ACTION ALERT - ACT NOW to protect Macedonia’s historical and cultural integrity Action Alert | Summary of Kale Issue | Friends of Macedonia Last year, the Government of the United States of America purchased land atop the ancient and cultural site commonly referred to as “Gradiste” (pronounced “Grad-ish-te”) on a site known as Kale (pronounced “Kah-le” - a Turkish word for ‘fortress’) in Skopje, Macedonia, for the purpose of building a new embassy complex. This purchase, of approximately 4.4 hectares, was made in cooperation with the Government of the Republic of Macedonia. However, since the announcement was made, there has been uproar of disapproval from Macedonian citizens, organizations, intellectuals and others because the fortress of Kale is registered as a cultural monument by the Macedonian Government. For this reason, various organizations, archeologists, and historians in Macedonia formed the Civil Coalition for the Protection of Kale Gradiste to lobby the Government of the Republic of Macedonia, as well as the Government of the United States of America, to find a different location to build the embassy. The Coalition realizes and supports the need for the Government of the United States of America to build a new embassy and to include, as they have stated, the offices of USAID. It is their understanding that in response to the wave of terror attacks on American interests abroad (including US Embassies), the United States is in a long-term process of building new and more secure embassies abroad. They support this decision and recognize the importance of it. However, the Coalition requests that the Embassy of the United States of America, in this instance, be sensitive to the needs of the local population. In their opinion, the Macedonian Government did not carry out an open and transparent process in selling the land to the US Government. This is an issue, which they are dealing with in tandem with the US side of this equation. The main reasons, among others, why Kale Gradiste is not the best site is because (1) The proposed building violates the General Urban Plan; (2) The proposed building will spoil the cultural landscape; (3) The building site has been found to contain Muslim graves; (4) There is the distinct possibility that other archeological sites lie buried beneath the Muslim gravesites; and, very important to the future of the relationship between the US and Macedonia, (5) The proposed building creates a perception that the United States of America is building on this site to look down over Skopje and thus, Macedonia. We, Macedonian-Americans, must give our support to the Coalition for the protection of this important and significant historical site and write to the list of respected Congressmen/Senators, friends of Macedonia, friends of the late President Boris Trajkovski, who was against the building of the new embassy on the Gradiste location. Along with these letters, please write letters to your own respected congressmen and senators (http://www.house.gov/writerep/ ) urging them to do something regarding this matter. To read news articles on this matter, visit: http://www.maknews.com/html/articles/misc/kale Every letter and fax can help this cause! But we must do it fast before we lose Kale Gradiste! Please invest the time necessary to send a letter to these respected Congressmen/Senators. It is time to encourage these Congressmen/Senators to look into this matter in depth, as it is vital that their offices do not ignore particular religious, cultural, and historical social hypersensitivities. If you do not make YOUR voice heard, we will lose Kale Gradiste and our historical and cultural integrity. NO to the exploitation of historical sites depends on YOU. Please act NOW. Action Sponsors: Macedonian Association of Students and Young Professionals of Metropolitan Washington, DC Macedonian Orthodox Youth Association of North America Please forward this to everyone you know. |