Tribune Excerpts

The following article appeared in the October 2007 Edition of the Macedonian Tribune

Canada recognizes Macedonia’s name

Canada recognized the Republic of Macedonia by its constitutional name on or about Sept. 20, according to an unidentified senior government official, according to Reuters.

The official said, “The Canadian government has decided to recognize Macedonia under its constitutional name, which will now be in use in all bilateral relations.”

The name has been one of the emotive foreign policy issues in Greece for the past 16 years, and Greece has indicated it might block Macedonia’s bid for EU and NATO membership if it tries to join under the disputed name.

Speaking on the Deutche Welle radio show, Bohn, the director of a Greek foundation for European policy said that everyone realizes the word Macedonia is a central element of the name, but that some really small modification is needed, such as Macedonian Republic.

At this writing, no identified Canadian official has spoken of the recognition, there has been no official pronouncement from the Ministry of External Affairs, and the Canadian Embassy in Skopie has not commented.

As Ontario Provincial elections near and because there has been no official announcement, intellectuals are questioning the impact the recognition will have on the elections, and if the Canadian government may backpedal when it feels the full wrath of the Greek lobby.