Greek press on the Macedonian issue (news in English)

[Foti66]

Nimetz to intensify name talks

United Nations mediator Matthew Nimetz yesterday said he planned to crank up the pace of negotiations aimed at breaking the Macedonia name deadlock with the intention of “upgrading” talks to foreign minister level at the next UN general assembly scheduled for September 20.

The distance separating Athens and Skopje in talks is still great, Nimetz reportedly told Greek negotiator Adamantios Vassilakis after their talks in Thessaloniki yesterday. In the words of a Greek diplomatic source, “the phase of current negotiations is not dramatically different to that a few months ago.” Still Nimetz stressed that both sides are “serious” about reaching a settlement.

Asked by reporters whether talks will include other issues apart from the dispute over the name, Nimetz noted that “a series of issues peripheral to the central issue of the name have been broached.”

“The name issue is tough enough – we do not need to weigh it down with other matters,” Nimetz added.

The mediator said that the 16-year dispute has been running for long enough and should be resolved. He refused to set a deadline for a compromise, however.

Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis, following talks with Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis, yesterday reiterated Greece’s insistence on a “mutually acceptable solution” to the name dispute.

Foreign Ministry sources in Athens said the progress of talks leading up to the UN summit in September would largely depend on whether government officials in Skopje drop the intransigence they have displayed since Athens vetoed the neighboring country’s bid to join NATO in April.

© 2008 H KAΘHMEPINH All rights reserved.

[euro]

Patriarch-Nimetz meeting on Athos

Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomeos (Bartholomew I) briefly met with UN special mediator for the FYROM "name issue" Matthew Nimetz on Saturday in the semi-autonomous monastic community of Mount Athos. The "primus inter pares" of Eastern Orthodox patriarchs arrived in the monastic community to attend events at the Dionysiou Monastery.

Nimetz, who held talks with the Greek envoy in the negotiations, Amb. Adamantios Vassilakis, a day earlier in Thessaloniki, arrived in Mount Athos for a private visit accompanied by Vassilakis and Orthodox Metropolitan of Austria Mihail.

In a brief comment to attending reporters, the American diplomat said he provided the Ecumenical Patriarch with an overview of the ongoing talks between Athens and Skopje, while adding that Vartholomeos also offered his encouragement and support in his diplomatic mission.

According to press, reports the two men also discussed issues dealing with other Orthodox churches in the region, peace and human rights.

Caption: A file photo of UN mediator for the "name dispute" between Greece and FYROM, Matthew Nimetz, as he exits the foreign ministry in Athens on 18 April 2008. ANA-MPA/SIMELA PANTZARTZI

http://www.ana.gr/anaweb/user/showpl...696&service=10

[Foti66]

FM on FYROM PM's comments

Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis on Sunday called the latest eyebrow-raising comments over the weekend by the premier of the neighbouring Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) regarding the thorny "name issue" as utterly provocative and intransigent.

Moreover, in response to press questions and only days after a UN special mediator visited both Skopje and Athens, Bakoyannis emphasised that FYROM Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski had proceeded with "actions and statements aimed to undermine the (name issue) negotiations … even ahead of his recent most recent meeting with (UN mediator) Mr. (Matthew) Nimetz."

"The intransigent and provocative statements by Mr. Gruevski are beyond any moderation. They simply confirm the difficult position in which he himself has chosen … Mr. Gruevski is committing a serious error. Responsibility for whatever involvement in the negotiations, and by extension, his country's European and Euro-Atlantic course, is exclusively his responsibility," Bakoyannis said in response to press questions dealing with the latest developments in the still unresolved "name issue" between Athens and Skopje.

Gruevski comments

Bakoyannis sharply reacted to statements a day earlier by the recently re-elected Gruevski, who among others opined that Athens' latest insistence over the 17-year-old "name issue" stems from that the fact a "major scandal erupts in Greece every two weeks", while the head of government of the small landlocked country to Greece's north initially expressed a view that "Greece has deep and major problems".

In an ANA-MPA dispatch from Skopje, Gruevski attempted to counter last week's high-profile statement in Skopje by Nimetz, saying his government considers a new name for the one-time Yugoslav republic for all international uses as "unacceptable", merely adding that the object is a name that EU member-state Greece will use in bilateral relations.

http://www.ana.gr/anaweb/user/showpl...949&service=10

[Foti66]

Gruevski stirs things up

FYROM PM slams Greece and says he will not accept single-name solution
Just days after United Nations mediator Matthew Nimetz said he wants to step up name talks between Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), the neighboring country’s prime minister, Nikola Gruevski, has sparked a new war of words.

Nimetz heralded a new round of more intense name talks during a visit to Thessaloniki on Friday. However, Gruevski’s comments yesterday seem to indicate that a solution to the name talks is as far away as ever.

“Greece has deep and serious problems,” he said. “You know that a serious scandal breaks out almost every two weeks. They need to focus on the name issue because the government is faced with early elections due to the scandals.

“They are structuring their policy in such a way that they can avoid finding a solution because… they believe it will damage them in the next elections.”

Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis issued a terse response. “The intransigent and provocative comments by Mr Gruevski go beyond all reason,” she said. “It confirms the untenable position in which he has chosen to put himself.”

Gruevski went on to indicate that he had made it clear to Nimetz that FYROM is not willing to give up its constitutional name of “Republic of Macedonia” and is only willing to negotiate on a dual name that would be used only by Greece. Athens has already said it is opposed to this idea.

“I told Mr Nimetz that it would be best for him to think again and to press the other side over something that would be a compromise: a dual name,” said Gruevski. “One of the ideas Mr Nimetz expressed was the use of one name internationally. For us, this is not acceptable and that is where we left it.”

Greece vetoed FYROM’s bid to join NATO earlier this year and Bakoyannis pointed out that Gruevski’s stance was not helping his country’s cause. “He will be personally responsible for any complications in the negotiations and any consequences this has on the European and Euro-Atlantic course of his country.”

© 2008 H KAΘHMEPINH All rights reserved.

[Petros Houhoulis]

http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w.../08/2008_99835

UN envoy mulling name talks freeze

The United Nations mediator entrusted with breaking the Macedonia name deadlock is considering the possibility of “freezing” talks if Skopje maintains its uncooperative stance until a UN general assembly late next month, sources have told Kathimerini.

According to the sources, the UN’s Matthew Nimetz has been annoyed by fresh comments made over the weekend by the prime minister of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), Nikola Gruevski, according to which Skopje will not accept a single name solution to the dispute.

These remarks by Gruevski surprised even FYROM President Branko Crvenkovski, sources in Skopje said.

Nimetz reportedly had warned Gruevski, when the two men met in Skopje last week, that his intransigence could lead to the imposition of a six-month talks freeze. But the UN envoy was reassured that Skopje was ready to press on with negotiations, sources said.

Meanwhile, Athens has been irked by another comment by Gruevski. The FYROM premier said Nimetz expressed interest in the issue of a self-proclaimed “Macedonian Orthodox Church” ahead of his visit to Mount Athos last weekend. Greek diplomats confirmed that Nimetz raised the issue during talks with Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomaios at Mount Athos. But there is no evidence that the issue was a key topic of discussion.

Greece’s Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis said Nimetz carried “the sole responsibility for hindering talks and, by extension, the Euroatlantic prospects of FYROM.”

© 2008 H KAΘHMEPINH All rights reserved.

[Foti66]

US to resolve name row?

Reports say Washington to present plan for settling dispute next month
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice could be set to make a decisive intervention in the Macedonia name dispute, it was reported yesterday, as Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis reiterated that Greece is prepared to block the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia’s bid to open accession talks with the European Union.

Media in FYROM reported yesterday that sources said Rice is due to present on September 23 a plan to the foreign ministers of the two countries in New York before it is presented to the United Nations Security Council.

The source of the story seems to be an Internet article written by analyst Dr Sam Vaknin, who has allegedly acted as an advisor to FYROM’s president Nikola Gruevski in the past.

Vaknin claims the plan contains five points: FYROM will change its constitutional name of Republic of Macedonia, probably to Northern Macedonia; it will be granted a period of time, possibly up to 10 years to do this; it will be invited to join NATO; both countries will be allowed to use the term Macedonian; and they will renounce any claim to each other’s territory.

The analyst claims that the plan was agreed at a recent meeting between Rice and Bakoyannis, but Greek Foreign Ministry sources said that there had been no such discussion or agreement between Athens and Washington.

The outgoing US Ambassador in Skopje, Gillian Milovanovic, said yesterday that FYROM has to focus on solving the name dispute so it can join NATO.

“I don’t think there is any positive prospect for Macedonia without membership in NATO, and I mean quick membership in NATO,” she said. “It’s part of the progress and integration with Europe that you all wanted, therefore I think this should be your priority objective.”

Bakoyannis emphasized Athens’s belief that it is Skopje holding up the process and particularly Prime Minister Gruevski.

The Greek Foreign Minister added that, just as it did with FYROM’s NATO bid earlier this year, it would block any bid from its neighbor to join the EU unless the name dispute is settled. “We made clear and they are aware that there can be no Euro-Atlantic prospects unless the name dispute is resolved, because it is the basis for good neighborly relations,” she said.

© 2008 H KAΘHMEPINH All rights reserved.

[Foti66]

Skopje pushes land claims

Skopje's parliament yesterday adopted a resolution seeking the return of properties supposedly lost by citizens of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) who left Greece during the Greek civil war.

The issue was broached in recent letters sent by FYROM Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski to his Greek counterpart Costas Karamanlis and to senior officials of the United Nations and European Union.

Gruevski yesterday said any agreement between Athens and Skopje in name talks would be put to a referendum, a prospect Greece has rejected out of hand.

Meanwhile the US Embassy in Skopje refuted reports that US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was to intervene in the name row, saying Washington fully backs talks mediated by United Nations envoy Matthew Nimetz.

In a related development, Gruevski responded abruptly to criticism by FYROM President Branko Crvenkovski regarding the former's insistence on a dual name solution.

© 2008 H KAΘHMEPINH All rights reserved.

[Foti66]

Athens pans latest FYROM quip

A foreign ministry spokesman on Friday again touched on the most recent provocation emanating from the neighbouring Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), namely, this week's unanimous resolution by the latter's parliament to mandate state backing to so-called "Aegeans", what irredentist circles in the one-time Yugoslav republic call the slavophones who fled Greece during the height of the Greek civil war (1946-49).

Spokesman George Koumoutsakos underlined, during a regular press conference, that this development "epitomises the unproductive infatuation (by FYROM's current leadership) with a completely warped and extremely distortive rendering of the past."

"At the same time, it is apparent that there is an inability to meet the challenges and needs of building a better future in this region. This, in fact, is apparent from the obstructive and undermining tactics that have been employed throughout the recent period by the leadership in the neighbouring country," Koumoutsakos said.

In a related development, Greece's negotiator in the still resolved "name issue", Amb. Adamantios Vassilakis, on Thursday briefed the ambassadors of several countries on the latest developments in the dispute. Envoys from EU and NATO member-states, as well as the ambassadors from China and Russia were briefed by Vassilakis.

http://www.ana.gr/anaweb/user/showpl...525&service=10

[Morphesau]

Bakoyannis: Our goal and aspirations are crystal clear.

Saturday 30 August 2008, by ANA/MPA

Foreign minister Dora Bakoyannis said that Greece was seeking a solution to the FYROM name issue "without winners and losers", but not one without content, speaking in Florina on Saturday at the Third World Congress of Floriniotes.

She said that the name that is found must reflect the realities of the region, and finally put an end to the irredentist propaganda and ethnicistic talk that the FYROM leaders frequently resort to.

The name, she stressed, must not deprive a single Greek from Florina, Kastoria, Kilkis or Thessaloniki of his inalienable right to consider himself a proud Macedonian and of honoring his roots and glorious history.


Bakoyannis further reiterated that the UN-mediated negotiation had a single purpose, to determine the name of the neighboring country, and a single goal, which was the achievement of a mutually acceptable solution, and "not the perpetuation of this serious outstanding issue, which has repercussions on the good neighborhood relations and regional cooperation in our region".

She stressed that it was of exceptional importance "to send the message to our neighbors that, since we live side-by-side, it will be to everyone’s benefit to succeed in finding a solution and in our relations being characterized henceforth by friendship, mutual respect, and constantly broadening cooperation".

Noting that at the NATO summit in Bucharest Greece had convinced its friends and allies of the correctness of its positions and the credibility of its arguments, Bakoyannis said that "today we are continuing, with persistence, realism and self-confidence, to seek a mutually acceptable solution via negotiation".

"Our goal and aspirations are crystal clear: a composite solution, with a geographical determinant, that will be in effect for all. A solution that will enable us to accept our neighbor as an ally in NATO and to continue to support it in its difficult adaptation towards a European future. A solution that will help our neighbors stop trapping themselves in the past and move forward, with Greece’s backing, to a more hopeful future of stability, cooperation and constant development," Bakoyannis added.

She also explained that Greece, while it maintains this constructive stance, and as it awaits the other side to leave behind the anachronistic bigotry and obstructive policies and enter into substantive negotiation, will at the same time actively support the development of the neighboring state.

http://www.phantis.com/cosmos/spip.php?article174

[Bardas]

ΠOΛITIKH

«Αδειασμα» στον Γκρούεφσκι μέσω Τίτο

Το γιουγκοσλαβικό ΥΠΕΞ απαντούσε στη «Λαϊκή Δημοκρατία της Μακεδονίας» ότι είναι νομικά αβάσιμη η διεκδίκηση των περιουσιών

Του Σταυρου Τζιμα

«Mεγάλος αριθμός προσφύγων από τη Μακεδονία του Αιγαίου εγκατέλειψε την περιουσία του στην Ελλάδα και οι ελληνικές αρχές είτε μέσω καταδικαστικών αποφάσεων είτε μέσω ειδικών διατάξεων, όπως είναι το Νομοθετικό Διάταγμα Περί Επανοικήσεως των Παραμεθόριων Περιοχών δήμευσαν την περιουσία αυτή προς όφελος του ελληνικού Δημοσίου. Ωστόσο, δεν υφίσταται νομική βάση για έγερση απαιτήσεων από την πλευρά μας και τούτο γιατί:

α) Σε ό,τι αφορά τους πρόσφυγες που δεν αποδέχθηκαν την υπηκοότητά μας, επ’ ουδενί δεν νομιμοποιούμαστε να εγείρουμε εν ονόματί τους τέτοιες απαιτήσεις και από θέση αρχής πρέπει να αποκλείσουμε ένα τέτοιο ενδεχόμενο.

β) Σε ό,τι φορά στους πρόσφυγες που αποδέχθηκαν την υπηκοότητά μας, με την έγερση απαιτήσεων εν ονόματί τους θα παραβιάζαμε την αρχή σύμφωνα με την οποία το κράτος δεν έχει δικαίωμα να παρέχει νομική συνδρομή στους πολίτες του για ζητήματα που έλαβαν χώρα κατά το χρονικό διάστημα που εκείνοι δεν ήταν πολίτες του…».

Καθώς η ηγεσία της ΠΓΔΜ κατέστησε από τις αρχές της εβδομάδας με ψήφισμα της Βουλής επίσημη πολιτική των Σκοπίων τη διεκδίκηση περιουσιών στην Ελλάδα, προσφύγων που στην περίοδο του εμφυλίου πολέμου κατέφυγαν στη γείτονα, επίσημα γιουγκοσλαβικά έγγραφα, όπως το προαναφερόμενο, που έρχονται στο φως από τα αρχεία του Βελιγραδίου, αποκαλύπτουν ότι από εκείνη την εποχή ακόμη η Γιουγκοσλαβία θεωρούσε ότι δεν υπάρχει νομική βάση για έγερση τέτοιων απαιτήσεων.

Γνωμάτευση

Καταλήγοντας, η παραπάνω γνωμάτευση του Νομικού Συμβουλίου του ΥΠΕΞ προς την κυβέρνηση της «Λαϊκής Δημοκρατίας της Μακεδονίας» που συμπεριλαμβάνεται στο υπό έκδοση βιβλίο της Εταιρείας Μακεδονικών Σπουδων με τίτλο «Το Μακεδονικό στα Ξένα Αρχεία-απόρρητα έγγραφα Γιουγκοσλαβίας και Βουλγαρίας (1950-1967)», της συνιστά «να προσεγγίσουμε το ζήτημα αυτό πρωτίστως από πολιτική και όχι νομική σκοπιά επισημαίνοντας ταυτόχρονα τον κίνδυνο με το να θέσουμε το θέμα της αποζημίωσης για την περιουσία τους θα σήμαινε ταυτόχρονα ότι έχουμε αποδεχθεί ότι αυτοί θα παραμείνουν σ’ εμάς και στην περίπτωση αυτή δεν αποκλείεται οι Ελληνες να αποδεχθούν συζήτηση για την καταβολή αποζημίωσης για την περιουσία τους και να εξαλείψουν ένα σημαντικό γι’ αυτούς ζήτημα».

Οι περιουσίες των «Αιγαιατών προσφύγων», όπως προκύπτει και από την παρέμβαση της νομικής υπηρεσίας του γιουγκοσλαβικού ΥΠΕΞ, ήταν από τις αρχές της δεκαετίας του ’50 ακόμη ένα αγκάθι για τη γιουγκοσλαβική διπλωματία που αντιμετώπιζε το δίλημμα: από τη μια πλευρά θέτοντας το ζήτημα της επιστροφής των προσφύγων ακύρωνε το αίτημα για την καταβολή από το ελληνικό κράτος αποζημίωσης για τις περιουσίες τους. Από την άλλη προβάλλοντας το αίτημα των αποζημιώσεων για τα περιουσιασκά στοιχεία των «Αιγαιατών» αποδεχόταν ουσιαστικά την οριστική εγκατάστασή τους στην επικράτεια του γιουγκοσλαβικού κράτους.

Απαντώντας η κυβέρνηση των Σκοπίων σε άκρως απόρρητο έγγραφό της παραδέχθηκε τις νομικές δυσκολίες που ανέκυπτε, πλην όμως έκρινε σκόπιμη τη γιουγκοσλαβική παρέμβαση για πολιτικούς λόγους με στόχο την ακύρωση στην πράξη των μέτρων της ελληνικής κυβέρνησης που κατά την άποψή της αποσκοπούσαν στην ολοκληρωτική αφομοίωση της «μακεδονικής μειονότητας» στην Ελλάδα.

Αναφέρουν μεταξύ άλλων στο εγγραφό τους προς το Βελιγράδι τα Σκόπια. «Θεωρούμε ότι το ζήτημα αυτό πρέπει να τεθεί στην ελληνική κυβέρνηση ακόμη και αν οι προσπάθειές μας δεν έχουν κάποιο συγκεκριμένο αποτέλεσμα, επειδή πρόκειται για ένα από τα συγκεκριμένα ζητήματα στο οποία μπορούμε μεταξύ άλλων να αμφισβητήσουμε σοβαρά την πεποίθηση της ελληνικής πολιτικής ότι το ζήτημα της μακεδονικής μειονότητας στην ολότητά του θα επιλυθεί όπως εκείνη επιθυμεί, απλά όταν της δοθεί ο απαραίτητος χρόνος.

Σύμφωνα με απόρρητη έκθεση των γιουγκοσλαβικών αρχών που συντάχθηκε το 1951 (DAMSPS, PA, 1951, Fascikla 29, dosije 21, signatura 419307) η προσφυγική ομάδα στη ΛΔΜ σχηματίστηκε μετά εξι αλλεπαλληλα προσφυγικά κύματα.

Προσφυγικά κύματα

- Το πρώτο κατά το διάστημα 1941-1944 όταν η περιοχή τελούσε υπό βουλγαρική κατοχή και επρόκειτο για πρόσφυγες που εγκαταστάθηκαν στην περιοχή του Μοναστηρίου. Είχαν κατά κύριο λόγο φιλοβουλγαρικό προσανατολισμό και ήταν συνεργάτες των Γερμανών και των Βουλγάρων στη διάρκεια της Κατοχής.

- Το δεύτερο προσφυγικό κύμα τοποθετείται στα μέσα του 1944 έως τις αρχές του 1945 και επρόκειτο για αντάρτες του τάγματος Γκότση και του Πέγιοφ, αλλα και εκείνους που διέφυγαν μεσούσης της «λευκής τρομοκρατίας» στη διάρκεια του 1945.

- Το τρίτο κύμα μετοίκησε στη ΛΔΜ στα τέλη του 1946 και στις αρχές του 1947. Ηταν άτομα που κατάγονταν από την Ανατολική Μακεδονία και είχαν εγκατασταθεί στη Βουλγαρία κατά την Κατοχή ή άτομα που είχαν συναργαστεί με τις βουλγαρικές κατοχικές αρχές στην Ελλάδα και τα οποία φοβούμενα τα αντίποινα των ελληνικών ενόπλων ομάδων, είχαν ακολουθήσει τον βουλγαρικό στρατό μετά την αποχώρησή του απο την ελληνική επικράτεια και στη συνέχεια ματοίκησαν στη ΛΔΜ.

- Το τέταρτο κύμα αφορούσε στους πρόσφυγες που εγκαταστάθηκαν στην ΛΔΜ κατά τα έτη 1947 και 1948, εξαιτίας των δυσμενών συνθηκών που επικρατούσαν στην Ελλάδα του εμφυλίου πολέμου.

- Στο πέμπτο κύμα προσφυγων κατατάσσονταν οι «μακεδονικής εθνότητας μαχητές του ΔΣΕ» οι οποίοι διαφώνησαν με την τακτική του ΚΚΕ και την επίθεση της Κομινφόρμ στη Γιουγκοσλαβία και αποχώρησαν από την Ελλάδα τη διετία 1948-1949.

- Το έκτο προσφυγικό κύμα αφορούσε τους μαχητές του ΔΣΕ που κατέφυγαν στη ΛΔΜ μετά τη νίκη των κυβερνητικών δυνάμεων. Στην έκθεση διευκρινίζεται ότι από τον συνολικό αριθμό των 28.595 ατόμων που κατέφυγαν σε γιουγκοσλαβικό έδαφος η συντριπτική πλειονότητα αυτών αποτελείτο από «Αιγαιάτες» και οι υπόλοιποι ήσαν Ελληνες. Ενα μεγάλο μέρος των τελευταίων, γύρω στους 4.000 αποχώρησαν απο τη γιουγκοσλαβική επικράτεια μετά τη ρήξη Τίτο-Στάλιν με αποτέλεσμα να παραμείνουν στη Γιουγκοσλαβία 24.595 πρόσφυγες.

http://news.kathimerini.gr/4dcgi/_w_...08/2008_283050