Kumanovo, 2 August 2024 (MIA) – The fight for young people, for the best and the most talented. The fight for knowledge opposed to lack of knowledge, for excellence opposed to mediocrity, for creativity opposed to destruction, for protection of our forests, of the lives and properties of our citizens from fires is the fight for the fourth Macedonian Republic, President Gordana Siljanovska Davkova said Friday in Republic Day address in Pelince.

Eighty years ago, she said, ASNOM delegates had established a free Macedonian state on republican, democratic and antifascist foundations.

“The ASNOM documents pulsate with European progressive ideals citing the right to self-determination and equality among the nations. Today, our independent Republic is compatible with the project for united Europe because progressive European values can be recognized in our ASNOM foundations,” Siljanovska Davkova said.

In her Pelince address, the President compared the Ilinden Uprising with the French Revolution. “Although it had been cut short, the Krushevo Republic with its ideals is reminiscent of the first days of the Great Revolution.” 

Referring to the generation of young people, she said that every generation has its own duties and rights. 

“80 years later, if you ask young generations, which human right matter to them the most, I believe a majority will say – the right to progress, the right to pursuit of happiness. Pursuit of happiness, for me, is not a Hollywood cliché, it a necessary need of the people to contribute to the good of the community in which they belong,” stated Siljanovska Davkova.

The success of the Republic, the President noted, is measured as to whether it is a decent place for living and whether it offers equal chances for progress to everyone. 

“This very right has been threatened by corruption and nepotism, which have created double standards undermining the rule of law and the general good. But, also by the unfair blockades of our European and Euro-Atlantic integration process over the years, which are exhausting the country,” Siljanovska Davkova said. 

According to her, the Macedonian institutions are prepared to undergo European reforms. However, the President stressed, we expect our European and strategic partners to show understanding and to unblock the negotiations process.

In the past, she added, the young scarified their lives for our freedom, while today, we have to sacrifice for the future of young people.

“No matter how hard it might be, we have to create conditions for the young Macedonians, Albanians, Turks, Serbs, Roma, Vlach, Bosniaks, to find their happiness here, in our only common homeland,” Siljanovska Davkova said adding that by making this sacrifice, “we will in fact take part in the creation of a new, fourth Macedonian republic.”  

“We will win this fight by making the country European, with rule of law, fight against corruption, with efficient institutions, with competitive economy, with democratic values and democratic political culture, with human rights and liberties, and finally, with functioning systems able to tackle fires, floods and other natural disasters. And to win this fight, we have to include and engage young people,” she stated in her address. 

In it, she also referred to the cooperation with the strategic partners and European friends, calling it a top priority.

Our Republic, said Siljanovska Davkova, was founded on the European ideals for freedom, equality and brotherhood. “This makes us equal heirs of the top European benefits.”

“On our path to EU full-fledged membership, we are still facing unprincipled conditions that are changed constantly. But we’re aware that we have many friends among the member states. We have to help them by not diverting from the defined European path. The Macedonian institutions are ready to undergo European reforms. However, we expect our European and strategic to unblock our negotiations process. Our place has been and is in Europe, but with the Macedonian identity, language, culture and historical memory being protected,” President Siljanovska Davkova said. 

Earlier, Siljanovska Davkova laid wreaths at the ASNOM Memorial Center in Pelince and visited the memorial hall at the facility.

Photo: President's Office