Of the 15 cultural creators who were granted the status of distinguished artists by the Government's decision on Thursday, some names have caused a storm in the public. First and foremost, writer Milutin Mićović, whose selection is being questioned even by the Commission that was tasked with proposing distinguished artists to the Government.
"Here it seems to me that someone is stuck awarding an award to a man who, in our opinion, the majority of the first vote does not deserve that award. Otherwise, what I cannot accept, which has nothing to do with this case, but with something that happens quite often in Montenegro. That someone who does everything against this society and this state, asks for that society to support him," said commission member and director Branko Baletić to Television Vijesti.
And, according to the Government's decision, Mićović is entitled to a lifetime allowance in the amount of the average salary in Montenegro, or 1.000 euros, since he is the winner of Miroslav's Gospel.
Mićović is known in public for his hate speech, misogyny, and denial of the Montenegrin nation and identity. Baletić says that during the first vote of the Commission, Mićović received only two votes out of the five required, while the decision for all other members was made unanimously.
"At the next session, someone raised the issue of re-voting. Let me remind you, you cannot vote on the same subject twice, unless, for example, you are not applying the rules, or if you have consciously or unconsciously omitted some... We were provided with a list of these awards, which I now need to take a closer look at, these are the same awards, because it now says that they are now better arranged," said Baletić.
Baletić and several other members of the commission emphasize that the Ministry of Culture published a list of 15 prominent cultural creators along with Mićović, despite the fact that the Commission has not completed its work and has not made a report. Apart from Baletić, Radmila Vojvodić, Marko Eraković and Tatjana Krkeljić disagree with the Commission's decision.
"In my opinion, everything lies with the president of our team who was handling this. I see that there seems to have been a fight between someone from the Ministry of Culture and the president of the commission, that she even told one member to complain to the Ministry of Culture, we have nothing to do with the Ministry of Culture, but with the commission. And the commission must schedule a final meeting, to sign the minutes, to read them and to say who did what and got what," said Baletić.
Commission President Isidora Damjanović did not respond to calls from Television Vijesti today. Baletić, on the other hand, sees the procedure as violence and expects a reaction from the public and the Ministry of Culture and Media. He is seeking an explanation as to how the list was published earlier.
The Ministry of Culture told Television Vijesti that they see nothing controversial in the voting and the method of selecting candidates.
In addition to Mićović, the public is questioning how the status and compensation were received by painter Naod Zorić, who was convicted in the first instance last week for abuse of position in the RTCG Council during the election of Boris Raonić as the General Director of the Public Service Broadcasting Company.
The following were declared prominent cultural creators: Andrija Radulović, Branislav Sekulić, Darko Nikčević, Dimitrije Popović, Dragan Koprivica, Jelena Tomašević, Milutin Mićović, Naod Zorić, Novica Đurić, Radovan Radonjić, Roman Simović, Senad Gačević, Srđa Bulatović, Tomislav Pavićević and Šerbo Rastoder.
By awarding this award, the state recognizes individuals for their creative contribution that has had lasting significance for the development of Montenegrin culture and art.
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