SKOPJE SKOPJE, March 5 (Hina) - Macedonian President Boris Trajkovski, who was killed in a plane crash last week, was buried with full state honours in Skopje on Friday in the presence of his family, top Macedonian government
officials, representatives of religious communities, a large number of citizens, and some 60 delegations headed by 12 heads of state, including Croatian President Stjepan Mesic.
SKOPJE, March 5 (Hina) - Macedonian President Boris Trajkovski, who was
killed in a plane crash last week, was buried with full state honours
in Skopje on Friday in the presence of his family, top Macedonian
government officials, representatives of religious communities, a
large number of citizens, and some 60 delegations headed by 12 heads
of state, including Croatian President Stjepan Mesic.#L#
Expressing deep sympathy on behalf of the international community,
European Commission President Romano Prodi said he would always
remember Trajkovski's dedication to Europe and that the tributes to
him meant a continuation of the struggle to achieve the goals in which
Trajkovski had believed and to complete the project he had started.
Prodi called on the international community to continue supporting
Macedonia in its efforts to implement the necessary reforms so that it
could join the European Union. He added that the EU was looking
forward to receiving Macedonia's application for EU membership, which
he said was Trajkovski's dream.
Macedonian Prime Minister Branko Crvenkovski said that entire
Macedonia was united in pain and dignified in sorrow for its
president. He stressed that Macedonia would follow the path chartered
by Trajkovski.
A funeral oration was also delivered by the leader of Trajkovski's
VMRO-DPMNE party, Nikola Gruevski.
The funeral ended with Mass said by the head of the Evangelical
Methodist Church for Central and Southern Europe, Heinrich Bolotar.
His prayer was accompanied by the Macedonian National Theatre Choir,
who sang psalms from the Bible.
Trajkovski's gravestone is inscribed with a quote from the Gospel
According to Matthew: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be
called sons of God".
(Hina) vm sb