Greek Parliament Approves New Name of the Republic of Northern Macedonia

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The Greek Parliament ratified the agreement on renaming Macedonia to the Republic of Northern Macedonia. It is reported by the Macedonian service of Radio Liberty. 153 deputies spoke in favor of renaming, 146 were against, the Athenian newspaper Naftemporiki writes. The debate in parliament lasted 38 hours and a half. Earlier, the Greek coalition government collapsed because of disputes about the new name of Macedonia, and up to 100 thousand people took part in a rally in Athens against renaming. More than 70 percent of Greeks oppose renaming the neighboring country into the Republic of Northern Macedonia, wrote The Guardian with reference to local opinion polls. During the voting, the deputies of the far-right party “Golden Dawn” chanted “treason” and “traitors” to other deputies. In January, the Parliament of Macedonia approved a constitutional amendment to rename the state. The dispute over the name of the country arose in 1991 after the proclamation of the independence of this former Yugoslav Republic. The conflict was caused by the fact that Greece has a historical region of Macedonia. Greek nationalists believe that other countries do not have the right to be called by the name of the historical region of their country. Official Athens feared future territorial claims from Macedonia. Radio Svoboda