We appeal to all well-intentioned actors, including local political structures, not to fall for the cheap demagogy of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), but to work together to create a functional and modern maritime sector, free from past misconceptions, political appointments and criminal interests, the Europe Now Movement (PES) Kotor announced today.
They reacted to a statement from the Municipal Committee (OO) of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), which states, among other things, that the Prime Minister of Montenegro and leader of the PES, Milojko Spajić, is trying to shut down shipping in Kotor.
"It is incredible how much hypocrisy is being displayed by the very party that systematically destroyed the Montenegrin maritime industry, dismembered and sold off Jugooceania, and dispersed Montenegrin sailors around the world, without doing anything for their rights or for the preservation and development of this important economic sector during its thirty-year rule," the Kotor PES statement said.
They added that if Crnogorska plovidba is, as DPS claims, the successor to the famous Jugoceanija, the key question arises - why then did DPS not cede the rich assets of Jugoceanija, which were located in Montenegro, to that company?
"Instead, this property was sold off, on the principle of 'what-why', to tycoons close to DPS, who are today building their private empires precisely on the ruins of once-famous state-owned companies. With these moves, DPS consciously tried to make sense of every attempt to rebuild the Montenegrin maritime economy and disenfranchised generations of seafarers for whom seafaring was more than a profession - it was part of their identity," the PES Kotor statement states.
They said that Crnogorska plovidba is a company with potential and significance, but, as they added, it is important to remind the public who created it, under what conditions, and how it has been run to this day.
"The two ships were taken on extremely unfavorable terms, with loans negotiated by DPS cadres. Almost a decade of management of that company was marked by renting ships at below-market prices, with non-transparent contracts and dubious deals. The people who were in charge of its development at the time were DPS party soldiers - and the result of such "management" was predictable: ruin. Today, when someone finally dares to tackle the accumulated problems, DPS is showing up again - not to help, but to "defend" what it had already destroyed earlier. Instead of stepping back and taking responsibility for the damage they have caused, they are trying to manipulate citizens' emotions and politicize every decision that is not in line with their interests," the Kotor PES statement reads.
They add that the poor state of Crnogorska plovidba is not the result of the work of the current ministry, but rather a consequence of decades of negligence, irresponsibility, and poor management.
"That is precisely why it is necessary to urgently and decisively resolve the accumulated problems - and not to further conceal them - in order to prevent bankruptcy and create conditions for the stabilization and recovery of the company. The essence of the measures being implemented is to establish more efficient management and create the foundation for a long-term sustainable business model. The maritime tradition is not being extinguished - on the contrary, an attempt is being made to save what remains after years of systematic collapse carried out by those who criticize it the loudest today," the Kotor PES statement reads.
They said that it is time for "Montenegro to finally break with the governance model that has only created debts and to embark on the path of responsibility, transparency and development."
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