New protest in northern Greece against Macedonia name deal

THESSALONIKI, Greece – About 2,500 people, waving Greek flags and chanting “Macedonia is Greek,” marched through the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki Wednesday to protest a preliminary deal over neighbouring Macedonia’s name.

The protest was organized by the same hard-line groups that staged large rallies earlier this year in Thessaloniki and Athens against a potential compromise in the negotiations that ended with an agreement this month.

A group of protesters threw paint at a Holocaust memorial, and another damaged a cafeteria.

Similar protests have turned violent in the past.

Under the deal — which will take months to be finalized — Macedonia will be renamed “North Macedonia.”

It would end a 27-year dispute that started after Greece objected to its northern neighbour’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.