The Basic State Prosecutor's Office in Berane yesterday sent a new request to the Basic Court there for the temporary seizure of the monument. Pavle Đurišić.
The head of the Berane prosecutor's office told "Vijesti" this. Jadranka Micović.
This means that the court of the northern municipality is now in charge, and it is expected to issue a new ruling on the temporary removal of the statue of the notorious Chetnik commander. If it does so, or if it orders the removal of the monument, the task of carrying out the work will be assigned to the police.
The newspaper announced yesterday that the competent state authorities are not currently searching for the "fugitive" memorial, because the court has not received a new request from the prosecution.
On October 1, police attempted to seize the statue, following a court ruling issued that day at the prosecutor's request, but did not find it where prosecutors claimed it was located - in the dormitory of the Berane Monastery's Đurđevi stupovi. The police informed the court a day later, which then wrote to the prosecutor's office.
"Vijesti" wrote on October 1 that the police were welcomed at the Đurđevi Stupovi Monastery by the abbot of that religious facility. Danilo Trpcevski with the clergy, and allowed police officers to inspect the dormitory of the building, but they did not find a monument to Đurišić there.
"The abbot contacted the metropolitan (of Budimljan-Niksic) by phone." The method", and he told the police that there were rooms in the monastery that only he had the key to," said the editorial staff's interlocutor from the top police department who is familiar with the events in Berane.
Metodije allegedly told the police that the decision should be addressed to the head of the monastery, namely him, and not to the abbot, the head of the dormitory, because only he (Metodije) has access to some of the premises.
"The police immediately informed the court about the new situation, and are awaiting its reaction," the source said at the time.
President of the Berane Court Ivan Došljak, explained to "Vijesti" the day before yesterday that the procedure for the temporary seizure of objects can be initiated exclusively at the proposal of the state prosecutor, which the court decides on by decision, in accordance with Article 85 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC).
This article specifies, among other things, that “objects that, according to the Criminal Code, must be seized or may serve as evidence in criminal proceedings” shall, upon the proposal of the state prosecutor and by a court decision, be temporarily seized and handed over to the court for safekeeping, or their safekeeping shall be ensured in some other way. It is also stated that the decision on the temporary seizure of objects shall contain the name of the court issuing the decision and the legal basis for the temporary seizure of objects.
On October 1, the police were welcomed at the Đurđevi Stupovi Monastery by the abbot of that religious facility, Danilo Trpčevski, and the clergy, and allowed them to inspect the facility's dormitory, but the police officers did not find a monument to Đurišić there.
A bronze statue of the Chetnik commander has been in the monastery's dormitory since mid-August. It was moved there from the church in Gornji Zaostar, where it was moved after being removed from its pedestal in that Berane village, where it was discovered on August 8.
The monument to Đurišić was unveiled by Metodije, and the statue was removed the same day in the afternoon. The illegal monument was then removed by locals after, as they claimed, “a prior agreement with the police”. Đurišić’s statue was then transferred to the Church of St. Mother Paraskeva, and the competent inspection, with the assistance of the police, subsequently demolished the pedestal of the monument.
The unveiling of the monument caused a stormy reaction in the public, especially after the attacks on the teams of "Vijesti" and "Pobjeda", which tried to record the removal of the statue of Đurišić by the residents of Gornji Zaostar.
Đurišić was the supreme Chetnik leader in 1941. Dragoljub Draza Mihailovic appointed one of the commanders of the Chetnik forces in Montenegro. In the following months, according to numerous historical sources, Đurišić's intensive collaboration with the Italian and then German occupiers began, during which his Chetniks repeatedly carried out massacres of the civilian population.
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.
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).
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