Greece bans lamb in dispute over Macedonia name

GREECE:MACEDONIAN LAMB has become the latest victim of Greece's demand that its Balkan neighbour change its name, after Athens banned imports of the meat ahead of this weekend's Orthodox Easter celebrations, when it is normally eaten by the tonne.

Media in the former Yugoslav republic say Greece is refusing to accept its lamb imports because they bear the legend "Produce of Macedonia" - and Athens refuses to recognise the country under that name, which it shares with a region of northern Greece.

Greek livestock farmers blockaded border crossings with Macedonia at the weekend to prevent lamb imports entering the country and demand higher prices for their own meat, in a protest that further inflamed passions already roused by the name dispute.

At this month's Nato summit, Athens vetoed the wish of the alliance's other 25 members to offer membership to Macedonia, saying its use of that monicker implied a territorial claim over Greek Macedonia, birthplace of Alexander the Great.

"We appeal to our southern neighbour to let the economy be the economy and politics be politics, allowing people to do their jobs without unnecessary interference," Macedonian government spokesman Ivica Bocevski said of the lamb ban.

Macedonia usually exports lamb valued at more than €3 million to Greece each year, much of it before the Orthodox Church's Easter celebrations, which will take place in both countries this weekend.

Nato chief Jaap de Hoop Scheffer visited Macedonia this week to urge its leaders to resolve the name dispute before July 9th, when Croatia and Albania are due to sign pre-accession deals with the military alliance.

"I would like to see that on the ninth of July, when Albania and Croatia sign the accession protocol for Nato, we could have a third nation, yours, at the Nato table," he said after meeting Macedonian foreign minister Antonio Milososki.

Athens rejected compromise proposals before the Nato summit, however, and its government - with a majority of just one seat in parliament - has little room for manoeuvre.

In Macedonia, meanwhile, politicians campaigning before a June 1st general election are expected to play on growing nationalist and anti-Greek sentiment.