Panos Kammenos, Defense Minister and president of junior coalition partner Independent Greeks (ANEL), asked for the resignation of Deputy Migration Minister Yannis Mouzalas for calling FYROM “Macedonia.”
Mouzalas called the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia “Macedonia” during a SKAI television interview on Monday night. The migration deputy minister was referring to the closing of the FYROM border and the refugees who illegally crossed to the neighboring country on Sunday. Athens and Skopje are still in deliberations over the name of the Balkan country with United Nations mediation.
The deputy migration minister spoke to 98.4 FM on Wednesday morning and apologized for the use of word “Macedonia” for the neighboring country. He admitted he made a mistake.
However, the defense minister through Twitter and an official statement insisted that the deputy should resign over the sensitive national issue. “In our coalition government, Mr. Mouzalas doesn’t have our trust,” he tweeted. Kammenos also called for an emergency party meeting on Thursday.
The defense minister took it a step further saying that he might take it as far as resigning from the coalition.
Meanwhile, main opposition New Democracy also asked for the resignation of the deputy minister claiming that the televised statement can give FYROM leverage in the negotiations over the name.
PASOK MP Andreas Loverdos stated on television that Mouzalas should resign because he crossed a line of national importance.
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