Slavic Macedonians and ethnic Albanians alike mourned the death of their peacemaking President Boris Trajkovski, who died Thursday in a plane crash on a Bosnian mountainside.
The 47-year-old moderate, who epitomized the Balkan country's struggle for reconciliation following clashes in 2001 between security forces and ethnic Albanian militants, was praised Friday by both by the Slavic majority and the ethnic Albanian minority as a great statesman.
"It's a terrible moment like this when we all realize the value of life, the value of peace," said Vasil Bozinovski, 51, a Slavic entrepreneur.
PHOTO: REUTERS
"His death has brought us all closer together," said Afrodita Halili, 23, an ethnic Albanian student. "I hope we find the strength to remain together."
Flags flew at half-staff and Macedonia began three days of mourning Friday as Parliament Speaker Ljupco Jordanovski took over as acting president.
World leaders expressed hope that the country would not lapse into the instability that plagued it in the late 1990s when the ethnic Albanian minority launched an insurgency demanding broader rights.
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana flew to the capital, Skopje, to meet with government leaders and urge all Macedonians to "show courage, unity and maturity ... at this time of great loss."
Pope John Paul II sent a message saying he was praying that Trajkovski's "resolute commitment to peace will inspire the nation to continue steadfastly upon the path of dialogue, mutual respect and reconciliation."
US President George W. Bush issued a statement calling Trajkovski "a distinguished leader and a great friend of the United States."
"President Trajkovski showed extraordinary courage in leading his country from the brink of civil conflict to peace by signing the Ohrid Framework Agreement," Bush said.
"The United States strongly supports President Trajkovski's vision of a multi-ethnic, democratic Macedonia, at peace with itself and its neighbors, and on the path to full membership in the transatlantic community," Bush said.
Search teams on Friday recovered Trajkovski's body, along with those of six other officials and two pilots, from the wreckage of his twin-engine turboprop plane, which crashed in heavy fog, about 80km south of Sarajevo.
Trajkovski was en route to an international investment conference in Bosnia.
Macedonian prosecutor Roksanda Krstevska told Bosnian state radio that the flight data and cockpit voice recorders were found, which could provide clues to investigators about what caused the crash.
Macedonian officials gave assurances that Trajkovski's death would not undermine security. Their ethnic Albanian partners in the country's power-sharing government pledged to respect a Western-brokered peace deal that has kept Macedonia mostly peaceful since 2001.
"Our party will work together with coalition partners to achieve the goals that Boris Trajkovski set," said Teuta Arifi of the Democratic Union for Integration, a party formed by disbanded ethnic Albanian rebels.
Prime Minister Branko Crvenkovski said his government was "determined to keep Macedonia on its course, to maintain the peace process without any faltering."
"Even under these circumstances, all our institutions function normally," he said.
Elected in 1999, Trajkovski was Macedonia's second head of state since the former Yugoslav republic gained independence in 1991.
When Macedonia's ethnic Albanians launched their insurgency demanding broader rights for their community -- roughly a quarter of the country's 2 million people -- Trajkovski calmly steered the nation toward the peace deal, which met the rebels' demands in exchange for an end to hostilities.
He played a key role in implementing the 2001 peace pact, which has held despite continued scattered violence in Macedonia's northwest, a stronghold of the mostly Muslim ethnic Albanian minority.
Former rebel leader Ali Ahmeti praised Trajkovski's courage and called his death a great loss. "We all have to aim that this country is led by someone who is going to respect all of the people of Macedonia," he said.
"This is a tragedy for all of us. [He] was a sincere man, always willing to help everybody," said Reis ul-Ulema Hadziefendi Emini, head of Macedonia's Muslim community.
While Jordanovski took over as acting president, no date for elections was immediately set. Macedonian law requires a vote to elect a new head of state within 40 days.
Funeral arrangements were not immediately made known. Officials said the bodies would have to be identified first in Bosnia before being returned, a process that could take days.
Trajkovski is survived by his wife and two children.
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