Media not allowed into Greek migrant camps

Πηγή: eKathimerini
29 Feb 2016


Greek authorities have suspended media access to all migrant registration and transit camps in the country, citing overcrowding in the facilities.

An immigration policy ministry announcement Monday said no permits would be issued for members of the media to visit mainland or island migrant facilities "until further notice."

The ministry said this is due to the large numbers of refugees and migrants at the packed facilities, most of which were only constructed earlier this month.

More than 117,000 migrants have reached Greeces eastern Aegean islands from Turkey so far this year — compared with 4,500 in January and February 2015.

Nearly all head north for Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) and the Balkans, but only a few are allowed into FYROM every day. [AP]

Macedonia Name Dispute With Greece Must End, Say Analysts

The statue oddly reminiscent of Alexander the Great in Skopje has reignited debate with Greece over the Macedonian name

Πηγή: SETimes
By Miki Trajkovski
April 19 2013

Due to the 22-year-old name dispute with Greece, Macedonia’s Euro-Atlantic accession dreams remain stagnant, and now, analysts said, it is time for the UN to step in and solve the situation.

“After the breakup of Yugoslavia, we got the status of a sovereign country, approved by the international community, to become a member of the UN. We then entered the arena of world politics. But the unsolved issue about the name with Greece is the main reason that, even after 20 years, we couldn’t fulfill our main goals [of] membership in NATO and EU,” Former Macedonian Foreign Affairs Minister Denko Malevski told SETimes.

A large section of northern Greece is called Macedonia, and is home to nearly 3 million people. To the north of that region, the Republic of Macedonia, smaller than Greece’s district and with a million fewer residents, said its claim to the name “Macedonia” is just as strong as the Greeks’.

Because of the name dispute with Greece, Macedonia was admitted to the UN on April 8th 1993 under the temporary name “the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.” Since, 167 members of the UN have recognised the country under its constitutional name of Republic of Macedonia.

Former Macedonian diplomat Risto Nikovski told SETimes that the UN needs to resolve the problem with Greece because regional security depends on it.

“This country was [withheld] from its constitutional name … [which] completely disrupted the natural course and development of the country. The roots of what is happening in Macedonia today are found in the way that Macedonia was admitted in to the UN. The country is left all by itself with severe disabilities, to fight for its future,” Nikovski said.

Under the auspices of the UN, Macedonia and Greece have held negotiations to find a solution to the name issue since 1991. There have not been any results.

In what is the latest in a string of proposed solutions, UN mediator Matthew Nimitz proposed last week that the country be known as “the Upper Republic of Macedonia.”

According to Belgrade-based B92, Greece has reportedly given its consent to Macedonia to join NATO and start negotiations for EU accession under the proposed name.

In return, Macedonia would be required to enter an amendment into its constitution that says that the Upper Republic of Macedonia will be the international name of the country, B92 reported.

The two countries are expected to react to the proposal in the coming days, and reach an agreement by mid-May.

“Macedonia could act in two ways: either to accept the resolution of the UN security council through which it will request a compromised solution with Greece, or to try to cancel or invalidate that resolution and to request a new admission under its constitutional name, a very difficult mission to be accomplished,” Malevski said.

Macedonia applied for NATO membership in 2005 and believed that it would be accepted in 2008, but Greece blocked a formal invitation. In 2009, Greece blocked EU accession talks with its neighbour over the same issue.

Since that disappointment, Macedonia has made efforts to prove to NATO’s 28 members that it deserves an invitation.

The country has built up its security system including its army, Marjan Gjurovski, a former spokesman at the ministry of defence, told SETimes.

Wolfgang Richter, assistant chief of staff for the Civil Military Co-operation Joint Command of Allied Forces NATO in Naples, Italy, expressed the alliance’s appreciation for the progress achieved so far in defence reform.

“You have done everything that was possible, and … I am firmly convinced that if there was not external political dispute with your constitutional name, you already would have been a member of NATO,” Richter said at a meeting with Macedonia Defence Minister Talat Xhaferi and Army Chief of Staff Major General Goranco Kotesk earlier this month.

Greece breached accord with Macedonia: UN

Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski leaves a news conference after addressing journalists after The Hague International Court of Justice has ruled that Greece has breached its obligation under Article 11 of the 1995 Interim Accord.

Πηγή: newKerala
Dec 6 2011

New York, Dec 6 : Greece breached a United Nations-facilitated accord with the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia when it blocked its neighbour’s attempt to become a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled on Monday.

In a 15-to-one decision, the ICJ ruled that Greece breached its obligations under Article 11 of the so-called Interim Accord of Sept 13, 1995 when it objected to the NATO candidacy of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia at a summit in Bucharest in 2008.

The Interim Accord was reached as part of UN-led international efforts to resolve the ongoing dispute between the two countries over the appropriate name for the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

The agreement details the differences between the countries on the name issue and obliges them to continue negotiations under the auspices of the UN Secretary-General to try to reach a settlement.

In its decision the ICJ – also known as the World Court – noted that Article 11 states that Greece agrees to not object to any applications to join international organizations or institutions by the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, unless the country uses a different name.

The judges, who are based in The Hague, dismissed Greece’s claim that it was justified to block the candidacy because the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia had already breached the Interim Accord.

The judges noted that only one breach had been established – the use of a prohibited symbol in 2004 – and that the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia had discontinued using the symbol that year.

They also stated that Greece had failed to establish that it had objected to the NATO candidacy in response to that specific breach.

In a statement issued after the decision, Matthew Nimetz, the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy for the talks between Greece and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, said the ruling deserved careful study by the governments of the two countries.

“I have been in communication with both governments in recent days and have urged them to view this event as an opportunity to think constructively about their mutual relationship and to consider a renewed initiative to reach a definitive solution to the ‘name’ issue,” he said.

“At this juncture, a forward-looking attitude that emphasizes solutions rather than differences would help make a lasting solution possible. I have informed the parties that I stand ready to work with them at the earliest opportunity and recommend intensifying the efforts to find a permanent solution.”

Macedonia waits anxiously for court verdict on name dispute with Greece

The controversial bronze statue of the ancient warrior king Alexander the Great arrived on June 14th  at the main square in the Macedonian capital, Skopje.

Πηγή: People's Daily
By Xinhua
Dec 5 2011

SKOPJE, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- Macedonia is eagerly waiting for a ruling from theInternational Court of Justice on its suit against Greece over name issue between thetwo countries. The court will announce its verdict on Monday in The Hague.

A Macedonian delegation led by the country's Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki will beon the spot to hear the verdict.

Macedonia sued Greece in November of 2008, saying that Athens violated theagreement the two countries signed in 1995 to forbid Greece from blocking Macedoniaapplying for membership in international institutions under the name of the FormerYugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

Greece thwarted the efforts by its small northern neighbour to join NATO in April of2008 at a NATO summit, saying that Macedonia can be a member only if a solution tothe name dispute is reached.

The two neighboring countries are involved in a 20-year dispute over a name dispute.Greece is opposed to the use of the name of Macedonia by its northern neighbor,saying that it implies it has territorial claims to Greece's northern province of the samename.

Macedonia has said that Greece breached the agreement, while Greece counteredthat Macedonia erred in the first place long before the NATO summit by naming itsairport and highways after Greek historical figures, such as Alexander, and stealingGreek history.

Macedonia then brought the case before the international court in The Hague,accusing Greece of violating the agreement and asking Greece not to repeat that kindof behavior in the future.

Greece, on the other hand, has appealed to the court, saying that this case does notfall under its jurisdiction and that the arguments made by the other side are unfounded.

International law experts in Macedonia have said that, although the court's ruling wouldnot be binding, a positive decision can at least improve Macedonia's position in thenegotiations over the name issue.

"A possible positive decision by the court should have a favorable impact onMacedonia's opportunity to join NATO at the alliance's next summit for 2012 inChicago," Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov said on Friday.

Macedonia Floats New 'Name' Initiative With Greece

FM Nikola Poposki in Brussels

Πηγή: BalkanInsight
By Sinisa Jakov Marusic

Dec 1 2011

In a bid to end the stalemate over Macedonia's name, Macedonia is proposing a time-frame to Greece to settle the dispute that is blocking the country’s accession to the EU and NATO.

Macedonia is proposing that at the December 9 EU Council of Ministers meeting, Greece allows Macedonia’s EU accession talks to get underway.

Greece has been blocking a start to the talks for three years owing to the unresolved name issue.

In exchange, as soon as accession talks begin, during the so-called screening process, Macedonia would agree to a strict time frame to settle the name dispute.

”Setting an indicative time frame mechanism for reaching a mutually acceptable solution during the initial stage of the EU accession negotiations could inspire positive developments in the UN-led Process,” Macedonia’s Foreign Minister, Nikola Poposki, said in an address to the European Parliament’s foreign affairs committee in Brussels.

Last year Poposki’s predecessor, Antonio Milososki, also urged Greece to allow EU accession talks to start in tandem with ongoing UN-led talks on a settlement to the name dispute.

On Tuesday Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski repeated the idea of a simultaneous end to the EU blockade and a start to accession talks in a letter sent to his recently elected Greek counterpart, Lucas Papademos.

But this is the first time that Macedonia has officially proposed a time frame for a name settlement.

“This is a new initiative from your government and it’s one that I find very interesting,” the European Parliament rapporteur on Macedonia, Richard Howitt, said. He said he would forward the initiative to the European Parliament.

Despite repeated recommendations from the European Commission, the EU has for three years declined to set a date for membership talks, owing to a Greek blockade connected to the "name" issue.

Greece insists that use of the name "Macedonia" implies a territorial claim to its own northern province of the same name.

Meanwhile, all eyes are directed towards the International Court of Justice in The Hague, which should deliver its ruling in the case of Macedonia versus Greece on December 5.

Macedonia is suing Greece before the World Court for breaching a 1995 UN interim agreement by blocking its NATO accession in 2008.

The agreement bound Greece not to stop Macedonia from entering international organizations under its provisional UN reference, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, FYROM.

While some Greek media suspect the World Court ruling might go in Macedonia’s favour, the Macedonian authorities have declined to comment on "speculation" while saying they will respect the ruling, whatever it is.

The World Court has no tools to enforce its decisions on countries. But officials in Skopje believe that a positive ruling for Macedonia would at least shift the terms of the argument to Macedonia's benefit.

ICJ to Rule on Macedonia-Greece Name Dispute Dec 5

Macedonian walks near a wall that is painted with Macedonian flag in the capitol Skopje The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia on 21 March 2011.

Πηγή: novinite
Nov 24 2011

UN's International Court of Justice is going to make its ruling on the so calledMacedonia-Greece name dispute on December 5, 2011, the Court has announced.

"On Monday 5 December 2011, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, will deliver its Judgment in the case concerning Application of the Interim Accord of 13 September 1995 (the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia v. Greece). A public sitting will take place at the Peace Palace in The Hague, during which the President of the Court, Judge Hisashi Owada, will read the Court's Judgment," the ICJ said in a communique Thursday.

Macedonia is registered at international organizations as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia because of the name dispute, rather than Republic ofMacedonia at Greece's insistence, which fears the name "Macedonia" might spur territorial claims for its northern regions.

Greeece has already exercised a de facto veto on Macedonia's NATO accession at the Bucharest Summit in April 2008.

Macedonia continues to have no date for starting the EU talks as the Council of the European Union has repeatedly put off grating the country a date, largely because of its name dispute with Greece.

Greece and international intermediaries have suggested that the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia should adopt a name such as "Republic of NorthernMacedonia" or "Republic of Macedonia-Skopje", which have been rejected by the Macedonian authorities.

In its Thursday's communique, the UN Court reminds the history of the Macedonianname dispute case proceedings:

"On 17 November 2008, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia instituted proceedings against Greece for what it described as "a flagrant violation of [Greece's] obligations under Article 11" of the Interim Accord signed by the Parties on 13 September 1995" (see Press Release No. 2011/4).

By an Order of 20 January 2009, the Court fixed 20 July 2009 as the time-limit for the filing of a Memorial by the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and 20 January 2010 as the time-limit for the filing of a Counter-Memorial by Greece. Those pleadings were filed within the time-limits thus prescribed.

On 9 March 2010, the Government of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedoniaexpressed a desire to be able to respond to the Counter-Memorial of Greece and the objections to jurisdiction and admissibility contained therein by means of a Reply, and to have available for that purpose a time-limit of approximately four and a half months as from the filing of the Counter-Memorial. The Government of Greece had no objection to the granting of this request, provided that it could in turn submit a Rejoinder and would have an identical time-limit available for doing so.

Taking account of the agreement of the Parties, by an Order of 12 March 2010, the Court authorized the submission of a Reply by the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and a Rejoinder by Greece. It fixed 9 June 2010 and 27 October 2010 as the respective time-limits for the filing of those pleadings. The Reply and the Rejoinder were filed within the time-limits thus prescribed.

Public hearings were held from Monday 21 March to Wednesday 30 March 2011. During the hearings the delegation of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedoniawas led by H.E. Mr. Antonio Miloshoski, then Minister for Foreign Affairs of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, as Agent and H.E. Mr. Nikola Dimitrov, Ambassador of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, as Co-Agent. The delegation of Greece was led by H.E. Mr. Georges Savvaides, Ambassador, and Ms Maria Telalian, Legal Adviser, Head of the Public International Law Section of the Legal Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as Agents."