Greece has accused Macedonia of distorting the truth about an October 13 incident in which four Macedonian journalists were detained near a protest in northern Greece against military exercises in the area.

After the incident, the foreign ministry in Skopje gave a note of protest to Greek ambassador Alexandra Papadopoulou and said that it would complain to the European Union and Nato.

Macedonian prime minister Nikola Gruevski issued a statement expressing "serious concern" about the incident.

The foreign ministry note said that the detention of journalists "breaches Article 10 of the European Convention for Human Rights and OSCE documents on freedom of speech and expression".

Greek daily Kathimerini said that the four were detained as they covered a protest by residents of Florina, northern Greece, who were complaining about the army's decision to carry out military exercises at a firing range in the area. "A number of protesters, as well as the journalists, were removed after allegedly impeding army vehicles," Kathimerini said.

The reporters were released after authorities checked their details and ensured that they had not filmed military installations.

The Associated Press said that Macedonia claimed that the four were expelled, but Greek police said that the group left voluntarily after it emerged they had not taken footage of restricted military maneuvers.

Macedonia Online said that Gruevski had told television channel MTV that he had informed the EU foreign and security policy chief Javier Solana about the case, and it would also be a subject of discussion at Gruevski's meeting in Brussels with Nato Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer in Brussels.

Gruevski said: "I understand that every country is entitled to organise military exercises, but when they are practically taking place in front of the yards of citizens and are not relocated after numerous demands of the population, it becomes obvious that some other motive is in question. We are talking about a demonstration of power and attempt at spreading fear among the population, which is a far from democratic move by a EU member country".

Athens and Skopje have long been at odds in a dispute over the use of the name "Macedonia" which Athens says is unacceptable because it is historically incorrect and could be exploited to reinforce Skopje's territorial claims in northern Greece. The dispute has led to Greece blocking Macedonia's aspirations to Nato membership and Athens has indicated it will do the same with Macedonia's hopes of joining the EU.

Greek foreign ministry spokesperson Giorgos Koumoutsakos accused Gruevski of engaging in "a provocative effort to blatantly distort the truth" and "a new, unacceptable attempt to intervene in Greek domestic affairs".

Koumoutsakos also accused Gruevski of conducting "a conscious policy that cultivates nationalism and bigotry," before suggesting that Gruevski busy himself with his country's own affairs.

Greek news agency ANA reported that, according to police authorities in the area, about 15 residents had set up a roadblock with a truck and a tractor on a country road leading to the firing range, thus obstructing the convoy, which consisted of four Greek army armoured vehicles and two military jeeps.

"The incident acquired a transnational factor, however, with the unprecedented statement out of Skopje, which expressed `concern' for the local protesters while at the same time identifying them as so-called `Macedonians', a continuation of a recent campaign by the Gruevski government over the past few months to uncover a `Macedonian minority' in the northwest part of the Greek province of Macedonia," the report said.

An ANA-MPA correspondent in Skopje reported Papadopoulou as saying that every country had the inalienable right to check the identity of foreign nationals on its soil, especially ones shooting footage of military installations. "As such, the verbal note is a distortion of the truth and is rejected as groundless," she said.

The Journalists Association of Macedonia issued a statement describing the incident as serious because the group had been unable to carry out its professional duties "and to accurately report on the latest developments in northern Greece".

"The fact that this isn't the first time Macedonian journalists are hampered from doing their duties is alarming," the association said. It urged EU institutions "to finally inspect the problem involving the behaviour of Greece's authorities towards Macedonian citizens who are professionally executing their tasks and to take all measures for protection of human and professional rights, enshrined in the EU's constitution and laws".

The Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), a network of editors, media executives and journalists from South East Europe and an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), issued a statement on October 14 saying that it was "alarmed at recent restrictions on reporters' ability to freely carry out their work in Greece".

"Despite carrying valid press cards and visas for Greece, the media representatives were detained because they did not have a special filming licence and requested to hand over the material they had gathered at the demonstration. After their release, a police escort strongly advised them not to talk to eye witnesses of the protest and eventually escorted them to the border," SEEMO said.

SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic voiced his concern over "this clear infringement of the free movement and freedom of expression of journalists" and "hoped the Greek authorities will adopt strong measures against such interference with media efforts to report on a story of public interest," the organisation's statement said.