Greek protest against name change Macedonia

athens - A few hundred Greeks were hit with the police on Monday when they tried to disrupt a presentation by the government party Syriza in the city of Thessaloniki. Syriza wanted to explain the agreement reached by Athens with Macedonia on the name change of the former Yugoslav Republic.

After decades of consultation, the two countries agreed that Macedonia would from now on be called Republic of Northern Macedonia. In both countries there was criticism of the agreement. Nationalist Macedonians did not want to give up the old name. Many Greeks also reacted indignantly. Greece itself has a historic region called Macedonia.

In Thessaloniki, demonstrators called nationalist and right-wing extremist slogans on Monday night. They called Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras a 'traitor' and said that Macedonia is Greek. The demonstrators also threw stones at the police. He used tear gas, among other things, to disperse the rioters.

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