Canada Can, And Must, End The Macedonia/Greece Name Dispute – OpEd

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It just takes one Western country to stand up for common sense and denounce the nonsensical name negotiations between Macedonia and Greece as an attack on human rights and a country’s basic right to self-determination. The Greek-manufactured dispute based on its blatant xenophobia would instantly be over. Now which country will it be? For that matter, an international human rights organization would carry a lot of weight too. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, you’ve had twenty-plus years, what are you waiting for?

Let’s take the current Canadian election campaign. Macedonian-Canadians, like many other ethnic groups, are being wooed by all political parties and, in exchange for votes and countless hours of volunteering time helping local candidates, are being promised something that will surely not be delivered once the campaign is over. Well, let’s try something different this campaign. Deliver in advance. Political parties would show that they could actually be trusted, and they would win over a lot of dedicated supporters.

Consider the debacle that is the Macedonia and Greece name dispute. Canada joined the majority of the world in 2007 by recognizing the Republic of Macedonia using its proper name, and, in doing so, secured the Macedonian-Canadian vote. Stephen Harper remembers well the hero’s welcome that he received when attending a Macedonian-Canadian event in Toronto in 2009. Many were still loyal to the Conservatives for this reason alone. However, since then, the Conservatives haven’t taken the next logical step and denounced the ludicrous name negotiations. But not only has Conservative Party inaction on this issue concerned Macedonian-Canadians, their transparent attempt at trying to regain the Greek-Canadian vote has made the situation worse. For example, before Costas Menegakis became a Conservative MP, he had organized an anti-Conservative/anti-Macedonian rally after recognition of the Republic of Macedonia. Mr. Menegakis claimed that no Greek-Canadian would ever vote Conservative. Apparently, Conservatives saw this as a green light to woo him, and he’s now running in his second election as a Conservative. The Liberal Party though, took it to the extreme and pandered to the Greek-Canadian community by denouncing recognition of Macedonia at that time and allowing their MP, Jim Karygiannis, to make public racist comments against Macedonian-Canadians on several occasions. Mr. Karygiannis was even caught on video praising a lecture which glorified Greece’s bombing of Macedonian civilians during Greece’s Civil War. Maybe their stance has changed, or gotten worse. Well, Liberal Party, which is it? So far, the NDP and Green Party have remained silent. Not a great foreign policy strategy.

Greece initiated the name dispute in order to block recognition of the newly independent Republic of Macedonia in 1991 and as an excuse to keep denying the existence and persecution of its large Macedonian minority. It claims that Macedonia is trying to usurp an “historically Greek” name, but until 1988, Greece’s well-documented policy was that Macedonia never existed. After annexing half of Macedonia’s territory in 1913 it tried to eradicate its very existence, a policy which continues today. According to the first UN mediator for the name dispute, Robin O’Neil, “Macedonia must not and will not change its name in order to appease Greece. If Macedonia succumbs to pressures and changes its name, such events will only give more firepower to Greece until it reaches its final goal – Macedonia to vanish from the map.” It is, in fact, Greece that is trying to usurp Macedonia’s name.

Considering this, one might, rightfully so, wonder why Macedonia is negotiating its own name. The short answer is that it fears the wrath of the United States, which has threatened that if Macedonia withdraws from the name negotiations, the U.S. would pull economic and military support and claims that a civil war would erupt with Macedonia’s Albanian minority. Ironic, considering that the United States recognized Macedonia in 2004. A new low for the United States’ foreign policy hypocrisy.

This is where Canada, and all four major political parties, come in. They can show the rest of the world that we still stand up for traditional Canadian values and human rights. Canada has a chance to end this ridiculous debate, and it should take it.

*Bill Nicholov, President Macedonian Human Rights Movement International

45 thoughts on “Canada Can, And Must, End The Macedonia/Greece Name Dispute – OpEd

  • October 6, 2015 at 11:04 am
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    Oh look. Bill Nicholov ranting about Greeks again with his fake “human rights” propaganda. Frankly this website makes itself look like crackpots and bigots by allowing obvious ultra nationalist Bill Nicholov to spew his ongoing racist rants against Greeks.

    The former Yugoslavians suddenly turns into “ancient Macedonian”, promote irrdentism against Greece isn’t convincing any Greek of anything. Skopje’s foreign apologists lost all moral credibility when they started to unethically evade over their bizarre behavior and aggressive behavior. There are no excuses left for them. Greece must adjust its foreign policy to also consider foreign nationalists that evade over Skopje to hide their mistake of ridiculously calling them “Macedonians” as morally complicit in their behavior.

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    • October 6, 2015 at 3:33 pm
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      Well,lets see who is right here between the “Greek “and me.I happened to be born in the occupied Aegean Macedonia.My father was born under the Ottoman Empire and my great,great grandparents under the Ottoman and some under the Roman Empires.Now than,that puts me way before modern “” Greece “came to existence in 1829.
      My “Greek friend”,got lost in historical facts.To be honest here, “Greece “never existed before the year of 1829,yes the City State of Athens,Sparta,Thebes did exist,but not as a nation.In 338 BC Macedonia put the yoke on those city States.Alexanders Empire was Macedonian Empire,not the illusionary “Greek “fabricated history written by Prince Otto of Austria.Prince Otto wanted to be elevated to a King over an ancient kingdom that never existed.Athenians,Spartans of those days were Egyptians and Ethiopians.The so called “Greeks ” are nothing but a fraud.
      One of the founding fathers of the USA John Adams said “the project of setting at liberty the whole country of ancient Greece,Macedonia and Illyricum,and erecting independent Republics in those famous seats,however splendid it may appear in speculation,is not likely to be seriosly entertained by the two Empires,because it is impracticable.The Greeks of this day,altough they are said to have imagination and ingenuity,are corrupted in their morals to such a degree,as to be a faithless,perfidious race,destitute of courage,as well as of those principles of honor and virtue,without which nations can have no confidence in one another,nor be trusted by others”.
      “John Adams,one of US founding fathers,in a statement written back on July 14th 1783 to the first US State Secretary Robert Livingston,clearly states he wanted to see Macedonia as well as Greece independent from Ottoman rule”.
      “Adams then goes to describe the Greeks as people…230 years later they are still described in the same way,corrupted in their morals to such a degree,as to be faithless,perfidious race,destitute of courage…”.
      “Greek “,instead of accusing Macedonia usurping your history,first you must establish your own identity (Albanian or Turkish ),we know who we are,we are proud Macedonians who’s identity never changed for more than 4 thousand years nothing more nothing less!!

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  • October 6, 2015 at 7:17 pm
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    4,000 years! Indeed. Kinda betrays your ignorance dude. Eh.

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  • October 7, 2015 at 9:35 am
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    Firstly, why does Eurasiareview constantly post articles by Bill Nicholov? This is a very one sided argument, filled with bigoted and frankly racist remarks. I’m not Greek, so I cannot play the Greek vs. Macedonian card, but I did complete a B.A. (majoring in Ancient History), and I’m currently studying European Political history; as such so I can look at this from an educated person’s standpoint.
    Mr Nicholov continuous to make the same statements, which I would like to address:
    1. “Greece denies the existence and persecution of its large Macedonian [sic] minority” – the current Slavic-Macedonian population of Greece (I am using this term purely as a way of differentiating Slavic-Macedonian – people ethnical related to the Republic of Macedonia – and Greek-Macedonian people – Greek people from the Greek region of Macedonia) numbers less than 1000, according to records sighted in “The Macedonian Conflict: Ethnic Nationalism in a Transnational World to be published by Princeton University Press” (Princeton University, 1997), as well as Greece’s national census (the latest I can find is around 2001). Now I may be missing something here, but 1000 people does not constitute a ‘large [Slav]Macedonian minority’ considering Greece’s current population of almost 11 million people, this would put the population at approx. 0.01% of Greece’s. Also, Mr Nicholov has never produced any facts (verified by independent parties) around any denial of existence by Greece. In my eyes, this is a fabricated fact, based on incorrect information.
    2. “Until 1988, Greece’s well-documented policy was that Macedonia never existed” – doing a basic internet search has brought up a number of examples of Greek newspapers, booklets, books, etc., all with the name Macedonia (Greek Μακεδονΐα – I had to paste this in; sorry if this is not correct). These include a school book titled “Geography of Greece” from 1939, a geography book from 1977, a newspaper titled ‘Makedonia’ from 1878, another titled ‘Faros of Macedonia’ from 1887, as well as official documents from the Kingdom of Greece, dated 1922, 1923, etc., referencing the region of Macedonia, and even a Time Magazine article from 1924 (h__p://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,718771,00.html) referencing Premier Sofoulis as the ‘ex-Governor of Macedonia’.
    3. “After annexing half of Macedonia’s territory in 1913 it tried to eradicate its very existence, a policy which continues today” – this one is also laughable; having studied both Balkan wars, the distribution of the region of Macedonia (please note Macedonia was never a country or nation, it was region after its defeat by the Romans) was done by Ethnic majority. The Vilayet of Salonica (which constitutes the majority of Macedonia, Greece) had the following demographics (based on the magazine Ons Volk Ontwaakt – Our Nation Awakes – Belgium, 1912; for the sake of space, I have removed the Vlachs, Jewish and mixed entries): -Muslim Turks – 335,000 (this group included Greek Muslims defined as Turkish), Muslim Bulgarians – 99,000, Orthodox Greeks – 168,000, Orthodox Bulgarians – 45,000. The Slavic numbers account for approx. 144,000, which the Greek population was 168,000. The majority of the Bulgarian population migrated into the region during the 19th century (in larger numbers) to modify the demographic of the region (please refer to the exploits of the Bulgarian IMRO). You may also note that there is no reference to a ‘Macedonian’ people in any census or demographic analysis prior to the 1940’s. Where were the Slavic-Macedonians during the Balkan wars? The only people involved were Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria and the Ottomans.
    4. “It is, in fact, Greece that is trying to usurp Macedonia’s name” – again, Greece is not trying to create a Macedonian ethnos, yet the Republic of Macedonia is. Out of all ethnic groups that live within the region of Macedonia (Greek, Slavic Macedonian, Bulgarian, Serbia and Albanian) or the Republic of Macedonia is trying to co-opt the entire thing for themselves.
    To the commenter, Peter, I’m not Greek, but I can see a number of holes in your logic, history and understanding of events.
    1. Occupied Aegean Macedonia – this term is part of the expansionist rhetoric of ultra-nationalists like Mr. Nicholov, Mr. Stefov, and others (for example in the UMD or WMC). The only people that believe the region of Macedonia in Greece to be occupied is this ultranationalist element. Why is this occupied? Why does it belong to your nation? This Greek region of Macedonia is larger than the Republic of Macedonia, and as stated before, Macedonia has never been a country or nation, but only a region since Roman times. The Kingdom of Ancient Macedonia falls within the borders of the region of Macedonia, Greece.
    2. “Greece “never existed before the year of 1829” – this actually made me laugh; the modern nation of Greece, as we understand nations to be today, did in fact not exists till 1829. But Italy didn’t until 1861, Spain 1812, France 1792, etc. It should be interesting to note that the Republic of Macedonia did not exists until 1991 (prior to that it was the Socialist Republic of Macedonia – a subset of Yugoslavia, before that it was Krusevo. Greece may not have existed as a modern nation prior to 1829, but it was a defined ethnic group and clearly stated in documents going as far back as history.
    3. “Alexanders Empire was Macedonian Empire, not the illusionary “Greek “fabricated history written by Prince Otto of Austria” – wow… where do you get your misinformation from? Alexander was King of Macedonia, and Leonidas was King of Sparta (actually a dual king; Sparta was a monarchical-state), Pheidon was king of Argos, Theseus was King of Athens, etc. All Greek states were Kingdoms at one point in their history, going back as far as Homer (who was actually the first to mention Macedonia). History shows that the Macedonian kingdom was actually founded by Perdicas (and some scholars state Karanos), who was from Argos and set up a Kingdom based on the Argive model (as stated in homer); many historians relate Ancient Macedonia to a Homeric kingdom (as they never progressed from a Kingdom to a city-state).
    4. You also quoted a number of statements from John Adams, this is a misinterpretation. From the book The Works of John Adams, Second President of the United States”, Vol. VI. Boston 1851 (pg. 514), Adams states: “The aristocrat, monarchist or tyrant, Pisistratus, […] who assembled all the leaned men of Greece to form a system of religion and government by the compilation of Homer, were not democrats. Alexander and Pericles, Themistocles and the Ptolemies, were not democrats.” Adams includes Alexander and Ptolemy as Greeks. But enough about Ancient History; there are literally 1000’s of quotes from different sources, both Ancient and Modern that discuss the ethnicity of the Ancient Macedonians.
    5. “John Adams, one of US founding fathers, in a statement written back on July 14th 1783 to the first US State Secretary Robert Livingston, clearly states he wanted to see Macedonia as well as Greece independent from Ottoman rule” – I cannot find any reference to this statement, anywhere. Can you please refer to the book, and if possible page no. this quote is from?
    6. “Greek “,instead of accusing Macedonia usurping your history, first you must establish your own identity (Albanian or Turkish ),we know who we are, we are proud Macedonians who’s identity never changed for more than 4 thousand years nothing more nothing less!!” – This one was my favourite. This, to me, is overly racists and small minded. Firstly, the Republic of Macedonia was not even part of Ancient Macedonia, it was a land called Paeonia, which was added to the region of Macedonia Secunda (second Macedonia, as opposed to Macedonia Prima – first Macedonia, which encompassed all of Norther Greece roughly to the borders of today). This exists until the migration of the Slavic tribes around the 6th century AD. The land of Paeonia then became part of Bulgaria, then part of Serbia, then was one of the first to fall to the Ottomans (1402), and one of the last to be freed of Ottoman rule (again, freed by Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria in 1912/13). This region was under the Ottoman rule the longest. Now as we identified earlier, Greeks, as an example, were always identified as Greeks (or Hellenes) since Ancient times; where by the Romans and Byzantines (Greci/Greeks) or the Ottomans (Yunani – the Turkish work for Ionian as these were the first Greeks they encountered; this is also derived from the Persian Yuana). As we also noted, apart from the Ancient Macedonians, no other people are identified “ethnically” as Macedonians from Ancient times till the late 19th century. Prior to that the people were Paeonians, Bulgarians and Serbians. Even your folk heroes, like Stefan Dusan, and Samuel of Bulgaria, all self-identified as Serbian or Bulgarian, respectively. Apart from going in this point, what basis are your claims that the Modern Greek people are Turkish or Albanians? The Ottomans did not go around having sex with every Christian that was under their rule (again, your country was under the longest), and genetic studies show (example Piazza, Alberto; Cavalli-Sforza, L. L.; Menozzi, Paolo, The history and geography of human genes. Princeton University Press (1994)) that the Modern Greek DNA has almost no influence from non-native DNA, and their DNA is native to their geographical area (and are closely related genetically to Italians, Portuguese and Spanish). The Slavic-Macedonian people are closely related (genetically) to Serbians, Croatians, Bosnians, etc.

    Let me leave you with this final though; if the Ancient Macedonians were not of Greek stock, this does not automatically make them Slavic. The language of the Republic of Macedonia is Macedonia [sic], this is a south-Slavic dialect that is part of the same language tree as Bulgarian and Old Church Slavonic. The writing system was created in the 9th century AD (but Cyril and Methodius; two Greek missionaries from Salonika/Thessaloniki). Your people, prior to the 1990’s attributed yourselves as Slavic. As a Slavic people, you did not migrate to the Balkans until the 6th century AD. Albeit, some of the existing populations would have merged into the new Slavic peoples, and created the south-Slavic people of today. You constantly preach a direct connection to the Ancient Macedonians, but history, facts and logic prove the contrary. Macedonia is a region, and the name should not be usurped by one nation as their nation. If you want to be fair, for arguments sake, you would choose a different name for your nation, and include a region called Macedonia within it (like the Greeks have with their northern region of Macedonia, or the Bulgarians with their Blagoevgrad province).

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  • October 8, 2015 at 6:01 am
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    Peter, your ineptitude for distorting historical facts is laughable. I’m amazed at how a small vocal minority of people from FYROM have managed to usurper their nation’s agenda at the cost of their Slavic heritage!

    You should all be ashamed of yourselves. We have achieved many great things in our long, proud history but people like wish to consign them to the garbage dump of history for the sake of claiming a history and heritage that is not yours!

    Be proud of your Slavic heritage!

    Shame on you

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  • October 14, 2015 at 4:11 pm
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    FYRoM Slavs using the Macedonian name in the ethnic sense riles the Greeks. Why? …because a nation of Macedonians outside of Hellenism never ever existed in historical verity. History records Macedon as a Greek Kingdom and Macedonians as a Greek-speaking Hellenic-peoples, intrinsically linked to the Greek population dynamic, inextricably connected to the Greek-Hellenic Collective of peoples.

    Greeks accept they have Slav-Macedonians for neighbours…so a formula must exist for the peaceful co-existance of Slavic-speaking Macedonians and Greek-speaking Macedonians.

    Two John Smiths could live in peace, side by side, next door to each other, but if one John Smith usurps the identity of the other John Smith – how should the first John Smith react to such silly provocation(s).

    FYRoM generated pseudo-historical propaganda must be Exposed, Challenged, Confronted and then Corrected…Greeks are in no mood to have their history and heritage besmirched. We have right to defend and protect what is ours…come hell or high water!

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  • October 20, 2015 at 7:04 am
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    “Greek” paranoia is exemplified in their anti-Macedonian rhetoric as seen here in the comments section. Just less than 180 years ago, the dominant language in ‘Greece” was Albanian; Macedonians formed the majority in Macedonia and real “Greeks” were few and far between as per Jacob Fallmerayer.

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    • October 22, 2015 at 6:04 am
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      According to the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica (the one published just before the liberation of Greek Macedonia, real Macedonia, that is, by force of arms from the Ottomans), the population of Skopje (your capital) then comprised of Slavs (both Bulgars and Serbs), Albanians, Turks and Gyspies. But no Macedonians, not even one, in sight. Lol. According to that same publication, the 1911 EB, Greece then had more than a healthy majority comprised of Greeks. Choke on that Bulgar. Lol.

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  • November 9, 2015 at 1:29 pm
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    Oh bill the poor Slavic dreamer.

    As sad as it is being of Bulgarian, Albanian and Roma Heritage, history and achievements my dear pretend Macedonian, must be lived and not stolen or fabricated not stolen. I’m taking a unit at Macquarie Uni named Alexander the great and the spread of Hellenism, not the spread of Bulgarian or Albanian.Oh well I suppose we’re all entitled to our delusions. Like all lies and falsehoods, they eventually become exposed and fade away. Thanks for laughs just the same Bill the Great fyromian

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  • November 15, 2015 at 3:45 am
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    The Greek territorial conquest of 1912 was advertised in maps and propaganda as ethnic cleansing of a new empire of the Aegean. The land link to Constantinople was an essential key to this plan. The ethnic cleansing of Macedonia was an evil part of Greece’s history and one that many nobler Greeks have deplored…such as Nikos Kazantsakis. Fascism still flourishes in Greek…the last country in Europe where it does. Shame.

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  • November 16, 2015 at 9:59 pm
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    For newly stamped “Greeks” and their sympathisers such as the European Poltical History “graduate” Greg Chase, I recommend you look up Macedonian Lexicon 16th Century. In so doing you will find documentation proving that todays standard Macedonian language is unchanged in 500 years, with the source material coming from Kostur, Aegean Macedonia in today’s Greece. As for the confusion that reigns in the minds of modern Greeks, one need go no further than former foreign minister Droutsas, whose statement, “We are born Greeks but die Macedonians” (?!) need not be commented any further, or another recent Greek foreign minister, Venizelos, whose real name is Turkoglou, or “son of a Turk”, which the aspiring politician had to change for obvious reasons. Finally, why no discussion is possible with today’s newly stamped Greeks is exemplified by the comments above, where the standard “argument” is ad hominem attacks, racial and ethnic slurs such as “slav”, “fyrom” etc. etc. Macedoninas have a saying, “Do not dig the grave of your neighbour as you may fall in yourself.” Today, the Greek state – propped up throughout its entire existence by its European parents, is reaping their just rewards for more than a century of genocide toward Macedonia’s indiginous ethnic Macedonian population.

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  • November 17, 2015 at 10:53 pm
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    Macedon is Greek Kingdom. Macedonians are Hellenic on this basis. Macedonians have always been a Greek-speaking Hellenic-peoples…a regional historical people-group of ethnic-Greek stock.

    When Slavic-speaking ex-Yugoslavians from FYRoM tell the world they are Macedonian(s) – should the West indulge them?

    Those who indulge FYRoM, by calling the place Macedonia…by calling ex-Yugoslavians Macedonians, simply prolong the longevity of a name dispute that is in middle-years of it’s third decade still unresolved.

    Conclusion: Stop indulging them?

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  • November 18, 2015 at 1:40 am
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    There is nothing in your so-called comment except mindless blathering which is to be expected from people who do not have any analytical or conceptual capacity to form an arguement of any siginificance as far as historical and scientific facts are concerned. Perhaps you can call your dad in – I ask, because you appear to be barely literate – and we can have a real discussion, though I’m not holding my breath.

    Quotes courtesy of “Macedonian Lexicon 16th Century” Professor Giro Gianelli University of Rome, and Professor Andre Vaillant, College of France, l’Ecole des Hautes Etudes

    “There can be no doubt that the dialect, and indeed the location ( Bogatsko, Kostursko ) belongs to Macedonia and not Bulgaria.”

    “Institutions such as the Ohrid Archbishopric and even more significantly, the hundreds of churches in Macedonia played a pivotal role in ensuring the local culture, language and identity of the people would survive throughout the centuries.” Circa late 14th Century.

    “Despite the absence of written works relating to statehood, material of a religious and educational character continued to flourish, and Church Slavonic, an essentially Macedonian tongue that was initially developed for such purposes in the 9th Century, remained the literary language of the Macedonian people. However, the vernacular tongue of the Macedonians had co-existed with Church Slavonic and matured over the years, demonstrating a remarkable resilience and stability, which earned its inroduction as the language of church services in Macedonia. The Macedonians were faced with foreign interference in both their lands and institutions, but their language had been largely solidified, evidenced in the fact that spoken Macedonian from the 16th Century has far greater affinity to spoken Macedonian dialects of today than it does to Church Slavonic. For well over half a millenium, the Macedonian language has basically remained the same.”

    “Unfortunately, only a small portion of the larger amount of Macedonian literature from the Middle Ages has survived, much of it being looted and destroyed by Greek speaking officials, clerics and teachers. Nevertheless, Macedonian as a language reached its current form centuries before the creation of the Balkan states in the 19th and 20th centuries.”

    End quotes. The Macedonian language according to this document – which fulfills so-called European Political History student Greg Chase’s criteria as an independent source, I might add – confirms that the Macedonian language 500 years ago was already in an established and cohesive state – virtually immune to Turkisms unlike the so-called Greek – which indicates its ancient roots.

    Indeed, this is proven by the following link: http:/theculturetrip.com/asia/india/articles/the-10-oldest-languages-still-spoken-in-the-world-today/ where Macedonian takes its place among Hebrew, Farsi, Basque and others, as one of the ten oldest languages still spoken in the world today! I don’t see any mention of “Greek” btw.

    I am glad you “commented”, as you have proven that not only do you not have any arguments that are not politically doctored – you would have posted them otherwise – but you are so used to bulldozing Macedonians into submission due to political support from the US/EU you have become complacent and fat, resorting to ad hominem attacks which speak of your character, or lack thereof I should say. I remind you, a real and true debate must be based first of all, on mutual respect – a basic ethical criteria which very few “Greeks” are able to fulfill, yet alone consider any further arguments.

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  • November 18, 2015 at 2:03 am
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    Further, I would like to inform you that in the period of time you are referring to, there were no “Greek” people, only city states who spoke a common language. Much later, during the 20th C. circa 1970’s the Karthaverousa project attempted to approximate the Koine language of the ancient city states as the official language of the modern “Greek” state, in an effort to purge the contemporary “Greek” language of Turkish words.

    Finally, your assertion that Macedonian is some sort of “Greek” dialect/langfuage I have soundly destroyed, see my previous post. It is in fact, the basis of all Slavic languages, which is supported by linguists like Mario Alinei, who point out that all Slavic languages have their origin in the Macedonian peninsula, not somewhere behind the Caucasus etc.

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    • November 20, 2015 at 4:57 am
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      Read Herodotus file. Herodotus demolishes Skopian propaganda. Herodotus affirms the Greekness of ancient Macedonia and the ancient Macedonians. Read Arrian file. Ditto Arrian. Read Plutarch file. Ditto Plutarch. Read Diodorus file. Ditto Diodorus. Read Curtius file. Ditto Curtius. Read Josephus file. Ditto Josephus. Read Polybius file. Ditto Polybius. Read Isocrates file. Ditto Isocrates. Etc., etc. etc. The rest you can shove where the sun don’t shine, file.

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  • November 19, 2015 at 10:07 pm
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    The western worlds cultural-historical narrative cannot be held hostage to revisionism and pseudo-history. FYRoM has no right to besmirch Greek history. FYRoM has no right to Rubbish Greeks. FYRoM has no right to use the Macedonian name for country-name…sovereign state-name, nationality, language and ethnicity on that basis.

    Lest we forget – Macedonians have always been a Greek-speaking Hellenic-peoples. As long as these people(s) exist…no other peoples can use their name for country-name, sovereign state-name, nationality, language or ethnicity.

    There is only one Macedonia story. History cannot support two versions of the Macedonia story…one Slavic and pseudo, and the other one Hellenic and mainstream.

    Lest we forget – Macedon belongs in Hellenic world. The Macedonian name belongs in Greek domain. Macedonian-Identity belongs to Greek heritage. Those who see FYRoM like Macedonia or ex-Yugoslavs like Macedonians, see them that way through anti-Hellenic eyes, through prism of anti-Hellenism.

    Lest we forget – FYRoM is not Macedon, it is Paeonia and then Dardania north from Skopje. FYRoM language is not Macedonian, it is Serbo-Bulgarian, similar to Serbo-Croatian. FYRoM people(s) are not Macedonian, they are South-Slavs, similar to Slovenes, Croatians, Montenegrins, Serbians, Bosnians and Bulgarians. Macedonians never spoke the FYRoM language. Macedonians never lived in FYRoM.

    Conclusion: FYRoM is not Macedon and the peoples there are Slavic. Greeks strive to protect their national history in order to preserve historical cohesion. For Greeks it is important because of FYRoM. Lets not forget, FYRoM initiated many attempts to erode the western worlds cultural historical narrative.

    Western civilization is worth defending, worth protecting…Why ? Because the alternatives don’t bear thinking about ?

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  • November 20, 2015 at 12:22 pm
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    I have posted excerpts from linguists who have presented scientific and historical data which proves the presence of the Macedonian language in the geographic/ethnic region of Macedonia, the home of the autochtonous ethnic Macedonian people for millenia, well before any newly minted political construct known as “Greeks” ever set foot in the place! To this you reply with assertions of a subjective and political nature which you’ve no doubt parroted a million times before.

    This state of affairs has evolved from the early days of the modern Greek state when the various ethnic groups had to be strongly disciplined in order for the imposed construct “Greek” to take hold. In contrast, Macedonians – to your great chagrin, are an ethnic group with their distinct identity throughout the ages, whose territory in large measure you later commandeered for yourselves – as spoken of by Koerner above.

    As you have disputed the Macedonian right to their name, the responsibility to prove that Macedonia does not belong to the Macedonians therefore lies with you. This means you are in the position of having to prove a negative, an impossible task for the keenest of minds, let alone average “Greeks” like yourself, who, as evidenced by your posts – have no idea what they’re talking about!

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  • November 20, 2015 at 9:24 pm
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    Continuity always follows the path of least resistance. Modern Macedonians connect to previous generations of Greeks, in backwards compatible fashion…in step, and in perfect synchronicity with the mainstream historical record…consistent with and compatible to the western world’s cultural-historical narrative. And when other peoples (Hindus, Jews, Persians, Egyptians, Celts, Phoenicians) histories confirm validate and corroborate the same version of history – FYRoM stands out like a saw thumb and has no chance convincing the world they relate to Macedon and Macedonians in any meaningful way.

    Macedonians stand proud at forefront of long chain of Greek speakers. Macedonians look back at themselves and awe at their Greek-Hellenic inheritance. Proud to have kept that Greek language and that Hellenic culture for >3 Millenniums. Macedonians deserve respect for keeping continuity.

    Macedonians are the Greeks that retained the Greek language and Hellenic culture…Macedonians are the Greeks who pride themselves on that campaign their Paleo-Haemus ancestors initiated to free the Greek City-States from Persian subjugation.

    Macedonians are the Greeks who continue to practice their self-determination right in the tradition of their Haemus-Hellenic ancestors.

    Show Respect!

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  • November 20, 2015 at 10:42 pm
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    Greeks such as yourself may be likened to a mental patient in an institution left to roam about with this continuous stream of psycho-babble running about in your hermetically sealed heads. Your American and European overlords have – for their own reasons – given you a lot of rope, with which you’ve tied yourself up into knot after knot after knot.

    The analogy of the mental patient is most apt and the logical outcome of a population of 10 million who have managed to rack up a debt of 350 billion EUROs, indicative of the fact that you have been indulged beyond belief without any sense of responsibility or account whatsoever.

    I have posted my views for any who may have been following the discussion, and have endured your idiocy for that reason alone. This is not a personal slight, its simply an inescapable conclusion as far as your viewpoints go, which are simply opinions and have their basis in selective and doctored so called sources that are served up to Greeks in order to keep them pacified and content that they are the legitimate heirs to an imagined super race.

    The sad thing is of course, that in your rush to identify with imagined past glory, your insecurity is painfully obvious. What would you be if not a “Greek”, Nick the Greek?? You can’t be simply an individual, a human being and accept others for what they are, beyond the cast of so-called nationality or ethnic group. As such you are to be pitied, which does not excuse you from having to accept responsibility for your actions.

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  • November 21, 2015 at 4:56 am
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    Dimitar a Bulgarian name if I ever heard one.
    Hey Nick the Greek, this Vulgaro (pretend Macedonian) can string a few words together. He could be one of the few FYROMIANS that completed high school. Nick this question is for you, why are so many Slavs ashamed of their Slavic heritage, and why do so many try to hijack other achievements? Interesting isn’t it. Bulgarian names, Bulgarian pseudo language and still, they actually believe the lies that have been fed to them. Alexandrovksi the great Slav, hilarious

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  • November 21, 2015 at 9:52 am
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    FYRoM cannot base it’s continuity existence on the resurrected latin-Roman name ‘Macedonia Secunda Salutaris’ – an administrative (military) district conjoining Paeonia and Dardania together and adjuncting them to the Greek Kingdom of Macedon.

    Macedonia-Secunda means Second-Macedonia…an add-on. Salutaris, or Beneficial-Macedonia means the same.

    Macedonia-Prima means First-Macedonia the original Greek-Kingdom. The latin-Romans kept Macedonia-Prima Greek and distinct, in honour of Alexander the Great…Roman admiration for all things Greek is well documented.

    So FYRoM cannot base it’s (ethno-origin) country-name…sovereign state-name, nationality, language, and ethnicity on a revived latin-Roman name, resurrected by a Croat (Marshal Jozip Bros Tito) 1945, and claim history and heritage from a regional-historical people-group their Slavic forebears did not meet or interact with.

    Lest we forget – FYRoM in the Slavic world, before 1945, was known as Vardar-Banovina, a province of South-Serbia, the southernmost region of old-Yugoslavia.

    Lest we forget – FYRoM’s Slavic forebears settled the Greco-Roman world top-end 6th Century AD. Slavs did not come in to the region as ‘Macedonians’ – No Slavic tribe used this name for ethnicity or tribal-identity.

    At best, FYRoM can claim relatedness to Greco-Roman Byzantines – Medieval (Romioi) Greeks, who
    Slavicized [[ by force ][ by free-will ]] over time, and still retain a diluted form of collective awareness linking them to Byzantium and the Greco-Roman world.

    FYRoM has a place, a history, and a heritage in the Haemus…together with the neighbour’s, FYRoM could find it’s proper place, it’s real history, and it’s native-Haemus heritage in a region of the world steeped in Greek history.

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  • November 21, 2015 at 10:45 am
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    We are self loathing? haha It’s you the Slav wannabe Macedonian who is self loathing. You have no response to facts. I see you cant refute any facts put forward by the impartial Greg Chase | October 7, 2015 at 9:35 am | Reply, who is neither Greek or pretend Monkeydonian. History will judge FYROM as a joke, as a poor attempt by a bunch or sad deluded Slavs to fabricate a fake history. Best that you take uo some Albanian language classes Vulgaro, greater Albania is coming, in one more generation they will outnumber you Slavs, and you know what that means.

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  • November 21, 2015 at 11:33 am
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    drone (n): A drone is someone who follows an ideology or some other from of idealisation blindly and uncritically.

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  • November 21, 2015 at 2:26 pm
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    Drone says the Vulgaro who so desperately wants to be a Macedonian!!!
    You can’t convince anyone that your pretend state is Macedonian or that you are in any way a Macedonian. What’s your surname ? , does it end in the suffix ski or ov, ev? like the Vulgaro that you are. Why have the UN abd EU insisted on FYROM if the Greeks (true Macedonians) are so wrong? Your points aren’t worthy of a response, because they are FYROMIAN diatribe, like your very existence, A LIE. Albanian minority soon to be majority in FYROM, how do you feel about reality, pretender.

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  • November 21, 2015 at 3:01 pm
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    You’re the drone and you need to convince anybody that you are in anyway linked to Macedonian or Macedonians. If we the true Macedonians (Greeks) had a bit more sense, we shouldn’t even attempt to discuss anything with such a brainwashed bunch of Bulgarian Slavs. I look forward to the day when pretend Macedonia becomes part of a greater Albania.

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  • November 21, 2015 at 6:32 pm
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    When groups or individuals subconscious identity differs from the quintessential paternal-identity of their blood-kin forebears…something is wrong. This condition is actually known about in the medical profession, it is called dissociative identity disorder.

    Explanation:

    If I think of myself, see myself like Macedonian, descendant of ancient Macedonians…but others around me see me like South-Slav, descendant of Slavic-tribes that settled the Greco-Roman world top-end of 6th Century AD – these are the classic symptoms I am talking about!

    Question: What best describes this individual – is it the way he sees himself, or is it the way by which others see him ?

    Refined Examples:

    1- If I see myself like Macedonian living in Macedonia speaking Macedonian…but others around me see me like Bulgarian, living in Paeonia speaking west dialect of Bulgarian – In who’s reality am I living?

    2- When those around me, and those around them, see me like South-Slav…but I myself, see my inner (subconscious) self, like Macedonian – in who’s reality should I adjust!

    Rules governing people-dynamics dictate that identity (endowment received) is passed-on, from one generation to the next one. Names can be adopted but not identity – identity is inherited.

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  • November 21, 2015 at 9:01 pm
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    You forgot to add that when the rest of us were still swinging about in trees, you guys were inventing democracy,lol!

    Nick the drone, you are one seriously confused dude!

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  • November 22, 2015 at 12:26 am
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    Well, well, well first a pretend Monkeydonian attempts to provide a history lesson, now a lesson in vocab. Here are few synonyms for you.
    Fake ( not genuine; imitation or counterfeit) (of a person) claiming to be something that one is not.
    I’m sure you’ve come across these descriptions before. How unfortunate it must be going through life with a fake identity.Is being a Slav/Bulgarian that bad? Are you pathetic enough to go to such an extent to attempt, to steal Hellenic history, and I do emphasize the word attempt, because FYROMIAN lies are now unravelling. Tell me about the Albanians and their demands for independence, it’s not that far away. I’ve noticed that’s one all pretend Monkeydonians don’t like answering.

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  • November 22, 2015 at 1:47 am
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    Mmm, cat seems to be among the pigeons with our greek friends, they sure are coming out in force. Conn, we do not “want to be Macedonians, we ARE MACEDONIANS, always have been and always will be, unlike wanna-bes like yourselves, who by all accounts as far as your “posts” go are clueless brain dead zombies. Good luck with that!!

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    • November 25, 2015 at 10:08 am
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      Dimitar filarako, I have recently come across an electronic version of a book titled ‘Macedonia in Ancient Times’. This book is attributed to Antonije Skokljev-Donco, Slave Nikolovski-Katin and the world famous Risto Stefov. The book cites, quotes and mentions Herodotus more that seventy times. I repeat, more than seventy times. It must be considered then that Herodotus is a seriously significant source on ancient Macedonia and the ancient Macedonians by you vulgar Bulgars. Point is filarako, that Herodotus manifestly supports the Greek perspective on ancient Macedonia and the ancient Macedonians ….. and p….s all over you. Lol, filarako.

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  • November 22, 2015 at 2:30 am
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    As always, after posting quotes from Linguistic Professors re: the auhtochtonous Macedonian language in today’s Greek occupied Aegean Macedonia, NOT ONE NEWLY IMAGINED GREEK OFFERED ANY RESPONSE TO DISPROVE the quoted sources!!! Oh, someone mentioned European History “Graduate” Greg Chase, as an “independent” source, however, Mr. Chase’s article starts with ingratiating himself to the Greeks, and condescension to the Macedonians so I’m certainly not going to waste my time in responding to his “points”.

    What follows of course as far as our “Greek” friends go, is a complete and utter descent into “Greek delirium” where they fall over each other to see who could steep the lowest in offending Macedonians with wonderfully creative epithets such as “vulgaros”, “monkeydonians” etc. etc.
    This is the intellectual peak of the modern day heirs of the super race “Greeks”? Who invented democracy in their spare time over sips of ouzo, during breaks in their favorite pastime of razing their neighboring city-states to the ground at every opportunity back when?

    This is what Greeks who live in their own bubble believe, but as we have seen, as soon as a mildly temperate wind starts to blow, they begin to slather at the mouth, and show serious signs of losing it! What’s next, guys??

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  • November 22, 2015 at 4:02 am
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    Oh Vulgaro I knew u had no comeback to a factual argument. I suppose all those Universities are also ingratiating themselves to the Greeks, all those archaeologists, historians are on the Greek payroll. You are living proof that even with some sort of education, unlike your fellow toilet cleaner (pretend FYROMIANS) a person can be living in a deluded fantasy world. Yes you are a Vulgaro and a fake, and that’s all you’ll ever, be if only for 20 or so years, before the Albanian take over.You are the only losers in history that are trying so hard to pass yourselves of as the people who kicked your Vulagro arses out of Macedonia, now you can’t get any more desperate than that. Have you looked into those Albanian language lessons yet?

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  • November 22, 2015 at 11:33 am
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    Nobody of worth in the West, from politics, diplomacy, or academia, sees FYRoM like ‘Macedon’ or ex-Yugoslavians like Macedonians. They see FYRoM for what it really is…a newly established Balkan statelet with all the familiar severance(s), political and historical intrigue(s) associated with a volatile unstable region.

    FYRoM’s attempts at Nation building…bringing together a (mosaic) population-dynamic comprising several ethnic-groupings divided by (i) ethnicity, (ii) language, (iii) religion, (iv) histories, (v) heritages, and (vi) loyalties, – cannot succeed easily when nothing ‘common’ exists between them. Pseudo-historical intimidation cannot be the basis on which to build the foundations of state.

    So, ‘Macedonia’ cannot be the name on which Slavs, Albanians, Vlachs, Turks, Roma etc, stake their primordial historical ethno-generic origin(s). There is nothing common between these disparate people-groups.

    The ‘Central Balkan Republic’ might be a suitable name on which to build a Nation comprising the above mosaic. Bringing back, resurrecting the latin-Roman name, ‘Macedonia-Secunda’ might also do the job.

    Seriously, the first building-block in Nation-building is commonality. The search for commonalities can be found during the Ottoman era, or further back still, to Imperial Byzantium, when FYRoM was at the frontier(s) of the Greek-speaking world, the Eastern-Roman Empire. Common themes and synergies can be found to bound the peoples of FYRoM to one common history, and to one common heritage. Failing that…

    …The West gave FYRoM ample opportunity to integrate, to enter the Western-worlds most prestigious economic and security structures of the EU, and NATO. The name issue is holding FYRoM back from fulfilling stated ambition(s) and aspiration(s) to join the Euro-Atlantic economic and security area.

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  • November 22, 2015 at 11:09 pm
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    The well-known recipe for making Makedonski villages Bulgarian, was to add -ov or -ev (pronounced -off,-yeff) on to the names of all the male inhabitants – to make them Serbian, it was only necessary to add further syllable -ich,-ov whilst -ovich, was the equivalent respectively, in Bulgarian and Serbian, the termination -son. Example: Ivanov in Bulgarian, and Jovanovitch in Serbian…equate to Johnson in the English language.

    Names, and surnames in particular, tell us a lot about a person. Surnames are usually derived from the name of the family progenitor…in FYRoM’s case, these were usually names which ended in “OV” if Bulgarian or “IC” if Serbian. For example: Stojanov, Jovanov, Todorov, Stefanov, equates to the son of a Stojan, Jovan, Todor, Stefan, respectively.

    From since 1944 – 1945, the Communist party of Yugoslavia essentially forced the predominantly Bulgarian peoples of the newly created Socialist Republic of Macedonia, to add “SKI” (masculine) or “SKA” (feminine) at the end of their surnames in order to weaken their sense of Bulgarian-Identity. For example: Stojanovski, Jovanovski, Todorovski, Stefanovski, equate to the son of a Stojan, Jovan, Todor, Stefan, respectively.

    The Slavic ending “SKI” is usually found mainly in Polish surnames, but in Poland it doesn’t denote paternal lineage, rather, it denotes place name, place of origin, Town or Village. For example: If you came across the name of Stefanowski or Stefanski in Poland, it would be derived from the name of a Village or Town of Stefanowo or Stefanow…which in turn must have been derived from the name Stefan. Polish Surnames derived from the progenitors name usually end in the “CZYK” or “CZAK” suffix. For example: a Polish surname derived from the name of Stefan would be Stefanczyk or Stefanczak.

    FYRoM’s ex-Yugoslavs with last (surnames) names ending with “SKI” or “SKA” Georgevska or Georgevski, had these endings introduced only after 1945. Before 1945, all of their surnames had the Bulgarian suffix “OV” or the Serbian suffix “IC” denoting progenitor paternal lineage. There are instances where last names can end in “OVSKI” combining both the Bulgarian and the Polish suffix endings

    You know when you are Slav…when your name ends in:

    1- ski
    2- ska
    3- ov
    4- ev
    5- off
    6- eff
    7- ic

    Names are important because they provide a link to our past and tell us who we are and where we came from. Names are more important to the creator(s) and originator(s) of the names in the first place. Hence, the Greek-Hellenic credentials of the Macedonian Name must be respected.

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    • November 23, 2015 at 6:14 pm
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      Nick the Greek,are you kidding,where the hell you got the idea that the Macedonians are Bulgarians?First of all,you don’t even know your own roots let alone the Macedonian.The Macedonian names are continuation of our great,great grandparents.I can go back to 1770 one of my grandfather I carry his name.What the Bulgarians,Serbs and you the so called “Greeks “,have forcibly changed our family names by force.Greece changed our toponims,names,took over our Slavic churches and turned them to “Greek”.You are a joke who has no idea what you write.We don’t need an Albanian or a Turk who pretends to have any continuity from the City States in Ancient times.First,the Athenians ,Spartans Thebans came from Egypt and Ethiopia,the Bulgars are Tatars.The name Macedonian is the oldest preserved name of a country in Europe.Philip II fought the City States Chaeronia and put the yoke on them.Now you are fabricating history and claiming Philip was a “Greek”?First of all,there was no country called Greece before 1829.Otto who wrote the fictional Greek history was only to elevate himself as presiding over an Ancient people,it was not because you are a descendant from that time,and if you do think that,than you are dreaming.

      I must remind you what one of the founding fathers of the USA John Adams how he described the Greeks as people “corrupted in their morals to such a degree,as to be faithless,perfidious race,destitute of courage…”.

      Look at you today where is Greece.I don’t need to go any further,because if I do,I will embarass you much more.

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      • November 24, 2015 at 10:55 pm
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        Student of truth | November 24, 2015 at 11:43 am | Reply
        Peter the Fake Macedonian ( not genuine; imitation or counterfeit) (of a person) claiming to be something that one is not. You are Slav that;s the Macedonian name for Slave, but you won’t recognise any Macedonian because there is no such language. Alexander the Great spoke Greek and was around some 1000 years before you Vugari entered Europe. What a sad little life you desperate Slavs lead. Enjoy it while you can, the Albanians that you’re quick to criticize, have a history of their own, and soon they’ll have half of FYROM. We’ll meet again my dear Vulgaro, and rememeber when FYROM returns to nothing it really is, Bitola will be (Monastir) again, and maybe even Skopje another real Macedonian city, not Bulgarian.

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  • November 23, 2015 at 8:37 pm
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    Continuity always follows the path of least resistance. Today’s Greeks are the closest living modern humans to the ancient Greeks on that basis.

    Demographically, the record shows that Greek-speaking Hellenic-peoples exist in the same place for millennia. Greeks, like the Armenians, Hebrews, Persians, Hindus, Chinese and Japanese can be cited as good examples of population-groups that pass-on, onward-transmit, ethnic continuity…since, despite massive cultural changes over the centuries, they retained and passed-on certain key identifying factors such as their (i) place-name(s) and tribal-name(s) (ii) their language, (iii) their customs, (iv) their religious community and territorial association.

    All of these (identity) characteristics have been broadly maintained and reproduced for millennia. Hence, continuity, ethnic cultural and linguistic – endowments received from the ancestors, are still discernible in all of those people-groups cited above. Their histories and heritages cannot be rubbished or besmirched by modern-people groups claiming portions of their historical legacies. FYRoM is the case in point where a recently established
    minor-Slavic country rubbishes Greek heritage by staking claim and making claims to the ancient-Greek Kingdom of Macedon.

    FYRoM claims King Philip and his son, Alexander the Great for ancestors. Slavic-speaking peoples there claim descent from ancient Macedonians. FYRoM vies and competes with Greece over historical matters long settled by academia and refuses to accept that Greece is the sole legal heir inheritor of the Macedonian legacy. Greeks should not have to defend and protect the Western-Worlds Cultural Historical Narrative alone…our Western-partners and
    European-cousins should preserve historical-cohesion too!

    Lest we forget – Alexander the Great never met Slavs, never lived in FYRoM, never spoke the FYRoM-language. Do the Math ?

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  • November 24, 2015 at 11:43 am
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    Peter the Fake Macedonian ( not genuine; imitation or counterfeit) (of a person) claiming to be something that one is not. You are Slav that;s the Macedonian name for Slave, but you won’t recognise any Macedonian because there is no such language. Alexander the Great spoke Greek and was around some 1000 before you Vugari entered Europe. What a sad little life you desperate Slavs lead. Enjoy it while you can, the Albanians that you’re quick to criticize, have a history of their own, and soon they’ll have half of FYROM. We’ll meet again my dear Vulgaro, and reemeber when FYROM returns to nothing it really is, Bitola will be (Monastir) again, and maybe even Skopje another real Macedonian city, not Bulgarian.

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  • November 28, 2015 at 5:54 pm
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    Greeks have always lived in Macedon, the ancient Greek Kingdom. When Genes Language and Peoples exist in same place for millennia…it means something. Fact: Greeks live in Macedon for more than three Millenniums.

    Greeks were there during the days of the original Kingdom – Fact.
    Greeks were there during the Roman conquests which culminated in latin-Roman rule – Fact.
    Greeks were there during Greco-Roman rule, in the Byzantine Theme – Fact.
    Greeks were there during Slavic invasions, incursions and attacks – Fact.
    Greeks were there during Turkish domination of Haemus peninsula – Fact.
    Greeks were there during the Balkan Wars 1912-1913 – Fact.

    Lest we forget – Greeks fought the Ottoman Empire and won. Greeks regained the ancient region of Macedon from the Ottoman-Turk. Greeks hold on to Macedon ever since. So it makes no sense for FYRoM, a recently established minor-Slavic country, to rewrite the demographic history of Macedon in ways that erase Hellenic identity of the ancient-Greek Kingdom.

    No credible person of worth in the West, from politics, diplomacy or academia, sees FYRoM like Macedon, or ex-Yugoslavians like Macedonians. It makes absolutely no sense for a modern Slavic country to covet the name of ancient-Greek Kingdom.

    Lest we forget – During the time of the Kingdom, Macedonians never met Slavs, never spoke Slavic, never lived in FYRoM. It makes no sense to want to alter these now established academic reference points.

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  • November 28, 2015 at 11:54 pm
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    The rules governing people-dynamics dictate that place-names and people-names become important identity factors, more important to the people(s) who created them and originated them in the first place.

    The name ‘Macedon’ was created by Greek-speakers using archaic Hellenic language. Hence, Greeks do not need copyright to prove proof of ownership over the Macedonian name…the Byzantine Greco-Romans did that, proved beyond doubt, the Macedonian names Greek-Hellenic credentials. Theme- Macedonia tells all. Names go wherever the creator(s) originator(s) take them – proof is the Macedonian-Theme, a safe and secure military district the Greco-Romans moved and shifted to a completely different location in Thrace, proving the (rule) point, that names go wherever the creator(s) originator(s) take them.

    Nobody disputes the origin of names transplanted from the Old-World to the New-World. Place-names and People-names in the Americas can be traced back to their origin…back to where they were created.

    Lastly, names can be adopted but identity is (endowment received) inherited…passed-on, from one ethnic-racial cultural-linguistic generation to the next one.

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  • November 29, 2015 at 6:48 pm
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    Macedon is Greek Kingdom. Macedonians are Hellenic on this basis. Macedonians self-declared Greek from since the days of King Karanus, 808-778 BC. Macedonians never met Slavs, never spoke Slavic, and never lived in FYRoM! FYRoM was Paeonia in antiquity, a paleo-Haemus kingdom situated north from Kingdom of Macedon. This is the history we learn from accredited professional, classicist-historian scholars.

    FYRoM is Slavic country, with Slavic heritage and Slavic identity, of that, there is no doubt…and like all the other South-Slavic countries in the Haemus peninsula, they are an amalgam of different (native) Greco-Roman and pre-Slavic ethnicities that inhabited the Lower Danube Eastern Roman Empire, prior to the Slavic settlements of 6th Century AD. Pre-Slavic era means early medieval period, 5th to 1Oth Century AD. There were no ancient-Macedonians around at this time, just Greco-Romans, loyal Christian- Orthodox subjects that affiliated to the Patriarchate of Constantinople and to Byzantium. Slavs never met ancient-Macedonians and ancient-Macedonians never met Slavs, the two events were mutually exclusive, seperated first by geography, and second by a time continuum spanning almost one millennium from since the death of Alexander the Great.

    History records the Slavic-tribes as having entered the Greco-Roman world sometime around top-end of 6th Century AD. In addition to the Greco-Romans, Slavs encountered numerous other native Haemus
    peoples that lived with or close to Greeks, such as the Celts and latin-Romans. For reasons best known
    only in the fields of people-dynamics, Slavs became the dominant ethnos in the region and assimilated peoples within their cultural-linguist boundaries over time. Slavs are a proud peoples, they do not consider those pre-Slavic peoples they assimilated to be their ancestors. They do not use their place-names, identities, histories, heritages, or legacy – Why is FYRoM different? Why does FYRoM use the name of ancient-Greek Kingdom for country-name…sovereign state-name, nationality, language and ethnicity?

    If the West legitimized FYRoM’s wish, and recognized this recently established minor-Slavic country ‘like Republic of Macedonia,’ that action would make the peoples there Macedonians…in nationality, in the ethnic-racial sense, and in the cultural-linguistic sense. This is unacceptable…Why? Because it would erase in an instant, at a stroke, >3 Millenniums worth of Greek history in the Haemus [Greek] peninsula. FYRoM Slavs would have taken from Hellenism, cultural and historical things with do not belong to Slavdom.

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  • November 29, 2015 at 9:07 pm
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    Greeks have been using the Macedonian name for (regional) self-Identity from since it’s creation. The Macedonian name has been in constant use in the Hellenic world from since it’s inception. Macedonians are self-determined Greeks for >3 Millennia. There has never been a day, week, month, year, decade, century, millennium, where the Greeks did not take that name with them wherever they went.

    Question: Are the Slavic-speaking peoples of FYRoM that anti-Hellenic, they want to contest the Macedonian names Greek-Hellenic credentials? Macedonians have always been Greek a regional-historical people-group of ethnic-Greek stock.

    Two different, ethnically-distinct people-groups, one of them Northern-Hellenic, the other one Southern-Slavic, cannot espouse blood-ties or kinship-bonds towards the same group of ancestors!

    1- According to Geography – Macedon, the ancient-Kingdom is in Northern-Greece.
    2- According to Archaeology – Macedonian material-culture is Hellenic.
    3- According to Linguistics – Macedonians spoke an archaic Hellenic-language.
    4- According to Philology – Historical textual interpretations go by Consensus.

    Geography cannot be relocated, Archaeology cannot be doctored, History cannot be altered, and the study of Philology…interpretation(s) of historical texts go by consensus. The Academic scholarly community support Greece over FYRoM in the latters attempt to usurp the Macedonian name for country-name, sovereign state-name, nationality, language and ethnicity!

    Two different, ethnically-distinct people-groups…one Northern-Hellenic, the other one Southern-Slavic, cannot use the same name for self-Identity – one of them is being insincere and disingenuous in their claim.

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  • February 21, 2016 at 6:33 pm
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    To all Greeks and pseudo-Macedonians (Slavs)
    The name issue will be resolved very shortly ( within 10 yrs if not sooner )
    Turkey will be the cause and at the end according to God’s word
    Greece will get all of its Territories back especially Constantinople that they had before the Ottoman
    which includes part of today’s F yrom if the Slavs dont believe this
    ask your religious people to explain it to u
    it is written and it will happen
    Keep ur eyes on Turkey – Greece and Russia

    Reply
  • March 24, 2017 at 8:25 pm
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    I think Professor Miller’s letter to Archaeology Magazine sums up the facts very well, making it seem clear the ancient Macedonians were Greeks, whereas the area of the modern so-called Republic of Macedonia is in the area of ancient Paionia–not even part of Macedonia at all but incorporated into the empire by Philip II in 359 BCE. The legitimacy of people in the area of Paionia claiming they’re Macedonians seems a non-issue. They have as much right to do so as any society that’s been influenced to any extent by Hellenism, or as much right as people have to call themselves whatever they please. It doesn’t make their claims true, of course.

    Reply

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