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Macedonian Airport Lifts Name Dispute to New Heights

18 01 2007  Decision to rename terminal after Alexander the Great marks new phase in tug of war with Athens.

By Vladimir Mirceski in Skopje (Balkan Insight, 18 Jan 07)

The UN mediator for resolving the dispute between Greece and Macedonia flew into trouble last weekend - literally - after touching down at an airport whose new name has brought the conflict to new heights.

Matthew Nimitz landed at Skopje airport just as the Macedonians were about to formally rename it after Alexander the Great, the 4^th century BC warrior whom Greeks see as the epitome of classical Greek heroism.

Although the airport still bore the old name Airport Petrovec when he landed, as Nimitz drove towards the Macedonian parliament he could hardly miss the sight of new road signs to the airport proclaiming the name of the mighty conqueror whose empire stretched practically all the way to the Punjab.

Nimitz brought an angry message from Greek foreign minister Dora Bakoyannis, complaining that the move violated the Interim Agreement regulating relations between the two countries.

After a two-hour meeting in Skopje, Nimitz maintained the move was “not a major event here”, adding, however, that the issue was “between two neighboring countries and has to be dealt with great sensitivity”.

Behind the scenes, the conversation may have been tougher. Sources have disclosed to Balkan Insight that Nimitz warned the Macedonian government of Nikola Gruevski that Greece may scrap the Interim Agreement altogether, reflecting the anger felt by the Greek prime minister, Kostas Karamanlis. The agreement regulates all issues between the two countries except for the vexed question of the name.

If Greece withdrew from the agreement, it could result in Athens blocking Macedonia’s accession to key international organisations of which Greece is a member, such as NATO or EU, as the accord stipulates that Greece cannot try to thwart Macedonia’s Euro-Atlantic integration under the reference Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

But in spite of the storm clouds from the south, Gruevski’s centre-right government appeared unruffled. Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki even said renaming the airport after Alexander might speed up the resolution of the name dispute.

“It will stimulate a moderate move forward in the discussions regarding the name,” Milososki told the media, adding that the change of the airport’s name was not intended to provoke.

Some analysts feel Greece is unlikely to worsen the conflict right now, as an infringement of the Interim Agreement would not be in Greece’s interest. Others say even if the accord collapsed, it would not necessarily harm Macedonia.

Meanwhile, Balkan Insight has learned that the authorities are considering a broader campaign to rename sites and streets after classical heroes, whether or not this angers Greece.

The name dispute goes back to 1991 when the country proclaimed its independence from Yugoslavia. Athens rejected the use of the name Macedonia, accusing the government of harboring territorial pretensions towards the northern Greek province of the same name.

Under Greek pressure, Macedonia was admitted to the United Nations in 1993 under the temporary name of Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, a cumbersome appellation that Macedonians dislike as an infringement of their right to call themselves what they want.

Under UN Resolution 817, Macedonia and Greece are obliged to hold discussions under the auspices of the Secretary General until they reach a commonly acceptable solution.

Relations between the two countries deteriorated further in February 1994, when Greece placed a punitive trade embargo on Macedonia, which lasted for more than 18 months and damaged the economy to the tune of some two billion US dollars.

The situation calmed down in 1995 when the two sides signed the Interim Agreement in New York. Two special UN mediators, firstly Cyrus Vance and, since 1999, Matthew Nimitz have proposed various compromise names without success.

Nimitz submitted his last two suggestions in 2005, but Macedonia said no to the name Republic of Macedonia - Skopje while Athens rejected Republika Makedonija.

The situation has since remained static since then, until Macedonia gave the green light to rename its main airport after Alexander, which Greece says violates Article 7 of the Interim Agreement concerning cultural patrimony.

This says that “if either party believes one or more symbols constituting part of its historic or cultural patrimony is being used by the other party, it shall bring such alleged use to the attention of the other party and the other party shall take appropriate corrective action or indicate why it does not consider it necessary”.

But Skopje insists article 7 is not relevant to the airport, as Alexander is a figure of general civilization significance rather than an item of Greek cultural patrimony.

Filip Caparoski, a Macedonian international law expert, agrees. “This is not about symbols and Macedonia does not aspire to have exclusive rights to the name of Alexander the Great,” he said.

Caparoski says the threats from Athens are a test of the government’s willingness to resist pressure. “The threats are a manifestation of Greece’s impotence, as Athens feels its positions in the discussions has weakened,” he added. “This is a brave move with which Macedonia is showing some muscle.”

Slobodan Casule, a former foreign minister, insists the Greek threat to withdraw from the Interim Agreement is unrealistic, as Athens would not want to be responsible for destabilising the Balkans and thus courting international criticism.

“When the US is involved in Iraq, and NATO is in Afghanistan, no one wants to see the Balkans destabilised because of Greece,” said Casule.

However, he distanced himself from the move to rename the airport after Alexander. “What does Macedonia gain from this inessential testing of Greece, except for an angry government in Athens?” he asked.

However, some Macedonian experts want to see still more vigorous actions. Ljubomir Frckoski, an international law professor and also a former foreign minister, said Macedonia ought to abandon its “servility in relation to Greece, which has not produced any results”. He added, “Things should not end here.”

Frckovski said Macedonia should consider ending the fruitless UN mediation process and prepare a new strategy, starting with a drive to ensure the use of the word Macedonian in the Council of Europe. At the same time, he suggested that at home it should be able to approach its traditions and roots without interference.

Frckovski also said that the 113 countries that have recognised the Republic of Macedonia under its constitutional name is something that should not be underestimated.


Vladimir Mircevski is a Kanal 5 TV journalist and an associate of BIRN. Balkan Insight is BIRN’s online publication.