The Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) condemned yesterday's statement by the Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Joanikije, in which he called Chetnik duke Pavle Đurišić "a great hero of invincible character."
They said that Ioanniki's statement represents another in a series of attempts to revise history and rehabilitate ideologies that are based on hatred, crimes, and collaboration with the occupiers.
They point out that Pavle Đurišić and the Chetnik movement are not symbols of freedom or honor, but are responsible for serious crimes. Any attempt to present him and similar historical figures as heroes is a direct insult to the victims of fascism and those who fought for the freedom of Montenegro in the anti-fascist resistance, the DPS says.
They said that this is not the first time that Joanikije has used a religious service to express political and revisionist views that are divisive and insult the anti-fascist heritage on which modern Montenegro is based.
"Instead of promoting reconciliation and Christian values, such messages spread ideological extremism. Montenegro is founded on anti-fascism, civil harmony and European values, and no individual, be he a religious leader, has the right to deny historical facts and insult the victims who died at the hands of those whom Joanikije shamefully glorifies," the statement reads.
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