National Post
Editor Department
1450 Don Mills
Road, Suite 300
Don Mills, ON
M3B3R5
Fax: 1 (416)
368-2305
December 13, 2011
Re: “Time to
let Macedonia play with the big boys”, Full Comment, November 28, 2011,
Metodija A. Koloski and Mark Branov
“A Country Called Macedonia”, November 29, 2011, Met. A. Koloski
and Mark Branov
Dear Editor(s),
I am writing to you
this letter in my capacity as president of the Mount Royal Canadian Chapter of
the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association (AHEPA) to express the
dismay and disappointment I felt when I read these hateful propaganda pieces in
your newspaper, that I have been subscribing to from its initial publication.
I will not attempt
to counter the contents of the articles, as they are full of falsehoods. The
authors are desperately trying to re-write the internationally accepted and
recorded history of the region completely. They adapt and present the
ridiculous thesis of the recent governments of the F.Y.R.O.M. (Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia) that somehow the southern Slavs and Bulgarians that
settled in that region in the 7th century AD were transformed this past
century into the descendants of the ancient Greek Macedonians that have been
living there for more than 3,000 years. In this manner, they are expropriating
another nation’s cultural identity and history, deluding their own citizens and
fanning animosity, mistrust and hatred against the neighboring Greeks,
Albanians and Bulgarians. It is nothing more than identity theft and a ‘Big
Lie’.
By falsifying
events in that region of Southeastern Europe and making several hateful and
false accusations against Greece, these authors, using a respected newspaper such
as The National Post, are aiming to mislead the public and arouse mistrust and
hatred against Canadians of Hellenic descent.
AHEPA was founded in Atlanta, Georgia, in July 1922
to protect Greek Americans from attacks by the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) and to fight racial
discrimination and bigotry. The first Canadian Chapter of AHEPA was founded in Toronto, Ontario in
1928. Since then, AHEPA Chapters have been established in many cities in Canada
- Montreal, Ottawa, Belleville, Windsor, Kitchener, London, Hamilton, Calgary,
Edmonton, Winnipeg, Regina and Vancouver. With the time of racial attacks and
ethnic discrimination long past, the mission of
AHEPA has evolved to promoting Hellenism, education, philanthropy, civic
responsibility, and family and individual excellence.
The hateful writings by Metodija A. Koloski and Mark Branov,
which unfortunately and curiously found their way into the pages of your
newspaper, could bring us back to unhealthy divisions and ethnic intolerance
and recrimination. As a Chapter president of AHEPA, I am asking you to live up
to your responsibilities as a respectable newspaper by publicly distancing
yourselves from groups that aim to spread lies and hatred through Canada’s
media.
Sincerely,
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