Absent from the resolution is an explanation of its real purpose. Since the early 1990s, Greece has waged a fierce political campaign against its northern neighbor, the newly-formed Republic of Macedonia, arguing that the use of the word Macedonia robs Greece of its cultural heritage. HR 107 is the continuation of this conflict within the Greek-American and Macedonian-American communities of the United States.
Asked if it was prudent to rely on only one side’s account of a two-sided conflict, Bonnen said, "It is if they are factually right–which I believe them to be," and added that while the language was that of the Pan-Macedonian Association, the issue had been researched by his office.
Historians write about whether the ancient Macedonians were Hellenic. According to Loring Danforth, a professor of anthropology at Bates College and author of the book The Macedonian Conflict, "The evidence says no." Seems that the consensus among scholars is the exact opposite of what is stated in Bonnen’s resolution. Danforth says that HR107 particularly disturbs him as a scholar, not only because of the historical inaccuracies, but because it further politicizes the ongoing tensions between Greece and the Republic of Macedonia.
"The subtext is that the Slavs across the border in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia are not Greeks and can’t call themselves Macedonians. Behind it all is an attempt to deny a group of people the right to identify themselves as they wish." Apparently, the dispute is not just between Greece and the Republic of Macedonia. A minority of non-Greek Slavs within Northern Greece also identify themselves as Macedonian and have suffered human rights abuses for their refusal to assimilate into Greek culture. So not only does HR 107 contain highly questionable facts, its lousy foreign policy. In Prof. Danforth’s words: "It’s a bad bill because it is bad history, bad diplomacy, and bad human rights!"