Marcus A. Templar, National Security Advisor | Macedonian League
Marcus A. TemplarNational Security Advisor, Macedonian League
Due to the rapid developments following the ratification of the agreement between Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia on the final and official name of the latter, I appeal to all competent authorities of Greece to keep at all costs what remains of the name Macedonia, its derivatives and whatever implies such a name.
This appeal is of direct and pressing importance for the prevention of abuses, denunciations and other deliberate offenses, particularly from the diaspora of Skopje which, as they show things, intends to follow the old tactics of the challenges and to attract world public opinion that the "Macedonians" passed in the hands of the Greeks. Already there has been such propaganda in Greece.
This appeal publicizes a simple path to address the continued harassment of Greeks abroad, especially those from our Macedonia.
Neither the present nor future governments of Greece should ever relax the oversight and enforcement of the contents of the Prespes agreement.
Regardless of the content of articles 4, 5, and 6 of the agreement and in order to avoid unpleasant, distressing and irritating incidents that the diaspora of Skopje intend to cause, especially in Australia, I would suggest to the Greek government to take some necessary measures in hopes that they will not leave anything to chance.
It is very wise that Greek representatives abroad listen to what the Greek diaspora has and will have to say. When I visited Australia in 2010 for a series of lectures, the Greek diaspora complained that the appropriate department of the Greek MFA was indifferent ignoring their warnings. The Greek diaspora knows the Skopjan diaspora much better than the officials of the Greek MFA. I know from personal experience that the latter have no idea how Governments in other countries work, although they are the first to opine about on the topic making suggestions.
I would respectfully recommend to the pertinent Minister or the designated Department to create a section either by itself or within the Department A3 of the Ministry dealing with the country and the diaspora of Skopje with seriousness and responsibility. The Skopjans in the diaspora have already begun to attack anything Greek in violation of the provisions of articles 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 of the agreement in an effort to deprive the right of Greek organizations to include the name Macedonia and mislead the unfamiliar with the issue population of countries they live in claiming that the name Macedonia and its derivatives represent the Slavic history and heritage exclusively.
I predict legal challenges and similar harassment of Greek organizations on the part of organizations and individuals within the diaspora of Skopje through foreign governmental agencies and even judiciary.
As odd as it may seem, it would be wise to inform the head of Greek diplomatic missions of all countries, and particularly those who have extensive Skopjan diaspora on the contents of article 7 (history, language, heritage, and so on). The recent photo and other indicate how seriously the articles 7 and 8 are taken into consideration by the Skopjan diaspora.
This appeal is of direct and pressing importance for the prevention of abuses, denunciations and other deliberate offenses, particularly from the diaspora of Skopje which, as they show things, intends to follow the old tactics of the challenges and to attract world public opinion that the "Macedonians" passed in the hands of the Greeks. Already there has been such propaganda in Greece.
This appeal publicizes a simple path to address the continued harassment of Greeks abroad, especially those from our Macedonia.
Neither the present nor future governments of Greece should ever relax the oversight and enforcement of the contents of the Prespes agreement.
Regardless of the content of articles 4, 5, and 6 of the agreement and in order to avoid unpleasant, distressing and irritating incidents that the diaspora of Skopje intend to cause, especially in Australia, I would suggest to the Greek government to take some necessary measures in hopes that they will not leave anything to chance.
It is very wise that Greek representatives abroad listen to what the Greek diaspora has and will have to say. When I visited Australia in 2010 for a series of lectures, the Greek diaspora complained that the appropriate department of the Greek MFA was indifferent ignoring their warnings. The Greek diaspora knows the Skopjan diaspora much better than the officials of the Greek MFA. I know from personal experience that the latter have no idea how Governments in other countries work, although they are the first to opine about on the topic making suggestions.
I would respectfully recommend to the pertinent Minister or the designated Department to create a section either by itself or within the Department A3 of the Ministry dealing with the country and the diaspora of Skopje with seriousness and responsibility. The Skopjans in the diaspora have already begun to attack anything Greek in violation of the provisions of articles 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 of the agreement in an effort to deprive the right of Greek organizations to include the name Macedonia and mislead the unfamiliar with the issue population of countries they live in claiming that the name Macedonia and its derivatives represent the Slavic history and heritage exclusively.
I predict legal challenges and similar harassment of Greek organizations on the part of organizations and individuals within the diaspora of Skopje through foreign governmental agencies and even judiciary.
As odd as it may seem, it would be wise to inform the head of Greek diplomatic missions of all countries, and particularly those who have extensive Skopjan diaspora on the contents of article 7 (history, language, heritage, and so on). The recent photo and other indicate how seriously the articles 7 and 8 are taken into consideration by the Skopjan diaspora.
It is also a reasonable argument for the Greek diplomatic missions to collect and to systematically report to the competent authorities of Greece all breaches of the final agreement (Agreement of Prespes) instigated by the diaspora of Skopje, as well as by representatives of the Government and of Church. The latter is the most likely source of violations. Also, the same service should be watching the movements of "The National Aegean Macedonian Council of Australia", which is a branch of the "World Macedonian Congress," as well as the organization of the "United Macedonian Diaspora." The last one is in alliance with the Heritage Foundation located in Washington, DC.
The entire content of irredentism that under the Prespes Agreement prohibits could easily be duplicated abroad and spread to the diaspora of Skopje. Although local laws of each country protect freedom of speech, it does not mean that actors inciting violence should be protected under the cloak of the same.
About similar activities of Greek organizations, I want to reassure the politicians of Greece that the Greek organizations are harmless. Bark a lot, but they do not bite.
Although the diaspora of Skopje is extraordinarily organized and active, on the contrary, Greek organizations are extremely busy fighting among themselves about who is going to be the Supreme President, what title s/he should have, and which of the organizations involved in the fight should be the prominent within the Greek diaspora and representative of all other organizations.
Also, all extraneous people of the diaspora who «know» everything regarding the "national issues" of Greece although they know absolutely nothing about Greece’s “national interests” and consequently “national security” of Greece, nor understand their true meaning and how they are formed, get together in radio and tv shows to discuss them. At the end of such appearances, the person who swears nastier and yells louder emerges more “Patriot” and of course the “winner.” They who laugh at this nonsense are considered "traitors".
Whether diplomatic officials abroad or officials of the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs or generally politicians of Greece are responsible for the ultimate inertia and inaction of Greece regarding the name issue, is an internal matter of the Parliament and the Ministry and it does not involve anyone outside the political world. What counts is that the diaspora needs the help of the home country and not its slap.
Be wise the MFA to take preventive measures to avoid nasty complications in the future. We have been tired with the "Oh, man, don’t bother me - we are all brothers." Something like this applies only to the Greeks, not to the Skopjans. They do not have such expressions in their speech.
About Marcus A. Templar
Professor Marcus A. Templar is a former U.S. Army Cryptologic Linguist (Language Analyst), Signal Intelligence and All-Source Intelligence Analyst. During his career as a U.S. Intelligence Officer, besides organizational duties, he discharged the responsibilities of a U.S. Army Observer/Controller, Instructor of Intelligence Courses specializing in Deconstruction of Strategies, Foreign Disclosures Officer, and Translator Interpreter of Serbo-Croatian.
He is the Macedonian League's National Security Advisor.
The entire content of irredentism that under the Prespes Agreement prohibits could easily be duplicated abroad and spread to the diaspora of Skopje. Although local laws of each country protect freedom of speech, it does not mean that actors inciting violence should be protected under the cloak of the same.
About similar activities of Greek organizations, I want to reassure the politicians of Greece that the Greek organizations are harmless. Bark a lot, but they do not bite.
Although the diaspora of Skopje is extraordinarily organized and active, on the contrary, Greek organizations are extremely busy fighting among themselves about who is going to be the Supreme President, what title s/he should have, and which of the organizations involved in the fight should be the prominent within the Greek diaspora and representative of all other organizations.
Also, all extraneous people of the diaspora who «know» everything regarding the "national issues" of Greece although they know absolutely nothing about Greece’s “national interests” and consequently “national security” of Greece, nor understand their true meaning and how they are formed, get together in radio and tv shows to discuss them. At the end of such appearances, the person who swears nastier and yells louder emerges more “Patriot” and of course the “winner.” They who laugh at this nonsense are considered "traitors".
Whether diplomatic officials abroad or officials of the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs or generally politicians of Greece are responsible for the ultimate inertia and inaction of Greece regarding the name issue, is an internal matter of the Parliament and the Ministry and it does not involve anyone outside the political world. What counts is that the diaspora needs the help of the home country and not its slap.
Be wise the MFA to take preventive measures to avoid nasty complications in the future. We have been tired with the "Oh, man, don’t bother me - we are all brothers." Something like this applies only to the Greeks, not to the Skopjans. They do not have such expressions in their speech.
About Marcus A. Templar
Professor Marcus A. Templar is a former U.S. Army Cryptologic Linguist (Language Analyst), Signal Intelligence and All-Source Intelligence Analyst. During his career as a U.S. Intelligence Officer, besides organizational duties, he discharged the responsibilities of a U.S. Army Observer/Controller, Instructor of Intelligence Courses specializing in Deconstruction of Strategies, Foreign Disclosures Officer, and Translator Interpreter of Serbo-Croatian.
He is the Macedonian League's National Security Advisor.
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