Thursday, 7 September 2017
Address of the President Xaferi on the Occasion of 8 September - Independence Day of Macedonia
Distinguished President of the Republic of Macedonia,
Distinguished Prime Minister of the Republic of Macedonia,
Distinguished deputies of the first composition of the Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia,
Dear fellow deputies,
representatives of the religious communities,
Your excellencies;
Ladies and gentleman ,
In the eve of marking the Independence Day, the 8th of September, at the very beginning I want to express my gratitude and I believe that gratitude is shared by the overall public in the Republic of Macedonia, to the deputies of the first parliamentary composition of the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia. They have conducted the will of the citizens expressed through a referendum which took place on the 8th of September 1991. It was a referendum where Macedonians, Albanians, Roma, Turks, Serbians, Vlachs, Boshnjaks and the others opted for an autonomous and independent sтate of Republic of Macedonia. If with the first Ilinden from 1903 the determination for independent state was set, with the second Ilinden in 1944 ASNOM, the Republic of Macedonia gained the main elements of state as a federal unit 
within the frame of former Yugoslavia. That statehood and independence was enclosed on 8th of September 1991 through clearly expressed will of the citizens. The overall process of independence, from the adoption of the Constitution, through adoption of series of systemic laws, respectively creation of the legal order was going through the Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia and precisely there we see the historic role and contribution of the fellow deputies from the first parliamentary composition.
Distinguished friends,
Twenty six years ago, the strategic goals were set, in the internal as well as in the external plan. In the internal plan, the Republic of Macedonia was defined as a civil state based on the individual and collective rights, on the principles of parliamentary democracy and rule of law, respecting the private property and market laws. At the same time, the society was defined as multiethnic, multicultural and multi-confessional. On external plan, the full integration in the Euro Atlantic structures was set as a priority strategic goal, i.e., the fully-fledged membership in EU and NATO. In occasions like this, a question is s elf-implied, how much of the strategic determinations 
have we accomplished? I think that within these twenty six years, bearing in mind the objective and subjective reasons, the internal misunderstandings, we still managed to make big steps forward in the realization of our strategic determinations. Today, the Republic of Macedonia is a recognizable international subject who in a certain time period represented threat to the peace in the region, but, now is a important factor of stability in the region and wider. It is a fact that as a young democracy, we still need help or advice from our international friends in solving certain domestic political misunderstandings, which in moments have a typical folklore character, yet, I think that slowly we are overcoming this phase.
Ladies and gentleman,
Recently, the hundred days from the constitution of the Parliament were reached, the hundred days since the establishment of the current Government of the Republic of Macedonia will soon be over. I am not going to speak about what is or isn't done during these hundred days, but, I want to emphasize one fact. This parliamentary majority has the courage, has the will and has the knowledge and capacity too, to make significant steps forward, in the internal as well as in the external plan, in realization of our strategic goals defined as I mentioned twenty six years ago. Naturally, during these processes I expect the opposition to give its contribution, with 
argumentative critics but also with constructive proposals. At the same time, the majority is obliged to create conditions for the opposition to be able to articulate all of this through the institutions in a transparent way in front of the public. I hope that all of us that are engaged in politics, thanks to the citizen's verdict, have learned the basic postulates of the parliamentary democracy. Respectively, during the political decision making, the citizen shall always be in the first plan, his rights and freedoms, his stabile presence and better future.
Precisely with this determination for stabile presence and better future, I would like to congratulate to all the citizens of the Republic of Macedonia and to you, distinguished guests, the Independence Day and to wish you above all, personal happiness but also greater commitment and responsibility for a better and European Republic of Macedonia.
Thank you for the attention.