Skopje, 27 April 2023 (MIA) - North Macedonia's General Consulate in Thessaloniki and the Embassy in Athens have been notified of the incident in Thessaloniki, when a group of black-clad individuals disrupted the exhibition by artist Sergej Andreevski and tried to end it by indecent and vulgar verbal behavior, after which they left, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press release. 

"Although there was no demonstration of physical violence or any material damage caused, due to the threats and verbal attacks, the police were called and were fully informed about the incident. North Macedonia's Consulate General in Thessaloniki and the Embassy in Athens were notified of the incident, and immediately contacted the competent authorities of Greece. The Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs was also informed of the incident," reads the press release. 

Greek Ambassador Sophia Philippidou, it adds, has also been summoned at the MFA on Thursday, to formally address expectations from the neighbor in terms of taking all measures to identify and prosecute perpetrators.   

A group of black-clad members of the banned far-right "Golden Dawn", barged in and disrupted an exhibition by Macedonian artist Sergej Andreevski taking place at a gallery in the Thessaloniki district of Kalamaria, MIA's Athens correspondent reported earlier on Thursday. 

In a video posted on YouTube by the so-called "Golden Dawn's Youth Front", members are heard saying "Golden Dawn sealed the Skopje exhibition in Kalamaria", commenting they don't accept any compromise on the "Greek character of Macedonia", adding that it was an "obvious mockery and an insult to the national feeling of the Macedonians", and they had to "intervene" and above all send a message to the Greek authorities that "such provocations don't go unanswered".

"Golden Dawn" was part of the Greek Parliament between 2012 and 2019, and according to a 2020 court ruling, it is a criminal organization and the leadership of the party, former MPs and members, have now been serving a three-year prison sentence.

Sergej Andreevski's exhibition titled "Unexhibited works on paper" was opened in Thessaloniki last Friday, with many visitors in attendance. Conveying his impressions to MIA, the artist said on Wednesday that art knows no borders, and its language is universal.