The Mayor of Washington DC, this year together with the Macedonians living and working in the United States, marks the Ilinden holiday. Formally, the holiday was declared last year as the Macedonian-American Heritage Day, which is regularly celebrated on August 2.
Whereas, today the United Macedonian Diaspora and the Macedonian-American community mark the Ilinden Uprising of 1903, a revolt in search of a free, independent and sovereign Macedonia;
Whereas, Macedonian independence was initially short-lived, the Ilinden Uprising significantly resulted in the formation of the first democratic republic in Southeast Europe and laid the foundations for liberation and independence in 1991; and
Whereas, Macedonia’s historic struggle for self-determination parallels the present-day fight for statehood in the Disctrict, which resonates with the Macedonian-American community in Washington DC, which stands with us in solidarity.
