A very large rally was underway early Sunday afternoon in central Athens in opposition to the Prespa agreement, which aims to resolve the long-standing fYRoM “name issue”.
Tens of thousands of people from around the country, as well as Greek expatriates from other countries, have gathered in Syntagma square, in front of Parliament, for the protest. Although not officially sanctioned by the political opposition, several politicians were in the crowd, as well as a significant presence of Orthodox clerics.
The now shaky Tsipras government is spending much of its remaining political capital to negotiate, sign and bring the landmark bilateral agreement to Parliament for ratification, months before general elections must be held. The deal, in fact, essentially dissolved the leftist-rightist coalition government in place since January 2015, with Independent Greeks (AN.EL) leader Panos Kammenos bolting the government and leaving his defense ministry seat, although his remaining MPs and top cadres in the Cabinet remained to support the government.
Some 2,000 police were assembled in and around the square, with only small-scale disturbances reported so, including the use of tear gas by riot police.
While ratified by a majority of Parliament deputies in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (fYRoM), the provsional agreement must now be ratified by the Greek side.
Opposition in Greece mainly focuses on any use of the name “Macedonia” by the neighboring country, mostly by more hard-line political circles, such as Kammenos, while another line of opposition revolves around the prospect a “Macedonian” language and citizenship being recognized by Athens. Conversely, the name “Republic of North Macedonia” results in a composite name with a geographic qualifier, a compromise previously supported by a majority of mainstream political forces.
An initial police estimate, just after 3 p.m. (local time), put the rally’s size at 100,000, although organizers said the turnout was much higher.
