Asymmetric reactions
It is by no means the first time that this has happened. An opinion piece – not a news story – is published on a foreign news website which triggers a domestic reaction as if it were a political event itself of great magnitude. In this instance, a BBC report on Sunday which referred to a Macedonian minority in Greece that speaks a Macedonian language.
The, albeit reasonable, reactions in Greece end up rendering the report as something of a threat. This asymmetry shows up Greece as anything but a country brimming with self-confidence. It is, rather, a reflection of sheer provincialism and unjustified insecurity.
History is not written or rewritten by news reports. And our foreign policy should not appear to be shaken or defined by them.
