JOURNALIST: To date, how many times has the Joint Interdisciplinary Committee met, and what is planned as regards future meetings? M. BOLARIS: The Joint Interdisciplinary Committee of Experts which was established as a result of the Prespa Agreement has met one time to date, on 2 November 2018, in Thessaloniki. Both sides discussed, as a first stage, the establishment and adoption of the Committee's operating procedure so that the commitments undertaken with the Prespa Agreement are actualised to the letter. The next meeting is scheduled to take place in Doirani in the coming days. JOURNALIST: What are the main points of the common decisions to date, and what is the time frame for their implementation? M. BOLARIS: In accordance with Article 8(5) of the Prespa Agreement, the two countries must remove any irredentist or revisionist reference contained in the curriculum, textbooks, and every form of supplementary school material.As regards the Greek side, we decided to proceed with swift procedures in terms of the obligations that arise for our country from the International Agreement, for the purpose of avoiding lengthy procedures, as is the case with the corresponding committee that monitors Albanian books, which has been meeting for the past 16-17 years. Therefore, we put three issue to the other side, to be implemented from as early as the coming school year. JOURNALIST: Is recognition of the contested points an easy task? M. BOLARIS: It is clear that each side is fully aware of what the irredentist and revisionist references are which are included in textbooks and other supplementary school material. And it is the obligation of each side to proceed with implementation of an international agreement, which has already been ratified and approved and consequently has international effect globally as such. Based on the foregoing, during the first meeting in Thessaloniki - which I must stress was carried out in a very positive climate - the Greek side explicitly placed on the table that, in order to observe the letter and the spirit of the Prespa Agreement, as well as the categorical commitment to eliminate irredentist and revisionist references, the following is clear: 1) The detailed programmes to be issued by the Ministry of Education of North Macedonia for the 2019-2020 curriculum will provide clear and categorical instructions to educators [teachers and professors] that any material, which had been used during all the proceeding years as material for irredentism and revisionism, will not be taught. It is obvious from the text of the Prespa Agreement that this material is what is included in chapters of the curriculum which, in violation of the internationally accepted information from an academic, scientific and historical point of view, refer to propaganda adopted for geopolitical reasons on the “relationship” of the Slavic people of North Macedonia with the ancient Greek Culture of the Dorian Macedonians, the ancient Greek history and philosophy, Alexander the Great, his father Philip II of Macedon, his teacher Aristotle, Vergina, Pella, Amphipolis, Thessaloniki etc. 2) Every image, symbol, design, or photograph which are in some way related to the above, must be removed from all books - elementary school, middle school, high school textbooks - and not just history books; in other words all irredentist and revisionist references. 3) All maps must be removed, both those which are included in textbooks as well as those that are used as school aids and are posted in classrooms and schools and display examples of irredentism and revisionism, highly propagandistic material which lays out, before the eyes of young pupils, false and propagandistic depictions of “Greater Macedonia.” Our reference to all the above issues, a reference that is fully grounded in the spirit and letter of the Prespa Agreement, was clearly accepted by the other side. And how could it be otherwise? We did not seek anything more than that which has been accepted by the international community, and we shall settle for nothing less. In this manner, we ensure that as early as the coming school year, the above items will no longer be found in the curriculum, with a goal of, at a secondstage, inspecting the textbooks, line by line, a process that has already begun. JOURNALIST: What will you focus on during the next meeting? M. BOLARIS: During the next meeting of the two countries’ committees, we will focus on inspecting the basic education textbooks of North Macedonia. Specifically, the History and Geography textbooks will be examined. Special emphasis will be placed on the visual information, such as images and maps that depict irredentist and revisionist elements. JOURNALIST: What is your impression of the Joint Interdisciplinary Committee, its constitution, and its contacts to date? What would you say to those who express doubts? M. BOLARIS: The scientists that are participating in the JICE for the side of North Macedonia are distinguished professors with serious work under their belts, and this is why they have been entrusted with this task. They prove that our neighbours to the North have selected the path leading them out of their isolationism in the Balkans, the path of inclusion into the large European family. As a people and as a country, they came to Prespes free of geopolitical and geostrategic agendas, free of the falsehoods and distortions of the propaganda which to a great extent had been turned against themselves and, liberated, they declare before the international community that they are Slavs, that the language they speak is Slavic and they clarify that, as such, they cannot possibly have any relationship whatsoever with ancient Greek history or the cultural heritage of Greece. In other words, they are declaring the obvious. Consequently, the meetings of the two countries’ committees could not but be carried out in a very positive climate. We saw notable people on the other side's committee who understand history, historical truth, and the actions they must follow throughout their course of accession to NATO and to the European Union. Because voices have been heard which still have doubts with regard to adherence to what has been agreed upon, it is crucial to stress that, especially as regards what has been agreed upon pertaining to education, this constitutes an integral part of the European Acquis. Through the positive changes ushered in both by the work of the scientific committee we established, as well as the Prespa Agreement itself, time will continue to pass and wipe out this sick nationalism we have witnessed over recent decades. JOURNALIST: When will the Joint Interdisciplinary Committee have completed its work?M. BOLARIS: The work of the committee will be completed when every word of every textbook has been checked, as well as the related school material, and the agreed upon changes to the books have been made, which will be reprinted. But I repeat that, from the coming school year, the irredentist and lacking historical veracity segments of the curriculum will not be taught. As I told you, we want to finish the work with quality and effectiveness, as soon as possible. Having experienced difficulty with a similar committee for Albania's textbooks, we are attempting to speed up the changes so that as early as the coming school year, the three conditions that we have set are respected. Both as regards the Greek side as well as the side of North Macedonia, the committees consist of notable scientists who fully understand the task they must carry out, who have thorough knowledge of the history of the two peoples, respect international law and the European acquis, and are in a position to bring about justice and record historical truth, eliminating the propagandistic chapters, visual art, and maps that have sullied textbooks over recent decades. Let me remind that, for decades now, former Prime Ministers, Ambassadors and academics in the neighbouring country, with courage and overcoming the fears of a misconceived political cost, have honestly voiced the internationally accepted academic historical truth through their statements.
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