Foreign Affairs Minister Bob Carr last week heard the case for Australia to officially recognise FYROM as ‘Macedonia’, and said, “we hear you, we understand the arguments, and we’ll get there,” according to Fairfax Media’s Illawara Mercury newspaper.
Seanator Carr attended the Macedonian Orthodox Community of Wollongong Street Dimitrija Solunski church during a visit to Sydney. Reportedly surrounded by lobbyists on his arrival, after a tour of the church, the group retired to a nearby function centre where Dr Vasko Nastevski from the Victorian ‘Australian Macedonian Human Rights Committee’ (AMHRC) appealed to the government to recognise FYROM as ‘the Republic of Macedonia’.
Dr Nastevski told the minister that the current terminology of FYROM used by the United Nations – which is adhered to by Australia – was “demeaning” and “inconsistent with the prevailing international practice”. “Since 1994, when Australia first considered its approach to the Republic of Macedonia, there were only a handful of states which recognised the independence of [the country], even fewer which recognised its official name,” he said.
“However, since then, in the following 18 years, the Republic of Macedonia has entered into diplomatic relations with about 160 states and over 130 of these states … do so under its official name, the Republic of Macedonia.” Nastevski said the UN reference was not binding, noting that nations including the US and the UK referred to the ‘Republic of Macedonia’ in bilateral relations. “There is no reason why Australia cannot do the same,” he said, to applause from the reported 200 people at the event.
Nastevski added that Australia’s approach was “totally in line with the Greek government’s position”, adding that recognition would not “inflame” community relations in Australia because it had not done so overseas. In addition, he argued that FYROM had supported Australia’s successful bid for a place on the UN Security Council. Senator Carr was reported as saying the presentation was “powerful and persuasive”. “[The arguments] are under active consideration and we hope we can clear up this whole nomenclature challenge before long,” he said.
Consistent with his predecessor Kevin Rudd, Senator Carr told Neos Kosmos when he became Foreign Minister that there would be no change of Australia’s policy in relation to the naming of FYROM, and that only when a naming solution is found and agreeable between FYROM and Greece would the government reconsider its position.