Macedonian Name Dispute Heats Up

The BBC has a story about a Greek flag defaced with a swastika that has appeared in the Macedonian capital, Skopje. As Acronym has reported the Greeks are threatening to block Macedonia's entry into NATO because they object to the name of the Republic. Macedonia is also the name of a Greek province, and the Greeks claim lineage back to Alexander the Great - who was Macedonian - through that province. They also claim that the use of the name "Republic of Macedonia" implies a territorial claim against Greek territory, despite an explicit renunciation of any such claim by Macedonia. The UN has been trying to broker a compromise, so far without success. The poster in Skopje will do nothing to cool tempers.