Pendarovski’s fantasy world
Or, Meanwhile, in Greece….
On October 11, the Day of the Macedonian Uprising, Macedonian President Stevo Pendarovski tweeted out the following:
“If we forget that the foundations of this country are Ilinden and anti-fascist, then we will destroy the only place in the world that we can call our home. May it be the Day of the People’s Uprising for many years to come! Long live the Republic of Northern Macedonia! #11October”
Aside from his renaming the country, two words in that tweet caught my attention: “forget” and “destroy.” Both go together.
I have written in the past about the issue of the past and memory and how important it is to a people, to a nation. You can read those columns, here, here, and here, but it’s worth noting some of the quotes I presented as arguments in defense of the past and memory:
“The first step in liquidating a people is to erase its memory. Destroy its books, its culture, its history…. Before long the nation will begin to forget what it is and what it was.” — Milan Kundera
“The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.” — George Orwell
“To destroy a people, you must first sever their roots.” — Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
So, President Pendarovski is correct in one way: you forget your past, you destroy your home.
How does this apply to Macedonia’s name? All of Macedonia’s heroes fought, bled, died, and sacrificed for Macedonia — not something else — and all that goes with being Macedonia — all of the history, culture, and more. Erasing Macedonia’s name — which is what Greece demanded and Bulgaria is now demanding — means erasing more than simply the name. This is obvious to anyone who can read or hear. I suspect Pendarovski knows this and yet ignores it, because he is living in a fantasy world, far removed from reality.
In his most recent interview with Greek media, in this case Kathimerini, we learn that Pendarovski thinks there is resistance to the name change in “some corners of our society.” And yet in that same interview he (rightly) notes that “the whole political opposition is still against” the agreement. That is certainly more than merely “some corners.” And if Pendarovski was honest — and I do not believe he is honest — he would note that the 2018 referendum on the change failed and failed miserably. It is not “some corners” of society that is — still — against the name change. It is most Macedonians.
Pendarovski makes the claim that if (when is more likely) the opposition comes to power in Macedonia, “they will respect the Prespa agreement” because “I can’t think how they will step back from NATO membership,” implying that Macedonia can be kicked out of NATO. Except that there is no mechanism for kicking a country out of NATO. Turkey, arguably the naughtiest member of the NATO club, is, from time to time brought up as an example of a country that should be kicked out of NATO. And yet NATO members (and their enablers in the various governments, media, think tanks, academia, etc.) know that even if NATO as a political block were to consider kicking Turkey out, NATO would cease to exist.
Finally, in that interview, Pendarovski repeats the tired old lie that there is no alternative to EU membership. And yet he admits that, given the current situation in the EU, it looks rather bleak that EU membership for Macedonia — and the Western Balkans — is on the horizon. So I guess my question is: why not explore other options? Do does Macedonia lack intelligent people who might come up with options, altnernatives? Or is everyone in the political sphere just too lazy to consider other options? Or is it that the EU demands you pursue EU membership — forever — while withholding it — again, forever?
Finally, and circling back to Pendarovski’s October 11 tweet, we come to Greek Foreign Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Dendias who told Macedonian Minister of Foreign Affairs Bujar Osmani, during his August visit to Greece, that Macedonia must do more to implement the so-called Prespa agreement. Dendias said “we must invest in the new generation, by providing them with proper education and the necessary tools to look forward to our common future, our European future, not to look to the past.”
Ah yes, the future, not the past! “Forget your past, embrace your new future with your new name and identity” is essentially what he is saying.
And no wonder: the Greek project to destroy Macedonia by encouraging Macedonians themselves to erase their own past and identity is still in full swing. And it is aided and abetted by both Stevo Pendarovski and Zoran Zaev.
“we must invest in the new generation, by providing them with proper education and the necessary tools to look forward to our common future, our European future, not to look to the past.”
Ah yes, the future, not the past! “Forget your past, embrace your new future with your new name and identity” is essentially what he is saying.
And no wonder: the Greek project to destroy Macedonia by encouraging Macedonians themselves to erase their own past and identity is still in full swing. And it is aided and abetted by both Stevo Pendarovski and Zoran Zaev.
