Pejović: No measures have been taken to institutionally resolve the situation and end the blockades in Cetinje

Citizens of Cetinje, who have been protesting daily at Krušev Ždrijel for months, blocked traffic on the Cetinje - Podgorica main road from 3:20 p.m. today. The protests have been going on for eleven months, and the participants are demanding that the security sector leaders be held accountable for two tragedies in Cetinje in which twenty-three people, including four children, were killed.

Vesna Pejović, the mother and grandmother of the victims of the Medovina massacre, pointed out that during all that time, no measures were taken to institutionally resolve the situation and end the blockades in Cetinje.

"The government has remained silent precisely because of Medovina, because Medovina is a crime that, I think, is not remembered in the world, let alone in Europe and the region - that no one has submitted a moral or any kind of resignation. I only ask that this state work according to the Constitution and the law and according to the facts and evidence that they forced me to bring to them. They did nothing," said Pejović, as reported by Radio Cetinje.

None of the demands of the protesting citizens have been met so far.

"Why does the 'Markov and Mašan Law' stand? For what? Who is obstructing it, who is bothered by it? Let it be called by their name, but their children were killed with legal weapons. Let Montenegro become more aware," said Pejović.

She did not give a specific answer to the question about the duration of the blockades, but said that she will not give up the protest until the state sheds light on the circumstances that led to the tragedies and until the authorities in the institutions bear responsibility. The blockade will also begin on Thursday at 3:20 p.m.

"It all depends on these good people who have been with me all this time, on what they decide. I will respect their every decision. To be honest, specifically, I don't know if it will be an hour, two, three... I don't want to say anything in front of them, but we will definitely come face to face and most likely that is when we will rise up Montenegro, because Montenegro needs to rise up. If they believe that in this country their security is secure and that they live a life worthy of a human being, then let them sit in their homes," said Pejović.

She says she will not give up the protest.

"That's the time period when our people died in Medovina. To be honest, if they think they're going to sway me, that I'm going to give up - I certainly won't. I'm telling them now - until they fulfill every last one," said Pejović.

Citizens' group from Cetinje: The key to the blockade at Kruševo Ždrijelo is in five demands

A group of citizens from Cetinje addressed the public with a statement, which was broadcast in full by Radio Cetinje.

"For the umpteenth time, we are addressing the Montenegrin public regarding the three-hour blockade at Kruševo Ždrijel, which is already entering its eleventh month.

The entire Montenegrin public must know that the key to solving the blockade at Kruševo Ždrijelo lies in the hands of:

– Jakov Milatović, President of the State,

– Milojko Spajić, Prime Minister,

– Danilo Šaranović, Minister of Internal Affairs,

– Lazar Šćepanović, Director of Police,

– and all those who lead institutions whose primary duty is to ensure the security, or rather the right to life, of the citizens of this small state.

Almost a year ago, two tragedies that befell us brought us together around the same idea: to work with you, and with the support of institutions, to try to find solutions that would ensure a safer life for our fellow citizens in the long term, both at the local and national levels. At the same time, we wanted to point out serious irregularities in the work of institutions and, in accordance with the facts that clearly show that the tragedies could have been milder, probably different and avoided, to demand accountability from those whose poorly performed work led to lasting consequences.

And the most serious consequence is the 23 lives lost, including four children. Only five demands for twenty-three lives, for the beginning of normalization of the situation in our society and some kind of continuation of life in Cetinje.

Gentlemen responsible, for the past 11 months you have shown that you either do not have the power, or perhaps more accurately, do not have the will to end the blockades in Cetinje. The question is whose party "workers" are increasingly calling on social media to fence off Cetinje with barbed wire, completely destroy it, or evict it? Maybe such guidelines come from your ranks? Maybe that is why your reaction is so anemic... maybe? And if they do not, how do you allow and what have you done to prevent further media demonization of a city like Cetinje, after all the atrocities that have befallen it? Is this help in overcoming the current situation in Cetinje or a litmus test of someone's ideology, considering that not a single court case against these people has been completed, and there are dozens of them? What kind of approach to citizens who have lost their loved ones, a city that has almost never been more endangered in its history, a city that is powerless to prevent chaotic displacement, a city in which nothing is moving or moving at a minimal pace of progress? What is the answer and where is the truth and justice towards the four children who are not with us today?

Because of all the above, we are obliged to say: radicalization will happen. We are not tired and our health is not impaired, although your attitude towards us has largely contributed to the opposite. We inform you that there will be no radicalization that you may be calling for or wishing for. We want Cetinje, wounded like this, to at least start breathing. We will no longer give you the opportunity to keep our city closed with passivity and silence, because we see that such a situation suits you.

We will make sure that the next radicalization (and it will not be the first) is close enough for you to hear us much better and for our voice to be heard much further. Maybe then you will realize that we will not give up and that it is high time for you to start working in the interests of the citizens, which is why you are here and in those positions. Isn't that right?", they conclude in the statement.