Macedonians, irrespective of which country they live in today, are well aware of their history and their attempt over the centuries to free themselves from their occupiers and restore their united, free and independent Macedonia. Macedonians have no collective memory of ever “coming to Macedonia” from somewhere else. They do however have traditions that extend well into ancient times. Modern Macedonians on many occasions through history exhibited traditions associated not only with the exploits of the Ancient Macedonians but also with the development and spread of Christianity and culture all throughout Eastern Europe. The brothers Kiril and Metodi from Solun and their students Kliment and Naum from Ohrid are perfect examples of that. Macedonians were responsible for Christianizing millions of people from the bottom of the Balkans to the top of Siberia. How can Macedonians “conveniently” forget all that just because their enemies and current occupiers want them to? It is very difficult to convince an accomplished people such as the Macedonians that they “don’t exist” and that they are really “not Macedonians” at all but something else. Of course no one can explain what that “something else” might be. And all this comes from who? The Greeks and Bulgarians, the very same people who brutally invaded, occupied and partitioned Macedonia? Even though most people don’t know this, Greeks do have good reason to be afraid and suspicious of the Macedonians.

Greeks over the years have committed many atrocities against the Macedonian people which the Macedonians are not about to forget. The Greeks know and if they don’t know they should learn two things; one, Modern Greeks occupied and annexed Macedonia by force for the first time in 1912 and ever since have committed many atrocities against the Macedonian people. And two, the Modern Greeks of today are not “Greeks” at all but an artificial Philhellene creation made up of a collection of Slavs, Albanians, Vlachs, Macedonians, Christian Turks and others. Modern Greeks are not who they claim to be and they are lucky and should be grateful that they even have Greece, a country to call their own. And now a few words about the so-called “name negotiations” Rogi wrote: If Macedonia pulled out of the so called “name negotiations” it would kick up pride amongst Macedonians all over the world, it would be a complete change, a refreshing change, from the defeatist Macedonia we have seen to date. Pulling out of the negotiations would be a bold move for Macedonia standing up in such a way and defending itself against Greece, which has been trying to destroy Macedonia and its Macedonian ethnic identity for over 100 years. Such an act will reinvigorate the Macedonian spirit everywhere. It will be the David and Goliath story, told among all Macedonians -the modern heroic story of the Macedonians standing up for themselves, to be told and retold to our children and grandchildren. There will be euphoria and pride in the Macedonian nation more so than there was in 1991 during Independence. It would signal a whole new beginning and belief in the Macedonian nation. I am certain that such a move would generate great interest in Macedonia among Macedonians all over the world. That would be more than enough to show the Macedonians around the world (who have largely lost hope due to corruption, scandals, etc.) that Macedonia IS worth fighting for and the Macedonian people in Macedonia ARE prepared to keep Macedonia and a new dawn is upon Macedonia. It will open the gates for Macedonians in the Diaspora to invest in Macedonia, with a whole new belief and a new hope for Macedonia. In the alternate scenario, if Macedonia gives in and changes the name, it will destroy whatever hope and belief there is for Macedonians around the world in the Republic of Macedonia and its existential purpose as the Guardian and Home of the Macedonian people and the Macedonian identity. This means no interest in Macedonia, no hope and belief in Macedonia, it will no longer really be the home and guardian of the Macedonians rather it would become a nameless, faceless nation-state on paper, nothing unique about it. You'll see a lot more Macedonians prepared to leave the country, particularly among the Macedonian patriots presently living there. That would then open the doors to corruption and disintegration. Everyone will look out for themselves, not the nation; you will lose a lot of patriotism and hope. There would be no real purpose for the existence of a Macedonian state (since it would no longer be Macedonia in name or in form). People talk about the situation Macedonia is in now with unemployment, etc. and the need for the EU funds and so on. But when the nation no longer has a dream and a purpose, things will become far, far worse. From there you'll see just how quickly division of the territory will take place, how easily corruption will reign and how soon the country will disintegrate. Changing the name will be the beginning of the end of the independent Republic and cause irreversible damage to the Macedonian spirit. It would be the historical moment with which, the never fading Macedonian spirit, which faced thousands of years of oppression and conquerors, was destroyed by the very Macedonians themselves who gave everything up and wiped themselves out of history – that moment will be when the Macedonians destroyed themselves, something no conqueror, no occupier, no enemy could ever do.

Posted by Rogi at www.maknews.com/forum Christoff wrote: Dear Friends, As these farcical “name negotiations” drag on I can't help but recognize a systematic flaw in the basis of Macedonia's participation in these talks. First of all, the entire question of the dispute is one sided and predicated on a hidden assertion. Example in law; If an attorney poses a question as such; "How many times a week do you beat your wife?" The formulation of the question contains a hidden assertion. It assumes the fact that you beat your wife! Example pertinent to this so-called name dispute; The Greeks require a "mutually acceptable solution to the name problem". It contains the hidden assertion that there is a mutual problem with our name that must be resolved! Macedonians however, have no problem with our name! Any participation in this process on the part of the Macedonians serves to legitimize the Greek hidden assertion! THERE IS NO NAME ISSUE THAT MACEDONIANS NEED TO RESOLVE! THEREFORE MACEDONIANS “MUST” WITHDRAW FROM THE PROCESS NOW! CALL THE GREEK BLUFF AND EXPOSE THEIR HIDDEN AGENDA! RESTORE AND PRESERVE THE MACEDONIAN HONOUR! Posted by Christoff on www.maknews.com/forum “No Albanian that I ever met in Greece thought of himself as an Albanian. He thought of himself as a Greek, because he lived in Greece and that is where he had his pastures or his fields. This seems to have happened from the very earliest times when migrants first came to Greece. They used the Albanians from then on as mercenaries and also as settlers of the areas which were derelict. So the Albanian incursions into Greece continued under the Turkish system and went on right into the eighteenth century.” (“Greece Old and New”, edited by Tom Winnifrith and Penelope Murray, page 45) Part 27 – Time to Stand Up

By now everyone must know that without the Macedonian support for the so-called “name dispute” with Greece there would be no “name dispute” at all, just plain old “complaining”, “crying” and “throwing temper tantrums” by the Greek side. There is no need for a “mutually agreed upon name” because Macedonians are happy with the existing name, just the way it is. Would any Macedonian contemplate changing the name if there was no pressure from Greece? Certainly not! So where is the need to change the name? Again this is another Greek ploy to keep Macedonians distracted from pursuing more important matters like the “status of the Macedonians in Greece” and, in the long term, to wear down and break the Macedonian people. Dear Macedonians it’s time for us to recognize where these Greeks are coming from and where they are going with this so-called “name dispute” and stand up to them and say “no more leading us by our noses”! No more making up issues about nothing! No more lies and deceit! Let us once and for all recognize that without the Macedonian participation in these so-called “name negotiations” Greece has nothing to negotiate and no leg to stand on! But as long as there is a single (one) Macedonian willing to entertain the Greeks on this issue Greece will continue to push “the need to find a mutually acceptable solution”. Greece will continue to parade us around like a bunch of fools who are willing to “negotiate” away our own precious ancestral name and for what? To please the Greeks, the very same people who since 1913 have been planning and executing our demise? Are we that naïve, willing to give up our name so that the Greeks will allow us to cross another “road block” on the road to where? Our own extinction? Is anyone foolish enough to believe that if we “give in a little” Greece will leave us alone and will never demand anything of us again? How are we going to be sure of that? By signing an agreement? By signing the same kind of agreement that lead us to this situation in the first place? How are we going to enforce such an agreement against a country that has broken every international law known to mankind? Do you think Greece wants us to change our name because it is afraid of little old Macedonia having “territorial aspirations” against a monster country like Greece? The only country here that has “territorial aspirations” is Greece itself against Macedonia. Greece has never given up on the idea of “possessing” all of Macedonia and has always looked for ways to annex more Macedonian lands. Now it sees its chance coming and is looking for ways to destabilize Macedonia so that it can walk in and take over. Hence the slogan “Macedonia is Greek”. If we are not careful it will be 1913 all over again! If you as a Macedonian believe that we are negotiating a “mutually acceptable solution” then (1) you must also believe we are “not happy” with our current name and (2) you obviously have never been bullied before. Greece is like a school yard bully picking on a small child demanding the child hand over his lunch money. If the child gives up the money to escape the situation without a fight do you think the bully will be satisfied and will go away and never bother that child again? Or do you think the bully will come back the next day and demand not only the child’s lunch money but also his candy and other goodies. And if the child gives in again and again do you thing the bully will stop “bullying” and go away? NO! Neither will Greece if Macedonia gives in, even a millimeter! So its time to take a stand and say NO to these negotiations and to any other negotiations that may be harmful to Macedonia and the Macedonian people! We are happy with our name just the way it is and we don’t want to talk about it, to anyone, any more. However we are not happy with the way the Greeks are treating us, especially our Macedonian compatriots living in Greece and we DO want to talk about that. Many of you have written me and expressed your disgust with the way Macedonians are being treated by the Greeks.

Unfortunately there is nothing I can do about how “Greeks behave” but there is definitely something we can all do about how we react to it. Instead of paying attention to these Greeks and following their lead we need to stand up and simply say enough is enough “we don’t care about your childish issues”, and if they don’t like it “too bad”! On the other hand if you do want to talk about matters of importance with Greeks then take the lead and challenge them to talk about granting human rights to Macedonians and other ethnic groups living in Greece. Now there is a real “issue” you can sink your teeth into. If you are interested in “talking” let’s start “talking” about how Greeks treated us in the last 100 years. Why don’t we get together (with the Greeks) and talk about how we are going to correct the past wrongs they committed against our people since Greece invaded, occupied, partitioned and annexed our country. Dear Macedonians we DO have many “disputes” with Greece and NONE are about our name! Our disputes with Greece are exactly what the Greeks don’t want us to think about and that is why they have concocted the “name dispute” to distract us. That is why we must stand up to these bullies and take the lead and say NO to the “name dispute” and YES to “human rights for the Macedonians in Greece”. The name dispute and everything associated with it is nothing more than a Greek ploy to destabilize the Republic of Macedonia so that Greece can one day walk in and annex it, just like it annexed 51% of Macedonia in 1913. This is why Greece has been insisting on using the slogan “Macedonia is Greek”. How is Greece attempting to destabilize Macedonia you say? By blocking Macedonia’s entry into International Organizations and keeping Macedonia from achieving prosperity on account of a phony “name dispute”. Greece is putting extreme pressure on the Macedonian people to make a decision between two choices. If enough pressure is applied, for a considerable time, Greece hopes to divide the Macedonian people into two opposing camps, one supporting a name change and the other opposing it. To some extent this is already happening today. Such a division has the potential for starting a civil war and destabilizing the country. Be warned, if this is allowed to happen the outcome will be unpredictable and definitely unpleasant and disastrous for Macedonia and the Macedonian people. It is up to us Macedonians to not let this happen by immediately pulling out of the “name negotiations” and to no longer entertain anything to do with our name or ethnic identity. By pulling out from the “talks” we will render this matter “defunct” and no longer a threat! As I write these words I am reminded of the older days when Krste Misirkov, Yane Sandaski and other Macedonian patriots, who, after the failed 1903 Ilinden Uprising, tried to warn the Macedonian people not to trust Greece and Bulgaria on their “false” promises of offering to “liberate” Macedonia and the Macedonians from the Ottomans. I can understand their frustration when their warnings were ignored and brushed aside as nonsense by people with no foresight. Ten short years later Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria did invade, occupy and partition Macedonia and they did it under the pretense of liberation. Are we now going to let the same thing happen again? Have we learned nothing from our history? Are we foolish enough to think that our neighbours have relented or have given up on their dreams to possess more of Macedonia? Have we forgotten how both World Wars were started? How can we be so sure of anything our neighbours say when we know for a fact that we are lied to even about our own existence? The fact that Greece does not recognize the Macedonian ethnic identity is a declaration of war on the Macedonian people. What troubles me the most about this is, why are we “negotiating”, and with our enemies at that, over something that is clearly already ours? And more troubling than that is “what are we getting in return for negotiating away our very own existence?

When it comes to the preservation of our eternal name and precious ethnic identity, all Macedonians from every political party, from every walk of life and from every continent on this planet “must” stand together united and with a single voice to say “NO” to Greece or to anyone else who wishes us harm. That is the only way we can get the “proverbial monkey off our backs” and perhaps earn some respect while doing it! Unity IS our strength! United we stand, divided we fall! It’s that simple. Paul wrote: Macedonian politicians are negotiating our identity. Whether they agree with Greece, or reject Greece's position - is neither here or there. My point is "We" (Macedonians) are the ones who have put our identity up for negotiation. We have only ourselves to blame. If the Macedonians, instead, had chosen to defend our rights, defend our sovereignty and NOT engaged Greece, our name and our identity would not be open or up for negotiation! By Paul from www.maknews.com/forum “As early as 1770’s, intellectuals were prompting what could be termed ‘cultural evangelism’ (Kitromilides 1990) or Hellenization of the highly diverse populations of the Balkans. As Kitromilides remarks, authors of multilingual dictionaries of the period such as Theodoros Kavalliots and Daniel of Moschopolis, invited non-Greeks to Hellenize, pointing out the social mobility benefits associated with Hellenization (Ibid.: 26-7). Similarly, there is evidence that non-Greek speakers themselves saw education and fluency in Greek as a major advantage for themselves and their offspring – Vlach, – Bulgarian - and Romanian speaking – merchants quite often opted for Greek schools in order to be able to benefit from the possibilities that these presented.” (“Tormented by History Nationalism in Greece and Turkey”, by Umut Ozkirimli and Spiros A. Sofos, page 24) Part 28 – Twenty-five more authors