Athens

June 16, 2005

OPEN LETTER OF MR. NICHOLAS MARTIS, FORMER MINISTER OF MACEDONIA-THRACE

(Translated by Nina Gatzoulis, Vice-President of the Pan-Macedonian Association USA)

TO Mr. Oli Rhen

Delegate Responsible for the enlargement of E.E.

Brussels

Mr. Rhen,

I am Macedonian and I served for 12 years various Ministries in the Greek government when the late Presidents of Democracy, Konstantinos Karamanlis and Georgios Rallis respectively, were presiding.

I am a Veteran of WWII and I served as Lieutenant in the following battles:

a) In the Battle of Fortresses Macedonia-Thrace during the German invasion, April 1941,

V) In the Battle of El-Allamein (Africa),

c) In the Battle of Rimini (Italy), and

d) In the Battle of Athens in December 1944.

I am writing this letter because I wish to address your statement during your meeting, on June 6, 2005, with Prime Minister of the FYROM, Mr. Buckovski, that the integration of the FYROM into EU won't be affected by the suspense of the name.

This thesis is erroneous.

The Macedonian President of the Hellenic Republic, Konstantinos Karamanlis who was Greece's Prime Minister for 14 years and for 10 additional years served as the President of Democracy, in his letter on January 8,1992 to the leaders of the EU (Doc. 2) stated: “The issue about the name of the self-called “Republic of Macedonia” is of fundamental importance to Greece”. This Republic has absolutely no right, whether historical nor ethnological, to use the name Macedonia”. It is unthinkable today, after the end of Cold War, to give historical legitimacy to Tito's and Moscow's efforts to gain access to the Aegean via Greece's mutilation

As a consequence of Karamanlis' letter, on June 21, 1992, in the Summit Meeting in Lisbon, the European Community decided the non-recognition of the Republic of the FYROM, as long as the word “Macedonia” exists in its name.

Your thesis is also erroneous, regarding your statement that the problem of Macedonia is a problem of only Greece and the FYROM. Out of respect of the role and the work of Alexander the Great and the Macedonian Successors during the Hellenistic era, as it is obvious in the following passages, it becomes clear that this issue does not only concern the Greeks, but every person with an elementary historical knowledge.

1. Sweden’s Foreign Ministry and in cooperation with Lund University and with the signature of the renowned author Staffan Stolpe, in a study on Macedonia, in 1995, states:

 

"The European Ministers do not know History. They do not know that the History of Macedonia is not only the History of the Greeks, but it is also the History of Europeans because the Macedonians propagated the Greek Culture in Europe and to the entire world".

 

2. Alexander the Great and his Macedonian successors spread the Greek Culture and established Greek as the only language of populations, so that the Old Testament is translated in Greek, and New Testament is written in Greek. Consequently Christianity is conveyed to the entire world in the Greek language.

 

This historic event does not only affect the Greeks.

 

3. The Soviet Academic, Abraham Rankovitc, in his book “The Hellenistic Era” writes: “The civilization that Alexander and his successors created, has been inherited by Rome, Byzantium, and the nations of Near East and affects us even today”.

 

4. Dennis Overbye wrote in New York Times in 2001, “The spiritual meeting of Greeks and Arabians (as a consequence of the spread of the Greek Civilization by the Troops of Alexander the Great), was one of the greatest events in History, with enormous consequences, not only for Islam but also for Europe and the entire world”.

 

The Republic of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia with such a name as "Macedonia,” turns to be a huge political and historical fraud. It is unthinkable the E.E. would risk her prestige and dignity if she overlooks the name issue and also if she does not denounce the theft of the name, thus compelling Greece to practice Veto (according to articles 2 and 3 of Stability Contract of the year 2001). 

 

Mr. Ren

 

I did not accidentally mention the fact that I am a WWII Veteran, and indeed I participated in the Battle of Fortresses of Macedonia and Thrace during the 1941 German attack in Greece. The fraud can be revealed through this battle.

 

However, prior to referring to this Battle, I remind you that in October 1940 and when Europe had been subjugated to Hitler, with Stalin as his ally, Fascist Italy attacked Greece. Greece however won the battle against the Italians.

 

The defeat of Italy resulted in Hitler’s decision, with Stalin’s approval, to attack Greece, as I analyzed in my book "The USA and the Case of Macedonia" (pgs. 22-27), which I am sending to you. In addition the Prime Minister of Greece declared to Great Britain’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Eden, that Greece will face Germany alone, while Yugoslavia and Turkey did not. Greece on he own, with the participation of the English, Australians and New-Zealanders was battling in Crete, against the Axis for 214 days, when France succumbed in 45 days.

The German attack from the Bulgarian land against the fortifications of Macedonia - Thrace, reveals that Macedonia from the 8th century B.C. and from 1912 (pg 21 of the book) existed only in Greece. In the same day the Germans entered Skopje which was the capital of Vardarska and not Macedonia (document 5).

 

Germany’s attack against Greece resulted in:

 

1.               The postponement of the German attack against the Soviet Union, resulting in Germany’s European defeat [Hitler’s confession to his friend Riefenstahl (pg 26) Kaitel’s statement during the Trial of Nuremberg (pg 26, Eden’s statement on September 24, 1942 (pg 25) and  General Alexander’s statement (pg 27)].

 

 

2.        Tito prevailed in Yugoslavia and materialized the decision of the Comitern and all Balkan Communist Parties (including the Greek Communist Party, K.K.E) from 1921 for the detachment of Macedonia from Greece. On August 2, 1944 he announced the foundation of Socialist Republic of Macedonia.

 

In September 1944, with the departure of the German and Bulgarian forces from Skopje, Tito entered Skopje and created in paper the non-existent elements of a pseudo-Macedonian Nation:

 

a.                In 1945 a Macedonian government and a Macedonian Parliament.

 

b.         In 1944 named the oral Bulgarian idiom that was spoken in Southern Yugoslavia "Macedonian Language," which became the 6th official language of Yugoslavia in 1945, after going through a process.

 

c.         The Atheistic Communistic Party of Tito founded the “Autocephalous Macedonian Church” only in Southern Yugoslavia in 1968, a Church not recognized by any Orthodox Patriarchate. Not too long ago the Serbian Patriarchate did recant this schismatic Church. 

d.         The self-proclaimed Macedonians assembled from all the files of world regarding Macedonia and usurped all the event and individuals who had anything to do with Macedonia. Furthermore In 1969 they published the “History of the pseudo-Macedonian Nation", which constitutes the biggest political and historical fraud.

 

Having as basis the false statement that the Ancient Macedonians were not Greek, they afterwards discovered... in1950 that as Slavs of 6th century linked with the non-Greek Macedonians and became THE Macedonians. Thus all their positions and theses are false and fabricated, such as:

 

1. In the official Web page of the FYROM Government they presented the Agreement of Connection of E.E. and the FYROM in 2001, as Agreement of "Republic of Macedonia" (no FYROM). They also presented Greece signing an Agreement with the “Republic of Macedonia” (doc. 21). The E.E. officials did not denounce this fraud, so that Israel also signed an Agreement with co-contractor the "Republic of Macedonia", because, as Israel’s Foreign Minister stated, “this Democracy will be included in the E.E”.

 

2. In 1986 they deceived the Vatican and presented Greek Byzantine icons as Macedonian. The Archbishop of Greece protested and the Vatican apologized, declaring that: "We were trapped by the Citizens of the FYROM.

 

3. They consider Ilinten as their National holiday. In other words they present the Bulgarian revolt against the Turks, in 1903, as a “Macedonian” revolt.

 

4. The Ilinten allegations are denied by the Consuls of USA, England, France, Austria who witnessed the 1903 events in Monastery; they are further denied with the seventy Reports of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, who inform that the Ilinden was actually a Bulgarian revolt. (doc. 17, pg. 101-106).

 

5.   The Turkish Ambassador in France also presented this report to the French Minister of Foreign     Affairs (Doc. 18).

 

      6.    They are lying that Emperor Samuel was “Macedonian”, while he was Bulgarian (Doc. 28).

 

       7.    They are lying that Macedonia was divided. The Treaty of Bucharest does not contain the word "Macedonia" anywhere in its contents. (Doc 15 and 16).

 

      8.     They are lying that the language of ancient Macedonians was not Greek.

In the Athens National Centre of Research have 5.000 Greek inscriptions of Macedonia and 11.000 Macedonian names have been assembled. I am challenging the citizens of the FYROM and those who accept their theories to present only a sign of the said "Macedonian Language".

 

With the Treaty of Maastricht, Education and Culture are the new priorities of interest in the EU.

 

The basic statements of the FYROM are that Macedonia is not Greek, that Greeks did not live in Macedonia and that the language of Macedonians was not Greek.

 

These statements are falsified by texts by the New Testament and particularly by the Acts of Apostles, which report the arrival of Apostle Paul in Macedonia, in 50 AD.

 

Concretely:

 

Apostle Paul went to Veria, Thessalonica and Philippi, that is to say cities that prior to St. Paul’s arrival bore Greek names and they still do, up to this date.

 

V) It is revealed that the FYROM officials have deceived many generations of their own citizenry, as well as other countries, presenting a map that exists also in the current school books of the FYROM, that Greeks did not live in Macedonia (Doc. 9). Let us not forget that St. Paul met in Thessalonica and Veria "Greeks and Greek women who believed" (Chap 4, par.12)

 

And

 

c) The fact that Greeks inhabited Macedonia and that the Language of the Macedonians was Greek, can be testified, in addition to the thousands of Greek inscriptions that were found in Macedonia, by the fact that St. Paul spoke Greek and wrote his letters to Thessalonians and to Philippians in Greek.

 

If the EU is interested in Education and Culture, and due to her own prestige, she would not ignore the name issue, but she should also (base her position in Articles 2 and 3 of the Pact of Correlation and Stability), take a position and support the Greek identity of Macedonia as Greek, and ancient Macedonians as Greeks.

 

This fact is confirmed by:

 

1) The texts of Old Testament (p. 138-140 the book).

 

2) The texts of New Testament - Acts of Apostles (Chap., par. 10 and JZ 4, 12).

 

3) The Ancient Greek, Roman and Jewish writers (p. 135-143 of book), but also p. 48-57 the book, where the positions of the following individuals are stated:

 

a) By Chancellor of Western Germany Helmut Smitt (Doc. 22),

 

b) By Former President of France Ziskar d' Estain (Doc. 25) and

 

c) By the statement of the late President of France F. Mitteran (pg. 50 of the book).

 

d) By the Macedonian athletes’ participation in the Olympic Games and Macedonia’s cultural ties with the rest of the Greek city states (Doc. 6).

 

e) By the Ancient Greek Theatres in Macedonia and in the FYROM (Doc., p. 79-80 in the book). As we know only Greeks sponsored the art of the Theater.

 

e) By the statement of the Late Pop Paul (p. 54, doc. 25 and 26 of the book "The USA and the Case of Macedonia").

 

But the Greek identity of Macedonia and the FYROM fraud can be revealed by the following events that took place:

 

1.              Treaty of St. Stephan (1878). A conflict between Greeks and Bulgarians is reported.

 

2.              Treaty Berlin (1878). A conflict between Greeks and Bulgarians is reported.

 

3.               Macedonian Struggle (Greeks against Bulgarians -1903-1908).

 

4.               Turkic Census (1905). (doc.13). Not one Macedonian has been written down.

 

5.               Parliamentary Elections of Turks (1912), in Monastery (doc. 14), where in addition to the Turk candidates they were also Bulgarians and Greeks. Macedonians were non-existent.

 

6.               I Balkan War (1912-Struggle of Greeks, Serbs, Bulgarians, Montenegrins against Turks).

 

7.               II Balkan War (1913-Struggle of Greeks, Serbs, Romanians against Bulgarians).

 

8.               World War I (1914-1918 - In the Balkans - Serbs, Greeks and French against Germans, Turks and Bulgarians).

 

9.               World War II (1940-1945 - In the Balkans - Greeks and Serbs against Germans and

Bulgarians).

 

In all the aforementioned events there is no “Macedonians” present, but only Turks, Serbs, Greeks and Bulgarians.

 

Skopje, being the capital of “Macedonia,” lacks seriousness and gravity because:

 

a.               During antiquity and during the Roman era, Skopje was the capitol of Dardania.

b.               During the Ottoman era, Skopje was the capital of Krushevo.

c.               From 1912-1944, Skopje was the capital of Vardarska.

 

The capital of Macedonia is Thessalonica (or according to Strabo, "Metropolis of Macedonia") and for 23 centuries had an intense and continuous presence in Greek, European and World History. A map that exists in the current books of the FYROM, but also in other countries of the world as well (doc. 10, pg. 87-89), with Greek borders only extending to Mount Olympus, depicts expansionist views from our northern neighbors. The name of “Solun” that FYROM calls the capitol of Macedonia, instead of Thessalonica, gives the impression that this city is not a Greek city at all (doc. 9, pg. 84-86).

Greece more than any other country, wishes and has more interests that this Democracy maintains itself and does well as a state, but under the condition that it will abandon stealing the Greek names and acquires a new name for herself, as it was stated by Thomas Neils, Undersecretary of State Department, Member of the Congress Committee, in 1992

 

Peace in this region will be ensured only with a new name, because the neighboring populations will cease to use their citizens for political expediencies and the FYROM citizens will cease promoting lies that in the neighboring countries there are Macedonian minorities that are oppressed.

 

Macedonia since the Roman conquest, ceased to exist as an independent State, as the other Greek States did and from then on it is presented as a Greek province.

 

It is therefore unthinkable, contradictory to obvious historical truth and offensive to every person with elementary historical knowledge that some other independent state will be recognized as Macedonia, acquired by Stalin’s devious plans (doc.12, pg. 91-93)

 

The two following theses confirm your erroneous position that the name issue won’t affect the FYROM accession into EU:

 

The Academy of Athens, in a unanimous Decision of its Board Members in 17 January 17, 1992,  stated that:

 

1.        “Spurious Macedonia" claims real Macedonia, a region of Greece, inhabited by Greeks. This Democracy has every right to become an independent State. It is not acceptable however to acquire, through international recognition, an advantage that no other State in the world has: to have a name that alone promotes territorial goals"(doc. 11).

 

2.               With the datum that the FYROM maintains, that the Macedonians are not Greeks, it is unthinkable to host the President of Democracy and the Prime Minister of FYROM as "Macedonian", because it will be a blasphemy to the memory of the late Macedonian President of Democracy, Konstantinos Karamanlis, but also exudes disrespect at the current Prime Minister of Greece, the Macedonian Kostas Karamanlis. At the same time, it will also be offensive to real Macedonians all over the world, because the right of their National identity is insulted.

 

With esteem,

 

Nicholas Martis

Former Minister

President of Macedonian Estia