The past several weeks saw no progress on the name dispute that has been standing in the way of normal Greek-Macedonian relations for 17 years.
Since Macedonia broke away from Yugoslavia in 1991, it has insisted that it be recognised under its constitutional name, Republic of Macedonia. However, Greece, whose northern province is also called Macedonia, has been asking its neighbour to change the name so as to prove it had no implicit territorial claims over the Greek northern regions.
As a result, currently Macedonia is formally known at the United Nations and other international organisations under the provisional name agreed in 1993 – Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), although a big number of countries have practically recognised it under its constitutional name.
Despite all past and recent UN efforts to defuse tension between the two neighbouring Balkan countries, the issue is far from finding its solution and is starting to increasingly resemble a Gordian knot.
Obviously, the upcoming Nato summit in Bucharest on April 2-4 has not softened down either the Greeks or the Macedonians. Athens’ threat to veto Macedonia’s invitation to join the alliance seems now more tangible than ever.
Between February 29 and March 5, UN special envoy on the issue Matthew Nimetz shuttled between New York, Skopje and Thessaloniki to discuss his proposals to settle the conflict, which he put forth in February, with Greek and Macedonian negotiators and other politicians.
It appeared that none of the names he proposed – Constitutional Republic of Macedonia, Democratic Republic of Macedonia, Independent Republic of Macedonia, New Republic of Macedonia and Republic of Upper Macedonia – stirred a great deal of excitement on either side. After talking to both sides in New York, Nimetz pointed out the stands of the two countries remained divided by a “substantial gap”.
Nato secretary general Jaap de Hoop Scheffer visited Athens on March 3, spurring on media talk of increased international pressure on Greece to make concessions on the name issue. The Greeks, however, remained firm they would not let Macedonia join the bloc unless it met their requests. Although Nato’s March 6 foreign ministers meeting in Brussels showed the alliance’s willingness to officially invite Croatia, Albania and Macedonia in Bucharest, Greece did not lose ground.
On the contrary, Greek foreign minister Dora Bakoyannis confirmed her government’s veto intentions. “Unfortunately, the policy followed by the government of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in its relations with Greece, particularly as concerns its intransigent stance and its actions of an irredentist and nationalist logic, do not allow Greece to take the same positive stance as in the case of Croatia and Albania,” the BBC quoted Bakoyannis as saying after the meeting.
And she was fully backed by public opinion at home. A survey conducted by Public Issue pollster for Greek newspaper Kathimerini showed that 84 per cent of the respondents wanted their government to veto Macedonia’s Nato bid unless a mutually acceptable solution is found.
Macedonia says it wants to continue negotiating until the matter is settled. The Macedonian people, however, do not seem willing to give politicians much space for manoeuvre. A poll by the Center for Research and Policy Making, an independent Macedonian non-profit policy research institute, indicated that 83 per cent of the Macedonians did not agree to changes in the constitutional name of their country, even if that was the price of Nato membership.
In that tense atmosphere, Macedonia resorted to new methods to defend its cause. In an effort to gain international support, Skopje paid for two-page advertisements promoting Macedonia as a Nato candidate state, which were published in several leading Western newspapers on March 7, a day after Nato foreign ministers met in Brussels.
“Republic of Macedonia deserves Nato membership” and “Macedonia and Greece – neighbours and partners” were the two headlines of the ad, kindly provided to The Sofia Echo by the International Herald Tribune. Below a picture of Macedonian troops in Kabul, the advertisement lists 30 reasons for Macedonian membership in Nato. It also focuses on the concessions Macedonia has made to meet Greek concerns, among which the amendment in Macedonian constitution stating the country had no territorial aspirations towards any neighbouring state, the modification of the Macedonian flag and Skopje’s agreement to participate in bilateral dialogue on the name issue with Athens.
The ad points out that there has been not a single security incident in Macedonia’s relations with Greece since 1991 and that, as a result of good business opportunities, Greek companies are the largest foreign investors in Macedonia.
“Despite this cooperation, Greece announced that it will veto the accession of the Republic of Macedonia to Nato. Greece is asking for support for this stance from the other member states. Where is the principle here? Where is the justice? Macedonia still believes in the true values of Nato. That is the value of freedom and justice. Not be able to be and call yourself what you have been for centuries – is that freedom and justice?” the ad asks.
While it is hard to estimate the impact of the advertisement in the West, one thing remains certain. As long as Greece has the right to veto Macedonia’s Nato bid, it is Athens that has to be persuaded by Skopje’s arguments. And this, at present, borders on the impossible. Only time will tell who, and how, will manage to cut the knot.
