You are reading a daily contextual review of the news that marked the previous day.
By Ljubomir Filipovic, CdM observer
Former Prime Minister Dusko Markovic called for the postponement of the enthronement of Serbian Metropolitan Joanikije II in Cetinje in order to open a space for dialogue in Parliament in the meantime and find a solution for the very tense atmosphere in the country. Markovic was immediately supported on Twitter by MPs Damir Sehovic and Rasko Konjevic, but at the same time a message arrived from his party that all MPs would be in Cetinje that day.
There was no reaction from the authorities to Markovic’s call, and his call can be interpreted from many angles. One of them is that Markovic independently initiated this invitation, solo, as it would be called in political jargon. Given the party discipline within the DPS, this is rather unlikely, and it is probably a kind of proof that the largest party in Montenegro has the capacity for dialogue.
Primarily, this is a message for the outside world, and the transfer of the ball to the field of Parliament and Aleksa Becic, and indirectly the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister went halfway by saying he would not come to the enthronement on Sunday, and now someone from the DPS is coming out to greet this. Judging by the reactions of the opposition voters, they haven’t forgotten Markovic’s fierce statements that some Serbian priests would have to leave Montenegro, and they did not accept his invitation with enthusiasm and confidence.
Secondly, this message about extending a hand and postponing the protest is interpreted in one part of the public as an attempt by the DPS to present itself as a constructive and moderate factor on the social network, which would distance itself from extreme voices on that side of the political spectrum. According to them, postponing the enthronement is sweeping big and serious problems that Montenegro is facing under the carpet, and it is better to relocate it than to postpone it. Delaying enthronement delays agony and the focus and attention of the public remains heated for topics that divide society, for topics that do not concern progress and reform and the quality of people’s lives. In order to move forward, one must no longer sweep things under the carpet, but problems need to be solved. If we do not solve the church and identity issue in a way that no one in Montenegro is discriminated against, it will wait for us at some point in the future, threatening to destabilize the country and society every time.
Protests are a normal occurrence and should not be seen as D-Day. There were religious processions and protests of the opposition, some were even violent, so no one has ever made such a drama as this one, which is now made by the hysteria of the media from Serbia, which seem to want conflicts in Montenegro. No one who called for the protests called for violence, and there is a consensus among those protesting that the protests will be peaceful and non-violent.
Prosecutor’s Office managed cocaine seizure
Much remains unclear about the record cocaine seizure. First, there are justified suspicions that those who now boast the most about this, the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister had no idea about the course of the action and that they woke up not knowing what had happened to them. Secondly, we do not know who the drug was intended to and who sent it, although it is a controlled delivery, which was deliberately released to reach Montenegro, in order to reach the final customer. However, we have detained the owners of the company that imports bananas, which at best served as a transport company.
Although Abazovic wanted to attribute the results to himself and reduce the contribution of the Prosecutor’s Office, the acting Supreme State Prosecutor Drazen Buric said that the seizure was led by the Prosecutor’s Office and added that “the Deputy Prime Minister’s statement was probably politically motivated with the aim of degrading the State Prosecutor’s Office and the intention to present it to the public and the international community as an unprofessional institution”.
The decision to release the suspects was reversed by the Extrajudicial Chamber of the High Court in Podgorica, and they were remanded in custody.
Scandalous caricature
The vulgar and chauvinistic caricature whose author is allegedly Goran Scekic, an official of the Black on White coalition, has not provoked the public reaction it deserves. Although he denied that he was the author of the caricature, the question remains why the journalist and former advisor of Zdravko Krivokapic, Igor Damjanovic, published this on his Facebook profile, and who then falsified the style and Scekic’s signature.
The reaction of the NGO sector and the public was lacking this time, except for the reaction of the activist for women’s and peace rights in the Montenegrin Women’s Lobby Aida Petrovic, who stated that she demanded from the leader of URA and DPM Dritan Abazovic and the Black on White coalition to publicly apologize to all women in Montenegro on the occasion of the controversial caricature by their member and cartoonist Goran Scekic who publicly expressed his most primitive opinion about women so that any of his ‘repentance’ would be, to put it mildly, hypocrisy and new mockery of women”.
Chaos in Bratic’s ministry
In addition to not paying insurance to educators, the Ministry is not responding to requests for free access to information, because it is focused on meeting the goals of the Greater Serbia agenda. The ministry also disrupts its interpersonal relations every day.
Acting head of the Science Directorate Ivanka Antovic left the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports.
“It is unacceptable for me to, even if it was temporary (and not for several months), stand in a position (and knowing the subject given to me) and tacitly agree with the same patterns that I opposed during the rule of the former government. It is unacceptable for me to give up everything I have advocated for a long time for the sake of personal interest (salary). I have previously stated that it is beyond my power to change something here, in the stated circumstances, and therefore I do not find it necessary to stay there in the next month and a half (when the specified deadline expires)”, Antovic wrote on Facebook.
Vucic may still come to the enthronement
The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, denied the information that appeared in some media that he would not attend the enthronement of the Serbian Metropolitan Joanikije II in Cetinje, and pointed out that he had not yet made any decision.
“I have not made any decision, I consider everything every day, I look at the complete situation and I will make a decision in accordance with the interests of the Serbian people, the Serbian Orthodox Church and the interests of Serbia”, Vucic said.
It’s only him that we need to make this circus complete.
That’s all for today. We wish you a pleasant rest of the day.
