Η Παμμακεδονική Ένωση ΗΠΑ απέστειλε επιστολή προς προς όλους τους αμερικανούς Βουλευτές, στην οποία εκθέτουν την διαμαρτυρία τους για την δημιουργία “Μακεδονικού” Σώματος Στήριξης εκ μέρους των Βουλευτών των ΗΠΑ (“Macedonian” caucus), με την προτροπή να να μην λάβουν μέρος σ’ αυτό το σώμα. Η κίνηση για την δημιουργία του “Μακεδονικού” Υποστηρικτικού Βουλευτικού Σώματος ξεκίνησε από την Βουλευτή Candice Miller, έδρα της οποίας είναι η Πολιτεία του Μίσιγκαν.
Διαβάστε την επιστολή της Παμμακεδονικής, αλλά προηγουμένως δείτε και δώστε ιδιαίτερη προσοχή στο βίντεο συνέντευξης του προέδρου της Ενωμένης “Μακεδονικής” Διασποράς Metodjia Koloski με τον επιχειρηματία της Διασποράς τους, John L.N. Bitove:
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Ακολουθεί η επιστολή
Dear Representative,
The members of the Pan-Macedonian Association USA, one of the largest Greek/American associations in the United States, as American citizens are troubled by recent events and initiatives promoted by Michigan Representative Candice Miller (R-MI) in cooperation with a US-based, but pro-Skopje lobby group, known as the “United Macedonian Diaspora” (UMD). We are therefore writing to you because we feel that you should be fully informed about this lobby group.
UMD does not represent the world’s 3 million Macedonians from Macedonia (Greece’s northern region and the land of our ancestors) and we vehemently object to the misappropriation by non-Greek sources of a name and identity that has been a stalwart of our identity for over 3000 years. Therefore, this UMD does not promote the interests of Macedonians because they themselves are not Macedonians. It promotes the interests of a Slav-based population stemming from the former Yugoslavia that wants to highlight Macedonism, a propaganda tool used by a foreign power to appropriate anything and everything Macedonian – including irredentist ideas such as land expansion. All this would be at the expense of Greece since Macedonism yearns for a fictional yet disturbing vision known as “United (or Greater) Macedonia”.
Furthermore, UMD promotes the interests of a foreign country on American soil by pushing agendas that counter the wishes of the United Nations, which does not recognize Greece’s northern neighbor as simply “Macedonia” or its people and language as “Macedonian”. As you may very well know, there is currently a dialogue of negotiation under the auspices of the UN where the two countries (Greece and its neighbor) are working towards a solution for this imbroglio. Congresswoman Miller’s and UMD’s call for the formation of the “Congressional Macedonia Caucus” and their encouragement to other members of Congress to join this group is deeply insulting to us including the more than a million strong Greek diaspora in the United States. This so-called “Macedonia Caucus” will work for better ties between Washington and Skopje but based on what we know about the UMD, we feel that it will invariably work against Greece, a country that is an ally to the United States in Southern Europe and the Balkans for as long as can be remembered. Stability in Southeast Europe is of utmost importance to the U.S. government. Historically, the nationalism that is thriving in the Balkans either created preconditions for war or, in some cases, was the reason for wars. While the Balkan upheavals can be dismissed as “Yesterday’s Wars”, the underlying causes of the various 1945-2001 upheavals remain as strong and as viable as ever. Another upheaval in the FYROM or emanated from it to Greece is so likely that the area and the people should be the subject of continued and in-depth interest to the U.S. government.For us stability in the Balkans is of paramount consideration. But stability in the region cannot be achieved unless all Balkan countries cooperate to accomplish it. When one of the region’s countries promotes violence in a row of absolute nationalism by advocating an identity (which one could argue is the result of euphoric recalls considering that in the last century their alleged identity changed four times), then the results of such activities can only be negative.
UMD president, Mr. Metodija Koloski agreed to a “United Macedonia” that was promoted by a Canadian businessman’s comments in an interview the two men had during UMD’s conference in Toronto in 2010 [1, 2]. Furthermore Mr. Koloski, in a letter to former Illinois governor Ryan is on record expressing his pseudoscientific views that Greeks are descendants of sub-Saharan tribes whereas “Macedonians” [sic] come from an older [and inherently whiter] European substratum [3]. These views are more than disturbing.
By supporting initiatives that are spearheaded by UMD, you would be directly advancing Macedonism. If Greece’s northern neighbor (with its 1.2 million Slavs and about 800.000 Albanians) dreams of somehow appropriating the original Macedonia from Greece, what exactly are they going to do with its 2.5 million Greeks who live there? Will the “Macedonia Caucus” go on record and state that its members support an eventual “United Macedonia” and the potential civil strife that may result from this?
We want to highlight that by supporting this caucus you would be unsuspectingly associating yourself with foreign-interested nationalist groups. UMD pushes an agenda that is not proper for officials of the US government to be associated with.
We, as US citizens, deeply regret the promotion of groups that have worked on achieving goals that are based on hate and propaganda. As members of the Pan-Macedonian Association and as it was stated in our resolutions during our convention on May 28, 2011, “We fully support the existence of a country north of Greece with the interim name of The FYROM. We support its efforts to join the EU and NATO, provided its final official name does not include the term “Macedonia” or its derivatives. Further, we harbor no animosity or any ill feelings towards its citizens or its Diaspora. Furthermore we expect good neighborly relations as an additional criterion for its Euro-Atlantic integration”.
Sincerely,
Kostas Hatzistefanidis/Supreme President
Dimitris Chatzis/Supreme Secretary
Paul Kotrotsios/President of the Hellenic American National Council
PS: Please note that the number of Americans of “Macedonian” descent “more than half a million” mentioned in UMD’s press release regarding the death of former Secretary of State, Lawrence S. Eagleburger does not reflect the true numbers of 38.051 of the 2000 US census [4, 5].
References:
[1] http://umdiaspora.org/content/view/487/1/ (Last accessed May 24, 2011).
especially from 3 minutes on; last accessed June 1, 2011).
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(Last accessed May 24, 2011).
[5]
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Και αυτή είναι η επιστολή με την οποία προτρέπουμε τη Διασπορά να έρθει σε επαφή με τους Αντιπροσώπους της:
Dear Representative,
I am writing this letter because I am concerned about the efforts of Congresswoman Candice Miller (R-MI) to establish a so-called “Macedonian” caucus in the U.S. Congress. Although I realize that Rep. Miller (R-MI) has the right to do so, I am questioning the legal status of the organization, namely the “United Macedonia Diaspora” (UMD) which, according to information on its website, is behind this caucus.
The claimed number of half a million according to Rep. Miller’s letter (dated April 13, 2011) to members of the U.S. Congress cannot represent the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia’s (FYROM) diaspora living in the United States considering that in the 2000 U.S. census the U.S. residents of Slavic descent from the FYROM were only 38,051. [i] Please be aware that UMD does not represent the Macedonian Greeks of approximately three million, by far the largest number of Macedonians, who since antiquity inhabit or originate from the region of Macedonia. This is a region that has always been an integral part of Greece and the Greek world for millennia.
UMD is an international NGO representing a foreign country in the United States. With a thorough investigation, one finds out that UMD was founded in 2004 and portrays itself (according to its website and its official communications) as:
“.an international non-governmental organization addressing the interests and needs of Macedonians[sic] and Macedonian [sic] communities throughout the world. UMD’s main goals are to foster unity among Macedonian [sic] people, and advance their cause… With headquarters in Washington, D.C., UMD has representatives serving Macedonian [sic] communities around the world, including Brussels, Canberra, London, Melbourne, New York, Paris, Stuttgart, Sydney, and Toronto.” http://umdiaspora.org/.
If UMD represents the interests of the FYROM world diaspora and the “Macedonian communities” – a term that includes the inhabitants of the FYROM itself – which is the basis of the FYROM government, then it is representing the interests of the FYROM in the United States. Because UMD is representing a foreign government, it should be registered with the U.S. Department of Justice under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) of 1938 as a Foreign Agent and make full disclosure of the fact to the U.S. Congress before attempting to establish a caucus. The inhabitants of the FYROM represent the interests of the government of the FYROM, which is a foreign power.
As an American citizen I am posing this question to my Representative and also to Michigan Representative Candice Miller who has spearheaded the attempt to create a “Macedonian” Caucus within the US: UMD is an international organization addressing the interests and needs of “Macedonians” [sic] and “Macedonian” [sic] Communities throughout the world and is attempting to establish a caucus in the US Congress. Can Congresswoman Miller answer whether the UMD is registered as a foreign agent in the USA? We have not found any mention of UMD registered under FARA.
The stability of Southeast Europe is of utmost importance to the United States. Historically, the nationalism that is thriving in the Balkans has created either preconditions for war or, in some cases, was the reason for wars. While the Balkans can be dismissed as “Yesterday’s War,” the underlying causes of the 1945-2001 upheaval remain as strong and as precarious as ever. The 1944-49 civil war in Greece, and the 2001 civil war between the Albanian minority and the Slav majority in the FYROM demonstrate that the nationalism that has fueled the fires of this region for centuries were not extinguished or resolved by the 2001 events. Another upheaval in the FYROM is so likely that the area and the people should be the subject of continuing and in-depth interest to the U.S. Congress.
Stability in the Balkans should be of paramount consideration to all, but it cannot be achieved unless all Balkan countries cooperate. When one of the region’s countries, in particular the FYROM, promotes hostility and inaccuracies in an effort to boost nationalism and advocates an identity, which one could argue is the result of euphoric recalls considering that in the last century their alleged identity changed four times, then the results of such activities can only be negative. The Slavic children of the FYROM are being taught a revisionist history falsely claiming them as being direct descendants of the ancient Macedonians. This history is not supported by a single academic argument while it exacerbates a nationalism that takes the identity of another country as its own. The above deceitful attempt by UMD indicates the modus operandi of how the FYROM and its diaspora operate.
I am urging you to verify the above information and to reconsider before you sign your name or in any way participate in the attempted establishment of this false “Macedonian” caucus.
Respectfully,
