Grlić Radman granted permission to come to Morinj: Croatian minister will lay a wreath and light a candle at the site of the former camp

Croatian Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Gordan Grlić Radman, will be in Montenegro at the end of the week and on that occasion will lay a wreath and light a candle in front of the memorial plaque at the site of the former camp in Morinje, for which, according to "Vijesti", permission has been obtained from the Montenegrin Ministry of Defense.

Special Advisor to the Croatian Foreign Minister Vanda Babić Galić, told "Vijesti" yesterday that Grlić Radman and his Montenegrin colleague Ervin Ibrahimović (Bosniak Party) and delegations to lay wreaths and light candles in front of the memorial plaque in Morinje, "in memory of the victims of the camp, but also as a pledge of stable relations between the two neighboring countries."

"Also, Minister Gordan Grlić Radman will participate in the '2BS Forum' in Budva as a panelist together with colleagues Ibrahimović, (Georg) Georgievim i (Borut) Pahorom", said Babić Galić.

She stated that, on the sidelines of the "2BS Forum", Grlić Radman will talk with Ibrahimović about open issues between Croatia and Montenegro, as well as the issues of "compensation of property to Croats in Tivat, Dobrota, and the situation of Croats in Ulcinj and other important topics."

The plaque in Morinj was unveiled in early October 2022 by the then Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defense. Ranko Krivokapic i Rasko Konjević with Grlić Radman and Tom Medved (Minister of Croatian Veterans), in memory of the fact that in the early 1990s, the so-called Collection Center for prisoners of war from the Dubrovnik battlefield operated in Morinje for several months.

There, 292 people from the Dubrovnik region were imprisoned in inhumane conditions (the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Montenegro and Croatia were coordinating the lists of detainees because their documentation on this matter did not match). 169 prisoners testified about the inhumane treatment they were subjected to. Four people were sentenced to 12 years in prison for this war crime in court.

The plaque was placed outside the procedure stipulated by the Law on Memorials, i.e. without a decision of the Government and the consent of the Municipality of Kotor. Therefore, in mid-October 2022, the former Administration for Inspection Affairs issued a Decision on the removal of the plaque and obliged the Municipality of Kotor to implement it. However, the removal was repeatedly prevented by members of the Army of Montenegro.

According to a part of the Montenegrin public, the plaque does not correctly treat the historical circumstances when Montenegro was a participant in the aggression against Croatia in the area of ​​Konavle and Dubrovnik. Minister Dragan Krapović (Democrats) said in January last year that the plaque should be replaced with another one, “with adequate text”. It mentions the “Greater Serbian aggression against Croatia”, and reads: “We remember the crimes committed to disgrace the name and spirit of Montenegro. We express regret for all the suffering endured by the detainees. May it never be repeated”.

Montenegro and Croatia began bilateral consultations at the end of January with the aim of overcoming disputes that prevented Zagreb from closing Chapter 31 (foreign, security and defense policy) in negotiations with the EU.

As “Vijesti” recently wrote, an agreement is close and should include the payment of compensation to Croatian citizens who were detained in the former Morinje camp and the non-removal of the memorial plaque at that site, as well as changing the name of the city swimming pool in Kotor. In August 2021, the Kotor parliament decided to name it after Zoran Džimi Gopčević, who they said was one of the best water polo players in the area. Zagreb condemned this, claiming that Gopčević was a guard in the Morinje camp.

Part of the agreement should also be that the ship "Jadran", which Zagreb claims, should not be discussed in either Montenegro or Croatia, until the issue is resolved by agreement between the two countries or through international arbitration.

In addition to the "Adriatic Sea", the topic of the maritime border between the neighbors will remain open, while the case of the Split "Lora" camp, in which 14 members of the former Yugoslav People's Army from the so-called Nikšić-Šavnik group were killed, will not, claims a "Vijesti" source, be included in this partial agreement.