The narrative that the dialogue on the Serbian language and dual citizenship is a topic that causes divisions in society is a classic substitution of theses, with clear elements of social irresponsibility. Such simplification aims to preserve rigid discriminatory achievements towards the largest linguistic community, which unfortunately are still in force, assessed Milun Zogović, Deputy Prime Minister of Montenegro for Infrastructure and Regional Development and Vice President of the Democratic People's Party (DNP).
"Not to mention the logical unsustainability of the approach that dialogue on eliminating discrimination that violates basic human rights and human dignity of the most numerous linguistic and, according to the census results, the second largest national community, is a 'divisive issue'," he added.
Zogović said that the approach of imposing the necessity of preserving valid and current discrimination is devoid of all elements of goodwill, which is necessarily accompanied by a lack of social and state responsibility.
"Where there is good intention and social responsibility, there is no dilemma as to whether dialogue or discrimination should be given priority. Since the time of the Sophists and before them, dialogue has been established as the best and most advanced instrument for finding solutions and discussing problems. All important and major issues have, since that time, ultimately had to be resolved through dialogue. I do not want to believe that the level of Montenegrin political and social fantasticness has reached unimaginable heights where conceptually discrimination takes precedence over dialogue," Zogović stated in a statement sent to the media.
If persistence in discrimination is the dominant approach, adds the DNP vice president, it is clear that there is no place for dialogue as the most natural instrument for seeking and finding solutions.
"Not to mention the attack on common sense, where the opening of a broad social dialogue on eliminating discrimination and the need to respect the results of the population census is being presented as a taboo topic that causes division through media falsification.
"Just as the lamb upstream troubled the wolf with water, so too, seeking dialogue on such important topics as the issue of the Serbian language and dual citizenship provokes social divisions," he believes.
Zogović said that the divisions were caused long ago by the disastrous policies of the former regime, which, he claims, committed constitutional genocide against the Serbian language.
"At a time when 64,5% of Montenegrin citizens spoke Serbian, the drafters of the Constitution did not recognize Serbian as an official language. Insisting on such an approach is actually insisting on the concept of division, while the need to open dialogue is a way to overcome divisions through respect for reality. It is absurd to explain the advantages of dialogue over the current discrimination, which is a direct consequence of dividing society. Therefore, I call on all political and social actors to declare political war on discrimination, and not on dialogue as is the case with many now," said Zogović.
He said that it is necessary for opponents of dialogue and advocates of preserving a discriminatory concept towards half of the population of this country to answer the question in which EU country the majority language is not official.
"As a future EU member, Montenegro must respect European democratic values and standards. The European Union is based on the values of respect for human dignity and rights, freedom, democracy and equality. The basic intention of the EU is that there must be no discrimination when it comes to basic human rights and freedoms, which is precisely an additional reason for our society to find the strength to reach a solution through dialogue that will eliminate current discrimination. In this way, we as a society will confirm that we truly believe in the proclaimed values and not just mention them declaratively, as was the case in the past. It is precisely the attitude towards the largest linguistic community that will be the best measure of how much we truly believe in the democratic achievements we strive for," concluded Zogović.
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