The Montenegrin Helsinki Committee and a group of citizens sent an open letter to Chief Special Prosecutor Vladimir Novović and "all those involved in the proceedings", in which they request that Katnić be allowed to defend himself from freedom.
I read the mentioned letter, which was also supported by citizen Milo Đukanović, carefully several times, followed closely the reactions of friends and associates of the former GST, who is on hunger strike for the eighth or ninth day, and I cannot shake the impression that from all these reactions, except highlighting Katnić's otherwise poor state of health, echoes the same message: endure Milivoje, endure Milivoje, until the end, whatever that means. If Katnić remains consistent in his decision not to take therapy and food, the former SDT could indeed become a victim of his own vision of the fight for truth, but also of political hyenas who encourage him in a potentially suicidal act.
It is indicative and, if you will, inhumane that no one, but absolutely no one from this society gathered around the letter, has, at least publicly, asked, appealed to Katnić to end his hunger strike and endangering his own health, because he can only be alive and well the next day, from detention or from freedom, to prove his innocence. And theirs, of course.
No, there was no such example of human approach, sincere concern for Milivoj Katnić's health. Only thunderous shouts - hold on, Milivoje, hold on to the end. Crocodile tears are being shed over his fate, while the important concern for Katnić's health was lost in the presented opportunity, at least that's how it seems to the promoters of this scenario, that Novović's and SDT's authority will collapse with his forced release.
However, this is not (only) about Katnić. He, like, for example, Ljubo Vujadinović, accused of murdering inspector Slavoljub Šćekić, who has been on hunger strike for 34 days because he has been behind bars for 19 years without a final verdict, can of his own free will choose the way he considers the best and expedient in the fight for justice.
This silliness of petty profiteers who, in the event of the arrest of the former special state prosecutor, would like to steal something, to flatter someone or simply to return due debts from the past, while not taking into account that they are actually pushing Katnić into an uncertain battle that can end and tragic for the one whom they defend so wholeheartedly.
This is actually not about the Democratic Party of Socialists either, although, after the arrest of Katnić and Lazović, it crossed the Rubicon. For the first time, namely, since stepping down from power, the DPS entered into an open conflict with Vladimir Novović, saying openly and without hesitation that the special state prosecutor is no Eliot Ness, but an ordinary exponent of pro-Russian and pro-Serbian politics who worships the DPS and Katnić because they prevented " coup”.
This belated wisdom and return to the factory setting will, it is quite certain, cause short-term damage to the DPS, but it will also leave long-term, not at all naive, consequences for the political habitus of this party. Because Novović is not just a special state prosecutor. Under the given circumstances, he overcame that framework and became one of the key political figures in Montenegro.
Of course, not in the classic sense of the term. Such a determination of the current SDT stems from the fact that every political entity in Montenegro is expected and asked to declare itself in relation to the work of Vladimir Novović and the SDT.
This is understandable because, according to all research, Novović is one of the few, if not the only, person in the political life of Montenegro who enjoys the almost undivided support of the broadest lay public, the ordinary world who sees in him, above all, a kind of Robin Hood who " arrests thieves”.
At the same time, at least until this case, no one, not even the DPS, connected him with a certain party or classified him on one side or the other in the Serbian-Montenegrin clashes. Neither Knežević's DNP nor Mandić's NSD dared to do so, even though the SDT, by arresting Milo Božović two months before the parliamentary elections, lost them, as they say, a significant number of votes.
ZBCG could then, as DPS is doing now, attack Novović, but they correctly assessed that it would bring them more harm than good. To this day, the pro-Serbian bloc has not renounced the mayor of Budva, they have said and continue to say that their Milo is innocent, they express doubts about the actions of the SDT, but they take care not to target Novović directly.
Because of all this, the attack on the special state prosecutor is a move by the DPS that will most certainly not provide them with new sympathizers, and the big question is how their electorate will understand this salto mortale and redesigning Novović into a "Serbian agent".
The main and much more serious problem of DPS, which arises after the arrest of Katnić and Lazović, is actually the positioning of this party in future political processes. The ultimate consequence of the open attack on Novović will be the long-term cementing of DPS on the opposition side of the political map of Montenegro. Their already weak "coalition capacity" has completely collapsed with this move to the extent that even traditional partners from the SD are mostly staying on the sidelines in the current open attack on Novović.
An even bigger mystery is why he is embarking on this adventure right now. Jeste Katnić is a significant figure in the former regime, but Vesna Medenica was also arrested, who may be above Katnić in that hierarchy, so Milo and DPS almost silently swallowed that huge frog.
The dilemma is even greater if you look at the bigger picture. It is already clear that Aleksandar Vučić will, in a matter of moments, try to force Mandić and Knežević to come down from the stage in Pešter, to the battlefield, and from frozen observers become direct participants in some kind of "military exercise" that would be organized not in Pešter and not on the battlefield, but in Montenegro, on the training ground for the overthrow of Milojko Spajić's government. Potential reasons are around the corner, from the vote on Kosovo's admission to the Council of Europe to the UN Resolution on the genocide in Srebrenica.
In such a situation, if Mandić and Knežević were to go in the direction already traced by Vučić, PES would not have much choice. One of the realistic options would be for Spajić to make up for the missing ZBCG MPs with an open coalition with the pro-European and pro-NATO, in addition to the "reformed", DPS, or at least to ask for the minority support of Milo's Pullen.
An attack on Novović already makes such an alliance impossible because it would mean the practical political euthanasia of Spajić. Even the prime minister, who does not lack political imagination, could not find an adequate justification for entering into a coalition with a party that attacks Novović and therefore opposes the fight against corruption and crime, which is the pillar of this and, most certainly, of the next few Montenegrin governments. .
All of the above is not unknown, at least not for the experienced politician Milo Đukanović. In spite of that, yesterday, on the day when it was confirmed that Katnić and Lazović remain in custody, he raised the gambling stake in the announced interview.
He openly threatens, even mentioning blood revenge, posing an open dilemma for all of us: are the ojkačes at the beginning of the text exclaiming: "Hold on, Milivoje" or, perhaps, "Hold on, Milo"?
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