Greek flags have been burnt outside Victoria's state parliament as Macedonians rallied over a bitter dispute between the two European nations over the country's name.
Two piles of Greek flags were set alight and police used extinguishers to put out the fires at the end of the three-hour rally on Sunday that started at Melbourne's Carlton Gardens before moving to parliament house.
Flares were also lit during the March 4 Macedonia and a group of men had set fire to the Bulgarian flag as they walked along Swanston Street ahead of the rally.
Organisers asked people to stop lighting the flares because it was a peaceful protest.
A Victoria Police spokeswoman told AAP there had been no arrests or injuries during the rally, though one man was spoken to about his behaviour.
"Police were generally pleased with crowd behaviour at today's rally," she said in a statement.
March 4 Macedonia rallies have been organised in Melbourne, Sydney and Perth with participants saying Macedonia's people, language, identity, history and culture are under attack.
"We do not need to prove who we are - not to Greece, not to the European Union," a speaker said on the steps of Parliament House.
"We are who we are. We are Macedonia."
Wearing Macedonian shirts, scarves and flags, some dressed as ancient warriors, the crowd chanted "Macedonia" as they waved flags and signs that read "The name is priceless", "Genocide" and "the Republic of Macedonia belongs to Macedonians and no one else".
Macedonia and Greece are locked in a bitter dispute over the Balkan state's use of the name, reignited when Yugoslavia broke up.
Greece opposes the use of the name Macedonia in the Republic of Macedonia's title, saying it belongs to a state of Greece and nowhere else.
Greek Victorians have also rallied in recent weeks over the dispute.
Australian Associated Press
