On October 10 Mr. Reeker presented the keynote address for a United States Department of State Town Meeting Program at 9:00 A.M. at the Fawcett Center Auditorium. The topic of his address was “Overview of U.S. Foreign Policy; Challenges in the Post Cold War World.
The Macedonian American Friendship Association representatives spent nearly two hours in a friendly exchange of views and impressions about the current situation in Macedonia and the US role and participation in the efforts to resolve it. They discussed the roots and causes for the recent surge of anti-US and anti-NATO feeling in Macedonia and the possible steps to avoid incidents that can contribute to intensifying such feelings in the future. They also discussed the possible ways in which the Macedonian American Friendship Association can help present and promote the viewpoint of the Macedonian people to the US officials, media, and public.
Mr. Reeker, who spent two years in Macedonia as Public Affairs Officer at the U. S. Embassy in Skopje, Macedonia acquired an excellent speaking knowledge of Macedonian managed to learn Macedonian, an indication of his personal commitment to the country, and still has many friends and acquaintances there. He recounted his experiences and impressions from Macedonia and promised his help and cooperation in the efforts of the Macedonian American Friendship Association.
As Deputy Spokesman Mr. Reeker is one of the two officials at the U. S. Department of State that provides press briefing and holds press conferences on behalf of the Department of State. The Macedonian American Friendship Association and the Macedonian American community in the U.S. applaud Mr. Reeker for his interest in their language and culture and his attention to events in their homeland.
The Macedonian American Friendship Association is a voluntary nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the peace in the Republic of Macedonia. The Association compiles and disseminates information about the situation in Macedonia to the Government, Congressional representatives, through the Internet, and the in order to increase public awareness about the problems in the Republic of Macedonia. It encourages and helps Macedonian Americans to get involved in the political process in the US and to have their views represented by the Government.
The Association stands for restoration of a multiethnic civil society in Macedonia based on equal individual rights of all citizens, closely parallel to that in the US. It condemns and opposes pressures from the United States and the European community to make changes in the constitution and the legal system that can weaken the equality and the individual rights of citizens and give special rights and privileges to selected ethnic groups. Such special rights and privileges can weaken the multiethnic nature of the society are not granted to any minority in the US or the EU.
The Association advocates providing full diplomatic recognition of Macedonia under its constitutional name to strengthen its stability.