Putting a hat on the head of the state: Causes and consequences of erecting a monument to Pavle Đurišić in Berane

Erection of a monument to the notorious Chetnik commander Pavlo Đurišić in Berane is not just a provocation, but the culmination of a long-term and insidious campaign of substituting lies for the truth, which is part of a broader strategy of Serbian revisionist circles in Montenegro. The state should respond to this by punishing those and all others who glorify collaborators of the occupiers and dangerous policies, thus rejecting attempts to perceive the crimes as a different view of history.

This is how Vijesti's interlocutors view yesterday's unveiling of the statue of Đurišić in the village of Gornje Zaostro, in the immediate vicinity of the place where the assembly of admirers of the Chetnik movement is being held today.

Berane police arrested a fellow citizen yesterday for erecting a monument Vujadin Dobrašinović and filed a criminal complaint against him for the criminal offense of injury and unauthorized erection of a memorial. The Police Directorate announced that Dobrašinović erected the monument on his own land.

The Law on Memorials stipulates the prevention of the erection of monuments for events that mark the loss of freedom or independence of Montenegro, symbolize or signify cooperation with the occupier, its ally or helper, as well as for persons who were collaborators of the occupier, its ally or helper, who represented fascist, chauvinist or Nazi ideas or ideologies, who were convicted of a crime against humanity or other goods protected by international law or who were declared war criminals...

According to this regulation, monuments are erected in accordance with the erection program, which is adopted by the municipal assembly, the capital city and the royal capital, with the prior consent of the state administration body responsible for cultural affairs (ministry).

The Inspector for Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture and Media presented the first man of Berane yesterday To Đolo Lutovac (Europe Now Movement) inspection report, which ordered the removal of the monument to Đurišić immediately, and within three days at the latest.

Đurišić was the supreme Chetnik leader in 1941. Dragoljub Mihailović appointed one of the commanders of the Chetnik forces in Montenegro. In the following months, Đurišić's intensive collaboration with the Italian and then German occupiers began, during which his Chetniks repeatedly committed massacres of the civilian population.

TADIĆ MIJOVIĆ: SUMMONING THE DANGEROUS

Director of the Center for Investigative Journalism Milka Tadic Mijović, she told Vijesti that the erection of the monument to Đurišić is a great shame for Montenegro, and that it is an invocation of retrograde and dangerous ideologies that have already cost the world dearly.

"Celebrating Nazi collaborators in Montenegro today, those (Nazis) who committed one of the greatest genocides in the history of mankind, is truly terrifying and worrying...", she assessed, stating that Montenegro and its citizens should therefore respond to such moves by "punishing admirers of the work and character of Đurišić so that they never decide their fates."

When asked if she believes the monument is a political provocation, the interviewee responds that it is much more than a provocation.

"I don't know if those people who do such things are even aware of what ideology Đurišić belonged to, what that ideology did to humanity...", Tadić Mijović concluded.

In Gornji Zaostr, a pedestal for a monument to Đurišić was erected in 2002, and a memorial complex was erected in 2013. However, both were demolished shortly after their erection.

The so-called Voivodeship Council of the United Ravna Gora Movement launched an initiative in 2017 to erect monuments to Đurišić in Berane and Zaostar, and in 2019 the current Deputy Prime Minister and then MP Budimir Aleksic (New Serbian Democracy) called Dragoslav Šćekić (Socialist People's Party), at that time the leader of Berane, to erect a monument to the Chetnik duke.

BAČANOVIĆ: MORE FACTS, BETTER FACTS

Historian and journalist Vuk Bačanović, told the newspaper that the decision to publicly honor “one of the most notorious figures from the occupation period” was not an isolated incident, but part of a broader strategy by Serbian revisionist circles in Montenegro. He claims, however, that the goal of these circles is not only the restoration of their own symbolic power, which also implies “the castration of Serbian politics in their own state of Montenegro,” but also the political empowerment of the once-ruling Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS).

“... Which has been encouraging a parallel revisionism for years - one that rehabilitates collaborators of fascists from the other side of the ideological spectrum,” he stated.

Bačanović said that for years in Montenegro, with almost no reaction, especially without reaction from the former government and the current opposition, there have been monuments to collaborators and war criminals. To Osman Rastoder in Petnjica and Jusuf Čelić in Gusinje, while, he claims, through "academic processing" the biography Sekula Drljević i Savić Marković Štedimlija, prepares the ground for their “final social acceptability and therefore monuments”.

"It should also be noted that there has long been an initiative, supported by media close to the opposition DPS, to erect a monument to a collaborator in Cetinje." Krsto Zrnov Popović", who, unlike the image of a fighter for the dignity of Montenegro offered to us by DPS ideologues, is responsible for the deportations of the population from the partisan territories in Crmnica to concentration camps in Albania," claims the interlocutor.

Bačanović says that, no matter how much the two opposing blocs "cut" at each other, what is politically expedient for everyone is the philosophy of "the worse - the better" in the rival ranks.

"Because, obviously, they decided to divide Montenegro into territories that would be under the exclusive ideological domination of one or the other bloc, and any form of primitive provocation from semi-intellectuals suits them perfectly. In that sense, both sides are guided by the maxim - the more facts, the worse for the facts," he assessed.

Bačanović points out that it is therefore necessary to launch an initiative in the form of a petition and send it to all public figures in Montenegro for signature - for the removal, without exception, of all monuments to individuals who collaborated with the occupiers, as well as for the permanent rejection of any attempt to turn mass crimes into a different view of history.

"That way we'll see who is intellectually honest enough to clear the whole thing up," the editor of the "Žurnal.me" portal concluded.

NIKOLIĆ: THE CONSEQUENCE OF THE SOC'S RHETORIC

For the writer Nikola Nikolic, The erection of the monument to Đurišić is the culmination of a "long-term and insidious, and recently particularly frenzied" campaign of attempts to rehabilitate the Chetniks, or "substitute lies for the truth." He claims that this "vile act" is a direct consequence of the official rhetoric of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC), which, according to him, does not shy away from the cheapest subterfuge in order to posthumously turn a criminal into a hero.

"It is also a consequence of the normalization of the abnormal in secular government - the fact that at the head of the parliament of a state founded on anti-fascism is a man (Andrija Mandic) who never renounced the title of Chetnik duke (which he received in Gornji Zaostar ed. aut), that the leader of Nikšić is already in his second term as a man (Marko Kovacevic"... who openly admires the Chetniks, who even attended the unveiling of the monument to Draža Mihailović in Bileća," Nikolić told Vijesti.

He says that, of course, when "such approving gestures" come from the highest authorities, in someone's "shallow-minded, but also extremely bloodthirsty consciousness, such a stupid, sinister, dangerous intention of ideological concretization in practice will spark."

"In this sense, it is worth recalling that the memorial to Jusuf Čelić in Vusanje, a collaborator of the occupiers, has still not been removed. Despite the fact that the competent authorities ordered it at the time. If there is something that must be consistent down to the millimeter, it is the issue of proven war crimes and any relativization leads to a labyrinth of Torian divisions, where 'our' victims are more valuable than 'theirs', where you are scum without mercy and abhor someone else's scum," Nikolić underlined.

The erection of the monument provoked harsh reactions from some state officials, the opposition, and part of the non-governmental sector, who called on the authorities to urgently remove the monument. Some of the ruling parties remained silent about the event.

A group of 12 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and civic activists condemned the installation of the monument, stating that Đurišić was a war criminal, Chetnik commander, Nazi collaborator and ally of the Ustaše, whom he decorated and Adolf Hitler.

MANDIĆ SILENT, NSD CRITICIZES ARREST

Head of State Jakov Milatovic He said that erecting a memorial to a person who symbolizes "fascist collaboration, ethnic and religious hatred, and mass crimes against civilians" is an attempt to rehabilitate an ideology that contradicts the fundamental values of anti-fascist Montenegro.

Prime Minister Milojko Spajic (Europe Now Movement) said that revising history through such actions is "a futile effort for those who have bad intentions regarding the EU (European Union) future of Montenegro."

The Association of Lawyers of Montenegro called on Spajić to urgently order the full implementation of activities by the relevant authorities that will demonstrate that Montenegro is a state governed by the rule of law and has sovereign power by removing "wild and illegal structures" erected by members of the Quinsli formations.

Parliament Speaker Andrija Mandić (New Serbian Democracy) did not comment, nor did he answer Vijesti's question about his views on the erection of a monument to Đurišić. He announced at the end of June that he did not oppose the opinions of the Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral. Joanikia and Budimljansko-Nikšić The method regarding their affirmative statements about that Chetnik commander.

Mandić's party announced last night that Dobrašinović's arrest was illegal, and that the monument to Đurišić was erected on private property.

"Dialogue and conversation on all topics, even the most painful ones, is the best solution to overcome all hatred," they said.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ervin Ibrahimovic (Bosniak Party), announced that in civil Montenegro there is no, must not and will not be a place for glorifying war criminals like Đurišić.

The mayor of Berane, Đole Lutovac, stated that the monument was erected without prior notification to the competent institutions and in violation of legal procedures. He said that he strongly condemns the act, assessing that it is an attempt to further polarize society.

The other parties in the ruling majority - the Democratic People's Party, the Democrats, the Socialist People's Party, as well as the Albanian parties - did not comment on the monument yesterday.

The erection of the monument was condemned by several officials from the opposition DPS and the European Union, as well as the Civic Movement URA.

Head of the club of deputies of the DPS Andrija Nikolić, announced that the state government, "in which the Prime Minister is not allowed to condemn the presence of his vice president at the memorial service for collaborators of Hitler's fascist coalition", is a direct accomplice in erecting a monument of shame and celebrating fascism.

One of the leaders of the European Union Damir Sehovic, said that of those who erected the monument to Đurišić, "the only ones worse are those who today supposedly protest that act, while at the same time sharing power with those who not only take pride in the title of Chetnik voivode, but also use it as a political and identity stronghold."

The civic movement URA condemned the installation of the monument to Đurišić and called on the authorities to remove the monument, because it "disturbs interfaith and interethnic harmony and returns society to dark periods of the past that no one wants to remember."

The Union of Organizations of National Liberation War Veterans (SOBNOR) called it incomprehensible that a monument is being erected "precisely in this time of life, when fascism, the greatest evil of humanity, is killing people all over the world."

The State Prosecutor's Office also believes that there is no hate speech in the celebration of Đurišić so far.

The Supreme State Prosecutor's Office (SPO) assessed that the Higher State Prosecutor's Office in Podgorica made a lawful decision when it dismissed the criminal charges against Metropolitan Joanikije of Montenegro and the Littoral, priest Ognjen Femić and unidentified persons for the criminal offense of inciting racial, national and religious hatred.

In June, the Higher Prosecutor's Office dismissed the complaint filed by several representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) against Joanikij, Femić and unidentified persons for glorifying Đurišić.

The lawsuit was filed on May 20 by the directors of the Human Rights Action, the Center for Women's Rights, the Center for Civic Education (CCE) and the Center for Democracy and Human Rights - Tea Gorjanc Prelević, Maja Raičević, Daliborka Uljarević and Nevenka Vuksanović, as well as the executive director of the NGO Antifascists of Cetinje Filip Kuzman, the program director of the Center for Democratic Transition Milica Kovačević and the president of the Association of History Professors Miloš Vukanović.

The CCE filed a complaint with the Supreme State Prosecutor's Office against the decision of the Higher Prosecutor's Office.

In her response to the complaint, which Vijesti had access to, State Prosecutor Lidija Vukčević stated that after analyzing all the collected data and evidence, it was assessed that the actions taken in the aforementioned case were in accordance with the law and that "a lawful decision was made in the form of a reasoned decision to dismiss the criminal complaint, with sufficiently clear reasons."

It is recalled that the case file of the Higher Prosecutor's Office shows that, after conducting an investigation, assessing the content of the statement given by Joanikija, the author's text by priest Femić and the event in the "Radovče" restaurant in Podgorica, when unknown persons sang the song "To the young major Đurišić, commander of Montenegro", it concluded that the actions of the reported persons did not contain the elements of the reported criminal offense of inciting racial, national and religious hatred, "and provided valid reasons for such a conclusion that were factually and legally substantiated".

"Namely, a criminal report was filed for the criminal offense of inciting racial, national and religious hatred under Art. 370, paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code of Montenegro, but since the State Prosecutor is not bound by the legal qualification, and since it follows from the presented facts that in this specific case it could be a criminal offense of inciting racial, national and religious hatred under Art. 370, paragraph 2 of the Criminal Code, it was decided in the direction of this criminal offense," Vukčević wrote in his response.

Article 370, paragraph 2 of the Criminal Code of Montenegro stipulates that the criminal offense of inciting national, racial and religious hatred is committed by a person who publicly approves, denies the existence of or significantly minimizes the gravity of the criminal offenses of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed against a group or a member of a group determined on the basis of race, skin color, religion, origin, national or ethnic affiliation, in a manner that may lead to violence or incite hatred towards a group of persons or a member of such a group, if these criminal offenses have been established by a final judgment of a court in Montenegro or an international criminal court.

Paragraph 1 of that article stipulates that anyone who publicly incites violence or hatred towards a group or member of a group determined on the basis of race, skin color, religion, origin, language, national or ethnic affiliation shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of six months to five years.

The explanation of the Higher Prosecutor's Office's decision states that, given the fact that for the existence of the aforementioned criminal offense, it is necessary that all cumulatively determined elements of the offense are included in the perpetrator's intent, and that in this specific case the war crime indicated in the report has not been established by a verdict of a court in Montenegro or an international criminal court, it is clear that therefore the actions of the reported persons do not contain elements of this criminal offense.

Dobrašinović a member of NSD?

In a statement by the NSD published in a media outlet eight years ago, Vujadin Dobrašinović was mentioned as a member of the party's Berane committee.

Andrija Mandić's party did not answer Vijesti whether Dobrašinović is part of that party, if so - since when, and if not - whether he has ever been.

Dobrašinović was previously arrested for cutting down trees on his property without a permit, and in prison he went on a hunger strike because the then president of the country, Filip Vujanović, refused to pardon him.

Appearing in the documentary film "The Majority Begins Here" directed by BIRN, he said that "Đurišić can have a monument in Chicago, but he can't in Gornji Zaostar."

At a gathering organized in Zaostar in 2017, Dobrašinović said that Đurišić's headquarters was in that village.

"75 boys from this village perished throughout Stara Gradiška, Croatia and Slovenia with Pavle Đurišić, so we, their descendants of the victims, want to commemorate and write their names here," he said at the time.

Will the inspection also order the removal of the monument to Čelić?

An inspector from the Ministry of Culture is scheduled to travel to Gusinje today to determine the status of the illegally erected monument to Jusuf Čelić, a collaborator with the fascists in World War II, Vijesti has learned unofficially.

According to the editorial office, the inspector will draw up a report and order that the sign be removed.

In 2013, the ministry ordered the Čelić monument to be removed, but this decision has not yet been implemented.

Čelić was the commander of a company of vulnetari (volunteers), a militia made up of Albanians living in the area of Plav, Gusinje and Albania, which, according to historians, was responsible for crimes against the Orthodox population. This paramilitary force was formed by fascist Italy.

Nikolić: Dangerous policies must be stopped

Nikola Nikolić believes that everything has been said about Pavle Đurišić a long time ago.

"Starting from the archival data of the Nazis and their quisling servants, through the scientific works of Radoje Pajović, to the analyses of contemporary historians. This is perhaps the most heinous figure in Montenegrin history," he stated.

Nikolić said that he was a "hardened traitor and criminal, an occupying scoundrel, whose bravery was also awarded Hitler's Iron Cross."

"This is a criminal who bragged in writing about his superior's genocide against thousands of Muslim citizens. Đurišić, with his actions, belongs to the dark side of civilization and must remain there," he said, adding that "no confabulations will help here."

"Montenegro, if it intends to be a truly multiethnic and multiconfessional country with a rich tradition of freedom, must decisively put a stop to such dangerous policies, without a minimum of tolerance," Nikolić concluded.