Filipče on the 25th Anniversary of the Ohrid Agreement: The Future Is Built Through Coexistence, Not Division and Hatred

On the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Ohrid Framework Agreement, SDSM leader Venko Filipče described the document as the foundation underpinning the country’s peace, coexistence and democratic prospects.

According to Filipče, Macedonia belongs equally to all its citizens, while diversity should serve as a source of strength rather than be exploited for political division or the incitement of hatred.

“Today marks 25 years since the signing of the Ohrid Framework Agreement, the document that ended the armed conflict of 2001 and reaffirmed Macedonia’s territorial integrity, as well as its democratic future. Our country’s greatest strength lies precisely in the fact that it is a common home for Macedonians, Albanians, Turks, Serbs, Vlachs, Roma, Bosniaks and all other citizens. Differences are an integral part of our society, so we have a duty to value them as an asset and not turn them into an instrument of political division,” he stressed.

Filipče added that the Ohrid Framework Agreement demonstrates that peace, dialogue and compromise are always more powerful than conflict, division and hatred. He said that, even after 25 years, everyone has a responsibility to build Macedonia’s future on coexistence, equality and mutual respect, rather than through divisions, insults and hatred.