Greek Journalist Stelios Kouloglou: Naming Row is Ridiculous Dispute
Greek Journalist Stelios Kouloglou: Naming Row is Ridiculous Dispute Stelios Kouloglou.
Stelios Kouloglou is a Greek journalist and an award-winning documentary director. He worked as a political correspondent in Greece and as a foreign correspondent in Paris and Moscow, covering the events from the Soviet Union and other ex-communist countries in the late 80s and early 90s.
In the 1992-95 period, he covered the war in Yugoslavia as a special war correspondent, as well as the armed conflict in Macedonia in 2001. He has written extensively on the naming row between Macedonia and Greece.
In an interview with Telegraf.mk, Kouloglou says the naming row is a ridiculous dispute that was created by Antonis Samaras.
"This preposterous dispute was created by Antonis Samaras. In the 90s, I was among the few journalists who reported that the problem meant political and national suicide. Unfortunately, this became true, as Greece is defeated when it comes to the issue. I have spoken about this problem many times in televised interviews in Skopje, and about the possibilities to reach a peaceful and agreeable solution. But, today we are paying the price of Samaras's politics," Kouloglou says.
Moreover, he says nationalistic surges by Golden Dawn and other fascist groups began at that time.
"There were, of course, people in Macedonia who also provoked nationalism responses. It's a game between two extremes," Kouloglou points out.
As to the outcome of the naming row talks, Kouloglou says he doesn't care too much about the outcome, as he already calls Macedonia by its name - Macedonia.
"I call Macedonia by its name - Macedonia, like the rest of the world. Greece should find a way to save its honor. I really don't know what solutions might be reached, but in my view, this problem is in the past. Greece should face much more serious challenges today," he underlines.
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