We are witnessing that even after half a century since the construction of the Mausoleum on Lovcen, different social structures in Montenegro and beyond, whose common denominator is aggressive Greater Serbian hegemony, want to put the Montenegrin people and Montenegro in an inferior position through the so-called restoration of Njegoš's chapel," he said. President of Matica Montenegrin Ivan Jovović at the "Symbol of Montenegrin Self-Consciousness" forum organized on the occasion of the half century of the Njegoš Mausoleum in Lovcen.
"Instead of using this jubilee to thank all subjects for the realization of this extraordinary project, i.e. the most important marker of Montenegrin identity, these days a public call is being sent from the highest state addresses, namely the President of the Parliament of Montenegro, to devastate the mausoleum. Although the said call has its own ideological continuity, its destructive character gains even more intensity if we have institutions of the system in Montenegro, i.e. the state apparatus, which silently observes calls for illegal action, which causes concern, given that such tendencies can cause serious consequences for Montenegrin society," he said. Jovovich.
Historian and deputy of the Democratic Party of Socialists, Dragutin Papović said that "this is a fight for Njegoš".
"The Serbian Orthodox Church wants to return that chapel of Karađorđević because it wants Njegoš in it, and that further means that Njegoš is its property concretely, in a figurative sense, the property of the Republic of Serbia. So, it is simply about the goal that Njegoš does not belong to Montenegro." Papovic explained.
Papović also recalled the initiative of Dobrica Ćosić, who invested the monetary part of Njegoš's award in the fund for the restoration of the chapel on Lovćen.
"Montenegro is facing a project that has been going on since Ilija Garašanin, these are just its manifestations. Competent institutions are silent, individuals are coming forward, but is that enough," Papović said.
Producer Janko Ljumović, as reported by Matica Montenegrin, explained the broader context of the SPC's opposition to the construction and preservation of the Mausoleum.
"Such opposition enters into the narrative of the so-called struggle for traditional Montenegro, which is devoid of the spirit of modernity and the expression of modernity, with the reduction of Njegoš to an exclusively Orthodox canon and the challenge of Njegoš as a poet of universal humanism with a multitude of abuses that essentially trivialize Njegoš with playing with diples and fiddles, and with the prohibition of any artistic interpretation and performance in the field of contemporary art. A man who during his lifetime aligned himself with the nobility of the spirit of Europe at that time," said Ljumović.
Member of the Council of Matica Montenegrin Marko Špadijer said that Lovćen is a symbol of Montenegrin independence and freedom.
"Njegoš knew this well when he left a bequest to be buried on top of it. The one who owned Lovćen laid claim to Montenegro. Austria-Hungary damaged the original chapel with shells and in 1916 announced a competition to erect a monument to the emperor on that spot History did not want the Viennese victor to be glorified over Montenegro. The issue of Njegoš's mausoleum served as a sign of national identity and perhaps a stimulus for Montenegrins showed that he understood and followed this idea and in 1952 in a letter to the Government of Montenegro he said: 'He did not float before the eyes of Bishop Rada, nor as the ruler of Montenegro, then, as well as now, but the poet Njegoš, who with his intellect and poetic collected and gave artistic form to the wreath of freedom, philosophy and spirituality of the people of Montenegro," said Špadijer.
He added that the project of returning Montenegro "to the Serbian orbit is being carried out today more thoroughly and comprehensively than ever".
"The exponents of Greater Serbian politics in Montenegro from the position of power are undermining the foundations of the state, forming municipalities as Serbian autonomous regions, trying to disintegrate the country and make it meaningless as a single entity and to return the sovereign state to the position of a Serbian slice. They are trying to change its foreign policy orientation. The country with the best relations with the environment, they managed to quarrel with all their neighbors, and it remains to create a Balkan Belarus with Serbia and Republika Srpska," said Špadijer.
He added that the tension and passion of contesting Njegoš as a Montenegrin poet, Montenegro as a republic and Montenegrins as a nation "repeats with the 'nation event'".
"Serbian nationalists in Montenegro hide behind 'big brother' and by appealing to the alleged danger of Serbs, they survive politically on historical falsifications, hatred and divisions. Their Serbianness is the right of the conquerors, and that is why they present reactions to daily Chetnik and fascist outbursts as the paranoia of separatists. tensions and provocations are poisoning relations in multinational Montenegro, compromising the most noble ties of reciprocity and disrupting the tradition of friendship between Montenegrins and Serbs," said Špadijer.
Art historian Tatjana Koprivica pointed out that the Mausoleum on Lovćen is one of the most talked about and provoked topics when it comes to works of art in Montenegro.
"We cannot get rid of that first impression, which is the extraordinary vision and ability of the Montenegrin authorities at the time to bring the story to the end. Because this entire campaign was unprecedented not only in the territory of Montenegro, an anti-campaign that was conducted against the construction of the museum," she said. Koprivica and added that it was clear from 1924 that it was not about aesthetic matters, but about the fact that the monument to Njegoš was built by a Catholic and a Croat.
She also explained how important an artist Ivan Meštrović was not only in this area, but even more so in the world, and how much the authorities in Yugoslavia cared that he was the one who would build the dedication to Njegoš on top of the mountain.
"In September 1952, SANA asked Meštrović, who is in Syracuse, to work on a sculpture of Njegoš for them, and he replied that he had already accepted to work in Njegoš's native land, namely in Lovćen, where his monument primarily belongs," she said. is Koprivica.
Jovović said that time has confirmed that the mausoleum on Lovćen Meštović "delegitimized the nationalist and clerical conceptions related to Njegoš's character and work, given that the philosophy of life and spirituality of the Montenegrin people is expressed in this building."
"The mausoleum has become an integral part of the Lovćen mountain, with its overall historical symbolism, as expertly anticipated by Veljko Milatović at the opening of the mausoleum. Nurturing values and traditions, Matica Montenegrin felt it necessary to commemorate one of the most important events in the modern history of Montenegro and Montenegrin with a forum of the people," concluded Jovović.
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