SEPT 22 MACEDONIA TO VOTE ON NAME CHANGE

SEPT 22  MACEDONIA TO VOTE ON NAME CHANGE

Next Sunday, people in the European nation of Macedonia are going to the polls to vote on one of the strangest ballot measures ever: They are voting on whether to add the word 'NORTH' to the official name of the nation. While this seems like a huge waste of time of money, there is a method to the madness. Prime Minister Zoran Zaev is "confident the measure will pass" and knows it will instantly benefit his country economically.

How will changing a name be linked to economic prosperity? It's complicated. Ever since Yugoslavia broke up into five new nations in 1991, the name of the southernmost county has been problematic. See, Ancient Macedonia was an enormous province. In Roman times, it was three times the size of the present-day nation. While the third of this ancient land that ended up in Bulgaria is not an issue, the Greek section is a firestorm. Modern Greeks take their history seriously and feel threatened by any appropriate of their heritage. They have a province called Macedonia too!

So when the new nation of Macedonia became independent 27 years ago, and began to use the moniker, the Greeks called foul to the United Nations. After a debate, it was agreed by all parties to call the nation the "Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia." (FYROM). While unhappy with the decision, people in Skopje accepted it...getting into the United Nations was more important. Today, the country is facing a new challenge: Entry in the E.U. Again, Greece is blocking it. After yet even more negotiations, all agreed on a new name. The Republic of Northern Macedonia.

While a compromise is always nice, we at the DUNER BLOG can't help but feel Greece is being a bit silly about the issue. Let's go back to 404 BC. That's when the disastrous Pelopponnesian Wars ended, leaving both Athens and Sparta in ruin. Seeing an opportunity, Philip II of Macedon swooped down and conquered both city/states. Athens wasn't happy about being subservient to Macedonia. After Alexander the Great's death in 323 BC, they promptly declared their independence from their northern neighbor. Yet today, Athens is adamant about preserving the name? Hmm.

The Greek government needs to realize that times change and peoples change too. Today, a citizen of Macedonia speaks the Macedonian language, which is Slavic and not related to Greek. In the 2,350 years since Alexander the Great, a unique culture has developed in Macedonia that has little to do with Greece. However, the E.U. gives countries the power to veto a new entry, so the people of Macedonia have little choice but to change their own name....again.