History will record that since 2020 there was a government that rewarded thieves and liars, depriving us of the right to fight for Montenegro to be a normal society

This is no longer a question of a single protest, but of the basic legal security of every citizen – is a message emphasized at the press conference of the Strategy for a European and Civic Montenegro (STEGA) organized after the police filed misdemeanor charges against 35 participants of the July protest held in response to the unlawful awarding of the Thirteenth of July Award to the denier of Montenegrin nationhood Bećir Vuković for a book that does not exist.

As STEGA members underlined, the institutions are not protecting the law but interests and are acting selectively.

MUCH MORE IS NEEDED FOR FEAR

Director and one of the prosecuted Danilo Marunović said that they gathered to defend legality and justice.

- Instead of praising all 35 of us for our activism, the new liberators are depriving us of the right to fight for Montenegro to be a normal society. We tell them: No pasaran. This is our red line. On December 19th we will be there, drawing the line between a free Montenegro and one that is not - he said.

Journalist and civic activist Darko Ivanović stated he will come to every protest.

- And I can’t wait for you to arrest and prosecute me. We will defend everything we believe in. We will not move and, as the people of Cetinje say, let them come - Ivanović highlighted.

Political scientist Alek Barović emphasized that what will remain after Bećir Vuković are an unwritten book and a stolen phone.

- History will record that since 2020 there was a government that rewarded thieves and liars - Barović said.

He stressed that you cannot strike at Montenegrins with a little tear gas.

- They will have to try something much stronger to frighten us - Barović added.

REPRESSION IS NOT A SIGN OF STRENGTH BUT OF WEAKNESS

Dean of the Faculty of Montenegrin Language and Literature (FCJK) Aleksandar Radoman stated that the authorities are attempting to instill fear and doubt and suppress all forms of resistance.

- But we tell them that repression is not a reflection of strength but of weakness. See you on December 19th and no pasaran - Radoman added.

He said that three and a half decades ago one Montenegrin intellectual said that the last of Stalin’s moustache would be shaved off in Montenegro.

- The current regime convinces us that Stalin has grown a beard in Montenegro - Radoman said.

A few months ago, as he reminded, they attempted to pass an unconstitutional law banning gatherings.

- Under strong pressure from the civic public, they backed down. Now they are doing the same, as "duke" Mandić would say, by other means. Though not chemical ones, like on July 8th when they doused citizens with enormous amounts of pepper spray - not to disorient them, but to injure them and cause long-term harm. Now they are using quasi-legal means - misdemeanor charges. They are trying to instill fear and doubt, to prevent any form of resistance. But both their chemicals and their mechanisms of repression are futile - the dean stressed.

Their calculation, he added, is flawed.

- For whoever strikes at antifascism, quickly breaks their teeth. That is why we say again today - this repression is not a reflection of your strength but of your weakness. And you are not dealing with the 35 of us, but with an idea you cannot break - Radoman concluded.

PERFORMANCE

Independent artist Iva Nešić said she is honored to be among the 35 citizens prosecuted for misdemeanors.

- In a country where no perpetrator of the violence in Gornje Zaostro has ever been prosecuted, in which no one has been prosecuted for the two massacres in Cetinje, and where the gravest crimes end in institutional silence - to prosecute 35 citizens who protested for the highest state honor speaks for itself – stated Nešić.

If fighting for constitutional order and the public interest is now considered a misdemeanor, she said she is proud to have committed it alongside these people.

- And now, the reason why I am personally on the list. Extinguishing my cigarette on a police shield was a performance. Visible to anyone who wanted to see it. I would never have done it had that shield been defending the interests of my country. And if one spontaneous, non-institutional artistic gesture can cause such turmoil within the security structures, then it is clear - art is power, and art is the driving force of change. And so I openly say - that tiny pink „Sobranie“ cigarette butt did more to protect the Montenegrin Constitution and defend the legitimacy of the highest state honor than the Montenegrin police shield did at that moment - Nešić said.

In the end, she said, one question must be asked:

- Why are the shields of the Montenegrin police defending the highest Montenegrin state recognition - from Montenegrins – asked Nešić.