The future is not fate

Erol Rizaov

“Fear, helplessness, suspicion? Despite the risks, there is no reason for all this, even though there are still no proper political relations in the country… More and more citizens shake their heads, but do they need to be worried? No, there is no reason for fear. It is unnecessary to fear everything that comes unexpectedly… the country acts according to the rules provided by the Constitution for these kinds of situations. We live in a time that constantly confronts us with the unexpected. This makes us feel unsafe… But, even in this present uncertain situation there is a light at the end of the tunnel. The future is not fate. We can overcome the helplessness and the alienation if we do one thing together, and that is “if we stop looking for who else is responsible, and start finding our own individual responsibility.”

These are just a few of lines from the annual Christmas address of the German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Of course, I deliberately extracted the sentences that, although it is the most powerful and richest and most developed European country with high achievements in the standard, democracy and the rule of law are recognizable for the poor and until now captured Macedonia and in general for all nations and countries in the world. A number of difficulties, problems and fears of uncertainty exist among all the inhabitants of the planet. The point is in how one president of a country addresses the citizens. These are the main efforts in the speech of a statesman, president of all citizens, who communicates general and universal messages, which is a key feature of addressing of statesmen. It is a speech that instills the courage in the citizens, deepens the trust in the institutions of the system, increases both self-confidence and hope, but it also directs the responsibility to be sought within ourselves. The message that we are creating the future ourselves and that we should not wait around with our legs crossed for someone to bring us fate – it is the responsibility of every person, of all responsible politicians, intellectual and business elites and public figures, especially those who have been selected to carry out heavy and important decisions on which the future of countries depends, but the entire world as well.

And another particularly important message, not just to the citizens and political leaders of Germany, but perhaps even more to us in Macedonia, is that we can overcome helplessness if we do not see where and how many others are responsible for our evil destiny, that is, for our failures and mistakes, our misery and poverty in which over 25 percent of Macedonian citizens live on the verge of starvation and despair, but if we recognize our responsibility as to why we are where we are. The centuries-old misconception that everything that happens to us badly is being curved, our bad neighbors and great powers, domestic traitors and enemies, has done great harm to the consciousness of thousands of people who for a long time, maybe too long, accepted the justifications for why we are on the European and world’s bottom, as a conspiracy against Macedonia instead of as an inability to lead the country in the right direction. It is time for the citizens of Macedonia to seek vigorous solutions instead of justifying, to demand courageous decisions, rather than lies. The constantly blaming others for the culprit have put us in difficult situation.
For the first time in a decade, standing still, and in many segments even going backwards, Macedonia is in a favorable position to make a historic step forward in the New Year 2018. It is a historic opportunity that should be grasped firmly by all relevant political parties, institutions with strong support from every citizen of the state. Our president in his address to parliament should have held on to this thesis too. Of course, neither is Macedonia Germany, nor Gjorge Ivanov is Frank Walter Steinmeier. But our university professor who still holds the title of president, remained true to his careerist, not ideological party determination, to be president only of the citizens who voted for the party he represented in the election.
And these are the messages sent by President Ivanov. New divisions and hatred. The willingness to correct them with new abolitions and pardons of judicial injustices, as he called the investigations and trials for his party members. By doing this, President Ivanov unequivocally justified the bloody events of April 27, saying that violence is unacceptable, but the attempt by a brutal attack on parliament and MPs and the silencing of the majority to take power is a showdown with political opponents. And what else could the President say when he personally participated in the violation of the Constitution and the obstruction of the majority to constitute the Assembly and choose a new government. This time the president chose to stir up interethnic fires. Having acknowledged publicly that increasing the use of the languages of other nations in Macedonia does not jeopardize the Macedonian language, he was the first to add that it jeopardizes the unitary state of the country. That’s what the president told famous experts, university professors and academics. It is a pity that does not tell the names of his consultants, because the work will be nominative and homonymous, the name is the man, and in the names we will understand where these educated people recognized that if a country speaks and uses several languages, it is jeopardized the unitary and territorial integrity of the state. True, the territorial integrity of Macedonia can be endangered and threatened by such presidents that cause ethnic fires. It has been proven more than once that it is the greatest danger of decomposition and division of the state. That’s why the future is not fate, nor is it the destiny of Gjorge Ivanov to be President of Macedonia for ten years. He should leave as the last bastion of the Gruevism that is still tolerated. His departure, as well as the departure his mentor, means good future.