The standpoint of the Republic of Macedonia could be summarized as follows:

The claims that no Macedonian nation exists are at fault. The Macedonians are a distinct nation the history of whom dates back at least 1300 years and many believe further. They have established the Macedonian Kingdom and Empire, and ruled large territories in the Balkans in addition to Macedonia.

The Macedonian nation did not come into existence overnight; it is a nation that evolved out of a process which all other nations have undergone.

It should also be recalled that the feeling of belongingness to a nation is not something to be decided by an external authority other than the nation concerned. In fact, the establishment of the Republic of Macedonia as a sovereign and independent state after a popular referendum in September 1991 has historically solved that question. The denial of the presence of the Macedonian nation, hence, aims at usurping the territories belonging to the Macedonians.

The people of Pirin Macedonia are overwhelmingly Macedonian, not Bulgarian; and there is a Macedonian minority in Bulgaria. Bulgaria itself had officially accepted the presence of a Macedonian nation, and the presence of a Macedonian minority in the Pirin region in Bulgaria, even declaring for a decade after World War II that Pirin Macedonia would be united with Vardar Macedonia.

Macedonia is not only a geographic name, but also a name of the lands where the Macedonians live. The Macedonians living in Greece have been subject to constant pressures of assimilation by Greek governments, and their culture and language are denied.

It is true that until the 19th century the Bulgarian and Macedonian languages had been close to each other. However, since the 19th century, the Macedonian language has followed a different course. There was a Macedonian literature, albeit a nucleus, developed in the 19th century. The retardation in the development of the Macedonian written language is largely due to the fact that the Macedonians could not found their State until 1944. Macedonian became an officially recognized language for the first time after that date.

It is also true that Macedonian leaders of the Macedonian struggle had used Bulgarian and Serbian in the past. However, this was due to the fact that they had been educated in Sofia or Belgrade, since there was no Macedonian university at that time. So, the Macedonian language is not something "invented" after the establishment of the Federal Republic of Macedonia.

Though it is grammatically akin to Bulgarian, the Macedonian language is not like the Bulgarian. It is also related to the Serbo-Croat language and in some respects is phonetically akin to Serbian, but it also has certain quite distinctive features of its own.8

It should also be pointed out that Bulgarian books are translated into Macedonian, but not vice versa. The Bulgarians have persistently banned the translation of Macedonian language books into Bulgarian, and there is not a Bulgarian-Macedonian dictionary published in Bulgaria.

The Macedonians are not of Greek origin, and they have a different language, culture and history. The Macedonians are generally considered to be from the southern Slavs.9 However, the Macedonians are not only Slavs, for their blood can hardly be purely Slavonic. There must be in it some admixture of Bulgarian and other non-Aryan stock (Kuman Tartars, Pechenegs, etc).10

The position of the Republic of Macedonia in regard to Greece and the Balkans was summed up by Macedonian president Kiro Gligorov in a letter to the United Nations in February 1993.

President Gligorov said that the Republic of Macedonia is the only republic of the former Yugoslavia that has so far solved its problems in a peaceful manner, even while Greece has carried out military maneuvers at the border with targets within the territory of the Republic of Macedonia and Greek military and civilian aircraft have violated the Republic's airspace.

Gligorov said "Greece is trying to exploit statements made by extremists in the Republic and abroad that have no official support and do not reflect in any respect official policy." This also refers to the printing and publishing of geographic or ethnic maps of Macedonia used by Greece to "prove" that the Republic of Macedonia has territorial aspirations. On several occasions the Macedonian government has "publicly and clearly disavowed itself of this."

"Simultaneously, in the Republic of Greece, everywhere and at all levels, it is stated that "Macedonia is Greek". What does this mean?"

Gligorov pointed out that "the demands made by the Republic of Greece for a change of name of the Republic of Macedonia do not have any legal or other justification. Least of all, historical."

A part of the region of Macedonia came under Greek authority for the first time in history in 1913.

Further, the name Macedonia had never been used in any official forum in Greece before August 1988. "Its northern province was called North Greece. In August 1988, by a decree of the Prime Minister, this province changed its name and is called [the Greek Province of] Macedonia. Therefore, this name has been used in Greece for four years."

The Republic of Macedonia has existed as a state since August 1944 and is the only state that has all of its territory integrally situated in Macedonia. "The Northern Greek province, now termed [the Greek Province of] Macedonia, represents only a small part of the overall territory of Greece."

President Gligorov said "The republic of Macedonia emphasizes that it doesn't have any aspiration for a monopoly over the name Macedonia. The Republic of Macedonia is not concerned that the Northern Greek province is called Macedonia."

Greece has had a consulate in the Republic for many years and until recently this "officially addressed the authorities of the Republic of Macedonia using the name Socialist Republic of Macedonia." Therefore "Greece considered as legitimate and didn't deny the name of our state until the beginning of 1992."

"Because of a province which bears a name for only four years, a change of the name of a state is requested, a state that has had this name for almost 50 years, while the Macedonian people have had this name for centuries," said the president.

"In fact, the Republic of Macedonia was the first one to use that name and according to the rule "Qui prior oct tempro potior est jure" no one has the right to deny it."

President Gligorov pointed out that the Badinter Arbitration Commission established by the European Community concluded that the Republic's name did not imply territorial ambitions on Greece.

"The Republic of Macedonia clearly and explicitly stated and guaranteed that it does not have any territorial aspirations towards any of its neighbouring countries" and has incorporated this into its constitution.

The Republic is also "ready to sign an agreement with the Republic of Greece for guarantees of its borders" including international guarantees and to "sign an agreement for good neighbourly relations and cooperation."

The president said "It is surprising that the Republic of Greece disputes Article 49 of our Constitution which refers to the care of the Republic of Macedonia for our minorities in the neighbouring countries. It should be pointed out that there is a similar provision in the Greek Constitution."

After pointing out that it is well known that Greece does not admit the existence of a Macedonian minority within its borders, the president says that if such a minority does not exist in Greece then this Article [49] does not refer to Greece and the Greek reaction is surprising.

However, as such a minority does indisputably exist, why does Greece not fulfil at least the basic human rights of this minority as provided in the UN Charter, the Helsinki Document, the Charter of Paris, etc of which it is a signatory party?

"Most important of all," asks the president, "is this the reason that the Republic of Greece opposes the recognition of the Republic of Macedonia under its Constitutional name?"

Another factor against the changing of the name, which would be "against the will of our people", is that it would unconditionally de-stabilize the country and its relations with its neighbours.

An independent Republic of Macedonia is a factor for strengthening peace and stability in the Balkans, said the president.

< Return to Index or Next Chapter >