Gruevski:... the new Balkan Troublemaker

[akritas]

kathimerini, 20 July 2008
Athanasios Ellis


The 38 year old arrogant nationalist prime minister of a tiny country in the heart of the Balkans threatens to disrupt the fragile Balkan puzzle and this should concern both the European Union and the United States who in the last decade have invested politically, economically and militarily to reinforce the stability of the region.

Nikola Gruevski is either trying to broaden the agenda concerning his country’s relationship with Greece, to justify his forthcoming retreat concerning the name issue, or he believes that Europe and the US are so sensitive on “minority issues” that they will support him in his campaign to allegedly uphold the rights of his kinsmen in neighboring countries, including Greece.

If the former is true, Gruevski is convinced that the unity and prosperity of his country is guaranteed only through membership of the Euro-Atlantic Alliances, but being fully aware that no Greek government will ever agree to the entry of FYROM to these alliances without the name issue being resolved, he is preparing the ground to compromise with a composite name. Hence, to sweeten the pill on the name compromise internally, he will try to sell the “guarantee” of a “Macedonian ethnicity” not only as a right of self-identification, but through international agreements. Greece, ofcourse, will not agree with this and neither does Mr. Nimitz desire to broaden the scope of his negotiation brief.

If the latter is true, Gruevski is sliding down a dangerous path, and is trying to create problems where they don’t exist and to open wounds which Europe has closed now for decades. These actions remind us of the ultra-nationalist objectives of the Kazinsky brothers last year (President and Prime Minister of Poland), who 60 years after the end of WWII, demanded that Europe compensate them for the actions of the Nazis. Not only did they fail in achieving their objectives, but they also exposed and humiliated their country in the eyes of Brussels and their European partners.

With the irredentist aspirations which Gruevski promotes, he is developing into the “trouble maker of the Balkans”, and this will have consequences for both himself and his country. The stigma of the dangerous nationalist does not disappear easily in the Balkans. This was a painful discovery for the Serbians who lived through the dismemberment of their country because Slobodan Milosevic started to play the nationalist card in 1989.

Gruevski is trying to become a “hero” internally in his country without being concerned about the fact that externally he is beginning to be viewed as a pariah. The violence that marked the recent elections in FYROM was the first disturbing indication. This was followed, last Thursday, by the arrest of the deputy leader and future leader of the opposition. His next objective is the complete control of the mechanisms of power in FYROM through the forthcoming local elections.

This problem does not only concern Greece, against which Gruevski now makes various unfounded but dangerous claims, but Bulgaria also and the entire region. Europe and the US should not only discourage him, but are obliged to stop him, now that it is still early.

translation from Captain Agras

[Ariadni_Nefeli]

As I always say...It's all in the childhood!

Since the man had a bad childhood, everything else come naturally....

[Truth Bearer]

Yes fair point there Ariadni...

[Patriotdokraj]

Gruevski is trying to form problems where there are none??? Where are you living boy??? Brush up a little on your history and tell me what happened with all the "fyromaniens" that lived in northern greece? By Fyromaniens I mean the people that differ from the people of southern greek by skin colour, language and culture? Tell me your story, could use a laugh right now...
Oh, and yes, the US and Europe do care about minorities, or do I have to tell you what the small Albanian minority did in 2001?

[akritas]

Originally Posted by Patriotdokraj

....I mean the people that differ from the people of southern greek by skin colour, language and culture......?

Before you brake the slavmacedonian banning record please READ THE FORUM RULES.
NO OTHER WARNING.

[Vasot]

Originally Posted by Patriotdokraj

By Fyromaniens I mean the people that differ from the people of southern greek by skin colour, language and culture?

NON-EXISTANT!!!!
You Bulgarian offspring Patriotdokraj

You are asking for a cold war...and you shall have it at the end if your president continues his nationalist crap

BY THE WAY FOR THE GREEKS IN HERE

Συνεχίζει να προκαλεί ο Σκοπιανός πρωθυπουργός. Ο Νίκολα Γκρούεφσκι έστειλε, αργά το βράδυ της Κυριακής, επιστολή στον πρόεδρο τής Κομισιόν Ζοζέ Μπαρόζο, με την οποία τού ζητά, σύμφωνα με πληροφορίες, να μεσολαβήσει για την βελτίωση των συνθηκών τής μακεδονικής, όπως χαρακτηριστικά λέει, μειονότητας στην Ελλάδα. Ο Σκοπιανός πρωθυπουργός φαίνεται διατεθειμένος να κορυφώσει την κόντρα του με την Αθήνα και να συνεχίσει να δημοσιοποιεί στη διεθνή κοινότητα τις παράλογες απαιτήσεις του. Η Αθήνα, πάντως, δεν φαίνεται διατεθειμένη να τον ακολουθήσει σε αυτό το παιχνίδι εντυπώσεων.

[akritas]

Gruevski moves is as an open letter. FYROM´s policy has long been based on old agendas, eventually the oldest issue on the national priorities of the states in the region, namely irredentism and great idea aspirations.

[chicagogeorge]

Originally Posted by Patriotdokraj

Gruevski is trying to form problems where there are none??? Where are you living boy??? Brush up a little on your history and tell me what happened with all the "fyromaniens" that lived in northern greece?

The same thing that happened to the Greeks of Monastiri and Gevgeli, only the Slavophones still exist in Florina. I guess they had it easier than the Grecophones who are from your country....

By Fyromaniens I mean the people that differ from the people of southern greek by skin colour, language and culture? Tell me your story, could use a laugh right now...

Oh I see, you mean those Slavic people who invaded the Balkans from mother Russia? (Or was it the Ukraine), and brought with them that high culture
and wealth of knowledge who taught the natives (Greeks of course) math, science, philosophy, oh and writing

[Petros Houhoulis]

Originally Posted by Patriotdokraj

Gruevski is trying to form problems where there are none??? Where are you living boy??? Brush up a little on your history and tell me what happened with all the "fyromaniens" that lived in northern greece? By Fyromaniens I mean the people that differ from the people of southern greek by skin colour, language and culture? Tell me your story, could use a laugh right now...
Oh, and yes, the US and Europe do care about minorities, or do I have to tell you what the small Albanian minority did in 2001?

First of all, the Greek citizens did never start a rebellion against Greece as the Albanians did in that country, and they shall never do so.

Secondly, the U.S.A. and Europe did not support the Albanian rebellion. They just mediated between the two sides in order to prevent the conflict from developing into a full scale war, like the Yugoslav wars. They succeeded in this, without to take sides.

Third, there were never anything like "fyromaniens" or anything else in Macedonia. Even Gruevskis' grandpa fought for the Greek state and died in Albania, instead of trying to rebel against Greece. Those "fyromaniens" were nothing more than the result of Bulgarian agents who were acting in the German-occupied sector of Macedonia and tried to convince the people that they were not Greeks but Bulgarians. When the Bulgrians were defeated, the Titoists took over the propaganda effort. In the end, this scheme was successful only amongst those who fled Greece - like Gruevskis' grandmother - out of fear that the Greek army would kill them, but those who stayed are still alive and well.

Forth and last, these people do not differ from us in color skin or culture or the circumference of their arsehole. If there is any difference, this is in language. Nevertheless, all of those who live in Greece speak Greek, even if they speak other languages as well.

[TALOS]

Βρήκαμε νέο Ντενκτάς

Του Αλεξη Παπαχελα

Η Ελλάδα είναι πολύ άτυχη και πολύ τυχερή συνάμα σε σχέση με τον προβληματικό βόρειο γείτονά της. Ατυχη, γιατί στο πηδάλιο στα Σκόπια βρίσκεται ένας πολιτικός ηγέτης, ο οποίος πάσχει από μικροκομματική μυωπία όταν ασχολείται με θέματα εξωτερικής πολιτικής και ο οποίος, κατά την έκφραση βετεράνου δυτικού διπλωμάτη, «μάλλον δεν θα έκανε ούτε για δήμαρχος σε μεσαία ελληνική πόλη». Είναι εξαιρετικά δύσκολο, αν όχι απίθανο, να δει κανείς πώς ο κ. Γκρούεφσκι θα μπορέσει να βγει από τη γωνία στην οποία στριμώχνει συνεχώς τον εαυτό του.

Αρχικά έκανε την γκάφα με την ονομασία του αεροδρομίου που έπεισε τον Ελληνα πρωθυπουργό ότι «με αυτούς δεν βγάζεις άκρη». Συνέχισε με την επιμονή του στο δημοψήφισμα για την ονομασία, αν και ήξερε πως έτσι απέκλειε να γίνει ο Σκοπιανός... Νίξον που θα επισκεπτόταν την Αθήνα και θα έγραφε ιστορία με μια έντιμη συμβιβαστική λύση. Και βέβαια τώρα με τις επιστολές περί μειονοτήτων έχει εισέλθει στη σφαίρα της γραφικότητος.

Ο κ. Γκρούεφσκι απλά δεν ενδιαφέρεται για λύση και προτιμά να περιμένει στο χολ αναμονής ΝΑΤΟ και Ε.Ε. αλλά να είναι ο «πρώτος στο χωριό». Είναι ίσως και λογικό, αν σκεφθεί κανείς ότι μιλάμε για μια νέα γενιά πολιτικών δίχως εμπειρίες, χωρίς πολέμους στο βιωματικό τους υπόστρωμα. Οταν μάλιστα σκεφθεί πόσα λάθη έκαναν οι δικοί μας, υποτίθεται πολύ περισσότερο ψημένοι και εξευρωπαϊσμένοι πολιτικοί, γιατί να ζητεί περισσότερα από τα Σκόπια;

Η Ελλάδα είναι άτυχη, λοιπόν, γιατί δεν έχει άνθρωπο να μιλήσει ή να συνεννοηθεί στα Σκόπια. Είναι όμως και τυχερή, γιατί ο κ. Γκρούεφσκι και οι φίλοι του κινούνται τόσο μα τόσο άγαρμπα, που τους έχουν πάρει όλοι χαμπάρι. Ακόμη και οι Αμερικανοί μέντορές τους, τύπου Νταν Φριντ, έχουν καταλάβει ότι καλλιεργώντας την αλαζονεία της ηγεσίας των Σκοπίων μάλλον πυροβόλησαν εαυτούς και τα συμφέροντά τους. Τώρα είναι αργά για δάκρυα, βέβαια, γιατί εκείνοι θα περάσουν στο χρονοντούλαπο των γραφειοκρατικών υποσημειώσεων της ιστορίας μετά τον Ιανουάριο του 2009 και ο κ. Γκρούεφσκι παίζει το δικό του παιχνίδι αγνοώντας τις καθυστερημένες τους παραινέσεις.

Αυτή την ώρα είναι εξαιρετικά δύσκολο να προβλέψει κανείς τι θα συμβεί με την υπόθεση της ονομασίας. Το πιθανότερο είναι να μη γίνει τίποτα και να μπει μαζί με το Κυπριακό στη λίστα των θεμάτων που θα λυθούν αφού πάρουν σύνταξη μια - δυο γενιές διπλωματών, μεσολαβητών και δημοσιογράφων. Η Ελλάδα έχει, άλλωστε, την άνεση να περιμένει, γιατί μετά το Βουκουρέστι έχει το πλεονέκτημα και πολλή περισσότερη κατανόηση από τους εταίρους της χάρη στις αγαρμποσύνες του κ. Γκρούεφσκι. Με άλλα λόγια, βρήκαμε καινούργιο «Ντενκτάς», γεγονός που βραχυπρόθεσμα τουλάχιστον μας βολεύει...

http://www.ekathimerini.gr/4dcgi/_w_...07/2008_278660