Baja Mali Knindza denies that he was supposed to perform in Pljevlja on May 21st, Jelovac claims that negotiations were held

While singer Mirko Pajčin, better known as Baja Mali Knindža, claims that he has nothing to do with the performance in Pljevlja on May 21st and that it is a pure fabrication, the applicant for the concert, Božidar Jelovac, said that negotiations were held with the singer about the performance, but that he backed out after the police decided not to allow the concert to take place.

Jelovac told "Vijesti" that first the police banned the concert, and then he received information from an intermediary that Pajčin had canceled the performance.

Singer Mirko Pajčin announced on Instagram that he had nothing to do with the performance in Pljevlja on May 21st and that "it's all pure fabrication."

The Pljevlja police decided yesterday that, for security reasons, they would not allow Pajčin to hold a concert in Pljevlja on May 21st, the 20th anniversary of the restoration of statehood.

"Namely, the security assessments conducted have determined that there is a justified security risk that during the holding of the public gathering in question, there could be a violation of public order and peace and a threat to the safety of citizens and property, the commission of criminal offenses, a threat to human rights and freedoms and special minority rights and freedoms of other persons, as well as a threat to the safety of persons and property," the Police Directorate (PD) announced.

They pointed out that, ultimately, holding the concert would potentially disrupt the civic and multiethnic harmony of Montenegro, "which is defined by the Constitution as a civic state."

The Police Department stated that on May 14th (Thursday), an application was submitted to the Pljevlja Security Department for holding a public event - the Spasovdan concert, with a reported performance by "vocal soloist Mirko Pajčin and the orchestra", at the 13th of July Square in Pljevlja, for May 21st, starting at 20 p.m.

"The report was filed by a natural person BJ on behalf of the organizer of the public gathering, the Serbian Cultural Center 'Patriarch Varnava'," the UP said.

The application was filed on behalf of the organizers by Božidar Jelovac (New Serbian Democracy), a party colleague of the President of the Municipality of Pljevlja, Dario Vraneš, and a councilor in the local parliament.

"The organizer of the public gathering was informed of the above (decision of the Pljevlja police), who was served with a decision banning the public event, with the organizer's obligation to act in accordance with the decision," the UP said.

A group of non-governmental organizations and activists issued a statement expressing their protest against the announcement of a performance by Baja Mali Knindža, whose songs incite hatred towards Bosniaks and Muslims, and "deeply offend all who uphold civic and anti-fascist values."

"His performances have been banned in Croatia and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, because the lyrics of his songs are considered hate speech," they said in a statement.

Since the 1990s, when the bloody disintegration of Yugoslavia began, Pajčin has been known for his nationalist repertoire.