Influencing Australian Foreign Policy on Macedonia through Strategic Public Affairs Management
by Ordan Andreevski
Why hasn’t the Australian Government or Opposition recognised the Republic of Macedonia under its Constitutional name? Why should it and what can the Australian Macedonian community do about it?
The Australian Macedonian community has many unmet social and political needs such as the name issue as a result of historical, political, management and strategic realities and inaction. The capacity of ethnic communities to influence Australian Foreign Policy is dependent on their level of commitment, the degree of unity and the strength of their organisations to plan, organize resources, implement campaigns, provide leadership, raise and build sustainable funding and learn from past experience and best practice. Size of the community is not the critical issue as can be seen from the Jewish community’s example and its strong influence on Australia’s foreign policy in the Middle East.
Why hasn’t the Australian Government or Opposition recognised the Republic of Macedonia under its Constitutional name?
International Political Factors:
- The UN decision on the interim name FYROM is still in force and negotiations are in theory taking place in New York between Greece and the Republic of Macedonia;
- The European Union follows the UN Directive to appease Greece;
- Strong Greek lobbying is continuing on bilateral and multilateral levels (EU, UN, NATO, Australia, USA etc);
- Relatively weak and unfocused lobbying by the Republic of Macedonia and its diaspora in so far as Australia is concerned;
- Since independence, the Governments of Macedonia have been preoccupied with joining NATO and the EU and has not invested adequate resources in building strong, regular and quality economic, political and cultural relations with Australia and its diaspora unlike Israel, Greece or Cyprus;
Australian Political Factors;
- South Eastern Europe has not been a foreign policy priority or development assistance target for Australia Governments; Australia’s potential diplomatic contribution to the region has not been debated in Parliament and Australia does not have a strategy and policy for the region;
- Most Cabinet Ministers and Australian Members of Parliament would be ignorant of and not engaged with South East European Affairs;
- The Prime Minister, the Foreign Minister and Australian Members of Parliament have not been presented with a compelling case or the return on investment argument as to why they should satisfy the symbolic political needs of Australian Macedonians and risk alienating the Greek lobby; The response to the logical question of What is in it for them needs to be carefully thought through and articulated convincingly.
- Most political and international relations editors and journalists in Australia are ignorant of issues in South Eastern Europe let alone Macedonian affairs and have not been briefed on priorities and gaps in the Australia-South Eastern Europe relationship;
- Change of policy on the Macedonian name issue has not been a high priority for the Howard Government and the Opposition nor has it been a burning issue for the Australian Macedonian community;
- Strong lobbying by Greece and its diaspora in Australia continues especially by its political and business class which has infiltrated and influenced mainstream institutions and the Offices of the Prime Minister and those of State Premiers, Cabinets and Members of Parliament;
- Relatively weak and uncoordinated lobbying by the under-resourced Embassy of Macedonia and the Australian Macedonian community;
- The Australian Macedonian community have been seen as loyal ALP voters by the Liberals hence little incentive to appease them;
- The Australian Macedonian community has missed unique strategic political opportunities to vote for Macedonian candidates endorsed by the Liberal Party at State and Federal elections;
- The Australian Macedonian community has been taken for granted by the ALP with little effort needed to appease them even with symbolic concessions like recognizing Macedonia by its constitutional name ;
- The Australian Macedonian community has been powerless in Australia without any elected Members of Parliament at State and Federal level; furthermore the community has not leveraged its political strength effectively in the past decade; It has not been a swinging electorate and appears to lack political sophistication or strategy for gaining power and influence in Australia.
- The Australian Macedonian community has since the mid 1990’s become disoriented, split and disengaged from Australian Politics;
- The Australian Macedonian community does not have a peak national representative body that can speak as one voice, with authority and legitimacy with Australian politicians, policy makers and the media;
- The public row in Australian courtrooms between Archbishop Petar and certain Australian Macedonian Orthodox Church Councils did not help the Macedonian cause, reputation, image or help preserve scare financial resources for community capacity building and advocacy and the issue needs to be resolved urgently.
- The quality and independence of some Australian Macedonians engaged in local, state and federal political activity is an issue of concern given that some have been only too willing to be foot soldiers for MPs and have had a counterproductive impact on the Macedonian cause;
- The best and brightest second generation Australian Macedonian young leaders, professionals, entrepreneurs and intellectuals have not been attracted and retained in large numbers in community development initiatives, in leadership roles in organisations or in political campaigns.
Why should the Australian Government or Opposition recognise the Republic of Macedonia under its Constitutional name?
- The people of Macedonia have the exclusive right to determine their name and identity and have voted in referendums to adopt the constitutional name which all other states in the UN should respect;
- So far 120 sovereign states have recognized the Republic of Macedonia under its constitutional name including USA, China, Russia, India, Turkey, UK, and others because it is the right thing to do from an ethical, social justice and strategic perspective hence its time for Australia to follow suit;
- The term ‘Former Yugoslav’ is no longer logical as Yugoslavia no longer exists as a state but the Republic of Macedonia does;
- The term ‘Former Yugoslav’ is insulting and goes against the wishes of the Macedonian people for self determination;
- The Republic of Macedonia has been a factor of peace, stability, democracy, humanitarian assistance and regional integration in South Eastern Europe and needs to be recognized for its efforts by Australia;
- The Republic of Macedonia like Australia has been supporting the War on Terror with troops still in Iraq and Afghanistan;
- The Republic of Macedonia has embraced European values and integration into the EU and the NATO alliance. It has made systemic reforms as a result of which it now has a Candidate Status in the EU;
- The Government of Macedonia is actively trying to develop closer economic relations with Australia as seen by recent advertisements in ‘The Australian’ by Invest-in-Macedonia;
- The Australian Government should live up to its proclaimed values by standing on the side of justice and not bow to the pressure from Greek politicians and its diaspora;
- Greece is the largest foreign investor in the Republic of Macedonia;
- The Australian Macedonian community expects a fair and proper response from the Australian Government and the Opposition.
- The Australian Macedonian community has a genuine interest, desire and intent to build closer political, economic and cultural relationships between Australia and Macedonia and will work in partnership with stakeholders in developing and implementing a Strategic Plan to that effect.
In an election year, the attention of busy Australian politicians and their policy advisors will be focused on burning issues relevant to their party’s survival, the national interest and more importantly to retaining power or winning office. The low priority Macedonian name issue is not on the radar screens of the Federal Government and the Opposition and will be competing with other more pressing issues and campaigns launched by influential, professional and well funded sources. How to get on the radar screen and persuade Australian politicians to devote scare time and accept the Macedonian Constitutional name proposal will be a major challenge for any Campaign Committee.
Factors that may trigger a shift in policy on the name issue in Australia
- Change of policy at the UN, EU and Greece in favor of Macedonia;
- Development and implementation of a Strategic Plan for Building closer Political, Economic and Cultural Relations between Australia and Macedonia which may involve setting up an Australia-Macedonia Institute or Foundation or an Australia-South Eastern Europe Institute.
- Launch of a campaign titled It is time to Recognise Macedonia’s Constitutional Name designed to influence the Australian Prime Minister and his Cabinet as well as Federal MPs, the Opposition and foreign policy community, editors and journalists;
- Media pressure targeting the above political actors using op-ed pieces, articles, letters, reports etc to build a case for a change of policy on the name issue;
- Sending Australian journalist on a fact finding mission to Macedonia;
- Australian Macedonian candidates standing as independents;
- Australian Macedonians joining the ALP, the Liberal Party etc. and seeking endorsement and opportunities for advancing the Australia Macedonia relationship;
- Series of high level meetings with Government and Opposition Leaders;
- Political donations to the Liberal Party and the ALP and continue to lobby for pressing Macedonian community issues;
- Issuing How to Vote Cards in the lead up to the Federal Election based on the candidates and their party’s policy on the name issue.
- Development and Implementation of a Strategic Plan for Uniting, Empowering and Integrating the Australian Macedonian community with mainstream Australian institutions, the Republic of Macedonia and the global Macedonian diaspora and with other partners and friends.
The Australian Macedonian community can use strategic public affairs management to advance its interests in Australia and globally. Vision can be translated into reality with clear thinking, action and partnership with dedicated and competent leaders and stakeholders. A bit of national pride and readiness to invest in our future also helps.
The Australian Macedonian community will need to get its house in order before it can make an impact on Australian Foreign policy. Addressing the problems and opportunities identified in this article will be a precondition for success.
Ordan Andreevski is a PhD Candidate in Management at the University of Melbourne ordana@pgrad.unimelb.edu.au and a member of the Washington D.C based United Macedonian Diaspora www.umdiaspora.org

What Will Happen to the Grkomani and Bugaromani?
By Risto Stefov
rstefov@hotmail.com
L et’s face it, some years from now when the whole of Macedonia is free and independent there will be a chapter in its history called “Greek, Serbian and Bulgarian Occupation of Macedonia”. Yes, occupation! There was the “Roman Occupation”, the “Byzantine Occupation” and the “Ottoman Occupation” and yes there will be the “Greek, Serbian and Bulgarian Occupation”. How easily we recognize an “Ottoman Occupation” yet we are so blind to see the current “Greek Occupation”. “Can’t see the forest for the trees, I guess”. Case in point for the skeptics: 1913 “Serbian Occupied Macedonia”, 1991 “Free and Independent Republic of Macedonia”. Anyone should be able to extrapolate from that! It’s a matter of time before “Greek and Bulgarian Occupied Macedonia” will also be free! Which brings us to the question: “What will history say about those who side with the occupiers?” Macedonians have a name for them “Grkomani” and “Bulgaromani”.
Even though many of them have wished the Macedonians harm and some have committed crimes against the Macedonian people, I have never spoken ill of them. Recently however, I have become their target of hate and ridicule. I have been impersonated on several occasions on the internet, threatened with bodily harm many times and blamed for things that happened to them that were beyond my control. Still I bear no ill will towards them because to me they are Macedonians who have lost their way. I am however concerned about them, as to what will happen to them when Greece and Bulgaria no longer needs them. Will they be branded as “collaborators” by their overlords? Will they be branded as “traitors” by the Macedonian people? Or will they become “more Macedonian” than the Macedonians themselves?
History has many examples of people like them, perhaps history has the answers. They better consult history to see what the future holds for them.
Greece and Bulgaria have a tight grip on their people and not only refuse to recognize that minorities live on their respective soils, but also violently discourage their people from self declaring their true identities. This is a serious problem. Encroachment on people’s rights and oppression creates friction and discontentment and usually results in outbursts of violence. Most uprisings, both violent and peaceful, have started this way when governments ignore reality for some self fulfilling purpose. Oh yes, I forgot, all the people that live in Greece are Greeks and all the people that live in Bulgaria are Bulgarians! This kind of thinking is precisely what is wrong with these two countries!
Ethnically, today’s modern Greeks and Bulgarians are not who they say they are. In other words they bear little or no relation to the people they say they have descended from. Macedonians have no problem with that, in fact, the world has no problem with that. When Greece and Bulgaria were hastily created by the Great Powers in the 19th century, they were given arbitrary identities more suitable to Great Power interests that to the interests of the people in those states. Where the Macedonians do have a problem is with how these states treat Macedonians. Even though everyone in the world knows Macedonians exist, Greece and Bulgaria adamantly cling to the idea that Macedonians don’t exist.
When Macedonia was invaded, occupied and partitioned three ways in 1913, no Macedonian was give the choice to self identify. In fact, the majority of Macedonians were made into Greeks, Serbians, or Bulgarians against their will. And thus is the crux of our problems today. The only choice Macedonians were given is to live as Greeks, Serbians, or Bulgarians or die as Macedonians. Some choice!
The Macedonian people were forced to cope with not just being assimilated, but being assimilated three different ways by three diverse and opposing entities who hated one another to no end. This hatred of Greeks for Bulgarians and vice versa was imposed on the Macedonians where Macedonians living in Greece were “expected” to be enemies with the Macedonians living in Bulgaria and so on. Imagine how that must have felt?
Things went from weird to bizarre when all three sides were enlisting Macedonians to fight against other Macedonians during Macedonia’s partition in 1913, during World War I and II, and so on. Bulgaria fought against Greece in WW I and II where Macedonians were present in both camps and were forced to fight against each other. Closer to home, Macedonians fought against other Macedonians during the Greek Civil War. But that’s not all. All three states have in the past enlisted Macedonians to fight other Macedonians on their own soil. Greeks, Serbians and Bulgarians enlisted fighters from Macedonia to do their dirty work. For example the great Greek Hellenizer Karavangelis enlisted the services of Kote from Rula to do his dirty work in Kostur. Vlado Chernozemski was enlisted by the Bulgarians to assassinate the Macedonian revolutionary and intellectual Dimo Hadzhidimov and so on. These were Macedonians who did these dirty deeds for their benefactors.
To truly understand the “Grkoman” or “Bulgaroman” phenomenon one has to imagine an “occupied” people in a world where the conditions are “created” by the “occupier”.
In order to maintain control of the occupied the occupier needs to know when and where to act and for that he needs reliable information. This information must come from the inside and must be accurate. So, to gain such information the occupier needs to enlist the services of insiders in the occupied world. Unfortunately, the only insiders who are willing to provide this information are those who are either disgruntled individuals or individuals that can be bought in exchange for something they desire such as sums of money, social status, free education, a better job, power over others, etc. However, to prove his loyalty the insider or collaborator is expected to commit some act, usually a criminal act against his own people. This way the occupier will be assured of the collaborator’s loyalty.
So how will a collaborator react to a situation where the occupier is threatened? In such a situation the collaborator will fight for the occupier in order to maintain the status quo.
I am not implying that all “Grkomani” and “Bulgaromani” are collaborators but I do question their actions. If these people have committed no harm to the Macedonian people then what are their motives for siding with the occupiers? So my hope here is that many of these “Grkomans” and “Bulgaromans” are not aware of the damage they are doing to themselves and to the Macedonian people which means that there is hope for them yet.
To be loyal to family and friends is fine but it should not stop people from thinking for themselves and finding out who they really are. I have been told that loyalty to family comes first and I can’t say that I disagree with that. If your parents or grandparents saw themselves as other than Macedonians, for which I am sure they had a reason, does not change the fact that they have a Macedonian ancestry which, when the time comes, will be recognized as such. So where does that leave you? You can argue with me that, that will never happen just as many in the past have argued that Macedonia will never be free of the Romans, Byzantines, or Turks or you can reconsider where you stand and make the right choice.
The Republic of Macedonia’s independence has created a problem for Greece and Bulgaria. Greece and Bulgarian took the 19th century road but somewhere down the line forgot to take a turn when the whole world was turning.
Yugoslavia was whole at one time populated by “South Slavs”. In fact Yugoslavia was touted as the Switzerland of the Balkans. But where is Yugoslavia now? Who would have thought Yugoslavia, the Switzerland of the Balkans, would disintegrate to its elemental level? Who would have thought that Yugoslavia was populated by other than “South Slavs”? Believe me, Greece and Bulgaria are not far behind. Their belligerent behaviour towards their minorities, especially the Macedonians, will not serve them well!
So once again, to the people who support our occupiers (yours and ours), when Greece and Bulgaria no longer need you what will become of you?