On the occasion of the Uprising Day, Statehood Day and the Day of the Association of National Liberation War Fighters (SUBNOR) at the monument under Trebjes in Nikšić, the "Red Rose of Freedom" academy was held. The area in front of the monument was Yugoslavia in miniature - there were representatives of the alliance of associations of fighters and anti-fascists from all former Yugoslav republics, except for North Macedonia.
The Vice President of SUBNOR and Montenegrin anti-fascist Stevan Radunović said that July 13 is the date when we have to ask the question of what we give to our homeland, whether we love it in the right way, whether we are worthy of our ancestors and what we will bequeath to our descendants.
"One thing is certain - as soon as we waited for the ghosts of fascism to come out of the chest of the past in the past years, for Montenegro to be overshadowed by dark clouds that try to relativize the role of traitors and collaborators of the occupiers and devalue the role of partisans and all anti-fascists, as soon as we waited for them to deface our monument the most beautiful smile and try to disfigure the most beautiful flag, and salute the anthems with the middle finger, to announce the return of the Karađorđević chapel to Lovćen, as soon as we started calling each other enemies, because each of us holds a measure of patriotism, then we have nothing to be proud of," he said. Radunović.
He pointed out that we meant a lot by looking to the future, without setting the past as it should be.
"And there it is clear that the red pentagram will never be the same as the cockade, the fight for equality will never be the same as the fight for the king and the fatherland, the fight against fascism will never be the fight with fascism, Sava will never be the same as Jacob, and Love the same as Pavle. The victims from Lazin will never be the same as their executioners, and flat Laz will never be the same as Ravna Gora. It's time to say it loudly and show it decisively, only then will we prevent the past from repeating itself. We must, from this place and everywhere, tell everyone who, from the field or from the inside and for whatever reason, tries to undermine Montenegro and its sovereignty, its anti-fascist, multi-ethnic, multi-confessional, secular, civil, pro-European character, that we must not and will not allow them to do so. . It is our debt to the homeland of Montenegro, to our ancestors who built it for us, to our conscience and to our descendants, to whom we must preserve and leave it," said Radunović.
Franjo Habulin, president of SABA Croatia, said that we must remember the past, but that we must look to the future, because only then will our existence make sense and only then will we fulfill our debt to the heroes of the national liberation struggle.
"Only then we will not betray. The one who knows the past, who has not learned anything from it, must repeat that past. We in the territory of the former Yugoslav federation at the beginning of the nineties of the last century were painfully convinced of the truth of that thesis. We destroyed the foundations of ideological and value unity, we mocked the slogan of brotherhood and unity and rejected it. The price was terrible," said Habulin, who spoke on behalf of the present federations of associations of fighters from the former Yugoslav republics.
He said that he is not in favor of the reconstruction of Yugoslavia, because it belongs to the past, but that what is good and what was valuable during the years of living together deserves to be saved and preserved.
"Our future must not be held hostage by mutual mistrust. Our future must not be enslaved by historical myths, and even less by prejudices. Our future cannot and must not be built on the foundations of hatred inherited from the wars in which Yugoslavia was killed," said Habulin.
He also mentioned the Resolution on Jasenovac adopted by the Parliament of Montenegro.
"There is nothing new in her text, nothing we don't know and don't do and say ourselves. The moment of adoption and the motivation of the initiator of that resolution are disputed. It is not, cannot and must not be something that will turn into a serious obstacle to the further development of relations between Croatia and Montenegro. This should be borne in mind by all politically relevant factors in Montenegro, as well as in Croatia. The motto that one should first sweep in front of one's own doorstep applies to everyone and everything, always", said the president of SABA Croatia.
Ninety-seven-year-old Petar Perišić, commander of Sava Kovačević's courier, was also at the Academy.
"The pain was great in the Fifth Offensive. The sadness is great that those friends of mine are no longer there. They were all heroes. Today, these younger people are fighting to preserve what we created," said Perišić.
Before the start of the Academy, the delegations laid wreaths at the monument to the fallen fighters under Trebjes.
In addition to numerous members of SUBNOR and anti-fascists of Montenegro, citizens, the Academy was also attended by representatives of DPS led by party president Danijel Živković. Ivan Vuković, Jefto Eraković, Andrija Nikolić were also there...
In the artistic part of the program, the choir "Luča" from Cetinje, drama artists Žaklina Oštir and Miro Nikolić, soloists Dejan Škuletić and Slaven Knezović, children's choir of kindergarten "Dragan Kovačević" from Nikšić and folklore group "Treće doba" from Podgorica participated. The program was led by the Secretary General of SUBNOR and anti-fascist of Montenegro, Dragan Mitov Đurović.
The event was hosted by the Association of NOR fighters and anti-fascists from Nikšić.
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