NEWS

Mount Athos monastic community calls for referendum on FYROM name deal

Mount Athos monastic community calls for referendum on FYROM name deal

The Holy Community of Mount Athos, which represents a cluster of historic monasteries and one of Orthodoxy's holiest sites in Halkidiki, northern Greece, has called on the left-led government to hold a referendum on the contentious name deal.

In an announcement, the Holy Community said that it considers the so-called Prespes agreement's “recognition of a 'Macedonian language' and a 'Macedonian ethnicity' as disregarding history and truth.”

It calls on the government to “respect the will of the Greek people” by carrying out a referendum before the agreement is brought to Parliament for ratification, probably next month.

The body that represents Mount Athos also said its members and supporters will be attending a rally in protest at the name deal in central Athens scheduled for Sunday.

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