Preview on public opinion as World Court to rule on name dispute

submitted by europelmbh on 03/11/16 1

1. Wide of silhouette of newly built (in 2011) statue of Alexander the Great (22-metres (72 feet) tall) at sunset 2. Wide of Skopje's main square 3. Close-up of Macedonian flag with Alexander the Great statue in background 4. Wide of Greek tourist Antonis Zikos and his partner Stavroula posing for photo 5. Tilt down from statue of Alexander the Great to Antonis and Stavroula walking past 6. SOUNDBITE (English) Antonis Zikos, 30-year-old Greek tourist: "It's very difficult for us because we believe that Great Alexander was Greek and he was Macedonian. This area is Macedonian but I don't believe that here in this state, the people in this state are Macedonians because I think they are Slavs. They speak Slav and they believe like Slavs." 7. Pan from construction on side of bank to Ancient Greek-style opera house being built in city centre 8. Wide of bridge over River Vardar 9. Wide of tourist amusement train crossing square 10. Close-up of statue of lion 11. SOUNDBITE (English) Tomislav Gjorceski, Skopje resident: "No, I'm not willing to do that, to change our name for entering in NATO or the European Union." 12. Pan to Denko Maleski, former Macedonian Foreign Minister (1991-93) 13. SOUNDBITE (English) Denko Maleski, former Macedonian Foreign Minister: "The name Macedonia is our identity, so there could be no way out from this if this name is erased from our memories, from our songs, from our history." 14. Cutaway of piece of paper with heading reading (English) "International Court of Justice" 15. SOUNDBITE (English) Denko Maleski, former Macedonian Foreign Minister: "The solution might in the end be some kind of adaptation of the reference which is being used now, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, but the people of Macedonia will not accept this diktat by a foreign state to change the constitution, to change the name of the institutions here inside Macedonia." 16. Close-up of ancient warriors at foot of Alexander the Great statue 17. Wide of pillars and bronze statue of dancers, Alexander the Great statue in distance STORYLINE: The International Court of Justice is expected to rule this week on a bitter name dispute between Macedonia and Greece - a conflict that has led to a wave of nationalism in Macedonia and which Greece claims could trigger territorial claims over its northern regions. Macedonia took Greece to the UN's highest judicial body seeking a ruling that Athens had illegally vetoed its application for NATO membership three years ago in breach of a 1995 agreement to support its membership of international organisations under the name "The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia." Greece claims Macedonia's use of the ancient Greek name and its national use of historic Greek symbols - including the warrior king Alexander the Great - implies that Skopje still harbours ambitions to take over Greek territory, including its northern province of the same name. It has also demanded that Skopje find another name that does not include "Macedonia" in any form. Speaking on Sunday, one of Macedonia's former foreign ministers suggested a compromise could be found. "The solution might in the end be some kind of adaptation of the reference which is being used now, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia," Denko Maleski said. "But the people of Macedonia will not accept this diktat by a foreign state to change the constitution, to change the name of the institutions here inside Macedonia," he added. His opinion was echoed on the streets of Skopje "No, I'm not willing to do that, to change our name for entering in NATO or the European Union," said locla resident Tomislav Gjorceski. Yet Greek tourist Antonis Zikos had a different view. You can license this story through AP Archive: www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/a11d490e8d637271174a775d1f35bae8 Find out more about AP Archive: www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork

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