Ivanovic: FCJK has become a symbol of something that this government does not know how to control – and that is why it is trying to make it meaningless

The decision of this Government not to finance the enrollment of a single student at the Faculty of Montenegrin Language and Culture (FCJK) is neither accidental nor procedural – it is a brutal political message. The message is that they are bothered by the Montenegrin language, that they are bothered by everything that reminds them of the sovereignty, civil state and identity continuity of Montenegro. This is not austerity – this is revenge. Revenge on one faculty, one language, one idea that reminds them of what Montenegro could be – and they do not want that.

This was stated in a statement to the media by the director of the NGO 35 mm, Darko Ivanović, regarding the Government's decision not to fund the enrollment of freshmen at FCJK.

"Today it has become clear: this government does not just despise knowledge - it is afraid of the language in which knowledge comes. And no, it is not about the budget, papers, quotas. It is about the fact that they are bothered by the very idea that there is a place in this country where the Montenegrin language and culture are not learned because something has to be done - but because it is worth it, and because it is loved," he said.

Ivanovic assessed that while positions are being distributed daily, party soldiers are being inducted, and the budgets of fictional ministries and agencies are being filled, this Government does not have the slightest political will to enable young people to study the Montenegrin language.

"The party soldiers didn't refuse it out of poverty - they refused it out of contempt. Contempt for everything that doesn't fit into their retrograde vision of Montenegro as an experiment in foreign interests."

"Those who are closing 40 student places today will close languages ​​in schools, cultural institutions, the media, everything that defends the public interest tomorrow. And when that falls, the collapse of the rule of law, free elections, and every thought that is not obedient will follow. This is a test - will we remain silent while the lights of our education are turned off? Or will we, as a society, raise our voices and say: enough is enough," the statement reads.

Ivanovic said that this is not an administrative oversight, nor "the separation of opinions." This, he points out, is deliberate political suppression.

"The Faculty of Montenegrin Language and Culture has become a symbol of something that this government does not know how to control – and that is why it is trying to make it meaningless. Because if you cannot abolish it by law, extinguish it with silence.

If they think this will pass without noise, without resistance – if they think that education will become an expense for us, and that we will invest in silence – let them know: it will not. Not because of those who have been left out protesting. But because of those who have not yet enrolled. And because of those who still believe that Montenegro can be free, literate and its own. Those who believe that a better tomorrow are enrolled by those who are braver and smarter than those who 'stand out'. And there are enough of us," concluded the director of the NGO 35mm.