Macedonia marks Thursday the day of anti-fascist uprising that broke out 77 years ago i.e. National Uprising Day.
Observances are taking place across the country that have been organized by the government, Parliament, the Association of WWII Veterans and the Municipalities of Prilep and Kumanovo.
To mark the national holiday, the annual state award '11 October' will be handed over at a ceremony in Parliament to this year's recipients that include Professor Dragi Mihajlovski, author Risto Lazarov, actor Petre Arsovski, and surgeon Aleksandar Stavridis.
Mihajlovski, Lazarov and Arsovski get the award for outstanding achievements in the fields of culture and art, while Stavridis for outstanding achievements in the field of health.
The rebellion against Bulgarian, Italian and German occupying forces, organized to liberate the country, began after the first Prilep partisan unit had attacked the Bulgarian police station and the telephone network in Prilep on 11 October 1941. The next day, the partisans of the Kumanovo unit also organized an attack.
October 11 is a resumption of the benevolent traditions of the Macedonian freedom-loving people stemming from similar revolts in the 19th and 20th century, but also from the efforts made for social and national liberation during the Balkan Wars and the First World War.
By deciding to join the anti-fascist coalition, Macedonia stood on the side of progressive humanity fighting against fascism.
The people of Macedonia had fought for freedom on its own. Starting with the first partisan units, the National Liberation Army of Macedonia by the end of the 4-year war was turned into a well-organized, 110,000-strong army with high-ranking military formations.
The years of struggle were crowned by the decisions reached at the First Session of ASNOM in 1944 under which the centuries-long ideals for a Macedonian state had become a reality.
Macedonia nowadays is a full-fledged member of the United Nations and a nation aspiring to join NATO and the EU.
