The Macedonian issue becomes ugly

Scenic Lake Ochrid in FYROM is a regular destination for Greek tourists who are a staple component of Greece's northern neighbour's economy. Despite the wrangle over the use of Greek historical symbols by FYROM and the state's naming of airports and roads after the Greek hero, Alexander the Great, tourism and one-to-one relationships have generally been cordial. Last week, however, things turned nasty when a group of youths from Ochrid threatened three busloads of Greek tourists, painted nationalistic graffiti on the buses and threw stones at the tourists. One Greek tourist sustained a leg injury, fortunately not a serious one. The shaken tourists, unprepared for the enmity of the local youths were relieved to cross the northern Greek border soon after and to be back in the safety of Hellas.

The political fallout was immediate. As expected the Greek media and public were angered by the incident and by the "Macedonia" graffiti that everyone saw on the evening news. The Mayor of Ochrid, to his credit, immediately issued a statement of regret for the attacks on the Greek buses. It was immaterial whether this was a genuine response or if the mayor's declaration was made in order to prevent a Greek embargo of his town's tourist facilities. The result either way was positive.

The Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs also issued a statement. Mrs Bakoyanni, the Foreign Minister, criticised the incident and issued a travel warning note against FYROM. For the Foreign Ministry this immediate response with a practical application was a welcome, if highly unusual, action, since even when in the past Greek tourists had been killed, as had happened in Egypt and elsewhere, there had been no responses of this kind before.

As the Macedonian situation festers in a diplomatic limbo, with much talk and no effective action, more incidents of this type will no doubt take place. One does not know yet at which stage more such acts by extremist nationalists will escalate the dispute to a level where there will be loss of limb and life leading no doubt to a threat to regional stability.

One hopes that all players will put the historic facts on the table and find a settlement which is based on truth and not strategic expediencies. Any solution built on historical fabrication or extremist populism will be but another Balkan House of Cards. Let wise men and women whose prime interest is peace and justice for the citizens of the area meet and implement a just solution.

If they do this, Lake Ochrid will once again see Greek tourists and local citizens drinking coffees together and admiring the moving beauty of the lake's peaceful surroundings.

from: http://greekpoliticalissues.blogspot.com/

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