Distinguished participants of the "2013 Ilinden March",
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear Friends,

I am, indeed, especially honored with the opportunity to be the patron of the "2013 Ilinden Cavalry March" and to be among you today. The honor is even greater because of the fact that this year marks 35 years since the first march in 1978. All this happens in the year when we mark 110 years of the famous Ilinden Uprising and the first Republic in the Balkans - Krusevo. Thanks to this event, in a distinctive and original way, through the cavalry march from Lisiche to the famous Krusevo, we maintaine alive the memory of the Ilinden rebels and their struggle for free and independent Republic of Macedonia. What the Ilinden fighters traced in 1903, continued by the ASNOM members with the second Ilinden in 1944, was certified with the referendum in 1991. Over two decades, we, the current generation of Macedonians, are blessed to live in a free and independent Macedonian state.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Macedonian patriots, with heart and soul, celebrate their holidays and always find a way to pay tribute to the brightest characters in our history. To participate in the "Ilinden Cavalry March" is a challenge, but a privilege and honor, too. Each year there are more and more applicants for participation and more and more friends and supporters of the event. The "Ilinden Cavalry March" is a cult event which each year is prepared and implemented with soul and heart.

But this is not just a march and an event in memory of the past; it is an investment in the present and a pledge for the future. Macedonian citizens, here in Lisiche, in Krusevo, and in any other Macedonian village or town, will never forget the sacrifice of Ilinden fighters and will not allow Macedonian statehood to be questioned by anyone.

At the end of this speech, let me acknowledge and thank all those involved in the march. Those who organize it, those who financially help it and all of you who are gathered today in the church "St. Peter and Paul" who directly express your support for the horsemen. I wish the horsemen bon voyage and safe arrival in Krusevo.

I declare the event "2013 Ilinden Cavalry March" open.
To our everlasting memory of Ilinden, to our eternal Republic of Macedonia!

Thank you.