Tag: Macedonia

The Balkans

The Balkans have been the source of much conflict since the 1990’s and the break-up of Yugoslavia…..but in case you are not aware of the problems…..

I have several followers from the region so I like to keep up to date on the events of the region…..recently Macedonia made the news as a nation that is trying for NATO membership…..https://lobotero.com/2018/06/13/macedonia-whats-in-a-name/

There is some bad news about their possible membership…..

When Fox News host Tucker Carlson asked Donald Trump last month why he should send his son to die defending Montenegro, NATO’s newest member, the president seemed to repudiate his own administration’s policy. He indicated that Americans shouldn’t be willing to sacrifice their lives for such a trivial ally. Furthermore, he warned that Montenegro “has very aggressive people. They may get aggressive, and congratulations, you’re in World War III.” As Cato Institute senior fellow Doug Bandow pointed out, Trump’s comment was odd on two counts. First, the Senate approved the admission of Montenegro on his watch in March 2017. If he thought that latest episode of adding a useless microstate to the Alliance was unwise, he could have withdrawn the treaty from consideration before the Senate vote. Second, as Bandow notes archly, that while “it is theoretically possible that the vast, aggressive, powerful Montenegrin legions might launch themselves towards Moscow,” it isn’t too likely, because Montenegrin leaders “do not appear to have entirely lost their minds.”

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/skeptics/how-macedonia-could-push-nato-war-29702

Most nations of the old Yugoslavia have become members of NATO all but Serbia……and it appears that Serbia is growing closer to Russia than its neighbors…..

Serbia’s air force received two Russian MiG-29 fighter jets as part of an arms purchase that could heighten tensions in the Balkans and increase Moscow’s influence in the region.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic attended the ceremony on Tuesday at a military airport close to the Serbian capital, Belgrade, thanking Russian President Vladimir Putin for helping make Serbia’s armed forces stronger.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2018/08/russia-delivers-fighter-jets-serbia-180821171328018.html

Could Serbia be trying to flex its military muscle again?

Serbia might reintroduce compulsory military service, nine years after abolishing it, to help improve the combat readiness of its army in the Balkans, where tensions occasionally flare, President Aleksandar Vucic said on Tuesday.

The armed forces of Serbia, which emerged as an independent state after the bloody collapse of former Yugoslavia in the 1990s, were fully professionalised in 2011, but remain poorly paid and equipped.

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-serbia-army/serbia-may-reintroduce-compulsory-military-service-president-idUKKCN1L61H1

Serbia has a long history pf hatred aimed at their neighbor Croatia….but why?  (a little history for your help)

Macedonia And Social Media

I have recently got some from Macedonia following IST (let me know who you are) it pleases me that I get people from all over to help me and my readers up to date on the events that I write about….after all I cannot be everywhere as much as I would like to……

I have been following the debate and the vote on the name thing that has been consuming the news from Macedonia…..https://lobotero.com/2018/06/13/macedonia-whats-in-a-name/

Now that I have the introduction and the lead in to this post….

It appears that American conservatives have been duped with fake news coming out of bots located in Macedonia…..

“This is the news of the millennium!” said the story on WorldPoliticus.com. Citing unnamed FBI sources, it claimed Hillary Clinton will be indicted in 2017 for crimes related to her email scandal.

“Your Prayers Have Been Answered,” declared the headline.

For Trump supporters, that certainly seemed to be the case. They helped the baseless story generate over 140,000 shares, reactions, and comments on Facebook.

Meanwhile, roughly 6,000 miles away in a small town in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, a young man watched as money began trickling into his Google AdSense account.

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/craigsilverman/how-macedonia-became-a-global-hub-for-pro-trump-misinfo

What is most humorous is that as that locate and identify these fake news bots…others pop up and the conservative base has a tendency to believe what they read or hear without checking the info out for accuracy.

Further Reading:

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/craigsilverman/american-conservatives-fake-news-macedonia-paris-wade-libert

Macedonia-What’s In A Name?

Remember your history?  Macedonia the home of Alexander the Great, that sexual switch hitter, and then Macedonia was part of the old Communist country of Yugoslavia….then with the break up of Tito’s dream Macedonia started fighting for its independence….

Like most international situations I have written a bit on this one also…..

https://lobotero.com/2018/02/06/macedonia/

With all the problems in the world these days I find it fascinating that these two countries are in dispute over a name…..

That is right there has been a battle for the name, Macedonia…..and some 25 years or more they are still protesting and fighting over the name….

Macedonians are hoping that it is time for their country to make a step forward in the EU integration process this June. The past EU progress reports have pointed out some significant improvements in certain areas of the country, but there is more to be accomplished in the implementation of necessary reforms required by the European Union – the rule of law remains a must for Macedonian politics. Prime Minister Zaev is convinced that such reforms should be made not only for progress towards EU integration, but also for the country and the Macedonian people themselves.

But there is another key issue that Macedonia should solve before moving forward – its name issue with Greece. The 9th of June is the deadline for a final response. The disputes continue, as both countries are facing strong opposition of their own. None of the versions presented – Northern Macedonia, Upper Macedonia or New Macedonia – seems to have worked until now. President Ivanov has not accepted a solution that can be universally used. He is calling on Prime Minister Zaev to try to reach a national consensus in overcoming the name dispute and find a solution that will not violate Macedonian dignity

https://tsarizm.com/analysis/2018/06/07/macedonias-name-is-still-an-open-question-orban-supports-opposition-to-agreement/

That is right my friends the protests are over the name….not some domestic policy that has gone horribly wrong….but rather the name Macedonia….

Tens of thousands rallied in northern Greece on Wednesday to protest against a possible compromise solution to a long-running row between Athens and Skopje over the ex-Yugoslav republic’s name.

Protesters staged separate rallies in about 23 northern Greek cities. They held banners reading “Macedonia is Greek”, “Respect our history” and waved Greek flags.

“Macedonia is our soul! There is only one Macedonia and it is in Greece, where King Phillip and Alexander the Great were born,” said one of the rally speakers in Pella city, adding Greeks would never accept another country was called Macedonia.

(reuters.com)

Across the border Macedonians held another opinion of the name….

As Macedonia and Greece approach the final stages of talks over Macedonia’s name change, thousands have taken to the streets. Name tensions have stymied Macedonia’s efforts to join the EU, with Greece holding veto power.

Thousands of right-wing opposition supporters in Macedonia protested against plans to change the country’s name in the capital, Skopje, on Saturday.

Protesters waving Macedonian and party flags gathered in front of the main government building, with some holding banners reading “Macedonia will win.”

http://www.dw.com/en/macedonia-thousands-protest-countrys-name-change/a-44057516

While I was researching this situation there came word that there was the possibility of a solution to this name quandary…..

Greece and Macedonia are very close to a deal to resolve a decades-old dispute over the ex-Yugoslav republic’s name, government officials in Athens told Reuters.

The row has blocked the tiny Balkan state’s efforts to join the European Union and the NATO military alliance, of which Greece is a member.

Athens and Skopje are aiming to agree the broad outline of a settlement before an EU summit in late June, though any deal would need to clear a referendum in Macedonia and win approval from lawmakers in both countries.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and his Macedonian counterpart Zoran Zaev are expected to discuss the issue over the phone on Tuesday.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-greece-macedonia-dispute/greece-macedonia-close-to-deal-on-name-dispute-greek-government-sources-idUSKBN1J80M5

Could this decades long dispute be close to a solution?

I will watch and write….as I always do…..

Macedonia?

Macedonia is not necessarily Macedonia.

Ever heard of Philip of Macedonia?

Of course you have….he was the father of Alexander the Great……

No history lesson this time….however a geography lesson is called for…..

There is a debate and an argument going on these days in the region….there is a Macedonia that came into being after the collapse of Yugoslavia and a state within Greece that is called Macedonia…..the dispute is just who gets to claim the name of Macedonia…..

Greece and neighboring Macedonia have been at loggerheads for more than a quarter-century over an issue at the heart of the newer nation’s existence and identity: its name.

The term “Macedonia” is a source of such nationalist fervor on both sides that the dispute has left the Balkan country without a universally recognized name and unable to join international institutions such as NATO.

The country emerged from the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1991, and was recognized by the United Nations in 1993 under the provisional name Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. International institutions still use that officially, although more than 130 countries simply refer to Macedonia.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/ap-explains-macedonia-greece-name-dispute-goes-back-171658609.html

This might seem like a minor dispute to most Americans but in reality it is a major source of contention in the Balkans….

More than 100,000 protesters from across Greece converged on Athens’ main square on Sunday to protest a potential Greek compromise in a dispute with neighbouring Macedonia over the former Yugoslav republic’s official name.

The dispute broke out after Macedonia gained independence from Yugoslavia in 1991. Greece argues use of the name implies territorial claims on its own province of Macedonia, once home of Alexander the Great.

Hundreds of buses brought protesters in from around the country, while more people arrived on ferries from the islands. Chanting “Hands off Macedonia!” and “Macedonia belongs to Greece!” the protesters converged on Syntagma Square, in front of the Greek parliament

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/04/hundreds-of-thousands-join-macedonia-name-protest-in-athens

What’s in a name?

https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2018/02/04/582506402/for-two-countries-the-dispute-over-macedonias-name-is-rooted-in-national-identit