Confunden la bandera de Macedonia con la del Tibet

Agentes de seguridad chinos confundieron con banderas del Tibet las enseñas de Macedonia colgadas en el balcón de su apartamento de la Villa Olímpica por un atleta de esa nacionalidad.

Macedonian flag confuses Chinese Security Officials
Saso Popovski competing in single kayak discipline was the first Macedonian to arrive at the Beijing Olympic village.
The first thing Saso did was displayed two large Macedonian flags from the balkony of the Building B6.
The flags were noticed by Chinese Security Officials who mistook them for the Tibet Flag. Tibet is a Chinese province which became independent in 1913, however became part of People's Republic of China in 1951. China has made clear it wont allow any political messages displayed by neither national teams nor fans.
Popovski got a knock on his door.
- "I was surprised to see security at the door. I had put the flags out as soon as I settled in the apartment. The security asked me to take the flags down, however, I refused and told them they are Macedonian flags. The International Olympic Committee got involved and explained to the Chinese, the flags are not Tibetan flags. The security people were very embarrassed and apologized dozen times. I went to protest to the IOC Office, but they didn't know what to say, at the end it was too funny.” concluded Saso.

Macedonia On Line

Grecia protesta ante Macedonia por una imagen insultante de la bandera griega

La embajadora griega en Macedonia ha presentado una protesta formal ante el gobierno de este país por la presencia en la capital, Skopje, de unos carteles anunciadores de una exposición en los que se muestra la bandera griega con la cruz transformada en una svástica.

Demarche over flag insult

Greece's ambassador to the FYROM, as expected formally lodged a demarche with the government here on Sunday evening in protest of several billboard ads appearing on Skopje's streets that insulted the Greek national symbol

Amb. Alexandra Papadopoulou also demanded that the ads be immediately removed, following instructions by the Greek foreign ministry earlier on Sunday.

The demarche emphasised that Greece's struggle against fascism and Nazism during WWII was not disputed by anyone, warning that such actions posed an obstacle to the advancement and development of good-neighbour relations in the region.

There has been no reaction over the billboard ads by the FYROM government, which depicted the blue Cross morphed into a Swastika.

"This unacceptable poster, which was circulated via a private initiative and put up on Skopje's streets, directly insults our country's national symbol and our struggle against fascism and Nazism," a foreign ministry spokesman tersely said on Sunday afternoon in response to a press question.

The posters ostensibly promoted a photography and graphic arts exhibition set to open at the Skopje cultural and informational centre, which is under the aegis of the municipality of Skopje.

The ads were also condemned by the FYROM pro-government newspaper "Vecer", which printed the desecrated Greek flag on its front page under the banner headline "Shame", warning that the posters had exceeded all moral boundaries and incited ethnic and religious hatred.

ANA/MPA