Who Are the Macedonians?

Rating:
Summary: The Truth
Review: A fallacious account of Macedonian history, most likely fueled by greek propaganda. Most literature on the history of Macedonia is manipulated by foreign parties with their own interests at hand. If you are interested in the history of Macedonia I encourage you to read materials from all sides, and speak to people. The truth is never easy to find. History can never be changed. Macedonia is its own land with its own people as mentioned in the Bible, ancient maps and other scripts.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting Historical Book
Review: It is nice to see a book written by a non native looking over the history of the region without being biased.
Macedonian history it's still a very hot topic in the Balkan Areas.

Speaking in favor of the demands of the Macedonian people in Greece, the leader of the parliamentary group of the Communist Party, Stelios Sklavenas, declared at the Parliamentary sitting of 25th April 1936: "Another problem which the Government keeps ignoring in its declarations is the question of giving the minorities in Greece rights equal to those of the native Greek population. This refers in the first place to the Macedonian people. Anyone who has traveled through Macedonia must have felt the specific pressure exerted on the Macedo-nians. They have been strictly forbidden to have their own schools, speak their own language or practice their own customs. As a result, the people are getting organized and ready to fight for their rights, in which we can't but support them. The winning countries in the Great War and the League of Nations sanctioned the right for the self-determination of oppressed nations. And we also grant this right to the Macedonian people...
General Metaxas established his dictatorship on 4th August 1936. One of the first things he did was to retaliate against deputy Stelios Sklavenas for his speech in Parliament in support of the Macedonian cause, by sending him to the dungeons of Manyadakis, chief of the Security police, where he was virtually subjected to inquisition.

Certain Greek scholars lacking a critical eye and disregarding historical arguments, consider the ancient Macedonians as Greeks and their language a Greek dialect. However, anyone looking at the facts with an open mind will realize that this is far from being true. Authentic evidence shows that the ancient Greeks regarded the Macedonian people as barbarians and Macedonia a barbaric land. This is also what the two coryphaei of Greek history, Thucydides and Demosthenes thought of ancient Macedonians. As a matter of fact, the ancient Greeks considered all non-Greek people barbarian and their land barbaric. Thus in his third Philippic, Demosthenes states: "... Ay, and you know this also, that the wrongs which the Greeks suffered from the Lacedaemonians or from us, they suffered at all events at the hands of true-born sons of Greece, and they might have been regarded as the acts of a legitimate son, born to great possessions, who should be guilty of some fault or error in the management of his estate: so far he would deserve blame and reproach, yet it could not be said that it was not one of the blood, not the lawful heir who was acting thus. But if some slave or superstitious bastard had wasted and squandered what he had no right to, heavens! How much more monstrous and exasperating all would have called it! Yet they have no such qualms about Philip and his present conduct, though he is not only no Greek, nor related to the Greeks, but not even a barbarian from any place that can be named with honor, but a pestilent knave from Macedonia, whence it was never yet possible to buy a decent slave ..." (Demosthene Crationes, IX, p.26, and Istorija diplomatije, vol.1, p.49).

Rating:
Summary: Trash
Review: Macedonia is a greek province. Macedonians are greeks living in that province. People of F.Y.R.O.M are not Macedonians.... they are bulgarians.

Rating:
Summary: Makedonija
Review: Macedonia is Macedonia and the people of it are Macedonian (slavic) not Greek. Anyone who says otherwise is ignorant (99% of the time it happens to be a jealous Greek). What kind of country makes another country change its name and national flag under false pretences that the use of the name "Macedonia" implies territorial advances towards the northern region of Greece also called "Macedonia" (which is merely similar to a county in the U.S.) A jealous country like Greece does. I am speaking to the 99% of Greeks that are like this, I appolagize to the other 1%, but you Greeks should all quit being so ignorant and recognize Makedonija for what it is (Just like almost every other country in the world has). A slavic country on the Balkan Penninsula.

Rating:
Summary: What are Americans?
Review: Not sure of all the politics, still learning, but it seems to me Macedonians are in the same predicament as us Americans. I smoke tobacco, but I'm not native American. My family is from Alsace, does that make me French? I eat dim sum, but I'm not asian. No, but it does make me American. We're a little bit of everything as are the current Macedonians, as are the people in just about every other country in the world. I'm not sure why the ancestry arguement is so critical when there are more pressing issues in Macedonia like the current redistricting. When the dust settles I am sure everyone in Macedonia will go right back to what they were doing, farming, shopping, eating, living, etc. just like the Greeks, and the Bulgarians, Serbs, etc.

I am married to a Macedonian and I am still trying to answer the question, who are the Macedonians? Not sure I care. In the end Macedonia is just another country doing what countries do and they need Greece as much as Greece needs Macedonia. With Macedonia's strategic locale, Greece has no choice but to aid in the development of Macedonia. Greeks companies are already pouring millions of dollars into Macedonia, Cosmofon is a good example, and a Macedonian company even contructed part of the Olympic stadium.

Eventually, money will be the decisive factor. The prosperity in Greece cannot help but spill over into Macedonia and other surrounding countries and when everyone is flush with cash I'm sure the whole issue of 'who are the Macedonians?' will be forgotten as toasts are made marking new business deals.

Thanks to all those who have posted for such a lively and informative debate.

Rating:
Summary: A valuable and objective source in understanding the Balkans
Review: Recent events in the Balkans have shown that due to the ethnological, geopolitical and historical complexity of the region, serious in depth analysis is of paramount importance in understanding the truth. Apart from the thousands that have died as a result of the break up of Yugoslavia in the 1990's, another victim has been the truth, as is the case in most wars, especially in the 20th century.
The truth is based on undisputed facts (dates, events etc), and in relation to opinion, the truth always lies somewhere in the middle. Unfortunately, the first "reviewer," instead of treating this book for what it is, i.e. a valuable and objective source, they dismiss it on the grounds that it does not serve their interests. The "reviewer" states: "If Macedonia has always been Greek, why did the Greek government deny its existence until the 1980's". The question is how can Greece, of all countries, deny the existence of her own history? A rather childish and yet dangerous reaction coming as a result of Yugoslav communist propaganda and indoctrination aiming at conditioning the majority Bulgarian-Slavic population of South Serbia into believing they belong to a fictitious "Macedonian" nationality. What's next? Did the Vikings build the Parthenon, were the Spartans African spearmen or was Alexander the Great a Slav?
Let's be serious. In a democracy all voices should be heard instead of being immediately disregarded on the basis of their origin. One cannot and should not silence another just because they disagree with them! At the same time, however, the truth should be protected at all cost and not be left to be sacrificed in pursuit of political agendas.
This book is written by someone who is not a native of the region, and yet it provides a valuable insight in the study of Macedonia. It is a "must" for any serious historian or political analyst interested in the Balkan region.

Rating:
Summary: Greek Denial of Macedonian Name
Review: The most important thing to remember about the "Macedonian conflict" is that the Greek position has changed dramatically over the past decade. Official Greek government policy was that Macedonia did not exist. When Greece took over Aegean Macedonia in 1913, they killed, tortured and ethnically cleansed hundreds of thousands of Macedonians. They changed the names of people, villages, and landmarks from Macedonian to Greek in their attempts to eradicate the Macedonian name.With the disintegration of Yugoslavia in the early 1990's, the Republic of Macedonia saw its chance to finally achieve its independence. A referendum was held on September 8, 1991 with an overwhelming majority choosing independence. Recognition came swiftly from Russia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovenia among others but the majority of the international community stalled because of pressure from Greece. This country, as a member of the United Nations, European Union, and NATO blocked recognition of Macedonia because it claims that the Macedonian name and flag, a sixteen-pointed sun dating back to Alexander the Great, belongs to Greece.Regardless, Macedonia was accepted as a full member-state in the United Nations, albeit with the awkward reference, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. However, the majority of countries and international organizations refer to this country under its constitutional name, Republic of Macedonia. Greek propaganda is slowly losing its influence, the truth will come out.

Rating:
Summary: Macedonia is not Greek
Review: We are not Bulgarians,Serbs,Greeks ore something else. We are Macedonians. We are slavs, that's right. But our land is Macedonia.