Looting of Macedonian History

A depressing article about the looting of ancient artifacts in Macedonia. Note the standard quote of Greek concerns about he name issue with no rebuttal quote from Macedonians. Just a way for the Associated Press to keep its Greek clients happy.

Rogue diggers helping themselves to Macedonia's ancient treasure -
International Herald Tribune: "

Irena Kolistrkoska, head of Macedonia's archaeologists' association, warned each year that scores of local and foreign diggers uncover priceless remnants from the Iron Age, as well as Greek, Thracian, Roman and Byzantine artifacts.

'There are two main reasons Macedonia is failing to seriously protect its cultural treasure: A lack of a strategy at a national level and the absence of credible experts in the field,' Kolistrkoska said.

Pasko Kuzman, director of the National Directorate for Protection of the Cultural Heritage, said Iron Age archaeological sites in southeastern Macedonia have been extensively looted.

Police, he said, are already overstretched fighting organized crime, adding that fees offered by corrupt art collectors only encourage illegal excavations.

Macedonia, a landlocked nation in southeastern Europe, has a rich and storied past.

The country is part of the broader Macedonia region that includes parts of Greece and Bulgaria that became a major power in the ancient world under Phillip II of Macedon, and his son Alexander the Great. Alexander was one of the most successful military commanders in history, who built a vast empire that stretched to India before his death in 323 B.C.

Modern Macedonia's claim to the region's ancient heritage"