Good morning! The prime minister told the ministers that they were extremists, the minister told to the prime minister that he was a traitor, the president in the role of a mediator, civil society against such an agreement with SPC.
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What’s the fuss about, Dritan?
Today, I want the emphasis to be on the motives for signing the agreement with the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) as soon as possible. We have already written about it, but there is still no answer. Is the goal to cause chaos in Montenegro, is the goal to cause a political crisis and overthrow the government, and to slow down EU integration, now that we are receiving signals that the country’s path to the Union is open? I don’t want to believe that this is the goal of anyone in this country, not even Dritan Abazovic. So, why all the fuss, why the stubbornness? It’s all to the extent that he told the ambassadors that he would sign the agreement at the price of EU integration, as claimed by Zlatko Vujovic.
Leaders don’t antagonize
At the same time, Abazovic does not want to be the leader of all citizens, and while he is tiptoeing so as not to offend Serbian extremists, this man from the embrace with Milan Knezevic antagonizes the critics of the agreement in the worst possible way, calling them extremists and finding in their arguments “elements of fascism”. This is also the manner of people who still talk about the two extremisms, who in fact criticize the Montenegrin extremism out of a deep embrace with Serbian extremism. By antagonizing the Montenegrins, the prime minister arouses revolt among them, and I am a witness to the transformation of numerous people, who until two years ago were quite indifferent to the church and identity issue, who themselves notice that they have changed and become strongly defensive.
Tensions within the government
We are used to Abazovic not having an iota of responsibility for what he says. Since he said that he had been offered money, and so on, today we have come to the situation where he calls his SDP ministers extremists, and says that he knows something about them that compromises them in a criminal sense. This man admits in front of the cameras that he is covering up a criminal act, and blackmails his ministers that he will talk about it if they don’t act properly. So, if they do, it will be covered up. Konjevic replied that Abazovic was a “traitor”, which led Vesna Bratic to self-irony when she said that they were ladies and gentlemen as compared to the current ones. And they were, bearing all this in mind, Bratic was a lady when compared to Abazovic. Even a patriot when compared to him. Because a patriotic prime minister does not fuel tensions and conflicts in the country by pointing fingers at others. The position of prime minister carries with it responsibility for what is happening in the country. By the way, RSE did a good report on the issue of tensions related to the Fundamental Agreement.
Civil society’s criticism
Until recently, Abazovic’s story about a handful of extremists rioting for no reason could work, but civil society and the university have also spoken out. Uljarevic, Gorjanc Prelevic, Komar, Zlatko Vujovic – they all presented arguments yesterday against signing the so-called Fundamental Agreement in this way. Human Rights Action explained it in the most detail. The question for Abazovic is whether he will now also call them extremists, as he indirectly called 6,500 people who signed the proclamation.
Party supports Dritan
The Presidency of URA’s meeting was scheduled for last night. The party stood by its leader, although some convince us that there are disagreements in the party about these issues.
Protests
Another protest is scheduled for tonight at eight o’clock in front of the government building. Anonymous groups of citizens also announce roadblocks. I do not look forward to these developments, but I understand them. The protest organizers are serious people, and I believe in their good intentions and I want the protests to pass peacefully and with dignity. Any potential incident would play into the hands of Abazovic, Vucic and their argument that all of us who oppose this relationship with the SPC are extremists.
That’s it for today. See you tomorrow at the same time, in the same place.
Kind regards,
Ljubomir Filipovic, CdM analyst
