Seven non-governmental organizations addressed the Supreme State Prosecutor Milorad Marković two days ago due to the increasingly frequent public glorification of the Chetnik movement and war criminal Pavle Đurišić.
They expressed concern that this deepens existing divisions in society, encourages hate speech, undermines the anti-fascist foundations of the state, and rehabilitates the ideology responsible for mass crimes in Montenegro.
"We particularly pointed out the statement of Metropolitan Joanikije of the Serbian Orthodox Church from May 5, 2025, who called Pavle Đurišić a 'great hero' and 'of invincible character', then the text by priest Ognjen Femić 'We are all Pavle Đurišić' from May 9, as well as the video recording of the performance of the song 'Đurišić, young major' in the restaurant of the 'Sergije Stanić' Secondary Vocational School in Podgorica, published on Facebook," the NGOs: Human Rights Action (HRA), Antifascists of Cetinje, Center for Democratic Transition (CDT), Center for Democracy and Human Rights (CEDEM), Center for Civic Education (CCE), Center for Women's Rights (CŽP) and the Association of History Professors of Montenegro - HIPMONT announced.
They believe that public glorification of the Chetnik movement in Montenegro, and in particular Pavle Đurišić, constitutes hate speech (Articles 9a and 34a of the Law on the Prohibition of Discrimination) and incites hatred towards the Bosniak population, or the population of the Islamic religion in Montenegro, which, as they point out, constitutes a criminal offense punishable by imprisonment of six months to five years, according to the Criminal Code (Article 370, paragraph 1).
"We recall that the Chetniks, under the command of Pavle Đurišić and on the orders of Draža Mihailović, committed mass crimes against the Muslim population of northern Montenegro in 1942 and 1943 - thousands of civilians were killed, women were raped, people were tortured, and entire villages were burned and destroyed. Such glorification of the Chetniks inevitably incites hatred towards the Muslim and Bosniak communities, and insults all those citizens who advocate for peace and respect for human rights," the NGOs say.
They said that the number of proceedings and final verdicts for inciting national and religious hatred in Montenegro remains worryingly low, "which weakens the preventive effect and allows for the impunity of such acts."
"Therefore, we expect the State Prosecutor's Office to unequivocally state whether the glorification of the Chetnik movement in Montenegro constitutes hate speech that requires sanctioning," the statement reads.
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