UN General Assembly president act as FYROM Minister

[Amarantos]

Statement by the Spokesperson Mr. G. Koumoutsakos on the Actions of the Skopje President of the General Assembly Mr. Kerim

Athens, 25 September 2007


«Mr. Kerim, with his action today, and acting under instructions from his Government, has irreparably damaged for the duration of his term, his standing and credibility as President of the General Assembly of the United Nations, as he did not respect the Resolutions of the Body over which he is presiding as well as of the Security Council of the United Nation, the Organization he has been called upon to serve.


This unacceptable action of Mr. Kerim reaffirms the provocative and uncompromising position of the Government of Skopje.


It reaffirms the Greek position.


Greece will not follow this road. This is what our position as a responsible member of the European Union and NATO, the oldest such member in the region, dictates.


The responsibility for the consequences of this uncompromising position belongs exclusively and completely to the Government of Skopje.»

Statement by the Spokesperson Mr. G. Koumoutsakos on the Actions of the Skopje President of the General Assembly Mr. Kerim (http://www.ypex.gov.gr/www.mfa.gr/Articles/el-GR/250907_H2014.htm)

[akritas]

Greece protests misstep by UN General Assembly president

New York -

Srgjan Kerim, the president of the UN General Assembly and former foreign minister of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, on Tuesday committed a gaffe by referring to his president simply as the president of Macedonia. He should have called Branko Crvenkovski, the president of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, before allowing him to the podium of the 192-nation assembly to deliver his address to the UN General Assembly.


The Greek delegation to the assembly charged Kerim had "irreparably" damaged his presidency for failing to keep the agreed name and UN resolutions.


"This unacceptable action of Mr Kerim reaffirms the provocative and uncompromising position of the government of Skopje," a statement by the Greek foreign ministry said. It said Skopje will be responsible for Kerim's error.


Macedonia is a vast region in northern Greece dating back to the early times in the history of that country. Greece had threatened war against Skopje until the dispute over the name was resolved in UN negotiations.

Following the breakup of the Yugoslav federation in the 1990s, UN- led negotiations resulted in naming the Macedonian part of Yugoslavia as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, a long title disliked by many diplomats.

Greece protests misstep by UN General Assembly president : Europe World (http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/113839.html)

[akritas]

Dispute sparked at U.N. by "Macedonia" name

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -
The new president of the United Nations General Assembly sparked a dispute with Greece on Tuesday by referring to his home country, Macedonia, by its self-given name, which Greece rejects.

Srgjan Kerim called the Balkan country's head of state, Branko Crvenkovski, as president of the Republic of Macedonia when he came to the rostrum to address world leaders, prompting an immediate protest from the Greek ambassador in the chamber.

Greece objected to the name when Macedonia declared independence from the former Yugoslavia in the early 1990s, contending that it implied claims on the northern Greek province of the same name.

The country was provisionally recognized by all but a handful of nations as The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, often abbreviated to FYROM.

It is seated in the United Nations alphabetically between Thailand and Togo.

"I would therefore request, Mr President, that the proper name -- The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia -- be used for all purposes within the United Nations," Greek ambassador John Mourikis told the General Assembly.

Kerim said he was aware of the facts, but: "At the same time, as president of the General Assembly, I am due to show full respect to the dignity of every single member state of the United Nations, including my own."

Crvenkovski concluded his speech defiantly by saying his country was and would remain the Republic of Macedonia.

A Greek Foreign Ministry statement said Kerim had acted on instructions from his government and "irreparably damaged for the duration of his term his standing and credibility as president of the General Assembly".

Dispute sparked at U.N. by Macedonia name | Reuters (http://www.reuters.com/article/gc04/idUSN2539515020070925)

[Truth Bearer]

Last night at UN Headquarters, the President (Skopjian) of the UN welcomed the President of FYROM Crvenkovski as “President of Macedonia”. The Greek diplomats reminded the UN President and Assembly that the so-called country is still in negotiations with Greece in regards to the name and that the UN has recognized Greece’s northern neighbour as “FYROM”. In his speech the President of the Northern neighbour(FYROM) responded to the Assembly that my country is the “Republic of Macedonia” and will “...always be the Republic of Macedonia”. Let us please respond to the Skopjian President of the UN and the UN assembly regarding “Macedonia”. Please visit the following web-address: UN General Assembly - President of the 62nd Session (http://www.un.org/ga/president/62/)
Please read the history of the 62nd UN President and let us remind him and the others who the Macedonians were and still are!
Cheers
Nikos K

H.E. Dr. Srgjan Kerim
President of the 62nd session of the United Nations General Assembly
A seasoned diplomat, economist, scholar and businessman, Dr. Kerim brings with him a wealth of experience in international political and economic affairs and extensive knowledge of the United Nations system. From 2000 to 2001, Dr. Kerim was Foreign Minister of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, in which capacity he also served as Chairman of the South-East European Cooperation Process. He then became his country’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations, from 2001 to 2003, during which time he served as vice-chairman both of the International Conference on Financing for Development (Monterrey, 2002) and of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (Johannesburg, 2002). In addition, he was a member of the group of facilitators of the President of the fifty-sixth UN General Assembly, focusing on UN reform, and was a co-organizer of the Regional Forum on Dialogue of Civilizations (Ohrid, 2003).

Over the course of his distinguished career spanning more than three decades, Dr. Kerim also represented his country as Ambassador to Germany, from 1994 to 2000, and to Switzerland and Liechtenstein, from 1995 to 2000. During this period, from 1999 to 2000, he served as Special Envoy of the Coordinator of the Stability Pact for South-Eastern Europe.

Earlier, during his political career in the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY), Dr. Kerim held the posts of Assistant Minister and Spokesperson in the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, from 1989 to 1991. Before that, he was Minister for Foreign Economic Relations of the Government of the Republic of Macedonia (SFRY), from 1986 to 1989.

In the field of academia, Dr. Kerim was a professor of international economic affairs with the Faculty of Economics of the University of Belgrade. In addition, he was a visit*ing professor at the University of Hamburg (Germany) and at New York University. He has lectured widely on Balkan issues, is the author of nine books dealing with international politics, economics and youth, and has written more than 100 scholarly papers, many of which have been published in countries across Europe. He holds a doctorate in international economics from the Faculty of Economics of the University of Belgrade and is fluent in English, French and German as well as Serbian, Croatian and Bulgarian.

Since 2003, Dr. Kerim has been General Manager of Media Print Macedonia in Skopje, and in 2004 he was appointed Chairman of the Board of Politika Newspapers and Magazines in Belgrade. He has been serving as General Manager for South-Eastern Europe of the WAZ Media Group, based in Vienna, since 2006.

Born on 12 December 1948 in Skopje, Dr. Kerim is married with three children

[Astoria]

If this video doesn't get your blood boiling, then what does?.......


skai.gr/master_avod.php?id=60800

How much power does Mr. Kirim have and how much will he influence a gaurenteed entry into Nato and EU.?


P.S. I know i'm not supposed to post links to other sites untill I've reached 15 posts, but I could not hold back on this issue.



Kind Regards,

Astoria

[Truth Bearer]

ethnos.gr - Ã�ñüêëçóç óôïÃ* Ã�ÇÅ - ðïëéôéêç (http://www.ethnos.gr/article.asp?catid=5347&subid=2&pubid=134766)

[Tsontos]

Astoria, can you post the link with a couple of spaces in between the link?

[Truth Bearer]

This is disgracefull!!!!!!!

[Astoria]

Sorry about that. I already see that TruthBearer has posted a better version of the vid. Thank you!

[nsminc]

I saw this farce on ERT World.

I don't want to see it again.

[Tsontos]

Greece shouldnt allow the Turk Kerim and the Bulgarian Czerkovski to play the victim.

Dignity my ass. Is naming an airport after Alexander the Great necessary for your dignity?

[Truth Bearer]

Liars and pillagers......Kerim was TOLD to do this by the fyromians now he will lose his job as president of the assembly.

[Truth Bearer]

How on earth he calls himself a "Macedonian" when in fyrom they call him a Turk??The fyromians never accepted or aknowledged his people(Turks & Albanians) as "Macos" and he was put there to appease the muslim minority in fyrom and to show the Yanks that they are some sort of multi cultrual state accepting all minorities as "macedonians" which is an outright LIE!!!Kerim has dome his own Turkish muslim minority a diservice.For this he sadly will pay with the prestigious job the Yanks opganized for him."Macedonian" my arse!!

[nsminc]

Just before I nod off I just saw on Proti Grammi that Bakoyianni will either have a press conference or make an official statement at 9:30 am Greece time.

[Tsontos]

Shouldnt the UN be mightily pissed off at a member state breaking a Un resolution in a pre-meditated abuse of the temporary General Assembly President role???

[Ehetlaios]

We're gonna hear more in the next few days. It's starting.

[Amarantos]

Μr Kerim demonstrated to be partial and thus unsuitable for a duty as the one assigned to him. Moreover he openly offended by the position he was speaking the credibility of the UN assembly when saying "yes, i know which are the decisions the UN took, but i 'm doing whatever I want". Why fyrom representatives accepted in the first place and continue to accept sitting as The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia between Thailand and Togo? No dignity question there during all these years? And this way we arrive to what mr Crvenkovski stated by saying "this is and will be the name of my country". This is an open declaration that the participation of his country in the negotiations with greece under UN, is simply a joke. Α clear derision of what the UN represent.
The whole thing is another demonstration of the arrogance shown in different occasions by the fyromian politicians, an arrogance that betrays in the same time a lot of nervousness.

[yannis-3]

thank you Mr Kerim
thank you Mr Crvenkovski
episima parabiasate tin endiamesi symfonia
ara to VETO mas sto NATO kai EU
den parabiazei tin symfonia
afoy einai eidi episima paraBIAZMENH :clap2::clap2::clap2:

[Ehetlaios]

Monkeydonia to the Monkeydonians.

[akritas]

What’s in a Name?
by Alexandros P. Mallias

09.27.2007

When UN General Assembly president H.E. Dr. Srgjan Kerim, a native of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), introduced on September 25 the president of his home country, Mr. Branko Crvenkovski, he implied that the national interest of FYROM prevails over his duties to the UN body. He therefore addressed Mr. Crvenkovksi as the “President of the Republic of Macedonia.�

Some people may think that what happened in the UN constitutes a minor or isolated incident. Nevertheless, this is not the case—this has deeper roots both on a regional and international level. Challenging UN resolutions and decisions and ignoring commitments undertaken through international agreements, as FYROM has systematically done by violating the US-brokered Interim Accord with Greece, is a bad precedent. This is a violation of the principle of good-neighborly relations and puts sustained regional stability in jeopardy.

To make it clear, Dr. Kerim’s action is in full contravention of Security Council resolutions 817 (1993) and 843 (1993), as well as the recommendations contained therein regarding the provisional name under which this state was unanimously admitted to the United Nations (“the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia�).

Dr. Kerim, obviously acting under instructions from his government, has irreparably damaged his standing and credibility as president of the General Assembly. He did not respect the resolutions of the body over which he is presiding nor of the Security Council of the United Nations, the organization he has been called upon to serve.

Such a development also militates against the efforts made by the UN to facilitate the bilateral negotiations entered into by Greece and FYROM through the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy, Mr. Matthew Nimetz, to seek a mutually acceptable solution on the name issue. Following this action by Mr. Kerim, Mr. Nimetz said on September 26 that what happened in the General Assembly demonstrates why a permanent solution is needed. He is continuing his work with the parties on this issue. Furthermore, UN spokeswoman Ms. Marie Okabe stressed that within the United Nations, the Secretary-General and the Secretariat continue to use the name “The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.�

The actions of Dr. Kerim and FYROM are a clear indication of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia’s lack of respect for international law and international institutions. They are also a blunt violation of the US-brokered Interim Accord.

This development clearly shows that the President of the UN General Assembly has put his national interest over that of the United Nations.
Assurances by the authorities in Skopje concerning the use of the name “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia� in international organizations are thus unreliable and untrustworthy. FYROM officials ignore their commitments. The responsibility for the consequences of this uncompromising position belongs exclusively and completely to the government in Skopje.

It should be noted that Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Mr. Nicholas Burns, following a meeting in New York with Greece’s Foreign Minister Ms. Dora Bakoyannis on September 24, 2007, stressed that “the time has come for progress on the FYROM name issue…this is our message to Skopje, and the spirit of our meeting today with the foreign minister…We wish to exercise our influence and urge Skopje, as we do with Athens, that the time has come for progress.� We fully concur with this statement.

Many Americans may think this is a minor issue. But the history of the region, not to mention of Europe as a whole, demonstrates that whenever irredentist claims are left unaddressed, the seeds of future conflicts are sown. Europe today is governed by the rule of law; the completion of the European project in the Balkans—and the extension of a zone of peace and prosperity—rest upon the willingness of governments to live up to their international commitments. Obligations are like a tapestry; even pulling on what might appear to outsiders to be a small and insignificant thread can end up unraveling the entire work. We have too much invested in the stability of the region to allow this to happen.

Alexandros P. Mallias is the ambassador of Greece to the United States. He was the first ambassador of Greece to FYROM immediately after the signing of the US-brokered Interim Accord in 1995. He has also served as Director of the Southeastern Europe (Balkan Affairs) Department at the Foreign Ministry in Athens, as Ambassador to Albania and Head of the European Community Monitor Mission Regional Office in Sofia.

The National Interest (http://www.nationalinterest.org/Article.aspx?id=15628)

[Reaper]

I just realised something, if they ever get in the EU, guess what symbol they will put on their Evros and cause another war in the process.. LOL.

[Astoria]

Not only that, but their history books will also change. Basically, they will have to unlearn everything they know and restart again. They currently think they're getting away with identity theft, but once daddy steps in, they're going to get the beating of their lives.


Kind Regards,

Astoria

[Istor]

Good article.

FYROM, being a small country, needs strong and powerful International organizations to survive. Small countries, having no power, resort to LAWS and moral for solving their problems. This is why they MUST obey to all International organizations' decisions!

FYROM will pay for that UN's humiliation.

[akritas]

ACT OF SKOPJAN PRESIDENT OF UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY, EXPOSES UN

In a letter to the Secretary General of the United Nations, I denounced as improper and offensive the act of the newly elected President of the UN General Assembly, Mr Kerim, who sent a letter of thanks to all the members of the U.N., using the unacceptable logotype "Democracy of Macedonia", although the U.N. calls this democracy FYROM and continually endeavours to find a solution, with regard to the name of the Skopjan state, in order to secure peace in the region.

Among other things, I wrote the following to the UN Secretary General. The historical truth about Macedonia was also confirmed by the League of Nations.

In 1922-1924, an exchange of populations took place in Macedonia. The Turks of Macedonia were exchanged with the Greeks of Asia Minor and Western Thrace, as well as the Bulgarians of Macedonia with the Greeks of Bulgaria. The President of the Commission of the League of Nations, who supervised the exchange, the renown American Henry Morgenthau, writes in his book "I was sent to Athens":

"Macedonia became a purely Greek area, following the departure of the Turks and the Bulgarians".

As confirmed by the UN, a war went on from 1946 to 1949, between the Greek National Army and the so called "Democratic Army", supported by the Northern Communist countries and aiming at the extraction of Macedonia. President Truman denounced this fact in Congress and received Approval of financial assistance (Truman Doctrine) to Greece and Turkey, to help them confront Soviet expansionist plans.

Following an appeal by the Greek Government at the UN, the "Balkan Commission" was formed in May 1948, which submitted a unanimous Report to the UN Secretary General, characterising the abduction of 28.000 children from Macedonia to communist countries, as an act of Genocide. The UN issued Resolution No 193, demanding the return of the children to Greece. An another UN resolution confirmed the assistance of our northern neighbours to the "Democratic Army"

Today there is a new fact that the UN should examine, so that historical truth would prevail, a prerequisite for not only Democracy, but also Peace in the region. This fact is the following: Macedonia was liberated in 1912 and due to wars (Balkan and World Wars I and II) very few excavations took place. Since 1974, however, Macedonia was excavated, under the supervision of the late President of Democracy, the Macedonian Constantine Karamanlis. In 1977, in addition to the discoveries at Dium, Pella and Aeanis by professor Manolis Andronikos, he also uncovered king Philip�s tomb in Vergina. A discovery, which was characterised as the archaeological discovery of the century.

Those who visited Macedonia corroborated immediately the historical truth about the identity of Macedonia and the Macedonians as Greeks. In this respect I only mention four statements of renown personalities.
a) The late French President of Democracy Mitterand said to journalists, when he visited Vergina in 1992: "I did not know about the excavations and I could not imagine that the stamp of Greece would be so strong here. I was deeply impressed as much by the cultural presence of ancient Macedonia, as by the simplicity of the monks of Holy Mountain Athos, who preserve the Byzantine civilisation for many centuries"

b) The late American journalist of "Washington Post" Schultzberger, in a letter he addressed to me, who had accompanied him on his visit to Pella and Vergina (page 111 of my book "The falsification of the History of Macedonia") writes the following: "Edessa was and continues to be a sheer delight. Now this glorious morning I have to leave for Yugoslavia, but I will leave a big part of my heart behind in Macedonia".

c) In 1988 the former Minister of Nationalities of Canada Mr Whiner stated, when he returned from Macedonia: "Macedonia is Greek".

d) In the same year (1988) the Minister of Nationalities of Australia Mr Gattman, stated on his return from Macedonia: "The poisonous positions of Yugoslavia in Australia are out of place"

In 1940-41 Greece fought alone against the Axis for 216 days, thus preventing the crush of the Soviet Army by Hitler, foiling his victory and causing instead the defeat of Germany. This led to the Victory of the Democratic peoples and, as a consequence, to the issue of Skopje.

I asked the UN Secretary General to form a special Committee, in which Mr Kerim and others the Secretary would like to select, as well as representatives of other countries, to visit:
a) The National Research Centre in Athens, where 5000 Greek inscriptions of Macedonia and 11.000 names of Macedonians have been collected and published in books.

b) Archaeological sites and Museums in Macedonia and Skopje. Mr Kerim may be asked to bring just one inscription with the so- called "Macedonian language"

Only this way will Skopjans be informed of the truth, so that peace could be preserved in the region.

Should the UN or the council for the EU expansion not intervene, the corroboration of the historical truth will be made by the revealing marbles themselves, on the instructions of International Courts, to which the Macedonians will be obliged to apply.

NIKOS MARTIS
Former Hellenic Government Minister
President of "The Macedonian Hestia"

Hellenic News of America (http://www.hellenicnews.com/readnews.html?newsid=7070&lang=US)