GreekNewsBlog: johnmetaxas.com

ARCHIVES

Vol. 1, #1

November 24, 2004

Commentary:

Alexander's Legacy: U.S. Snubs Greece

John Metaxas reports on Alexander's Legacy

Related link: BBC reports: "US snubs Greece over Macedonia"

By John Metaxas

GEORGE BUSH'S DECISION to recognize the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) as "Macedonia" is seen as an affront by many Greek-Americans because of the blatant political nature of the act, coming as it did on the day after his reelection as president, when he no longer needed any Greek-American votes.

The U.S. styled the move as a reward for Macedonia's commitment to democracy, but more likely, the recognition was a reward for FYROM's contribution of a token military force towards the so-called "coalition of the willing" taking part in the occupation of Iraq. In making the decision, Mr. Bush turned his back not only on a European ally -- Greece, but also on the Greek-American community in the U.S.

Historically, Macedonia has been a part of Greek cultural history dating back to the time of Alexander the Great, the Greek Macedonian king. The Macedonians took part in the ancient Olympic games, which were reserved for Greeks, and Alexander was a student of the Greek philosopher Aristotle. Alexander conquered the known world at that time and spread Greek culture all the way to what is now Afghanistan. Slavs arrived in the region centuries later and settled in some of the territories comprising ancient Macedonia.

Greeks see the renaming in 1944 of the southernmost Yugoslav republic -- by the Communist dictator Tito -- with the same name as the historical Greek province of Macedonia just to its south, as a hostile act. Tito's goal was to incorporate all of historically Greek Macedonia, including the Greek port of Thessaloniki, into his new Socialist Republic of Macedonia.

With the defeat of the communist guerillas at the end of the Greek Civil War, Tito's vision was never realized. But when the so-called Republic of Macedonia declared its independence from the rest of Yugoslavia in 1991, it began issuing maps incorporating all of Greek Macedonia within its borders and currency portraying the landmark White Tower of Thessaloniki in Greece.

Greece objected to the usurpation of its historical identity and convinced the international community, including the United Nations and the European Union, to recognize the new nation under the designation Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia or FYROM -- a name most citizens of this new nation find objectionable.

Though Greece has good relations with FYROM -- Greece is its leading trade partner -- the name issue has remained a sticking point. Talks have been ongoing between the two countries for more than a decade to find an acceptable compromise, but none has been reached. Now the U.S. has stepped outside of this internationally-accepted framework to grant unilateral recognition to the "Republic of Macedonia."

Many Greek-Americans supported Mr. Bush's reelection but might have voted differently had his intentions been known before the election. Obviously, in a close campaign, the president could not afford to alienate any voters, so his administration waited until after the voting to announce this decision.

As a journalist at WCBS I had wanted to cover this story, but thought to myself that the average American listener is just not interested enough in the subject to justify putting it on our airwaves. Coincidentally, however, the U.S. recongnition came just weeks before the release of the Alexander the Great movie, starring Colin Farrell. Americans are very interested in blockbuster movies, and the release of this film, I felt, justified a story.

The main point of my report is that although Alexander conquered the ancient world, modern nations are still competing over his legacy. It's quite a complicated story, that because of our radio format I had to boil down to about 35 seconds. I interviewed Representative Rob Andrews, (D-NJ), who has studied the subject and was able to make his points in a succinct and focused manner. To listen, click on this link.