Greek protesters clash with police after Macedonia name deal

PISODERI, GREECE - 17 June 2018; Greek protesters on Sunday clashed with riot police, who beat them back with tear gas after a historic Greek-Macedonian deal to terminate a 27-year name row.

The demonstrators, waving Greek flags, had tried to approach the signature ceremony on the banks of Lake Prespa.

But they were surrounded by police near the small village of Pisoderi, some kilometres (miles) away from the ceremony.


Protestors holding Greek flags clash with riot police during a protest at the village of Pisoderi near the border with Macedonia in northern Greece on July 17, 2018 as the foreign ministers of Greece and Macedonia signed a historic preliminary accord on renaming Macedonia. The foreign ministers of Greece and Macedonia on June 17 signed a historic preliminary accord to end a 27-year bilateral row by renaming the the small Balkan country the Republic of North Macedonia. / AFP / STR


One detachment of riot police blocked the rural road leading to the lake, while others on mountain slopes threw stun grenades and tear gas at the crowd.

The authorities said some 500 people took part in the protest.

"We are fighting for the land of our fathers. We are not backing down," a protester said.

While the demonstration took place, the foreign ministers of Greece and Macedonia signed a preliminary accord to rename the country the Republic of North Macedonia, a move hailed by the European Union, the United Nations and NATO.


A man walks amid smoke as protestors holding Greek flags take part in a protest at the village of Pisoderi near the border with Macedonia in northern Greece on July 17, 2018 as the foreign ministers of Greece and Macedonia signed a historic preliminary accord on renaming Macedonia. The foreign ministers of Greece and Macedonia on June 17 signed a historic preliminary accord to end a 27-year bilateral row by renaming the the small Balkan country the Republic of North Macedonia. / AFP / STR


Since 1991, Athens has objected to its neighbour being called Macedonia because it has its own northern province of the same name, which in ancient times was the cradle of Alexander the Great's empire -- a source of intense pride for modern-day Greeks.

At the fishing village of Psarades, where the deal was signed, priests tolled the local church bell in a sign of mourning, an AFP reporter said.