Respected President of the European Academy Professor Unger,
Respected President Fischer,
Respected President Nikolic,
Esteemed members of the European Academy,
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure to be among you today as we celebrate this important jubilee. For Europe, science and art have always defined its past deeds, present potentials and future possibilities.
I congratulate the European Academy for its 25 years of successful work.
I also congratulate my Serbian colleague and friend, President Nikolic, for being elected protector of this European Academy.

Ladies and gentlemen,

"There will no doubt come time when all the peoples of Europe will feel that they must regulate matters of general interest before moving to matters of national interest. Then evils will decrease, troubles abate, and wars die out. That is the ultimate direction in which we are steadily moving!"

These visionary words of Saint-Simon were written in 1814, in the eve of the Congress of Vienna, convened to establish peace in Europe. A hundred years later, the fragile peace in the deeply divided continent collapsed.

It was only after two world wars in which Europe entered disunited and came out desolated that the seed planted by peacemakers finally started to bear fruit. Their vision gradually managed to bridge physical and mental trenches, to extinguish the centuries-old enmities and to heal the deep wounds.

Today, most of Europe shares the benefits of the accomplished vision – the European Union. We must not forget, however, that this noble peace project is facing serious challenges related to its unity.

Excellencies,

Standing before you today are presidents of two European countries, Macedonia and Serbia, which are still in the waiting room of EU. Those who tell us that there is an enlargement fatigue should not forget that there is also а fatigue of waiting. Here, in the cultural and intellectual heartland of Europe, we call upon the Union to truly unite Europe. Because, the Union cannot speak on behalf of Europe until it unites all of Europe.

However, the only thing worse than disunited Europe is Europe united against its ethnic, linguistic, religious and cultural diversity.

The crisis of moral and ethical values is breaking apart two interdependent European values – the freedom of expression and the freedom of religion. As a result, across our continent we see disturbing signs of xenophobia casting its dark shadow on the democratic landscape of Europe.

We believe in Europe united not in uniformity but in respect and acceptance of diversity. After all, democracy is not only the right to be equal, but also the right to be different.

"Unity in essentials, liberty in non-essentials, and charity in all things," wrote St. Augustine. This unity implies that we respect and accept one another. As we witness the negative effects of integration with assimilation, we provide the positive example of the Macedonian model of integration without assimilation.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Confident in its intellectual capacity to seek answers and propose wise solutions to these pressing issues, I call upon all of you to help the Academy in this important task. To create for this and future generations Europe united as a continent of freedom, peace and respect of diversity.

Thank you.

Distinguished United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights,
Distinguished President of the Human Rights Council,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is an honor for me, as President of the Republic of Macedonia, to address the United Nations Human Rights Council. Today, I stand here before you on behalf of Macedonian citizens, thanks to our brave ancestors who never gave up on their fight for liberty and justice for themselves and for their descendants. However, we are aware that their fight was part of a greater, human fight.

Human history is a story of the clash between justice and power. You have reason and conscience on one side, and naked force and selfish interests on the opposite side. The first undoubtedly mean that all people are born free and equal in terms of dignity and rights. The latter ignore and breach inherent and inalienable human rights and freedoms. The first ones consider man to be an aim in himself, whereas for the latter, man is just a means for achieving some other, selfish aims.

In spite of all challenges, people persist in their struggle for human rights. Seventy years ago, the realization of this noble mission was confided to the United Nations, and ten years ago, this Human Rights Council was created as the central body within the human rights system of the United Nations.

What led people to persist on this painful journey was their firm conviction that there is nothing more worthy than people in this world. They were assured that the most important trait of human nature was freedom taken as responsibility and capacity to make good decision for oneself and for others; for the present and for future generations.

Human rights were born from the very care for other people.
And still, the goal has not been achieved yet.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

If at times, errors were made due to lack of knowledge, today, when news of violation of human rights throughout the world reach us with the speed of Internet, errors are mostly made due to the refusal to know. In this sense, the lack of knowledge regarding the human rights violations is nothing else but an elegant name for human indifference.

There is nothing more fatal to human rights and the right to human dignity but indifference wrapped up in double standards.

Prejudice, intolerance, hatred, conflicts, persecutions, repressions, crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansings and genocides which have left a dark stain on the pages of human history point to the following. Let us add an eleventh commandment to the existing ten: Never be an indifferent and passive observer!
Today, in the 21st century, the developed world is being found guilty again for the sin of indifference.

We live in an era of human rights, and we are witnessing their violation.

We debate on the freedom of thought, conscience and religion, while individuals and groups with closed minds reach upon the freedom and lives of people whose only guilt is having a different conviction.

We are talking about unity in diversity, while radical extremists are united in their intention to destroy the diverse.

We are declaratively for the inalienable right to human dignity, and at the same time we allow the negation of the right to self-identification, without which there would be no integrity of the human personality or human dignity at all.

We refer to the International Charter on Human Rights, and yet we allow international law, UN resolutions and decisions of the International Court of Justice to be violated.

Today, while my country, the Republic of Macedonia, is a member of the Human Rights Council, my fellow citizens are facing a denial of their right to identity and language. It is the same, Macedonian language, in which I am addressing you now. These two individual rights are an inalienable part of human personality and freedom of expression. These two rights have never been subject to compromise by anyone.

Human rights and freedoms have been born from the care for other human beings, but have been endangered by the indifference towards humanity.

Excellencies,

The United Nations cannot and must not allow themselves to be indifferent towards the violation of human rights and the right to human dignity.

The Human Rights Council and the High Commissioner for human rights have a key role to play in the fight between justice and power.

This Council is the conscience of the United Nations. This Council should open the doors in order to hear the voice of victims, of the disadvantaged and the persecuted all over the world. This Council should remain a forum open to civil society organizations whose observations and findings are the best indicator of where the priorities of the Council and of all other countries should be focused. It is only in this way that the Council will maintain its credibility for existence.

Also, it is necessary to provide strong support to the independence of the work of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Every attempt to undermine the independence of the High Commissioner and his Office would mean devaluation of the place and role of this central institution for human rights.

The world needs a Council and a High Commissioner that can act preventively, and not only reactively, and whose positions will have serious implications on all states that do not respect or only partially respect human rights. We appeal that state politics and power take their hands off this Council so that it can prevent, instead of take note post festum. This is the kind of High Commissioner and Human Rights Council that we support.

Distinguished attendees,

The system created seventy years ago to protect us from the indescribable sufferings of humanity, is today the subject to fundamental changes.

As opposed to those who believed that the world is becoming increasingly secularized, we see that the world is more and more de-secularized without being homogenized in the same time.

The number of countries having dominant religions and views has reduced, and almost all world religions and worldviews are present in almost every country. Just as pluralism needs greater freedom of thought, conscience and religion, this same freedom makes pluralism more probable.

In the center of this major transformation is the awakening of ethno-linguistic, religious and other identities. But the right to identity is above all a personal one, since identity represents a fundamental trait of every individual. Individuals are now in the center of the interest in providing progress of all human rights. The freedom of individuals and the enjoyment of all his rights open a space for collective realization of individual rights.

Consequently, human rights today are facing the following challenge: How to observe their universality without disturbing diversity.

Diversity is attacked by those who wish to achieve unity though uniformity – in other words, to achieve integration with assimilation. This tendency is an expression of arrogant egoism and fatal pride. It destroys every possibility for togetherness and realization of human rights, as well as of the identity rights of individuals.

Front pages are filled with news of hundreds of thousands of people persecuted, violently murdered or missing. We hear about religious extremism, indoctrination, radicalization and recruitment of young people at the battlefronts in the Middle East and North Africa. But we also hear about mockery of religion. Just as the secular world was shocked by the attacks against freedom of speech, the non-secular world was shocked by secular attacks against the freedom of religion. Media has a very important role in the area of human rights. However, we should be aware that the greatest enemy to freedom is unlimited freedom.

Distinguished attendees,

We agree that there are no ideal conditions when it comes to human rights in any country. Every country faces its own challenges that arise from its specificities. But the fundamental documents provide clear guidelines on how to face and overcome those challenges.

If, thus far, tolerance was sufficient, from now on we will need a higher standard that will enable a more successful tackling of challenges that arise with the awakening of identities.

The West developed the concept of tolerance. In Macedonia, on the other hand, we practice something that goes way beyond tolerance, and that is respect and acceptance of diversity. The difference between these two concepts is essential, because one tolerates what one must, and one respects what one wants. While tolerance is a one way, respect and acceptance are a two way process.

Witnessing the negative effects of integration with assimilation, we offer the positive example of our Macedonia model of integration without assimilation.

The Macedonian model of coexistence that we inherited from our ancestors and have been developing for the benefit of our descendants is based on the principles of openness and dialogue. Because those who communicate – integrate, and those who do not – become ghettoized. Our model is not an ideal one, but it does provide greater possibility for easier realization of individual and collective identity rights.

Dear friends,

If the world is becoming more, and not less religious, then the cure against religious violence cannot be sought in less, but more religion, but also more dialogue.

Therefore, the Republic of Macedonia is fully committed to intercultural and interreligious dialogue.

In 2003, we initiated the first Forum of the Dialogue among Civilizations as the forerunner of the UN Alliance of Civilizations. We plan to renew the Dialogue in cooperation with UNESCO and the European Union. We will also organize the 4th World Conference on Interreligious and Intercivilizational Dialogue. At the same time, all our efforts are motivated by the conviction that dialogue among various religions and views ends where their diversity begins. The aim of dialogue is not and must not be overcoming, but instead respecting and accepting diversity. This is why strongly support the work of the Alliance of Civilizations.

Excellencies,

"The Golden Age of the human race is not behind us, but before us; it lies in the perfection of the social order. Our ancestors never saw it; our children will one day arrive there; it is for us to clear the way."

This perfect social order that Saint Simon wrote about in 1814 is just another name for what we today call a just society, in which everyone should have equal rights based on two values: Peace, as care for the well-being and dignity of citizens; and truth, as a precondition for justice.

Without respect for human rights, there is no human dignity. Without respect of human dignity, there is no justice. Without respect of justice, there will be no peace among human beings and peoples. Therefore, human rights and the right to human dignity are indispensable for justice and peace.

Thank you.

Esteemed Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear Friends,

At the outset of the new 2015, I wish you and your families' health, joy and happiness, and your countries much successes and progress in every aspect.

It is my honor to welcome you in Krusevo, the highest city in the Balkans. This city is the cradle of the first democratic republic in the Balkans resulting from the centuries-old Macedonian struggle for freedom. It is the freedom we build our present and project our future on. But, at the same time, it is the freedom to be an equal member of the international community.

The ideologist of the Macedonian liberation struggle, Goce Delcev had in mind precisely these fruits of freedom when he said that he understands the world as a field for cultural competition among nations.

His covenant bore the principle of openness to all in the Macedonian foreign policy and our commitment to regional cooperation and good neighborly relations with all our neighbors.

Esteemed Excellencies,

As last year marked a century of the beginning of the WWI, this year marks 70 years since the end of WW II. These wars sow discord and hostility among the Balkan nations and caused deep and bloody wounds in almost every family in this area.

In each of these Wars Europe entered disunited and got out destroyed. This fatal cycle was ended by several great Europeans who offered a vision of a Europe united in peace, freedom and progress. Their vision managed to gradually bridge the physical and mental trenches, to turn out the centuries-old enmities, and to heal the deep wounds. Today, most of Europe shares the benefits of the realized vision. Yet, Europe is not whole.

2015 marks 10 years since the candidate country status of the Republic of Macedonia for membership in the European Union, years filled with reforms implemented, work and firm conviction in our European future, but also with unprincipled blockade on our path.

It turned out that the blockade causes frustration in the Macedonian society, instability in the political life and tension in the inter-ethnic relations. We are blocked because of the consequences of the imposed blockade.

Therefore, I would like to send a clear message to our European partners that the Macedonian citizens expect the European Council to find a way for Macedonia to start accession negotiations. Building Europe in Macedonia, we want to see Macedonia in Europe.

Our aim is not to be a burden but to contribute to the success of the European and Euro-Atlantic family in which we see our future. Therefore, we continue to foster friendly relations with your countries, to develop a more favorable business climate and a more competitive economy based on knowledge and sustainable development. We continue to build a new, dynamic and export-oriented industry with products and services competitive on the European and world market.

Distinguished Guests,

Right here in Krusevo the Manifesto was written whose ideas and values have outlived the transient Krushevo Republic. It is a manifesto of inter-ethnic and inter-religious coexistence through respect and acceptance of diversity. At the heart of this tradition, which is practiced even today in Macedonia, is the conviction that we should treat others as we want others to treat us. It is exactly these values that are threatened in the crisis regions not far from us.

In this time of uncertainty, Europe and the world need to remain consistent with the principles of international law. Law that guarantees the democratic values and the limits of freedom outlined in the freedom of other people and their human dignity.

As we begin the second year of membership in the Human Rights Council of the United Nations, we will continue to defend human rights and freedoms and the right to human dignity worldwide. We will continue to offer the solution - dialogue, which implies respect and acceptance of diversity. We firmly believe that with this we will succeed in securing peace for the current and a safer future for the future generations.

I hereby mentioned the covenant of Delcev which says that the cultural competition is run by language and creativity, works and books. It is in vain that some predicted that the digital age will mean end of the book, because the book survived, not only materially – on paper, but also digitally - in pixels. Recently, the Republic of Macedonia began to digitize its books.

Therefore, as President of the Republic of Macedonia, I gladly accepted to be the patron of the project "Makedonika", which aims to continue the Macedonian tradition and to share with the world through the Internet the most valuable of Macedonia.

Dear Friends,

As we begin a new year with hope and expectation, I want to thank all of you for the professionalism and dedication in your mission - promoting understanding and deepening of the cooperation of the countries you represent with the Republic of Macedonia.

Once again, I wish prosperity and progress to your countries and peoples, and to you personally, much happiness, health and successes.

Thank you.

Dear citizens of the Republic of Macedonia,

Holidays are a time for new hope and new belief that a better and more successful year for all of us is to come. Holidays are a time when we wish health, happiness and good luck in the coming year.

On the threshold of the New Year, we are grateful to all citizens who made us glad, encouraged us and inspired positive thoughts and good deeds.

We are thankful for the hard-working entrepreneurs and farmers. We are appreciative for the caring parents. We are grateful to the artists who conquered the world scenes with their works, exhibitions and performances.

We are grateful to our athletes and talented young scientists who won recognitions for Macedonia.
We are grateful to the brave Macedonian soldiers who vigilantly guarded our security.
We are thankful to all those who love, respect and protect Macedonia.
We are all different, but we are essentially the same. Every one of us contributes to the creation of the image that others have of our homeland Macedonia.

Dear fellow citizens,

The coming holidays are an opportunity to remember the real values reflected in our thoughts and words, in our actions and habits, and in our future as well.
Therefore, may we rejoice the small things that make our life better!
May we devote all our attention, our love and respect to our families, our children, our neighbors and friends!
May we share the good thoughts and hopes with the sick, the infirm and those who need our comfort, help and support!
May we cherish our tradition of coexistence with respect and acceptance of the unalike!
Let us build the Republic of Macedonia in line with the highest European values, criteria and standards!
In everything we do, may we wish Macedonia the most sublime! Let us continue in competing in goodness because the future of Macedonia depends on ourselves!
I and my family wish you, the citizens of the Republic of Macedonia in the country and abroad, happy and joyful New Year and Christmas holidays!

Happy New 2015!
Dr. Gjorge Ivanov

Почитувани присутни,
Дами и господа,
Драги пријатели,

Пред 70 години, на првото заседание на АСНОМ, македонскиот народен јазик стана службен јазик во слободната македонска држава.

Истата таа судбоносна 1944-та, со првите македонски зборови изговорени низ етерот на слободната македонска држава, започна директниот пренос на Второто заседание на АСНОМ. Со тоа, Македонското радио – Радио Скопје стана врсник на македонската држава и се развиваше заедно со неа.

Во децениите што следеа, радиото беше хроничар на успесите, но и на предизвиците со кои се соочуваше Македонија. Преживеа и поплава и земјотрес, и во тие критични мигови беше единствената комуникациска врска меѓу разурнатиот град и солидарниот свет.

Од таа светска солидарност, во 1964 година се роди и Македонската телевизија, која започна со најтешкиот вид телевизиска програма – со директен пренос, по што следеле нови емисии со нови содржини. Секој што работел во телевизијата знае дека подготовките за секоја емисија се бесконечно долги, а нејзиното емитување – само миг. Задоволството од извршената работа трае само еден здив – до следната емисија.

Драги пријатели,

Освен 70 години од Македонското радио и 50 години од Македонската телевизија, годинава славиме уште еден јубилеј – 35 години од формирањето на 3. програма на македонското радио.

Во далечната 1988 година станав новинар, а подоцна ја имав и честа да бидам уредник во Третата научна програма на Македонското радио, и тоа во клучен период кога во Европа се рушеше железната завеса, а кон Македонија почнаа да дуваат ветриштата на промени.

Во овој период, Третата програма прерасна во форум во кој за првпат отворавме големи и важни теми, идеи и концепти на нашата доба и со тоа придонесовме кон реформирање на македонскиот политички систем.

Тоа беше возбудливо време кога преку јавната дебата во етерот ја осознававме демократијата, плурализмот и пазарната економија. Неповторливо време на големи промени кога ја градевме свеста за независноста и самобитноста на државата.

Како што Македонското радио имаше историска улога во мугрите на слободна АСНОМ-ска Македонија, така Македонското радио и телевизија имаа клучно место во предвечерјето на независноста на Република Македонија.

Во сиот овој период, Македонската радио-телевизија ни помогна да се градиме како држава и да го формираме нашиот поглед за самите себе, но и за светот околу нас.

Македонската радио-телевизија не беше само средство за јавно информирање, туку и составен дел на секојдневниот живот на граѓаните.

За бројни генерации, радиото и телевизијата беа големо животно училиште. Училиште преку кое ги учеа убавините на македонскиот литературен јазик, ја слушаа милозвучната македонска музика, се информираа за настаните во земјата и во странство, ги градеа своите ставови за актуелните прашања.

Преку радиото и телевизијата, Македонија се поврза со иселениците од сите континенти. Но, истовремено, помогна да се утврдат стандардите и границите на јавната пристојност во јавниот простор.

Почитувани присутни,

Македонската радио-телевизија покажа дека, како што за секој има простор под македонското сонце, така за секого има простор во македонскиот етер. МРТ е најдобар израз на македонскиот модел на соживот.

Во 1967 и 1969 година започнува емитување на емисии на албански и турски јазик, во време кога ниту во Албанија, ниту во Турција сè уште немало редовна национална телевизиска програма. Во 1990 и 1991 година започнуваат емисиите на ромски и на влашки јазик, првите и сè уште единствени во светот. Денес, Македонската радио-телевизија има емисии на дури девет различни јазици и е најневообичаениот радиодифузен сервис во Европа.

Радува што МРТ останува стандард за квалитет, негување на македонскиот збор, добрата музика, информативните емисии, дебати и интервјуа.

Затоа ми претставува чест, како Претседател на Република Македонија, во името на македонските граѓани да изразам благодарност до сите генерации кои придонесоа Македонската радио-телевизија да биде она што е. Сведок и хроничар на развојот на македонската држава и општество, чувар и промотор на нашето наследство, на сè она што е изговорено пред микрофонот и забележано на видеолента.

Овој Орден за заслуги за Македонија е израз на нашата благодарност, но и на нашите очекувања. Очекувања Македонската радио-телевизија да продолжи да нуди уште поквалитетна програма за сета публика од сите генерации и професии, независно од етничката, јазичната или религиската припадност. Да остане отворена за реалните потреби, желби и барања на слушателите и гледачите. Да понуди нови содржини прилагодени на 21 век, содржини кои вреди да се чујат и да се видат.

Ви честитам и ви благодарам.

Respected Members of the Jewish Community in the Republic of Macedonia,
Esteemed Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear Friends,

Deshame entrar Yo me hare lugar – Allow me to enter, and I will make room for myself, says one ladino proverb.

Displaced by powerful empires, persecuted by inquisitors and suppressed by pogroms, here, in Macedonia many Jews found their second home.

For centuries, the Jews were accepted and respected as real compatriots, as inseparable and inalienable part of Macedonia, in the spirit of the Macedonian model of coexistence.

To this end are the words of Moritz Romano who wrote that the Macedonians did not see strangers in the Jews, but natives.
That Jews did not live by the Christians, but with the Christians.
That for the Jews, Macedonia was not foreign, but a holy land.

The Jews enriched every part of the public and economic life in Macedonia. As hardworking artisans, craftsmen and shopkeepers, they introduced a new entrepreneurial spirit in our bazaar. Through art and music, they refined the Macedonian culture.

In times of peace and coexistence, and in times of injustice and oppression, the Jews shared the destiny of the Macedonian people. But they also shared the desire for freedom. Rafael Kamhi, one of the bearers of the idea for free and independent Macedonia and participant in the Ilinden Uprising, held that "freedom should be the first thing on the mind of all enslaved peoples".

The tree that for centuries yielded rich fruits for Macedonia, in a moment was cut down and taken away.

Respected Attendees,

On March 11, 1943, according to the agreement between Nazi Germany and fascist Bulgaria, the Bulgarian army and police gathered almost all the Jews from occupied Macedonia.

The Jews, who as a community in Macedonia endured for centuries, in only a few days were captured, locked and pushed into livestock wagons and sent to the death camp. The community which has existed for centuries, only in a few hours in Treblinka was almost completely destroyed.

At no other place during the Holocaust was a population extinguished so completely and so quickly.

In the gas chambers and furnaces of Treblinka, one part of Macedonia disappeared forever. Since those dire days, the life in Macedonia was no longer the same. Numb were the Jewish neighborhoods, deserted were the Jewish houses. The cities of Skopje, Bitola and Stip were deeply wounded. Thus, through the suffering of the Jews in Treblinka, Macedonia suffered too.

Those who survived the monstrosity of the Holocaust became part of the National Liberation and Anti-Fascist struggle in Macedonia. Among them were heroes, fighters and guerrillas. They fought and won freedom for Macedonia.

70 years ago, one of the survivors, Isaac Sion from Stip, was among the founders of the Macedonian state at the First Session of ASNOM. The free Macedonian state was born on ASNOM, in which the Jewish community flourished again. Thus, from the cut Jewish tree, a new sapling has grown.

Dear Friends,

We are here today with a feeling of deep gratitude for this sapling that emerged from the ashes of the Holocaust.

We are grateful for the Jewish community that is built into our model of coexistence and our democratic society.

We are grateful for the Jewish community since it became a bridge of friendship between the Republic of Macedonia and the State of Israel.

We are grateful for the Jewish community because it reminds us how important it is to cherish the memory of our compatriots. Often I say that the Memorial Center is not just a museum, but also a school in which every visitor can learn what monstrous acts a man is capable of doing when rejecting the spirit of humanity given by God.

Therefore, it is important for us that the memory of the destruction of the Macedonian Jews does not fade away, and that the life and progress of the Jewish community in Macedonia continues.

It is our duty, as citizens but primarily as humans, to keep and nurture that sapling since Macedonia cannot be complete without it.

Therefore, in the days of the Feast of Lights - Hanukkah, may this recognition awarded to the Jewish community be a ray of light.

As Hanukkah is a symbol of re-dedication of the ruined Temple of God in Jerusalem, the recognition of this anniversary is a symbol of the restoration of the Jewish community in Macedonia. A renewed Jewish community which casts light even today and gives us hope for a better tomorrow.

I congratulate and thank you. Hag Hanukkah Sameach