Address by the President of the Republic of Macedonia, Н.Е. Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, on the occasion of Ilinden

Skopje, August 2nd, 2011

Distinguished citizens of the Republic of Macedonia,
Respected sons of our known and unknown heroes who laid their lives for their fatherland Macedonia,

Sublime is the feeling today, on the day of Ilinden, in front of the monument of one of the greatest sons of Macedonia, Metodi Andonov-Chento, to congratulate you August 2nd, the greatest Macedonian holiday.

Today, celebrating 108 years since the first Ilinden, 67 years since the second Ilinden, in the year when we celebrate two decades of the third Ilinden, we must look at the historical path that we have paved with sincere respect and dignity, with a strong commitment and unhidden sense of pride and determination.

On August 2nd, 1903, in the heroic Krushevo, the torch of Macedonia’s liberation from the Ottoman yoke was kindled. Although the Krushevo Republic after only ten days was crushed in fire and blood, still, the spark of freedom continued to smolder in the minds and hearts of many Macedonian patriots. They took the torch over and continued the national liberation and anti-fascist struggle of the Macedonian people during the Second World War.

Honorable compatriots,

After arduous hardships, sacrifices and struggles, the second Ilinden, in 1944, with God’s blessing and under the protection of the Holy Father Prohor Pchinjski, laid the foundations of the Macedonian statehood. Opening the first session of ASNOM, the witness of the two Ilindens, Panko Brashnarov exclaimed:

„...With joy, in my eyes I see all the rivers from Pchinja to Vardar, from Mesta to Bistrica waving, thus splattering the entire Macedonian land, wanting to wash the Macedonian people from the decade-long slavery shame since the downfall of Samuel’s state, so that today a new state is born, bright and free Macedonian state“.

Gathered together in front of the monument of the great popular tribune and first President of the ASNOM Presidium, Metodi Andonov-Chento, we must remember his vow: "The centuries-old desire of the Macedonian people has come true. We will preserve that freedom and equality as a pupil in the eye... "

Dear fellow-citizens,

It took almost half a century, when, on September 8th, 1991, the third Ilinden and the declaration of Macedonia’s independence took place. Finally, the Macedonian citizens felt the sun of freedom shining on them. What Chento dreamt of was finally achieved - independent democratic Macedonian state.

The road to independence was neither easy nor painless. Ilinden fighters, with a gun and bayonet, spilling their blood in sacrifice, fought for our freedom. The free Republic of Macedonia, with political efforts and peaceful means, continued to fight for recognition of its inviolable rights - the rights of its citizens to live in their national state as an equal member of the international community.

Respected citizens of the Republic of Macedonia,

Faced with negation and denial, with political blockades and economic embargoes, with armed conflicts in the neighborhood and turmoil in the country, the Republic of Macedonia has managed to outlive the periods of challenges and to emerge stronger and more united. We have remained faithful to the pledge carved in the Krushevo Manifesto and on the foundations of the centuries-old tradition of coexistence of all ethnic communities we have built a unique Macedonian model of integration without assimilation.

We have managed to preserve the hard-won freedom and we continue to fight for the rights of all citizens, primarily the right of a name, identity and dignified life in the Republic of Macedonia as part of a united Europe.

Therefore, today, with clear thought and raised head, we can give our tribute to Chento and the other great sons and daughters of Macedonia, to the known and unknown heroes and all those who have contributed for the independent Macedonia.

Thus, I would like you to know that Ilinden is a reminiscence of the sacrifice of the generations of Macedonian patriots and also a motivation for this and for the next generations to be committed to building, maintaining and improving the priceless freedom of Macedonia. Be confident, Ilinden is a testament to maintain the ideals, values and principles of the Macedonian revolutionaries, and a compass which shows, with impeccable precision, our future and the future of our children.

I believe the message of Ilinden fighters can be generalized in the message of the Macedonian revolutionary Goce Delchev, who once said: "The effort for the liberation of one nation is, above all, its own effort, effort achieved by its own hands." With their great effort, Ilinden fighters obliged us to behave responsibly and with dignity, as befitting the children of Macedonia.

Sacrificing themselves on the altar of the fatherland, they left a pledge for us all, for all children of Macedonia, regardless of ethnic, religious and political affiliation.

Dear Macedonians, Albanians, Turks, Serbs, Vlachs, Bosniaks, Roma...,
Dear citizens of the Republic of Macedonia,

Great and shared is our common responsibility through mutual loyalty to our common and only fatherland Macedonia, to fulfill the pledge of Ilinden fighters: to build Macedonia as developed, advanced and democratic country, to defend the interests of the Macedonian citizens, independence, peace and stability for the benefit of all.

As 1903 Ilinden fighters and 1941-1945 fighters through unity and accord fought for and managed to establish an independent, self-reliant and sovereign Macedonian state, now, it is up to us, through unity to achieve the dream of the Macedonian citizens for a democratic, European and Euro-Atlantic Republic of Macedonia.

Therefore, I urge everyone to be united under the flag of independent Macedonia!

Descendants and followers of the wide known Delchev, Gruev and Sandanski, Karev, Guli and Petrov,
Descendants of the Gemidzii, sons of the famous Brashnarov, Agoli and Chento, many happy returns of the day!

Long live the freedom and independence!
Long live the Republic of Macedonia!