SDP MP Draginja Vuksanović Stanković spoke for autonomija.info about the current socio-political moment in Montenegro.
AUTONOMIJA: Ms. Vuksanović Stanković, the Parliament of Montenegro adopted the Resolution on the genocide in Srebrenica. How do you comment on that decision, as well as the hysterical reactions from Belgrade to it?
DRAGINJA VUKSANOVIC STANKOVIC: The decision to pass the Resolution on Genocide in Srebrenica is, as I said in the discussion in the Assembly, our civilizational and human obligation to the innocent victims of such a monstrous crime that happened in our close neighborhood 25 years ago. The resolution is a pledge of peace and the development of good neighborly relations, and I think it is a clear proof of the civil and European commitment of the state of Montenegro. As for the reactions from Serbia, they were expected. We do not equate the Serbian people with criminals, on the contrary, the guilt is individual – it is precisely those who chant that Mladic is a hero. Without facing the recent past, our societies, especially in Serbia, cannot move forward through integration, peace and coexistence, and that must be clear to the authorities in Serbia.
AUTONOMIJA: Do you see in the current government any political force that could step out of the platform of the “Serbian world” and the liturgical movement organized by the late Metropolitan of the Serbian Orthodox Church Amfilohije, and “move” to the side of civil Montenegro? Some analysts see this possibility primarily when it comes to the Democrats of Aleksa Bečić, while others see them as another hard nationalist option, so much so that they call them “red Khmer”, because of the red ties they wear and the ideological attitudes they have…
DRAGINJA VUKSANOVIĆ STANKOVIĆ: The only thing that is certain when it comes to the current Government of Montenegro is uncertainty, even for a period of 10 days. The obvious incompetence of the Government and the government is clear to all those who supported such a Government. That is why the different voting on Srebrenica, as well as the dismissal of Leposavic with the opposition, is a clear indicator that the relations in that coalition are catastrophic and what they said about each other we cannot even think about. But as long as there is an agenda that implies the creation of the so-called “Serbian world”, this government will survive and try to implement it in one part. Of course, what they do not count on is the strong resistance of the Montenegrin civil society, which shows exceptional vitality and vitality due to the constant attacks on the fundamental values on which modern Montenegro was formed.
It is too early to give such forecasts, but there is certainly a civic potential in some parties in power. The key question is whether they will understand that there is nothing from monotheistic and mono-ethnic politics and that the future of Montenegro is in the EU and NATO, and not in some Euro-Asian provisional, which appears as a value alternative.
AUTONOMIJA: Do you expect that another political party will be formed on the political scene of Montenegro, which will be based on the tradition of independent and sovereign Montenegro? And if so, who do you see as such a force?
DRAGINJA VUKSANOVIĆ STANKOVIĆ: I believe that a serious generation of politicians of the younger generation who inherit modern, European and civic values has matured in Montenegro. I would be falsely modest if I did not point out that a huge number of these people are in the Social Democratic Party today and that we get new support from such people every day. Who did not want to be involved in politics, but aggressive clericalization forced them to get out of the sphere of personal and family comfort and enter political waters.
AUTONOMIJA: Where did the Civic Movement URA in the coalition with the notorious Greater Serbia Democratic Front come from? What kind of “civil movement” is that then?
DRAGINJA VUKSANOVIC STANKOVIC: That is the key issue for blocking democratic processes in our country. Allegedly, the “greens and citizens” entered into a coalition with the biggest deniers of everything civil in Montenegro. Voting for convicted haters of ethnic Montenegrins, the fight against minority parties and peoples, as well as agreeing on a coalition and personnel solutions in monasteries are just some of what the URA has done. However, I would not add anything about the behavior of that party, which was not stated about it by the founders from the Council who left it on May 21 – that it does not currently represent civic values, but implements the agenda of the Democratic Front.
AUTONOMIJA: Aleksandar Vučić and his various poltrons tell the story of how there are practically two equal nationalisms in Montenegro, Serbian and Montenegrin. How do you comment on such theses?
DRAGINJA VUKSANOVIC STANKOVIC: It is a fraud and untruth equal to the fact that Germany entered the war with Britain and France because they imposed war on it. Montenegrin nationalism cannot exist if its basis is a multiethnic society, anti-fascism and the European idea. Such nationalism does not exist anywhere else in the world. And to be honest and completely open, not a single tear has ever shed because of “Montenegrin nationalism”. The result of Serbian and other aggressive big-state nationalisms and big-state policies has been hundreds of thousands of graves and millions displaced in just four years since 1991. The “national” project has been tried by an international tribunal founded by Russia and China, among others. When President Putin talks about the danger of the conflict in Ukraine two months ago, he says “he will not allow another Srebrenica in Europe.” If this is not a clear indication to nationalists of what the whole world thinks of their project, then they will have to think hard before drawing similar parallels next time.
AUTONOMIJA: Recently, Serbian historian Aleksandar Raković said that “Montenegrins deserve to be treated sadistically.” He also said: “At one point, 100,000 of them will remain against us, 7.5 million. And then there will be opportunities to talk to them as they see fit. ” Please comment.
DRAGINJA VUKSANOVIĆ STANKOVIĆ: What is perhaps even worse than that is that the same Raković, in a rather affirmative context, was commented on by the new Metropolitan of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro, Joanikije. Raković is just a megaphone that obscures the program platform of the Serbian world in a slightly more raw and primitive way. Such obscure figures should not normally be commented on or given any public treatment. The fact that Raković is one of the creators of public opinion perhaps best speaks of the political-ideological and ethical puddle in which politics today wants to lead the citizens of one country.
AUTONOMIJA: Looking from Serbia, the impression is that civil and multicultural Montenegro is not only resilient but also convincingly majority in relation to the conspirators of the “Serbian world”. Will Montenegro manage to resist the onslaught of Greater Serbia nationalism?
DRAGINJA VUKSANOVIC STANKOVIC: Montenegro showed that civic strength after August 30, although due to bad governance, that civic substance was in some way anesthetized for a long time. Even many proponents of European Montenegro were deceived by a number of subjects who offered one story, and after the elections they joined forces with clero-nationalists on whose will they are politically dependent, which is why they have to agree to their political dictate and finally political-ideological agenda. We successfully overcame the first onslaught of Greater Serbian nationalism. I am sure that we will overcome the next attacks easier, but it is necessary to mobilize the overall civic potential of Montenegro. Both international circumstances and some changes in this area are significantly in favor of the civilian forces in Montenegro and the region, while on the other hand they discourage nationalists and protagonists of the great power who would again play a little conflict and greed in this area. No pasaran.
AUTONOMIJA: What is the thing that you most resent about Milo Đukanović and the DPS for not doing what they had to do, from the declaration of independence of Montenegro to the fall from power?
DRAGINJA VUKSANOVIĆ STANKOVIĆ: We must certainly be satisfied with all those strategic results in the correct positioning of the state, both in terms of values and especially in the international context. These are to remind you of the values on which the SDP was established as a party three decades ago.
Not enough has been done in terms of organizing the state. In terms of institution building, rule of law, fair distribution of resources, strengthening state-building awareness – there was no adequate focus and that is one of the reasons why these capital status and identity achievements are endangered today. We must build the state by strengthening its institutions and identity, the state cannot be built on anyone's personal or party omnipotence. I want to believe that some lessons have been learned, that is, that we will all learn lessons from this previous period where we sinned, what could have been better and – ultimately and most importantly – how to continue to lead Montenegro and pull it out of the clutches of those who ultimately they want to disappear.
AUTONOMIJA: How do you see the role of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro? Are those who say that the Serbian Orthodox Church is actually a replacement for the former infamous Seventh Battalion of the Army of the FR Yugoslavia right?
DRAGINJA VUKSANOVIĆ STANKOVIĆ: In general, the approach offered to us is a time machine that should take us back to the beginning of the 19th century and the era of the Montenegrin theocracy. It all seems bizarre, unbelievable and grotesque that today in Montenegro you have a prime minister who is more of a churchman, the unreformed one, and on the other hand the SOC in Montenegro, which has mastered all techniques of political and electoral engagement, including a crucial contribution to forming the government. The Serbian Orthodox Church, as an institution, has never deviated from the disastrous great-power policy whose patron it was in the 1990s. On the contrary, with her concrete attitudes and actions, she continued to encourage this policy in the new time, trying only to adapt it to the new circumstances. The Serbian Orthodox Church is, I would say, the way in which it continues to act as the main catalyst and inspirer of the policy of Greater Serbia nationalism, and that policy in combination with historical revisionism is disastrous for the region as a whole and thus for the Serbian people. It is tragic that no lessons have been learned from the destruction of the end of the last century.
AUTONOMIJA: Do you think that the Western powers were also short-sighted and supported the dismissal of the undoubtedly corrupt DPS government, regardless of the terrible consequences that followed?
DRAGINJA VUKSANOVIĆ STANKOVIĆ: The West, especially in the last five years, has been quite strategically passive when it comes to the Western Balkans. Assessments and attitudes about the situation in the region were not problematic, but what was missing was the readiness for concrete engagement in the prevention of retrograde processes, phenomena and personalities whose politics and ideology once set the Yugoslav region on fire. The Western partners have largely underestimated the strength of the great-power ideologies and the local, somewhat specific, clero-nationalism, which, with a malignant foreign influence, have the potential to create new destruction in the Balkans. I think things are moving in a much better direction now.
AUTONOMIJA: Do you expect a significant presence of the West, and above all Washington, in the events in Montenegro? However, Montenegro is a member of NATO and a country that has convincingly moved the furthest on the road to the EU from all the countries of the Western Balkans…
DRAGINJA VUKSANOVIC STANKOVIC: The messages of the American president on the return of America to the region and his decision to impose sanctions on all those who contaminate local societies with corruption, crime and endangering the regional and international order are great news for all who strive for peace, stability and ultimate hate ideology. and nationalism. The revitalization of the Euro-Atlantic partnership is a nightmare for local nationalists who want to play with borders and human lives again, and for them to profit from these conflicts by accumulating stolen resources and citizens’ money. There will be none of this if we are all vigilant enough and if the international community imposes its rhythm of play and zero indulgence on the protagonists of the conflict and plunder of our societies.
AUTONOMIJA: After the statements of the Minister of Police and Vučić's informal spokesman Aleksandar Vulin that those who voted for the Resolution on the Srebrenica Genocide in the Parliament of Montenegro will be banned from entering Serbia, when you arrived in Serbia you experienced great discomfort at the Belgrade airport. Despite the fact that you had a diplomatic passport, you were detained for more than an hour, and under the pretext of additional checks, the police searched you, they searched your suitcase, bag, wallet…
DRAGINJA VUKSANOVIĆ STANKOVIĆ: Such an act is proof that all those who share civilizational, European, democratic and multiethnic values - are not welcome in Serbia. Of course, that will neither sway nor discourage me from continuing to engage in this business and for all the listed values, because only on these foundations can we enter the European Union and become its respected and respected member.
It is unbelievable how much the official government in Serbia harms the Serbian people by imposing awareness of collective responsibility on them, although the Declaration on Srebrenica, which was adopted by the Serbian Parliament in 2010, actually individualizes the guilt for that crime. Which means that the genocide in Srebrenica is not the fault of the Serbian people, but of individuals, which is proven by the verdicts of the Hague Tribunal.
I will never allow myself to be a traitor to my country in order to enter Serbia, the country I love, where my mother was born and my uncle lives. I will always serve my people and Montenegro, and I will never be a vassal of official Serbia or any other country.