Page 10 - ARUBA TODAY

A10 WORLD NEWS
Monday 22 January 2018

Greeks rally over name dispute Yemeni deaths due

with neighbor Macedonia to diphtheria likely

COSTAS KANTOURIS and to rise amid blockade
DEMETRIS NELLAS
Associated Press By AHMED AL-HAJ Diphtheria is a conta-
THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) Associated Press gious and potentially fa-
— Tens of thousands of SANAA, Yemen (AP) — tal disease that primarily
flag-waving Greeks gath- Deaths resulting from a infects the throat and air-
ered in the northern city of diphtheria outbreak in ways.
Thessaloniki on Sunday to Yemen are “likely to rise” There’s so little help right
demand that Macedonia if the naval blockade now that families are car-
change its name because imposed by a Saudi-led rying their children for
it’s also the name of the coalition fighting to de- hundreds of miles to get
Greek province of which feat Shiite rebels in war- to us,” Mariam Aldogani,
Thessaloniki is the capital. torn Yemen remains in the group’s field coordi-
Greece and the Repub- place, an international nator in Hodeida, said.
lic of Macedonia, which aid group warned on “But they’re arriving too
share a border, have been Greek protesters wave flags and banners during a rally against Monday. late and infecting peo-
locked in the name dis- the use of the term “Macedonia” for the northern neighbouring Save the Children said in ple on the way.”
pute since Macedonia de- country’s name, at the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki on a statement that Yemeni The outbreak has hit Ibb
clared independence from Sunday, Jan. 21, 2018. children are bearing the and Hodeida provinc-
Yugoslavia in 1991. Greeks Associated Press brunt of what it described es the hardest, the aid
feel deeply the use of the about the citizens of Mace- aimed primarily at Greek as a “the worst diphtheria group said.
name Macedonia is a usur- donia, used the term Sko- politicians,” said Giorgos outbreak for a genera- Yemen has been em-
pation of their heritage pje, the name of its capital, Tatsios, president of the tion.” It also said that its broiled in a civil war since
and implies territorial claims which is how most Greeks Greek Federation of Mace- aid workers have been March 2015, pitting Iran-
on their province. refer to them. donian Cultural Associa- struggling to cope with backed Shiite rebels,
Macedonia is represented “Demonstrate, my broth- tions. “Those who use the the disease which has known as Houthis, against
in international organiza- ers for Macedonia ... Sko- name of Macedonia and killed at least 52 people, the coalition backing
tions as The Former Yugo- pje will never be accepted give it away with no scru- mostly among children the internationally rec-
slav Republic of Macedo- with the name Macedo- ples. We call on the gov- under 15, and is believed ognized government of
nia and is seated in the nia by the people’s con- ernment and, especially, to have infected some Abed Rabbo Mansour
United Nations under the science,” Anthimos thun- the foreign ministry and 716 others since August. Hadi. q
letter T, right after Thailand. dered from the pulpit dur- (foreign minister Nikos) Kot-
Greece successfully ve- ing his sermon. “If we only zias to become the hero of Macedonians protest
toed Macedonia’s appli- shut (access) to the port (of Greek Macedonians and
cation to join NATO in 2008. Thessaloniki), they’re dead not hand over the name.
Sunday’s rally was staged the following week.” If he does, he should know bill to make Albanian
in front of a statue of Al- The rally didn’t reach the he is a traitor to the nation.”
exander the Great, the magnitude of one in 1992, Naturally, there were dis- second language
most famous ruler of the when the name issue first senters, but they didn’t
ancient Greek Kingdom flared up. It was prompted show up, except for a SKOPJE, Macedonia (AP) along with Macedonian,
of Macedonia. No pub- by recent efforts on both few hundred anarchists, — Hundreds of people in all transactions with
lic official was among the sides of the border to find who had their own ban- have gathered in Mace- state institutions.
five keynote speakers. The an acceptable compro- ner: “Against national- donia’s capital to protest The groups that orga-
best-known speaker was mise. The defeat last year ism; the whole earth is our a bill that would make Al- nized the protest —
Fragoulis Frangos, a retired of Macedonia’s nationalist homeland.” Some of them banian the country’s sec- Macedonian Unity Force
general and former chief of conservatives by the social clashed with passers-by, ond official language. and “Hardcore — say
the Greek Army Staff, who democrats has improved prompting police to inter- The protest in front of the bilingualism would dimin-
is said to harbor political the climate, and Macedo- vene. parliament building in ish Macedonia’s unified
ambitions. nian prime minister Zoran People presumed to be Skopje on Sunday was character. Macedonian
Several local lawmakers Zaev accepted the invita- right-wing extremists set peaceful, although par- lawmakers approved the
attended, as did the local tion by Thessaloniki mayor fire to a building occupied ticipants burned the Eu- bill this month during a
bishop, Metropolitan Anthi- Yannis Boutaris, an out- by some of the anarchist ropean Union flag. vote the main opposition
mos of Thessalonica, whom spoken anti-nationalist, to counter-demonstrators in The bill would give eth- party boycotted.
many people consider the spend New Year’s in the the center of the city. The nic Albanians, who make President Gjorge Iva-
real leader of the national- city. building suffered exten- up about one-quarter nov vetoed it last week,
ist hardliners opposing an But those who took part in sive damage, but none of of Macedonia’s 2.1 mil- describing the legisla-
accommodation between the rally would have none its occupants was present lion population, the right tion as unnecessary and
the countries. of it. when masked men set fire to use their language, unconstitutional.q
Anthimos, in speaking “Today, the message is to it.q