In the sea of controversies that are in the focus of the Montenegrin public, the first man of Pljevlja Dario Vranes (New Serbian Democracy), the actor in numerous scandals, is keeping one under a veil of secrecy.
The president of the northernmost city in Montenegro has not directly answered "Vijesti"'s questions for months - whether the symbols of the anti-fascist struggle that were placed there in the early 60s were removed from the Pljevlja Municipality building on his orders, nor what the reason or motive for such a decision was.
In mid-September of this year, Vraneš responded to these questions by a "Vijesti" journalist by saying that he knew nothing about it, that he had not given any orders, and that he did not know what symbols were involved.
When he was provided with photographs of the plaque removed from the hallway of the Pljevlja Municipality building, which are in the possession of the editorial office, he said that the hallways were painted for the first time since 1986, adding:
"It was like a ruin. Look at these office doors from 1951. I looked at this plaque. It sat in the hallways for half a year while work was being done. I didn't even know it was there on the wall." When asked further by a journalist, he said: "We'll look for it."
Two months later, after there was no official response from the Municipality of Pljevlja regarding the case of the disappearance of anti-fascist symbols, "Vijesti" again contacted Vranes, whose response was brief: "We are looking for them."
There is no blackboard, the wall is plastered.
It is a marble plaque that was erected in 1961 to mark the 20th anniversary of the uprising of the people of Yugoslavia in 1941. The plaque features a five-pointed star with the silhouette of a soldier standing in a defensive stance.
The sign was hung on the wall in front of one of the offices in the Municipality of Pljevlja, and after the building was painted, judging by the photographs in the possession of "Vijesti", it can be seen that the plaque is no longer there and that the wall has been plastered where it used to be.
Due to his actions and messages, Vraneš has been the center of attention of the domestic public for the last twenty days.
He did not appear at the ceremonial session of the Pljevlja parliament on the occasion of the Pljevlja Municipality Day, saying that that day, November 20, was one of the most tragic days in Pljevlja.
"... Out of respect for civilian victims and their families, I will not attend the Municipality Day that was imposed on us, and which continues to be divisive to this day," he said.
About ten days later (December 1), a ceremonial academy was held in Pljevlja on the occasion of the "Day of the Unification of Montenegro and Serbia" and 107 years since the "Great Podgorica Assembly", which annexed Montenegro to Serbia in 1918.
"The Grand National Assembly has removed the hawthorn stake from the heart of Serbism, which was driven in by Austro-Hungarian politics with the consent of the great powers at the Berlin Congress in 1878," Vranes said at the time, announcing the goal of his policy.
"Only in this way, wisely and calmly, with truth as a guide, can we complete the spiritual unification of the Serbian people wherever they live. And when we complete such powerful and indestructible bridges, all borders will be erased by themselves. History tells us - the wish of a people lives, it is sometimes waited for years, decades and centuries, but one thing is certain: it is always realized in the end. In that name, may Pljevlja never again be a border, but may it be a place where Montenegro and Serbia and their sister Republika Srpska meet and embrace, for the happiness and progress of all who live there," said the leader of Pljevlja, ending his speech with the words: "Let it be amen. God willing. Next year in Prizren."
The Pljevlja Municipality building was illuminated in the colors of the Serbian tricolor that day.
Part of the public criticizes, partners remain silent
Vraneš's words provoked a reaction from some parties and the non-governmental sector, but not from the coalition partners of the New Serbian Democracy (NSD) from the state and Pljevlja authorities.
"He is celebrating the invaders and chauvinists, and those who occupied our country in 1918, and it seems that he would also like to storm Prizren. He can, but alone, not with our children. They are going to Europe, not with Vranesa," said the director of the Center for Investigative Journalism, Milka Tadic Mijović.
She also stated that it was clear "what these prisoners of dangerous ideology, to whom the Chetnik criminal (Paul) Đurišić hero".
"We saw what this ideology brought us not only during World War II, but also in the 1990s, when they stormed Dubrovnik and cleared the terrain of Bosnia from 'unchristians'. I hope that Montenegro has learned its lesson and that Vraneš and those like him will be just a short episode in this interregnum in which there is everything on the political scene," said Tadić Mijović.
Vraneš responded with an offensive comment - he wrote on Instagram, quoting Njegoš, and with several smileys: "Tell me, grandma, are you a witch? I am, prince, there's no point in hiding it."
This provoked new reactions from the non-governmental sector and the opposition, but also a loud silence from most of the government. The Minister of Regional Investment Development and Cooperation with Non-Governmental Organizations spoke out Ernad Suljević (Bosniak Party) and the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights, headed by Fatmir Đeka (Democratic Party).
Vranes' message was condemned by 20 out of 23 members of the Parliament of Montenegro, including Bojana Pican from his NSD.
The Basic State Prosecutor's Office opened a case regarding this comment by Vraneš.
Controversial moves
He often sends messages and takes actions that some in the public claim are contrary to the interests of Montenegro, calling them provocations. Among other things, he proposed that the church holiday, St. Petka's Day, be celebrated as the municipality's day, and he marked the Serbian Statehood Day with a ceremonial academy on February 15 last year in Pljevlja.
In August, the local government in Pljevlja changed the road signs in the city center, so instead of signs showing the distance from major world metropolises, they installed road signs written in Cyrillic with the distance from Belgrade, Banja Luka, Prizren and Knin.
Vraneš's statement from early December - that the bridges on the newly opened Mijakovići - Vrulja road were named after the king - could also be called a provocation. Alexander and to the king Peter I KarađorđevićAs he stated, “the people themselves chose these names.” However, there has not yet been an official decision on the naming of the bridges.
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