Good morning! Niksic declares its feast day, names the streets after the Chetnik officers. Is this the reconciliation Montenegro has been waiting for so long?
How Niksic reconciled
The DPS and Milo Djukanovic have been overthrown, and having in mind the current state of play, there’re going to be the opposition for a long time. We’re in the midst of the third year since the dismissal of the DPS and one month after the defeat of Djukanovic in the presidential election, and Montenegro’s unable to distance itself from identity turmoil and tensions. Ethnic and ideological division didn’t go away with the DPS. The DF pushes the topics they advocate for and are backed by URA and other allies.
Yesterday, Niksic declared the day of St. Vasilije Ostroski as its feast day. There is no doubt that the cult of the saint exists in this city, but not only believers and Orthodox people live in that city, even if there’s 99% of them. For this reason, this decision is discriminatory and is an example of the clericalization of institutions. In addition, it’s not about religion, but about playing with identity themes by order and under pressure from Belgrade. Proof of that is the guest appearance of the Serbian nationalist rap band ‘Beogradski Sindikat’ at the city’s celebration of the afore-mentioned feast. Slowly but surely, Serbia’s influence operations in Niksic are yielding results. And the poster announcing the event has first the logo of the Serbian Church and then the one of the municipality of Niksic.
The expansion of the influence of Serbia and Russia in the second largest city in Montenegro was helped by the fact that Metodije, the Serbian bishop for the north of Montenegro, was based there, and that his secretary is Father Miajlo Backovic. These are two militant priests, who often organize and support gatherings and events of pro-Russian and Serbian radical organizations. Backovic is one of the leaders and inspirers of the network of Serbian Orthodox youth organizations, which gather young men and cultivate a militant and nationalist culture, modeled after the Russian organization Sorok-Sorokov.
Marko Kovacevic is a Chetnik. He’s proud of it and identifies himself like that. That’s why he decided to name a street in Niksic in honor of the Chetnik officer, Blagoje Jovovic. The cult of Blagoje Jovovic, who injured Ante Pavelic in Buenos Aires, is something that the state structures of Serbia have been working on for a long time. Shooting Pavelic is something that Jovovic cannot be blamed for, on the contrary. But it’s interesting that Kovacevic boasted that Jovovic was a “member of the Bjelopavlici Chetnik Brigade”, known for crimes and shootings of youth in Lazine. This is how the revision of the history of the Second World War is already being institutionalized. Soon we can also expect monuments to Chetnik champions.
This is all part of a larger and broader strategy. Long time ago, Marko Kovacevic told me in response to the thesis about political Serbia that there is no political Serbia, but that there are Serbian politics in Montenegro. In one moment, he said using the maxim that “unification is the final goal”.
The proclaimed goal of false centrism is to marginalize both the DPS and DF in Montenegro. The DPS was defeated and marginalized. Excluded from all political currents. What are they waiting for with the DF? Do they marginalize them by electing their mayors and supporting them in these crazy initiatives?
That’s all for today and this week. Until Monday.
Kind regards,
Ljubomir Filipovic, CdM observer and columnist
(The opinions and views of our columnists don’t necessarily reflect those of the editorial staff of the CdM portal)
