Greek-American Community Mobilizes in Response to the Macedonian Issue

By Sophia A. Niarchos
OYSTER BAY, N.Y.– “President George W. Bush publicly referred to FYROM as ‘Macedonia’ twice in the past, first on the air during an address to the nation on March 19, 2004 and again when he welcomed the future member NATO countries on March 29. None of us, however, expected that the president would recognize this country as ‘Macedonia’ one day after his reelection,” said Pan-Macedonian Association Vice President Nina Gatzoulis following the announcement of U.S. recognition of the “Republic of Macedonia” that hit the Greek-American community between the eyes nearly two weeks ago.

The statement yet again raises questions about the effectiveness of what has been referred to as a Greek-American lobby in addressing actions by the U.S. government, whether of the decades-old Cyprus issue or the more recently inflamed “Macedonia” issue.

“Greek-Americans have climbed very high on the ladder of financial and educational success,” Gatzoulis said. “This success, however, is individual success. We lack group organization.” Greece may have lost out on the opportunity to impact American decision-making, she added, “because there is no organized Greek lobby.”

Nonetheless, the community has mobilized on several fronts to seek a reversal of the administration’s decision.

Most recently, at the request of Archbishop Demetrios, AHEPA Supreme President Franklin Manios, Pan-Macedonian President Sotirios Proios and other Greek American leaders will join His Eminence at a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell on Monday, November 15, at 11 am, at the U.S. Department of State to discuss the policy change on the name-recognition issue.

“We look to present a clear position on the name recognition of F.Y.R.O.M.,” said Manios. He added, “The unified presence of leaders from Greek-American organizations effectively demonstrates the importance of the issue to the American government.”

The AHEPA supreme president, who met with Greek Ambassador to the U.S. George Savvaides last Thursday to discuss the issue and learn more facts about it, will also attend meetings with other officials of the Administration and Congress.

“We are proceeding forward with a strategy that will mobilize the grassroots network of the AHEPA family and create an awareness of our concern about the unilateral policy change to Congress,” Manios told Greek News.

Letter-writing campaigns and other actions initiated in response to the change in U.S. policy by the Coordinated Effort of Hellenes, SAE, AHEPA, AHI, the Pan-Macedonian Association and, locally, by members of the Federation of Hellenic Societies of Greater New York are reminiscent of community actions taken since 1974 to protest the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, which have yielded no solution to the problem. When questioned about the parallels between the two issues and the likelihood of any change in the U.S. administration’s policy as a result of these actions, Gatzoulis said, “we can only hope.”

It was with such hope that the Pan-Macedonians, at their annual convention earlier this year, passed a resolution recognizing the Hellenic roots of Macedonia along with a declaration enumerating, among the Association’s positions on other issues of importance to the Greek people, its stand vis-à-vis FYROM (e.g., “We shall never accept an Orthodox Church with the term “Macedonia” or its derivatives in its name; we fully support the existence of a country north of Greece with the interim name of The FYROM. We support her efforts to join the EU and NATO, provided her official name does not include the term “Macedonia” or its derivatives. Further, we harbor no animosity or any ill feelings towards her citizens or her Diaspora. Our only objection is their use of the name of ‘Macedonia,’ which belongs exclusively to our Hellenic identity, culture, history and heritage.; we condemn the continued propaganda emanating from The FYROM falsifying the Hellenic heritage of Macedonia.”)

The resolution and the declaration were sent to the Greek government, U.S. governmental agencies, as well as other organizations and interested individuals.

Gatzoulis noted that other actions could also be taken by Greek-Americans, including speaking with American politicians, making the problem known to the American community, and “befriending the media because the pen of a journalist is a very powerful instrument.”

At a Federation of Hellenic Societies of Greater New York meeting, where representatives of all the above-mentioned organizations gathered on November 9, additional actions supporting the protest movement were mentioned, including establishing a fund to help pay for ads to be taken out in major American newspapers and the possibility of holding a rally and peaceful protest in New York or Washington.

Senator Paul Sarbanes, it was noted, would be generating a letter, asking his fellow members of Congress to take a stance against the decision. Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, co-chair along with Representative Bilirakis of the Hellenic Caucus, had written a statement opposing the decision, as had New York State Assemblyman Michael Gianaris. Both Maloney and Gianaris said they would do whatever they could to help the community in its efforts and commitments for additional support from Rhode Island State Senator Leonidas Raptakis, Connecticut State Representative Demetrios Giannaros, and New Jersey Congressman Rob Andrews.