Today when we are celebrating the 19th anniversary of this historic event, I would like to once again express my gratitude and admiration to the citizens of the Republic of Macedonia who in the turbulent period of the brake-up of former Yugoslavia cast their votes in the Referendum and with overwhelming majority confirmed the idea, the endeavors and determination of all the previous generations united by the spirit of the two Ilinden days  to establish independent Macedonia, as the country of the Macedonian nation and all its citizens.

The house of the Albanian family Bojaxhiu was located only 100 meters from here, in the former Vlach district. Also 100 meters from here, on the location of the present Memorial House of Mother Teresa, was the Church of the Holy Heart of Jesus, in which Mother Teresa was baptized only one day after she was born. I mentioned these locations because they are associated with the life of the Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu from Skopje a global humanitarian

Today, 100 years since the birth of Mother Teresa, the house of the Family Bojaxhiu is no longer there, the Vlach neighbourhood is also gone, and only a few meters from here was the Church of the Holy Heart of Jesus where Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu was baptized, one day after she was born. Today on this place is the Memorial House of Mother Teresa, which in a modest but dignifying and spiritual manner presents the life and work of Mother Teresa. 

Today, when on Mechkin Kamen in Pelince and around the country both Ilindens are marked and celebrated, we have gathered here to pay tribute to Metodija Andonov Chento- the first President of the Presidium of ASNOM. The man who dedicated his life on the fight to accomplish the ideals of the two Ilindens- free and independent Republic of Macedonia as a country of the Macedonian nation and of all its citizens regardless of their national or religious belonging.

One of the key characteristics of the development of democracy is the degree of inclusion of the citizens in the process of creation of policies. One of the easiest mechanisms to achieve this goal is for the NGOs in the Republic of Macedonia to be included in the education and information of the citizens in order to contribute to the development of a more democratic society

The discrimination is as old as humanity. It is, most often in the most severe forms, manifested through a discriminating on the grounds of race, ethnic or religious belonging. Nevertheless, we should not forget other forms of discrimination, such as teh violation of human rights and freedoms. After the bad experience during the World War II, the establishment of the United Nations and later with the establishment of the Council of Europe, many international documents have been adopted guaranteeing the protection from discrimination on any ground as a generally accepted standard and a binding obligation from all the countries. Having in mind the fact that we as parliaments ratify these documents, and then we adopt laws, our obligation is essential in the area of protection of any kind of discrimination. 

When we speak about democracy, we always refer to the relations between the government and the parliament - the cooperation between them, but about the tensions in their relations. Unlike the government, which is more unified by nature, parliament as the legislative body reflects the political, and sometimes the ethnic plurality of every society. The parliament of every state works fully transparently and the public, i.e. the electorate can evaluate the work of both the majority and the work of the opposition. 

First of all I would like to express my gratitude to the Grand National Assembly of the Republic of Turkey and to the Turkish Grand National Assembly Speaker Mr. Mehmet Ali Sahin for the excellent organization of this meeting and for the hospitality we are feeling during our stay. This initiative - to dedicate this parliamentary meeting to the issue which is of common interest, promotion of the parliamentary dimension of cooperation in the framework if the South East European Co-operation Process (SEECP), makes me think that this Conference will be remembered as the beginning of a new stage of our regional cooperation.  

20 years ago, there were only 12 stars on the flag of the Council of Europe, and today- 47 countries, with over 830 million Europeans are Members of the Council. This means that the well known words of the grand statesman and European Winston Churchill – “We must genuinely create Europe” from 1946 came true. 20 years ago issues such as human rights and freedoms, parliamentary democracy, market economy were taboo for all of us on the other side of the iron curtain, these topics were just a facade covering the single party systems.

First of all, I would like to thank Parliament and, in particular, it’s President, for hosting this meeting of the Standing Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly in Skopje. Minister Milososki, your chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers has just started and we have already had an opportunity of working together. I welcome your presence today as a sign of your willingness to further enhance the cooperation with the Parliamentary Assembly, and I think you for that. On our side, we are ready to give full support to your chairmanship and look forward to welcoming you in our Hemicycle during our June part-session

I am very pleased that today we are signing an important document for the development of capacity of our Parliament. On this small ceremony, together with Her Excellence Ms. Nicole Wyrch, Ambassador of the Swiss Confederation to the Republic of Macedonia, we will sign the Memorandum of Understanding for support of the establishment and development of the Parliamentary Institute of the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia

The two-day Conference of Presidents of Parliaments of EU member states and EU candidate countries was opened today in Stockholm. The President of the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia, Mr. Trajko Veljanoski, addressed the gathering at the morning session dedicated to the Lisbon Treaty and the inter-parliamentary cooperation

Allow at the beginning to congratulate the International Roma Day to our citizens, members of the Roma Community, which, around the world is celebrated since 8th April 1971. 
We are here to mark the International Roma Day but also to look back at what have we done and to see what needs to be done for the full integration of these citizens in every area of the society.  

It is my great pleasure to be here today, with you, in the framework of the qualification competition for students of European studies, political science, law, economy, and information technologies.
I am especially pleased with the fact that students from, both, the state and private universities in the Republic of Macedonia participate in this competition, since the high level education and faculties need healthy competition, which, above all, leads to improvement of the quality of the educational, scientific and research processes in the universities

How can we provide safer internet? In my opinion we cannot expect one institution or one discipline to answer this question, but there must be cooperation between disciplines, departments, but also inclusion of the NGO sector and the Private sector. In the same time we must keep the freedom of access to information, and prevent violation of human rights.

The public officials also have an important role in the suppression of corruption - their decisions should always follow the public interests based on the laws and other legal acts. At the same time they must rise above their personal, family, party, even ethnic and religious interests. Especially in the case of conflict of interests, they have a personal obligation to identify and find solutions in accordance with the policies and the practise regarding conflict of interests. Undoubtedly this should be a model of behaviour for every employee in the public administration

As a Member of Parliament and as President of the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia I am very pleased that among all the other awarded institutions and NGOs from Macedonia, the Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Man of the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia also received this award. This is recognition of the activities and results of this Committee, but also acknowledgement for the level of parliamentarianism in Macedonia, which is not limited only to adoption of laws.  

I believe that every one present here today, when we are marking the 65th Anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau, the voiceless symbol of the Holocaust, is wondering why this happened. Why over 6 million people, women, children and seniors were killed in a most brutal manner, only because they were Jews. And God teaches that regardless of our religion we are God’s Creations and we are all equal. This issue should not and must not be limited as personal issue, this is our common issue; and our common obligation is to remember the Holocaust and to preserve the historic memory for this event. Even more important for us is to prevent creation of any condition for repetition of the Holocaust regardless who the victim is, since this is the greatest evil of the history of humanity

Distinguished
We are only hours away from the new 2010. We are leaving 2009 behind, not an easy year for us, which is nevertheless finished successfully. I would like to express my gratitude not only to the Vice-Presidents, MPs, Coordinators of the Political Groups, but especially to the administration for its overall and responsible engagement. This success is seen through the Report of the European Commission which clearly underlines the positive results of the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia. 

Violence during sport events is present in our country too. If we look at this from the legal point of view, the Republic of Macedonia has a good system of sanctions for violence during sport events. Namely, we have the so-called Lex Specialis, and that is the Law on Prevention of Violence and Indecent Behaviour during Sport Events, adopted in 2004. This matter is covered also with the Criminal Code, the Law on Misdemeanour, etc. You are the people that should inform us if this legislation needs to be amended. Certainly, as President of the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia, I would like to convince you that, regardless of our political affiliation, we are prepared to adopt any proposals regarding this issue in the shortest period of time

Since 1992, in accordance with the UN decision, the 3rd of December is marked as the International Day of Disabled People. Today, the world marks this day with different events, but the main purpose is to remind our citizens once again that our disabled citizens are here, among us, equal with the other citizens, and we have the obligation to secure for them special conditions for normal life and for inclusion in every area of the social life.

Certainly, the credit for the visa liberalization and the recent Progress Report by the European Commission must go to you – the citizen of the Republic of Macedonia. It is a result of your overwhelming support for the realization of our strategic goal - the Euro- Atlantic Integration. At the same time, I would like to point out the role of the Assembly; both of the present composition, as well as the previous compositions that adopted the specific laws referring directly to the visa liberalization. I would also like to once again emphasize the work of every one sitting here in the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia, because the European Commission assessed our work as a big and qualitative step forward in the process of European Integration. I would like to express my gratitude to the MPs and to the Vice-Presidents of the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia, since we are all working together and we are all responsible for the successful work and functioning of the Legislative House

This cooperation will strengthen the role of the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia in the exercise of the rights of the children. Special emphasis will be given to the analyses of the relevant proposals and the existing laws, as well as to the control of the implementation of the adopted policies and strategies, and the adoption of the budget, i.e. the funds needed for protection of rights of the child.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
H.E. Mr. Erwan Fouere, the EU Ambassador to the Republic of Macedonia, has presented the Republic of Macedonia 2009 Progress Report. We already know the contents of the Report.
Most important for all of us is that the Report of the EC clearly confirms the progress of the Republic of Macedonia and recommends opening of the accession negotiations.  

We are all aware that the processes of globalization is inevitable and impose universal solutions for many issues, among them for which is the prevention against torture. The Republic of Macedonia is a member of UN and as a state we are committed to the Euro-Atlantic Integrations. That is why on one hand we have to accept the universal solutions and standards, and on the other hand we must work on their development. This is the only way to become part of this globalization, to become part of the processes of integration

We are expecting an even more intensive agenda and dynamics until March 2010, and the focus will be on training of the Staff, but also on the two workshops for the MPs. According to our agenda, which can be found in the Course Prospect booklet, the Foundation, together with the program partners from Great Britain and Macedonia, will organize 36 days of training, until March 2010, which will be attended by 150 MPs, members of the Assembly Staff and journalists

Distinguished President and Members of the Government of the Republic of Macedonia Distinguished Fellow Parliamentarians, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, "I perceive these twelve stars as a reminder that the world can become a better place if we sometimes have the courage to look up at the stars." These words were voiced by Mr. Vaclav Havel 19 years ago from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Today, Dear Friends, 47 stars shine in the Council of Europe, uniting about 800 million Europeans. The idea for a united Europe and establishment of a representative body that would be authorised to speak and act on behalf of all Europe dates back to the XIX century. Following the end of the Second World War numerous movements and organisations emerged committed to the unification of Europe. In 1947 these groups united and established the International Committee of the Movements for European Unity whose aim was to coordinate the activities and strengthen the efficiency of various European movements. The result was the famous Hague Congress held on 17 May 1948, known as the Congress of Europe. A year later, 60 years ago, ten European countries - Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and United Kingdom signed the Treaty of London, establishing the Council of Europe. The first step was thus made towards the realisation of a famous thought of one of the greatest European and world statesman, Sir Winston Churchill - "Let Europe arise"- voiced in his speech at the Zurich University in 1946.

It is a great honour for me to be able, from the floor of the highest democratic and legislative house of the Republic of Bulgaria, to address you, the legitimate representatives of the Bulgarian citizens. The honour and satisfaction, but also the responsibility are even greater given the fact that the Republic of Macedonia and Republic of Bulgaria are neighbouring and friendly countries with advanced political, economic and cultural links, as well as intense ordinary, daily relations established by the citizens of our two countries.

Distinguished Chairperson, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, It is an extreme privilege but also a great responsibility to take the floor here today in the homeland of Robert Schuman and Jean Monnet, the founding fathers of a united Europe. Today’s European Union is, in fact, the response to one of the most terrifying conflicts our continent and our whole civilization has ever known.

Every person in his nature strives for knowledge. Every family has in its home a corner that provides it with a particular warmth, shelves where favourite books are placed from which we have learnt new facts and which have broadened our spiritual horizons. Our parliamentary house has today attained exactly this type of first-rate space with a couple of corners that should become a driving force behind an enhanced research capacity of the Assembly. 

Permbi za, qe leshon bilbili,
gjuha shqipe mshungulon
Permbi ere,qi nep zimbili
Pa da zemren ma ngushllon

There has been a series of prominent individuals in the history of the Macedonian people, in its century-old struggle for freedom, for its own state and for preservation of its national and cultural identity; numerous grand personalities who have with their actions built the foundations of the Macedonian statehood, and who will always remain part of what is called collective and individual awareness for a distinct, Macedonian national identity. Special place among those grand men is obviously taken by Krste Petkov Misirkov, born on this date in 1874.

Democracy is a universally recognised ideal and a goal, which is based on common values shared by peoples throughout the world community irrespective of cultural, political, social and economic differences. It is thus a basic right of citizenship to be exercised under conditions of freedom, equality, transparency and responsibility, with due respect for the plurality of views, and in the interest of the polity. 

Distinguished President of the Republic of Macedonia, Distinguished President of the Government of the Republic of Macedonia, Distinguished Fellow Parliamentarians, Distinguished Ministers, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Friends, Along with the two Ilindens, the 8th of September is one of the three dates in the history of the Macedonian people and the citizens of the Republic of Macedonia that are closely linked with the century-old aspirations, struggles and dreams for an independent state.

Distinguished representatives of the leadership of the country, Distinguished representatives of the mass media, Your Excellencies, Dear fellow Parliamentarians, Ladies and Gentlemen, In the history of peoples and states there have always been moments of glory and progress - they have on the long run determined the destiny of a community that has strongly believed in the ideas of collective progress, reforms and revival towards the better.