Open Letter to the Greek Government and Greek Public

Florina / Lerin

April 18, 2005

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Given the debate that has ensued over recent days concerning the Macedonian issue and the relations between the Republic of Macedonia and Greece, we are obliged as a responsible political party to address the Greek society on this matter.

The issue of the name and its effects on the relations between the two countries is a technical problem that our country has created. This has lead to a standoff, from which the government is now trying to extricate itself with the least possible (mainly internal) political cost. Externally Greece is trying to keep ahead of the game because, come this autumn, the Republic of Macedonia is expected to begin negotiations for accession to the EU. Given the present political conditions in Europe this process cannot be reversed.

The prospect of this process is what led the Greek government to undertake its "initiative" at this time - because later the political price will be far greater. Naturally, at this political juncture, the blustering veto rhetoric issuing - or to be precise stammering - from lips of politicians and others, especially after Greece's hypocritical behavior in the Cyprus affair, can be charitably taken as babble.

The issue of name is a pretext, put forth as the hindrance to the normalizing of interstate relations. Rainbow's political stand on this matter is based on the simple principle that what our neighboring country, or any other country, calls itself is solely the concern of the citizens of that country and that this is their unalienable, democratic individual and collective right.

But because matters surrounding Macedonia are more serious than the conceptual and linguistic exercises put on paper by the Greek government, we are obliged to point out that the key to the so-called "Macedonian issue" lies elsewhere today.

It is Greece's refusal (as well as Bulgaria's) to recognize the existence and to respect the rights of the Macedonian nation. This of course also entails its refusal to recognize the existence and the rights of the Macedonian minority in Greece. The problem that the Greek government presents has nothing to do with the cultural heritage of ancient Macedonia, or that a portion of Greek land bears the administrative name of the District of Macedonia, or that the neighboring state calls itself the Republic of Macedonia. What the Greek government stubbornly refuses to admit is that it does not agree with the ethnic use of the terms "Macedonia," or "Macedonian" because of the existence of the Macedonian minority in Greece. According to Greek nationalists, the Macedonian minority in Greece is likely to rise up in the future with separatist demands. This is the real, diachronic problem for every Greek government, and not the name. However, if the Greek government admits this, then it must also proceed with corresponding measures to recognize and respect the rights of the minority. Naturally, the unwavering Greek nationalist is incapable of seeing that it is precisely this refusal and repression that leads to nationalism, unrest and disturbances of the peace.

For those champions of the compound "compromise" name, who, for sensationalist purposes, talk nonsense about geographical designations and make arguments of a "technical" nature about the international confusion caused by the our neighbor's use of the term Macedonia, things indeed could not be simpler.

To clarify, the name per se of the state of the Republic of Macedonia is already a compound. The prefix "Republic of" in front of the word Macedonia denotes statehood and refers to another, distinct geographical region to the north of Greece. In other words, it has both political and geographical scope since the Republic of Macedonia as a political entity exists in a specific geographical region of Europe and nowhere else. Besides which, no region in Greece bears the name "Republic of Macedonia," which would cause confusion by the use of this term. It is as simple as that.

As for the term Macedonian, today the majority of the inhabitants of Northern Greece commonly call themselves Greeks or "Greek Macedonians," not only because they are Greek citizens but also because they have chosen to belong to the Greek nation. The use of the term "Macedonian" by ethic Greeks is either a geographical specification or an ethnic one with the addition of the prefix "Greek" in front of the word "Macedonian." Members of the Macedonian minority in Northern Greece use the term "Macedonian" as an integral ethnic definition, like term "ethnic Macedonian," to distinguish themselves from the "Greek Macedonian." Where is the problem, as long there is mutual respect for whatever choice or whether any Greek citizen chooses a different version of the above?

As for the broader nationalist issue in Greece, the time has come for certain leaders in our country to inform the average Greek citizen that contemporary nations, and by extension national states, such as the Greek state, have no relation to ancient heroes like Leonidas, Perikles or, in recent decades, to Alexander the Great's horse. That they are simply the result of continuously evolving European societies following the collapse of feudalism, primarily in the area of production and labor organization. That ethnic, linguistic, religious, political, ideological, etc., identities are the result of successive appropriations between persons and peoples throughout the course of human history, from the first appearance of human beings to the present day. That modern collective ethnic or national identities are not owed to the direct connection between today's nations and chosen ancient peoples, but are the common result of the ideological use of history by socially organized masses and their mechanisms, such as national states. That the modern Greek nation is simply a conglomeration of peoples, as is every nation in the Balkans and elsewhere. And that its Greek citizens have acquired a collective national consciousness through these mechanisms, primarily the education system, which have been crafting it gradually since the founding of the modern Greek state.

Rainbow, in its activities as a political party from its founding in 1994 to present day, has repeatedly proclaimed that all borders between the Balkan states must be respected as unalterable for the sake of the peace and prosperity of the region's inhabitants. The minorities that exist in these states must refuse to become the tools of "Great Idea" notions and policies. Rather, they must develop relationships of solidarity and unity with the majority population and the other minorities in their respective countries.

At this historical juncture, we would like to take the opportunity to publicly exempt the governments of the Republic of Macedonia for demonstrating unprecedented political maturity for a Balkan country, and maintaining a truly consistent, democratic, European stance in its political practice throughout these years. In contrast to the practices of its neighboring countries, it has never attempted in even the slightest way to interfere with or "exploit" the existence of Macedonian minorities in its neighboring countries.

Rainbow, from its founding in 1994 to the present day, has had the good fortune of participating in the European political arena through its partnership with the European Free Alliance in the European Parliament. Rainbow therefore adheres to and implements a comparable political practice. It uses democratic and peaceful means to exert pressure on the Greek government to respect the rights of the Macedonian minority, as does every civilized and democratic state in today's Europe. At the same time, it seeks on the domestic level to strengthen its relations with all democratic Greek citizens.

We believe that the level of democratization and true Europeanization of our country and our society is judged by how it behaves towards its minorities. Unfortunately, Greece has a democratic deficit in this area.

We regret that in a European country such as Greece we do not enjoy even rudimentary minority rights, such as respect for our language and culture. As European citizens we also would like to have more support for our struggle from European institutions and EU political organs.

It is our wish to have a Greece as well as a Europe that is peaceful, multicultural and as multicolored as a Rainbow. After all Europe today and in the world to come is and will always be our great, common homeland.

The Political Secretariat of the Rainbow Party