Božović: Montenegro and Serbia united in 1918

Socialist People's Party (SNP) MP Bogdan Božović announced today that Montenegro and Serbia united in 1918.

The SNP statement states that Božović submitted an amendment to the Bill on Amendments to the Law on the Status of Descendants of the Petrović-Njegoš Dynasty, which proposes that the words "forcible annexations of the state" in Article 1 be replaced with the words "unification of Montenegro and Serbia".

"The attempt to impose an interpretation of a historical event through legal solutions that does not reflect either historical facts or the feelings of the majority of Montenegrin citizens from that period is deeply wrong. One of the most important events in the history of our people cannot be interpreted exclusively through daily political and ideological patterns that have served to deepen divisions among citizens for years, for which the DPS and its coalition partners, who adopted the Law with such a formulation in 2011 in the Parliament of Montenegro, are mostly responsible," Božović stressed in a statement.

The SNP said that "the unification of Montenegro and Serbia in 1918" was "an expression of the free will of the then majority people in Montenegro, who, after great sacrifices in World War I, saw their future in unity with Serbia and other South Slavic peoples."

"That unification did not represent an act of occupation, but rather a continuation of a centuries-old aspiration for freedom, national unity and a common state. Despite the different interpretations that emerged through later political circumstances, it is a historical fact that in 1918 the people of Montenegro made a decision that they considered best for their future and survival," the SNP statement reads.

Božović said that a policy of mutual respect and strengthening of traditionally fraternal relations between Montenegro and Serbia is necessary.

"We will always insist on the truth, respect for historical facts, without the desire to manipulate events from our history that would lead to further divisions in our society. The least we need today is unilateral qualifications, we need a policy of mutual respect and strengthening the traditionally fraternal relations between Montenegro and Serbia. Therefore, we believe that the adoption of this amendment is a step towards a more responsible and objective attitude towards our common history," said Božović.