Macedonia: A Failure to Communicate

Much, almost too much, has been said about the Macedonian issue – namely, about whether the newly-founded state of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYR Macedonia) should be called simply “Macedonia” or whether it should use a composite name that incorporates a geographical or other distinction. Sadly enough, after all that has been said and done, the two sides have simply failed to communicate on what should have been a relatively straightforward and amicable agreement.

Both sides are to blame.

The Greek Side

When the Macedonia issue first became a public matter following the dissolution of Yugoslavia, Greeks, with their short temper and cultural sensitivity, took to the streets chanting “Macedonia is Greek” and focusing immediately and almost exclusively on the Greekness of ancient Macedonia and of Alexander the Great. Before long, any Greek government would be committing political suicide if it dared challenge this furious public sentiment.

Is Macedonia Greek?

Greeks are proud people, highly protective of their 4000 year-long culture and civilization. History is taught to elementary school children starting from pre-historic times and progresses gradually towards modern times as the children move through junior and then senior high school.

The problem is that modern Greek history, namely early 20^th century, including the Balkan wars of 1912-1913, is left for the very last year of senior high, when most teenagers care more about being teenagers than about what teachers have to say in the classroom.

This leaves a major gap in people’s psyche. To the Greeks, Macedonia is Greek because the ancient Macedonians were Greek. And given how history is taught in schools, most Greeks are fuzzy on the details regarding their Slav-Macedonian neighbors.

20^th Century History Gap

This “gap” in Greek history lessons is not completely puzzling. As the Ottoman Empire was collapsing, only a small part of the Macedonian province’s population did not align itself with the region’s major nationalities (Bulgarian, Greek, Serb, Turkish, Jewish). And this population was eventually absorbed by Yugoslavia.

So during the last year of high school, Greek students do a rudimentary overview of major 20th century events and leave the details of the Balkan and subsequent civil wars for university – and even that is covered only by students who elect to major in law or classical studies.

The Failure to Communicate

As focused as the Greeks are on their ancient Macedonian roots, the FYR Macedonians who fought unsuccessfully for independence after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, have only about 100 years on which to base their separate identity.

Greeks talk about Alexander the Great and then, being less well versed in 20^th century Balkan history, make blanket statements that Slav-Macedonians are not Macedonian.

This leaves Slav-Macedonians puzzled. They too have lived in the region of Macedonia for centuries. Doesn’t that make them Macedonian? Generation after generation following the Balkan wars of 1912-13 grew up nurturing the notion of a separate national identity.

So as the debate goes on, Slav-Macedonians focus on the post 1900s history, which in their minds confirms their independence, whereas the Greeks focus on their ties to ancient Macedonians of 300 BC.

The FYR Macedonian Side

To deal with Greek claims that Slav-Macedonians are not Macedonian because ancient Macedonians were Greek, Slav-Macedonians started toying with history.

Some argue that Greece forced FYR Macedonia’s hand on this. According to Denko Malevski, the country’s first minister of foreign affairs, the pressure that his country received from the Greek political world resulted in the defeat of moderates like himself and their replacement by radical nationalistic elements who today claim that Slav-Macedonians are direct descendants of ancient Macedonians.

In any case, this development was unfortunate. Rhetoric about ancient Macedonians not being Greek, apart from being historically inaccurate, further stirred up the culturally sensitive and overprotective Greek public, dumbfounded politicians and cornered negotiators on both sides. It didn’t get anyone anywhere.

FYR Macedonian interests would have been far better served if they engaged in a frank dialogue about how they have lived in the Macedonia region for centuries and about how that alone entitles them to the Macedonian descriptor.

What Both Sides Need to Understand

In order to close the communication gap, people on both sides (especially the younger generation) need to firstly educate themselves on the state of the Macedonia region circa 1900 and subsequent events:

The Greeks shudder at the very sound of the word "Macedonian" being used in reference to anything non-Hellenic. The fact of the matter is that by the end of the Ottoman era the region of Macedonia was a cultural mosaic, inhabited by Bulgarians, Serbs, Greeks, Turks, Jews, Vlachs and others. When you live in Macedonia for 1400 years (Slavic tribes migrated to the Balkans around the 6th century AD), you don't need to be connected to the ancient Macedonians in order to associate yourself with the region.

For their part, many young FYR Macedonians appear to be unaware of their ethnological and linguistic proximity to Bulgarians. Many are also unclear regarding the different uses of the Macedonian descriptor: in antiquity to describe ancient Macedonians, who were Hellenic; during Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman times to describe administrative provinces; today to describe the Slav population who migrated to the Macedonia region and who, towards the end of the 19th century, began using the name of the region ("Macedonia") as part of their new national identity.

During the Balkan wars of 1912-1913, inhabitants of the Ottoman Macedonia province who had a clearly defined identity (Greek speakers, Albanian speakers, Bulgarian speakers with a Bulgarian identity) had no difficulty in forming and expressing a sense of nationhood. However there were other groups – Slav speakers, Vlach speakers, Christian Albanian speakers... Few, if any, of them described themselves as Macedonian or had any conception of what it meant to belong to a Macedonian nation. In fact most, particularly in the Northern part of the Macedonia province, were not very much concerned about nationalism or national identities at all. They had their religion and their world was just their village.

These people were vulnerable to rival national ideologies. About mid-nineteenth century, their spokesmen began to adapt the region's name as their national name and embarked on the daunting process of building a nation. It was from there, among the Bulgarian-speaking population of the time, that the Slav-Macedonians of today’s FYR Macedonia would emerge in the period between the two world wars. Their independence movement sought to create a single nation, uniting all inhabitants of the Ottoman Macedonian province regardless of language, religion or ethnic background. And in the age of nationalism, these Slav-Macedonians became simply Macedonians.

If the public understands and comes to grips with this, it will help politicians on both sides find a compromise without fearing a backlash from their constituencies.

Being Ethnically and Historically Accurate, and Respectful to All Sides

This brings us to today and to why the people of FYR Macedonia certainly have legitimate ties to the Macedonia region, yet their new state cannot imply that it represents all inhabitants of Macedonia by monopolizing the terms "Macedonia" and "Macedonian."

FYR Macedonia takes up 38% of the geographical region of the Macedonia province as defined by the Ottomans (ironically enough, it barely touches on the original geographical region of ancient Macedonia, which overlaps almost 100% with Greece’s Macedonia province).

FYR Macedonians have every right to a separate national identity, yet they do not represent all Macedonians. During the 1912-13 Balkan wars of independence, inhabitants of the Macedonian province picked the side alongside which the wished to fight. Greek Macedonians fought for independence alongside other Greeks and were hailed as Makedonomachi (Macedonian fighters). Their sacrifices and victories remain in history books, literature, novels and folk songs. Macedonians who aligned themselves with other nationalities were similarly honored by their respective people. FYR Macedonians too fought for independence. But the fact of the matter is that all other Macedonians in no way identify with the state that FYR Macedonians established after the dissolution of Yugoslavia.

Calling a Spade a Spade

FYR Macedonians are free to choose any name they wish for themselves. And they have as close a tie to the Macedonian region as the next Macedonian. But that also means they cannot monopolize the name. And now that they have become an independent nation, in order to be ethnically and historically accurate as well as respectful to all other Macedonians, the new state should differentiate its people by using a composite name. Reasonable suggestions could include Slavomacedonia, Upper Macedonia, Northern Macedonia or even New Macedonia (as in New Mexico, New Zealand or Papua New Guinea).