Trouble Brewing in Slav Macedonia
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In response to Szulc’s otherwise fair article about the possibility of Macedonia becoming the centerpiece in the third Balkan war in this century, I feel I must point out a few errors.
The Greeks never claimed the name or history of Macedonia, or controlled any of the soil by that name until 1913. Quite the opposite was true in the time of Alexander, who conquered the Greeks. Macedonians were considered barbarians and not allowed to compete in the Olympic festivals.
Turkey, Bulgaria, Russia, Lithuania, Belorus, Slovenia, Croatia and Northern Cyprus have all recognized the Republic of Macedonia; no one but the Greeks call it “Skopje” or the “Macedonian socialist republic.”
Macedonian is a Slavic language and Macedonians are a Slavic people. Greeks, Turks, Vlachs, Albanians, Serbs and many others live on the land that has always been called Macedonia. “Slav Macedonians” is redundant.
The Macedonian constitution specifically states that it has no territorial pretenses toward any of its neighbors. It also guarantees equal rights to all minorities.
JAMES G. BARTH
Los Angeles
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