Countries in the Balkans slowly progress in their search for an identity
Skopje, Friday,
It's been one of Europe's thorniest issues for decades: What should the country admitted to the United Nations under the bizarre provisional name of "Former Yugoslav Republic Of Macedonia (FYROM)" finally be called? The region is part of ancient Macedonia, most of which lies within the boundaries of modern Greece. Today, FYROM, borders Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the East and Kosovo and Serbia to the north. The obvious solution has - laboriously - been arrived at: the region will be called 'Macedonia', despite the fears of the Greeks that this implied territorial claims to their own province by that name, but with an additional geographical qualifier: 'north' Put that way, it seems almost elegantly simple. But for some Greeks, even the mention of the word 'Macedonia' by the fledgling nation was deeply offensive.
So imagine the horror, then, when attending Monday's Euro soccer game between North Macedonia and the Netherlands, the country's new Prime Minister, Zoran Zaev (46) tweeted:
"Today, from the stadium in Amsterdam, I offer my strong support to the Macedonian football team."
Red faces all around! Zaev rushed to apologize to outraged Greeks saying "I believe in the Prespa Agreement… I’m the first to follow the Prespa Agreement" adding that the national team comprised "Macedonian players, Albanian players, Bosniaks et cetera… They are Macedonians… And the representation of the Republic of North Macedonia."
But this incident should not spoil the party when, from July 1, North Macedonia starts issuing passports proudly bearing the country’s new name, as agreed in the historic 2018 deal with Athens.
Foreign Minister Nikola Dimitrov (48) said:
"May today be the beginning of a long friendship between Greece and North Macedonia. We can't change our past, but we can and we will shape our future of friendship, partnership and cooperation."
Is it Kosovo… Or Kosova?
What's in a name? Words, especially place names, have meanings.
One of North Macedonia's neighbors has had its own fierce battle over what it should be called. Kosovo... or Kosova?
What's crucial to realize is that the name Kosova (as opposed to Kosovo) is favored by the Albanian Kosovar people, who have lived in the area for centuries and currently make up more than 92% of the country's population and that, over the centuries of colonization, annexation, conflict, war, and genocide have marked Kosova's history and its people. This name acknowledges not only the county's independence from Serbia but also this long history. Kosovo on the other hand is the name used ou Serbs for the "Field of blackbirds" as the land is known in Serbia.
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