Name issue heats up in Macedonia

09/06/2009

At a recent VMRO-DPMNE gathering, Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski said talks with Greece will resume over the name dispute.

By Zoran Nikolovski for Southeast European Times in Skopje -- 09/06/09

Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski said he hopes to come up with a solution to the name dispute "as soon as possible … so that Macedonia will enter NATO and the EU". [Getty Images]

A whirlwind of views, political opinions and external pressure is growing as Macedonia and Greece are scheduled to resume talks this fall.

"There is pressure on Greece and Macedonia," from "all outside factors" to bridge the differences, said Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski at a recent celebration of the VMRO-DPMNE youth section.

While no deadline has been set, there is an expectation to wrap the matter up "as soon as possible … so that Macedonia will enter NATO and the EU", said Gruevski.

Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov called on Monday (June 8th) for a reasonable solution to the name dispute, but said it must not hinder the Macedonian identity.

UN envoy Matthew Nimetz is scheduled to visit Skopje and Athens this month, now that Greece is finished with the EP elections.

In anticipation of Nimetz's visit, Macedonian officials reiterated their readiness to resolve to the name issue, but not at any price.

Gruevski reiterated that Macedonia remains fully committed to EU and NATO membership, but he added that despite Macedonia's determination to do "everything in its power to … find a solution", overcoming the problem must "not undermine state and national interests".

"If a compromise is reached, it will be sent for a referendum in which the people will have the last word," said Gruevski.

Former Foreign Affairs and Interior Minister Ljubomir Frckovski opposes the idea of a referendum. He says it is a facade created by politicians to mask parties that are buckling under external pressure, and want to take the easy way out by placing the burden on the people.

He criticised efforts at "playing around and avoiding responsibility by the political elite over the name issue by pushing towards a referendum will traumatise the Macedonian electorate".

The name dispute is a hot button issue, and dialogue is being scrutinised from all angles, including a remark by EC Vice-President Jacques Barrot. Addressing EU interior ministers last week in Luxemburg, Barrot referred to Macedonia as "Northern Macedonia," one of the new names proposed by Nimetz.

Barrot's office tried to pass the comment off as lapsus linguae, or a slip of the tongue, but most Macedonians seem to disagree, including former Foreign Affairs minister Denko Malevski, who interpreted it as a strategic jab.

US Ambassador to Macedonia Philip Reeker told the Skopje-based daily Dnevnik on Monday that Macedonia's identity is non-negotiable. "The country needs to find a solution to the name dispute in order to start moving towards full integration. The identity is yours, it belongs to every individual, every group."

Vlado Popovski, former defence minister, proposed a compromise during an interview with A2 TV. He suggested that the UN and other international organisations refer to Macedonia by its temporary provisional reference, under which Macedonia was admitted to the UN, but that the country maintain its name in bilateral relations with the 120 countries that have recognised it. He added that the constitution, passports, the name of the people and the Macedonian language should all be preserved.

The ethnic Albanian Democratic Union for Integration (DUI) is pushing to resolve the issue and has given Gruevski a deadline, according to Dnevnik.