Professor at the Faculty for Montenegrin language and Literature, Mr Boban Batrićević, wrote an open letter yesterday to the ambassadors of the United States, Great Britain, France, Germany and the EU to Montenegro. He warns them about serious social and civilization challenges Montenegro is facing and which are caused by constant attempts to revive Montenegrin past, which is clearly indicated by statements of the future prime minister-designate, Mr Zdravko Krivokapić.
The letter reads as follows:
While expecting in vain wide reaction of our intellectual public, which is obviously confused and intimidated by all the media cry and hue, to the worrying statement made by the future prime minister-designate, Mr Zdravko Krivokapić, as a researcher of the past, I feel invited to point at a very dangerous process that has been taking place in Montenegro over the recent days.
I am not trying to contest results of the parliamentary elections and I will take this opportunity to congratulate the new governing majority on the victory, but I must express my concern and fear over the activities of the man who was endorsed by 41 MPs.
Mr Krivokapić, professor at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, has been dealing with the reconstruction of Montenegrin past since the election process finished. In these occasions, he made certain inappropriate statements regarding Montenegrin anti-fascism, trying to equalize a collaborationist movement from WWII with a true, anti-fascist movement in Montenegro, a movement of national liberation. The culminating point of his distorted historic perception is represented by the speech he delivered accompanied by the new mayor of Budva, Mr Marko Carević, priests of SOC and controversial businessman, during the celebration of the constitution of the new majority in Budva, when he said: “These last two days are our victory days. We should not celebrate 9 May anymore, but 23 and 24 September when the new victory happened. This new victory should bring new spirit to Montenegro, so that we can finally stop arguing and competing”.
Such understanding of the most glorious European date in the 20th century, without which the modern Europe and European Union could not even exist, is utterly inappropriate, especially for a public figure and future prime minister-designate of a European state. Therefore, I am writing this letter to you, as heirs of democratic, anti-fascist coalition and holders of victory ideas 9 May gave birth to, in hopes that you will take into account that Montenegro is faced with serious social and civilization challenges.
Modern Montenegro, as civil-organized country, is inconceivable without its rich anti-fascist tradition. Its path of civil emancipation in the 20th and the first decade of the 21st century is tightly related to the commitment it made in WWII.
Just like Europe, Montenegro would not exist without 9 May, the symbol of victory over anti-civilization and barbarian destruction ideology. We haven’t heard apology from Mr Krovokapić. I don’t want to think that we have neglected the fact that new Montenegrin government was agreed in the monastery, with Metropolitan Amfilohije Radović, who declares that pro-western and democratic world is the world of Sodom and Gomorrah and incarnation of devil in the form of NATO Alliance.
I don’t want to believe that you condone interference of the church in the election process in Montenegro and I certainly don’t want to believe that you will accept just like that the statement that we should not celebrate 9 May any longer. Circumventing that scandalous statement would have the symbolism of the Munich agreement from 1938, when a pro-western country of Central Europe was sacrificed only to satisfy the appetites of non-democratic policies. Future of the Montenegrin society depends a lot on you and the opinion if your governments.
Finally, I want to express my hopes that we will not be writing in the reviews of Montenegro’s history that pro-western majority in Montenegro was handed to people who don’t see it there with tacit consent by the West.
