The President of the Parliament of Montenegro, Ivan Brajović, said today that it is the second year in a row that the Montenegrin Parliament, on the occasion of Victory Day, reflects on anti-fascism, its values and what remains of them more than half a century later.
As announced by the Assembly, today he opened a round table entitled "Resisting populist movements".
"That's why we set ourselves the task again this year, to get together, talk about anti-fascist values in a broader sense and discuss the following: what the present is confronting us with and how it is being resisted by populist movements today; what are the contemporary tendencies and who are the political role models for young people ; how to defend against playing with emotions and apparent identification with society's problems; what are these political currents striving for and what are their next stages," said Brajović.
He said that he believes that, when it comes to Montenegro, major political decisions have already been made and added that "Balkan history, however, from time to time harshly reminds us that our existence in these areas requires continuous and strategic nurturing of the values that they make society healthy and push it forward.
"Adhering to anti-fascist values, Montenegro has shown that diversity builds a unique Montenegrin civic identity of coexistence and synergy of nations, religions and cultures," said Brajović.
Moderator of the discussion, Dragutin Papović, historian, member of the Parliament of Montenegro and part-time professor at the University of Montenegro, said that historical truth has survived in Montenegro and that he believes that history must be reexamined, but without revising the truth.
Papović added that he believes that the good from communism should be kept and adapted to the modern age.
Academician Zuvdija Hodžić, president of SUBNOR and an anti-fascist of Montenegro, reminded that the organization he comes from cherishes the values of anti-fascism and added that it is interesting to talk about populism, especially how it manifests itself in Montenegro and whether and in what way it attracts young people people.
He also said that the abuse of historical facts is ubiquitous, which is why the state should react more effectively.
Janez Drobnič, sociologist, professor at the University of Primorska in Koper and lecturer at the EU mobility program at the Faculty of Philosophy, UCG, emphasized that opportunities such as today's round table should be used to exchange opinions on the danger of creating fascist initiatives in any form.
Aleksej Kišjuhas, sociologist, assistant professor at the Department of Sociology of the Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad, regular columnist of the daily newspaper "Danas" emphasized the question of how to resist populism today, since those who advocate it know how to reach a certain group of people.
Biljana Maslovarić, professor of sociology, vice-dean for science and international cooperation at the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Montenegro, recalled that on this day, back in 1942, as an anti-fascist and national hero, Ljubo Čupić left behind his last smile for, as she said , freedom, equality and justice.
Goran Radojičić, literary critic and theoretician, editor of numerous editions of textbooks for primary and secondary schools, as one of the presenters of the discussion, also spoke about the importance of the contemporary perception of anti-fascism and its influence on the younger population.
Members of the Parliament of Montenegro, history professors, young anti-fascists, representatives of SUBNOR also took part in the discussion.
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