Croatia's decision to declare three Montenegrin politicians undesirable should be a wake-up call for those who have not yet understood that the tightening of Podgorica's relations with Zagreb is not naive. However, Croatia "targeted" the target, omitting from the list of undesirable heads of the Government and the Movement Europe now (PES) Milojko Spajić, which is a sign that that country does not want to break off relations, but that it hopes that tensions could be reduced through this channel.
With these words, the interlocutor of "Vijesti", a former diplomat, interprets Zagreb's decision yesterday to declare the head of the Montenegrin parliament persona non grata Andrija Mandić, Deputy Prime Minister Aleks Bečić and leader of the Democratic People's Party (DNP) Milan Knežević due to "systemic actions to disrupt good neighborly relations with the Republic of Croatia and continuous abuse of the Republic of Croatia for internal political purposes", alluding to the decision of the Parliament of Montenegro to adopt the Resolution on the Genocide in Jasenovac and the Dachau and Mauthausen camps at the end of June.
41 members of the parliamentary majority voted for it, ie representatives of PES, Mandić's New Serbian Democracy (NSD), Bečić's Democrats, DNP, Socialist People's Party (SNP) and Citizens' Alliance CIVIS.
The document was adopted at the initiative of part of the ruling majority, after the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) passed a resolution on the genocide in Srebrenica at the end of May. This was done with the support of Montenegro, which was opposed by Mandić's and Knežević's parties, which therefore demanded that the Montenegrin parliament be determined by a resolution on Jasenovac. Because of this, Croatia reacted violently, saying that it regretted that Montenegro decided to ignore the calls of their country "not to politicize the victims of Jasenovac".
The resolution on that execution ground has not yet been published on the parliament's website and in the Official Gazette, nor has Mandić signed it.
The Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs (MVEP) of Croatia announced yesterday that it regrets that the majority in the Montenegrin parliament decided "to ignore continuous calls" from Croatia not to take steps that could negatively affect bilateral relations and Montenegro's European path.
"In this context, the actions of the mentioned political officials stand out, and their actions cannot be considered benevolent and good-neighborly in relation to the Republic of Croatia, nor are they in accordance with the declared goal of Montenegro's membership in the European Union (EU)," stated MVEP .
The Ministry announced that Croatia supports "European Montenegro", the process of Podgorica's accession to the EU, and that it advocated progress on Montenegro's European path.
"The Republic of Croatia expects that Montenegro will behave in accordance with European values and in the European spirit, and that it will focus its efforts on further fulfilling the conditions and criteria in the accession process," it was said.
Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Croatia Gordan Grlić Radman, said yesterday that it is their sovereign assessment of who they will declare undesirable, and that Mandić, Bečić and Knežević "deserve it because they worsened relations between Montenegro and Croatia".
Grlić Radman, as reported by "Večernji list", said that Croatia has so far supported all activities of Montenegro in connection with joining the EU, but that the move that Podgorica recently took - "was unsuccessful in preserving good neighborly relations".
"Montenegro has shown by the act it was warned about, which is not in line with good neighborly relations, that it clearly does not care about relations with Croatia," the Croatian minister said.
A former diplomat with whom "Vijesti" spoke says that the question is whether the three Montenegrin politicians who were declared undesirable could potentially, if Croatia eventually reports its decision to its partners in the EU, be placed on the Schengen list, which would prohibit them from entering that zone .
"But Croatia does not have to report them to the Schengen list, but can 'keep' the sanctions for itself for the time being. So we don't know if they will report it, and if they do - whether it happens automatically... This is a new situation" , says the interlocutor.
The Directorate for Internal Affairs and Migration and the Directorate for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the European Commission did not answer "News" whether the decision of one member state to declare someone an undesirable person is applied in all other member states or each country decides on it individually.
The diplomat explains that Mandić, Bečić and Knežević, in contrast to bilateral meetings with Croatian officials, will have no problem participating in multilateral gatherings. According to him, the country is mostly represented at such gatherings by the minister of foreign affairs, the prime minister or the president, "and very rarely by the president of the assembly."
"So I think that Croatia will not cause any problems at the multilaterals. It can limit its own contacts... We should not completely rule out the possibility that, if there is a multilateral meeting where the presidents of the assembly are present, they decide whether they will stick to the sanctions 100% or say - for that opportunity he can enter (the president of the assembly). Or he will ask that Montenegro be represented by the vice president of the assembly," says the interlocutor.
The head of the parliament, Mandić, said at yesterday's session of the legislative chamber that he was surprised by Croatia's decision, saying that Montenegro would not take reciprocal measures.
"From the whole clamor that Croatia will cause collective damage to Montenegro, everything came down to one reaction related to three politicians," he said.
Mandić added that after the adoption of the resolution, he invited the President of the Croatian Parliament (Gordan Jandroković) to visit Montenegro "in order to remove all doubts", and that the invitation is still valid.
"By adopting the resolution, Montenegro made a great step forward in civilization, and I want to express my satisfaction that all the deputies in the Assembly, regardless of whether they voted for it or not, announced that what happened in Jasenovac is genocide," he said. is the President of the Assembly, saying that he invites all members of the Parliament, the Government of Croatia, as well as the citizens of that country to visit Montenegro.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MVP) of Montenegro did not respond to "Vijesta" questions about how they interpret Croatia's decision and what their response will be.
Deputy Prime Minister Bečić announced yesterday that there are "obviously no criteria" for why he is on the list of undesirables, considering that there are other heads of parties who voted for the resolution and are members of the Government, alluding to Spajić and the leader of the SNP Vladimir Joković.
"There is politics, as before in the decisions of some other neighbors. When the Democrats voted a few years ago on the Resolution on the genocide in Srebrenica, then Serbia put us on the 'red' list, that is, we were harassed for hours every time we crossed the border for over a year until that measure has not been repealed. Now it will be repeated in a slightly different form. It is time, as in the first case, to master it," he said.
Bečić said that, "as a national Montenegrin and the president of the civic party...", he never divided the victims according to religion and nationality, and that his party always condemned all genocides and crimes," always emphasizing and writing down more than once that the responsibility individual, and that no nation is and cannot be genocidal...".
DNP leader Knežević ironically commented on Croatia's decision yesterday on the Iks network, saying that his grandfather Milan, after whom he was named, "died in vain on St. George's Day 1945, freeing Karlovac from the Ustashas and Nazis".
"It looks like they won and we lost," Knežević wrote, adding that "his wife will kill him" because "their reservation for Rovinj fails."
When asked why Prime Minister Spajić was not on the list of undesirables, even though he is the leader of the ruling party, the former diplomat told "Vijesti" that this would mean the de facto termination of all relations, but that Zagreb was "very targeted", deciding to keep that channel open. and trusting that Spajić could change something.
"They probably have some communication with him".
Gordan Grlić Radman announced that Croatia does not plan to block Montenegro's negotiations with the EU, saying that this is not a European value and that they are avoiding doing so. However, he added that "there are always other mechanisms to influence certain decisions".
"Montenegro has to meet certain criteria (in negotiations with the EU) in order to complete some procedures, and Croatia will jump in with our criteria, because they still have to answer some war questions. I believe that the moment has come for Montenegro to turn to the rule of law and pro-European values," he said.
Grlić Radman stated that Montenegro must fulfill the final criteria in order to close the negotiation Chapter 23 (judiciary and basic rights).
"War crimes, the issue of missing persons and compensation for camp inmates are unresolved issues, and we have been waiting for answers for 32 years. The moment has come for Montenegro to turn to the rule of law, European values, and Croatia is its ally in that," said the Croatian minister, reports "Tportal". ".
Grlić Radman, as reported by "Jutarnji list", said that relations between Zagreb and Podgorica had already worsened "by the decision to rename the swimming pool in Kotor after the former guard of the Morinj camp, by preventing his visit to the school ship 'Jadran' in Tivat and attempts to name streets after Ratko Mladić i Pavlo Bulatović".
The former diplomat tells "Vijesti" that sanctions were imposed on Montenegro by a NATO ally, which, according to him, is much more important than the fact that Croatia is a member of the EU.
He estimates that the country will use all the mechanisms at its disposal, and that "this will not end easily".
"Now they will use everything they can on the field, and they can do a lot. (Croatian Prime Minister Andrei) Plenkovic he was supposed to be a candidate for the president of the European Commission. HDZ (Croatian Democratic Union) stands very well in the European People's Party, which is currently the ruling group in the EU. We will no longer be treated with goodwill. They will not close the door, but we will have to face the issues that Grlić Radman mentioned. In addition, Croats will have all the time in the world to explain to their partners why this is so, what is happening in Montenegro, who is in power, etc. Things are not naive at all. This is a sobering move, if someone hasn't understood by now," says the interlocutor.
DPS: The government is anti-European; Milačić: Zagreb has not distanced itself from the NDH
The strongest opposition party, the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), said yesterday that Croatia's decision to declare Mandić, Bečić and Knežević undesirable is "another confirmation that Montenegro has an anti-European and national-populist government".
"Already during the election of the Government, we warned that this is a Government that cannot bring Montenegro into the EU, and that what is on stage is the implementation of the policy and ideology of the real head of this parliamentary majority, Mandić. Every day of the existence of this Government and this parliamentary majority will only cause additional economic, political and institutional problems... This is why we once again appeal to all actors to show responsibility towards the citizens and to achieve a stable and clear pro-European majority and a pro-European Government through the organization of extraordinary parliamentary elections," said DPS.
The leader of the Social Democrats (SD), Damir Šehović, assessed that Croatia's decision is all we need to know about the character and essence of the current "repackaged and inexpertly made-up ruling party".
"Thus, after only two days of the constitution, the mantra about the 'European' and 'conciliatory' character of the newly formed post-conciliation government collapsed like a house of cards... I expect the new Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ervin Ibrahimović, to explain to our friends in Croatia that his new coalition partners are actually good guys," Šehović said.
General Secretary of the Civil Movement (GP) URA, Mileta Radovanić, said that the ban on the entry of Mandić, Bečić and Knežević "is a clear signal that this political group cannot bring Montenegro into the EU".
President of Prava Montenegro Marko Milačić announced that Croatia's decision "is proof that official Zagreb has not distanced itself from the NDH (Independent State of Croatia) past of the state of Croatia", and the leader of United Montenegro Goran Danilović that the Croatian Prime Minister "should kneel in Jasenovac and demand forgiveness".
The first sanctions since the nineties
The former diplomat assesses for "Vijesti" that in the eyes of other countries, Montenegro has become "one of the problems in good neighborly cooperation and regional relations".
"Because an ally (in NATO) and a member of the EU imposed some kind of sanctions on us. Montenegro has not been in that situation since 1997/1998... So we are no longer a country that is seen in the region as someone who is welcome and who is everyone's partner...", he claims.
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