Provoking The Balkan Neighbors: Former Yugoslav Republic Of Macedonia

Illustration from Eurodialogue.org

It would not be an exaggeration to say that the current period is one of the most peaceful the Balkans have seen, from the beginning of times until today. The region’s states are preserving a network of positive communication, and efforts are being made towards an even more stable future, besides some ultra-nationalist voices that exist in every country. Of course, the level of goodwill differs from country to country, but the diplomatic network seems to be in a relatively good way.

However, the Former Yugoslav Republic Of Macedonia seems to be the laggard in the list of the states that seek calmness in this – once turbulent – part of Europe. Some of the issues of ethnic minorities has been solved, but only up to some point, like the one of the Albanian minority that counts up to 30% of the population. Ethnic Albanians still claim that they are often victims of hidden discrimination, including by public officials, and as all minority groups in FYROM, they also face problems because of the heavy influence of the political parties on the educational system.

Regarding the foreign affairs, Former Yugoslav Republic Of Macedonia have some serious unresolved issues which, despite the international efforts, seem to be managed with stagnant policies, like the name issue with Greece. Despite the fact that the United Nations have intervened to the conversations between the two States, and that there has been a number of diplomatic concessions by the Greek side, FYROM keeps on facing this problem strictly demanding and not negotiating. Athens, during the long period of the name dispute, has been resilient, changing their stance from the strict “no Macedonia term” policy, to an acceptance of the use of the term within the name, under some negotiable conditions; they also have offered a big number of facilitations to the FYROM citizens and entrepreneurs, mainly through the Interim Accord (eg. the free use of the Thessaloniki Port), most of which are valid until today. On the other hand, an example that comes in mind, about Skopje lacking of goodwill to resolve this issue, is that the students in FYROM are officially taught that a large part of Macedonia, the North Greek Province, including Thessaloniki, the second largest city of Greece, belongs to them and is under Greek occupation.

Lately, Skopje stirs up the relations with its Eastern neighbors, Bulgaria. Using offensive language, the so called “World Macedonian Congress” – that is adjacent to the ruling party VMRO-DPMNE – says that there are almost no ethnic Bulgarians in Bulgaria and the majority of the population is of “Macedonian” origin. FYROM authorities continue by stating that this “Macedonian majority” in Bulgaria, live under a brutal oppression. The President of the “World Macedonian Congress” rhetorically asks in his article in the newspaper Vecer “[...] whether there are Bulgarians in Bulgaria without Macedonian roots” and goes on suggesting that Bulgaria needs to have ethnic “Macedonians” in order to keep the demographic balance in time and space.

The aggressive policy towards Bulgaria is similar to the one that was used towards Greece. One important similarity is the falsification of cultural and historical facts, in order to create a background able to add a prestige to the international image of the newly born State. And FYROM authotities seem willing to do everything to persuade the world about this background.

During the last years, a new project called “Skopje 2014″ takes place in the capital of FYROM, aiming to be part of the brand new “ancient” and “medieval” profile of the country. This includes statues of Alexander The Great, King Philippos II, Saints Cyril and Methodius, Tsar Samuel and many more, all taken from Greek and Bulgarian history. The project moves in rapid pace, as the authorities try to cloak the historical misinformations and falsifications. But what most do not know is that this project has a budget estimated at over €200 million. An amount of money extremely high to be spent just for the decoration of a city’s center; at the same time, the country faces economic crisis, unemployment rate is near 40% and the population that lives below the poverty line is around 30%.

Former Prime Minister and Vice-President of FYROM, Mr. Ljubco Georgievski, has stated in a recent interview on Bulgarian TV that “The center of Skopje looks like Disneyland or Asterix Park in Paris. There are no cultural events and in the rest of the country, they don’t even build roads. In my opinion they work on a ‘caricature of ideas’ in the city of Skopje”.

The “antiqization” of Skopje also includes new buildings, constructed in baroque, Roman or Hellenistic design, styles which as Vangel Bosinovski, one of the architects of the project mentions, have been initially created by “Macedonians”.

Former Yugoslav Republic Of Macedonia does not seem to conduct itself with respect towards its neighbors, continuing its intransigent policy to every diplomatic issue, especially with Greece and Bulgaria. However, considering that two of the country’s top foreign policy priorities are the NATO membership and the candidacy for European Union membership, the regional politcal behavior is a paradox, because both Greece and Bulgaria are holding a full membership in both of the aforementioned organizations, while Albania holds a NATO membership. These positions allows them to diplomatically point out the incompatibility of FYROM with the principles of NATO and -especially- European Union, focusing on the lack of respect of culture and history, and the absence of goodwill to solve these serious issues.

The struggle of Skopje to “create” a background and a new identity for their nation by falsifying the history of its neighbors, and the denial to face the reality about the oppressed minorities within its borders, may lead FYROM to a situation where blinded by its obsessions, it will get alienated from the Balkan and the European family.

Initially posted by Giorgos Dimitriadis on The Pryer, UK.

Unwanted In Their Own Homeland: Christians Of Pakistan

When comes to religion issues and rights, Pakistan seems obsolete and unforgiving. There are numerous reports of attacks, threats and convictions of Christians, many of which take place due to insignificant reasons, or even just because of religious diversity.

With the Muslim population counting 178,100,000, Pakistan is the second most populous Muslim-majority country. Christians and Hindus are estimated at around 1.6% of the population each,  with Islam representing the 97% – most of them Sunni. There are also the Ahmadi religious minority, who -against their wish- were declared non-Muslims and count for about 2.3%. Apart from the Christian population, Hindus and Ahmadis also face hostility and persecution.

Although actions of aggression take place all over the country, - in outermost provinces and in capital and large cities making it difficult to be recorded - a significant number of them comes to light, revealing the authoritarian side of Islam in Pakistan and the hostility that Christians (and not only) face. The latest incident took place in Karachi, the largest city and financial center of Pakistan, where a Muslim mob attacked the Christian district Essa Nagri, shooting and killing a man; right after, Christians gathered to protest against this attack, however, police used tear gas and opened fire against the Christian protest, instead of arresting the Muslim mob. From the police shootings, a local priest, Pastor Cornelius was injured and was taken to hospital in a critical condition.

Another recent incident is the case of Rimsha Masih, an 11-year-old girl that suffers from Down’s Syndrome. Rimsha was accused of desecrating Quran by setting some pages of it on fire.  In the court, girl’s lawyers said that these accusations -like many that were made against Christians- were false, in order to enforce the Christian community leave the area. Rimsha is kept in prison, facing the sentence of Quran desecration – in Pakistan is punishable by death. By many, the United Nations are expected to intervene to this case.

“Pakistan in the worst place for Christians in the world” says Dr. Nazir Bhatti, President of the Pakistan Christian Congress.

On the other side, absoluteness would be a mistake , regarding the offensive character of Islam towards Christians in Pakistan. A number of officials and representatives of the Muslim community, along with common people, stand by the side of Christians when they cope with these situations, and acknowledging the brutalities that take place, point out the need to prevent the “law of the jungle” from going on. Pakistani Islamic leaders and Muslim councils are eager to support, Rimsha Masih, demanding her release.

It is a fact that aggression seems endless. Christian women are constantly raped and abused, often even killed. Entire neighborhoods are threatened and terrorized in order to convert to Islam or force them to leave. And of course, repeated attacks, sometimes lethal, make Christians feel the religious hate, unable to protect themselves, their families and their belongings – unable to live with no fear.

It is practically impossible to report all the known incidents against Christians in Pakistan, not even just the recent ones. And it seems impossible for these people, along with the rest of the religious minorities, to live with the feeling of security and equality within the Pakistani society. A solution must be found, and a considerable one could be given by the cooperation  of the Pakistani Muslim leaders who respect religious and human rights, with the United Nations, to help Pakistani society and State make a few steps towards the freedom of religion.

Initially posted by Giorgos Dimitriadis on The Pryer, UK.