Tuesday, 7 December 2010
ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE ASSEMBLY OF THE REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA, MR. TRAJKO VELJANOSKI, AT THE CEREMONY ON THE OCCASION OF “ST. CLEMENT OF OHRID” NATIONAL HOLIDAY
Distinguished President, Mr. George Ivanov,
Distinguished First President of the Republic of Macedonia, Mr. Kiro Gligorov,
Your Beatitude Stephen, Archbishop of the Macedonian Orthodox Church,
Distinguished Members of Parliament,
Distinguished Ministers,
Your Excellences,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Eleven centuries ago, the Republic of Macedonia was far from being on the periphery of the world. On the contrary, it was an important religious, spiritual and educational centre from which the spiritual and cultural values were spread throughout the Christian world. The Macedonian nation and the other ethic communities that live in the Republic of Macedonia can be proud of the fact that the holy brothers Ss. Cyril and Methodius and their students St. Clement and St. Naum lived and worked in this region.
This year we also commemorated the centenary of the birth of Mother Teresa, one of the greatest humanists in the 20th century. As their heirs we are obliged to implement and uphold all the spiritual values left to us by these great people and to pass them on to the future generations. In the context of marking and celebrating these important persons from our past is the national award “St. Clement from Ohrid”, which will be traditionally presented to individuals, groups or institutions for their achievements in many areas. It will also include the ceremonial unveiling and consecration of the new monument of St. Clement of Ohrid, the patron of the Macedonian Orthodox Church, next to the Cathedral Church in Skopje.
Distinguished friends,
Eleven centuries ago the holy brothers Ss. Cyril and Methodius, together with their students, left for Europe to spread the teaching of Christ, with the Bible translated into Slavic Languages.
Is there anything nobler than being able to write and read? Can you learn if you are illiterate? The holy brothers Ss. Cyril and Methodius and their students St. Clement of Ohrid and St. Naum the Miracle Maker were doing all this guided by a single cause: the strong faith in God and the unselfish love which is the basis of the Christ’s teaching and which should always be shared with others.
After they returned from Europe, after their journey and the difficulties they faced with their teachers - the holy brothers Ss. Cyril and Methodius, St. Clement of Ohrid established the Ohrid Archdiocese, and that is why we proudly and rightfully glorify him as a founder and patron of the Macedonian Orthodox Church. At the same time, aware of the need for knowledge and science as powerful guiding force for every community and society and for every individual, St. Clement established the Ohrid University as one of the oldest universities in Europe.
There is one more dimension which I would like to underline on this occasion. Namely, the holy brothers Ss. Cyril and Methodius and their students St. Clement and Naum shared their knowledge with all the other Slavic nations. Speaking from today’s point of view, the feeling of solidarity – which is also one of the teachings of the Bible, was their motivation to pass on and share their knowledge and scientific achievements with the Slavic nations. Their scientific achievements are the foundations for the establishment of the Slavic languages, and among them the Macedonian literary language. The language itself is one of the basic factors for the creation of each nation.
And now I wonder how it is possible that after 11 centuries, and based on which principles of God or international principles, someone can request from you to give up your national and cultural identity. You remember that more than 60 years ago, when the foundations of today’s United Europe were established, the great European visionaries such as Schuman, De Gasperi, Churchill, Adenauer, De Gaulle and many others spoke that United Europe should have tolerance and recognition of the differences as one of its main principles. The Macedonian nation and all the citizens of the Republic of Macedonia have shown and proved that they know how to preserve their national, linguistic and cultural identity, at the same time sharing all their values and achievements with the others and to respect the others, those different from us. The Preamble of the Constitution of the Slovak Republic reads: “We, the Slovak Nation …mindful of the spiritual bequest of Cyril and Methodius and the historical legacy of Great Moravia”. Imagine if now one of us address the friendly people of Slovakia with the words: “You cannot mention the holy brothers Ss. Cyril and Methodius in your Constitution because they are ours!” On the contrary, I believe that every reasonable human being from Macedonia who believes in God should be proud of this.
This was the case throughout history, it is the case now, and I believe it will continue to be in the future, when we will definitely become member state of the European Union, because we belong to Europe as a civilization and as a culture, and also because of these great people we are part of the big European family.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
“Knowledge is power” is not the motto of the governing party alone, this is a category introduced in science, in philosophy to be specific, by the English scientist and philosopher Sir Francis Bacon in the 16th century. Education and knowledge, its application in everyday life, are categories which make the difference between the developed and less developed countries. This is especially important for the smaller countries, like the Republic of Macedonia that does not have oilfields or the King Solomon‘s diamond mines. This is why education and science are the categories which can secure stable benefits and better future for the Macedonian nation and the Macedonian citizens, regardless of their ethnic belonging.
This is why we have started the Project “Computer for Every Child”, and today we are among the first half of the countries in Europe according to Internet use. This is why secondary education today is mandatory and we have 5 state and many private universities, this is why we have 2 universities in Albanian language where our fellow citizens Albanians can attend higher education on their mother tongue, which is also one of the European principles. This is why we are increasing the funds allocated from the budget for education each year.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Knowledge and science are dynamic categories which move the world forward in the processes of globalization. At the same time, the process of globalization is confronting us with a many other challenges, or if you like dangers, starting from international terrorism to the endangerment of the environment. In order to face all these challenges and to overcome all the potential dangers we do not need weapons, we need knowledge and science, we need solidarity and opportunities to convey and share the knowledge and science with the others. This is why the so-called Bologna Credit Transfer System, i.e. is the common European Higher Education Area, was introduced.
The Republic of Macedonia has accepted and implemented all these higher education principles. I would like to underlie that as Parliament we are always ready to engage to the maximum, certainly in the framework of our constitutional competences, for improvement of the overall conditions in the education system, science and culture in general. Also, as legislative house we will pay grater attention to the scrutiny over the executive, to the monitoring of the application and functioning of the laws we are adopting. No matter where we seat in the Plenary Hall, we are all very interested in creating a better future, better education, richer culture and healthier environment, regardless of party belonging.
This is why I believe that the investments in the education will continue. Here I am not referring only to the present government, because I hope that the slogan “Knowledge is power” will be the guideline for all the future governments as well.
I believe that the mission and the values our patron St. Clemet established 11 centuries ago will be our common guidelines which will give strength and wisdom to our future generations and to their actions.
Thank you.