Post by Bozur on Dec 2, 2007 14:37:04 GMT -5
Macedonia to Change Number Plates
30 November 2007 Skopje _ Macedonia’s opposition and political analysts have criticized the government’s decision to add the country’s name to car number plates because it may strengthen Greek opposition to Macedonia’s constitutional name.
Macedonia’s centre-right government announced on Thursday that it was to call a tender next week to change the current plates which do not display any state symbols.
Calling the move “extremely undiplomatic”, Dane Taleski, told Balkan Insight on Friday that Skopje should not provide additional ammunition to Athens at a time when Greece is threatening to veto Macedonia’s bid to join NATO.
Under the planned changes, Macedonia`s name, spelled out in Latin script, and the abbreviation “MK” would appear on number plates.
Taleski pointed out that the proposed change would make it difficult for Macedonian motorists to travel to Greece, since “the Greek authorities will almost certainly not allow vehicles with such number plates to enter”.
There have been numerous cases in the past, when Macedonians were forced to remove "MK" stickers by the Greek border police in order to be allowed into Greece.
Athens has already described the recent renaming of Skopje airport after “Alexander the Great”, as an open provocation by Macedonia against what Greece regards as its own national history.
Taleski said that, at a time of increased Greek diplomatic pressure, Skopje was “constantly rekindling the fire” by its policy on national symbols.
On Thursday the opposition unanimously rejected the planned move, and expressed doubts about the sincerity of the government intention to join NATO.
But Macedonia`s interior minister, Gordana Jankulovska, said "I do not think that the name of our country is a provocation. We have no dilemmas about the fact that the Republic of Macedonia has the right to bear its constitutional name."
Due to Greek objections to the country’s constitutional name, the “Republic of Macedonia”, Skopje joined the UN in 1993 under the provisional term, "The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia", FYROM, pending a resolution of the dispute.
Since then the two countries have been holding UN-sponsored talks over the dispute, the last of which took place on November 1 in New York.
In recent months senior Greek officials have threatened to veto Macedonia’s NATO bid, if a solution is not found by April 2008 when Skopje expects a membership invitation from the Alliance at its summit in Bucharest. To read more, see www.birn.eu.com/en/109/15/5379/
So far, Macedonia’s constitutional name has been recognized by two-thirds of the UN’s members, including the US, Russia and China.
balkaninsight.com/en/main/news/6695/
30 November 2007 Skopje _ Macedonia’s opposition and political analysts have criticized the government’s decision to add the country’s name to car number plates because it may strengthen Greek opposition to Macedonia’s constitutional name.
Macedonia’s centre-right government announced on Thursday that it was to call a tender next week to change the current plates which do not display any state symbols.
Calling the move “extremely undiplomatic”, Dane Taleski, told Balkan Insight on Friday that Skopje should not provide additional ammunition to Athens at a time when Greece is threatening to veto Macedonia’s bid to join NATO.
Under the planned changes, Macedonia`s name, spelled out in Latin script, and the abbreviation “MK” would appear on number plates.
Taleski pointed out that the proposed change would make it difficult for Macedonian motorists to travel to Greece, since “the Greek authorities will almost certainly not allow vehicles with such number plates to enter”.
There have been numerous cases in the past, when Macedonians were forced to remove "MK" stickers by the Greek border police in order to be allowed into Greece.
Athens has already described the recent renaming of Skopje airport after “Alexander the Great”, as an open provocation by Macedonia against what Greece regards as its own national history.
Taleski said that, at a time of increased Greek diplomatic pressure, Skopje was “constantly rekindling the fire” by its policy on national symbols.
On Thursday the opposition unanimously rejected the planned move, and expressed doubts about the sincerity of the government intention to join NATO.
But Macedonia`s interior minister, Gordana Jankulovska, said "I do not think that the name of our country is a provocation. We have no dilemmas about the fact that the Republic of Macedonia has the right to bear its constitutional name."
Due to Greek objections to the country’s constitutional name, the “Republic of Macedonia”, Skopje joined the UN in 1993 under the provisional term, "The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia", FYROM, pending a resolution of the dispute.
Since then the two countries have been holding UN-sponsored talks over the dispute, the last of which took place on November 1 in New York.
In recent months senior Greek officials have threatened to veto Macedonia’s NATO bid, if a solution is not found by April 2008 when Skopje expects a membership invitation from the Alliance at its summit in Bucharest. To read more, see www.birn.eu.com/en/109/15/5379/
So far, Macedonia’s constitutional name has been recognized by two-thirds of the UN’s members, including the US, Russia and China.
balkaninsight.com/en/main/news/6695/