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The New Macedonian Question (St. Antony's)

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One of the most reliable reviews that I have read about the issue of Macedonia
supported with documents.

The 'Macedonian Question' has always been at the heart of Balkan politics. The small, landlocked territory in the southern Balkans has been contested by its four neighbours - Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece and Albania - during and since the demise of the Ottoman Empire. This collection of essays by prominent international authors seeks to redefine the 'new' Macedonian Question, and to shed light on the complex recent history of the old socialist republic within the second Yugoslavia and its successor state. It includes important analyses of the politics, international relations and recent history of the region, as well as of the complex ethnic and religious divisions of the modern inhabitants.

While the title would suggest that the book is a review ofMacedonia and the Macedonian people and their role in Balkan politics,it is really an anti-Macedonian diatribe, with articles by anti-Macedonian authors like Evangelos Kofos included. Mr. Shea's book,Macedonia and Greece is an unbiased version of Macedonian history,a much better read than Mr.Pettifer's anti-Macedonian propaganda machine.

First, there was no Greek nation in ancient times but Greek city-states...Athens Sparta Thebes Corinth and yes Macedonia...Ive read previous reviews where the authors claim that the the Greeks revolted under Macedoanian rule which is true...Greek city states greatly valued their independence even from other Greek city states..Such is the case between Athens and Sparta when they tried to dominate each other leading to the Peloponnesian War..It is natural that they would revolt..Claiming that because the other Greek city-states revolted against Macedonia as proof of Macedonians being a non-Greek people is false!!

Id like to ask or suggest some food for though to my FYROM readers(Former YugoSLAV Republic Of Macedonia) or disbelievers that the MAcedonians were Greek these FACTS:

1)Why is there no evidence of a non-Greek Macedonian language?
the ancient Macedonians spoke Greek and had Greek names..
2)Where is this non-Greek Macedonian culture hiding?
All ancient Macedonian artifacts are Greek
Are we suppose to believe the that the ancient Macedoanians were not Greek and then one day out of the blue they said the hell with it let's be Greek? Lets speak Greek, worship Greek gods, write in Greek, structure our conquered territory based on Greek ideas and culture, setting up gymnasiums, theater, agoras..etc.. common on people!!! No conquerer has ever conquered a country or territory and then poof in an instant forgot his roots..I once heard someone use Rome as an example regarding its conquering of the ancient Greek city states and adopting Greek culture.Id like to point out that Rome never adopted Greek as its official language. Romans never adopted Greek names ( cicero ceasar aurelias are not greek)and most of all you can clearly see a distinction between Roman literature and Greek..

3)Why did Alexander idolize Greek heroes such as Achilles, why did he keep a copy of the Illiad around as if it were his bible written by another Greek Homer..How is Aristotle his tutor Greek and Alexander isnt when they are both Macedonians?

4) Why would the ancient Greeks place the home of their gods( Zeus Athena Poseidon etc) on MT OLYMPUS which is located in ancient Macedonia??
Does it make sense for a people to place their holy sites in a foreign land??? Doesnt anyone think logically anymore?

Todays inhabitants of FYROM are a mix of Bulgarians, Albanians, Gypsies.
Slavic people arrived in the Balkans in the 6th and 7th century AD...
It is LOGICALLY incorrect for these citizens to believe they are Macedonians...They are Slavs and there is ZERO evidence of the ancient Macedonians being Slavic!!!!

Todays FYROM scholars have NO TANGIBLE EVIDENCE to claim that the ancient Macedonians were not Greek just revisionistic lies!!!!

Furthermore,FYROM's former president Kiro Gligorov in the Toronto Star on March 15, 1992 said: . That's who we are! We have no connection to Alexander the Greek and his Macedonia.

In an interview with the Ottawa Citizen, Gyordan Veselinov, Macedonia's Ambassador to Canada said: "We are not related to the northern Greeks who produced leaders like Philip and Alexander the Great. We are a Slav people and our language is closely related to Bulgarian" and that "there is some confusion about the identity of the people of this country."

Reviewed by Zhidas Daskalovski (School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University College London) E-mail: daskalovski@hotmail.com _________________________________________

In less then a year time span, the academic world was offered two accounts of the so-called Macedonian Question. First, in 1999, James Pettifer edited The New Macedonian Question, and then, in 2000, Victor Roudometof presented his The Macedonian Question. Both books were compiled by visiting professors at academic institutions based in Thessaloniki, Greece, Petiffer at the Institute of Balkan Studies, Roudometof at American College Of Thessaloniki. Given the political situation in the Southern Balkans, this fact raises the question about who wants to reintroduce a "Macedonian question" in the academic and indirectly, in the policy making world, and in whose interest this might be. An informed observer would immediately notice that both monographs are biased in the selection of essays and themes covered. Roudometof, for example, writing a book concerning Macedonia, does not include a single contribution from authors originating from Republic of Macedonia, while Petiffer has two reprints of articles and only one new piece written by a Macedonian sociologist.

For a thorough review on Macedonia, see John Shea's book "Macedonia and Greece: The struggle to define a new balkan nation"

I do not see anything honest about a book that talks about one country (Macedonia) but avoids the faith of the people of that country (Macedonians) like they do not exist, and instead represents the views of it's enemies.

Investigative journalism instead of rehashed pro-Greek and anti-Macedonian propaganda would have been nice, but that is of course too much to expect from an author who enjoys patronage of Athens.
Where are the accounts from ethnic Macedonians? Referring to Kosovo as Kosova also shows the author's stance on that issue.

Utter garbage, which fails to pay due attention to the Macedonians and their cultural heritage. There are much better books on Macedonia that discuss the Macedonian Question from a far more neutral standpoint than this one. John Shea's: Macedonia and Greece comes to mind.

Most writers when they write, whether it is fiction or non-fiction, tend to do some sort of research. I find that Mr. Pettifers writng is based not on unbiased research, but based on
his "patrons" distorted view on history. Mr. Pettifer has taken a one-sided approach to the Kosovo conflict. By referring to the region as "Kosova", he legitimizes the aspirarations of separtists terrorists in that region.
From his previous writings to this latest "reportage" I would guess that Mr. Pettifer could not make it as an investigative reporter, but instead choose to write for a public relations firm that has terrorists for clients.
I would recommend Salonicus Terminus, by Fred A Reed, for unbiased reporting on the Balkans as well as (the Republic of) Macedonia!

This tired collection of essays managed to miss the entire flavor of the country and the question. The lack of perspective on the issues is obvious - there is not a single Macedonian contribution or perspective in the mix.