Expulsions, detentions at the border, entry bans - they do not represent the relations between states and citizens, but between politicians and the ruling elites in Belgrade and Podgorica.
This is how the interlocutors of "Vijesti" assess the recent case of the expulsion of a member of parliament from the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS). Ivan Vuković from Serbia, but also similar phenomena that have occurred in the last few years on both sides of the border.
The parliamentarian from the strongest opposition party was detained in Belgrade on March 15, the day of a major protest in the city. He was banned from entering Serbia for a year due to a “security threat.” The day before, Vuković posted a video on social media of him welcoming students who had walked to the capital of the neighboring country to participate in the protest.
A similar practice has been going on for years - Montenegrin politicians were detained at the border, and the former Minister of European Affairs Jovana Marović was expelled from Serbia.
On the other hand, in the final days of the DPS government in 2020, musicians and academics were banned from entering Montenegro, and the Serbian ambassador was declared persona non grata.
Asked to comment on why such practices have become a continuity of state relations in recent years, a political analyst from Belgrade Cvijetin Milivojevic He estimates for "Vijesti" that it is still about the relations between political elites.
"I would not call it a continuity of relations between the two states, but rather a relationship between the political elites in power - both the former political elite in Montenegro and the current one with the same political elite in Serbia."
A project associate at the Center for Civic Education (CCE) has similar views. Nikola Mirkovic who points out that relations between citizens are much better than between politicians.
"Moves like targeted detentions at border crossings just because of someone's political views are ugly and unnecessary political messages."
However, Mirković makes a distinction between these events and declaring the ambassador persona non grata.
"When it comes to declaring ambassadors persona non grata, as well as some other developments, it is important not to generalize things and differentiate between the reasons for these decisions. It must be emphasized that many in Serbia, especially in the authorities, do not view Montenegro as an independent and sovereign state, that they are either trying to influence internal developments in Montenegro or are violating diplomatic practice, inappropriately expressing themselves on the issue of Montenegrin identity," he believes, adding that it has not happened that a Montenegrin official denies or questions Serbian national identity, or speaks about it in a derogatory manner, as was the case with certain Serbian officials.
Milivojević reminds that the attitude of the current President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić and the former first man of Montenegro Milo Đukanović was "practically at the level of friendship", but that over time these relationships changed.
As he adds, the first man of Serbia will use Vuković's presence in Belgrade until March 28, when he is preparing counter-rallies, as "proof that a so-called color revolution is being waged against him."
"He is somehow suggesting that some power centers in the most important Western representatives are behind this, he must not say that it is Washington, that it is Germany or any other power and so on. He must not, because it depends on their support, and then the easiest way to say that it is the Croatian Ustashas, Montenegrin enemies or from some other countries that are close, but not so powerful or influential, who are behind this."
Mirković: Serbia is more to blame for bad relations
Mirković notes that citizens are "connected to each other in many ways," but that Serbia has had the greatest influence on the nature of that relationship, which is often negative.
"Let's not forget that the two countries have historically been part of several common states in this area, and that the relations between citizens are connected by family, business and other ties. Also, the connections at the level of infrastructure, economy, tourism, health, education are high, so it is in the interests of both countries that these relations be as good as possible."
However, he adds, in order to improve relations, it is necessary to work on communication.
"It is necessary that at the level of both states there is no dispute that these are two independent states, and that there is a relationship of equality, decency and respect in communication, even when there are disagreements. This is currently lacking, and I must emphasize that much more is lacking when it comes to the official Serbian side."
Milivojević: There is no reason why they should not be on the same side
The newspaper's interlocutor from Belgrade points out that the only difference between the two countries is that Montenegro is a member of the NATO alliance, and Serbia does not want to be, but that "it does not see or has been given a valid reason for them to be, if not always, then for the most part, on the same side in international relations."
"The issue that has somehow begun to spoil relations between Serbia and Montenegro is Montenegro's recognition of Kosovo 17 years ago, but it has been somehow put aside. Neither side, at least well-intentioned people, have raised it recently," Milivojević believes.
Vučić recalls Milo from the final days of his rule
Milivojević points out that the moves of the authorities in Serbia are reminiscent of the behavior of DPS actors in the final days of their rule.
"At this moment, Vučić looks like an insecure ruler, just like Đukanović did in the last phase of his rule, when he became the target of those mass protests that were embodied there in marches and similar gatherings. You have this situation in which the support of his own party is not enough for him, but he has tried to create a kind of ultra-support. He calls it some kind of sect, loyalists and so on. He doesn't even trust the members and officials of his own party."
Milivojević draws a parallel with the musician's ban on entering Montenegro Vlada Georgieva and the poet Matija Bećković who are related to her by place of birth, or origin, but also notes that the authorities in Serbia did the same to the writer and actor Fedja Štukan.
He adds that no political actor in Serbia has a negative attitude towards Montenegro, although some of them favor a particular party or leader.
Marovic is safe.
Mirković points out that every politician has the right to be where they think they belong, and that the judgment on whether this is appropriate should be made by their voters.
"No threat to the security of Serbia was posed by MP Ivan Vuković, who, as an eyewitness to the protest in Belgrade, made a statement about it via social media, in a way that any university professor could have done, which is also his professional calling. And this is not the first example, something similar happened to Jovana Marović at one time, when she was no longer in the official position of Minister of European Affairs."
Looking back at the case of the former president of Serbia and Montenegro Svetozar Marović, who is in Belgrade, and a warrant has been issued for him in Montenegro, as well as for members of criminal clans operating in both countries, Mirković says that the competent authorities in Serbia ignore extradition requests from Montenegrin authorities when it suits them, but are "prompt" when they receive a political order.
"Engaging the secret service to detain a lawmaker from a neighboring country for a post on a social network is part of the dramaturgy needed by Aleksandar Vučić's agenda and media in an attempt to portray that student protests in Serbia are anything but dissatisfaction with his regime," he believes, adding that "we are getting to the point where it is perfectly fine for Vučić and his loyalists when a politician from Montenegro comes to Belgrade and supports his party, but that they find support for those who are against his regime unbearable."
Milivojević points out that, perhaps, the presence is not ethical, but that the protests taking place in Serbia are not political, but student-civic.
As he adds, the authorities in Serbia seem to believe that they have insufficient support among their electorate, so they are trying to incite intolerance towards certain politicians and authorities in the region.
"The philosophy of Vučić's government is to build a personality cult in which he identifies with the state, and then his propaganda spreads fear that whoever wants to overthrow him wants to overthrow Serbia and the Serbs as a people."
Milivojević recalls that at the protests in Belgrade there were certainly people from many parts of the world who did not come specifically for them, but found themselves there.
Referring to the common problem of criminal clans, he points out that the authorities in the neighboring country have not done much to work together to stop this phenomenon.
"In these conflicts of various clans that were mainly created in Montenegro, they were exported to Serbia where they enriched their capital. Some of these clans were close to Vučić's government. Many of them have developed businesses and you saw that this does not bother the authorities in Serbia much. They do not do much to stop it through some joint cooperation with Montenegro."
The SNS government does not want to change
Milivojević believes that, in order to improve relations, a government is needed that will act responsibly towards the position of the state and the Serbian people in the region, because Serbia has defined in its Constitution that it must also care for Serbs outside its own borders.
"A Serbian representation needs to emerge, and that is clearly not this government. It has missed its chances in these 13 years... In order for that to happen, the mindset of the people who make up the government must change, because these are people who were in positions in the 90s. In Montenegro, that change occurred four and a half years ago. In a way, things can be completely reset and start from scratch."
However, he adds that the current government in Serbia does not want to change, and that it has not understood the messages of citizens from the protests.
The fall of Vučić would improve relations
Both interlocutors agree that a possible change of government in Serbia would provide an opportunity to improve relations between that country and Montenegro.
Mirković believes that a lot depends on who would replace Vučić.
"Given the influence that the current Serbian government has in Montenegro, a change of government would certainly provide a breath of fresh air for the renewal of quality diplomatic relations and provide a chance for a better atmosphere between the two countries. Of course, this would also depend on the nature of the new authorities in Serbia, given that most political actors in Serbia have more or less similar attitudes towards Montenegro."
However, as he adds, the fall of power in Serbia would certainly affect the constellation of forces in power in Montenegro, as well as its constituents who are close to Vučić's policies.
Milivojević, on the other hand, points out that there is no hatred towards Montenegro in any party in the neighboring country, so that there would be no problems in improving relations, but he also assumes that the Montenegrin side would also be interested in new communication.
"Especially in a situation where both countries share the same aspiration - that path towards the EU is something that unites us," he explains, adding that "no one in Serbia disputes the statehood of Montenegro."
The newspaper's interlocutor from Belgrade notes that Montenegrin recognition of Kosovo is a problem in relations, but that it should not be swept under the carpet or resolved in one day, but that it needs to be "opened up and the arguments of both sides heard."
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