Good morning! This is not the first time political violence has been covered up in Montenegro. The same thing happened to me 12 years ago. Today, the circumstances are different, but the pattern remains the same. The Democratic Front (DF) has normalised violence, and the Democrats shamelessly downplay it.
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Tragic Budva
Last week in Budva, the mayor went through exactly what I experienced as deputy mayor 12 years ago. Fortunately, today the public shows more empathy toward victims of such violence and is more inclined to condemn it. I was hit from behind by a guy who had called me out for a fight. I went to meet him, intending to resolve the issue through conversation. It didn’t help. He sucker-punched me.
I walked to the health centre on my own and was later rushed from Kotor to Podgorica for emergency surgery. I was attacked completely unprovoked. Literally.
For days, I wondered what I might have done to trigger it. Naively, I thought it might be because I had once pulled that guy’s ears when we were kids, just goofing around—he was two years younger than me. Until I realised he had become radicalised. When I saw that he was one of the people “guarding the monastery” during the 2021 enthronement, everything clicked. Especially the fact that he dared to call me after a liturgy at the monastery in Budva had finished. Now that I know he’s been involved with radical elements in Montenegro for years, I have no doubts left.
Back then, I was part of the SDP–DPS coalition, and there wasn’t much public sympathy. I was advised to keep quiet, because in Montenegro, getting beaten up is seen as shameful. I remember the article in Vijesti and the humiliation I felt like it was yesterday.
The attacker was released after DPS intervention. Despite causing life-threatening injuries, he didn’t spend a single day in jail.
In Montenegro, it’s more shameful to be beaten up than to beat someone up. The latter fits more neatly into the country’s warped idea of masculinity.
I won’t go into the details of what happened in Budva. I only know that violence won’t solve anything. It just complicates life for both the victim and the attacker.
The DF and those around it have normalised violence in Montenegro. What’s happening now in Budva, and with Mandic’s nephew, and the countless other stories coming out of Zeta and Budva, all suggest we’re in for serious problems when citizens eventually vote the DF out of power.
The Democrats should be ashamed of their statement. That party proves every day that it’s deservedly the most disliked political option in the country.
Even though I’ve been critical of Jovanovic and his policies, what happened calls for the civic-minded public to stand behind him—not just because of this attack, but because of the toxic atmosphere Mandic is creating with his promotion of arrogant, violent politics.
That’s all for today. I wish you a pleasant rest of your day.
Kind regards,
Ljubomir Filipovic, CdM analyst and columnist
(Columnists’ views and opinions do not necessarily reflect those of CdM’s editorial staff)
