preacher who has been credited with uniting his Balkan nation by avoiding the wars seen elsewhere in the region. Trajkovski was one of nine people killed last week, when a government plane crashed in a mountainous area of Bosnia Herzegovina.
Huge crowds and delegations from the United States, Russia, Britain, China and NATO as well as the presidents of Poland, Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and other countries laid flowers at Boris Trajkovski’s coffin in the parliament building.
After the somber ceremony tens of thousands of people lined up the streets of Macedonia’s capital Skopje, as the body of the 47-year old President was driven to its final resting place in a cemetery for national heroes.
Speaking at the funeral ceremony Prime Minister Branko Crvenkovbski praised the late president as a man "who in his words more than anybody else had stopped the war and brought back peace."
PEACE ACCORD
Trajkovski oversaw the 2001 NATO backed peace accord that ended months of fighting between ethnic Albanians and Macedonian security forces. The agreement characterized the softly speaking Trajkovski who came to office with a promise to respect the identity and religions of all ethnic groups in Macedonia.
European Commission President Romano Prodi spoke off Trajkovski’s "vision and broadmindedness" in a region that saw Europe’s bloodiest conflicts since World War Two.
He said the Balkans "and all of Europe had lost a statesman" who he said "saw beyond the narrow horizon of everyday politics and a man who in his words put the individual at the centre."
SECOND PRESIDENT
Trajkovski was Macedonia’s second president since the country became independent in 1991 with the breakup of the former six-republic Yugoslav federation. No official date has been set for a vote to elect a new head of state.
On Thursday, March 4, the funerals were held of eight other people who died in the government plane crash. Although investigations are ongoing, Macedonian officials have revealed they had questioned the airworthiness of the U.S. build, twin engine aircraft well before is final flight to a investment conference in the Bosnian town of Mostar.
Trajkovski leaves behind a wife and two children.
