Citizens from Cetinje and Podgorica submitted a criminal complaint to the Special State Prosecutor's Office (SST) of Montenegro against, for now, unknown elders and members of the Tenth (X) Montenegrin Strike Brigade due to the well-founded suspicion that they ordered and/or committed war crimes against the civilian population on the territory Cetinje on November 13, 14 and 15, 1944, Aleksandar Saša Zeković, councilor in the Assembly of the Capital City of Podgorica, announced today on behalf of the applicants.
"Members of the 14th Montenegrin Strike Brigade took Momčilo S. Zeković from the house where he lived in the Bogdanovo area. They explained that they were taking him for a brief informational interview and that he would return shortly. However, since then, all trace of him has been lost. In a nearby prison , Dragica, née Jovanović (originally Brozović), was interested in her husband and asked if she could bring him some clothes and food. The prison guard informed that he had heard that he had been shot that very morning, along with ten other citizens of Cetinje. The next day, XNUMX more people were taken away and killed," said Aleksandar Saša Zeković in a statement.
He added that the filers of the criminal complaint are closely related to Momcilo S. Zeković, and that they believe that the key reason for his liquidation is his disinterested attitude and attitude towards the ideology of the Communist Party.
"Elders and members of the Partisan brigade, in violation of the rules of international law during the armed conflict, ordered the killing of the civilian, innocent population that did not take part in any way in the war, war events and events of 1941-44, thereby committing the criminal offense of war Crimes against the civilian population - described and punishable under Article 428 of the Criminal Code of Montenegro. Members of the brigade acted contrary to international law and international law of war, the requirements of humanity and public conscience prescribed by the Hague Convention (IV) on the Laws and Customs of War on Land from 1907. year and contrary to Article 46 of the Rulebook on the Laws and Customs of War on Land, which are an integral part of the Convention. Momčilo S. Zeković and other innocent civilian victims, it is not even allowed to mark the locations (racks) where the remains of those killed are found. In such circumstances, it was also impossible to carry out rehabilitation activities or take over the remains due to burial in family graves. All this produced and left a deep psychological impact. For decades, the members of these families suffered discrimination and humiliation, second-class civil treatment and baseless labeling as enemies and traitors. The consequences of that continue to this day. That's why the filing of this criminal complaint is also in the function of the right to the truth and finally stopping the long uncertainty, emotional suffering and imposed shame (shame)," said Aleksandar Saša Zeković.
He also said that the case of Janovjec et al. against Russia (crime in the Katyn Forest), in which the European Court of Human Rights found that the relatives of the victims can be parties to the proceedings, which could raise the issue of enforced disappearances, torture and extrajudicial executions before the competent bodies and institutions of Montenegro.
"Precisely for this reason, taking into account the age of the first applicant of the criminal report (born in 1943), among the other applicants are his relatives and descendants. It was proposed to the Prosecutor's Office to, among other things, undertake an investigation at the location in Cetinje where the executions took place , determine the exhumation and identification of the remains of all those killed in mid-November 1944, determine the exact cause of death and carry out other necessary expert examinations so that the remains can then be handed over to the families for a decent burial or to the authorities of the Capital to organize a burial in a joint memorial ossuary notifications from elders and members of the X Montenegrin strike brigade who are still alive, descendants of innocent civilian victims, make available archival material, consult judgments of the European Court as well as relevant historiography," said Zeković.
He also stated that the filers of the criminal charges show, postmortem, their respect and gratitude to the distinguished historian Predrag Vukić, one of the best connoisseurs of archival materials in Montenegro.
"Vukić thoroughly researched the Montenegrin past and it is to his credit that the individual crimes of the partisan units did not fall into oblivion. It was suggested that information be collected from the journalist Tamara Nikčević as a witness. The applicants express their public gratitude to her for the published interview with the national hero Jova Kapičić. Her book "The Bare Islands of Jova Kapičić" is a valuable source for research and a better understanding of the Montenegrin past. Among other things, Kapičić talks about the background and organization of political violence after the liberation of Cetinje Kapičić claimed for Leković that 'he was known as a simple man, a bully' and that 'after the war, he somehow ended up in the Belgrade UDB, where he continued to he mistreats people'. Civilian victims who died at the hands of members of partisan units were not recognized, nor were they "good victims" in contrast to civilian victims who died at the hands of the fascist occupiers and their local helpers. The first victims were assigned the identity of traitors, they were challenged socially and politically, they were mostly kept silent, while the others were treated with the necessary social respect, even though both of them had in common that they were victims, innocent victims, i.e. victims who did not take part in the war," said Aleksandar Saša Zeković.
He also said that the filers of the criminal charges - Sreten Zeković, retired professor of Cetinje High School and former president of the Montenegrin Federalist Movement, Danilo Zeković, entrepreneur, Radomir Zeković, sailor, Momčilo Zeković, musician and writer, all from Cetinje and Aleksandar Saša Zeković, MSc, city councilor from Podgorica - indicate to the public that unmarked graves and the remains in them must not become manipulation and weapons in the hands of the living who are opponents of anti-fascism.
"Individual examples of inhumane, inhumane and unjust treatment, as in this particular example, cannot call into question the meaning and significance of the People's Liberation Struggle and the decisive contribution of the partisan movement and communists in the fight against the fascist occupiers and their collaborators," concluded Aleksandar Saša Zeković in announcement.
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