"We have used that name for centuries [sic] to try to draw a line of distinction between us as a people and the surrounding people, the Bulgarians, the Serbs, the Greeks, the Albanians. The word ‘Macedonia’ for us is not just a word, a name or a state. The word ‘Macedonia’ is part of our history, it is part of our literature, it is part of our children’s tales, it is part of our songs. It is very important to our identity. So if we eliminate the word ‘Macedonia’ from our name we would in fact create a crisis of identity . . . and we would open again a century-long debate on who these people who live here are."