Skopje plans for Alexander statue "laughable"
Source: Beta
ATHENS -- Greece has derided the plans of the Skopje local authorities to erect a monument to Alexander the Great in the Macedonian capital’s central square.
“According to our information, both the size and value of that statue are inversely proportionate to the project's seriousness and historical truth,” said a spokesman for the Greek Foreign Ministry.
The project is expected to cost the Skopje local authorities EUR 4.5mn. The 22-meter high statue would feature Alexander sitting astride his horse Bucephalus.
The monument would be almost four times the size of a similar statue in the center of Thessaloniki, the capital of Greece’s northern region of Macedonia, erected in 1974.
Athens announced at the end of January that it had reached an agreement with Iraq to erect a statue to Alexander near the city of Mosul, on the site of his decisive victory over the Persian Empire in 331 B.C.
Greece and Macedonia have been tussling over Alexander the Great’s heritage for years.
Athens believes that his name and that of Macedonia belong exclusively to Greek cultural heritage, and have blocked recognition of the former Yugoslav republic since 1991.
Macedonia became a UN member in 1993, under the name of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
May 14, 2009 | 16:19 | Source: B92, Tanjug | Comments: (0) | Send comment
SARAJEVO -- The Bosnian courts have ordered Branimir Glavaš to be placed in extradition custody, while the prosecution has 40 days to submit documents for his extradition.
May 14, 2009 | 10:08 | Source: Danas | Comments: (8) | Send comment
PODGORICA, BELGRADE -- The main contender for the post of Montenegrin ambassador to Kosovo is Radovan Miljanić, until recently director-general of Montenegrin state TV, writes Danas.
May 14, 2009 | 12:33 | Source: B92 | Comments: (6) | Send comment
LJUBLJANA -- The Slovenian-Croatian border dispute rumbles on with warning shots being fired from both sides.
May 12, 2009 | 10:59 | Source: B92 | Comments: (0) | Send comment
SARAJEVO -- Bosnian Federation police spokesman Robert Cvrtak says that the police can do nothing to Branimir Glavaš until they receive a formal request from Croatia.
May 12, 2009 | 16:57 | Source: Beta, Tanjug | Comments: (25) | Send comment
SKOPJE -- Gjorgje Ivanov has been sworn in as Macedonia’s new president in Skopje today, calling for good neighborly relations and further EU integration.
May 12, 2009 | 15:54 | Source: B92 | Comments: (1) | Send comment
BANJA LUKA -- Bosnian State Prosecutor Harij Furlan has ordered an investigation to be launched against Republic of Srpska PM Milorad Dodik.
May 12, 2009 | 12:31 | Source: FoNet | Comments: (1) | Send comment
SARAJEVO -- International High Representative to Bosnia-Hercegovina Valentin Inzko says that Bosnia must complete 27 more tasks set by the EU and do so swiftly.
May 16, 2009 | 10:46 | Source: B92, Beta, Tanjug | Comments: (3) | Send comment
SARAJEVO -- The Bosnian Court of Appeal ordered Branimir Glavaš’s release from custody yesterday.
May 10, 2009 | 14:05 | Source: Beta | Comments: (2) | Send comment
ZAGREB -- According to Croatian police, Branimir Glavaš is currently in the territory of the Muslim-Croat Federation entity in Bosnia.
May 12, 2009 | 11:23 | Source: Beta | Comments: (0) | Send comment
LJUBLJANA -- Slovenia will assume the six-month rotating presidency of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers from Spain today.
May 10, 2009 | 12:09 | Source: Deutsche Welle | Comments: (4) | Send comment
ATHENS -- Far-right Greek extremists have clashed with police, after protesters attacked an old courthouse in central Athens.
May 15, 2009 | 14:26 | Source: Tanjug | Comments: (1) | Send comment
SARAJEVO -- Bosnian Interior Minister Tarik Sadović says that the Branimir Glavaš case shows the extent of the abuse of the institution of dual citizenship.
May 15, 2009 | 11:01 | Source: B92 | Comments: (2) | Send comment
LJUBLJANA -- The chairman of the Slovenian parliament’s Foreign Policy Committee has compared comments by Ivo Sanader to “rhetoric of Milošević’s Greater Serb nationalism.“
May 13, 2009 | 17:40 | Source: B92, Tanjug | Comments: (5) | Send comment
SARAJEVO -- The Prosecution of Bosnia-Herzegovina has decided to remand Branimir Glavaš in 24-hour custody, it was announced in Sarajevo this afternoon.
May 11, 2009 | 14:26 | Source: B92 | Comments: (0) | Send comment
BERLIN -- European Parliament President Hans-Gert Pottering said that the countries of the Western Balkans have a European perspective.
May 13, 2009 | 11:52 | Source: Tanjug | Comments: (0) | Send comment
SKOPJE -- Serbia will always demonstrate understanding for Macedonia's national interests, says President Boris Tadić.
May 11, 2009 | 14:53 | Source: Beta | Comments: (0) | Send comment
ZAGREB -- The Mandate-Immunity Commission of the Croatian parliament has annulled the immunity Branimir Glavaš enjoyed as MP.
May 13, 2009 | 13:37 | Source: B92 | Comments: (8) | Send comment
PODGORICA -- Montenegrin Parliamentary Speaker Ranko Krivokapić says he expects "full diplomatic relations between Podgorica and Priština" over the coming months.
May 13, 2009 | 14:01 | Source: AP, Sipa | Comments: (0) | Send comment
ATHENS -- Police in Greece say robbers near Athens stole everything including the kitchen sink, lifting a prefabricated home off its foundation and spiriting it away.
