[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 23 (Friday, February 27, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Page S1881]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         COMMEMORATING BORIS TRAJKOVSKI, PRESIDENT OF MACEDONIA

  Mr. FRIST. At this juncture, Mr. President, I rise with heavy heart 
in that Thursday morning, Boris Trajkovski, the President of Macedonia, 
perished in a plane crash in the mountains of Bosnia. He was a good 
man, a man I had met, a man with whom I had extensive discussions, a 
man who was a great leader. Indeed, the people of Macedonia have lost a 
true hero and, indeed, America has lost a great friend.
  Elected to his country's highest post in 1999, President Trajkovski 
held his country together through terrible crises and conflicts. He 
kept the struggling new Republic from descending into anarchy and civil 
war and, in doing so, set an example for the entire region.
  President Trajkovski was one of our first allies to publicly support 
Operation Iraqi Freedom and to commit troops to the liberation. The 
Iraqi people owe President Trajkovski and the Macedonian people a debt 
of gratitude for his belief in them.
  He was a sincere champion of freedom. Only 47 years old, Boris 
Trajkovski was a President, a minister, an attorney, a father, and a 
husband. Our prayers go out to his family and the families of all who 
were lost on that fateful plane.
  It is my hope that the people of Macedonia will honor him by carrying 
on his work of cultivating and nurturing their newfound freedom.
  Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior journal clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________