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After 27 years, Greece and Macedonia have resolved their contentious ‘naming dispute.’ Here’s how.

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by Danilo Gjukovikj August 2 at 7:00 AM

After an astonishing 27 years at odds, in June, Macedonia and Greece reached a dramatic breakthrough in negotiations over what’s known as the Macedonia naming dispute. The dispute was, yes, over the former Yugoslavian nation’s name — but over much more as well, as we’ll see below. And after all that time, the June agreement solved the dispute simply: by renaming Macedonia as the “Republic of North Macedonia.”

What was at stake here — and why did resolving it take nearly three decades? Examining the long and complicated process can teach us a few practical lessons about international mediation.

A brief history of the naming dispute

In 1991, Macedonia declared independence from Yugoslavia and wrote into its constitution that its name was the Republic of Macedonia. The new nation’s southern neighbor, Greece, immediately opposed this, arguing that it implied territorial claims over Greece’s northern region — also called Macedonia.

That geographical claim has some history. Since the region was divided during the Ottoman Empire’s dissolution, various partisans have attempted to reunite broader Macedonia, which includes the present-day nation, northern Greece and southwestern Bulgaria.

But underlying this territorial dispute was one over which nation could claim the ancient Macedonian kingdom — birthplace and homeland of Alexander the Great — as its national heritage.

For almost three decades, neither side would budge from its core demands.

Greece demanded that “Macedonia” must not appear anywhere in the new nation’s name and insisted that its constitution be changed to eliminate that word as well. Macedonia was willing to take a different name for international use but refused to change its constitution.

At times, the standoff threatened the stability of the Balkans. In the 1990s, Greece blocked Macedonian attempts to join the United Nations and imposed an economic embargo. In 2008, Greece vetoed Macedonian membership in NATO, citing the stalemate over Macedonia’s name. A year later, Greece blocked Macedonia’s bid for E.U. membership.

Twice, the countries relaxed tensions slightly, but without reaching a real solution. In 1993, Macedonia agreed to use the name Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) in return for U.N. membership. And in 1995, in an interim agreement, Macedonia agreed to change its flag and confirmed that it had no territorial ambitions over the Greek province of Macedonia. In return, Greece promised not to block Macedonian attempts to join international organizations.

But agreement over the name remained elusive — which blocked Macedonia’s membership in the European Union and NATO, despite accession support from both these institutions. The European Union and NATO fear that leaving Macedonia out might bolster Russia, which has engaged in activities aimed at preventing Balkan countries from joining NATO and succumbing to Western influence.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2018/08/02/after-27-years-greece-and-macedonia-have-resolved-the-contentious-naming-dispute-heres-how/?utm_term=.9fe3c5e6087a

Macedonia FYROM president says ‘no amount of pressure’ will change his mind on name deal

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The president of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) on Friday issued a statement saying that “no amount of pressure or blackmail” will make him change his mind and support the name deal signed with Greece last month.

The statement from the office of Gjorge Ivanov was issued in response to an interview on Thursday by FYROM Prime Minister Zoran Zaev with Greek state broadcaster ERT, in which the moderate leftist premier suggested that he is confident of the president’s support for the agreement renaming the country “North Macedonia” once it passes a public referendum in the fall.

“With his inconsistent, contradictory and confusing statements, Prime Minister Zaev continues to lie to and manipulate not only the Macedonian public, but also the public in Greece and the international community,” the statement from Ivanov’s office said.

“The Macedonian president will not endorse an agreement to the detriment of the Macedonian national identity and to the interests of the Republic of Macedonia,” it added.

On Thursday, FYROM’s main conservative opposition – the VMRO-DPMNE party, which backs Ivanov – filed treason charges against Zaev, Foreign Minister Nikola Dimitrov and House Speaker Talat Xhaferi over the name deal.

Greece, Macedonia sign historic deal to end naming dispute

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The foreign ministers of Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia have signed a deal that could resolve a long-running dispute over the latter’s name. Opponents of the deal protested in Greece and Macedonia.

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias and his counterpart from the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), Nikola Dimitrov, signed the deal on Sunday in the Greek village of Psarades, on the shores of Great Prespa Lake. The border between Greece and Macedonia lies in the water.

The controversial deal will see FYROM renamed as the Republic of North Macedonia. The accord should also allow Macedonia to join NATO and the European Union.

Sunday’s ceremony was attended by the prime ministers of Greece and FYROM, Zoran Zaev and Alexis Tsipras. The EU’s top diplomat, Federica Mogherini, was also at the signing.

The deal, which has been protested by hard-liners on both sides of the border, must now be ratified by the respective parliaments, and will also be put to a referendum in Macedonia. The process will take months.

Nearby protests

The area around Psarades where the ceremony was held was closed off to prevent protesters gaining access.

In the nearby Greek village of Pissoderi about 4,000 people held a rally in protest at the deal with banners proclaiming: “There is only one Macedonia and it is Greek.”

Some marched to one of the police barricades and threw rocks. Several people were injured as police used tear gas against protesters gathered on a hillside about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from where the signing took place.

Macedonian media reported that 3,000 people had demonstrated against the accord in the southern city of Bitola.

In the Macedonian capital, Skopje, on Sunday night, grenades and tear gas were used by police to break up a protest rally outside the parliament building involving several hundred people.

A Reuters witness saw protesters pelting police with stones, chanting “Macedonia, Macedonia we will give our lives for Macedonia.” Some of the demonstrators were arrested.

Historical dispute

The naming row between the two countries began 27 years ago when FYROM declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, but has roots going back to antiquity.

Athens has objected to its neighbor being called Macedonia because it has a northern province of the same name, the seat of Alexander the Great’s ancient kingdom. Alexander the Great still represents a source of pride for many Greeks today.

Critics of the deal in Greece say the name change could imply territorial claims on the Greek province and usurp ancient Greek culture and civilization.

Opposition to the deal led to a no-confidence motion in parliament, with Tsipras surviving the vote on Saturday.

Nationalists in Macedonia, for their part, assert their country’s right to bear the name without change.

The deal also means that Greece will lift its objections to the renamed nation joining the EU and NATO.

Greek government survives no-confidence vote over Macedonia name deal

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Greek lawmakers have voted down a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. The vote was called over a deal to end a long-running name dispute with the neighboring Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

The left-led coalition government of Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Saturday survived a no-confidence vote brought by the conservative opposition New Democracy party after the government reached a landmark agreement with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) over its name.

The parliament voted 153-127 against the motion.

The deal, struck on Tuesday, would allow Macedonia to rename itself North Macedonia. It has angered Greek nationalists, who insist that any retention of the name “Macedonia” by the neighboring country implies claims to Greece’s province of the same name and usurps ancient Greek heritage and history.

Ancient Macedonia was the birthplace of the king Alexander the Great,  who created one of the largest empires in the ancient world.

Protest and tear gas outside the parliament

Ahead of the no-confidence vote, senior opposition lawmaker Fofi Gennimata said the deal needed to be “improved before it is too late.”

“We do not trust this government,” said Gennimata, who serves as the leader of the socialist Movement for Change. “Your administration is incompetent and dangerous.”

“Today you are all mortgaging the future of the country,” said conservative New Democracy party leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who brought the no-confidence motion to the parliament. Another conservative lawmaker, Yiorgos Kasapidis, described the deal with Macedonia as “treason.”

Outside the parliament building, police used tear gas against protesters opposing the name deal, with some of the demonstrators attempting to scale stairs leading to the chamber. Thousands more chanted anti-government slogans, with minor scuffles breaking out.

Dissatisfaction on both sides

The agreement aimed to end a bitter dispute between the two countries that has been running since shortly after Macedonia declared independence in 1991.

But it has met with criticism from hardliners in both countries who feel that it makes too much of a concession to the other side.

Protesters in Athens were planning a demonstration against the agreement later on Saturday.

The deal is set to be signed by the Greek and Macedonian foreign ministers on Sunday, but the ratification process will take several months and faces many hurdles in Macedonia.

Even if it is ratified by Macedonia, the Greek government will also face big obstacles in carrying out its side of the process. The government’s junior coalition partner, the right-wing Independent Greeks, has said it will not support the agreement when it comes up for ratification in parliament, leaving Tsipras dependent on opposition parties.

The Independent Greeks party, however, gave its support to Tsipras in the no-confidence vote on Saturday, with leader Pavlos Kamenos saying he did not want to topple the government despite his opposition to the Macedonia deal.

tj/rc (dpa, AP)

Erdogan’s “Trojan Horse” In Macedonia

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By Alon Ben-Meir

This article is co-written by Alon Ben-Meir and Arbana Xharra. Arbana Xharra authored a series of investigative reports on religious extremists and Turkey’s Islamic agenda operating in the Balkans. She has won numerous awards for her reporting, and was a 2015 recipient of the International Women of Courage Award from the US State Department.

Turkey’s President Erdogan makes no secret of his ambition to spread his neo-Ottoman wings all over the Balkans. He views Macedonia as another Turkish satellite in the making, which sadly the Macedonian government seems to have embraced without carefully assessing the long-term adverse ramifications. Very few Albanian voices in Macedonia have the courage to publicly criticize Erdogan, fearful of becoming a target of threats and insults by a huge propaganda machine directed by many of his cronies. Erdogan has been extremely successful in influencing the majority of Albanians in the country, many of whom consider him as their one and only trusted leader.

For more than a decade, Erdogan has invested heavily in spreading his influence among Albanians, through building mosques and Turkish schools, and funding media, religious institutions, and most recently political parties, which are directly controlled by his close associates and have dramatically increased his influence over the Albanian community.

Anyone who dares to criticize Erdogan or discuss his personal ambitions in Macedonia is attacked publicly by the ‘internet brigade’ as an Islamophobe or traitor.

“I was personally a target of these attacks twice”, says Xhelal Neziri, an experienced investigative reporter from Macedonia. “They cannot stop me from telling the truth, but it is a fact that many of my colleagues do not want to talk about this topic, because of the ‘lynching threats.’”

A majority of Albanians in Macedonia identify themselves as Muslims rather than by their Albanian national identity. There are voices within these fanatical religious groups saying that Albanians should not recognize Mother Theresa as a saint, even though she was an Albanian from Macedonia, because she does not represent the interests of the Muslim community. The number of those who believe that other national Albanian heroes like Gjergj Kastrioti ‘Skenderbeg’, who led a rebellion against the Ottoman Empire in the 1400s, should not be recognized because they were Christians, is increasing rapidly.

Compared to other Balkan states where Albanians live who don’t consider religion to be a dominant factor in their lives, Albanians in Macedonia are the staunchest supporters of Erdogan and his Islamic agenda. Erdogan’s strategy for restoring Turkey’s influence in the Balkans, akin to what the Ottoman Empire once enjoyed, had early success with the Albanians in Macedonia.

Nearly two-thirds of the population in Macedonia are ethnically Orthodox Christian Macedonians, and the other third of the population are predominantly Albanian Muslims. In 2001, tensions between the two groups escalated into an armed conflict between government security forces and the Albanian National Liberation Army (NLA).

The conflict was short-lived and ended with the Ohrid Agreement—a peace treaty that saw NLA commanders rebranded as legitimate politicians, gaining enhanced social and political rights which were granted to Macedonia’s Albanian citizens. While armed hostilities ended nearly 17 years ago, relations between the different groups are still raw.

Albanians are disadvantaged and neglected, and continue to suffer from inequality. Macedonia denied their basic human rights. The Albanian language was not recognized until March of 2018, when Macedonia’s parliament passed a law extending the official use of the Albanian language, despite massive Macedonian protests from the right-wing opposition.

The country’s Slavs and Albanians still live largely separate and do not enjoy equal rights. Erdogan has used ethnic and political problems between Macedonians and Albanians as a “golden opportunity” to portray himself as the greatest defender of the Albanians. Meanwhile, all of Turkey’s economic investments and trade deals are focused on the Macedonian side.

According to the World Bank, in 2016 Turkey’s exports to Macedonia totaled $378 million and imports amounted to $82.6 million. The Turkish Statistics Institute (TÜİK) reports that around 100 Turkish businesspeople currently haveinvestments worth €1.2 billion ($1.47 billion) in Macedonia. These investments are focused in the parts where Macedonians live, while in the Albanian side Erdogan has invested in religious institutions to promote his Islamic agenda.

Erdogan has used Albanians as a trump card in his economic and financial investments to Macedonia. This way, he pretends to guarantee stability to the Macedonian state by converting the troublesome Albanian nationalism into a strong Islamic identity among Albanians.

In public speeches, Erdogan has repeatedly flirted with corrupt Macedonian government officials. He stated that Turkey and Macedonia share a bond of brotherhood and that “Turkey will always be on Macedonia’s side.”

“For us, Ankara and Skopje have no differences and we will never leave our brothers alone, we will always be with them, and we will always help and stand behind them,” Erdogan said in February 2018.

In a conversation with Artan Grubi, a parliamentarian in Macedonia representing the largest Albanian political party (the Democratic Union for Integration, BDI), he stated that “The influence of the current Turkish government in the political setting in Macedonia is undoubtedly serious and present.”

Erdogan does that “through government financial aid, cultural exchange, [and] serving as a role model [to inspire] political parties and politicians such as the newly established entity BESA”, said Grubi, adding that the party he represents will not allow any marginal influences to stray them away from their projected path of integration into NATO and the EU.

The BESA Movement is a political party in the Republic of Macedonia founded in November 2014 by Bilall Kasami and Zeqirija Ibrahimi, chief editor of Shenja magazine, which is one of the most pro-Erdogan media outlets in Macedonia.

Leaders of this political party deny having direct links with Turkey, but they openly follow Erdogan’s line. In their first elections three years ago, they won five seats in the Parliament. We sent questions to the BESA leaders, but they did not respond.

Professor Ymer Ismaili, one of the most critical voices in Macedonia, declared publicly during the last elections in 2016 that the “BESA Movement is [a] religious sect with the open mission of spreading Erdogan’s Islamic agenda among Albanians in Macedonia.”

In a conversation with us, Ismaili said that Albanian nationals in the Balkans (especially in Macedonia) are Erdogan’s favorite “target” because of their religion, poverty, and functional educational illiteracy. “Erdoganism wants the Balkans ‘neo-invasion,’ not with military but with financial and religious means to undermine the ‘Christian’ Europe! In this ‘journey’ in certain situations, his political-geostrategic ally is Putin’s Russia. Both are united in their personal cult and their mission: They both are ‘dictators’ and anti-Western”, said Ismaili.

Many Albanian emigrants, after the Second World War and the establishment of the communist regime, fled to Western European countries or the US to find jobs or seek political asylum. “Almost every Albanian family has one member in the West and can obviously distinguish between what the West has to offer, culturally, politically, and in human rights, and what Erdogan can provide”, said Neziri. Nevertheless, they continue to be manipulated by Erdogan.

The Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA), the Turkish government’s aid agency, maintains an office in Skopje staffed with a country coordinator and completed almost 600 projects in Macedonia by the end of 2017.

Yunus Emre, the Turkish government’s cultural promotion agency, is also active in Macedonia. According to Turkish Minute, “It is clear that Erdoğan is pushing all the government agencies to focus on [Macedonia] with all sorts of schemes, ranging from mosque building to establishing schools as part of a grand design to create a vassal state that will be loyal to his Islamist rule.”

To be sure, Erdogan’s “peaceful onslaught” on Macedonia has one and one purpose only: to dominate the country under the guise of a long history of brotherly relations. This is Erdogan’s modern “Trojan Horse,” and the Albanians in Macedonia must realize that they are unwittingly falling into Erdogan’s trap.

#Greece Macedonia: Name dispute draws mass protest in Athens

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Hundreds of thousands of Greeks have taken to the streets of Athens in a protest about the decades-long dispute over the name Macedonia.

Many Greeks object to the country of the same name calling itself Macedonia, saying it implies a territorial claim on Greece’s northern Macedonia region.

Protesters oppose Greek government proposals on resolving the issue.

Celebrated Zorba The Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis, 92, was among those addressing the crowds.

Anarchists daubed red paint over his home on Saturday but he was unfazed, declaring, “I am calm and ready.”

Demonstrators carrying Greek flags chanted “hands off Macedonia” and “Macedonia is Greece” as they assembled in Syntagma Square outside parliament.

It is the second such protest in recent weeks – demonstrators rallied in Thessaloniki, the capital of the Macedonia region, on 21 January.

The dispute with Macedonia has festered since it gained independence from Yugoslavia in 1991 and has held up its bids to join Nato and the EU.

It is officially known as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) in organisations such as the UN.

Greece’s left-wing Syriza government says the issue is a diplomatic obstacle it wants resolved and has proposed agreeing to a composite name for the country which would include the word Macedonia but ensure a clear differentiation from the Greek region.

But for many Greeks that would be a step too far.

Talks are under way at the United Nations but the Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias has received death threats since saying he expects the dispute to be resolved within months.

The Greek Orthodox church backs the campaign to stop Macedonia using any variant of the name.

UN mediator Matthew Nimetz has suggested alternative names such as “Republic of New Macedonia”.

Macedonia Extends Olive Branch To Greece In Name Dispute

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Macedonia has extended an olive branch toward Greece by agreeing to rename its main airport and a major highway in another step toward ending a decades-old dispute over the former Yugoslav republic’s name.

Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said after meeting his Greek counterpart Alexis Tsipras on January 24 in the Swiss winter resort of Davos that Skopje’s Alexander the Great Airport would be renamed, while a highway leading from his country to Greece will drop a similar moniker and instead be called the Friendship Highway.

“To demonstrate, in practice, that we are committed to finding a solution, I am announcing that we will change the name of the airport and avenues,” Zaev told reporters after the meeting, adding that a new name for the airport has yet to be determined.

Macedonia kept its communist-era name after declaring independence from Yugoslavia in 1991. But the move angered Greece, which says it implies territorial claims to a Greek province of the same name as well as to Greece’s history.

Greece has since insisted that the country be referred to internationally as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and blocked its path to European Union and NATO membership until a solution to the dispute is found.

“The solution must be in the direction of protecting the national identity and identity of our peoples in order to show that we are committed to the process of finding a solution. Our activities show our goodwill and this testifies to the fact that we do not have any territorial aspirations towards our neighbor,” Zaev said.

Name Suggestions

Authorities from both Greece and Macedonia have said that they want to settle the issue this year and the two sides have agreed to intensify consultations, Tsipras said.

“We don’t want to just solve the issue of the name, but to put the relations of our two countries on solid foundations,” he added.

UN-mediated talks between the two countries’ chief negotiators in New York on January 17 did not produce concrete results but some name suggestions were put forward for negotiation, according to media reports.

Greece wants Macedonia to change its name — adding a modifier like “New” or “North” — to clarify that it has no claim on the neighboring Greek province of Macedonia.

However, many Greeks disagree with such a solution.

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki on January 21 to show they were against the use of the word “Macedonia” in any solution to the row.

The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is the name under which Macedonia was admitted to the United Nations in 1993.

Macedonia gutsy President Vetoes Turkish Albanian Language Legislation

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Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov

Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov

Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov has vetoed legislation extending the official use of the Albanian language to the entire country, saying it could endanger Macedonia’s unity and sovereignty.

Ivanov said on January 17 that the proposed law would introduce a “very expensive redundancy” in state institutions and make state administration dysfunctional.

He said that it would also threaten the “unity, sovereignty, and territorial integrity” of Macedonia, “instead of building a multiethnic society through a spirit of dialogue and coexistence.”

The draft law makes Albanian the country’s second official language along with Macedonian.

The government regretted Ivanov’s decision, saying that the bill was “in line with the constitution” and motivated by the “care for all citizens of Macedonia.”

The proposed law passed in parliament on January 11 with the backing of 69 lawmakers in the 120-member parliament, with the main opposition party boycotting the vote.

It will now be sent back to lawmakers for a second vote. If it is approved again, the president is obliged to sign it.

The legislation has sparked much criticism from members of the opposition VMRO-DPMNE party and others who described it as unconstitutional and against Macedonia’s national interests.

The bill is meant in part to make it easier for members of Macedonia’s ethnic Albanian minority to communicate with institutions such as municipalities, hospitals, and courts.

The current law on languages defines Albanian as an official language, but it has that status only in areas where ethnic Albanians make up at least 20 percent of the population.

Ethnic Albanians — who make up around one-quarter of Macedonia’s 2.1 million population — live mostly in the northwest near the borders with Kosovo and Albania.

Prime Minister Zoran Zaev of the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia promised to bring in the new law when he struck a coalition deal with Albanian parties last year.

The coalition agreement ousted the VMRO-DPMNE party, in power since 2006.

With reporting by AP and AFP

Protesters raid Macedonia parliament chamber over Albanian speaker

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Macedonia police fired stun grenades to hold back 200 protesters objecting to the election of an Albanian as parliamentary speaker. Some of the lawmakers were injured.

In the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia several dozen protesters broke through a police cordon on Thursday evening and made their way into the parliamentary lower chamber to protest against the election of a new parliamentary speaker. The protesters – supporting the conservative VMRO-DPMNE party – entered the chamber waving Macedonian flags and singing the national anthem.

Zoran Zaev – leader of the Social Democrats (SDSM) – was hit by a projectile and had a gash in his forehead. Local TV showed at least one masked man inside the building.

Macedonian media quoted hospital sources saying ten people had been injured, including two MPs.

A spokesman for an ethnic Albanian party, Artan Grubi of the Democratic Union for Integration party, said Zaev and at least three other MPs had been injured during the attack.

The skirmishes followed the SDSM and its allies – smaller parties representing the ethnic Albanian minority – voting in a new parliamentary speaker, Talat Xhaferi, an ethnic Albanian. Their aim was to end the political deadlock that has left parliament unable to fill the position for three weeks. Zaev suggested this week that a new speaker could be elected using new procedures but this was rejected by VMRO as “an attempted coup.”

Former prime minister and VMRO leader Nikola Gruevski called later on Thursday evening for calm. “People should not respond to the provocations of the SDSM and those who want to push the state into even deeper crisis,” he wrote on Facebook. Gruevski is being investigated by a special prosecutor on suspicion of illegal wiretapping of thousands of Macedonians.

Still no government

Macedonia has been without a government since last December, when VMRO won elections, but did not gain enough votes to form a government. For a decade until last December, Macedonia had been ruled by the conservative VMRO-DPMNE coalition. At December’s election the party won 51 of 120 seats – two more than the SDSM – but failed to reach a deal with the kingmaking Albanian parties.

Coalition talks broke down in January over ethnic Albanian demands that Albanian be recognized as an official second language.

Zaev later secured the cooperation of one of the main ethnic Albanian parties, giving him 69 seats, but President Gjorge Ivanov refused to grant him a mandate to form a government. The president said he was concerned over demands by Albanian parties that Albanian be made an official second language nationwide.

About a quarter of the two-million people in the country – a former Yugoslav republic that aspires to join both NATO and the EU – are ethnic Albanians.

Albania worried

The protest has caused concern in neighboring Albania. The country’s foreign ministry said it is monitoring “the escalation of the situation in Macedonia with great concern.”

“Such scenes of violence against the elected representatives of the Macedonian people are unacceptable,” the ministry said in a statement issued on Thursday.

International condemnation

The EU and the US have urged President Ivanov to reverse his decision over the formation of a government.

European Union Commissioner Johannes Hahn wrote on Twitter. “The violence marks a sad day for Macedonia,” he wrote.

Davutoğlu: his government will deliver a Turkish flag, Quran & dictionary to each and every home in Macedonia

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Turkey, caliphate and Erdoğan by: ABDULLAH BOZKURT

The narrative, behavior pattern and policy decisions of Turkey’s chief political Islamist Recep Tayyip Erdoğan suggests that he believes the caliphate can be resurrected, with himself as the sole contender to become caliph, thereby gaining autonomous political authority over at least part of the Islamic world.

For this grand ambition, Erdoğan has built a personality cult to reflect his image in the government and many political lackeys just parrot what he says or take their cues from Erdoğan’s speeches. Sensing “Master” Erdoğan’s (the name people around him call him) expectations on this matter, his protégée and caretaker Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu publicly announced in Skopje last week that his government will deliver a Turkish flag, Quran and Turkish dictionary to each and every home in Macedonia. Speaking at a political convention in his hometown Konya a few days later, Davutoğlu joyfully reaffirmed this utterly interventionist policy that is sure to raise eyebrows in many capitals in the Balkans.

As the political Islamist government finds it increasingly difficult to manage its affairs amid a deepening crisis of governance in Turkey, the suspension of the rule of law and gross violation of rights and liberties, we’ll likely see more religiously toned rhetoric and policy actions that are motivated by ideological considerations. Davutoğlu’s holding hands with Hamas leader Khalid Mashaal — who showed up in a surprise visit to Turkey — at a political rally is another indication that sensitive issues that draw the attention of pious Muslims, such as Palestinians, will be played out loudly in the coming months.