The non-governmental organizations (NGOs) Action for Human Rights (HRA), Center for Civic Education (CGO) and ANIMA Center for Women's and Peace Education announced today that they "express a strong protest against the renaming of Tivatska Street in Pljevlje to Branko Krvavac Street, a JNA soldier who was killed in the aggression against the Dubrovnik-Herzegovina region in Croatia in October 1991".
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"We believe that this is a procedure contrary to the Law on Monuments of Montenegro and an example of negative historical revisionism. It was announced that Krvavac, as a member of the JNA, lost his life on the Dubrovnik-Herzegovina battlefield while providing aid to a wounded commander. The aggressive attack of the JNA on Dubrovnik, in which mostly citizens of Montenegro took part, is the greatest shame of our country in recent history," the joint statement of the three NGOs points out.
The statement added that "the grief of family and friends is understandable because the authorities of the time took many people to that war who, unfortunately, also died, like Krvavac".
"However, the basic fact is that all the victims (166) were members of the aggressor forces of the JNA, territorial defense or MUP of Montenegro, which shelled, robbed and killed civilians in the Dubrovnik area, and their act does not represent a historical achievement worthy of any of glorification", the announcement reads.
HRA, CGO and ANIMA state that according to the Law on Monuments, "a memorial can also be a name of a public object such as a street, only if it symbolizes the values prescribed by law, namely: to commemorate significant events, preserve the memories of prominent personalities, cherish human ideals and cultural-historical traditions and honor freedom fighters, civilian victims of war and mass sufferings of people. Furthermore, according to the Law, a prominent person is considered a person: 1) which is especially deserving of the state, social, economic, scientific or cultural development of Montenegro or a certain area or place in Montenegro; 2) whose work has international historical, scientific, cultural, humanitarian or sports significance; 3) who was the organizer or prominent participant of the liberation war, uprising or movement; 4) which stood out in particular in the fight against fascism".
"We especially draw attention to the fact that the Law clearly stipulates that it is not allowed to erect a memorial, among other things, and a person who was an associate of the occupier, his ally or helper; to a person who advocated fascist, chauvinist or Nazi ideas or ideologies; or to a person who had a negative role in the history of Montenegro or in the history of mankind," it is written in the announcement.
CGO HRA and ANIMA state that in June 1991, the Republic of Croatia declared its independence from the federal state of SFR Yugoslavia.
"In October 1991, without an attack from Croatian territory on its forces in Montenegro or Bosnia and Herzegovina, the JNA carried out an aggressive attack on Dubrovnik and its hinterland and the Konavale area up to the border with Montenegro," the three NGOs said in a joint statement.
CGO, HRA and ANIMA state that "by naming streets, squares and settlements, we contribute to preserving the identity and values that characterize our country".
"We strongly oppose this kind of glorification of aggressive warfare because we do not want such horrors to be repeated neither for our children nor for any future generation. We demand that local self-governments and political parties act responsibly when making important decisions about naming streets and erecting memorials in local communities. Everyone should know that democracy does not just mean the rule of the majority, but that it requires consideration of the human rights of all," the statement concludes.
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