Greek American campaign against FYROM to NATO membership
Bill Summary & Status
112th Congress (2011 - 2012)
H.RES.650
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H.RES.650
Latest Title: Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia should work within the framework of the United Nations process with Greece to achieve longstanding United States and United Nations policy goals of finding a mutually acceptable name, for all uses, for the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
Sponsor: Rep Maloney, Carolyn B. [NY-14] (introduced 5/10/2012) Cosponsors (8)
Related Bills: H.RES.627
Latest Major Action: 5/10/2012 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
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A brief historical
overview
The Slavs came
in the Balkans in the 6th century A.D., almost one thousand years
after Alexander the Great�s death. Upon their arrival in the area their utmost
desire was an exit to the Aegean Sea and later on the warm port of Thessaloniki,
Greece�s second largest city, after Athens. Thessaloniki is also the capital of
Greece�s north most province, Macedonia. Many conflicts occurred in the area
throughout the centuries due to this longing of the Slavs and a lot of blood was
shed.
Former Yugoslavia's southernmost part was called
Vardarska Banovina prior to 1944. It was in 1944 that Marshal Joseph Broz Tito,
the principal political leader of Yugoslavia at that time, created Yugoslavia's
southern republic and called it "People's Republic of Macedonia". However,
"Macedonia" was already the name of one of Greece's northern
provinces. After 1944 a deliberate and systematic campaign was initiated
for Yugoslavia's southern republic to usurp the history of ancient Macedonia in
order to lay claim to lands in Greece and elsewhere. In September of 1991 the southern part of the
broken up Yugoslavia named itself "Republic of Macedonia" and declared itself as
a new independent country. Greece
objected to their use of the name Macedonia as �Macedonia� was since antiquity
and still continues to be an integral part of the Greek
culture/world.
Geographic
Macedonia is within the borders of at least three countries. Only a small
portion of geographic Macedonia lies within the Former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia (FYROM), whose population is one-third Albanian and two-thirds Slavic
in origin. The largest part of geographic Macedonia lies within Greece in the
Greek province of Macedonia.
Because of this objection, the United
Nations accepted this nation as a new member with a temporary name of "the
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" (the FYROM) until a permanent name is
found between Greece and its northern neighbor. To this date no solution has
been found due to the FYROM�s ultranationalist
stance.Moreover, FYROM promulgates
propaganda in which it claims portions of Greek territory and usurps Greek
national identity and culture in conflict with European values. FYROM�s
actions are a breach of the U.N.-brokered Interim Accord and erode efforts to
build trust and good neighborly relations.
ACTION
*
We urge you to contact your
U.S. representative and request him/her to co-sponsor
H.Res.650.
- If you do not see your U.S. representative as a co-sponsor above, please contact his/her office today.
- Ask to speak with the Legislative Director or Foreign Affairs Legislative Assistant.
- Advise them you are a constituent, calling from [city or town] and that you'd like the representative�s support by co-sponsoring H.Res.650.
- Advise the Congressional staff person to contact Congresswoman Maloney�s or Congressman Bilirakis� office to sign on as a co-sponsor.
- If you do see your legislator as a co-sponsor, please contact him or her to offer your thanks.
TALKING
POINTS
- Greece strongly supports the Euro-Atlantic aspirations of FYROM having not only acquiesced to but also supported its status as a candidate country for accession to the EU and to its joining the Membership Action Plan of NATO.
- FYROM's irredentist and provocative acts toward Greece are clear violations of the 1995 Interim Accord between Greece and FYROM and these acts demonstrate that FYROM is unwilling to demonstrate good faith toward its neighbor Greece; a condition which must exist for the two countries to come together and resolve the name issue, and ultimately, for FYROM to attain NATO membership.
- Simply stated, FYROM cannot join NATO until it resolves its differences with NATO Alliance members Greece, Bulgaria, and Albania.
CONTACT BY TELEPHONE
- Contact your members of Congress by telephone by dialing the U.S. Capitol switchboard at 202.224-3121.
CONTACT BY
EMAIL/INTERNET
- To write your representative, visit https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml to find your representative, using your zip code.
Right now 8 Representatives have
supported it, let us all do our best to increase the number of Congressmen by
the end of this week, especially due to the fact that the NATO Summit in Chicago
will take place on May 19-20, 2012.
Thank you,
Kostas Hatzistefanidis/Supreme
President of the Pan-Macedonian Association
Dimitris Chatzis/Supreme Secretary
of the Pan-Macedonian Association
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