You are reading a daily contextual review of the news that marked the previous weekend.
By Ljubomir Filipović, CdM observer
In Montenegro, since the political changes, protest rallies of lesser and greater intensity have been organized almost every Sunday. When the Government makes a scandalous decision, or when someone like that miserable man from Niksic feels that the newly won freedom allows him to urinate on the monument, then people’s reactions are stronger. Many are calling for protests these days, but few are working to make protest rallies happen and make them successful. Numerous organizations and local groups of people organize performances, convoys and the like on their own initiative. Yesterday in Podgorica, after Cetinje, a mass gathering of people was organized in protest against the threat to anti-fascist values. Yesterday, SUBNOR’s declaration against endangering the values of the people’s liberation war and anti-fascism was signed by over 1,000 people.
While the dismissal of Minister Vladimir Leposavic is expected today, the 21. Maj Civic Initiative organises thematic protests daily at five to noon in front of the Ministry of Justice. The protests are led by the coordinators of this organization Aleksandar Sasa Zekovic and Aleksandra Radoman. Today, there will be a gathering again in Vuka Karadzica Street.
A culture of protest requires constant training and fitness. Protests should be peaceful and dignified and in accordance with the law. We have felt that Montenegrin society is very sensitive to anti-fascism, because it made a great sacrifice in the anti-fascist struggle, perhaps the largest in the former Yugoslavia. That is why the reaction to the disgusting act from Niksic tells us that anti-fascism is the flag around which we can gather the largest number of people to overthrow this revisionist shameful Government.
New cohabitation crisis
The new crisis arose due to appointments in diplomacy. The foreign policy advisor to the President of Montenegro Tamara Brajovic reacted yesterday due to the failure to respect the procedure for appointing ambassadors, because the Government did not consult the President during the candidacy of ambassadors and tried to force the President to “enthrone” them. She informed the competent authorities in Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, China, Hungary, the USA, Slovenia, Serbia, the Holy See, Spain, the United Arab Emirates and the European Union, as well as the embassies or missions of those countries and organizations in Montenegro that there is no agreement of the authorities participating in the cohabitation in Montenegro on the proposal of candidates for ambassadors.
The ministry, on the other hand, has accused the President’s office of spreading misinformation and not respecting the agreements from the consultations they had.
Cohabitation was discussed at the meeting between President Milo Djukanovic and US Ambassador Judy Rising Reinke.
Relations with the USA
This week, everyone in our politics was racing a little for a little attention from the West. Everyone interpreted the messages from the NATO Summit in various ways. The Prime Minister wants to show how his Government has support, and on the other hand, the opposition also wants to show that this Government has lost its credibility, which is true to some point. In this “fight” for recognition, however, President Djukanovic won this week, thanking President Biden in a tweet for his message that the US commitment to NATO, and especially Article 5, is “solid as a rock”. The tweet was retweeted by the US ambassador with messages of support, while the Prime Minister deserved only a short response to his claim about Mr Biden’s support for the democratic transition. Twitter users will understand what I’m talking about. When Ambassador Colin Graffy pioneered the development of “Twitter diplomacy” 12 years ago, she had no idea to what extent this would develop.
However, the President’s meeting with the ambassador is another confirmation that the United States, as a partner, supports cohabitation and dialogue between different parties. President Biden’s earlier statement on the verdict against Ratko Mladic also speaks about everyone’s position in terms of values. Today, important decisions are being made in Parliament, and if there is no opposition to step in, it will remain clear what the values inherited by the new majority are. So, when you put everything just in equal value, it’s easier for you to understand why this Government is losing more and more partner credibility every day.
Relations with Russia
Montenegrin DPM Dritan Abazovic is asking the Russians to let their planes fly to Montenegro. He sent a letter to the Vice President of the Russian Federation and the President of the Crisis Staff, Ms Tatjana Golikova, in which he states that at the next session of the Crisis Staff, the Russian authorities could consider the option of resuming direct flights to Montenegro. It is likely that Mr Abazovic’s “intimus” Milan Knezevic, together with Mr Andrija Mandic, will additionally lobby on his announced trip to Moscow to have the request of the Deputy Prime Minister granted.
Misunderstanding in Kotor
Yesterday, everyone was eager to condemn the Mayor of Kotor because he distributed Luca diplomas to students in the church of St. Paul. In light of the strong clericalization of society, which is wholeheartedly supported by Mr Jokic’s party, the news that children were welcomed in the church has been misinterpreted and met with condemnation. St. Paul’s Church is an old Catholic church that was converted into a museum and is now an exhibition and secular space.
Chetniks anti-fascists
The revisionist thesis that the Chetniks are anti-fascists gets its full “proof” when you put next to each other the statement of Mr Filip Adzic, who condemns the desecration of the monument to Ljubo Cupic, as well as the earlier shameful announcement of Niksic’s URA, in addition to the early works of Niksic Mayor Marko Kovacevic, like the one in Bileca, where at the unveiling of the monument to Draza Mihajlovic he says that he was a bright example of leadership. When you know that Mr Adzic supports Mr Kovacevic and that his party supported him as the mayor, everything becomes clearer to you.
Real anti-fascists
Historian Boban Batricevic was a guest on the RTCG’s Teleskopija show, where he made an excellent analogy with animals that mark the territory with urine. Mr Stefan Todorovic also published a good column named Urinocracy yesterday.
That’s it for today. We wish you a pleasant rest of the day.
