A/HRC/10/11/Add.3 page 14 property, again establishing that only “Greeks by Genus” qualify. Those claiming Macedonian identity allegedly experience difficultly obtaining visas for visits to Greece to see relatives or attend funerals. The Greek authorities respond that visas are granted without problems and that pensioners receive their visas gratis. 45. The Independent Expert met numerous individuals identifying as ethnic Macedonian. Some described themselves as fluent in the Macedonian language, having learned it within their families as it is not taught at school. Others described frustration that they lack fluency due to the lack of learning opportunities. They claim to have made numerous approaches to the Greek Ministry of Education regarding language education, which have never been acknowledged. 46. Some described pressure not to display their Macedonian identity or speak Macedonian, previously banned in some villages. Despite their claim of the existence of distinct Macedonian villages, they described a general fear to demonstrate their identity. It was acknowledged that the situation had improved from a previous era, however they described a “softer discrimination” manifested in general hostility and pressure on the part of authorities and the media. One participant stated: “I am a Greek citizen…but I am Macedonian when talking about my village, my language and my identity.” 47. Some recounted personal experiences of harassment including aggressive interrogation at borders. Another described being physically attacked allegedly due to his ethnic identity and membership of the Rainbow party. Another representative stated: “Greece does not trust the people who live here because they don’t feel Greek - they don’t speak Greek”. Participants described experiencing problems in performing songs in the Macedonian language and traditional dances. The government states that festivities and cultural events regularly take place in the region of Florina unhindered which at times include people from the bordering state. 48. The emergence in 1991 of the newly independent State on Greece’s northern border initiated a dispute regarding it’s name, which Greece considers inappropriate in view of the Greek geographical region of Macedonia. The United Nations admitted The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) in 1993. The “name dispute”14 has resulted in the appointment of a Special Representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations, to propose solutions in negotiation with both parties. No mutually agreeable solution has been achieved to-date. The Independent Expert has no involvement whatsoever in these negotiations. 49. Mayors from towns in the region protested the idea that people within their constituencies consider there to be a Macedonian ethnicity. The government dismisses such claims as misleading and not corresponding to existing realities. The government asserts that Macedonia was historically Greek and its inhabitants direct descendants of Ancient Hellenes. It refers only to those speaking a “Slavic dialect or oral idiom”, confined to family or colloquial use. They point out that this dialect has similarities with the language spoken in the neighbouring former 14 Security Council Resolutions 817 (1993) and 845 (1993) mention that “a difference has arisen over the name of the State which needs to be resolved in the interest of the maintenance of peaceful and good neighbourly relations in the region”.