Skopje, 8 September 2024 (MIA) — President Gordana Siljanovska Davkova extended her best wishes on Independence Day, Sept. 8, urging the nation to put aside divisions and unite around the common good and the public interest.

"On Sept. 8, 1991, Macedonian citizens, using the right to self-determination, voiced their will and voted in huge numbers for a sovereign and independent Macedonian Republic," President Siljanovska Davkova wrote. 

"Apart from on the people's vote ballot, that will was also expressed on the beaming faces of the thousands of citizens who spontaneously gathered at Macedonia Square, where they celebrated independence with great enthusiasm and hope for the future," she wrote.

Siljanovska-Davkova pointed out that Macedonian citizens left the federation that was collapsing wisely, democratically and peacefully, stepping into a new stage of Macedonian statehood, taking on the responsibility to build a modern, European, lawful state of peace and coexistence, social justice, economic well-being and progress. 

"Thirty-three years later, this enthusiasm and hope are, unfortunately, overshadowed by numerous challenges our country has faced, from external pressures and unprincipled blockades, through internal divisions, all the way to political and security crises," she wrote. 

"Over the years, we have had successes and failures, ups and downs. Missed opportunities, ubiquitous partisanship and politicization, and chronic corruption have alienated citizens and made young people leave the country," Siljanovska Davkova wrote.

She added that "it is our duty to put divisions aside and unite around the common good and public interest."

"We have to invest all our personal and institutional capacities into making the Macedonian Republic a decent place to live, which will give equal chances of progress to all its citizens, a Republic that will care for the best, be inclusive of the different, show solidarity toward the vulnerable, and be fair to everyone," the President wrote.

Only through bringing the country into Europe, implementing the rule of law and fighting against corruption will young people find happiness at home, she said, noting that state institutions should be functional, the economy competitive, and a merit system be instituted so young people could find work, start families and create a future in the country.

"This is the only way we will restore the hope and enthusiasm we had at the outset of Macedonian independence," Siljanovska-Davkova said, offering her Independence Day wishes to the nation. mr/