Speeches, Remarks & Statements in 2009

Ambassador Reeker discusses the policy initiative with OSCE High Commissioner  Knut Vollebaek, EU Ambassador Erwan Fouere and Prime Minster Nikola Gruevski. (LP)

Ambassador Reeker’s Remarks at Inter-Ethnic Launching Event

◊ To see more photos from the event please click here.

Thursday, October 8 at 11:30
Multi-Business Center (MBC) – Skopje Fair

Mr. Prime Minister, Mr. High Commissioner, Ministers, my Fellow Ambassadors, Distinguished Guests,

It is an honor to be here today with leaders of Macedonian society and the international community to support this important event. I strongly believe that Macedonia – like the United States -- will reach its true potential when it recognizes the wealth it has in its diverse people and rich history, which should be viewed as assets, not liabilities. We are taking an important step towards that goal today and I am honored to be a part of that process as the personal representative of the President of the United States Barack Obama.

Macedonia faces challenges in building a society in which children of different ethnic groups mix freely, businesses hire and operate without regard to ethnicity, and media and politicians represent broad national interests rather than particular ethnic groups.

Cohesion in society and embracing diversity are core values of the United States of America. Nevertheless, for most of our history, the people of my country were divided. The election of President Obama demonstrates how far America has progressed, but, as President Obama himself acknowledges, there is always more to do. It has been sixty years since our Civil Rights Movement began, and fifty years since an historic Supreme Court Decision de-segregated our schools, but America still works on a daily basis to make sure all of our citizens share the same opportunities and rights. Equality demands this.

In the American experience, our continual effort does not mean that we have failed to become “a more perfect union.” Quite the opposite: we are a better country for the long effort and will continue to excel the more we leverage our diversity to become even stronger.

I mention the experience in the United States to highlight that others have successfully addressed challenges similar to those Macedonia faces today. America’s history undeniably includes conflict between groups. We have worked on many levels, including legislation, to develop a more fair and integrated society. Programs such as “Affirmative Action” continue to cause debate years after they were established. We have struggled to integrate and improve our schools.

Ultimately, we have witnessed immense change, but only through the efforts of entire generations. We succeeded because a majority of the people realized this is not a zero-sum game: the growth of one community does not come at the loss of another. Rather, it is the opposite: to truly succeed, we all must grow.

Today, Macedonia faces its own challenges to the democratic ideals that we all embrace. Macedonia has taken important steps to achieve equal rights. New laws have been passed and more are being drafted to ensure equality and opportunities for all. Programs requiring equal hiring in public institutions are underway, while still a subject of heated debates, as I’ve said before “in a democracy debate is the breath of life.” Efforts to achieve fairness and equality require arduous and sustained effort everywhere, and Macedonia is no exception. It requires ongoing attention because equality is not a finish line you cross but rather a commitment you make and keep through the years and generations.

But this is not a “zero-sum game”; one party or community does not take from another. All communities must grow for a positive future in Macedonia. This brings us to the reason that we are here today: the issue of ethnically separate education.

Macedonia has made great strides in respect for diversity, including minority language instruction in schools. Colleagues from the International Community held with the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers Ademi and Naumovski on the anniversary of the Ohrid Framework Agreement, August 13. Our discussion included elementary school language study. One suggestion that we made is that Macedonian language be made available to all students starting in first grade. We do not intend to interfere with the choices that parents and educators must make in this regard. The larger point on languages is that we hope Macedonia will continue to explore mechanisms by which speakers of the largest language groups – Macedonian and Albanian – will feel secure that their mother tongue is respected throughout the country, reflecting the spirit, strength and benefits of multi-ethnic society, and that all citizens, from a young age, should have maximum opportunities to communicate with one another and to succeed in the 21st century.

Partly in response to inadequate classroom space and partly in the effort to provide instruction in different languages, in many schools there are separate shifts for students of different ethnic groups. This increasingly common experience in Macedonia has led to barriers – both real and imagined – between communities. The education system affects every person in society. School is where our young develop and refine personal and social values. Today, many citizens of Macedonia feel that they live in separate worlds. This makes it far more difficult to develop mutual understanding and to sustain a shared sense of purpose for Macedonia. I am concerned that barriers may be increasing at a time when cohesion is more crucial for Macedonia than ever and in relation to European and transatlantic goals. Such barriers perpetuate mistrust and misunderstanding, and create conditions for tensions, which all too often get amplified by the media and by political forces.

Macedonia’s leaders, educators, and parents need to ensure that the youth here are freed from the confinements of ethnic barriers. In the interests of building greater harmony and prosperity in Macedonia, and out of fairness to Macedonia’s children, who are the future of this country, there is a need for true change.

We applaud Prime Minister Gruevski’s recognition of this challenge and the common goal. We applaud Minister Todorov’s acceptance of this challenge and the common goal. This is one of the challenges faced by any leader in any country, which should not be diverted or avoided with course partisanship or a continuation of the political blame game in which the citizens pay a cost in hindered development and unattained goals. I thank the OSCE and the High Commissioner for National Minorities for their work on developing this policy paper on approaches to achieving an integrated education system, and for organizing today's public discussion. I am encouraged by the fact that this is the first time I have seen so many leaders in Macedonia come together with the international community to tackle this sensitive and difficult issue. I sincerely hope the discussion today leads to concrete decisions and sustained actions. To ignore this issue and do nothing may appear to be the easier path, but it is also the road to failure. Let us all face the challenge now, and build success for THIS generation.