CHRIS SPIROUEmail: cspirou@hau.qr

Atty. Matthew Nimeb

Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Greece-FYROM talks

Dept. of Political Affairs

United Natbns

405 East 42nd Streel New Yorlg NY 10012 USA

Athens, January 25,20L8

Dear Matthew,

Because we know each other for so many !e?rs; I felt the need tocommunicate with you. This time in writing. You know that I have never questionedyour capacity and your commitment to be a fair interlocutor in the difficult search for

a just solution to the Macedonia name issue. I must admit however, that your latestpublic recommendations regarding a possible solution to the "FYROM'controversy

with a name which has Macedonia in it, startled me. Not only were the statedrecommendations inappropriate, for a supposedly neutral facilitator, but they were

also utterly unworkable and represented nothing different from what exists right

now.

To be pefectly frank with you, I was surprised to see that after more than 20

years of direct involvement with the Macedonia name controversy, you have failed to

realize that the pseudo-Macedonian entity, which the United Nations recognized on

April 7,1993 as an independent ndtion, with the name "Former Yugoslav Republic of

Macedonia" (FYROM,) with a constitution full of expansionist provisions and absurd

ethnic claims, can never peacefully exist and prosper. It can never peacefully existwith a population made up by 2o/o Greek Macedonians and 98o/o by a collection ofnomad Balkan area communists, whom Tito baptized as "Macedonians" in L944. And

with its borders touching the historic ancient Greek Province of Macedonia.

I wonder what were the obstacles in the FYROM name controversy the twosides have been negotiating with you for more than 20 years. Were you negotiating

with the two sides the need to, or not to have the word t'former" in the name? wereyou negotiating with the two sides if the word "Yugoslav" should remain in the

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name? Or were you negotiating whether or not the word "Republic" should be in the

name of "FYROM." From what I know, the only purpose the United Nationsappointed a "Special Representative" for the naming dispute between Greece and

"FYROM" is precisely what the title says: "The Name"l And when the "specialRepresentative" with his official public statements proposes names, which are similar

to the one he is negotiating about with both sides, then the "special Representative"

should expect the end result to be unacceptable.

The governments of Greece from 1993 until now have refused to consider the

entrance of FYROM into the European Union and NATO, because the name of thenewly-recognized nation with the name *FYROM" has the word "Macedonia" in it.

I remind you that the European Union as a political entity has never, evervoted to recognize the southernmost paft of the former Yugoslavia, known as former

Yugoslav republic of Macedonia as an independent nation with a name, which had

the word "Macedonia" in it.

In fact, on three different occasions, the Council of Europe voted to refuserecognition of that entity, because the name they applied for recognition had theword "Macedonia" in it.

On January 22, L992, the "Council of Europe" met to consider the application

of the former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia to be recognized as a new independent

nation, with the name t'Republic of Macedonia." The Council of Europe rejected the

application because the name had the word "Macedonia" in it. The official statement

of the council of Europe issued on January 22, t992, was peffectly clear. Theposition of the Council of Europe and later the European Union has never changed.

'lanuary 2J 7992:

The European Council reiterates the position taken by theCommunity and its member States in Guimaraes on the request of theFormer Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to be reognized as anindependent State, It expresses its readiness to recognize that repubticwithin its existing borders according to their Declaration on 76 December1997 under a name which does not include the term Maedonia,"

You should know that in January 1995, I met with the then AssistantSecretary of State for European and Canadian Affairs, Dick Holbrooke, at the

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American Embassy in Athens. At that meeting, I told Secretary Holbrooke, that theexperiment the United Nations had concocted in haste, which recognized the former

Yugoslav republic of Bosnia as an independent nation, with a fundamentalist Muslimgovernment at its helm, and a constitution full of nonsensical provisions, wouldwreak havoc in the Balkans, unless it was promptly and properly addressed andcorrected. And you know well, what happened in the area of the former Yugoslavia

between January and November 1995, which caused the "Dayton peaceConference," to take place. A conference, in which I participated as an officialmember, as the "political advisor" of the then President of Serbia, SlobodanMilosevic.

I also told Secretary Holbrooke that the UN experiment called *FYROM,'which recognized the southernmost part of Yugoslavia as an independent nation with

Macedonia in its name, was fraught with the danger for eternal instability in theregion. Recognizing the former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia as an independentnation with Macedonia in its name, would never, ever work, I told Holbrooke then,and I am telling you the same thing now. It will never workl

The term Slavo-Macedonian is an oxymoron. The term Albanian-Macedonian

is an oxymoron. The term Bulgarian-Macedonian is an oxymoron. The term Serb-

Macedonian is an oxymoron. Anything other than Greek-Macedonian is an oxymoron.

A casual perusal of ancient world history will confirm that claim. A myriad of historic

documents will attest that Macedonians are only Hellenes.

I am ceftain, you know that the sciences of sociology and ethnology define a"nation" as the mergence of related races. The Greek nation throughout its illustrious

history has been made up by the related races of Epirotes (Epirus), Thessalians(Thessaly), Macedonians (Macedonia), Thracians (Thrace), cypriots (cyprus),Pontians (Pontus), Peloponnesians (Peloponnese), cretans (crete), Athenians(Athens) and several others. Thus, if Macedonians are absent from the Greek ethnicmix, the Greek nation will forever be half-empty. And so will be the history of the

world.

The world adopted the Hellenic Athenian democrary. Saint Paul sent letters

to the "Thessalonians" and to the "Philippians" written in Greek. Thessalonians andPhilippians were Greek Macedonians who lived in Greek Macedonia. Saint Paul did

not write his letters in the "Macedonian" language that the pseudo-Macedonians of

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today are claiming to have. The letters that Saint Paul wrote, were addressed toGreek Macedonians and were written in the Greek language. Saint Paul's letters were

written 600 years before the Slavs came to live in the areas of Greek Macedonia.Areas, which the Philippians and the Thessalonians inhabited for thousands of years

before.

If the strange theory that the pseudo-Macedonians of the Balkans have beenpromoting over the last 84 years stands, that when a human race A resides in ageographic area inhabited by a human race B, human race A can transform itself into

human race B, then I and my family who have lived in the State of New Hampshire,USA, for over 100 years, can claim that we have been transformed from Greek

Americans into native American Abenaki Indians. The Abenaki Indian tribe lived for

thousands of years in the area, which the British colonists named New Hampshire

300 years ago. And as a result of that weird transformation, I can claim not to be aGreek-American, but a native American of the Abenaki tribe. And I can change myname and title from "Democratic Leader Spirou", to Indian "Chief Geronimo", of the

Abenaki tribe.

I am also ceftain, you know that the genesis of the current pseudo-Macedonian nation called "FYROM" has its origins in Moscow, Russia. The 7thmeeting of the "Communist International - COMINTERN" was held in Moscow,Russia, from )uly 2l to August 25, 1935. It was at that meeting that theCOMINTERN passed a resolution declaring the plan for the establishment of a"united independent Macedonian nation."

The strategy and the plan for the creation of a "united" independentMacedonian nation was the work of the Bulgarian communist leader, GeorgiDimitrov. A devout communist leader, Dimitrov had obtained Russian citizenship and

was placed by Joseph Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union, as the head of theCOMINTERN.

Dimitrov chaired the 7th Communist International and he issued the"COMINTERN's' declaration regarding the creation of a "united" independentMacedonian nation. The official COMINTERN Declaration states:

*DECLARATION OF THE COMMUNIST INTERNATIONAL FOR THE

MACEDONIAN ISSUE AND FOR THE EMEO."

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>

In L944, Marshall Josip Tito, Yugoslavia's powerful Communist Party leader,became the undisputed communist leader of the Balkans. For his future expansionistplans, Tito decided to apply Dimitrov's proposal for a "united" Macedonian nation, bynaming the Yugoslav "Administrative Area of Vardarska" as the "Yugoslav Socialist

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Republic of Macedonia." See attached copy of a Yugoslavian letter stamp dated1939, which shows the map of Yugoslavia. Notice the area of "Vardarska" in thesouthernmost part of Yugoslavia, which today comprises the UN recognized nation of.FYROM."

At the time, Tito appointed Svetozar "Tempo" Vukmanovid, Yugoslavia's chiefpropagandist to promote the plan for a "united" independent Macedonian nation tothe communist fighting forces in the area.

Tempo's initial written instructions to his communist "comrades" of the regionread: "Your units who will pass the territoty of Greek Macedonia, mustdevelop intensive political actiuity among the Macedonian minority inGreece, with the following slogans: l, The Macedonian minority musl forits own sake, fight with the Greek people against the conguerors and atttheir servants, 2. The Macedonian minority must stop the fratricidal warthat the congueroD the Bulgarian fascists and Vache Michaitou, the traitorof the Macedonian people, instigate, 3, The Macedonian minority togetherwith the Greek people must create a common popular liberation armyunder the command of the General Headquafterc of HELLAS. 4, onty thatway, with the common fight with the Greek people, the Macedonian

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minority will securc equal rights and exemption from any nationaloppression,

During their political activity in Greek Mae---------------donia, your teams canclaim that after the war, the Mae---------------donian peopte will onquer theircomplete freedom, that Mac.edonia will be free truly, Also, atl bilateralissues between the Balkan peoples will be sotved on the basis of brothertycooperation and recognition of the right of self-determinattbn of thosepeoples, "

A few months later in L944, Marshall Tito decided to change the name of thearea to "Socialist Republic of Macedonia." Tito took out the word 'tYugoslav", in order

to promote the "united" independent Macedonian nation idea, which required theinclusion of the ancient Macedonian geographic areas in Greece and in Bulgaria.

The Repot of the "Anti-Fascist Assembly of the National Liberation of Macedonia(ASNOM)" concerning their activities, reveals in depth of the propaganda skills ofTito's communist pafi leaders. Their activities bring to light also how well thesystematic evolution of the pseudo-slavo-Macedonian nation was developing.

"REPORT OF THE ANTI-FASCIST ASSEMBLY OF THE NATIONAL

LIBERATION OF MACEDONIA (ASNOM) CONCERNING THEIR ACTWITYFROM THE FOUNDATION UNTIL ITS FIRST SESSION"

August J 7944on this historic day, the day of prophet Etias (rtinden) of t944,

which was fatal for the development of the Maedonian people, for thefirst time in the history of our people, a national council, ASNOM, wasconvened as a symbol of national emancipation and ptoclamation of aMacedonian state for the firct time in history since the time of Samuel,being a top and decisive turning point in the history of our people, markingthe beginning of a new era, a time of creative worl

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At this time, when all the struggling forces in Macedonia havebeen thrown into battle against the fascist conquenors, we call on theother two parts of the Macedonian people to take paft in the great anti-fascist front, since this is the only way to gain the right to self-determination and the passage that leads to the union of the entireMacedonian nation to a free ammunity of the emancipated peoptes ofYugoslavia,

The struggling Piedmont of Macedonia has passionatelyproclaimed that it will offer every help and will not spare sacrifices for theliberation of the other two parts of our nation and for the final union of the

whole Macedonian people. When we know that the competing Piedmont ofMacedonia is part of Tito? Yugoslavia, it clearly shows how great oursupport can be and how firm our desire for the union of our entire nation

is,

The fighting Piedmont of Macedonia has fiercely proclaimed that itwill not stint on support or sacrifice for the liberation of the other twosegmenb of our nation and for the general unifration of the entireMacedonian people, When we know that the competing Piedmont ofMacedonia is paft of Tito's Yugoslavia, it clearly shows how great oursupport can be and how firm our desire for the union of our entire nationis, "

"MANTFESTO OF THE FIRST SESSION OF ASNOM TO THE MACEDONIAN

PEOPLE"

August ) 7944Taking into account the ideals of the people of Macedonia, the first

Macedonian National Council proclaims throughout the world its just andstable craving for the unification of the entire Macedonian people on thebasis of the right to self-determination. This would put an end to therepression of the Macedonian people in all its divisions and would createthe conditions for genuine solidarity and peace among the Balkanpeoples."

All of those unfounded, historically inaccurate and outright foolish claimsfound in the ASNOM August L944 report and in the manifesto of the "first session" of

ASNOM are now embodied one way or another, in the constitution of the pseudo-

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Macedonian nation, which the United Nations recognized on April 7, L993 with the

name "Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM.)"

The concerns of the world for the potential dangers to the Balkan region and

to Greece in particular, by the creation of an independent Macedonian nation were

expressed and were sealed forever by the words of Secretary of State, Edward

Stettinius, in the official US Department of State circular, issued on December 26,

L944.

Secretary Stettinius'circular was crystal clear. I am including it as issued and

as it still exists in the State Department's archives, for your perusal.

*U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT

Foreign Relations Vol. VIIIWashington D.C.

Circular Airgram

(868.014 I 26 Dec. Lg44)

"The following is for your information and general guidance, but notfor any positive adion at this time,

The Deparfinent has noted with considerable apprehensionincreasing propaganda rumors and semi-otricial statements in favor of anautonomous Macedonia, emanating principally fiom Bulgaria, but also from

Yugoslav Partisan and other sounaes, with the implication that Greekterritory would be includd in the prcjected state, "This Governmentonsiderc talk of Macedonian unationr" Macedonian "Fatherland", orMacedonian "national consciousness" to be unjustified demagogueryrepresenting no ethnic nor political reality, and sees in its present reyival a

possible cloak for aggressive intentions against Greece",

The apprcved policy of this Government is to oppose any revival ofthe Macedonian issue as related to Grcece, The Greek sedion of Macedonia

is largely inhabited by Greeks, and the Grcek people ane almostunanimously opposed to the creation of a Macedonian state, Allegations ofserious Greek pafiicipation in any such agitation can be assumed to befalse, This Government would regard as responsible any Government or

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group of GovernmenB toterating or enouraging menacing or aggressiveacB of "Macedonian fores"against Greece.

The Depaftment would appreciate any information pertinent to thissubjeA which may aome to your attention,"

STET|TNTUS"

I need not tell you of what the then President of the Greek Republic,Konstantinos Karamanlis said when in L992 he wrote to President George Bush andto the leaders of Europe, about the dangers to the region, if a nation was recognizedwith "Macedonia" in its name.

Nor will I tell you, what the then Foreign Minister of Greece, AntonisSamaras, told the Foreign Ministers of Europe on February Ll, 1992 about thedangers and the consequences to the inhabitants of "Skopje" and of the region would

be, if "Skopje" was recognized as an independent nation with "Macedonia" in itsname.

And I won't tell you what the former Prime Minister of Greece AndreasPapandreou said, other than to remind you that he publically stated that "the nameMacedonia is the heart of Greece." I won't tell you, because you will tell me they areall biased because they are Greeks. So, I will urge you to read carefully what ourcountry's Secretary of State, Edward Stettinius said about those dangers. Dangers,which you have been called upon to recognize and to help resolve.

I understand you will be in the area at the end of the month. I will alsobe in Athens at that time. Email nie at cspirou@hau.gl if you have a spare moment,so we can have a drink and catch up on things.