Protests in Macedonia over new name: More than 10,000 people went out on Skopje streets, they demanded suspension of negotiations with Greece (PHOTO)
Several thousand people protested in Skopje against the change of the name of Macedonia, Macedonian media reported.
According to the Macedonian daily "Vecer", despite the bad weather conditions, more than 10,000 people gathered at the protest last night.
The MIA agency reported that the protest was organized by the association "For the Common Macedonia" with the aim of "defending the name of the state and the identity of the nation".
The demonstrators first gathered in front of the European Union mission in Skopje in order to proceed to the Macedonian Parliament building, where the gathering has ended. The traffic was blocked in the center of Skopje.
Protest participants demanded the end of negotiations in front of the building of the Parliament on the name of Macedonia, the withdrawal of the law on the use of languages, the withdrawal of agreements on good neighborly relations with Bulgaria, as well as the amnesty for the detained for the incident on April 27 last year at the parliament building.
If these demands are not fulfilled, demonstrators think that the parliament should be suspended and new elections should be organized.
The opposition VMRO-DPMNE said they are not the part of the protest, saying they aren't the organizer of the gathering, MIA states.
The protest participants waved the Macedonian flags and they wore the banners with slogans written on them "Stop Greek racism" and "Stop with negotiations", Reuters reported.
Greek flag was set on fire during the protest, the agency stated.
(Telegraf.co.uk / Tanjug)
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