Fyrom sports team walks out of event

[Truth Bearer]

Macedonian team walks out of sports competition over name dispute

The Associated Press
Saturday, October 20, 2007

ATHENS, Greece: A 150-member Macedonian team walked out of a youth athletics competition in northern Greece on Saturday after objecting to the name used to introduce them — the latest sign of a sharpening bilateral dispute over Macedonia's official name.

Saturday's walkout follows renewed warnings in the past two days by Greece's prime minister and foreign minister that Greece will block Macedonia's attempts to join NATO and the European Union unless it compromises over the name issue.

Saturday was the penultimate day of the inaugural Southeastern European Countries Games, a week-long youth competition involving teams from 12 southeastern European countries, including Turkey. The Macedonian team refused to be introduced as "FYROM" — the acronym for the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the name Greece uses — rather than its preferred "Macedonia."

A published poll on Saturday showed that more than half of Greeks surveyed believe that if Macedonia insists on retaining its name, Greece should veto its NATO and EU bids.

The survey, conducted by pollster Metron Analysis and published in the mass-circulation newspaper "Eleftheros Typos," showed 58.3 percent of respondents urged the veto and said the word Macedonia should not appear in the country's name. Another 30.2 percent favor a compromise and 6.3 percent say Macedonia should be able to call itself what it wants. No margin of error or sample size was given.

Greece has opposed Macedonia's calling itself by that name since the early 1990s, saying it implies territorial designs on the northern Greek province of the same name.

Last week, Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis threatened to wield the veto in April when Macedonia's bid to join NATO comes up for consideration at a planned alliance summit in Bucharest.

Earlier Saturday, Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis told the central committee of his conservative New Democracy Party that the time had come to resolve the longrunning dispute with its northern neighbor.

[Ehetlaios]

They were provoking.

[Ehetlaios]

But it's just fine by their side, what they do is support their thesis, even if it is false. We are the ones who try to cooperate and keep a low profile... Some would say it's our fault, damn straight it's ours... VETO them everywhere, even in the gutter...

[Truth Bearer]

Send them to the lions!!

[Victor]

THe way I understand things,this "protest" happened on the second last day of the event,but they agreed to the name used to introduce them before the event.
WEIRDOS!!!

[Flipper]

Seriously and excuse my french....ST'ARXIDIA MAS KAI AN APOXWRISANE!

Hahaha, all they did was to miss the fun. I don't think any greek really bothered that they left.

[Tsontos]

Welcome to Macedonia, FYROManian teenagers!

[Mygdonia]

Ante geia sas!!!!

[Amarantos]

This article fails to make clear to a third person what was happening during the event it describes. Skopjans were asking to be called with their constitutional name IN the centre of Macedonia, in Thessaloniki. An unacceptable thing, a direct offence to all Macedonians in their own home.

[Amarantos]

ΘΕΣΣΑΛΟΝΙΚΗ

Προκλητική αποχώρηση

ΜΕ ΠΡΟΚΛΗΤΙΚΟ ΤΡΟΠΟ και ύστερα από εντολή του σκοπιανού υπουργείου Εξωτερικών αποχώρησε η αποστολή των Σκοπίων την τελευταία ημέρα των πρώτων Αγώνων ΕφήβωνΝεανίδων Νοτιοανατολικής Ευρώπης, οι οποίοι ολοκληρώθηκαν στη Θεσσαλονίκη. Οι επικεφαλής της αποστολής διαμαρτυρήθηκαν λέγοντας ότι οι ομάδες τους προσφωνούνταν με τα αρχικά FΥRΟΜ και όχι αναλυτικά με κάθε λέξη της ονομασίας τους, όπως είπαν τα μέλη του γραφείου σύνδεσης των Σκοπίων στην Ελλάδα. Η συμπεριφορά των επικεφαλής της αποστολής ήταν προκλητική από την πρώτη ημέρα της διοργάνωσης, ύστερα από αίτημα των Ελλήνων διοργανωτών να μην εμφανιστούν στην παρέλαση των αποστολών με τις φόρμες που είχαν τα αρχικά «ΜΚD», αλλά να τα καλύψουν και να τα χρησιμοποιούν μόνο στα αγωνίσματα. Οι Σκοπιανοί που ξεκίνησαν στην παρέλαση, ύστερα από νεύμα επικεφαλής της αποστολής από την εξέδρα των επισήμων του Καυταντζογλείου (ορισμένοι λένε ότι ήταν ο αρμόδιος υπουργός για θέματα Αθλητισμού) κοντοστάθηκαν όταν άκουσαν από τα μεγάφωνα να τους προσφωνούν στα αγγλικά FΥRΟΜ, αλλά συνέχισαν αμέσως όταν στην προσφώνηση στα ελληνικά άκουσαν να αναφέρονται ως Πρώην Γιουγκοσλαβική Δημοκρατία της Μακεδονίας.
Το βράδυ της Παρασκευής ακολούθησε η άρνηση της ομάδας του τάε κβον ντο να συμμετέχει στους αγώνες, επειδή από τα μεγάφωνα προσφωνήθηκε ως ομάδα της FΥRΟΜ. Οι αθλητές ανέβηκαν στις κερκίδες και άρχισαν να φωνάζουν «Ματσεντόνια». Το πρωί του Σαββάτου, που ήταν η τελευταία ημέρα των αγώνων, αποφασίστηκε να αποχωρήσει σύσσωμη η αποστολή των περίπου 150 αθλητών.

THESSALONIKI

Provocative retirement

WITH A PROVOCATIVE WAY and after the command of the Skopjan ministry of foreign affairs the Skopjan mission withdrew at the last day of the youth athletics competition of South-eastern Europe, which was completed in Thessaloniki. The heads of the mission protested saying that their teams were called with the initials FYROM and not analytically with each word of their name, as the members of the office of connection of Skopje in Greece said. The behavior of the heads of the mission was provocative from the first day of the organisation, after the demand of the Greek organizers to not present themselves in the parade of the teams with uniforms bearing the initials "MKD", but to cover them and use them only during the events. The Skopjans that began the parade, after head sign from the platform of the officials in Kaftatzoglio stadium (certain say that it was the minister responsable for Sports) stopped when they heard from the loudspeakers being presented in English as FYROM, but they continued immediately when in the address in Greek they heard they are reported as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
In the evening of Friday the refusal of the team of tae kwon do to participate to the fights followed, because from the loudspeakers they were presented as the team from FYROM. The athletes went up in the tiers and began to shout "Macedonia". The morning of Saturday, that was the last day of the events, the withdrawal of the mission of almost 150 athletes was decided .

ΤΑ ΝΕΑ Online - 22/10/2007 - Î*ροκλητική αποχώρηση