STEGA: Protests if the Government does not overturn the decision to grant the status of distinguished cultural creator

Montenegrin culture is under strong political pressure, which is confirmed by the manner in which the Decision on granting the status of a prominent cultural creator was made, and if the Government does not overturn that decision at the next session, civil protests will follow in defense of an anti-nationalist and pro-European Montenegro.

This was announced at a press conference of the cultural editorial office of the Strategy for a European and Civic Montenegro STEGA, whose topic was "Degradation of the national award, illegal action by the Ministry of Culture and Media, which violates its own laws and the choice of haters and deniers of Montenegro."

Stega representative Vladimir Nikaljević pointed out that the attack on culture is part of a comprehensive attack on the values, characteristics and resources of the state of Montenegro, which, as he said, is being launched for the third time in the last hundred years, reports PR Center.

"This time, the 'quiet occupation' was carried out in a 'soft way' through deep-rooted cadres, who, as political spoils, received the most important state, economic and cultural functions. The economy is being deliberately destroyed: through wrong policies, borrowing and waste. We read that from the IMF report," Nikaljević said.

He believes that tourism is being destroyed by apartment building and mismanagement.

"Large companies are being destroyed. State land is being seized, the Church of Serbia has seized a school, it has seized village, tribal and Brastveni cemeteries and cemetery churches. It receives funds from the budget to excavate the archaeological remains of churches on Veliki Pijesak, which are older than the Nemanjićs by more than half a millennium. They are rewriting, falsifying and appropriating the history and, of course, the culture of Montenegro. And the awards, the awards, are a message: work against Montenegro and you will be rewarded! But, until one o'clock," said Nikaljević.

According to him, the Minister of Culture and Media, Tamara Vujović, who "after the scandal with the Thirteenth July Award and this scandal, the monument in Zaostar and the announced monument to Račić", should be thanked for "violating the laws that she should be enforcing", and allowed to "return to the job she knows and can do".

"Because, she has neither the capacity nor the autonomy for a minister of culture. And these scandals are her "big" contribution to blocking Montenegro's European path. Instead of the Ministry of Culture and Media being the hub of Montenegrin culture, it has turned into a counter for ordering appanage for undergraduate students who have found their expression in the poetry of nationalism and anticulture," Nikaljević assessed.

Theater director Danilo Marunović said that the Stege Culture Editorial Office timely pointed out that the culture department suffers from a lack of competence and is under strong political pressure, which, as he said, culminated in the scandalous decision to award the state Thirteenth of July Award.

"Unfortunately, since then, a series of scandals has continued, including the one involving the erection of a monument to a war criminal. Montenegrin culture is under radical pressure from political entities. The system in the Ministry of Culture and Media is in disarray. Honorable and competent individuals, who do not want to participate in dishonorable and illegitimate acts of rigging awards and status, are stepping down from their positions in the Ministry," said Marunović.

This morning, as he pointed out, this was done by the Director of the Directorate for Cultural and Artistic Creativity, Jelena Jovanović Nikolić, stating that they expect there will be more such procedures.

"In such an atmosphere, an atmosphere of obedient people is created, not uncompromising artists with a backbone. Anyone who made a compromise and implemented the ordered decisions in the jury for awards and statuses was rewarded with a position in leading cultural institutions, or re-election to a position, or some other benefit. You will be able to see some of these 'awards' in the coming days," believes Marunović.

He said they are waiting to see what the Government's next step will be.

"If the government does not overturn this illegitimate decision at the next session, what message will it send to its European partners? If that does not happen, they should know that a cultural, anti-nationalist, pro-European Montenegro will resist," said Marunović.

He stressed that he would not agree to citizens' money being used to "fund anti-state scoundrels, chauvinists, and misogynistic provincials for life."

"Because, what kind of Ministry of Culture and Media is this and what kind of Government is this, which, from process to process, from scandal to scandal, perpetually confronts the entire intellectual scene, the largest number of media, NGOs, the academic community and the art scene," asked Marunović.

Speaking about the minister, he believes that "she has only one honorable and professional move, and that would show that she is not a 'remote' minister."

"This situation raises a clear question - are we truly a European society, or a appendage of other anti-European autocracies from the region. We refuse to be a country of rigged awards. Because we are a country of free citizens," said Marunović.

Branko Baletić, film director and member of the Commission for Determining Proposals for Awarding the "Outstanding Cultural Creator" Status, explained that the Commission's task is to propose candidates, while the Government or the Ministry of Culture and Media make the decision.

"According to the Commission's Rules of Procedure, the commission proposes winners, people who will earn certain financial resources for the rest of their lives as deserving artists, and the Government makes a decision on that. We are not obliged to rank artists, so they are not horses. In this case, the commission proposed 14 candidates, and 15, Mr. Milutin Mićović, was controversial," said Baletić.

According to him, the Government could have made a decision to support those 14 and independently add writer Milutin Mićović.

"Then they would take responsibility. This is how they forced us to vote for him," Baletić said.

He recalled that the Commission had not met for five years.

"Someone deliberately prevented it. I hear public objections: where did you find 15 people in Montenegro, that will be a blow to the budget. And there is no question of a financial blow. Unfortunately, 12 or 13 people who were the bearers of that recognition for those five years have left this world. That is one of the most serious dimensions of this entire case. Don't play with people who deserved those recognitions," said Baletić.

He says that the issue of painter Naod Zorić was also raised in public.

"'How could you give it to a man who has a court verdict'? First, Zorić is an excellent painter and we decided on him before the outcome of that dispute. Second, the verdict was a first-instance verdict. We are not a court, we only assess artistic contribution," Baletić said.

According to Baletić, the Commission had clear criteria – five awards, one of which was state-level.

"Mićović has Miroslav's Gospel, and it is treated as a state award. We did not go into the assessment of whether someone had previously made a mistake in giving it to him, but rather looked at what was delivered to us," he explained.

In the vote, Baletić claims, Mićović received only two votes out of the eight needed.

"We thought the story was over. The minutes should have said he got two votes, but five were needed. And we moved on to the next candidate."

However, at the next session, an objection was raised by Commission member Novica Đurić, who was also a candidate.

"It's an ethical issue. He voted correctly for others, but he complained that we didn't look at Mićović's awards properly. The President of the Commission, Isidora Damjanović, stated at the time that we realized that we had made a mistake. But she could only say that for herself, not on behalf of everyone. In the repeated vote, five were for Mićović, and four of us were against. It seems to me that the job has been done with some people in the meantime," said Baletić.

He also recalled Article 10 of the Commission's Rules of Procedure: "The status of a distinguished cultural creator cannot be granted to an artist who treats Montenegro or its state, cultural or national identity unworthily."

"I drew attention to that, but the president did not want to discuss it. In the letter, she stated that it would not occur to her to judge anyone on these issues, nor to play the inquisition and hunt witches. That there is a court and a prosecutor's office that deal with these issues. She said that she personally is not a fan of Mićović's work, but that all candidacies must be measured by the same yardstick," said Baletić.

"You can't try the same case twice, unless you've broken the rules. We didn't break them, but the president brought it back for a new vote. Why? She needs to explain that," he pointed out.

He additionally emphasized that the president claims that she did not submit to the Ministry of Culture and Media a decision that everyone received recognition, including Mićović.

"So wait, who handed it over then? That's a key question for investigators and journalists," Baletić said.

The commission, he says, had a deadline of July 1 to complete its work.

"We finished on time. It was only two months later, last Friday afternoon, that we received an email asking us to comment on the minutes within 48 hours. This means that the decision had already been made, and only a quick biography of that decision was being prepared. They did not schedule a session because they knew that the four of us would object and that we would not sign the minutes," Baletić pointed out.

He believes that the Government is now trying to present the Minutes as a formal matter.

"The irony is that the government can reject our proposals, it can also add Mićović itself. It could have taken responsibility. This is how they wanted to shift the blame onto us."

For him, the entire case shows that "someone violently organized the process" and that "someone was in a great hurry."

"I think this case deserves the engagement of the wider society, the NGO sector, journalists, investigators, and above all the competent authorities. I even think that someone deliberately acted in this amateurish manner, in order to bring down the minister," claims Baletić.