Opinion
Angelos Kostopoulos, Partner, Nakou & Associates Law
The “Skopian’s” as we Greeks refer to the people living in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, have fabricated a national identity in fear of disintegrating into their natural ethic and national constituencies that border this very small Balkan country.
When Yugoslavia disintegrated in the early 90’s, the elite of this province realized that they had to create a new national conscience or disappear. To achieve their goal of self-preservation, they revised their “history” by claiming to be descendants of the ancient Macedonians and Alexander the Great; they “baptized” their spoken Bulgarian vernacular as “Macedonian,” the same way the Flemish Belgians call their Dutch – “Vlaams.”
All this nonsense would have raised little concern if the Skopian elite had not antagonized the Greeks by publishing maps showing Thessaloniki as their capital and building an Alexander the Great “Disneyland” in Skopia. And when the United States, desiring to put the Serbian conflict to bed, recognized Macedonia as a new sovereign entity, they forced the Greeks into a dilemma.
Today, the United States is again faced with a resurgent Russia that is eager to flex its muscle in areas that overlap with American interests. The Balkan region once again is a theater of contending interests.
NATO membership has been extended to country-after-country in the region and our Skopian friends are on the waiting list to join. Obviously a win-win situation for the West and our northern neighbors.
But in the course of this masquerade, the United States, NATO and our Skopian friends have not taken into consideration the Greek people. They have only considered the closed door commitments of the Greek government, and I suspect, the Greek opposition party leadership.
It ain’t over ‘til the fat lady sings: On the 21st of January 2018, the Greek people, gathered in Thessaloniki will reply to this masquerade and put a nail in the coffin of this comic-tragedy.
Note: Angelos Kostopoulos, is a Partner at the Nakou & Associates Law firm in Athens, Greece and a former US Army Foreign Area Officer, and graduate of the Hellenic Army Supreme War College.
ANGELOS KOSTOPOULOS | AKOSTOPOULOS@USA.NET |
Angelos Kostopoulos, Partner, Nakou & Associates Law
When Yugoslavia disintegrated in the early 90’s, the elite of this province realized that they had to create a new national conscience or disappear. To achieve their goal of self-preservation, they revised their “history” by claiming to be descendants of the ancient Macedonians and Alexander the Great; they “baptized” their spoken Bulgarian vernacular as “Macedonian,” the same way the Flemish Belgians call their Dutch – “Vlaams.”
All this nonsense would have raised little concern if the Skopian elite had not antagonized the Greeks by publishing maps showing Thessaloniki as their capital and building an Alexander the Great “Disneyland” in Skopia. And when the United States, desiring to put the Serbian conflict to bed, recognized Macedonia as a new sovereign entity, they forced the Greeks into a dilemma.
Today, the United States is again faced with a resurgent Russia that is eager to flex its muscle in areas that overlap with American interests. The Balkan region once again is a theater of contending interests.
NATO membership has been extended to country-after-country in the region and our Skopian friends are on the waiting list to join. Obviously a win-win situation for the West and our northern neighbors.
But in the course of this masquerade, the United States, NATO and our Skopian friends have not taken into consideration the Greek people. They have only considered the closed door commitments of the Greek government, and I suspect, the Greek opposition party leadership.
It ain’t over ‘til the fat lady sings: On the 21st of January 2018, the Greek people, gathered in Thessaloniki will reply to this masquerade and put a nail in the coffin of this comic-tragedy.
Note: Angelos Kostopoulos, is a Partner at the Nakou & Associates Law firm in Athens, Greece and a former US Army Foreign Area Officer, and graduate of the Hellenic Army Supreme War College.
ANGELOS KOSTOPOULOS | AKOSTOPOULOS@USA.NET |
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