GREEK AMERICAN ORGANIZATIONS' POLICY STATEMENT ON FYROM
WASHINGTON, DC—The American Hellenic Institute founder, Gene Rossides, announced
today that the major Greek American membership organizations approved
the policy statement on the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM)
prepared
by the American Hellenic Institute. The organizations are: the Order
of AHEPA, the Hellenic American National Council, the Cyprus Federation
of America,
the Panepirotic Federation of America, the Pan-Macedonian Association
of America and the Evrytanian Association of America. The approved
statement on FYROM, which is part of the 2004 Greek American Policy
Statements follows:
Former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
We call on the U.S., in its own self- interest, to strongly support a
name for this former Yugoslav republic that does not include the
word "Macedonia." Since antiquity, the name Macedonia has referred to a geographical region, not
to a nationality.
We call on our government to seek a new
bilateral agreement with FYROM regarding immunity for U.S. citizens
from prosecution by the International Criminal Court in which FYROM
signs under the proper internationally recognized name of FYROM.
When
Marshal Tito fashioned the puppet "Socialist Republic of Macedonia" from the southern Yugoslav province of Vardar-Banovina in 1945, he did so to
foment disorder in northern Greece in furtherance of his plan to
communize the Balkan Peninsula and gain control of the key port city
of Salonica. "Macedonian" nationalism was a product of Tito's fabrications. The then U.S. Secretary of
State Edward Stettinius in a circular airgram to diplomatic officers
on December 26, 1944 wrote:
"This Government considers talk of Macedonian 'nation,' Macedonian 'Fatherland,'
or Macedonian 'national consciousness' to be unjustified demagoguery
representing no ethnic nor political reality, and sees in its present
revival a possible cloak for aggressive intentions against Greece."
The Truman Doctrine and massive financial aid under the Marshall Plan
foiled Tito’s hopes for communizing Greece.
For the
full text of our policy statements or for additional information,
please contact Angeliki Vassiliou at (202) 785-8430 or at angeliki@ahiworld.org. For general
information on AHI, see our Web site at www.ahiworld.org.
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