More than 100,000 Greeks have staged a mass protest over their country’s name row with neighbouring Macedonia.
They believe that by calling itself Macedonia, the former Yugoslav republic implies territorial claims on a province within Greece with the same name.
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Athens’ main square was filled by protesters chanting ‘Hands off Macedonia’ and ‘Macedonia belongs to Greece’, and a giant Greek flag was raised over the square.
People were transported to Syntagma Square via hundreds of coaches from across the country and ferries from the islands.
Police estimated that 140,000 people showed up, while organisers claimed 1.5 million were protesting.
Protesters were rallying against a potential Greek compromise in the dispute between the two countries.
Manos Georgiou, who was in the crowd, said: ‘We are trying to show the politicians that they must not give up the name ‘Macedonia’.’
The country is recognised by international institutions as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, even though about 130 countries refer to it simply as Macedonia. Many Greeks refer to it by the name of its capital, Skopje.
Meanwhile, officials in Skopje say that their country has been known as Macedonia for a long time.
A counter-demonstration made up of 700 left-wing protesters carried banners calling for Balkan unity, and were kept apart from the main group by riot police.
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Suspected far-rightists attempted to attack the counter-demonstration but were stopped by police, who used stun grenades and tear gas to hold them back.
Talks between the two governments are due to take place this year, with the most likely outcome the addition of ‘new’ or ‘north’ to the republic’s name.
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METRO
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