Macedonians living in the US staged Sunday a protest in front of Macedonia's Embassy in Washington, voicing their opposition to a potential change of the country's constitutional name.
During the protest United Macedonian Diaspora (UMD) President Meto Koloski launched a new movement 'We are Macedonia' as a response to worrisome political development in the homeland, MIA reports from Washington.
The protesters, about twenty supporters and activists of Diaspora organizations, handed over a declaration to Macedonia's Ambassador to the US Vasko Naumovski, which includes several demand addressed to the country's President, Parliament and Government.
'Macedonians should preserve their uniqueness, while our country should be an equal and respected member of the global family,' the declaration reads.
It also calls for perseverance of the Macedonian identity, language, culture and the state's unitary character.
Koloski said that many Macedonians scattered across the globe condemned the ongoing Skopje-Athens talks on Macedonia's name and the adoption of law on languages, considering them as an acts that lead to undermining Macedonia's sovereignty and unitary character.
The new movement accuses Macedonia's government for conducting secretive negotiations with Greece for altering the name Macedonia under the UN auspices. It urges an immediate termination of such negotiations, call on President Gjorge Ivanov to veto the law on languages and for the Macedonian Orthodox Church to preserve its status.
The protesters also demand for a census to be organized in their homeland under the monitoring of a prominent international institution.
The movement 'We are Macedonia' intends to stage yet another protest on 17 January in front of the UN building in New York.