Filipche: Ilinden's memory has value only if it helps build a better future
From Kruševo SDSM leader Venko Filipche said Ilinden's memory matters only when it helps build clean water, decent wages and prospects for young people.
SDSM leader Venko Filipche sent an Ilinden greeting to citizens today from Kruševo, saying the holiday's memory only has real value if it helps build a better future and warning that Macedonia must not become a country where young people leave, pensioners barely survive, drinking water is unsafe and institutions serve a narrow circle of people.
"Their sacrifice was not for isolation. It was not for fear. It was not for divisions. They fought for liberty, for justice and for the right of this people to decide its own fate. Today, more than a century later, we have a duty to continue exactly that path. Macedonia must not remain trapped in the past. It must not be a state where young people leave, where pensioners barely survive, where drinking water is dangerous, and where institutions serve a narrow circle of people. The memory of Ilinden has real value only if it helps us build a better future. That is why we are fighting for a Macedonia governed by the rule of law, not by partisan interest. For a Macedonia with clean water, dignified wages and prospects for young people. For a Macedonia that is part of the European family — free, democratic and prosperous. The Ilinden fighters fought against the tyranny of their time. Today our fight is against corruption, against isolation and against the false patriotism that keeps the country in place. We remember the past. But we choose the future. Long may Ilinden be celebrated! Long live Macedonia," Filipche wrote in his greeting.
Call to action from a historic site
Speaking from Kruševo, Filipche framed the holiday as a moment to look forward: he said the state must focus on rule of law and public goods rather than partisan advantage. In his message he listed clean water, decent pay and opportunities for young people as concrete aims that give contemporary meaning to Ilinden's legacy.
The statement places the current political struggle in historical context, casting contemporary challenges — corruption, isolation and what he called "false patriotism" — as the obstacles to national progress that must be overcome to fulfil the founders' aspirations.
Filipche concluded the greeting with a traditional wish for the holiday and an appeal to continue the path of freedom and justice he said Ilinden stands for.
Photo: press material from the event
