ENGLISH

PERTH

Will the real Australian government please stand?

The Australian community has recently been exposed through the media to some of the poorest divisive political rhetoric possible in history by the Premier of South Australia Mr. Mike Ran who is acting as if he is key player in the bilateral issue between Macedonia and Greece about the name of the Republic of Macedonia.
During the visit of the Macedonian Prime Minister Mr. Nikola Gruevski last year it was so denigrating to listen and watch Mr. Kevin Rudd refer to the Macedonian community in Australia as "the community", "your community" and everything else except the Macedonian Community, Mr. Rudd did not even refer to the Republic of Macedonia during his "Warm Welcome Speech" to Prime Minister Gruevski, in fact the protocol section of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet in its publication only referred to Prime Minister Gruevski without naming the country. This was history in the making in Australian Foreign Policy.
The Social Security Agreement between the two countries (initiated by the former Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer and not the current Labour Government) also made history because for the first time in history an agreement was not signed by the two Prime Ministers but an exchange of notes between the two Prime Ministers occurred, This was due to the Australian position on not accepting the Macedonian constitutional name. What a disgrace. Compliments of Mr Rudd this has never been done to any other country except Macedonia.
Let us ask ourselves why? And make no mistake Mr. Rudd, who in reality runs Australian Foreign Policy and Mr. Ran, are in the same party and both follow a strong anti - Macedonian policy.
It is common knowledge that this year politicians and part candidates will be knocking on the doors of the Macedonian community around Australia seeking their support in the next elections which should be called by this October.
Macedonians should invite these people into their homes and provide them with a copy of this article before asking them the following questions;
1. What has the Labour Government done for the Macedonian people in Australia?
2. Why has Foreign Minister Smith and Prime Minister Rudd refused to meet Macedonian community representatives in Australia but both provide interviews in the Greek media?
3. Why does Mr. Rudd and Mr. Smith offend the Macedonians by referring to them as "the community", "citizens of the former Yugoslav Republic", "your community" in other words everything except the Macedonian community, do they have an allergy with the word Macedonian?
4. Why does Australia offend the Macedonians by calling the Republic of Macedonia "former Yugoslav Republic, Australia needs to show at least some respect for the Macedonian people and allow Skopje and Athens to solve their own bilateral issues?
5. If it is the opposition representative knocking on their door then he or she should be asked how their policy is going to differ from the arrogance of Mr. Rudd about Macedonia because they were in power for 10 years and did nothing themselves?
6. What the Republic of Macedonia calls itself is not a matter for Canberra to get involved in, Macedonians existed even before Australia was settled, so does that mean there is no Australians because they do not have 4000 years history?
7. Is every English speaking person in the world English, so does that mean there are no Australians?
8. Do Macedonians in Australia deserve respect and inclusion from all sides of politics?
9. Why don't Australian Politician use other countries or communities for a political football to score points like France and Germany, India and Pakistan, North and South Korea but always pick on the Macedonians with inflammatory anti Macedonian statements?
One would be interested to find out whether Premier Mr. Ran, Foreign Minister Mr. Smith, Prime Minister Mr. Rudd or even the Department of Foreign Affairs use neutral sources of information for such learnered anti Macedonian statements or out of convenience use the official Greek Government Policy to determine modern day geopolitics?
If these learnered politicians used neutral sources like the book IN THE SHADOW OF OLYMPUS, THE EMERGENCE OF MACEDON by Professor of ancient History at the Pennsylvania State University, USA by Professor Eugene N. Borza then they will see that Professor Borza says the following:
"The ancient Macedonians maintained a distinct ethnicity as a Balkan people and the evidence suggests that Macedonian as a language was distinct from the ordinary attic Greek used as a language of the Greek Court and Diplomacy. The handful of surviving genuine Macedonian words not loan words from Greek do not show changes expected from a Greek dialect. the main evidence for Macedonian existence as a separate language comes from a handful of late sources describing events in the train of Alexander the Great where the Macedonian language is mentioned specifically".
As for Mr. Ran's great knowledge and Mr. Rudd's understanding of history confirming their belief that Macedonia has been Greek for the last "4 000 years" Professor Borza says "Most of ancient Macedonia was incorporated into the modern Greek state only in 1913 when on the 9 November 1912 the Greek army raced into Salonica just hours before the arrival of a Bulgarian force. Salonica has been Greek from that day when they seozed Salonica early in the first Balkan war against Turkey"
As for Macedonian customs and ethnicity which according to our learnered Australian politicians were Greek, Professor Borza says "The Macedonians maintained a distinct ethnicity as a Balkan people and an assessment of contemporary perceptions shared by Greeks and Macedonians provides another means of judging the ethnicity of Macedonians. That is how were the Macedonians perceived in their time? Both Heroditus and Thucydidis describe the Macedoniands as foreigners, a distinct people living outside the frontiers of the Greek city states. E. Badin concludes that whatever their ethnic orgins and identity of the Macedonians they were generally perceived in their own time by the Greeks and themselves not by Greek"
Professor Borza continues to say "Although ancient Macedonians produced a commander of unrivaled reputation a formidable obstacle to writing of Macedonian history is the fact that we have no Macedonian source and as a result the ancient Macedonians themselves are unwittingly partly responsible for their own obscurity".
Mr. Ran and other learnered Australian politicians who by their own poor understanding of self identity themselves cannot trace their own history back 4000 years appear to be lost in the Balkans again and reiterate sentiments expressed in the highly awarded book by the Greek Academy of Athens: "The falsification of Macedonian history " by the former Minister for Northern Greece as it was known until about 1988 Nikolas Martis, which is described by Professor Borza as "a book full of errors and distortions that the prize awarded to it by the Academy in Athens serves only to reduce confidence in the scientific judgment of that venerable society of Scholars"
It seems that Mr. Ran and Mr. Rudd are pampering to the Greek lobby again in Australia for the next elections and inclusion of all communities contributing to Australians' development appear not to be on their agenda this year. If segregation is on their agenda then they are doing a great job and who knows Mr. Ran and Mr. Rudd may be in line for an award by the Greek Government for contributing to Hellenism abroad?

Jovan Trajanovski

INTERVIEW - CARLOS HERNANDEZ

The A-league is our top priority

During the last week we had the chance to sit down and have a chat with Melbourne Victory midfielder and A-league player of the Year Carlos Hernandez. It was an honour to meet Carlos who has many times over the past few seasons led Melbourne to victory, and was amongst the best when the side lifted the Premiership in 2009.
This season he deservedly won the Johnny Warren Medal, which shows the respect the opposition players have for him and the work he has done for Melbourne Victory and the A-league itself.

Are you enjoying playing for Melbourne Victory & do you enjoy the aussie lifestyle?

I am very happy and proud to be apart of the Melbourne Victory, the gave me a opportunity to play abroad as I have only played in Costa Rica, and I am very greatful for this. The lifestyle here is great, not only for me but also for my family, we enjoy it very much.

How does it feel to be voted player of the year by your opposition players?

It’s really a privilege and an honour, it shows that you are respected as a player, that you are recognised by your opponents but most importantly your good work is recognised and also what you have provided for this league.

With Sydney taking home the minor premiership, how important was it for Melbourne to win the Major Semi-Final?

Ofcourse its disappointing not to win the Minor Premiership, because we worked hard to finish on top of the ladder, however in saying that winning the Grand Final is what really matters to us, and therefore winning that semi final was very crucial for us.

Do you believe the extra week break will be a key factor in the Grand Final next week?

For us it will be. Over the last few weeks we have had a pretty tight schedule playing in both A-league & Asian Champions league, so this break will be great for the players, it is very well needed.

Who would you rather see Melbourne come up against in the Grand Final Sydney FC or Wellington Phoenix? ( Opponent was not known at time of interview)

Well they both did really well this season, and offcourse the best team on the day will win that match. For us it does not really matter who we face in the Final because they will both be difficult opponents. Sydney is a more complicated side and more dangerous, however Wellington are tactically well prepared for every match and will be extra motivated. We must be at our best whoever we come up against.

Is Victory going to have a full squad available for the Grand Final and is the side ready?

Yes I think we should, especially considering we had the week break. We should be all fit and ready. We must however be cautious and alert especially that we are playing at home, so we must be concentrated for the whole 90 minutes maybe even 120 minutes.

In the Asian Champions League (ACL) Melbourne has made a rather disappointing start, is their belief amongst the team that you can still make it to the knockout stages?

For now our top priority is winning the A-league and being the first team to go back to back, when that is over we will turn our attention to the Asian Champions league and be focused on that competition. We are still a threat in the group and therefore we can still qualify for the knockout stages. Its all over just yet.

Are you surprised by Adelaide’s start to the ACL?

With Adelaide their situation is reversed. They having nothing to play for in the A-league, so focus is can just be on the ACL. Along with the past experiences this makes Adelaide a dangerous team so im not at all shocked at the start.

Playing so well, any interest from abroad? Europe?

I’ve always wanted to play in Europe, so if the chance arrives I will be open to it, however in saying this I am very happy in Melbourne.

With the World Cup a few months away, how do you think Australia will go?

They are in a very tough group, however it’s different to 2006 as know they are much more respected and recognised, and they wont be taken lightly. With the experience from 4 years ago I think they can do well.

Are you disappointed with Costa Rica’s failure to qualify?

Ofcourse. Having played in one World Cup it’s very disappointing. It’s every footballers dream to play at the highest level of competition so we are all disappointed with the failure to qualify.

Who do you think will win the World Cup?

That’s a tough question, their a many great teams however you cant go past Brazil and Spain they are both great sides and I cannot pick a winner from these two.