[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 4]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 4866]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  ``ALL IN A NAME,'' GREECE'S CONCERNS REGARDING THE FORMER YUGOSLAV 
    REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA'S ACCESSION TO THE NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY 
                              ORGANIZATION

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, April 2, 2008

  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, later this week the North Atlantic 
Treaty Organization (NATO) will hold a Heads of State and Government 
summit in Bucharest, Romania. One of the major issues considered will 
be the expansion of NATO and the possible extension of membership 
invitations to Albania, Croatia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of 
Macedonia (FYROM). In this context, I would like to bring to the 
House's attention excerpts from the April 1, 2008 Op-ed in the Wall 
Street Journal titled ``All in a Name,'' written by Greece's Minister 
of Foreign Affairs, Dora Bakoyannis.

              [From the Wall Street Journal, Apr. 1, 2008]

                             All in a Name

                          (By Dora Bakoyannis)

       Athens.--The NATO summit comes to Southeastern Europe this 
     week, and Greece is looking forward to it . . . As the 
     region's oldest NATO and EU member, Greece feels a profound 
     obligation to be constructive, supportive and practical 
     regarding our neighbors. We wholeheartedly espouse the policy 
     of enlargement, and I am happy to say that two members of the 
     so-called ``Adriatic Three,'' Croatia and Albania, are today 
     in a position to further the principles of the North Atlantic 
     Treaty and earn their invitation to NATO in Bucharest. 
     However, it saddens me that we cannot so far say the same 
     about our neighbor, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 
     (Fyrom).
       For over 15 years, our two countries have been involved in 
     United Nations-sponsored negotiations regarding Fyrom's name. 
     Greece has real and concrete concerns over the issue. What's 
     in a name, you may ask? A great deal, I can assure you. The 
     term ``Macedonia'' has always been used to delineate a wider 
     geographical region, approximately 51% of which is part of 
     Greece, 38% of which is in Fyrom, and 9% of which is in 
     Bulgaria.
       Not only does the government in Skopje insist on being the 
     sole claimant to the name of an entire area--the largest part 
     of which lies outside its borders--but authorities in Fyrom 
     insist on portraying Greek Macedonia as ``occupied'' 
     territory. While government leaders declare they have no 
     designs on Greek territory, they refuse to remove such claims 
     from textbooks, state maps and national documents . . .
       And we are not alone in our quest. In the U.S. Congress, 
     115 members, both Republicans and Democrats, recently co-
     sponsored House Resolution 356, which expressed the ``sense 
     of the House of Representatives that Fyrom should stop 
     hostile activities and propaganda against Greece, and should 
     work with the United Nations and Greece to find a mutually 
     acceptable official name.''
       NATO has consistently encouraged full normalization of 
     relations not only with aspirants themselves but with 
     neighboring third countries not belonging to the Alliance. 
     Greece will spare no effort in reaching a real and viable 
     solution for the sake of peace and stability in the region. 
     Alliances and partnerships, however, can only be fostered 
     among countries if there is mutual trust and goodwill.

     

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