TOMARAS SAYS LAWMAKERS οΏ½DUPEDοΏ½ BY RESOLUTION SR0063οΏ½S   PLATITUDES AND IGNORED INTENTIONAL, SERIOUS ERRORS OF FACT        

CHICAGO, IL οΏ½ May 31, 2005   In a letter sent today to Illinois Senate President Emil Jones, Jr. and to every Illinois State Senator, οΏ½οΏ½οΏ½ V.P. and Regional Coordinator for N. & S. America Chris P. Tomaras denounced the Resolution (SR0063) passed on May 20, not only for its repeated references to the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (F.Y.R.O.M.) as the οΏ½Republic of Macedonia,οΏ½ but for endorsing the textοΏ½s serious historic errors as fact.  οΏ½I canοΏ½t believe that IllinoisοΏ½ Senators would intentionally approve a draft resolution with errors of fact.  Therefore, we must conclude that the Senators were blinded by SR0063οΏ½s references to the right to speak Yugoslavian, etc. and couldnοΏ½t see that they were actually being used to legitimize F.Y.R.O.M.οΏ½s accelerated use of οΏ½Republic of Macedonia,οΏ½ a name only two countries in the world accept: Turkey and the U.S.   I call upon all IllinoisοΏ½ Greek-Americans and philhellenes,οΏ½ Tomaras continued, οΏ½to follow our οΏ½οΏ½οΏ½ RegionοΏ½s lead, and to contact Governor Blagojevich, Mayor Daley their State Senators and Congress to denounce the abuse of such a venerable institution by those who wish to prevail on an issue so vital to GreeceοΏ½s historic interests.οΏ½  The letter sent to Illinois officials by Tomaras reads in part: 

What errors?  In line 4, the Resolution states: οΏ½οΏ½In 1993, the Republic of Macedonia became a member of the United Nations.οΏ½  False; the country that was admitted to the UN, and continues to be recognized by the UN today, is FYROM, not the οΏ½Republic of Macedonia.οΏ½

In line 6, the Resolution states οΏ½οΏ½in 1994, the United States of America recognized the Republic of Macedonia as a sovereign stateοΏ½οΏ½ Also false; the U.S. recognized the country as FYROM, not the οΏ½Republic of Macedonia.οΏ½   Only in Nov. 2004 did the U.S. join Turkey as one of only two countries in the world using οΏ½Republic of MacedoniaοΏ½ when referring to the government in Skopje.

Greece, whose northernmost province has been known as οΏ½MacedoniaοΏ½ for thousands of years, has issues with SkopjeοΏ½s use of οΏ½Republic of Macedonia.οΏ½  So did U.S. Sec. of State Stettinius, who called Yugoslavian claims to the name οΏ½οΏ½unjustified demagoguery representing no ethnic or political realityοΏ½ and οΏ½a cloak for aggressive intentions against Greece.οΏ½  Would the U.S. say nothing if CanadaοΏ½s Yukon Territory became independent and insisted on being called the οΏ½Republic of Alaska?οΏ½  Greece and FYROM continue to negotiate over a final name.  The rest of the world respects those negotiations; the U.S. and the Illinois Senate should as well.

On behalf of the more than 300,000 Illinois citizens of Greek descent, the 1.5 million in the U.S., and in accord with the 99% of the worldοΏ½s governments who refuse to recognize FYROM as a οΏ½Republic of MacedoniaοΏ½ out of respect for history, truth and the ongoing negotiations between FYROM and Greece, I demand that SR0063 be immediately rescinded by the Illinois Senate.