Skopje, 11 October 2024 (MIA) - We weren’t liberated by anyone; we achieved our own freedom with the help of more than 110,000 fighters from the National Liberation Army of Macedonia. No one gave us this state as a gift; we fought for it ourselves. For us, the anti-fascist war was also a National Liberation War, in which we lost 24,000 lives. Therefore, we cannot allow historical revisionism or the relativization of the National Liberation and anti-fascist struggle, as this would undermine the Ilinden and anti-fascist foundations upon which the Macedonian state was built, President Gordana Siljanovska Davkova said Friday at the Museum of Macedonian Struggle, in honor of the National Uprising Day - October 11.

President Siljanovska Davkova noted in her speech that October 11 marks the day when the Macedonian people decisively chose the right side in the largest war in human history. She stated, “It is no coincidence that the Macedonian state, for which the Ilinden fighters aspired to and for which e anti-fascists struggled, has endured for 80 years.”

“On October 11, 1941, the Macedonian people reached for the inexhaustible human right to resist oppression, injustice, and occupation, bravely and unwaveringly choosing the right side in the greatest war in human history. October 11 is a milestone, the day when we boldly and decisively joined the anti-fascist coalition of free-spirited and justice-loving peoples. The heroic struggle against fascism united us, rebirthed us, and granted us legitimacy as a people to self-determine and create a free Macedonian state at the first session of ASNOM. As one of humanity's greatest democratic triumphs, anti-fascism enabled us to stand on the historical stage as equals and to participate with a clear conscience in the rebuilding of the devastated world. It is no coincidence that the Macedonian state, for which the Ilinden fighters aspired to and for which the anti-fascists struggled, has endured for 80 years,” Siljanovska Davkova said.

The Macedonian anthem, she added, symbolizes the unstoppable struggle for justice, and as she stated, it celebrates the continuity with Ilinden, heralding the freedom of Macedonia.

She said that each new generation faces new challenges, and the greatest sacrifice, she stated, should be made by those who have the greatest responsibility. They must fight again for these values.

“Each new generation faces new challenges and must again fight for these supreme values and internalize them. Every new generation, including ours, must make its own sacrifice for freedom and justice, because only sacrifice awakens us to their value. The greatest sacrifice should be made by those who have the greatest responsibility, namely the politicians elected by the Macedonian people to represent them, to advocate for them, and to fight for national and state interests through their personal example,” Siljanovska Davkova noted.

At the formal academy marking the Day of the National Uprising of the Macedonian People - October 11, Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski, ministers, parliament members, and representatives from the diplomatic corps were also in attendance.

Photo: MIA