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DE RUEHIK #0044/01 1501426
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P R 291426Z MAY 08
FM AMCONSUL THESSALONIKI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0339
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHIK/AMCONSUL THESSALONIKI 0380

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 THESSALONIKI 000044 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/SE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PHUM MK GR
SUBJECT: THE OTHER MACEDONIAN NAME ISSUE: GREECE STUBBORNLY DENIES 
EXISTENCE OF MACEDONIAN MINORITY IN NORTHERN GREECE 
 
REF: ATHENS 596 
 
THESSALONI 00000044  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY:  The name dispute between the Republic of 
Macedonia and Greece has revived a related controversy about the 
existence of a Macedonian minority and language in northern 
Greece.  The GoG denies the existence of such a minority, 
arguing that northern Greece's few "Slavophones" are ethnically 
Greek.  The GoG insists that Muslims are the only minority in 
Greece.  The ethnic Macedonian Rainbow Party and Macedonian 
Consular Office claim there are over 200,000 ethnic Macedonians 
in northern Greece.  At a recent meeting with Euro MPs, Rainbow 
accused Greece of violating the minority's human rights.  The 
GoG rejects Rainbow claims as unfounded and irredentist.  The 
dispute has complex historical roots dating back to the early 
1900s.  While not as prominent as the UN-mediated name dispute 
with the Republic of Macedonia, the minority name issue is just 
as neuralgic for Greeks and possibly more challenging to solve. 
Greek FM Bakoyannis condemned a May 24 statement by Archbishop 
Stefan of the Macedonian Orthodox Church alluding to a 
Macedonian language as "irredentist" and "dangerous".  END 
SUMMARY 
 
PARALLEL REALITIES:  GREECE DENIES MINORITY CLAIMS 
 
¶2.  (SBU) The Macedonian name dispute between Greece and the 
Republic of Macedonia (ref) has revived a long-running 
controversy in Greece about the existence of a Macedonian 
minority and language.  A Greek political party named Rainbow 
claims to represent about 200,000 northern Greeks who speak 
Macedonian (as well as Greek) and consider themselves ethnic 
Macedonian.  Macedonia's Office of Consular and Trade Affairs in 
Thessaloniki believes 200,000 is a conservative estimate.  The 
Greek government contends that in fact only a handful of Greeks 
claim to be ethnic Macedonians, and these are too few to 
constitute a minority.  Greek MFA officials insist there is no 
such thing as a Macedonian ethnicity or language (only an 
"idiom", or dialect of the Bulgarian language).  Rainbow, 
however, asserts there is a distinct language and that it should 
be taught in Greek schools attended by ethnic Macedonian 
children.  According to Rainbow, Greece's refusal to recognize a 
Macedonian minority amounts to a violation of human rights and 
is a continuation of a long-standing policy to drive out or 
"Hellenize" northern Greek Macedonians.  Greece considers these 
"Slavophones" to be ethnic Greek, possibly with Bulgarian or 
Serb heritage. 
 
MACEDONIAN MINORITY PRESSES FOR RECOGNITION 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Lacking support in Greece, Rainbow continues to press 
for international recognition.  It joined the European 
Parliament coalition "European Free Alliance/The Greens" in May 
2004 and participated in the June 2004 European Parliament 
elections in Greece, winning only 6,156 votes (less than 0.10%, 
not enough to win any seats).  In 2006, a European NGO 
sympathetic to Rainbow published and distributed in northern 
Greece a primary school textbook in Macedonian that was 
originally published in the early 1900s but taken out of 
circulation in 1925.  Greek academics denounced the 
re-publication as nationalist propaganda. In April 2007, Rainbow 
and other Macedonian activists from Greece, Bulgaria and Albania 
met with State Department officials, members of Congress and 
members of the U.S.-based organization "United Macedonian 
Diaspora".  Rainbow leader Pavlos Voskopoulos publicly describes 
the USG as the Macedonian minority's defender against the Greek 
state. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) On April 17, 2008, the  Rainbow party and the 
"Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe" organized a 
meeting with five Euro MPs in Brussels with the support of the 
European Free Alliance/The Greens, under the title "The Ignored 
Minorities in Greece: Western Thrace Turks and Macedonians". 
Rainbow representatives told the MPs Greece was violating the 
human rights of the Macedonian minority, while a Helsinki Watch 
official reportedly testified that in general Greece failed to 
respect the rights of minorities.   While Rainbow claimed the 
meeting generated positive publicity for the Macedonian cause, 
other Greek minorities that attended the meeting (Pomaks and 
Roma) openly disputed some of Rainbow's claims about GoG abuses. 
 The Greek media criticized the initiative as "designed to 
create tension in the region". Greek Euro MPs protested that 
they were not invited to participate in the panel. 
 
EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS SUPPORTS MACEDONIANS 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Ethnic Macedonians have successfully challenged 
Greece's treatment of the minority in the European Court of 
Human Rights (ECHR). In 1998 the ECHR ruled that Greek courts 
had violated the Human Rights Convention by refusing to register 
(as a legal entity) an NGO called the "Home of Macedonian 
Culture" in Florina, a northwestern Greek town near the border 
 
THESSALONI 00000044  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
with Macedonia.  Greece nevertheless rejected Home's subsequent 
applications for registration, on the grounds that Home's use of 
the name "Macedonia" would provoke strong public reaction and 
threaten public order.  In 2005, the ECHR again ruled that 
Greece had violated the Convention by not adequately 
investigating a 1995 attack by an angry mob on Rainbow's party 
office.  According to Rainbow leader Voskopoulos, the ruling 
changed nothing for the party, and members still feel unsafe. 
In 2006, an ethnic Macedonian priest, Nikodimos Tsarknias, 
challenged Greece in the ECHR for convicting and sentencing him 
in 2004 for conducting mass in the Macedonian language.  He 
expects a verdict by September 2008. 
 
MINORITY ISSUE DATES BACK TO 1903 MACEDONIAN UPRISING 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Like most disputes in the Balkans, the controversy has 
deep historical roots.  Greeks who speak Macedonian and identify 
themselves as Macedonian trace their heritage back to Slavs who 
first arrived in the region around the 8th century AD.  Greek 
Slavophones claim Greece began suppressing their ethnic identity 
after a 1903 Slavo-phone uprising in Greek Macedonia and the 
formation of a "Macedonian" government that lasted about 10 
days.  Since then, a number of developments have contributed to 
development of an ethnic Macedonian consciousness and sense of 
oppression, including the struggle for control of northern 
Macedonia after the fall of the Ottoman Empire and outbreak of 
the Balkan Wars; the exodus of over 60,000 Greek Slavophones to 
Bulgaria in the 1920s and 30s and the subsequent influx of 
hundreds of thousands of Greeks from Asia Minor; a 
communist-inspired movement for Macedonian independence; Greek 
"anti-communist" efforts in the 30s, 40s and 50s to repress 
Macedonian ethnicity and language; Tito's creation of a Federal 
People's Republic of Macedonia in 1944; and the independence of 
the Republic of Macedonia in 1991. 
 
GREECE CALLS MINORITY CLAIMS IRREDENTIST PROPAGANDA 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Greek officials vehemently deny the existence of an 
ethnic Macedonian minority and dismiss Rainbow claims as 
irredentist propaganda.  First, as a matter of policy, Greece 
rejects the use of the word "Macedonia" to describe a non-Greek 
nationality or group.  Second, Greek officials and academics 
contend that the "Slavophones" are predominantly ethnic Greek, 
even those of Bulgarian or Yugoslav descent.  Third, Greece 
argues that the Slavophones do not meet objective criteria for 
minority status, i.e. they are too few, lack a distinct culture, 
language and history.  (Note:  The GoG claims the 1923 Treaty of 
Lausanne provides the exclusive definition of minorities in 
Greece.  Accordingly, the government recognizes only a "Muslim 
minority," not Turkish, Roma or Pomak.  It does not officially 
confer status on any indigenous ethnic groups nor recognize 
"ethnic minority" or "linguistic minority" as legal terms.  End 
note.)  Fourth, some Greek media accuse Rainbow of being an 
instrument of a U.S. or other foreign-inspired secessionist 
agenda.  During the run-up to the Bucharest NATO Summit, Greek 
media warned that allowing Skopje to continue using "Macedonia" 
in its name would encourage Greek Slavophone irredentism. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Greek sensitivity on the Macedonian ethnicity issue is 
particularly high when the issue is linked to the name dispute. 
A statement that Archbishop Stefan of Ohrid and Macedonia 
reportedly made in Rome on May 24 lamenting that "~in our 
Thessaloniki~speaking and prayer in this [Macedonian] language 
is forbidden" provoked a sharp rebuke from Greek FM Bakoyannis, 
who said "such irredentist statements are dangerous for regional 
cooperation and stability~" Archbishop Stefan, the head of the 
Macedonian Orthodox Church, denied his remarks implied any 
"territorial pretensions," according to Macedonian media. 
 
¶9.  (SBU) During a recent visit by ConGen staff to Florina, the 
mayor and other local officials reiterated their view that 
Rainbow and others had grossly exaggerated the magnitude of the 
Slavophone minority issue.  The few Slavophones who live in the 
area can express themselves freely, and face no discrimination. 
One long-time contact who supports the right of Greek 
Slavophones to call themselves Macedonian told conoffs that 
Rainbow and its claims of a 200,000 strong constituency were a 
"fraud".  He agreed however, that it was a mistake for the GoG 
to try to prevent ethnic Macedonians from calling themselves 
whatever they wanted. 
 
¶10.  (SBU) COMMENT:  The controversy highlights Greece's 
difficulty in reconciling historical grudges with current 
political reality.  Behind Greece's stubborn denial of ethnic 
Macedonian claims to minority status is the deeply entrenched 
suspicion that the Slavophones are agents of what they describe 
as Skopje's plans for a Greater Macedonia, (which the Macedonian 
government vehemently denies) and descendents of separatist 
agitators dating back to the early 20th Century. (Embassy Skopje 
 
THESSALONI 00000044  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
comment: The Macedonian Constitution was amended in 1992 to 
renounce any territorial claims toward any neighboring state. 
End Embassy Skopje comment.)  For most Greeks, the mere fact 
that the minority claims the name "Macedonian" is sufficient 
proof of its illegitimacy.  Recent public references to the 
Macedonian minority attributed to Macedonian leaders have 
strengthened Greek belief in a Greater Macedonian conspiracy. 
Because of this widespread belief and the long history of 
antagonism towards the Slavophones, it is unlikely Greece will 
come to grips with the issue any time soon, even if Greece and 
the Republic of Macedonia reach agreement on the latter's name. 
In the meantime, post will encourage both sides of the debate to 
avoid exaggerating the issue.  We will also continue working to 
steer Greece towards a minority policy that more effectively 
integrates ethnic Macedonians, Turks, Pomaks, Roma and others. 
 
¶11. (U) This cable was cleared by Embassy Skopje. 
YEE