Speeches, Remarks & Statements in 2008

Civil Society Strengthening Project/(CSSP) Celebration

Remarks by Ambassador Milovanovic

June 6, 2008

Good morning. It is a pleasure for me to be here today to celebrate the success of the first three years of the Civil Society Strengthening Project (CSSP).

The longer I am in Macedonia, the more obvious it is to me that NGOs are critical to the success of Macedonia’s multicultural democracy.  Citizens need regular information from elected representatives and public institutions, and a way effectively to monitor what they do.  The voice of the citizens must be regularly heard and their concerns, and recommendations taken into account when policies, and laws are decided and implemented. 

NGOs are better able than individuals to reinforce policies and effect change. They can inform others of their rights and obligations and help ensure that public policies and procedures allow citizens to exercise those rights and receive the benefits to which they are entitled.  Serving as two-way information channels and government watchdogs, demonstrating that organized groups of citizens can make a difference, NGOs strengthen democracy every day.

The Macedonian NGO community is vibrant and effective at both the local and national levels.  America’s assistance to Macedonia over the past 15 years has been substantial.

Through USAID, the American people have invested nearly 500 million US dollars to promote advancements in education, economic growth, and democracy in this country.

In addition, each year our Democracy Commission awards small grants to fund innovative projects from NGOs who apply for our assistance and I encourage each of you to see if we can partner in the future. 

The CSSP project has helped NGOs to demonstrate their value to the citizen, to business and to government.  As a result, more individuals and businesses are donating to NGOs and more  citizens are volunteering.

Local philanthropy is possible in Macedonia. And local philanthropy is among the answers to one of the biggest challenges now facing Macedonia’s NGOs:  the challenge of financial sustainability.  NGOs still rely too heavily on grants from international donors. They must apply the techniques and skillslearned through the CSSP Project to increase and diversify their local funding base.

A friendlier legal environment for civil society is also needed, and once a new government and parliament are in place we hope there will be no delay in adopting the new NGO law.

Democracy is rule by the people.  The people, the citizens, have many ways to be heard. 

Elections, for example, are intended to ensure that the people choose freely who will govern them.  As we all know, the elections on June 1 did not meet acceptable standards and were marked by considerable intimidation and fraud as well as violence.  Practically speaking, the votes of tens of thousands of people were stolen from them.  We know this in part because of the outstanding, courageous and impartial work of hundreds of NGO observers from MOST. This is but one example of the critical role played by NGOs in Macedonia.

Now, to begin to restore Macedonia’s image, and most importantly the citizens’ faith, there must be re-voting in a large number of polling stations.  This time there must be no intimidation and fraud.   And after the elections, NGOs will have a big job to do, working with the citizens, the new parliament and new government and all who directly affect the lives and the prosperity of Macedonia’s citizens.

I congratulate CSSP on its three successful years of activities, and I congratulate Macedonia’s NGOs for their strong contribution as members of civil society.

Thank you