Greece's Concern Over Recognition of Macedonia

The editorial "Balkans Are Test of 'New' Europe," April 10, suggests that the former Yugoslav "Republic of Macedonia" should be immediately recognized by the United States and the European Community (EC). This editorial is one-sided and insensitive to Greece's legitimate concerns over this issue.

The Greek name "Macedonia" was given to that region of Yugoslavia 47 years ago by communist leader Marshal Tito as a propaganda tool. He was planning to use the territory as a nucleus for the annexation of those parts of Bulgaria and Greece that were once the Macedonia of Alexander the Great.

Greeks fought a bloody civil war, with the support of the US, to avert these expansionist communist schemes to gain access to the Mediterranean and the strategic harbor of Thessaloniki, Greece's second largest city. These expansionist dreams are still harbored by Tito's successors, the present leaders of the republic, as is evidenced in a section of their Constitution and in maps they circulate that incorporate into their territory northern Greece.

Greece has been a faithful ally of the US all these years, and cannot comprehend why it is now placed in a defensive position and is ridiculed for its efforts to protect its northern province, Macedonia, against potential external threats.

Greece is ready to recognize the so-called "Republic of Macedonia," along with the other members of the EC, provided this republic conforms with the procedures unanimously adopted by the EC, on December 16, 1991: "The Com- munity and its member states ... require a Yugoslav Republic to commit itself, prior to recognition, to adopt constitutional and political guarantees ensuring that it has no territorial claims towards a neighboring Community State, including the use of a denomination which implies terr itorial claims." Alexios A. Cogevina, Boston Consul General of Greece in Boston Nuclear waste cleanup

Thank you for the article "Cost of Nuclear Waste Cleanup in the Billions," April 8.

We often hear about other nuclear sites when disasters happen in other countries, but rarely about those here in the United States that are not only costing taxpayers billions to clean up, but are also continuing to be used.

Missing from the article is any mention of General Electric. General Electric ran the Hanford Nuclear Reservation from 1946-65 and during that time routinely dumped millions of gallons of radioactive material on the ground into shallow pits, long trenches, and ponds.

General Electric also ran intentional experiments which released huge amounts of radiation and have greatly affected the people who live in the area.

Yet, despite your article, a lot of people don't know whom to blame for these sorts of disasters. General Electric no longer manages the Hanford site, so it will not have to pay for the cleanup. But General Electric does run the Knolls Atomic Power Lab in New York and should be held responsible for its upkeep and worker protection. Elizabeth D. Kaseman, Stoughton, Wis.