By Evangelos Grivakos, Lieutenant General - Legal
The Magistrate's Court of Florina with the no. 27/ 28 Jul. 2022 His decision announced in the Bulletin of Judicial Publications of 7 Nov. 2022, approved and ratified the Statute of the Association under the name "Macedonian Language Center in Greece" (KMG), with (apparent) headquarters in Florina.
The main objectives of the association according to article 2 of the Statute are to support:
– The Organization of the teaching of the official Macedonian language to the citizens of Greece, through an online website
– The future introduction of the Macedonian standardized language as an optional subject in public schools (primary and secondary) and universities located in the Regions of Western Macedonia, Central Macedonia and Eastern Macedonia and Thrace
– The future establishment of pedagogical schools/departments in the existing universities of northern Greece for the training of local teachers of the Macedonian language, as well as the curriculum and the teaching staff.
The early history of "Macedonia" language goes back to 1934, when the Communist International which dealt with the "Macedonian Question", 2 took a Decision on its formation. In August 1944, Tito renamed Skopje from "Vardarska" to "People's Republic of Macedonia" and established "Macedonian" as the spoken language, with the apparent intention of referencing it directly to the Greek language of Hellenic Macedonia, so that, in time, the state formation of Skopje to "hijack" national (Macedonian) identity, one of the main characteristics of which is language.
In fact, "Macedonian" as a separate language never existed. According to the Professor of Linguistics, Mr. G. Babiniotis, this is a formerly spoken Slavic / Bulgarian-Serbian language, which, indeed, belongs to the group of South Slavic languages as recognized by the Prespa Agreement, as writing it uses the Slavic Cyrillic alphabet and has no relation to the Greek language, culture and heritage of the ancient Macedonian state (article 7 par. 4 of the Agreement). This approach is also followed by Bulgaria's "White Paper" (February 2021), in which it is stated that 90% of the words of the so-called "Macedonian" dialect are of Bulgarian origin (!!).
On 17 June 2018, the Prespa Agreement was signed which, in Article 1(3)(c), provides that the official language of "North Macedonia" will be "Macedonian", as recognized by the Third United Nations Conference for the standardization of Geographical Names (Athens 1977). Here, however, it is a pure linguistic fraud. Because the Conference in question was of a strictly technical nature, with the exclusive task of standardizing the geographic names of countries that did not use the Latin alphabet through transliteration, and in no case did it constitute the official recognition of any language, therefore, the Agreement of Prespa recognition of "Macedonian" is formally and essentially non-existent.
Coming back to the topic of the KMG, we find from its website (www.makedonski.gr) that behind its approved Statute is the Scopian propaganda which directs its members to achieve its goals, first and foremost the online teaching and dissemination of "Macedonian", until it is officially recognized by the Greek government as a "minority". In the context of the success of this goal, the provision in the Statute on the introduction of "Macedonian" as an optional subject in primary and secondary education and the establishment of pedagogical departments in our universities, will become the "Trojan horse" that will allow the redeeming elements that do not have be removed from the Skopian writings (textbooks, maps, writings, etc.) and their oral tradition, to influence in favor of the positions of the Skopians the ideas and attitudes of our youth and the Greek People, more broadly. These "expansive" linguistic plans of the Skopians in Greece, apart from being malicious, also constitute a flagrant violation 3 of the Treaty of Prespa which, as said, provides for "Macedonian" by definition and by logical interpretation to be spoken and it is written exclusively by the citizens of "North Macedonia" and only within its geographical boundaries.
Indeed, they cannot be applied to any other country, much less to Greece, with which there are ideological differences which the Prespa Agreement is supposed to eliminate. As a springboard for the people of Skopje, the KMG Statute will give them the opportunity to bring back the issue of the (non-existent) minority of the "Macedonets", population groups, that is, groups of Slavic Greek nationals from the border areas of Macedonia, especially the West, who, in a Slavic idiom that they speak as a second language, have given the arbitrary designation "Macedonian", claim to be a "Macedonian minority" and are united around the well-known "Rainbow", a Greek party based in Florina with zero electoral votes.
Remember that in Greece today the only minority that is recognized, based on the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne, is the Muslim (religious) minority in Thrace. The Turkish language spoken by its members is treated by the Greek state as equal to Greek in the minority schools of the region. But also with the issue of Macedonians, there is again a violation of the Treaty of Prespa, since article 1 par.3b of it only allows residents of the state of North Macedonia to have "Macedonian / citizen of North Macedonia" citizenship. Therefore, Macedonians living in Greece are not institutionally legalized to have dual citizenship and cannot be considered a minority simply because they call themselves "national Macedonians". Parenthetically, it is clarified that the "Macedonians" should not be confused with the "Greeks", pure Greek conscience Slavic-speaking and Vlach-speaking populations of the northern regions of the North. of Greece, who, loyal to the Ecumenical Patriarchate and full of love for Greece, offered a lot - and even their lives - during the armed Macedonian Struggle 1904 - 1908.
Characteristic names are mentioned of Captain Kotta (Kon/nou Christos) from the village of Roulia, today's "Kottas", in Florina, who was hanged by the Turks on Sept. 27, 1905 in Monastiri (Vitola), of Captain Mitrousis (Dim. Gogolakis) from the Homodo of Serres, today's "Mitroussi", who fell in 1907 in Serres fighting against the Ottomans, of Vangelis Strebeniotis (Evangelos Natsis or Georgiou) from the village of Strebeno (present-day Asprogeia) in Florina, who was murdered on May 12, 1904 when he fell into an ambush by Turks in the "Aetos" position near Amyntaios (Sorovich) and many others. Furthermore, the "technique" of the Statute provides possibilities for the people of Skopje to support with false arguments, according to their usual tactics, the self-determination and expansion of "Macedonia", making 4 linguistic and cultural complaints and methods at the international level (UN, Council of Europe, European Parliament, OSCE, etc.), regarding an alleged violation of language rights by our country.
At the same time, under the pretext of protecting, according to the international provisions, those who teach and speak "Macedonian" outside the territorial limits of the BM, they will demand the digital documentation and use of their traditional names and the restoration of the nomenclature on the maps and the spoken word in Slavic Macedonian dialect of place names that were gradually replaced by Greek names, after the Balkan Wars (1912-1913). As is understandable, any implementation of the above actions of the people of Skopje, will cause a change in the demographic composition of the population of Macedonia which will trigger the reaction of the local populations and not only them, resulting in riots and new division among the Greeks, a situation that is burning the extremists of Skopje wish. The KMG, of course, should it prosper in Greece, it will not act alone. Abroad, he is expected to cooperate with para-governmental circles or even political parties of the BM or other states, and internally with other philosophical structures, such as the "Brotherhood Association of Local Serres - METHODS AND KYRILLOS" based in Heraklia Serres and the AMKE " Krste Mishirkov", based in Aridaia, which had announced the online learning of "Macedonian", but failed due to lack of... interested parties. Future cooperation, due to political relevance, with the Turkish Consulate in Xanthi, not only should not be ruled out, but should also be closely monitored. If, as a consequence, the Greek State weakens and leaves these organizations unchecked, it is not excluded that one day it will face a version of Macedonia's autonomy and its transformation into a European protectorate.
And, if the esteemed reader considers these scenarios as unlikely to happen, I politely invite him/her to consider what we lost "overnight" as a Nation with the unacceptable Prespa Agreement. Every sane Greek is puzzled by the judicial thinking of the judicial officer of Florina who issued the Decision approving the KMG Statute, which accepted the literal interpretation of the Prespa Agreement, without realizing (or taking into account) the hidden and fraudulent purposes of the Statute and the circumvention of provisions of the Agreement, such as that of article 4 par. 2 which stipulates that each Party undertakes not to engage in any redemptive acts that act in its interest and to the detriment of the other Party and that of article 6 par. 2 (b) which provides that, if a private entity engages in acts of violence, hatred, enmity on the territory of one Party in favor of the second Party, then the first Party is entitled to take all the necessary (repressive) measures provided by the Law.
The judicial precedent of the 9 Aug. 1990 Decision of the Court of First Instance of Florina which rejected the Request for the operation of a non-profit association under the name "Stegi Macedonian Culture" on the grounds that "the real purpose of the association was the seeking to cultivate impressions about the existence of a Macedonian minority in Greece, which was against its national interest and therefore directly against the law". In fact, the Decision of the Appeal Court of Thessaloniki on the same case was moved in this spirit with the conclusion: "The long-term goal of the (then) Socialist Republic of Macedonia was the re-establishment of a Slavic Macedonian state with access to the Aegean. One of the means to succeed was to "recruit" in various ways bilingual Greeks from Macedonia in Greece. Of course, at the time of these aforementioned Decisions, the Prespa Agreement did not exist, but the perception that in practice the goals of the Skopians changed because of the Agreement (as it should be) is considered wrong. They just became more legitimate.
The approval of the KMG Statute is the most serious violation to date of the Second Part (BM) of the Prespa Agreement and the future portends the worst. Regarding the possibility of Termination, as follows from the combination of articles 20 par 9 (a) and 19, it is not allowed by any Party. Only procedures for the peaceful resolution of disputes are foreseen, either through bilateral negotiations under the auspices of the UN or by referral to the International Court of Justice in The Hague by mutual agreement or unilaterally. On the contrary, from an international legal point of view, if BM continues to violate essential provisions of the Prespa Agreement, Greece is entitled to unilaterally denounce it under the provisions of Article 60 of the multilateral Vienna Convention of 1969 "on the Law of Treaties" which has been signed and sanctioned by both Parties, and to request its termination or suspension, partial or total. However, to date, no Greek government has demonstrated the necessary political will to make Complaints.
What is important at the present juncture is the Greek Judiciary, with the available legal means at its disposal, to stop the contested Decision of the Court of First Instance of Florina, before it produces the burdensome results.
Fortunately, natural persons and patriotic associations are already moving towards its cancellation, always with the national and social interest as a milestone.
photo dimitrisvetsikas1969 / https://pixabay.com/el
