The Western Balkans has already cost too much for the "circus patriotism" that is being pushed by the ruling structures, said the executive director of the Center for Civic Education, Daliborka Uljarević, stating that now is the time to show commitment to European values in action.
Uljarević told the MINA agency that this actually limits healthy identity formation and the development of the concept of citizenship.
It is time, as she pointed out, to withdraw the manual and to demonstrate the commitment to European values and best practices in action.
When asked how much the authorities in Serbia and Montenegro use or try to use the current events, Uljarević replied that it is not the first time that neither the President of Montenegro, Milo Đukanović, nor the Serbian authorities have (mis)used identity issues for daily political purposes.
That, as she stressed, is irresponsible and dangerous.
"In this case, it is open - the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) included the issue at the party gatherings and through the new program, which made it a party goal and a much higher priority than, say, the establishment of a functional rule of law," stated Uljarević.
As she said, the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, has clearly marked the issues of the position of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) and the upcoming census in Montenegro as those that he will deal with.
"Each government uses different events for its particular interests, but the circus patriotism that the Balkan ruling structures are forcing has already cost us too much in the region," said Uljarević.
She said that even though they are two close countries on many grounds, the relations between Serbia and Montenegro, from the restoration of Montenegrin statehood until today, have never been content and qualitatively good in terms of depth, reciprocal to that proximity.
As Uljarević stated, as expected, the relations between Montenegro and Serbia always depended to a significant extent on the personal relations of the leaders of both countries, so there were different phases.
The one marked by the rise of progressives with Vučić in Serbia and the first period of his rule seemed particularly idyllic, she added.
"However, my impression is that the relationship between Đukanović and Vučić is layered, even though they are two non-democratic leaders who understand each other well when it comes to the use and exchange of methods of maintaining power on the internal level," stated Uljarević.
As she said, they are very careful about their interests, both internal and external.
"And that also means that they light and put out fires with measure, thus maintaining ratings, homogenizing the target audience and positioning themselves on a wider scale. In that context, the existing extremely tense relations between Serbia and Montenegro should be observed," added Uljarević.
She said that Vučić is in a campaign in which he cannot present the results around Kosovo to the voters, given that they are sporadic and meager.
It is in his interest, as she said, to avoid the story about the negotiations regarding Kosovo "which are being conducted behind the back of the public, under the patronage of Grenell, a man of Trump's personal trust".
"And that's why another story that has the potential to cover up the "most expensive Serbian word" and trigger emotions among voters is being deliberately introduced into the election campaign - the position of the SPC in Montenegro," said Uljarević.
As she stated, the entire machinery was visibly set in motion, starting from the infamous tabloids to numerous other media, through party soldiers, professional intellectuals to the officials themselves.
That, as she said, cannot be disputed by anyone who follows the issue.
"Empirical research also indicates this - a third of the population in Montenegro has this perception, and it is important to emphasize that although the majority are Montenegrins and minority peoples, among them is a fifth of the Serbs in Montenegro, who also recognize Serbia's open interference in the internal opportunities in Montenegro through the use of the Law on Freedom of Religion", added Uljarević.
Asked if she agrees with certain assessments that Serbia and Russia are using the SPC to undermine the Montenegrin pro-Western Government, Uljarević replied that if the Montenegrin Government had been committed to democratic reforms, the state would have been more resistant to the interference of external actors and would have had the necessary degree internal cohesion.
As she stated, one should not neglect the interests and actions of others.
She recalled that recently the special envoy for the Western Balkans, Matthew Palmer, expressed concern about Russian interference through Serbian intermediaries, linking it to the situation that arose after the adoption of the Law on Freedom of Religion.
"The SPC in Montenegro defends its interest, and if it defends it in a way that it considers meets its requirements, it will return to the positions it had before the adoption of this law," said Uljarević.
She believes that the extent to which the SPC in Montenegro recognizes the state of Montenegro and the Montenegrin nation is a much more important question than what attitude it has towards the Government of Montenegro.
"It should be reminded that the split between the SPC and this Government begins when the DPS with Đukanović leaves the political positions of the SPC, and not over any issues related to democratization," stated Uljarević.
She said that a distinction should be made between the proclaimed foreign policy goal related to accession to the European Union (EU) and what the Montenegrin government is really doing, which, as Uljarević assessed, is often in disagreement with European standards and best practices.
That, as she added, is no longer something pointed out only by critically oriented non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the media, the EU itself states this more and more openly, precisely and strongly.
"After all, what are the effects of the Government on the way to the EU", asked Uljarević.
As she stated, Montenegro has entered the eighth year of negotiations, and has not closed more than three negotiation chapters.
"In two cases, there was no EU acquis, and in one case, an action plan had to be adopted. For more than a year and a half, we have not been able to open the only remaining chapter, and the long-announced final benchmarks for chapters 23 and 24 have not arrived, because that is where the biggest problem lies, with already undertaken but unfulfilled obligations," added Uljarević.
The EU, as she said, is a moving target, but one gets the impression that the Montenegrin authorities are "preoccupied with preserving their own power monopolies and are not aiming towards it, and that the so-called veto players have the upper hand".
Uljarević said that the key institutions in Montenegro are in a state of disrepair, or their credibility has significantly collapsed.
"The public service is captured by the party, and this is perhaps the best illustration of the government's "attachment" to Europeanization, because everything that was done with Radio Television of Montenegro was in direct opposition to what the government received as warnings from the EU and member states," she said. is Uljarević.
As she stated, the fierceness and mundaneness of the government's confrontation with pro-European critical voices who warned that we are deviating from the path to the EU was also expressed in the bad evaluations of relevant international reports that monitor the state of human rights and freedoms and democracy.
As Uljarević said, neither Serbia nor Russia are to blame for that.
Asked if she believes that the protests organized due to the adoption of the Law on Freedom of Religion call into question the independence of Montenegro and the civil concept of the state, she stated that peaceful protests against a decision, law or public policy of the government are a legitimate expression that all citizens have right, regardless of how close or not an issue is to us.
Uljarević does not believe that such peaceful protests in the form of lithia undermine the independence and civil concept of the state of Montenegro, but he does not see in them an emancipatory expression either.
She said that at this moment, "a battle is being fought for the souls of Montenegrins, that is, we are trying to turn them into reserve Serbs or Serb haters".
"I think that, on the one hand, the Serbian side, it is necessary to understand and accept that Montenegrins are not Serbs, not even reserves and vassals, but also on the other, the Montenegrin side, that they can be Montenegrins without severing any connection with the Serbs. When we get there, we will be on the right path to strengthening the established civil framework," said Uljarević.
When asked if the accusations against official Belgrade for reviving the nationalist concept of Greater Serbia were founded, she replied that this concept was never buried, but was suppressed for a period of time.
"Serbia is reviving the politics of the 90s with some of the same actors in the rhetorical level and media propaganda, which, I assume, has a useful value in the internal constellation of forces," stated Uljarević.
However, as she said, today's reality is different.
As she added, Serbia is currently surrounded by NATO members and Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo, where military bases of NATO members are located, so no matter how terrible it looks on one level, that Great Serbian nationalism is caricatured today.
"Of course, this does not mean that it should be ignored or underestimated, but neither should it be overestimated, and the fact is that Montenegrin society mostly chooses between those two poles of view," concluded Uljarević.
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