Đurašković: We have an everlasting debt to those who gave their lives for freedom - to preserve the truth, call crimes by their proper name and pass on the values of anti-fascism

We have an everlasting debt to those who gave their lives for freedom - to preserve the truth, call crimes by their proper name and pass on the values of anti-fascism to future generations as an inseparable part of our historical heritage and the legacy of our statehood – said Mayor of the Royal Capital Cetinje Nikola Đurašković.

Today, on the occasion of Cetinje Municipality Day and the city's Liberation Day, marked on November 13, tributes were paid at the Memorial Ossuary and near the Vlach Church to the fighters and victims of fascism, whose courage and sacrifice are forever woven into the freedom-loving history of Cetinje and Montenegro.

Đurašković stressed that November 13 remains one of the most decisive dates in Cetinje's history, bringing together the noblest values of our past, the city's spirit of freedom and the enduring memory of those who laid down their lives in building the foundations of freedom.

- If there were one word that could encompass the entire history, character and spiritual identity of Cetinje, that word would be freedom. It was and remains the highest ideal pursued by generations of our ancestors, for which people gave their lives, rose up in uprisings and fought battles. On this rock, where the flame of Montenegrin statehood was safeguarded for centuries, freedom was the measure of honour, strength and dignity for generations who understood that the values on which a nation rests must be defended, even when the price of that struggle is greatest - Đurašković emphasised.

Recalling Cetinje's contribution to the National Liberation Struggle, he said that every era brings its own trials and challenges, stressing the importance of preserving historical memory and the values on which a free and dignified society is built.

- As we lay a wreath today at the final resting place of patriots and victims of fascism, let our silence be an expression of our deepest gratitude, and our words a promise that their names, deeds and sacrifice will never be forgotten - Đurašković said.

President of the Association of National Liberation War Veterans and Anti-Fascists of Cetinje, Borislav Pravilović, recalled the liberation of Cetinje on November 13, 1944, and the battles that preceded this historic event.

He particularly highlighted the memory Cetinje preserves of its 49 national heroes, noting that the city's liberation marked the beginning of a new era of peace and hope.

Pravilović warned against attempts to rewrite history, relativise crimes and portray collaborators with the occupying forces as heroes. He stressed that anti-fascism is not a matter of day-to-day politics, but a civilisational value on which modern Montenegro must be founded.

- Our obligation is to leave future generations a country in which they can take pride in its anti-fascist past, a country where criminals are not celebrated, and where truth, freedom, justice and human dignity remain inviolable values - Pravilović concluded.

The ceremony was also attended by representatives of the Association of Anti-Fascist Fighters and Anti-Fascists of Šibenik-Knin County, who laid a wreath at the Memorial Ossuary and placed flowers on the graves of fallen Dalmatian fighters in front of the Vlach Church.