Reactions in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) to the victory of Jakov Milatović in the presidential elections in Montenegro point to deep divisions in Bosnian society.
Few regional elections have attracted as much attention in BiH as the presidential elections in Montenegro held on Sunday, April 2.
After the first results were published, on the basis of which it was clear that the candidate of the Europe now party, Jakov Milatović, convincingly defeated the candidate of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), Milo Đukanović, social networks "exploded", and Milatović was among the first to receive a congratulatory message from the Presidency. BiH.
The chairman of the BiH Presidency, Željka Cvijanović, sent the congratulatory message.
"I am convinced that your victory will contribute to the strengthening of our friendly relations, and that it will open new perspectives for partnership and cooperation on a bilateral and regional level."
The President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik expects "the strengthening of the position of the Serbian national corps."
BiH Presidency members Željko Komšić and Denis Bećirović, who unequivocally supported Đukanović before the elections, did not announce themselves after Milatović's victory.
Before the election, Bećirović sent a video message of support to the DPS president to the citizens of Montenegro, emphasizing that Đukanović is a "proven fighter for the Montenegrin state and a friend of BiH".
Relations between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro at the presidential level were practically blocked in 2018, when Milorad Dodik, as a member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, vetoed the arrival of Montenegrin President Milo Đukanović on an official visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina. At that time, Dodik was dissatisfied with the policy advocated by Đukanović.
On Sunday, as the president of the Bosnian entity Republika Srpska, he was among the first to congratulate Milatović on his victory.
"I hope that Milatović will lead Montenegro on the path of progress and prosperity," Dodik said, stressing that he expects successful cooperation in the "spirit of good neighborly relations."
Dodik wished Montenegro to be sovereign, independent and "directed towards strengthening the position of the Serbian national corps".
Sead Turčalo: "Milatović is a product of apostolic democracy"
"The celebration of the victory of Jakov Milatović from the 'Europe Now' movement in the elections showed that, first of all, he is considered their favorite by those parts of society and the Montenegrin political scene that are much closer to the idea of a 'Serbian world' or formal integration with Serbia than to the continuation of construction and consolidation of the state of Montenegro," said the dean of the Faculty of Political Sciences in Sarajevo, Sead Turčalo.
He told the Federal News Agency (Fena) that Jakov Milatović was born by the government "formed by the Serbian Orthodox Church in the Ostrog monastery" and that Milatović is a product of "apostolic democracy", the SPC and the government of Zdravko Krivokapić.
For Miloš Šolaja, a professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences in Banja Luka, Milatović's victory is "another post-socialist transitional phase that will bring more democracy and voter influence on politics."
He told the "Srna" agency that now "greater liveliness in the political life of Montenegro and greater expression of various interests" is expected.
"Usually, all post-socialist phases of rapid and key changes end with the defeat of the authoritarian leader who managed to make all those changes," Šolaja said.
Montenegro "fell on a false story about the fight against corruption"
Reactions were also shared on social networks.
Haris Zahiragić from the Democratic Action Party writes on Twitter that "civilian Montenegro has fallen" and that the streets of Podgorica are celebrating with Serbian flags along with "Great Serbian songs and iconography".
"Montenegro fell for a false story about the fight against corruption and the smell of incense from the Svetosava lithia. The new president of Montenegro supported the Open Balkans during the campaign, which is actually a euphemism for the Serbian world," says Zahiragić.
Many officials from Republika Srpska congratulated Milatović. "Whoever goes against God and Serbia will not last long," said the President of the National Assembly of the RS, Nenad Stevandić.
"Let's not forget that when you are supported by Kurti from Kosovo, Bećirović from Bosnia and Herzegovina and the like, it only awakens primordial Montenegrin emotions towards Serbs and Serbia," Stevandić wrote a little earlier on social networks.
He looks at Europe and sees the Open Balkans
Zlatan Begić from Željko Komšić's Democratic Front (DF) reacted to Montenegrin Prime Minister Dritan Abazović's statement that with Milo Đukanović's defeat, "the mission is complete".
"At this moment, big-state policies are not realized by territorial division, but by placing the institutions of government in BiH and Montenegro under the sovereignty of Zagreb and Belgrade. All of this would not be possible without Dritan. There are many of them, and they are here among us. Anyway, expect resistance while there is also one of us," writes Begić on Twitter.
Journalist Sead Numanović says that Milatović "will talk about the European Union, but will bring Montenegro into the Open Balkans".
"It is an exaggeration to claim that Montenegro will be the 'Republika Srpska na moru', but it is far more appropriate to compare it with Serbian Belarus in the Balkans. It is independent, but it is not independent," says Numanović.
Montenegrin relationship with Bosnia and Herzegovina will be subordinated to the interests of Serbia?
Co-Chairman of the American-European Alliance Reuf Bajrović says that Aleksandar Vučić "took over Montenegro".
"The wheel of history has ground sovereign Montenegro after 17 years of existence, unfortunately. There will be time for a post-mortem, but what is certain is that the fall of Montenegro under Serbia is very bad news for Bosnia and Herzegovina. This must be the last warning for all in BiH before it also falls," writes Bajrović, connecting Milatović's victory with the current political situation in BiH, i.e. its entity, the Federation of BiH.
He told Deutsche Welle (DW) that "Milatović will implement politics according to the will of Belgrade": "Montenegro is no longer a completely sovereign state, and therefore its relationship with Bosnia and Herzegovina will be completely subordinated to the interests of Serbia."
Many media and analysts in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina see Jakov Milatović's victory as a strengthening of the "Greater Serbian" policy. They are worried about possible complications in regional relations, and the public could also hear assessments that BiH, after the presidential elections in Montenegro on April 2, lost a "true friend".
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