Political parties must stop using the image and work of Bishop Petar Dorogi Petrović Njegoš for political fights and strengthening divisions in Montenegrin society, according to the opposition and professional public. They state that therefore the initiative of the Democratic Front (DF) to declare November 13, the day of Njegoš's birth, as a national holiday should be carefully considered.
The General Secretary of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) Ivan Vujović warned in a statement for "Vijesti" that Njegoš has been the subject of political instrumentalization for decades.
"There are various wrong and sometimes malicious interpretations of Njegoš. Recently, a new way of manipulation and an attempt to score cheap political points through Njegoš has been visible. This causes the greatest damage to the cohesion of Montenegrin society, but also to Njegoš itself and its historical part," Vujović believes.
On Tuesday, DF proposed for the second time that November 13 be celebrated as a holiday of the culture of Montenegro, stating that the goal of the initiative is to affirm the culture and creativity of one of the most important historical figures of Montenegro, the ruler, bishop, poet and philosopher. The Front proposed a similar initiative last October, but there were not enough votes to include their proposal on the agenda of the assembly. DF MP Jovan Vučurović expects that this time their proposal will be supported by members of the opposition, as well as members of the ruling coalition.
"We expect them to vote for our proposal. We think of the people from the regime, and some from the opposition, that they betrayed traditional Montenegro, but we do not believe that this level of betrayal has turned into madness, so that they do not support the proposal which, as Njegoš would say, is from the head of the whole nation. , Vučurović pointed out in a statement to "Vijesti".
A legal solution declaring Njegoš's birthday a national holiday was first proposed in 2013 by the Ministry of Culture, but that proposal did not pass. In December 2016, the government withdrew from the parliamentary procedure the proposal to celebrate Njegoš Day as a national holiday, due to negative reactions from the Bosniak Party (BS). Prime Minister Duško Marković then said that he withdrew the proposal due to the disagreement of some of the coalition partners, but "that there was no blackmail".
"I said, go ahead, if you think it's in the best political interest for you and the country, then do as you think, but you don't have me as a partner in that story. As far as I personally and this Government are concerned, Njegoš is a statesman and an artist, an indisputable vertical of the Montenegrin national and social being. With this government and with me personally, there is no compromise on that topic, nor any blackmail," said Marković at the time.
The Bosniak Party said at the time that it was inappropriate to declare Njegoš's birthday a national holiday, as well as endangering the concept of civic Montenegro. BS spokesman Adel Omeragić said that the party's position on this initiative has not changed. "Our position on the mentioned initiative is known. We will not vote for that proposal", Omeragić told "Vijesti".
While the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) did not answer whether they would support the proposal of the Front, the representative of the ruling coalition from the Liberal Party (LP) Andrija Popović said that it was an acceptable proposal.
"There is no justification that the law has not been adopted so far, even though the proposal has been in the procedure for a long time. Njegoš is the most recognizable symbol of Montenegro and a religious and secular leader, and the sheer magnitude of his work deserves that Montenegro at least repays him in such a way. I believe that the parliamentary majority will finally support it even though there are some disputes with BS. But I believe that this will also be overcome," Popović told Radio Free Europe.
Historian Miloš Vukanović warned that it is necessary to see what is the background of the DF initiative, stressing that it is about getting cheap political points and an attempt to exploit the population's affinity towards Njegoš. He told Radio Free Europe that the consequences could be more problematic, because these activities themselves reinforce identity ideals.
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