DPS: The common denominator of the threats is that they are ethnically or religiously based

The Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) announced today that it "strongly condemns the attack" on the vice-president of that party, Jevto Eraković.

Eraković reported to the police that he was verbally attacked today around noon at a gas station in the City Quarter in Podgorica.

He announced on Twitter that he was verbally attacked, and that because he is a Montenegrin and because he is in the DPS, he was told that he would die.

"The deviant behavior, violence, hatred and intolerance that have flooded our society are the result of chauvinism and extremism, which prevailed in an atmosphere dominantly created by the authorities and the two governments formed after August 30, 2020, Krivokapić and Abazović. it's about physical attacks or verbal, whether the threats are sent directly or through social networks, the common denominator is that they are based on ethnic or religious grounds," the DPS press release points out.

They added that it is clear that the aim of these attacks, intimidation and threats is to impose the Great Serbian ideology as a national one, and thus destroy the civic character of Montenegro.

"Unfortunately, the state authorities did not stand up to protect their citizens, and thus only encouraged the thugs to carry out their violence. The victims of such a situation in society became all those who, through their social and political engagement, opposed the undermining of those fundamental values ​​that were painstakingly built in to Montenegro decades ago, and on which our country rests," the DPS statement reads.

From that party, they said that only a member of the Parliament of Montenegro and the vice president of a political party were not attacked today.

"A doctor was attacked, someone who is engaged in the most humane calling. And above all, a man was attacked who at that moment was spending his free time with his wife and child. All of the above implies that moral and human principles have fallen to the lowest branches. Democratic Party of Socialists asks the competent state branches to investigate the said case, inform the public about it and prosecute those responsible for this unfortunate event as soon as possible," the DPS said.

Živković: Should we self-organize?

Acting President of the DPS Danijel Živković stated that the attack on Eraković is the last warning to react preventively, so that such situations would never happen again - not only to Eraković, but to any citizen of Montenegro.

"Thanks to the bizarre system of functioning of institutions and authorities, an environment has been created in which no one feels safe, especially people who do not belong to such an authority and openly criticize it. We demand that the competent authorities do their work in accordance with the Constitution and the law, that citizens they would not self-organize and protect themselves and their families. Is that the way of the EU? Is that the system of values ​​we strive for? Not sure," said Živković.

DPS MP Duško Marković condemned the attack on Eraković.

"I encourage my colleague Eraković, every politician, as well as every citizen, to report attacks and threats, no matter who they come from. We must not allow Montenegro to continue on the path of intolerance and violence," Marković wrote on Twitter.

Đokaj: Threats and violence will not sway us in our fight

Member of the DPS Presidency, Leon Đokaj, condemned the attack on Eraković.

"Also, I condemn the silence of the authorities regarding earlier threats... Threats and violence against people who stand for civil and European Montenegro will not shake us in our fight," Đokaj said on Twitter.

Rakočević: Media and political opponents have sole responsibility

DPS MP Nikola Rakočević assessed that the media and political opponents "who criminalize DPS and label the fight for a civil and European state as nationalism - have sole responsibility" for the attack on Eraković.

"A humanist, a man who as a doctor saved and made many lives better in Montenegro, is brutally attacked in the middle of the day," wrote Rakočević on Twitter.

Vuković: Things like this are not a surprise, I expect an effective reaction from the competent authorities

DPS Vice President Ivan Vuković announced that "unfortunately, in the atmosphere created by a number of political actors and media houses over the years with the aim of criminalizing DPS and relativizing the civil/political rights of all who belong to our party, such things are not a surprise".

"I expect an effective reaction from the authorities," Vuković wrote on Twitter.

DPS vice-president Sanja Damjanović said that she hopes that the competent authorities will react "and that the citizens' voice will finally be heard and condemn the environment that has been created".

"I strongly condemn the attack on my colleague, Dr. Jevto Eraković. Montenegro must be the country of all its citizens, to protect respectable people from the primitivism that has surfaced and is now physically attacking respectable citizens," Samjanović said on Twitter.

Bogdanović: Death threats due to national and political affiliation are a logical continuation of everything that has been happening lately

DPS General Secretary Aleksandar Bogdanović said that "death threats due to national and political affiliation are a logical continuation of everything that has been happening in Montenegro lately."

"It is not the first time that our friend and colleague have been threatened - but last time the authorities did not discover the perpetrator. Full support for Jevto Eraković," Bogdanović wrote on Twitter.

Bošković: The outgoing prime minister bears direct responsibility for this state of affairs and such actions towards those who criticize him

DPS MP Predrag Bošković announced that "direct responsibility for this state of affairs and such actions towards those who criticize him, is borne by the outgoing prime minister who did everything in the previous period to devalue the civic values ​​that we inherited together and around which we gathered and were proud".

"You will not shut us up," Bošković wrote on Twitter.

Nikolić: We demand an urgent and effective state response to violence

Andrija Nikolić, member of the Presidency and deputy of DPS, said that "the trend of radicalization of society and the persistent political and media campaign of demonizing DPS have created an environment in which verbal and physical attacks on dissenters are a regular occurrence."

"We demand an immediate and effective state response to the violence," he wrote on Twitter.

Vuković: We are all Jevto Eraković. Targets of unworthy nationalists and chauvinists

Aleksandra Vuković, a member of the Presidency and MP of the DPS, announced that the "August Refreshment" has brought a social atmosphere in which some renegades call for the persecution of Bosniaks, and other unworthy people attack Montenegrins, threatening them with extermination.

"We are all Jevto Eraković. Targets of unworthy nationalists and chauvinists. It will not pass," she wrote on Twitter.

Došljak: A cowardly act, but it also speaks to the environment that is being created and is being created by those who cancel all fields of values ​​of European and democratic Montenegro.

Draško Došljak, a member of the DPS Presidency, announced that "the attack on Dr. Jevto Eraković, MP, doctor, vice-president of the DPS, is a cowardly act, but it also speaks to the atmosphere that is being created and is being created by those who cancel all fields of values ​​of European and democratic Montenegro ".

"Just today, and tomorrow?!", Došljak wrote on Twitter.

Liberal Party: Targeting dissenters can go too far

"The dangerous hunt for opposition MPs is not abating, but is taking on the shape of the worst dictatorship," the Liberal Party (LP) said.

That party condemned the latest attack on DPS deputy Jevto Eraković, considering that the state is not taking any effective measures to stop such occurrences.

"For a long time, the worst branding and targeting of dissidents of this government has been legitimized in Montenegro, not only towards MPs but also the civil sector, activists, intellectuals and even citizens. There is almost no prominent individual who publicly criticizes the ruling majority without being a victim of harassment and threats", it was announced from LP.

They called on the authorities to condemn such occurrences, warning that the hunt for non-thinkers can go too far.

Zirojević: Members of the opposition are constantly on target

The spokesperson of the Social Democrats of Montenegro (SD) Nikola Zirojević said that the party condemns the attack on Eraković.

"To attack someone because of his national or political beliefs is an act of classic insanity. Unfortunately, in 'liberated' Montenegro, this is a reality. Members of the Montenegrin opposition, in the past two and a half years, have been constantly targeted while the institutions of the system function according to the village is burning, and the grandmother is combing her hair'. We hereby call on the competent authorities to find and sanction those responsible for this attack as soon as possible. Just as Doctor Eraković said - a new Montenegro that we will not get used to. Be sure that we will not," he said. is Zirojevic.

Zeković: The government should mobilize the public against violence

Aleksandar Zeković, a member of the Civic Initiative "May 21" and an independent councilor in the Assembly of the Capital City of Podgorica, condemned the attack on Eraković and called on the Government and all state bodies, as well as the media, to mobilize the public against all forms of violence and hatred.

"Violence against dissenters existed and was expressed during the rule of the DPS of Montenegro and its partners. But after the political changes on August 30, 2020, there is unexpectedly less and less space for freedom of speech. There is a particular escalation of aggression, especially by religious nationalists towards everyone who criticize the government and its yielding to religious conservatism. The state's reaction should be more effective because the future of democracy and support for civil society in Montenegro depends on it. Through political impartiality and the reform of the police and misdemeanor judiciary, the state should show that it respects and protects the right to freedom of expression. Human rights defenders, journalists, secularists, liberals, leftists and generally all critics of the political elite and government have felt threatened in Montenegro for decades. This must stop," Zeković stated.