So can Luxembourg claim the Belgian province of Luxembourg back then?
Sure, how many divisions does Luxembourg, the country, have?
Macedonia changes name, ending bitter dispute with Greece
31–40 of 136 posts
Re: Macedonia changes name, ending bitter dispute with Greece
#32Earlier quoted context omitted.
The conflict is about name, not area. Macedonia wants into EU, Greece doesn't agree as long as Macedonia is called Macedonia.
The conflict became about name after the aggressive irredentist rhetoric coming from newly-formed Makedonia in the 1990s. Remember that Greece had a civil war and Yugoslavia supported the communists in Northern Greece, so the subject is tricky.
Makedonia
I wonder - is this spelling some sort of shibboleth for Greeks who want to make a point that 'Macedonia' is only the area in Greece? I've seen it a few times in this thread, but never before anywhere else (then again, I didn't even know this was an issue until a week ago).
Re: Macedonia changes name, ending bitter dispute with Greece
#33Earlier quoted context omitted.
The conflict became about name after the aggressive irredentist rhetoric coming from newly-formed Makedonia in the 1990s. Remember that Greece had a civil war and Yugoslavia supported the communists in Northern Greece, so the subject is tricky.
Makedonia I wonder - is this spelling some sort of shibboleth for Greeks who want to make a point that 'Macedonia' is only the area in Greece? I've seen it a few times in this thread, but never before anywhere else (then again, I didn't even know this was an issue until a week ago).
It is simply a different transliteration. Neither country uses the Roman alphabet, it's either Македонија or Μακεδονίας.
Re: Macedonia changes name, ending bitter dispute with Greece
#34Earlier quoted context omitted.
Greece's logic in disapproving of the name Macedonia is that they fear that Macedonia (the republic) could some day claim the Greek province of Macedonia. By that logic, so should Luxembourg (the grand duchy) be able to claim the Belgian province of the same name.
There's a difference though, in that the province of Luxembourg was indeed a part of Luxembourg (the country) not even 200 years ago. So it would be a much more legitimate claim.
I don't think the rich Grand Duchy would be terribly interested in acquiring the empoverished Belgian province.
Re: Macedonia changes name, ending bitter dispute with Greece
#35Earlier quoted context omitted.
So on both sides, the people that are unhappy would have wanted the other side to make more concessions?
That's exactly why I poked him. Only nationalists are displeased. source: I'm Greek and I think this is a great deal
I can see you can't really understand what a nationalist means despite one representative source I cited with regards to Mikis Theodorakis. I won't mock you for that -as you did- however to make my point easier for you here is a hint: M. Theodorakis has been a communist all his life and was imprisoned during the Greek dictatorship (Junta) in 1967-74. Junta is the 'dream' of Greek nationalists (see Golden Dawn). I think that'd be helpful
Re: Macedonia changes name, ending bitter dispute with Greece
#36"...ending...": in fact, it has just begun.. There's a long way until this 'agreement' becomes a 'reality' (referendum and constitutional changes in FYROM and then vote in both parliaments). But most importantly the will of the people has been ignored so only the near future will show what will actually happen. For a historical reference about this issue and the Greek identity of Macedonia: https://history.stackexcha…
>> But most importantly the will of the people has been ignored so only the near future will show what will actually happen.
If "the will of the people" is to cling on to nationalist and irredentist ideas, then it's imperative that the people are givent he opportunity to reconsider their "will". We know all too well what happens in Europe when we let nationalism guide us. In the Balkans, even more so.
The "will" of the people can certainly not be that we are constantly up in arms, killing each other for petty malakies (yes, I'm Greek). The only "people" who "will" this are populist politicians who stand to profit from constant unrest.
Re: Macedonia changes name, ending bitter dispute with Greece
#37Earlier quoted context omitted.
Both. Nationalist Greeks are angry and so do nationalist Makedonians. I would think both countries have more important things to protest about than name change, but then I don't live on Balkans.
Things like these are, sadly, very important in the Balkans sigh
I'm pretty sure the name of your own country is important to most people everywhere.
Re: Macedonia changes name, ending bitter dispute with Greece
#38In Greece there's quite an uproar for this agreement. 70% of the population is against it and in the northern parts of the country the government's acceptance rates have dropped to single digit percentages.
Re: Macedonia changes name, ending bitter dispute with Greece
#39In Greece there's quite an uproar for this agreement. 70% of the population is against it and in the northern parts of the country the government's acceptance rates have dropped to single digit percentages.
This is just a poll from a right (I would argue even far-right) paper, so better take it with a grain of salt.
Re: Macedonia changes name, ending bitter dispute with Greece
#40Earlier quoted context omitted.
Makedonia I wonder - is this spelling some sort of shibboleth for Greeks who want to make a point that 'Macedonia' is only the area in Greece? I've seen it a few times in this thread, but never before anywhere else (then again, I didn't even know this was an issue until a week ago).
It is simply a different transliteration. Neither country uses the Roman alphabet, it's either Македонија or Μακεδονίας.
Probably a more accurate transliteration, since the 'c' gets pronounced as soft in English (at least, every time I've heard it: "Mass-ə-doh-nee-ah"), whereas the kappa indicates it should be a hard 'c'.