All the good things the former Minister of Interior and Defense may have done Pavle Bulatović, are overshadowed by the crime of the deportation of Bosnian-Herzegovinian refugees from Montenegro, which he ordered in the early 1990s. Therefore, the decision to name a street in Podgorica after him would be an insult to both those victims and their families.
That's right Elizabeta Mrnjačević from the Human Rights Action (HRA) commented on the decision of the Council for Proposing Names of Settlements, Streets and Squares (a working body of the Capital City Assembly) the day before yesterday to give consent for Bulatović to receive a street in the capital of Montenegro.
Seven Council members voted in favor, while a representative of the European Union voted against. Miloš DjurickovicThe final decision is made by the city parliament.
President of the Council and councilor of the Movement for Podgorica (PzPG) Dragutin Vučinić, told "Vijesti" that he voted for approval, that the Podgorica parliament will discuss the proposal, and that they expect the opposition to present arguments on this case at the city assembly session.
He stated that his position is that history has not yet given its opinion on Bulatović, but that the verdict for the murder of the former official should be awaited before he is given a street name.
Vučinić told the media yesterday that, "as far as PzPG is concerned", they believe that "neither legally, socially, nor politically, the conditions have been met to complete this issue at this moment by giving that name (Bulatović's) to a specific street."
"But to join the contingent of almost 150 names waiting on the list of accepted proposals," he said.
PzPG is close to the head of state Jakov MilatovićThe president did not respond to the newspaper's questions about how he views the fact that that political entity "raised its hand" in giving consent for Bulatović to receive the street.
Honor without respect for the victims
Mrnjačević told "Vijesti" that as a citizen, she is ashamed "that without any respect for the families of the victims of deportation," honor is being paid to the person responsible for their suffering.
"Any good that Mr. Bulatović may have done in his life is completely overshadowed by that crime. We cannot pretend that it did not happen, it is a fact established by the courts," she added, recalling that Bulatović, as Minister of Internal Affairs of Montenegro, on May 23, 1992, issued an illegal order to all security centers and departments to deprive of their liberty and return to BiH all persons arriving from that country.
"This fact was established by a final judgment of the Higher Court in Podgorica (Ks. 6/12, dated 22 November 2012). Bulatović was also under investigation by the Hague Tribunal for crimes in Kosovo, and the Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the ICTY, Graham Bluth", stated that he would probably have been included in the second round of Kosovo indictments if he had not been killed in an assassination (SENSE, 2. 8. 2000)," Mrnjačević stated.
The interviewee therefore assesses that the Council's decision insults the victims, but also undermines a society that, in her opinion, is still dealing with the legacy of unpunished war crimes. Instead, she says, of respecting the victims, the message is sent that even today, thirty years later, "we are not ready to face our war past."
"It is particularly worrying that councilors from parties that present themselves as civic, but in fact continue to flirt with dangerous narratives from the 1990s, voted for this proposal. It is difficult to imagine how the family of the murdered man feels today." Osmo Bajrović", whose remains were never found, as they watch as institutions pay tribute to a man whose orders had tragic consequences for their loved one," Mrnjačević pointed out.
Because of all of the above, the interviewee says that Bulatović should not get the street.
"Given his role in events that resulted in serious human rights violations, we believe that Bulatović does not meet the requirements of Article 5 of the Law on Memorials (who is considered a prominent figure, ed.). Additionally, Article 10 expressly prohibits the erection of a memorial to a person who played a negative role in the history of Montenegro or humanity. Naming a street carries the symbolic weight of social recognition, and the war legacy associated with Bulatović is contrary to the values that such recognition should reflect," stated Mrnjačević, adding that she expects the Ministry of Culture to act in accordance with the law and prevent the institutionalization of revisionism.
The Ministry should state whether the proposal meets the criteria for a prominent figure as prescribed by the Law on Memorials. According to that act, memorials permanently commemorate significant events, preserve the memories of prominent figures, cherish human ideals and cultural and historical traditions, and pay tribute to freedom fighters, civilian victims of war, and mass human suffering.
The proposal for Bulatović to receive a street in Podgorica was submitted to the Council in October 2023 by current and former Democratic councilors, Mitar Vuković i Vladimir Čađenović.
Fejzić: A dangerous message
Reis of the Islamic community in Montenegro Rifat Fejzic, said that the Council's decision represents a dangerous message "that supports the killing and expulsion of Bosniaks."
"Does Pavle Bulatović deserve to have a street named after him in Podgorica? If this is a reward for the deportations of Bosniaks in 1992 and their slaughter, then this is a dangerous message. Kill, expel Bosniaks and you will be rewarded! Does this decision help Montenegro's European path and the building of civil society?!" he asked.
Head of the DPS councilors' club in the Podgorica parliament Andrija Klikovac, stated that it seems that for "President Milatović's supporters", Pavle Bulatović deserves the name of a street in Podgorica "because he directly participated in the deportations of Bosniaks".
"Will it Drago Vučinić and team propose that and Radovan Karadzic "With that logic, the street gets its name? Bravo Jakov," he wrote on the X network.
In a statement to the media, Vučinić stated that "due to the personal affinity and family reasons" he has for Bulatović, "as an undoubtedly historical figure", he could not, nor did he want to, be a barrier "to this initiative from reaching the councilors themselves for a vote..."
"I have also given my esteemed colleague Klikovac the opportunity to explain to the interested public how the then Minister of the Interior, Bulatović, could have made any decision - including the one he is being accused of today - without the knowledge of his superior, who we all know who he was and what his relationship was with the Hague convict, who was then the head of Republika Srpska," he said.
Member of the Bosniak Party (BS) Admir Adrović, said that he considered the proposal for Bulatović to receive the street unacceptable.
"Montenegro, as a European, multinational and multi-religious state, must not allow such an act that hurts the feelings of at least one-fifth of its citizens, especially Bosniaks...", he assessed.
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Unsolved murder
In the last session of the city parliament, the council asked the Ministry of Culture for its opinion on the proposal to give Bulatović a street, but the department Tamara Vujović refused to give a statement because, as they told "Vijesti" at the time (in August last year), there is no legal basis for it.
"... Bearing in mind that the relevant proposal will eventually be considered if it is an integral part of the Proposal for the Memorial Erection Program," they said at the time.
The proposal to name a street after Bulatović was first opposed by a former councilor Aleksandar Saša Zeković, and then several non-governmental organizations.
According to the Rules for determining proposals for the names of settlements, streets and squares in the capital city, a proposal for the name of a street or square can be submitted by any natural person, provided that it is "not related to the name of a prominent person who is proposed for the name of the street or square, namely a relative in the direct line and collateral up to the second degree of kinship, a relative by in-laws up to the first degree of kinship, a married and common-law spouse, an adoptive parent and an adopted child".
A necessary condition for the proposal to be adopted is that at least 20 years have passed since the death of the individual whose name the street or square should bear, and if it is an event, 50 years.
Bulatović, Minister of Defense of the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, was murdered on February 7, 2000, in Belgrade, in the restaurant of the Rad na Banjica football club. The crime has not yet been solved.
Đuričković: There is no talk about Bulatović's "merits"
Miloš Đuričković told "Vijesti" that he did not like the explanation given by the council members at the council session, who, as he stated, did not address Bulatović's "'achievements' from the problematic period."
"That is, from 1991 until his death. A lot has been said about his qualities, but not about his 'merits'," he said.
According to him, it is a big problem that a street is named based on "an event, without the conditions being ripe for it."
"If the basis is function, 50 years must pass. They ignored that, citing that the basis is personality," he added.
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