Greece: Hey Bro! Will you sign my petition? We're trying to erase Macedonian ethnicity!

If you are a Greek historian in a well known university, well actually no, if you are an academic with a Greek surname, or you are a Greek historian from the Droysen tradition (say from a German school), it is likely you received an email on behalf of Stephen Miller in the past few weeks.

He wanted you to sign a petition that was sent to Obama. This petition states that Ancient Macedonians don´t have anything to do with the Modern Macedonians, and therefore the United States should not recognize Macedonia by the name ´Republic of Macedonia´ – its constitutional name. This is the name that America has recognized Macedonia by for the last 5 years, and the name by which 125 countries around the world, including 4 of the 5 permanent UN Security Council members, use. Greece wants the US to use the name "Former Yugoslav" Republic of Macedonia. Greece has about 14 other countries that use that formula, like Cyprus which is a predominantly Greek nation, Australia which has a vocal Greek lobby and the Democratic Republic of Congo – which sided with Greece, it has been reported, because Greece gave them a fleet of old tanks. Despite the Greek nationalism of citizens of other countries, and some politicians who, while elected to represent the country they were elected in, are actually busy working for the Greek foreign ministry, about 90% of countries that have made an official statement in relation to the Macedonian name issue have sided with Macedonia.

Why is this? Why do only 10% of countries that have chosen a side, side with Greece? Because unless we are pandering to our own ethnic Greek voters (who can also vote in Greek elections) or unless we have a new fleet of ex-Greek tanks to commit war crimes with (some DRC leaders are being investigated by the International Criminal Court for using rape as weapon of war, amongst other crimes), why would we care what anybody other than the actual citizens of Macedonia decide to call their own country? Which leads me to another question: If 90% of the world doesn´t seem to have an issue with it, why does Stephen Miller?

First of all, who is Miller? He is a retired archaeology professor from UCLA who spent his life digging up soil in Greece. He is married to a Greek woman and while some may say that in relation to Greece, "you marry the girl, you marry the country" that is not exactly fair. Miller´s position doesn´t stem, as people would like to portray, from a great knowledge of Ancient Macedonia. Miller has only written about the Ancient Greek Olympic Games – not about Macedonia. Many of the names on the list of scholars have not written about Macedonia either – but are minor academics with Greek surnames or Greek historians from the German tradition (who believe that Alexander was a pro-Greek super-hero rather than a political realist who used equal measures of propaganda and massacre to control his empire). Where on the list are respected scholars like Eugene Borza, Ernst Badian or Peter Green, who have written the most respected books on Ancient Macedonia?

The only real names on the list are Paul Cartledge, and of course the celebrity historian himself, Robin Lane Fox. Fox has taken up NGL Hammond´s old position as the Greek Orthodox Patron Saint of ´Ancient Macedonia Was Greece, Despite What Everybody Else Says´. If you aren´t aware, Fox was recently on a Greek TV show ´Great Greeks´ – where Alexander was voted the ´Greatest Greek of All Time´ by a Modern Greek audience. The Ancient Greeks, who hated Alexander, probably wouldn´t have voted the same way. It is the latest in a series of public statements by Fox to the Greek domestic media in relation to Alexander or the Macedonian issue. He is a celebrity in Greece. Of course if you look at Fox´s first book on Macedonia ´The Search for Alexander´ you will see that it was published with the help of the Greek Ministry of Culture. Fox is deemed to be a politically reliable academic by Greece.

You see, you can´t do archaeological work in Greece unless you receive permission from the State Archaeological Service – a Greek government body. If you draw conclusions that the Greek government doesn´t agree with, you can´t do archaeological work in Greece. It is as simple as that! It reminds me of a famous scholar (who will remain nameless – although those that know him will identify him) who had to be ambiguous as to Alexander´s ethnicity in his writing until he left Greece. Now he has left all ambiguity behind in his more recent books.

Given that the petition is written by one of Greece´s ´accepted´ scholars, and recognizing the bias that that entails, what is the reasoning behind the request to change the US policy on Macedonia´s name? Is there anything that he states in his letter that any of Barack Obama´s advisors don´t already know?

Well, unfortunately, there is nothing new there. It is the same old collection of official Greek statements that have been floating around since the early 1990s when the Greek government paid for full page advertisements calling on people not to recognize Macedonia as a state. Many of those points (long refuted) still float around the internet on places like Topix, YouTube and various propaganda sites. The one thing, however, that did surprise me was the tone of the letter. The language of the letter is so vitriolic it is almost cute! It is like he has been hanging out too long on the Australian Macedonian Advisory Council message board. Let me share with you some of the highlights.

Stephen always refers to "the government in Skopje" Why the reluctance to state the name of the country? Most of the world says Macedonia. His preferred term is most commonly used by the Greek media. It kind of reminds me how many Arab governments can´t say the name ´Israel´ – and how places like Iran use "the government in Tel Aviv". Surely a US academic doesn´t need to act like an Iranian state journalist?

Stephen also stated that "(Macedonia) cannot build a national identity at the expense of historic truth." What stopped Greece doing exactly that? While we are on the subject of historic truth, why don´t we ask about the Macedonians who lived there before the Greek invasion of Macedonia in 1912? Historic ´truth´ is always subject to the perspective of the academic who is evaluating the history. Why does Stephen Miller´s ´historic truth´ mean more than Ernst Badian´s ´historic truth´ (a Harvard Greek Historian who wrote on Macedonia). Given that Badian wasn´t dependent on keeping the Greek government happy to perform his work, I think his ´historic truth´ may be more reliable.

In relation to the Republic of Macedonia looking into the past of its people and recognizing the connection between the ancient and modern Macedonians, Stephen states: "Why would a poor land-locked new state attempt such historical nonsense?" – Gloating about the relative poverty of Macedonia and the fact that it is land locked? How very academic! I guess if we had received EEC/EU aid for the last 30 years and still had the world´s 8th highest debt/GDP ratio like Greece, we might be in a better position to attempt ´historical nonsense´. Greece has really led the way in that respect; just ask any of its minorities.

Because the USA has recognized Macedonia, Stephen feels "It is sad that the United States of America has abetted and encouraged such behavior." Or maybe it is that the United States, like the rest of the world, just recognizes that a nation´s citizenship decides it constitution – not its neighbor´s foreign ministry. The USA recognizing modern Macedonia is a rather odd bone for an Ancient Greek Olympic scholar like Miller to pick. The tone of the letter also seems as if Greece (through Miller) is ´talking down´ to the United States.

In relation to the US policy on Macedonia, let me explain why Macedonia has been recognized. Macedonia has been a keen supporter of the United States, despite its small size – and despite the criticism that the rest of the world throws at the United States. In comparison, Greek media has been a vocal critic of the United States for at least the last decade. The US flag that Macedonian soldiers have fought alongside Americans to protect in places like Afghanistan is regularly burnt on the streets of Athens. In their respect for their own and other people´s freedoms, the Macedonian people are a lot more like the Americans. The Greek government, in its attempts to bully and isolate its neighbors and deny ethnicities is acting much more like the Peoples Republic of China than the United States. Maybe we should lobby countries to force Greece to have its name changed to the People´s Republic of Greece?

America does not owe Greece any favors. Remember according to Eleftherotipia´s poll of the 16th September 2001, 25% of Greeks believed that ´justice was done´ on September 11 2001. A few days after September 11, during a football match between Scotland and Greece, when the Scots held a minute of silence for the victims of 9/11 – the Greek fans jeered and booed and tried to burn a US flag. The most popular book about September 11 in Greece, written by Manolis Vasilakis, if translated into English, would be titled ´They had it coming´. Does Greece really expect the United States to bend to their will on this issue, given the hostility Greece has towards America?

Stephen Miller repeated the old ´Republic of Macedonia is only a small part of Ancient Macedonia´ argument that Hammond used to state in the 1990s. That is somewhat true; however it does neglect one very important detail. The ´elephant in the room´ in this argument has always been the fact that Modern Greece stole Macedonia from the Macedonians in 1913. It is more correct to say rather than "the Republic of Macedonia is only a small part of Ancient Macedonia", that "the Republic of Macedonia is only a small part of Macedonia prior to it being divided up by its neighbors in 1913". Prior to this there was not a single part of Macedonia that was Greek – ever. In stating that they have almost all of Ancient Macedonia, Greece is trying to assert ownership over the identity of Macedonians – all Macedonians.

Of course whatever label you choose to use for the land, there is one thing that cannot be argued – parentage as defined by genetic research. One third of Macedonians, according to the worlds biggest gene lab, have genetic links to the Ancient Macedonians, but only 5% of Greeks (mainly the ethnic Macedonian minority) have these genetic links. Greek pressure on academics or abuse of procedure in NATO or EU cannot change genetic reality. The fact that somebody steals your land and evicts you from it, as Greece did to many Macedonians, doesn´t mean that they also steal your ancestors. I have a house that was previously owned by a Melanesian Australian. His ancestors came from the Solomon Islands in the 19th century as sugar cane slaves. When I bought the house two years ago, he didn´t transfer his ancestors; although I might check the contract – if I got his ancestors too, I might be able to get free accommodation on some beautiful Pacific island.

No matter what Greece likes to think, and no matter what it states through its captive academic mouthpieces like Miller, Macedonia is not something that was frozen in time in the 4th century BC and then defrosted by the Greeks in the 20th century. Macedonians had children and continued to live in Macedonia from the time of Alexander to the present day. This may be inconvenient to Greek nationalists – but with such a bizarre view of the world as they hold – truth never is convenient.

The thing I find most offensive about the whole petition isn´t the tone and the language, it´s the fact that these few academics are prostituting academic position for what is obviously the bidding of the Greek government. The act they are seeking is the de-recognition of the Macedonian´s own name for their own country – something the Greek government has been seeking for 17 years. Why can every other country on the planet choose their name, but Macedonia can´t? Don´t Macedonians have the same human right to self-determination that everybody else has? Greece has sought to attack the Ethnic Macedonians in Macedonia and their own Ethnic Macedonians´ identity. The two are linked – Greece has always argued that calling Macedonia ´Macedonia´ will legitimize the Ethnic Macedonians in Greece. Attacks against the Macedonian name are part of an ongoing campaign by Greece to erase the Macedonian ethnicity. If Miller states that the "US has no business in supporting the subversion of history", we can equally ask what business an Ancient history professor has in trying to help a foreign government erase an ethnicity?

You know what the petition is? It is a list of academics that are prepared to put political ends before academic integrity and human rights. An academic is free to state their opinion – but when an academic tries to use their position to push for political ends at the behest of a state, they are no longer acting as academics. These people, by trying to isolate Macedonia, are aiding the Greek government´s attack on Macedonian ethnicity – a violation of human rights. They are smart enough to know that this is what Greece is doing. If I were a university's board, I would be embarrassed to have these people putting the name of my university on something that is attacking the human rights of a people.

How do we as a society with a conscience that respects human rights, show an academic that such conduct is inappropriate? The list is online with their names attached. Boycott the books of the academics on the list, do not enroll in their classes, and refuse to work or perform research for or with them. If you are on a selection committee for an academic position, disqualify anybody who appears on this list. No student deserves to be taught by someone who condones the abuse of human rights.

So, no Stephen, I will not sign your petition.