Skopje, 17 June 2025 (MIA) - VMRO-DPMNE is the continuation of the historical VMRO, founded in 1893, when our people, though under foreign subjugation and pressure, fought for their identity, freedom, and justice. We are the ones who continue that bright and honourable mission, who do not forget the roots, nor the foundations on which the Macedonian statehood was built. No one should forget that these are foundations built with human suffering, with the call of the Ilinden fighters and the victory of the ASNOM, with the multitude of men and women who died for our freedom, who overcame defeats with defiance, and came to victories with hope and invincible will, Prime Minister and VMRO-DPMNE leader Hristijan Mickoski said at Heraclea on Tuesday. 

Addressing Tuesday's event on VMRO-DPMNE's 35th anniversary, Mickoski pointed out that this day is not just a celebration, but a call for responsibility, a call for hope and unity. 

"VMRO-DPMNE is the legitimate and ideological successor of VMRO. What distinguishes this party from the other parties is its unwavering faith in the people, in their values ​​and in justice as our strongest pillar. And the wise people with us today, as well as many who are no longer with us, but whose work we remember, attest the historical greatness of this organization that has existed, still exists and will continue to exist for our only and greatest cause - Macedonia," Mickoski stressed. 

According to him, VMRO-DPMNE is more than a political organization. It is a living spirit, the origin and continuation of the Macedonian struggle for freedom and justice, a party that stands on the foundations of courage, dignity, patriotism and honesty, a party in whose headquarters and at whose events the stories live on and the sacrifice of Hristo Uzunov is told, the work of Goce Delchev is bowed to, the heroic deeds of Aleksandro Turundzhev, Gjorche Petrov, Nikola Karev are remembered.

"We build the future on these foundations. And that is why today, in this time of hope, I say to you - VMRO-DPMNE is the beacon that illuminates the darkness that has long covered our country. Many of our brothers and sisters are involved in the growth of the party, in our defeats and victories. Both the like-minded and the unlike-minded who still share our ideas and hold VMRO in their hearts. I want to express my gratitude for their dedication and their sincere hope for Macedonia. VMRO-DPMNE is a party for many, but for many of us it is above all an idea that does not stop, and values ​​that bring change. Those changes have brought independence, the thirst for one's own state brought us to participate in the creation of the foundations of the state, which were then strongly shaken, eroded and destroyed many times. But we did not give up because we believed in our ideology and because we love our homeland," said Mickoski. 

He underlined that VMRO-DPMNE carries both the burden and the light of a struggle that has lasted for more than a century and a half.

"It is an immense honour and responsibility to stand before you on this day when we mark 35 years since the founding of our party - our great, our eternal idea. The idea that does not cease, that does not fall, that burns in the hearts of each of us. Our party, as the legitimate and ideological successor of the historical VMRO of 1893, carries the burden and light of a struggle that has lasted for more than a century and a half, from the first days of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization [VMRO] that rose up against injustice and oppression to the present day, when we fight against invisible, but no less dangerous enemies – corruption, betrayals and the destruction of institutions," Mickoski said. 

The event on the party's anniversary is being held under the theme "An idea that does not stop, values ​​that bring change", in Heraclea Lyncestis near Bitola. It began with a ceremonial intonation of the Macedonian anthem, followed by a performance of traditional Macedonian songs. The event is attended by members, supporters, founders and top officials of VMRO-DPMNE, members of the Government and coalition partners.