The world entered a new period with the demise of the "Cold War" system of international relations; and the Balkans is now one of the "testing grounds" of the widely-held and talked about premises of the post-Cold War era. These are principally the safeguarding of human rights and democracy, and the punishing of aggressors who may threaten peace anywhere in the world. The "Macedonian Question" should also be examined in this international context and in the regional Balkan context.

Following the cascading developments in Eastern Europe with the downfall of communism, the outbreak of the Yugoslav Crisis, and the ensuing disintegration of the Yugoslav Federation, the people of the Republic of Macedonia declared their country's sovereignty and independence after a popular referendum held on September 8, 1991, and asked for international recognition.

However, full international recognition was blocked by Greece on the pretext of its claim of "historical and exclusive copyright" to the name Macedonia, and with the allegation that if Macedonia is recognized with this name, it would pose a threat to Greece. Nevertheless, many countries recognized the Republic of Macedonia under its constitutional name. The Republic of Macedonia was admitted to the United Nations (UN) on April 8, 1993, under the temporary name "Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia", pending the resolution of the name dispute between the two countries.

The two countries were to settle the name dispute between themselves through negotiations under the auspices of the UN, but the negotiations to be held on September 28, 1993 were suspended by the previous Greek conservative government before the elections on October 10, 1993, and it seems very unlikely that the current Papandreou­led socialist PASOK government has the political willingness to resume the negotiations or has the minimum willingness to compromise on the issue. Papandreou himself stated soon after the elections that "There will be no compromise on the name issue".

Greece, in order to block the recognition of the Republic of Macedonia, initiated a rigorous propaganda campaign in the international arena. However, a number of countries recognized the Republic of Macedonia with that name despite the Greek intransigence. Among those countries are major powers such as the Russian Federation and China; neighbours such as Turkey, Bulgaria, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Republic of Croatia, and the Republic of Slovenia; other European countries such as Ukraine, Belarus, Estonia and Lithuania; and distant countries such as Iran, Pakistan, Malaysia and the Philippines, among others.

The Greek intransigence has deep roots. The developments unfolding after the demise of communism in the Balkans were not welcomed by Greece. Greece, blatantly violating the UN embargo on Serbia, has allied with that aggressor country.

In this context, it should also be recalled that the tiny Republic of Macedonia, squeezed between Greece and Serbia, takes every measure to apply the UN resolutions. The Government of the Republic of Macedonia declared that it would take the necessary measures in order to implement Resolution No. 2757 of the UN imposing economic sanctions on Serbia and Montenegro. In early September 1993, the Macedonian government also declared that it would strictly apply the UN Security Council Resolution 8290 on tightening the sanctions against Serbia and Montenegro.

It is also noteworthy that Serbia and Greece brought considerable pressure on the Republic of Macedonia, which is itself victim to the UN embargo, in order not to implement the UN embargo resolutions.

On the other hand, the Greco-Serbian political tandem, quickly transforming into an alliance against other Balkan countries, is now the single gravest threat to Balkan security. Both countries, having greed for territorial expansion, have already put into operation their expansionist schemes in coordination with one another. In fact, Greece and Serbia are in full support of each other's greed for Balkan territory. That was one of the reasons why President Bush and later President Clinton warned against Serbian aggression in Kosovo, and UN troops, including 300 US soldiers, were sent to the border area between Serbia and the Republic of Macedonia.

The International Affairs Research Center, which specializes in Balkan and Middle Eastern Affairs, has objectively studied the "Macedonian Question", and presents this research article in order to contribute to the understanding of the realities behind it.

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