Distinguished participants,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

As President of the Republic of Macedonia, but also as a university professor, it is an honor to be the patron of this international symposium dedicated to the battle of Gallipoli. I am glad that the cooperation between scientific and educational institutions in the Republic of Macedonia and the Republic of Turkey is expanding and enriching. We are linked by many things, including this topic.

Starting in 2014, we have been marking one century since the beginning and duration of the First World War. A single bullet shot in Sarajevo marked the beginning of the Great War, which led to the collapse of three empires. This event showed how important peace in the Balkans is for peace in Europe. That was the beginning of the short and bloody 20th century.

This year, we are remembering one of the greatest battles in the self-destructive war of Europe, but also the world. Thanks to the persistence of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the Dardanelles military campaign of the Entente powers against Turkey ended in failure. The Entente powers could not afford another defeat in the Balkans. The outcome of the Gallipoli battle was an introduction to the Macedonian front.

The Macedonian front was opened in December 1915 and stretched for 600 km, from the Aegean Sea in the East, to the Adriatic Sea in the West.

More of an object than a subject in the Great War, Macedonia was the unfortunate battlefield on which Europe was destroying itself. Almost one million troops from 20 nations grouped in tens of different armies clashed on the Macedonian front. At the front, orders were given in different languages, various flags were waved and various uniforms worn.

However, for 200.000 soldiers on that front, the only difference was the uniform they wore and the flag under which they fought. Those soldiers were the Macedonians, who had found themselves on different sides of the borders after the Bucharest agreement and were forcibly mobilized.

Dear participants,

One of our authors wrote that past can never be so remote as to not touch the present.

Ataturk, on the other hand, said Peace at home - Peace in the world. That was in the time of creation of new states. Today, when in the era of globalization, states are faced with a crisis, the reverse is valid: Peace in the world – Peace at home. The peace in every country is increasingly dependent on peace in the world.

It is sad to see that in the 21 century, in the years declared as international years of peace, there is no peace in the world.

In the Middle East and in Northern Africa, radical extremists are destroying diversity that had been cherished for centuries. Europe is facing xenophobia once again. Double standards are suspending international law and hold the international institutions hostage, making it more difficult for them to exercise the functions for which they were originally created.

With the tense relations between East and West, the situation is growing similar to the period of the Cold war. The price for this situation is being paid by Europe, which is losing its capacity to stay a unification factor.

Along with the lack of trust among states, the unpredictability in international relations is also growing.

Why is all of this happening?

According to Hegel, what we learn from history is that we have learned nothing from history. Nevertheless, we are also noticing that in conditions of globalization we strive less and less to learn something from history.

We are deprived of free time, and without free time, there is no possibility to read books or reflect. Renouncing reading and reflecting is a declaration of spiritual and intellectual bankruptcy.

This means that you, both historians and archivists, have a lot of work to do. I call upon you to open the scripts, to reread old books, to bring old testimonies to light, and thus help us learn our lessons from the past in order to avoid history repeating all over again.

With such a thought, I wish you a successful symposium.

Thank you.