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August 18, 2004

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE ADOPTS RESOLUTION SUPPORTING
REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA
Resolution Aids Macedonian People in Their Efforts to Overcome Greek Denial of Sovereign Rights

Ft. Wayne, IN, August 14, 2004 – The California Legislature approved Assembly Joint Resolution No. 52 that supports the rights of Macedonian People in the Republic of Macedonia. The bill articulates California’s support of allowing Macedonian people to speak their language, practice their customs, and be granted all the civil and human rights required by international law. The Resolution was passed by a 78-0 vote.

“This landmark resolution unanimously adopted by the California legislature reaffirms the sovereign rights of the Macedonian people in the Republic, many of whom have come under attack from ethnic groups and other Balkan states, particularly the Republic of Greece,” said Chris Evanoff, president of the Macedonian Patriotic Organization (MPO), a nonprofit organization that supports the cultural and ethnic traditions of Macedonians throughout North America.

“The Republic of Greece, its diplomatic corps and its US lobbyists have waged a systemic campaign to deny the Republic of Macedonia its basic rights as a sovereign state and the fundamental human rights of Macedonian people to speak their own language, practice their cultural and religious traditions and celebrate their heritage that spans thousands of years,” Evanoff added. “The US is home to more than one million residents of Macedonian lineage. The Greek lobby has succeeded in convincing 14 US state legislatures to adopt resolutions that deny the ethnic identity, culture and practices of Macedonians. The actions of the California legislature are an emphatic repudiation of the Greek lobby that has attempted, since formation of the Republic of Macedonia in 1991, to deny the existence of a distinctive Macedonian culture and cover-up their persecution of the Macedonian minority in Northern Greece,” Evanoff said.

“Ironically, as the world spotlights Greece as the 2004 Olympic venue and presumptive cradle of democracy, for most of the 20th century they persecuted the Macedonian minority in Northern Greece, which borders the Republic of Macedonia,” Evanoff said. The Republic of Greece has passed laws making it illegal for Macedonians to speak their language; private property was confiscated; Macedonian families, including thousands of children, were forcibly deported to other countries in the Balkans; political rights, including the basic right to vote, were also denied the Macedonian minority by Greece. “It is time for the world community to acknowledge that Greece’s place in world history as a cradle of democracy is more fiction than fact,” he said.

“On the world stage, and since the Republic of Macedonia peacefully gained its independence in 1991 from Yugoslavia, the Macedonian people have been under assault by its neighbors, led by the Greek government and its diplomats, who have attempted to deny Macedonia its rights as a sovereign state, including Macedonia’s right to the name Republic of Macedonia and its right to fly its national flag, a symbol of independence approved by a vote of Macedonian citizens,” Evanoff commented.

“Our MPO chapter in California, under the leadership of Jordan Atzeff, Sandy Zajack and Dr. George Georgieff worked diligently with members of the California Assembly over the past several years to get the resolution drafted and adopted,” Evanoff said. The resolution was sponsored by Assemblyman Lou Correa, of Santa Ana, California.

“The Republic of Macedonia has been a strong ally of the United States since earning its independence in 1991,” Evanoff said. “The citizens of the Republic of Macedonia deserve the same rights as any other sovereign state, especially one that has a democratically elected legislative body and that is pursuing a western-style democratic society and free market economy,” he stated.

About the Macedonian Patriotic Organization

The MPO is appreciative of the actions of the California Legislature, and especially grateful to Assemblyman Correa for his efforts on behalf of the thousands of Macedonians in California and more than one million in the United States, Evanoff noted. The MPO, headquartered in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, is the oldest and one of the largest associations of Macedonians outside of the Republic. The mission of the MPO, founded in 1922, is to continue to work for human, civil and economic rights for all Macedonians of the world and to promote and preserve the ethnic traditions, customs and history of our people.

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—2003–04 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Joint Resolution No. 52

Introduced by Assembly Member Correa

September 10, 2003

Assembly Joint Resolution No. 52—Relative to Macedonians.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AJR 52, as introduced, Correa. Macedonians.

This measure would declare that the Legislature supports the rights of Macedonians living throughout the Balkans to, among other things, speak their language, to practice their customs, and to be granted all the civil and human rights required by international law.

Fiscal committee: no.

WHEREAS, In 1991, 95 percent of the voters of Macedonia voted for independence from Yugoslavia; and

WHEREAS, In 1993, the Republic of Macedonia became a member of the United Nations; and

WHEREAS, In 1994, the United States of America recognized the Republic of Macedonia as a sovereign state, and the Republic of Macedonia was recently cited and honored by President Bush and the United States Department of State for its support in the war with Iraq; and

WHEREAS, There is a large contingency of Macedonians living throughout California; now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Assembly and Senate of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature of the State of California supports the rights of Macedonians living throughout the Balkans to speak their language, to attend schools and churches offered in their language, to practice their customs, to be able to call themselves Macedonians, and to be granted all the civil and human rights required by international law; and be it further Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the Majority Leader of the Senate, and to each Senator and Representative from California in the Congress of the United States.

This resolution, introduced on September 10th, 2003 by California State Assembly Member Lou Correa, was passed unanimously by the California State Legislature on June 10th, 2004