According to a news report from a Northern Macedonian newspaper, Sloboden Pecat, the country’s government announced its intention to remove and ban the use of the Sun of Vergina, which was also depicted in the first flag of its independence, of the then-former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
Media outlets in opposition to Zaev’s government were critical of the move and condemned it as they did with the Prespes Agreement with Greece.
The North Macedonian government’s announcement, however, is in compliance with the Prespes Agreement signed with Greece, which stipulated that it has no connection to or claim to Ancient Macedonia culture and its respective symbols.
“At its meeting on 4 July, the Government of Northern Macedonia obliges the General Secretariat to ask the competent authorities to provide information on the monuments, facilities of public and other infrastructure projects bearing the Vergina Sun, a symbol that is a symbol part of the ancient Macedonian civilisation and belongs to the Greek civilisation, as it is the owner of the copyright, while, literally, it is a work of art. This information should be provided within a deadline set by the government,” the paper writes.
The constitutional amendments to the state’s name change were passed on January 11, 2019, and came into force on February 12, 2019. The deadline for renaming the monuments and removing the Vergina Sun expires on August 12, 2019.