Skopje: Beware of Greeks Bearing Vetoes

This weekend's Kathimerini (major Greek national newspaper) reported that U.S Secretary of State, Condoleeza Rice, and Greek Foreign Minister, Dora Bakoyannis, met to discuss the admission of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (originally Skopje) into NATO.

Currently, Greece is threatening to veto the admission of Skopje unless it changes its name and all other NATO and EU members agree to rescind any previous recognition of Skopje as the Republic of Macedonia, it's chosen name. The new proposal recently put forward by Ms Rice is to change 'Macedonia' to 'New Macedonia' in order to achieve a distinction between Slavic Macedonia, the country, and Greek Macedonia, the region.

Although for many external observers the Greek veto threat may appear childish and to more seriously jeopardise the stability of the Balkans, Greece's defiance is just and long overdue. This is because the now longstanding dispute with Skopje is not simply about a name, but about history, ethnicity, territory and therefore sovereignty.

When Skopje declared its independence in 1991 and adopted the name Macedonia shortly after, it was not simply displaying its admiration of the name or reverence towards the historic Greek Kingdom of Macedon, otherwise known as Macedonia. Rather, it adopted the name on the grounds that they were the true descendants of King Phillip and Alexander the Great and that all Greeks living in the region of Greece known as Macedonia were in fact a foreign minority residing within their territory. They were therefore effectively implying that Greece was occupying its own northern quarter. As a result, they used the original Macedonian flag as their own, insisted their own dialect -which predictably they called Macedonian- was the official language of the historic Kingdom and even usurped entire segments of Greek history including, of course, the reign of Alexander the Great. Indeed, the country's major airport, based in its Capital city, is named after him.

Put simply, anyone who thinks that the naming of Macedonia is no more significant than the naming of Paris, Texas; New England; or even Athens, Georgia consider this. Imagine the reaction of the French if Paris, Texas took the credit for the Enlightenment or the reaction of the English if the people of New England declared themselves the rightful heirs of the legacies of Elizabeth I and Winston Churchill. Similarly, no Greek has a problem with Athens, Georgia because at no point have any of its citizens declared their city as the actual home of Pericles.

However, let us not lose sight of the crude politics involved here. The only reason why NATO is suddenly open to compromise is because they cannot admit Skopje as long as Greece retains its veto, a potentially massive embarrasment for the alliance. Similarly, Skopje needs no persuading in accepting any offer to join and therefore carries litle leverage over the terms of their accession. Greece, therefore holds all the cards. This is not just because of the veto but also because any concerted reconstruction effort in the Balkans depends on Greece's co-operation; poltically, militarily, but most of all economically. As Greece's economy has grown over the years, just as their neighours' have been crumbling around them under the pressures of civil war and internal ethnic strife, Greece has leapt on the opportunity to invest heavily in Balkan reconstruction. As a result, the Hellenic Republic has become the single biggest source of investment in all the new Balkan republics, including Skopje, to the extent that now almost a quarter of all banks in the region are Greek-owned.

So, let us celebrate today as the day Greece finally stood up for itself and defended its sovereignty against those who shamefully claim it for themselves, only to return open handed asking for money and security. And let us celebrate the fact that the good old wooden horse trick still works after all this time and remind those who tried to ignore their grievances to beware of Greeks bearing vetoes.