On Wednesday (18.07.2018), the Prime Minister of Macedonia revealed referendum questions regarding the name of Macedonia. After a meeting with main political parties, Zoran Zaev enunciated that the referendum question would be: "Are you in favour of membership in the European Union and NATO by accepting the deal between the Republic of Macedonia and Republic of Greece?". Zaev said the referendum will be “consultative,” but also added that “the people’s say will be final for all political parties.” 17th of June Greek and Macedonian foreign ministers signed the agreement at the banks of the Prespa Lake District in northern Greece, during a ceremony attended by Alexis Tsipras and Zoran Zaev of Macedonia. The ceremony formalized agreement which was the culmination of a 27-year dispute between the two countries about the name of Macedonia and it is a chance to open the path of Macedonia to the NATO structures. Athens decided to recognize Macedonia as the "Republic of Northern Macedonia". In June the agreement was voted in favour in parliament but President of Macedonia Ǵorge Ivanov refused to sign the ratified agreement saying it violates the constitution. On 5th of July Macedonia’s parliament endorsed a landmark agreement with Greece again in order to change the ex-Yugoslav republic’s name. At least 69 lawmakers out of the 70 who were present in the 120-member parliament voted in favour and the document was adopted. Zoran Zaev will have to convince the Macedonian society to change the name. But the public opinion is significantly divided. Some are convinced that the agreement with Greece is the only way for Macedonia to develop. Others refer to the difficult history of their state, which won its independence and identity. Prime Minister of Greece will also has to convince the public opinion to the agreement with Macedonia. The society is opposed to negotiations and does not want “Macedonia” to be included in the name they argued the term "Macedonia" implied territorial claims on its own northern province of the same name (birthplace of the ancient warrior king Alexander the Great) and usurped ancient Greek history. The rate is high because last week NATO leaders formally invited Macedonia to start membership talks but with the condition that membership will not be completed until the name deal is fully implemented. Zuzanna Sielska Read more about Macedonia: http://www.journals.us.edu.pl/index.php/PP/article/view/6963/5231
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As our website is run by three people (on the blog and on the Twitter), we often have different views and opinions. Primarily, one of the matter of disagreement is the issue of independent Kosovo. On February 7, 2018, on our blog appeared an entry about Kosovo – Serbia can’t accept Kosovo being a country. I have been gathering for a long time to write polemic to this post, especially to improve that this problem is not black or white but also has got other shades. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia on February 17, 2008. It is also true that Kosovo has got 117 diplomatic recognisions included 111 Unated Nations members states. However, a big oversight is the statement that the only country that did not recognize (Kosovo) is Serbia. Nonetheless, the fact is that more than 80 diplomatic states do not recognize Kosovo as an independent state. Including Spain, Romania, Cyprus, Greece, Brazil, Russia, Israel, Georgia, Slovakia and others (picture 1). At the very begging of the article is asked a question - do they think that Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia Herzegovina, and all other countries from former Yugoslavia are not countries, either but Serbia's? Croatia is country where live Croatians, Slovenia is country where live Slovenians (The topic of Bosnia and Herzegovina needs to be left for the next article), but what about Kosovo? At the turn of the 6th and 7th centuries, the Slavic population began flowing into the Balkan Peninsula, also on the lands of today's Kosovo. The history of Kosovo lands has not been easy from the beginning. These lands belonged to the former Bulgarian Empire, later to Byzantium, and in 1216 became part of the Serbian state. It was then that the largest number of Serbian monasteries and churches were built, which the Serbs refer to when talking about their legacy. The first census was conducted in the 12th century, so we know that territory was inhabited mostly by Serbs and Bulgarians. After Ottomans Empire conquer Balkan Penisula and in the 17th century, many Serbs were expelled from Kosovo, and the Albanians began to flow into these lands. In the following years, through a high birth rate, there were more and more Albanians in Kosovo. 1899 – Albanians 47,88%; Serbs 43,7% 1948 – Albanians 68,46%; Serbs 23,62% 1991 – Albanians 81,6%; Serbs 9,9% (https://www.sok-kosovo.org/pdf/population/Kosovo_population.pdf) After the war, the Serbian population decreased significantly. Many Serbs were killed or have been banished from their homes. All of this was the responsibility of the UCK recognized as a terrorist organization. I will not present all the facts from the Kosovo war but I encourage you to watch a movie that presents some facts which the world forgets and are not easy or black or white: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1dtOAGD0pk. As we can see, the population of Kosovo has changed significantly over the years, leading to the situation that in these lands are the vast majority of Albanians. Therefore, it is not true that in Kosovo is 50/50 Split of Muslims and Orthodox, but based on Pew Research Cente there is 87% of Islam and 9,9% of Orthodox. That is why I will not say that Serbia should re-joint its land. For now is impossible. The demographic structure of the area has diametrical changed and the rest of the international community would not allow it. We can observe now the same situation in Macedonia. Other Slavic country which has big problems with Albanian minority which claim rights, leading to troubled conflicts like in Tetovo in 2001 (I am writing about it in my article which will be published soon). Many case researchers invoke the concept of Great Albania as a threat. The concept of lands that in future will create Great Albania based on regions like Kosovo and the Preševo Valley of Serbia, territories in southern Montenegro, northwestern Greece and western part of Republic of Macedonia. The case of Kosovo is other than Croatian or Slovenian example, it is incomparable. We all have to ask ourselfs whether the state is a historical or cultural heritage, or, for example, the number of its population, not always indigenous. These questions are particularly important in these times when more and more immigrants or refugees are coming to Europe. In some areas, they create enclaves, sometimes being in the majority (Belgium). Whose countries will be in the future? I will not judge it. I do not even want to. My world has many shades and nothing is simple. ZS I had the pleasure of attending Newstalk 1010's In-depth and interactive event this past Tuesday. The event was for guest's and VIPs who either listen to or sponsor the radio station. CFRB is Toronto's oldest broadcasting station, and still operating today. Toronto is a great city, with a lot to offer. It's clean and well run compared to most other big cities throughout North America. The people are friendly, and the food was amazing. I showed up to the event when the doors opened at 6:00 in the afternoon. The event was held at the exhibition grounds around the corner from the Toronto FC football stadium. I gave the staff my ticket and in return received a complimentary drink ticket. Newstalk 1010 is an all talk political station run by mostly conservatives. I listen to the station from time to time and the amount of people that call in amazes me. Last. This year was the 7th annual event hostessed by the station. Complimentary food and a gin tasting station was available for all attendees. Fans were able to meet many hosts, chat for a few minutes and take a quick picture (or selfie). I had the pleasure of meeting Jerry Agar who runs his show from 9 am to 12. He is a very passionate host who enjoys a good debate and often expresses his love for the country. Barb Digulio runs her show called the nightside from 7 pm-10 pm that mostly talks about day to day things going on in the city and world, guests often join Barb on air (employment lawyers, marketing guru, etc). Meeting Ryan and Jay from the Rush was also a pleasure. These two have their own show during rush hour from 4-7 pm. Ryan and Jay co-host and also talk about issues around the city and country. They also encourage listeners to call in and discuss various situations that go on in our everyday lives (how much would you spend on a bachelor party). After the a short meet and greet guests entered the theatre to grab a seat and enjoy the main event. The panel then gathered at the front to start the discuss. This years panelist included: John Moore (Moore in the Morning 4:30-9 A.M), Christie Blanchford (Columnist), Jerry Agar (Jerry Agar Show 9-12 P.M), Jim Richards (ShowGram 12-2), Even Soloman (2-4) The rush (Ryan and Jay 4-7 pm), Barb DiGulio (The NightSide 7-10 p.m) and John Poole (Pole Position 10-11 p.m). During the panel each host was asked about specific events throughout their career, and of course included personal and comical stories to allow us listeners to see the hosts from a different perspective. It was interesting to see how pationnate each host is about their job. What you hear on the radio is unscripted, which is great, but seeing the hosts in front of you helped reinforce this idea. This event was completely unfiltered. Former host, and the current mayor of Toronto was the special guest of the night. John Tory is a great mayor for the city and keeps the Toronto running well. He did make an announcement that when he is done his term as mayor, he will consider the offer to re-join the Newstalk 1010 team. When the evening commenced, the fans left the theatre a little richer with emotion and a pair of limited edition socks! Overall it was an amazing event. The host's were welcoming, as always. You can tell they enjoy it almost as much as us fans. Speaking with Ryan, he commented on how he is always amazed at the amount of fans that show up to the event. For the price of the ticket, the experience you receive is amazing and it is a fantastic way to interact with the radio station. If I have the chance, I would definitely attend again. Newstalk 1010 CFRB has a great line up and great topics so tune in any-day of the week, worldwide on iheartradio. The title explains it all, where has our great continent gone? It seems there are still great places in Europe to visit as a tourist, but what about living? If you look at what Europe has become, it is now a soft, safe haven where migrants can come in freely, take our jobs, and live on our streets begging for money. Even living in Europe, as a European is not easy to have a comfortable life, regardless of where you are living. Work doesn't come easy, but if you work hard you play hard. I was recently in Canada where it is also is becoming a problem with migrants. I was stepping outside with my girlfriend from the grocery store, and a migrant had a sign saying "Syrian refugee, five children, please help with food and money". When have we become so soft, and when did refugees think its so easy to come to a country and beg? My family was in hard times during the war and lost everything. Did they beg for money, or become lazy? No, they worked hard, found employment and worked many hours just to put food on the table. You have countries where they let migrants in, like a flock of birds taking advantage of what they have (Spain, Sweden, Italy, Germany and England) but the world is quick to critize when you have leaders trying to stand up for their own countries. Viktor Orban and Janez Jansa along with a couple of others have been critizied by the EU for standing up for their countries with an anti-migrant policy. Yet, those countries are some of the safest in Europe to live. There have not been a terrorists, or a suicide bombers coming in, sharia law is not taking over. Slovenia, Hungary, Croatia, Poland, and Czech are the countries in which European Values come first, these countries put their own people first. Its ok for Angela Merkel to quickly speak down to those countries not letting migrants in, but Germany has been attacked a handful of times due to terrorism from Migrants. England has been stopping free speech when a girl in was raped by six muslim guys in London. Tommy Robinson has been arrested and tried without counsel just for attempting to tell people the truth, yet again the government has silenced him. Free speech is being taken away in Europe. With Sharia law has being introduced throughout Sweden, the European culture is becoming unsafe. The European economy is dwindling, and the countries that are trying to save themselves are being told what they are doing is not humane and not part of the European Union. But, from what I understand, the European Union protects migrants, not Europeans. The future is uncertain, things are going to get worse before they get better. As Europeans we must live fully, and protect ourselves and the values our previous generations have brought to us. Lets stand by Hungary, Slovenia, Poland, Czech Republic and all those who want to keep Europeans safe and hard working. Janez Jansa has won the Slovenian elections for Prime Minister. So, what does that mean for Slovenia? Janez has told the media that once he elected, the borders between Slovenia and Croatia will be sealed shut to stop migrants from entering. Janez is not anti-immigrant but against migrants. Migrants have made a dangerous and destructive path to european nations who have allowed them in. Hungary itself has sealed their borders, yet chaos, litter, and no respect to the country was given. Even though Jansa was subject to many controversial problems in the past, I believe no time is better then now for his return to power with the migrant crisis being a issue. Viktor Orban, Hungary's prime minister praised Jansa for the job he is doing long before the elections. Jansa tweeted "Thanks to its (migration) policy, Hungary is a safe country, while Belgium, due to its wrong policy, isn't" As a Slovenian, we will have job security because of Jansa. Migrants come in, take our jobs and beg for our money, with the borders now being sealed we will not have to worry of such a thing. This is Jansa's third time as the Slovenian Prime Minister. When Jansa was in his 20's he was one of the main people to protest and fight against the pro, Yugoslav- Serbian forces during the ten day war. He was then named the defence minister of the then democratically governed nation, to fight against the JNA (Yugoslav peoples' army). It was in 1994 that Jansa was forced to resign. Janez Jansa made a comeback 10 years later in 2004, when he was named Prime Minister of Slovenia. However, on the eve of the 2008 elections he was implicated in a bribery scandal connected to a 278 million euro ($324 million) deal with Finnish company Patria -- Slovenia's biggest defence deal ever -- and a spell in opposition beckoned. In 2013, only a year into his second term, he was forced out by another corruption scandal and subsequently given a two-year jail sentence for a bribery conviction relating to the Patria case. Now he is back as the leader of the Republic of Slovenija and there is no better ally to back him then Viktor Orban. With Hungarian Orban backing Jansa, I foresee other Balkan Countries such as Serbia and Croatia to soon follow. I also believe that Serbia's Aleksander Vucic will now be watching his back closely as Jansa is not a person to back down. Whatever the future holds, with Jansa as the Prime Minster, our future is looking good. Despite the past with Jansa, he will help hold jobs, keep Slovenia safe and help work on making sure Slovenia has a strong economy. |
AuthorBoth authors are Slovenian and Croatian Archives
July 2019
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