He said that Montenegro could live on tourism, but warns that it does not use its resources. He also spoke of strengthening of the right in Europe, war against terrorism, cooperation with Russia and situation in Croatia.
In ten years since regaining independence, Montenegro has acquired a sense of identity and sovereignty, Mesić said.
“Montenegro was not occupied by anyone, it chose to enter a bigger community thinking it would be better, and then it went even bigger, later getting narrowed down, finally concluding to return to itself. Separation of Montenegro and Serbia provided each country with the possibility to chose their own road. Montenegro has given a chance for Serbia to become independent, doing it a big favor. Many in Serbia are still not aware of that. As far as economy goes, Montenegro must work harder in tourism and tourism adjacent activities, such as organic agriculture. One of the most beautiful countries in the Mediterranean can live on tourism, and you need to use it”, Mesić said.
Commenting on the current political events in our state, Mesić said that he sees Đukanović as a strong point in the system. Wherever he is, he is a strong point – whether he is prime minister or a president.
“This sort of s strong point is much needed until Montenegro joins EU. Montenegrins know this already. On the other hand, he has instincts that let him use his position and say to the opposition – you can’t do much without me. His ability to keep the course on the EU road, reaching goals one by one, getting support left and rights and staying centered is what keeps him in leadership positions for so long”, Mesić said.
Speaking of the new Government in Croatia, Mesić said that their Prime Minister is a man who practically never lived in Croatia.
“He is a financial expert, but Croatia needs managers. Financial experts are people who follow events financially, but they do not create events. Croatia needs political and economic management and we do not have that type of resource. We need people who will do reforms, who will create new job opportunities and better salaries. This is what is asked of politicians today”, he said.
Terrorism is a global threat and today whole international community is at war with this death movement. Mesić said that Europe and the West do not understand current moment.
“During Second World War, you knew who was a fascist, and who was not. After WW II, there was a Non-Aligned Movement, that kept peace between East and West and prevented Cold War becoming a real war. Today there is NATO, with no military opponents. And then we see a creation of Arab Spring, where functioning systems get broken. Systems are broken based on someone’s dislike, and a new system is forced, which results in a disaster”, he added.
According to him, everything gets destroyed in order for resources and energy transport to be secured. The whole war is being done in the name of democracy “not sure where”.
“Saddam Hussein was taken down, they looked for nuclear, biological, chemical weapons and found nothing, but 250.000 remained on the street. And they know how to shoot. So of course there are consequences in Iraq. The biggest issue is Islamic State. It used to be Al Qaeda in Iraq, but they were taliban armed by the West to get Russians out of Afghanistan. Russians left, Al Qaeda remained. It breaks down governments, but keeps the state frame. Daesh breaks down states, creating a caliphate, new world architecture, from Afghanistan to Lebanon, maybe even further, including some of our region. They do it with fire, sword, the most brutal means. It is only now that the West understands this must stop, and I do not know if it is late or not, I think there is still chance to stop them. It is a warning for the world to find a new way of acting. You can not force your system on anyone, your corporate frame, every state must function in its own way”, Mesić said.
When asked what is the state in which we find EU and is there a place for Balkan in it, Mesić said that a turnaround must happen because Europe has not realized the danger of fascism.
“There are a lot of those who scare their citizens with communism in Europe still, and it makes no sense. Communism is a grand idea that is not implementable, because equality for everyone is an illusion. On the other hand, fascism is dangerous because it can grow in a small environment and spread further. We are seeing this happen right now with neo fascism and neo nacism. Project of united Europe is a millennial project and this generation should be able to accomplish this. This project entails all European countries entering the Union, but not to collaborate against Russia, but to cooperate with it”, he said.
European Union must resolve matters of its institutions in order to function. Monetary structure must be solved in order to not repeat Greece, and introduce balanced fiscal politics.
“Homogenised Europe will open its borders and unite. It will become a powerful factor along the lines of USA, China, Russia, Brazil, India and Japan. United, it will become an important player. But, personally, I am more interested that Europe excludes war. When the borders are open, not all Croatians will live in Croatia, but they will live within their nationality, and the same would happen with Montenegrins, Serbians. But they would not bother each other. There is no calls to national unity anymore in order to take a territory, because it would be united as Europe. This is why EU makes sense, why it is a positive project that should be implemented fully,” Mesić said.
He said that Europe must change its position on Russia.
“Not against Russia, but with Russia. It will make it easier for all”, Mesić said.
There were plenty good things in former Yugoslavia
Mesić expressed his attitude on former Yugoslavia, saying that this time had many good things.
“When I talk of cooperation in our region, everyone says – you long for Yugoslavia. I say – was the education and health care free, was it certain to get residential credit, was it possible to travel everywhere. Yugoslavia can not be measured by those narrowed in their borders, we had a lot of positive things. Personal freedoms were limited, but partially, you could write the poems you want, or paint the pictures you want. But you could not express your political opinion, and that was the limiting factor”, he said.
As far as economy goes, it was a good system with good market relationships, because the ownership was with people and everyone gained something.
“During privatization, these companies should have went to workers, but no one in the region did that, everything was sold to conspicuous businessmen, with questionable money in questionable banks. Everything was destroyed, but now we see the emergence of new managers that offer industrialization at a higher technical level, but the pace is too slow”, he said.
