"...The last light before the terrible night
There was a flash of the executioner's knife
And a scream, white..."
People, Ivan Goran Kovačić
The flash of a knife and a white scream.
It is unpleasant to write and pronounce the words from the previous text, but it is not good to ignore them today, in a situation when extreme right-wing ideologies are emerging in the world, and in our country as well. Neo-fascist, above all.
The reason for this story, and for many others that have been written these days, is the statement of the Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral, Mr. Joanikia, which sought to rehabilitate a war criminal Pavle Đurišić, a Chetnik commander and collaborator with Nazism and Fascism in World War II. He is remembered, in particular, for the crimes committed in 1943, in the Bijelo Polje district. The statement provoked various reactions. From protests to tactical silence. And even to support. In a broader sense, the Metropolitan's idea shows the commitment of the Serbian Orthodox Church to actively and openly engage in state politics. In Montenegro, he has the generous support of the party of the President of the Parliament, Mr. Andrije MandićAll with the program to create the Montenegrin Voivodeship with the help of Belgrade and annex it to a single "Serbian world".
The author of this text, a journalist, in 1943, as an eight-year-old boy, witnessed an event related to the crimes of the blessed Pavle Đurišić.
(You're probably asking how a memory can be valid after 82 years. That's because I've occasionally talked about it with acquaintances. After all, that's the age at which extraordinary events are etched into memory like a poker hand. Isn't it?)
Celebration of the aftermath of the 1943 Muslim pogrom in the Bijelo Polje district
The building in Šahovići (today's Tomaševo) where we lived was about a hundred meters from the center of the settlement. That day, at one point, singing, screaming, and gunfire could be heard from there. I ran and joined the celebrants, curious to see the shooting up close. I also remember being surprised that the bullets fired into the air didn't come back and fall on the heads of the soldiers. Or the residents who were watching from the sidelines. During the breaks, the soldiers talked, bragging. About how the iron units of their commander Đurišić had killed everyone who somehow didn't manage to escape.
And, further.
"A few from our group, gather two or three families, tie their hands around a bundle of straw, and set it on fire. And at first, they jump as if they were dancing a round dance. Until they fall."
"The two of us catch a bull, fill its smoker with straw, light it and let it go. And then the torch runs down the meadow."
And, the highlight:
"He throws the child up, then meets him with a bayonet (rifles)...”
I present this to the clergy who are far from the commandments of Christ - Do not kill and Do not bear false witness against your neighbor...
Witnessing documents from 1943.
On this occasion, I did a cursory search on the internet. And I easily found several confirmations of what I heard in Šahovići at the time.
Under the title “The Massacre of Muslims in the Bijelo Polje District”, it states, among other things:
"...The commander of the Lim-Sandžak detachment, Pavle Đurišić, led the entire operation from Kolašin, and on January 6th he sent a report to Draža Mihailović that the plan had been successfully executed."
Another document states: "They threw women, children and the elderly into houses, filled them with straw and hay, and set them on fire; they put the straw in the women's coffins and then burned them, singing."
In this action, according to a Chetnik report, several Muslim villages were burned. And, on January 10, Đurišić informed Mihailović that “about 400 members of the Muslim militia and about 1000 women and children were killed.” And so on.
About fifteen years ago, I met a man, an acquaintance from before, who participated in that Đurišić army. When I told him about my memory from Šahovići, he said, “Pero, I was there because they mobilized me. But you have to believe me, and I can swear to you, I did not participate in those crimes.”
Politics, crime. What about those who please God?
Today, in the story of church dignitaries, it is hard not to remember the recently deceased Pope Francis. His vocal opposition to violence, wars and killing. He often warned against the killing of Palestinian children and the suffering of Ukraine and its people. And, how can we not compare with such an attitude, right at the time of the Pope's funeral, the decision of the Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Mr. Porphyria that, instead of condoling with the victims, he goes to pay his respects Vladimir Putin, by many accounts, the greatest criminal of this era.
And we, in Montenegro?
The government is acting inept at the behavior of the church. Part of it is silent, and part of it supports the rehabilitation of the Chetniks. In special celebrations and with the sweetly sung "Get ready, get ready...". They are not joking, it should be understood.
In this whole story, obviously, the main victim is the Muslim-Bosniak people. From the Vrane Valley in 1924, through the crimes of Pavle Đurišić in 1943, the killing of Sarajevo in the four-year war, and with the climax Mladić's Srebrenica. Well, in addition to everything, some of today's high-ranking representatives of that people, for the sake of the privileges that the government generously grants them, remain silent and agree to march in a column under the flag of the commander-in-chief of the Montenegrin government, Mr. Mandić, the President of the Parliament, and his comrades.
How does the Government and its leadership with the master, Mr. Spaicem? He is helpful to his superior, Mr. Mandić, in everything. And he looks after his own, otherwise obscure, affairs. Occasionally he recites the well-known hymnal: pensions, salaries, a civil state, the European Union, intersecting highways, rolling hills and cities. And he smiles in confusion at all the analysts who fail to get into the tangle of his intentions. At least they succeed in doing so with the dubious Emirates project.
In short, it's all about the concept of a plan that strikes at the very foundations of Montenegro. On the one hand, by dividing the land for 99 years, according to the system - after us, at least a flood. Or, even worse, by striking at the spiritual essence of the State. With undisguised preparation for the creation of the Montenegrin Voivodeship.
In addition, the sincerity in the story about joining the EU is very questionable. The obstruction, although discreet, is from those who have never declared themselves in favor of NATO, nor in favor of recognizing Kosovo. And they are always waiting for a sign from Belgrade.
The point of view of this story does not include positions like: "And what did they do to us for thirty years" - it is known, they carried out plundering privatization. Or, the system of revenge for crimes, with the example of the Handžar Division and the Ustashas. Nor Mladić's settlement from Kosovo to Srebrenica. Everything is mostly known.
Is there any hope?
Perhaps there are, if we follow the examples of great minds, such as some directly related to today's topic.
Famous German statesman, chancellor Willy Brant On December 7, 1970, he paid tribute to the victims of Nazism in the Warsaw Ghetto by, to the surprise of the entire world, kneeling and begging for forgiveness. (The idea of making May 9th official as a national holiday of liberation from Nazism is being heard from Germany these days).
We remember that the great Montenegrin also spoke about the Montenegrin resistance to fascism. Jean Paul Sartre: “The July 20th Uprising is a magnificent event in the European history of the XNUMXth century.”
The greats of Montenegrin and European painting of the twentieth century Petra Lubarda "...he was passionately attracted to the anti-fascist national liberation movement. Its exploits and sacrifices. With this subject, he painted a significant number of works of monumental power: among others, the canvas The Thirteenth of July Uprising - the crown of the freedom-loving history of the Montenegrin people."
Perhaps one day the historical spirit of Montenegrin heroism and humanity will awaken. This could be spoken and written about with more pleasure than the words from the introduction, "the flash of a knife and the white scream."
(The author is an 89-year-old TV creator and publicist)
Bonus video:
