Thirty Macedonians from Ovcarani, Aegean Macedonia (Greece), for two days protested in front of a Greek military training field near the village of Zabrdeni, asking for the Greek Army to retrieve from their region, inform local citizens.
Greek soldiers who slept in tents under the open sky were woken up late at night from the sounds of church bells from the surrounding villages who all rang at the same time.
Ethnic Macedonians in Greece are fed up with the Greek Army intimidation tactics to show up with tanks surrounding their villages, under the auspices of ‘training’. Local resident who wished to remain anonymous explained to MINA that the Greek Army always chooses to show their might in cities and villages where ethnic Macedonians are the majority.
-They come here, surround our villages with tanks and stay here for weeks, sometimes months. They think we will get scared. Why don’t they do their training in Athens? - says an ethnic Macedonian from Ovcarani who also complained of the pollution the tanks caused to his crops.
Two nights ago, local villagers set up a four car road blockade to prevent the Greek Army convoy from reaching their training destination. A tractor was also added to the blockade, after which the Greek police and a public prosecutor arrived at the place of the incident.
Negotiations between the police and the demonstrators went until midnight, after which the Macedonians left.
Yesterday demonstrators gathered again to protest the presence of the Greek Army and their intimidation tactics who according to local residents never work.
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The Cabinet of the Macedonian Government has issued a statement on the protests of the Macedonians in Northern Greece in relation to activities of the Greek Army. "We are very worried about the protests and are hopeful Greece will take into considerations the reactions of citizens in that particular part of Greece. We hope the training of the Greek Army is not a demonstration of force." says in the statement.
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also read:German MEP: Greece's position is unacceptable
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