February 21, 2003

Rep. Norma Chavez, Chair
Committee on Border and International Affairs,
Texas House of Representatives

Re: Rep. Dennis Bonnen’s proposed resolution HR 107

Honorable Rep. Chavez,

I write this letter to oppose passage of the proposed resolution H.R. 107, submitted by Rep. Dennis Bonnen and promoted by the Greek ultra-nationalistic group, inappropriately named “Pan-Macedonian Association.” The bases for opposition to H.R. 107 are Rep. Bonnen’s abuse of legislative power and the proposed resolution’s lack of merit.

Rep. Bonnen’s authorship of H.R. 107 is an abuse of the legislative power entrusted to him by the people of Texas. His responsibilities should focus on education, employment, medical care, and other issues related to the well-being of his Texas constituents and not on Balkan history and politics. The proposed resolution is also in direct conflict with official U.S. State Department policy on the subject matter.

The intent of the proposed resolution is to imply non-existence of the Republic of Macedonia and its people and to negate their linguistic, religious and cultural rights, as well as their ethnicity. The proposed resolution is a possible cover for the documented human rights abuses over the ethnic Macedonians in northern Greece (Human Rights Watch, http://hrw.org/reports/world/greece-pubs.php).

Unwanted consequences of naïve support for the proposed resolution include destabilization of the fragile peace in the Republic of Macedonia and the Balkans and subsequent endangerment of the lives of the U.S. peacekeeping troops currently stationed in Macedonia, a U.S. ally.

The subject of ancient Macedonians (in contrast to ancient Greeks) is a complex issue that has been deliberated for many years and the position Rep. Bonnen has taken on this issue lacks historical and scientific merit. For example, one common belief is that ancient Macedonian leadership adopted Greek culture, including a belief in the gods of Olympus, but most of the early Macedonians did not consider themselves Greek and rejected that culture (Hugh Poulton, "Who Are the Macedonians?" Indiana University Press, Sep. 1995 and Chicago Tribune, Aug. 13, 2002).

I respect the right of Rep. Bonnen to express his personal beliefs and those of the ultra-nationalistic Greek group he evidently supports. However, these personal beliefs should not be forced upon the Texas Legislature.

I am proud that my son carries both Hispanic heritage and the Macedonian heritage that I am trying to defend.

Respectfully,

Vladimir Mancevski