Hans Köchler: Macedonia Has the Right to Choose Its Name

Macedonia has the right to call itself as it wants and there is no dilemma that the country has the right to this name, since both Macedonia and Greece share history with it, stated Hans Köchler, a professor at the University of Innsbruck, Austria, and President of the International Progress Organisation, for the program "The Voice of the People".

"I am sorry that the decision of the International Court of Justice in Hague did not influence the EU and NATO member-countries’ decisions, resulting in the county's failure to access these organisations," stated Köchler.

He says that he is impressed by the project Skopje 2014, which he considers important for Europe, since it promotes cultural diversity and cherishes ancient heritage.

The eminent professor expressed his support of the country's efforts to preserve the identity led by Macedonia's President, Gjorge Ivanov.

"I met President Ivanov at the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations Forum in Doha in December 2011. During the debate about matters concerning theory of the state, nationality, citizenship and the major elements of the cultural identity in the context of today's European and global regime, I realized he was a brilliant analyst of the political and international relations. Macedonia needs a statesman like Ivanov. He is renowned, able to understand the complexity of the nationalities and the international policies, as well as a person who can rationally and persuasively explain the fundamentals of the Macedonian identity to the international community," states Köchler determinedly.

According to him, the current ruling structure is also reaching good decisions with regard to the reforms and the economic policies.

- Prime Minister Gruevski should be applauded for his policy of supporting the multicultural and inclusive European society and for constantly promoting ethnic and cultural coexistence, both in and out of the country. He underlines his devotion to nurturing cultural diversity and intercultural communication as part of his theory of a country's right to self-identification, Köchler points.

He also supports Macedonia in its right to choose its name and regrets there has not yet been a solution to the name issue with Greece. He also reminded of the ruling of the International Court of Justice in Hague in Macedonia's favor that had no influence over the international decisions.

"As a sovereign country, Macedonia has the right to choose the name it will go by. The constitutional name 'Republic of Macedonia' was recognized by numerous United Nations member countries in their bilateral relations. This reality should be accepted on international level as well. Macedonia has already demonstrated flexibility with the naming dispute with Greece, when it agreed to change its state flag in 1995," stressed the Austrian professor.