Office: At Milatović's initiative, a memorial plaque will be erected to the fallen volunteers in Medovsko Bay

At the initiative of the President of Montenegro, Jakov Milatović, a memorial plaque will be erected to the Montenegrin volunteers who died on January 6th in Medovsko Bay, near the port of Šenđin.

This was announced by Milatović's public relations office.

"More than a century after the Medovo tragedy and after the persistent institutional and diplomatic efforts of the President of Montenegro, Jakov Milatović, the conditions have been created for the installation of a memorial plaque near the site of the deaths of Montenegrin volunteers," the statement reads.

Milatović's Public Relations Office points out that this will, for the first time near the site of this great tragedy, permanently mark the memory of the volunteers who lost their lives on the way home.

"The installation of the memorial plaque is the result of President Milatović's persistent engagement to finally successfully bring the initiative, which has existed for years, to an end. In this process, communication was established with the competent authorities of the Republic of Albania, who expressed their willingness to contribute to the implementation of the initiative in the near future. This created the conditions to permanently mark the place where the Montenegrin volunteers died and pay tribute to their sacrifice," it states.

The Medovska tragedy, they add, occurred on Christmas Day 1916, when Montenegrin emigrants from North America, at the invitation of King Nikola, set off back to Montenegro to defend it in one of the most difficult moments in its history.

"Their journey home was interrupted by a shipwreck in the Medovo Bay, near the Albanian port of Shenjin, in which almost four hundred volunteers lost their lives," the statement reads.

The memorial plaque, they said, will be erected as an act of reverence for people who left their families, security and the lives they had built in a distant world, driven by a sense of duty, belonging and loyalty to Montenegro. This act also has a special significance for the Montenegrin diaspora, whose connection with their homeland has remained strong and unbreakable through generations.

"The volunteers who died near Medova remain a symbol of loyalty to Montenegro and readiness to respond to its call, even from the ends of the world. By erecting a memorial plaque, in cooperation with the competent institutions of the Republic of Albania, Montenegro permanently preserves the memory of the Montenegrin volunteers who died near Medova. Their sacrifice remains a permanent obligation for generations to remember, respect and preserve the values ​​of freedom, belonging and state dignity," the statement concludes.