Crowds gather at Macedonian parliament in protest against name change
479 views · Published 23 November 2018 · 1:40 · Indexed 27 October 2026
Channel: AP Archive · 2018 · News & Politics
(18 Nov 2018) Crowds gathered outside the Macedonian parliament in Skopje on Sunday night to protest against the recent decision to change the name to North Macedonia following a deal with Greece. Lawmakers voted last month to approve the name change. Todor Petrov, President of the World Macedonian Congress, addressed the crowd describing the change as "the most serious crime: high treason, genocide over Macedonian people and a crime against humanity." Protesters waved the former Macedonian national flag and sung the national anthem. Conservatives in Macedonia had vehemently opposed the name change and boycotted a referendum in September on the issue. Greece had blocked Macedonia joining NATO since 2008 because of the country's name, which Athens says implied territorial aspirations towards its own northern province with the same name. NATO leaders formally invited Macedonia in July to start membership talks, on the condition that membership couldn't be completed until the name deal with Greece, that would change the country's name to North Macedonia, was fully implemented. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/b20fba541af506ef3630c81ec260a566
