You are reading a daily contextual review of the news that marked the previous day.
By Ljubomir Filipović, CdM observer
Yesterday, I was in Cetinje, where the Prime Minister and ministers were greeted with protests and a salvo of insults when they came to lay a wreath on the grave of King Nikola Petrović Njegoš, on the occasion of the centenary of his death in exile. What are the reasons for the protests and why did the residents of Cetinje react like this? I think the question is very clear. The way in which the Government members came to Cetinje, the ribbon in the colors of the Serbian tricolor flag, as well as the selection of the Government members clearly tells us that this is a deliberate provocation that should probably provoke violence to feed the narrative of Montenegrin extremism and moderation of URA and PM Zdravko Krivokapić. The one who includes Minister Vesna Bratić and Minister Vladimir Leposavić in the delegation for laying wreaths, as people who extremely advocated Serbian and anti-Montenegrin positions in the previous period, can only look for a problem in Cetinje.
Ignoring some pushing at the beginning, the protest passed peacefully, with whistles and shouts of indignation and insults addressed to the Government members.
Immediately after the Government delegation left Ćipur, a lady entered the church and threw out a wreath with tricolor flags.
In order not to leave such a scene, with a few more friends from Cetinje, we ordered another wreath in the colors of the Montenegrin flag and laid it on the threshold of the church whose doors were closed.
Stijepović free for envelope
The Council of the High Court in Podgorica has issued a decision terminating the criminal proceedings against the former mayor of Podgorica Slavoljub Stijepović, who is accused of money laundering in complicity in the Koverta (Envelope) affair.
The same decision confirmed the part of the indictment by which the Special State Prosecutor’s Office (SDT) charges Mr Duško Knežević and 5 other persons with creating a criminal organization that was engaged in money laundering.
This decision caused revolt among politicians and activists, but also in the Prosecutor’s Office itself.
The SDT said that it would file an appeal against the judgment, while Mr Dejan Milovac from MANS still shifted the responsibility for this outcome to the Prosecutor’s Office and expressed doubt that the indictment was worded in that way just to be overturned in court.
Tricolor-tie crew
PM Zdravko Krivokapić, Budva mayor Marko Bato Carević, the expelled Serbian Ambassador Vladimir Božović and the newly appointed assistant director of the Organized Crime Police Directorate Dejan Knežević have one thing in common, and that, believe it or not, is a tricolor tie. Whether the tie is a ticket to high office or just a souvenir gift from an expelled ambassador, we can’t tell. However, we see that this is a trend among all those who want to make a career in the new state elite.
Not good, not terrible
Minister Jelena Borovinić Bojović had another arrogant appearance on TV, during which she said that the situation with the pandemic in Montenegro was “worrying, but not alarming”.
The inertia and focus of the health care system on politics certainly doesn’t make the situation with public health less complicated. The Minister also said she drew the PM’s attention to behaving more responsibly, due to his latest participation in a religious ceremony at which protection measures weren’t respected.
That’s all for today. See you tomorrow at the same place and at the same time.
