en français: UMD à l’UE: Les Macédoniens parlent “Macédonien” Non “langue officielle”
April 11, 2011 – Washington, D.C. & Paris, France – The United Macedonian Diaspora (“UMD”) expresses its strong outrage that the European Parliament has ceased referring – in official European Union (“EU”) documents — to the Republic of Macedonia’s language as “Macedonian” and, instead, has begun using the mindless term “official language”. UMD, on behalf of its members and supporters in the EU, North America, Australia and elsewhere, calls on the EU to immediately end this highly offensive practice.
UMD would like to think that the EU merely made an inadvertent mistake. If, however, the EU’s actions were intentional – as we believe was the case – they fly in the face of one of the EU’s foundational principles: an integrated Europe will respect the human dignity and liberty of all of its peoples.
“It is abominable to, in effect, de-recognize an official language spoken by more than five million people world-wide,” said UMD President Metodija A. Koloski. “It is disgraceful in the extreme to succumb to the petty machinations of Greece at the expense of the Macedonian people.”
Macedonian writers have captivated their countrymen with vivid and inspiring stories and Macedonian poets have impassioned them with rich and meaningful poems over the centuries — in their mother tongue, Macedonian. The Macedonian language has served as a beacon to unite Macedonians, especially when they have faced grave dangers, such as during the Ilinden Uprising of 1903, the Balkan Wars of 1912-13 and the two World Wars. UMD believes that to so callously disrespect a people – particularly a people who are so deeply enmeshed in the very fiber and heritage of Europe — is reprehensible.
UMD France representative Claude Zoran Spasevski urges all Europeans to contact their Members of the European Parliament or local party representatives and tell them that Europe will not be whole without Macedonia and that, accordingly, the EU should immediately resume referring to the “Macedonian” language in the EU’s official documents.
For a list of all Members of the European Parliament, please click HERE.