When a Name Becomes a Game: Negotiating the Macedonian Identity Victor Sinadinoski 1 ‘The Macedonian’ should by no means be regarded as a Bulgarian, Serb or Greek as ‘he’ is, on the first place, a political ‘slave.’ 2 Our Macedonian grandfathers and fathers struggled and shed their blood for the liberty of the Greeks and the Serbs and for the liberation of Bulgaria; they did not spare for the common liberty of us all. Now the time has come for them to prove true descendants of their famous liberators and advocates and to help their fellows in the liberation of Macedonia from its five centuries of slavery. 3 Chauvinism is poisoning the soul of humanity. We Macedonians hate no one and have no pretensions. We search in the darkness for a friend. 4 My only reservation about the Macedonians is that we don’t have more of them. 5 No-one has a right to impose on a nation how to define itself … no-one has a right to cut off a nation’s national, linguistic and cultural roots.6 1 University of Michigan, B.S. 2007; Vermont Law School, J.D. and M.E.L.P Candidate 2012. 2 Marinov, Tchavdar, We, the Macedonians: The Paths of Macedonian Supra-Nationalism (1878-1912), in We, the People: Politics of National Peculiarity in Southeastern Europe by Diana Mishkova, 122 (2009). 3 Rules of the Macedonian Rebel Committee, Rule 194 http://documents-mk.blogspot.com/2009/12/blog-post_30.html . Last accessed February 27, 2011. 4 Kaplan, Robert D., Balkan Ghosts: A Journey Throughout History , 60 (1993). Quote by Orde Ivanovski. 5 McNamara, Sally and Morgan L. Roach, The Obama Administration Must Push for Macedonia’s Accession to NATO at the Lisbon Summit , The Heritage Foundation. Web Memo No. 3037, 2 (2010). Quote by US Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Gleichenhaus. 6 Vangelov, Ognen, The Greek Veto the Macedonian Identity , 4. 1 Table of Contents Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………………...… 3 Critical Terminology …………………………………………………………………………..…. 5 A. History ……………………………………………………………………………..………..…. 6 1. From ancient Macedonia until the Ottoman arrival …………….……….…... 6 2. Life under the Ottoman Empire …………………………….……………...… 8 3. From Macedonia’s division to the emergence of the Republic of Macedonia…………………………..…………………… 14 4. The era of negotiations……………………………….……………………... 25 B. Why the Negotiations have Failed ……………………………………………….. 44 1. Greece’s denial of the ethnic Macedonian identity ………………………..… 44 2. Alexander the Great and ancient Macedonia ………………………………. 68 3. Foreign influence …………………………………………………………… 72 4. Internal politics ……………………………………………………...……… 80 5. Greece’s adversarial approach to compromising …………………………… 83 6. What about the name? ……………………………………………………… 92 C. Solutions ……………….………………………………………………………….. 96 1. Why solving the dispute matters …………………………………………… 96 2. Possible paths to a solution? ………………………………………………... 103 3. Alternatives to a compromise ………………………………………………. 109 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………………. 113 2 Introduction Greece’s dispute with the Republic of Macedonia (Macedonia) over the latter’s name is not solely, nor primarily, about a name. Rather, Greece’s quarrel is the most recent chapter in a tale of constant struggles for identity, land, and resources, fused with episodes of feverish nationalism, hostile political maneuvering and suspicious foreign interests. This current clash between the two southern Balkan countries is rooted in ancient Macedonia’s conquest of the ancient Greek states, and spans several centuries of relative obscurity until the arrival of the brutal Ottomans. Macedonia’s struggles to free herself from 500 years of Ottoman rule, along with aspirations of her neighbors to conquer and annihilate the Macedonian identity, rechristened this millennia-old contention and captured the heart of European diplomacy. The Great Powers and Macedonia’s neighbors endeavored to bury the Macedonian dispute in the early 1900s by splitting Macedonia into several pieces, with each neighbor annexing an organ. Throughout the 20 th century, certain Balkan nations assimilated, exiled and murdered Macedonians to fulfill an ethnic cleansing campaign of the Macedonians. Hence, today’s relatively peaceful name dispute, despite its twenty-year old history, is only a snapshot of the overarching Macedonian Question, also known as the Macedonian Problem or the Macedonian Syndrome. Regardless of how historians and politicians have phrased it, the Macedonian Question has implanted two centuries of violence and bloodshed in the Balkans, and has left the ethnic Macedonians destitute and sentenced to nonexistence. Yet, the Macedonians survive and persevere with their struggles, to the public and silent dismay of many. Thus, the situation remains “as alive and problematic as ever.” 7 Unfortunately, “[h]ardly any other country in Europe is probably regarded by its neighbors as much [as] of an imposition as the Republic of Macedonia.” 8 Macedonia’s neighbors have ignored international legal obstacles and glorified hate-based ideologies in their quests to obtain Macedonian territory and eradicate the Macedonian identity, language, state and people. Justifiably, Macedonians want to erase this question mark plastered onto their identity. This paper discusses the history, politics and legality of Macedonia’s ongoing saga with Greece over Macedonia’s name. The structure of this paper is as follows. In Part A, I first explore the history of Macedonia, from ancient times until the present day. Then I dive into a recount of Macedonia’s struggle for freedom from the Ottoman Empire and the following years that resulted in Macedonia’s division. Next, I investigate Macedonia and the Macedonians after the early 20 th century Balkan wars until the People’s Republic of Macedonia declared independence from Yugoslavia as the Republic of Macedonia in the 1990s. Finally, I analyze the dispute with Greece with a chronological approach, while also injecting major events that have directly and indirectly affected the name dispute. In Part B, I consider several major reasons why discussions and negotiations have not resulted in any meaningful solutions. These reasons include, but are not limited to, Greece’s denial of the existence of a Macedonian ethnic identity; an obsession with the glories and successes of ancient-Macedonia; foreign influence in the forms of national governments and ethnic Diasporas; internal political struggles and divisions that have plagued both Greece and Macedonia; a highly adversarial Greek tone and position; and Greece’s general lack of reasonableness regarding the name ‘Macedonia’. 7 Poulton, Hugh, The Balkans: Minorities and States in Conflict , 55 (1994). 8 Wieland, Carsten, One Macedonia with Three Faces: Domestic Debates and Nation Concept, 1. 3 Finally, in Part C, I outline some solutions to the dispute, if a solution is even possible. First, I list reasons for why a peaceful solution through negotiations and discussions is a better choice than any other option. Second, I then consider some solutions that can be found through negotiations and discussion. Finally, I highlight the likely alternatives to negotiations, which include the status quo and the force of international court decisions. The Macedonian-Greek name dispute is a dispute which involves much more than just the name of a country. Consequently, any solution to the dispute will involve much more than discussions about a name – it will involve an acknowledgment of historical and present wrongdoings; it will involve a willingness to embrace collaboration; and it will involve the principles of peace, justice and freedom. Hopefully, Macedonia and Greece can overcome this rift and set an example that the future people of this world can look back to with respect and admiration. If not, the dreadful past that has continuously plagued the Balkans may be only one bullet away from being reignited. 4 Critical Terminology * Ethnic Macedonian and Macedonian refer to a person who embraces a Macedonian identity and culture as separate from any other culture or identity, especially as distinct from a Slav, Greek, Bulgarian or Serb identity. * Macedonian citizen refers to a person who is a citizen of the Republic of Macedonia and is not necessarily an ethnic Macedonian. * Skopjian , Slav-Macedonian and Fyromian are degrading terms used by some people to describe the Macedonians. * Ethnic Greek and Greek refer to a person who embraces the Greek identity and culture as separate from any other culture or identity. * Greek citizen refers to a person who is a citizen of Greece and is not necessarily an ethnic Greek. * Republic of Macedonia and Macedonia refers to the constitutional name of the country recognized in the United Nations as the ‘former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia’ and in over 130 countries as the Republic of Macedonia. Macedonia is bordered by Serbia 9 to the north, Bulgaria to the east, Greece to the south, and Albania to the west. * Geographic Macedonia is the ethnic Macedonians’ homeland, which includes the Republic of Macedonia (also known as Vardar Macedonia), Aegean Macedonia (currently occupied by Greece), Pirin Macedonia (currently occupied by Bulgaria), and a tiny segment within Albania’s borders (Mala Prespa and Golo Brdo). Aegean Macedonian constitutes over 51% of geographic Macedonia; Pirin Macedonia constitutes 10% of geographic Macedonia; the Republic of Macedonia constitutes about 37% of geographic Macedonia; and Mala Prespa and Golo Brdo constitute just under 2% of geographic Macedonia. * Ancient Macedonia refers to the time period that begins with the birth