MACEDONIA: AMBASSADOR WARNS FOREIGN MINISTER ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SKOPJE 000038

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/25/2013
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM MK
SUBJECT: MACEDONIA: AMBASSADOR WARNS FOREIGN MINISTER ON
NATIONALISM AND PROVOKING GREECE

Classified By: DCM NAVRATIL FOR REASONS 1.5 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary: We have been engaging at all levels of the
GoM regarding Macedonia,s decision to name a stadium,
highway, and new cargo airport for Alexander the Great and
Philip of Macedon and its plans to erect yet more Alexander
statues in Skopje and elsewhere. In a Jan. 16 meeting with
FonMin Milososki (and others with PM Gruevski, reported
elsewhere),Ambassador noted our frustration with these
obvious provocations of Greece when it is more important than
ever to solve the name dispute. (We learned Jan. 22 that the
GoM has backed off plans to erect a massive Alexander statue
in Skopje until at least 2011.) Ambassador also noted our
concerns about ultra-nationalistic, even racist messages on
state television. Milososki expressed concern that Greece
would somehow work to sabotage elections in March. He
candidly described his doubts about the ruling VMRO,s
presidential election strategy. He also agreed to engage
more with NATO and work to complete demarcation of the Kosovo
border. End summary.

More Alexander Statues, Airports, Roads?
--------------


2. (SBU) According to recent press reports -- later
confirmed to us by GoM leaders -- Macedonia will rename the
Skopje City Stadium after Philip II of Macedon (as well as a
cargo airport planned for Stip) and the Corridor 10 highway
(which runs to the Greek border crossing near Thessaloniki)
after Alexander the Great. We have also learned that the
government was planning to fund an enormous project in
downtown Skopje, to include a 70-foot statue of Alexander in
a massive fountain in Skopje,s central city square. The
entire project is estimated at nine million Euros and will
include a musical component that will play perpetually from
the fountain as well as five other statues which will be
erected around Skopje,s Stone Bridge, including one of
Philip of Macedon and four of other historical characters not
related to the name dispute.


3. (C) The GOM had appeared determined to move forward with
these plans despite stern reprimands from the international
community after renaming Skopje,s airport after Alexander in
2007 and our strong urging to not move forward with these new
plans since their revelation. In response to emphatic advice
from the Ambassador in their Jan. 16 meeting that such
actions were extraordinarily unhelpful and threatened to
alienate proponents of Macedonia in Washington, FonMin
Milososki initially defended these actions as a means to
defend Macedonia,s identity against Greek provocations, but
he ultimately backpedaled from that stance, hinting at the
frustrations he faces trying to run diplomacy in the face of
such decisions by his superiors (i.e., Gruevski). However,
Gruevski himself promised an Embassy staff member Jan. 22
that the GoM will not proceed with the Skopje statue project
until at least 2011.

Ugly Historicism
--------------


4. (C) The Ambassador also raised in separate meetings with
Gruevski and Milososki a bizarre and racist New Year,s
address featured in Macedonian state television,s short film
&God,s Prayer.8 The message included the passage: &Know
that I have inhabited your mother earth with three races:
Macedonoid (Caucasoid),Mongloid, and Negroid. The rest are
a mixed breed. From you Macedonians I created and spread the
white race up to the Japanese Sea.8 While Milososki and
Gruevski were unfamiliar with the broadcast, the PM,s Chief
of Staff, Martin Protoger, termed it &pure fascism8 and
said he had undertaken actions to investigate and dismiss
those responsible.

Milososki on Elections: A Greek Plot?
--------------


5. (C) Milososki expressed concerns about Greece chairing the
OSCE and the possibility that Greece could somehow use its
position to sabotage March elections, cautioning that it only
takes a few people to create problems. (As usual, ODIHR will
carry out a significant monitoring mission.) He also noted
rumors that the e-Albanian opposition party DPA may look for
an excuse to boycott the elections to avoid the embarrassment
of their probable widespread municipal defeat. Milososki
said candidly that he felt a non-VMRO president would &be
good for the Party, and good for the country,8 hinting that
he would have preferred it if VMRO would back Srgan Kerim for
the position.

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NATO Participation, the ICJ Case and Border Demarcation
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6. (C) Milososki agreed that Macedonia should increase its
engagement with NATO even given the disappointment at
Bucharest, and said he and DefMin Konjanovski plan to go to
Brussels to meet with the Secretary General and Ambassador
Volker. (We understand this visit is now scheduled for Feb.
12.) The FonMin expects that there will be little visible
activity in the International Court of Justice case against
Greece over the next few months as both countries make
requests and counter-requests over the time necessary to
prepare written briefs and then actually settle into
preparing arguments. Milososki expressed a strong desire to
finish the border demarcation soon in order to establish
diplomatic relations with Kosovo and begin implementing
projects that are currently in the works. He seemed
optimistic that the demarcation could be completed in early
February.
NAVRATIL