Congratulations, Macedonia! As if You Weren't Enough of a Banana Republic Already...
Of all the idiotic suggestions that have ever been made regarding the Macedonian name issue, UN "mediator" Matthew Nimitz's brilliant idea - "Republika Makedonija - Skopje" - has got to be the most horrific. He has taken things to a new level, hyphenating the ICG's old insult with a solution used only in deepest Africa.
In December of 2001, the intellectual giants of the ICG showed their not inconsiderable mental capabilities by coming up with a name based on another "compromise solution": the "Republika Makedonija." Hey, what's the harm in calling people as they call themselves? This issue is addressed in detail in the above linked article.
What was obvious about this suggestion, coming as it did from one of the most rabidly anti-Serb, anti-Orthodox organizations on the planet, was that solving the Macedonian "problem" by patterning it on the example of "Republika Srpska" would confer just about as much legitimacy on Macedonia as the West has shown for this despised outcast of the Bosnian Federation.
Now, the unadmirable Nimitz has shown his own great intellectual prowess by appending to this already execrable name, by way of hyphen, the grand finale- "Skopje." This particular solution for a Balkan banana republic is based on something employed only in a place where bananas actually grow - Africa. Reports the BBC:
"...The suggestion uses the name of the capital in the same way that the Republic of Congo-Brazzaville incorporates the name of the city to distinguish it from the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo. "
Has it come to this? Who are these people? What are we paying them for?
The worst of it is that for Greek Foreign Minister Petros Molyviatis "...the proposal does not fully satisfy Greece," reports MIA. What more do they want? For the place to disappear altogether? (well, yes).
According to him, MIA adds, "...the name 'Republika Makedonija - Skopje' would be adopted for international use, written in Cyrillic alphabet and untranslated."
This can't be correct. It is just too much. Even from the Greeks. Even someone who delights in killing puppies wouldn't have the heart.
Although the BBC reports that Macedonian PM Buckovski "reacted coolly" to the proposal, and said the government is sticking to its "two names" position, who knows? Macedonia has always and in every case caved in to foreign pressure of every sort in the past. One just hopes for his safety that if he agrees to such an idea that Buchko flees, because it will be much worse for him than was the Struga escapade.
The "two-name" position is very logical. It assumes that since the Greeks are the only people in the world who have a problem with Macedonia's name, then they should have to respect the world's wishes and use a second name for bilateral communications. Hey, if one guy wants apples and 100 guys want oranges, you got to go with the oranges, right? Then why are they trying to sell us a lemon?
Ironically, however, the Greeks are the ones that came up with the only (geographically, at least) proper compromise: Upper Macedonia. Something of this sort bears at least some resemblance to reality. But to reward the Greeks by appending the name "Skopje" can only be bad for them: after all, they already refer to the whole country as "Skopje" anyway, and what with all those investments they have here, we wouldn't want them to get lost when they need to drive to, say, Ohrid or Tetovo.
Now the US is proving what a faithful friend it is. After recognizing Macedonia's name in November - and then recanting, claiming that it had all been a deceitful, democracy-building trick - there is no reason to believe that it will have any gumption whatsoever, especially since it has openly stated it will honor whatever "compromise" the UN comes up with. Yes, I see. "UN bad" when it opposes an American war in Iraq; "UN good" when it humiliates a small country.
If Buchko and his fearless associates come to accept a "compromise" like Nimitz's, it will be clear that it is time to end the Macedonia experiment once and for all. That's right, divide the f*cking country between Bulgaria and Albania. Anything would be better than living with the absurdity of "Republika Makedonija- Skopje."
In December of 2001, the intellectual giants of the ICG showed their not inconsiderable mental capabilities by coming up with a name based on another "compromise solution": the "Republika Makedonija." Hey, what's the harm in calling people as they call themselves? This issue is addressed in detail in the above linked article.
What was obvious about this suggestion, coming as it did from one of the most rabidly anti-Serb, anti-Orthodox organizations on the planet, was that solving the Macedonian "problem" by patterning it on the example of "Republika Srpska" would confer just about as much legitimacy on Macedonia as the West has shown for this despised outcast of the Bosnian Federation.
Now, the unadmirable Nimitz has shown his own great intellectual prowess by appending to this already execrable name, by way of hyphen, the grand finale- "Skopje." This particular solution for a Balkan banana republic is based on something employed only in a place where bananas actually grow - Africa. Reports the BBC:
"...The suggestion uses the name of the capital in the same way that the Republic of Congo-Brazzaville incorporates the name of the city to distinguish it from the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo. "
Has it come to this? Who are these people? What are we paying them for?
The worst of it is that for Greek Foreign Minister Petros Molyviatis "...the proposal does not fully satisfy Greece," reports MIA. What more do they want? For the place to disappear altogether? (well, yes).
According to him, MIA adds, "...the name 'Republika Makedonija - Skopje' would be adopted for international use, written in Cyrillic alphabet and untranslated."
This can't be correct. It is just too much. Even from the Greeks. Even someone who delights in killing puppies wouldn't have the heart.
Although the BBC reports that Macedonian PM Buckovski "reacted coolly" to the proposal, and said the government is sticking to its "two names" position, who knows? Macedonia has always and in every case caved in to foreign pressure of every sort in the past. One just hopes for his safety that if he agrees to such an idea that Buchko flees, because it will be much worse for him than was the Struga escapade.
The "two-name" position is very logical. It assumes that since the Greeks are the only people in the world who have a problem with Macedonia's name, then they should have to respect the world's wishes and use a second name for bilateral communications. Hey, if one guy wants apples and 100 guys want oranges, you got to go with the oranges, right? Then why are they trying to sell us a lemon?
Ironically, however, the Greeks are the ones that came up with the only (geographically, at least) proper compromise: Upper Macedonia. Something of this sort bears at least some resemblance to reality. But to reward the Greeks by appending the name "Skopje" can only be bad for them: after all, they already refer to the whole country as "Skopje" anyway, and what with all those investments they have here, we wouldn't want them to get lost when they need to drive to, say, Ohrid or Tetovo.
Now the US is proving what a faithful friend it is. After recognizing Macedonia's name in November - and then recanting, claiming that it had all been a deceitful, democracy-building trick - there is no reason to believe that it will have any gumption whatsoever, especially since it has openly stated it will honor whatever "compromise" the UN comes up with. Yes, I see. "UN bad" when it opposes an American war in Iraq; "UN good" when it humiliates a small country.
If Buchko and his fearless associates come to accept a "compromise" like Nimitz's, it will be clear that it is time to end the Macedonia experiment once and for all. That's right, divide the f*cking country between Bulgaria and Albania. Anything would be better than living with the absurdity of "Republika Makedonija- Skopje."
posted by Balkanalysis Blog Editor @ 4/10/2005 01:07:00 PM
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