VZCZCXRO6562
PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHNP RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHSQ #0016/01 0141257
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 141257Z JAN 09
FM AMEMBASSY SKOPJE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7956
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY 0453

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SKOPJE 000016 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR/SCE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV NATO MK
SUBJECT: MACEDONIA: CODEL POE HEARS GOVERNMENT, OPPOSITION, 
AND LOCAL VIEWS ON THE NAME DISPUTE 
 
REF: SKOPJE 696 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
¶1. (SBU)   In meetings on December 17 and 18, local and 
national political leaders briefed Representative Ted Poe 
(R-TX) on their views of the name dispute with Greece and 
challenges to its resolution.  Speaker of the Parliament 
Veljanovski and leading opposition MP Sekerinska concurred 
that Macedonia's key redline is the use of the adjective 
"Macedonian" to describe the country,s nationality  and 
language.  Despite agreement on that redline, the two offered 
quite different assessments of the causes of stagnation or 
backsliding on progress toward a resolution.  Macedonia's 
Ambassador to the U.S. -- and newly-appointed name negotiator 
-- Jolevski hinted at a possible hardened government position 
and potential new redlines, while Dragi Delev, Mayor of the 
border city of Gevgelija, explained that local-level cross 
border relations are good, and that citizens on both sides 
want their leaders to be flexible in the negotiations and 
focused on what is most important to them -- economic 
development, education, services and infrastructure.  End 
Summary. 
 
¶2. (U) Congressman Ted Poe visited Macedonia Dec. 17-19, and 
held meetings with Parliament Speaker Trajko Veljanovski, 
opposition MP and former SDSM party leader Radmila 
Sekerinska, Macedonian Ambassador to the U.S. (and negotiator 
on the name issue) Zoran Jolevski, Mayor of Gevgelija Dragi 
Delev, and Ambassador Reeker and Embassy staff. 
 
Sekerinska and Veljanovski:  Opposition and Government 
Redlines the Same, but Strategies Differ 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  SDSM MP Sekerinska described the current political 
and economic environment in Macedonia as 
worse than before the April 2008 NATO summit, saying that 
citizens are becoming increasingly cynical and 
disappointed.  She asserted that the current government's 
policies and actions have "fed the Greek rhetoric," creating 
an environment in which a mutually-acceptable resolution to 
the name dispute is virtually impossible.  Sekerinska called 
for the government to set aside popularity polls and make 
tough decisions for the sake of the country's progress.  As 
an example of the type of statesmanship she feels is lacking 
in this government, she cited SDSM's support for the Ohrid 
Framework Agreement in the critical months following its 
signing, saying hers was the only ethnic Macedonian party 
"that stood by the agreement even when others called it 
treasonous" in order to create a better environment for 
inter-ethnic relations.  While she noted that while no 
Macedonian would say he or she "likes" the idea of a compound 
name such as "Upper Macedonia" or "North Macedonia," a 
compromise with Greece will require as much.  She indicated 
her party is flexible on the name, but has redlines requiring 
the use of "Macedonian" as the adjective to describe the 
country,s language and nationality. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Speaker of Parliament Veljanovski 
offered Congressman Poe a similar view of redlines on the 
name issue, saying "no politician here would ever enter 
into a discussion of a potential agreement that takes away 
our identity as Macedonians."  While the opposition suggested 
that the current government is not fully committed to 
continuing efforts to ensure NATO membership, Veljanovski 
stated that the government has and will continue to make 
every effort to see the name issue resolved, saying that the 
government will take "all necessary steps" to become a member 
of NATO, including continued domestic reforms.  He added that 
he "expects that in 2009, in some way, Macedonia will become 
a NATO member."   Unlike opposition leaders, Veljanovski does 
not view his government's actions as provocative or harmful 
to the environment for potential resolution of the name 
dispute. He indicated that Macedonia's filing against Greece 
in the International Court of Justice for violating the 1995 
Interim Accord (reftel) is not intended to sideline 
discussions on a possible agreement on the name.  "Its only 
purpose," Veljanovski stated, "is to show that the Accord was 
violated, and we realize that could take years." 
 
New Name Negotiator Sticks to Firm Line 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  At a lunch meeting on December 18, Macedonia's 
Ambassador to the U.S. and newly-appointed name negotiator 
Zoran Jolevski (in Skopje on consultations) offered 
illustrative stories and questions that suggest continuing 
inflexibility of the government position on the name dispute. 
 
SKOPJE 00000016  002 OF 002 
 
 
 After telling the story of his son's storming out of a 
Washington, D.C. retailer because the cashier "insisted upon 
calling Macedonia 'FYROM'," Jolevski asked "how can 
Macedonians be expected to live with a name on their 
passports that offends them every day when it will never be 
seen by most of the Greeks who are offended by 'Republic of 
Macedonia'?"  He also shared concerns about the use of any 
new name (such as "North Macedonia") in international 
organizations, saying "we cannot agree to be called a name 
that offends us."  Jolevski concurred with opposition 
leaders' view that the environment for compromise between 
Macedonia and Greece has deteriorated over the past two 
years, but said little of the blame for that falls on his 
government: "Greece has chosen to make the Macedonia issue 
the top issue in their domestic politics." 
 
Mayor of Gevgelija: Cross-Border Relations are Good at 
the Local Level 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  Dragi Delev, Mayor of border city Gevgelija, 
indicated that individual and civic-level cross border 
relations are good.  "As a border area, we must be flexible 
on the name dispute," Delev offered, "since we understand the 
importance of economic links and we realize that we all must 
live in this region peacefully and cooperatively."  A former 
history teacher, Delev offered an equally moderate view of 
the region's shared history, saying "Alexander the Great was 
an international person who did not belong to the Greeks or 
the Macedonians, but to history."  In order to improve the 
environment for agreement between the two nations, Delev 
suggested that both sides should "worry about health care, 
education, and employment of citizens"  rather than what he 
described as "competitive statue-building." 
 
¶7. (U) CODEL Poe cleared this cable. 
REEKER