VZCZCXRO7331
PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN RUEHLZ
RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHIK #0019 0661609
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 061609Z MAR 08
FM AMCONSUL THESSALONIKI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0319
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHIK/AMCONSUL THESSALONIKI 0353

UNCLAS THESSALONIKI 000019 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL ASEC GR
SUBJECT: THESSALONIKI: MODEST TURNOUT FOR TWO RALLIES IN DEFENSE OF 
MACEDONIA NAME 
 
REF: THESSALONIKI 0014 
 
¶1.      SUMMARY:  Two simultaneous rallies took place peacefully 
in Thessaloniki yesterday to voice support for Greece's position 
regarding the Macedonia name issue.  The rallies were only 
modestly attended unlike those in previous years which drew 
massive crowds.  Politicians from the major parties avoided the 
event and media coverage was low key.  END SUMMARY 
 
--------------------------------------------- 
MODEST TURNOUTS AND RESTRAINED MEDIA COVERAGE 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  Modest turnouts and restrained media coverage marked the two 
simultaneous rallies held yesterday in Thessaloniki in support 
of Greece's position on the Macedonia name issue.  The first 
event, an outside rally at the site of the Alexander the Great 
statue on Thessaloniki's waterfront, was organized by the "Ion 
Dragoumis Institute" which has close ties with the far right 
Popular Orthodox Rally (LAOS) party led by Giorgos Karatzaferis. 
 The second was an indoor rally organized by the Macedonia 
Struggle Committee.  Each event drew between 5,000 and 6,000 
participants.  Television coverage of the events was limited 
except for that from Karatzaferis' own TV channel which covered 
the LAOS event in its entirety.  Other TV channels included 
reports on the rallies as part of their news programming but 
there was equal or greater coverage of labor rallies elsewhere 
in Greece.  Local newspapers carried reports of the rallies 
prominently but the top story was a visit to Thessaloniki by 
U.N. negotiator Matthew Nimitz to meet with the Greek negotiator 
Vasilakis. 
 
--------------------------------------- 
THE MACEDONIAN STRUGGLE COMMITTEE RALLY 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  The indoor rally organized by the Macedonian Struggle 
Committee had three speakers: keynote speaker Costas Zouraris, a 
journalist and professor, Thessaloniki Metropolitan Anthimos and 
Stelios Papathemelis, former PASOK Minister and current leader 
of the Democratic Renaissance party.  Zourias speech was 
strident, referring to "an oligarchic four-party system in the 
pseudo-state of Athens" and to "politicians who are crawling 
because they are cowards and afraid to become Greeks again." 
Zouraris' comments resulted in the immediate departure from the 
rally of Thessaloniki Prefect Panaiotis Psomiadis who was the 
only high-ranking New Democracy politician to attend the rally. 
Psomiadis had said earlier in the week that he planned to attend 
since he felt that the gathering would be "non-political." 
Metropolitan Anthimos was more restrained in his remarks, 
focusing on the history of the region to assert that Macedonia 
is Greek.  Democratic Renaissance president Papathemelis called 
for a referendum on the name issue and called upon the Greek 
government to freeze financial aid to Macedonia and Greek 
businesses to stop doing business in the country. 
 
-------------- 
THE LAOS RALLY 
-------------- 
 
¶4.  Party leader Giorgos Karatzeferis was the only speaker at 
the LAOS rally.  He was sharply critical of Prime Minister 
Karamanlis and Foreign Minister Bakoyiannis (demanding her 
dismissal) and called both for a referendum and for elections 
regarding the name issue.  He also criticized the position of 
PASOK leader Giorgos Papandreou.  Among his remarks was a 
statement that "the country will not be fragmented and it will 
not be sold out to Americans." 
 
¶5.  COMMENT:  The limited turnout, relatively calm atmosphere 
and restrained media coverage of the events reflect a growing 
sense in northern Greece that a negotiated solution to the 
Macedonia name issue (along lines proposed by the GoG) is both 
the most pragmatic and likely future course.  Most also expect 
the GoG will defend its "red lines" in negotiations and veto 
Macedonia's NATO accession in the absence of an agreed name. 
Recent comments by Thessaloniki Mayor Papageorgopolis and 
Prefect Psomiadis (Reftel) calling for negotiations rather than 
demonstrations confirm that local leaders feel this way and 
yesterday's rallies suggest that the public feels the same.  END 
COMMENT 
 
YEE