Athens Vs Skopje: Macedonian Name Dispute continues amidst ethnic Albanian tensions

In the most recent meeting between Hellenic officials and Matthew Nimitz, Hellenic Ambassador Adamantios Vassilakis informed Mr. Nimitz that Hellas could not accept the most recent proposal from Skopje. The name proposed by Skopje’s Ambassador – “Republic of North Macedonia”, would only be used in bilateral communication between Athens and Skopje falling short of the Hellenic Government’s position, which is for the new name to be used worldwide. Meanwhile tension flared between ethnic Albanians and Slavs over the partial implementation of the Ohrid Framework Agreement, leading to the Democratic Party of Albanians walking out of parliament on Monday. This incident was not alone, as racial tensions exploded between Slavs and Albanians in Skopje the night before.

Although I rejoice over the Hellenic Government’s decision to reject Mr. Nimitz’s recent ideas. I am still worried over Athens obsession with the geographic qualifier, which leads me to believe that it is up to us, the average Hellene, to defend our identity and history. As it seems that the puppet government in Athens has no intentions of defending the Macedonian Legacy of Hellenism. What the international community fails to understand is that the dispute between Athens and Skopje is not just about a name, it is about the very identity in which the Slavs of Skopje wish to claim for themselves, an identity that already belongs to Hellenism. Why Athens hasn’t exploited the rising ethnic tensions between Albanians and Slavs inside Skopje boggles my mind. If Athens were to bring ethnic Albanians into our camp over the name issue, both Hellenes and Albanians would be able achieve justice. Albanians could use the name issue as bargaining chip for them to receive their rights agreed to them in the Ohrid Agreement. If ethnic Albanians came to this realization than the Slavs of Skopje would have no choice but to give up their Anti-Hellenic propaganda and Stalinist Revisionism.

Athens, Skopje stalling on Macedonia name
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DPA walks out of Macedonian parliament
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Massive clashes between Macedonians and Albanians in Skopje
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