Macedonian Parliament Approves New Name For The Country As Demanded By Greece
People gather outside the parliament building in Macedonia to protest the countrys name that was change to North Macedonia.
Macedonia parliament have approved changing the countrys name to North Macedonia, appeasing Greece and bringing the country one step closer to membership in NATO.
This changes was the reason for the dispute between Macedonia and Greece for many years and national identity that has lasted 27 years. Eighty one of the 120 lawmakers in Macedonia parliament voted on Friday to approve a constitutional amendment to change the countrys name. The remaining opposition lawmakers stayed away in protest,
The Associated Press Report that, the change won't be official not until the Greek parliament approves it.
The opponents of the deal protested outside of the Macedonian parliament on Friday, responding to the vote with calls of traitors, According to the reports, Hristijan Mickoski The conservative opposition leader told reporters that the vote was an act of treason.
Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev agreed to rename the country in a compromise with his Greek counterpart Alexis Tsipr last June.
The proposed name change weathered protests from nationalists in both countries and a referendum in Macedonia that failed to meet the turnout requirement. In so many years,
Greece and Macedonia have been locked into a dispute over the name that dates back to 1991 during the disintegration of Yugoslavia, when the Republic of Macedonia broke away.
Greece already contained a region called Macedonia, which incorporates most of the territories of the eponymous ancient kingdom that was led centuries ago by Alexander the Great.
Both Greece and its northern neighbor consider Alexander, and the name, integral parts of their identity, Previous Greek governments have also claimed that the tiny Republic of Macedonia might use the name to make territorial claims on its province.
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