Dozens of demonstrators have booed and jeered a government minister over the ‘North Macedonia’ deal during a solemn wreath-laying ceremony in the northern town of Serres.
Protesters booed, shouted “traitor” and demanded that Shipping Minister Panagiotis Kouroumblis and a local SYRIZA lawmaker leave the ceremony marking the anniversary of the liberation of the city from the invading Bulgarian army in the Second Balkan War.
One protester is heard shouting: “Shame! You sold out Macedonia for 30 pieces of silver.”
Greek officials have been targeted over the last few weeks by angry protesters who accuse the government of selling out the name Macedonia.
On Wednesday, about 2,500 people, waving Greek flags and chanting “Macedonia is Greek,” marched through the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki.
Under the deal — which will take months to be finalized — FYROM will be renamed “North Macedonia.”
It would end a 27-year dispute that started after Greece objected to its northern neighbor’s name, saying it implied claims on the adjacent Greek province of Macedonia and to Greece’s ancient heritage.
Hardliners on both sides of the border oppose the agreement, saying it offers too big concessions to the other country.
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