Seeing red over Macedonia name
FLARES were lit yesterday as hundreds of Macedonian Australians rallied in Melbourne for the country’s right to keep its name in an ongoing dispute with Greece.
The flares covered the rally with a cloud of red as it made its way from Carlton Gardens to state parliament.
Organisers begged people to stop lighting the flares because it was a peaceful protest.
Macedonia rallies were also organised in Sydney and Perth, with participants saying Macedonia’s people, language, identity, history and culture were under attack.
“We do not need to prove who we are – not to Greece, not to the European Union,” a speaker said on the steps of Victoria’s Parliament House.
“We are who we are. We are Macedonia.” Macedonian shirts, scarves and flags dominated the Melbourne rally, with some protesters dressed as ancient warriors.
The crowd chanted “Macedonia” as they waved flags and signs that read “the name is priceless”, “genocide” and “the Republic of Macedonia belongs to Macedonians and no one else”.
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Greece are locked in a bitter dispute, reignited when Yugoslavia broke up, over the Balkan state’s use of the name.
Greece opposes the use of the name Macedonia in the Republic of Macedonia’s title, saying it belongs to a state of Greece and nowhere else.