Anniversary of the Battle of Pljevlja marked, Vraneš lit a candle and laid flowers for "the victims of the fratricidal hand"

By laying flowers and paying tribute in the crypt of the monument on Stražica, today the anniversary of the Battle of Pljevlja, one of the most significant episodes of the National Liberation War (NOB), in World War II, in the territory of the former Yugoslavia, was marked.

This year, veterans' organizations and political parties laid flowers separately.

At 11 a.m., wreaths were laid by representatives of the organizations of the National Liberation War (NOR) fighters from Pljevlja, Bijelo Polje, Kotor, Žabljak and Cetinje, as well as the Union of Organizations of the National Liberation War (SOBNOR) of Montenegro. Delegations of the Municipality of Pljevlja, led by the President Dario Vraneš, the Municipal Assembly, and political parties, Democratic Montenegro, United Montenegro and the Yugoslav Communist Party, also paid tribute.

Those present were greeted by Milenko Jović, who said that 246 soldiers from all over Montenegro were killed on the battlefield on December 1, 1941, while 270 were wounded.

The remains of the fighters have been resting in the crypt of the monument on Stražica since 1961, together with the remains of 118 partisans killed in the Pljevlja municipality, as well as 80 patriots shot at Sjenjak. During the street fighting, 23 residents of Pljevlja also died, while the retaliation of the Italian occupiers claimed the lives of 196 civilians from Pljevlja and the surrounding villages.

"The cruelty with which the Italian fascists committed crimes is incomprehensible to the human mind," said Jović.

The president of SOBNOR, Radojica Radojević, said that the Battle of Pljevlja, along with the July 13th Uprising, was the most important operation of the Partisan forces in Montenegro during 1941.

"Today we live in a time when individuals are trying to deny our anti-fascist past, when fascism has once again taken hold. Anti-fascism is the foundation of modern Montenegro and the guarantor of its civic model," said Radojević.

After laying flowers in the crypt of the monument on Stražica, Vraneš lit a candle and laid flowers, as he said, "to the victims of the fratricide hand," not far from the monument on Stražica.

He emphasized that the Battle of Pljevlja must be a permanent reminder of unity, not division.

"We respect every sacrifice for freedom. We respect every sacrifice immensely," he said, Vranes pointing out that only later history brought ideological conflicts among the people of this region.

"We must learn from our history and that there must never be division again, just as there was no division on December 1, when everyone heroically set out to fight with one goal, to liberate Pljevlja from the Italian occupier," said the first man of Pljevlja.

Vraneš also said that Montenegro, as a country that strives for European values, must find the strength to erect a worthy monument to the heroes of the Battle of Pljevlja.

He announced that the Municipality is already actively working with the Ministry of Urban Planning and the Committee for the Construction of the Church of Reconciliation, which, according to him, would have a symbolic and historical role in overcoming divisions and worthy commemoration of the victims.

In the second column, an hour later, flowers were laid by representatives of the Association of Fighters of the National Liberation War (UBNOR) and anti-fascists, delegations of associations from several Montenegrin cities, and the political parties Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), Bosniak Party (BS), and the European Alliance (ES), which consists of the political parties Social Democratic Party (SDP), Social Democrats (SD), and Liberal Party (LP).

The Secretary General of UBNOR, Dragan Đurović, said that Pljevlja was a military defeat, but a moral victory that preceded the formation of the First Proletarian Brigade.

The president of UBNOR and anti-fascist Pljevlja, Goran Čavić, said that the Battle of Pljevlja has become a lasting symbol of steadfastness and perseverance, reminding that the path to freedom is always difficult, but that peoples who cultivate courage and solidarity can never be defeated.

"The foundations of our freedom are built on the lives of those who believed that future generations deserve peace, justice and dignity. That is why today, perhaps more than ever, it is our common obligation to preserve the achievements of the NOR, the values ​​of anti-fascism, freedom and brotherhood," said Čavić.

He emphasized that, unfortunately, we live in a time in which we increasingly encounter attempts to rewrite history, revitalize crimes, and diminish the role of the anti-fascist movement.

"New forms of fascism are emerging, often disguised as modern rhetoric, but with an essence that is painful and well-known to us. Exclusivity, hatred, attacks on diversity and the denial of the fundamental values ​​on which Montenegro is based, together with nationalism that falsely presents itself as concern for the people, are growing into an ideology of division, fear and exclusion. This is not the path of our ancestors who stood up in 1941 to defend freedom for all, regardless of name, religion or origin," he said.

Čavić pointed out that such tendencies, especially in Pljevlja, are clearly recognizable and that they are not in line with anti-fascist ideals, but rather rely on narratives of division.

"That is precisely why it is up to us anti-fascists and guardians of the NOB tradition to defend the truth even more strongly and loudly and not allow the legacy of the fighters to be underestimated, belittled or forgotten. Our struggle today is not armed, but it is equally important. It is a fight for truth, memory and true values, a fight against oblivion, revisionism and new divisions. We must be a beacon to young generations and a reminder that freedom is not preserved by silence, but by courage and a clear stance," concluded Čavić.