New Name for FYROM?

Greek leaders, going into a Balkan summit held in Skopje, downplayed expectations of an imminent compromise over the FYROM's name. Such a compromise could result in
the FYROM becoming "Nova Makedonija" or "Dolna Makedonija," or in a dual system requiring the country to use one name when dealing with Greece and another in its general international relations.

A recent visit to Skopje by U.N. envoy Matthew Nimetz had fueled rumors of an impending agreement between Greece and the FYROM. Nimetz told the Greek newspaper Kathimerini that the two countries were close to resolving the dispute,
though he denied knowing of any specific proposal. Going
into the Balkan summit, Foreign Minister Papandreou
said that no immediate solution was in sight, and a Greek government spokesman ruled out the possibility of an agreement during the summit.

Pan-Macedonian Organizations Object

Pan-Macedonian organizations, meanwhile, sent a delegation to Greece to meet with parliament members, church leaders, and the U.S. ambassador. The organizations, which oppose any compromise solution allowing the name "Macedonia,"
declared that such an agreement would harm the interests
and territorial integrity of Greece. And the U.S.-Canadian
Pan-Macedonian Association suggested that Greece should
take advantage of its political and economic strength to put pressure on the FYROM.

Greeks have long objected to the neighboring country's
use of the name Macedonia, arguing that it signals expansionist designs on Greek territory and distorts the historical record. But relations between the two countries have warmed in recent years, especially since an interim agreement was signed in 1995. Greece is currently the FYROM's third largest trading partner, after Germany and Slovenia, and has funnelled economic aid into Skopje.

Balkan Summit

The Balkan summit opened on February 22nd, and was attended by leaders from Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Greece, the FYROM, Romania, Turkey, and Yugoslavia. Though a number of issues were discussed, the summit was dominated, as many expected, by the ongoing problem of violence in Southern Serbia and Kosovo. Some reports suggested that Albania would refuse to sign the summit's declaration, but the Greek prime minister said in a press conference that all parties were in agreement and that Albania would sign. The declaration condemns "extremists" and "nationalists" -- a reference to Albanian separatists in Serbia, though the text stops short of openly blaming any one group.

Samaranch Controversy

Ten months after he blasted the Athens 2004 organizational effort as the worst he'd seen in his career, IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch was once more at the center of rumors surrounding the outcome of the Games. A Time magazine article claimed that Samaranch has developed a grand plan to win the Nobel Peace Prize -- by stripping Athens of the 2004 Olympics and awarding them to Seoul. According to the report, Samaranch plans to use November 17th terrorists as a rationale for moving the Games. The move, Samaranch is said to believe, would promote rapport between North and South Korea, gaining international goodwill for the scandal-plagued IOC.

But IOC Coordination Commission president Jacques Rogge, on a visit to Athens, said that no plan existed to relocate the Games. And the head of Korea's Olympic committee also dismissed rumors about a Samaranch ploy, upholding Athens as the venue and contradicting a Korean government minister who had expressed his nation's readiness to take over the Games.

Former Diplomat Launches Attack

The Time magazine report came on the heels of former State Department and Pentagon official Wayne Merry's one-man campaign to alert Americans of an impending "bloody disaster" at the Athens games. Writing in the L.A. Times, the Daily Standard, and the Christian Science Monitor, Merry flung a broad array of accusations at Greek police, media, and the government, hinting at ties between the PASOK party and groups such as November 17th, Europe's longest-surviving terror brigade. Warning of a disaster comparable to the 1972 slaughter of Israeli athletes at Munich, Merry called for the IOC to move the Games elsewhere, unless Greece eliminates the November 17th group by the end of this year.

The Greek government responded angrily, calling the L.A. Times article "contemptible"and describing Merry as "having singlehandedly undertaken the task of slinging mud against Greece." The U.S. State Department, meanwhile, carefully distanced itself from its former official, indicating that "we have no specific information that would indicate a particular threat to the Games."

Finally, Greek President Costis Stephanopoulos told a group of visiting students that Greeks tend to bicker and wait until the last minute, but always get the job done well.

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