Macedonia Opposition Slams PM Over Statement

The Social Democrats, SDSM, reacted to Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski's controversial statement on Sunday.

In the statement Gruevski said that if Macedonia held a referendum asking for support for the proposed name “Republic of Northern Macedonia” for all uses, he would vote against it.

The name appears to be the most likely possible solution on the negotiating table at the moment, and Greece has indicated that it would support the formulation.

“It would be logical to hold a referendum only after the government, through constructive participation in the name talks, reaches the best solution,” SDSM vice president Gordan Georgiev said.

“Then it would be normal to put that solution in front of the citizens and ask for support, and wage a positive and not negative campaign.”

The Macedonian opposition said it would not take part in any “name” referendum that is doomed to failure in advance if the government fails to stand behind what it agreed to at the UN mediated talks.

Gruevski's statement has prompted many responses both from domestic politicians and international observers, in part because it was not clear whether he would vote against such a motion because of the name itself or because of the provision that the name be used for all purposes.

The prime minister and his party pledged to voters in last year’s elections that if any compromise on the name issue with Greece is reached, they would put the proposed solution to a referendum before adopting it.

Meanwhile Gruevski’s party yesterday stood in defense of its leader. Claiming that the UN talks have not been ruined by Gruevski’s statement, party officials said they expect that UN mediator Matthew Nimetz will soon present a fresh set of ideas that could potentially put an end to the 19 year long spat.

Party officials told a press conference that they failed to see how “Republic of Northern Macedonia” was considered to be a compromise solution, arguing that the name largely reflects only the Greek stance on the issue.
 
Athens insists that Skopje’s official name, Republic of Macedonia, implies territorial claims towards its own northern province, also called Macedonia.

In 2008 Greece blocked Skopje’s NATO accession due to the unresolved bilateral spat. In December Skopje failed to get a date for the start of its EU accession talks over the same dispute.