STEGA: Future recipients should refuse the Thirteenth of July Award if it is presented by Andrija Mandić

Representatives of the civic organisation STEGA today called on this year's recipients of the Thirteenth of July Award to refuse Montenegro's highest state honour on moral grounds if it is presented to them by Speaker of Parliament Andrija Mandić.

Speaking at a press conference outside Villa Gorica, film and theatre director Danilo Marunović said it was unacceptable that, only a few days before 13 July, the public still did not know the names of this year's laureates, Antena M reported.

- Today is 7 July, and we still do not know who the recipients of the Thirteenth of July Award are. Why is there such a high level of secrecy surrounding the country's highest state honour? What are they preparing this year - Marunović asked.

He recalled last year's protests outside Villa Gorica and the court proceedings that, according to him, are still being conducted against 35 participants in those demonstrations.

- In the current climate of political persecution, where a Chetnik commander (vojvoda) is presenting an award named after 13 July, the question arises whether anyone has the right to accept such an award from that man. I therefore appeal to the personal moral responsibility of the future laureates to refuse it - Marunović said.

Lawyer Veselin Radulović, legal representative of those facing misdemeanour proceedings over last year's protest, argued that the gathering was followed by what he described as an unjustified institutional campaign against citizens who had exercised their constitutionally guaranteed right to peaceful assembly.

According to Radulović, the police sought at all costs to punish people holding different political views. As an example, he cited the case of Lazar Dragović, who he claimed was prosecuted even though he had not been present at the protest.

Radulović called on the court to act in accordance with the Constitution and the law, stressing that this was not an attempt to exert pressure on the judiciary but rather a request that it protect fundamental human rights.

- It is the court's duty to safeguard fundamental human rights, especially when they are threatened by the authorities. In this case, we witnessed one of the clearest examples of inappropriate, unlawful, and impermissible conduct by the executive branch, specifically the police - Radulović said.

He also argued that the police's conduct in this case should be viewed in the broader context of its handling of other public gatherings.

- It is always worth recalling how the police acted in other cases, when they secured violent protests, escorted masked individuals carrying baseball bats who called for the lynching of Turkish citizens, or provided security for the erection of a monument to Pavle Đurišić. Such examples best illustrate the police's intentions, and I therefore call on the court to demonstrate where the limits lie that the executive branch must not cross - Radulović said.Representatives of the civic organisation STEGA today called on this year's recipients of the Thirteenth of July Award to refuse Montenegro's highest state honour on moral grounds if it is presented to them by Speaker of Parliament Andrija Mandić.

Speaking at a press conference outside Villa Gorica, film and theatre director Danilo Marunović said it was unacceptable that, only a few days before 13 July, the public still did not know the names of this year's laureates, Antena M reported.

- Today is 7 July, and we still do not know who the recipients of the Thirteenth of July Award are. Why is there such a high level of secrecy surrounding the country's highest state honour? What are they preparing this year - Marunović asked.

He recalled last year's protests outside Villa Gorica and the court proceedings that, according to him, are still being conducted against 35 participants in those demonstrations.

- In the current climate of political persecution, where a Chetnik commander (vojvoda) is presenting an award named after 13 July, the question arises whether anyone has the right to accept such an award from that man. I therefore appeal to the personal moral responsibility of the future laureates to refuse it - Marunović said.

Lawyer Veselin Radulović, legal representative of those facing misdemeanour proceedings over last year's protest, argued that the gathering was followed by what he described as an unjustified institutional campaign against citizens who had exercised their constitutionally guaranteed right to peaceful assembly.

According to Radulović, the police sought at all costs to punish people holding different political views. As an example, he cited the case of Lazar Dragović, who he claimed was prosecuted even though he had not been present at the protest.

Radulović called on the court to act in accordance with the Constitution and the law, stressing that this was not an attempt to exert pressure on the judiciary but rather a request that it protect fundamental human rights.

- It is the court's duty to safeguard fundamental human rights, especially when they are threatened by the authorities. In this case, we witnessed one of the clearest examples of inappropriate, unlawful, and impermissible conduct by the executive branch, specifically the police - Radulović said.

He also argued that the police's conduct in this case should be viewed in the broader context of its handling of other public gatherings.

- It is always worth recalling how the police acted in other cases, when they secured violent protests, escorted masked individuals carrying baseball bats who called for the lynching of Turkish citizens, or provided security for the erection of a monument to Pavle Đurišić. Such examples best illustrate the police's intentions, and I therefore call on the court to demonstrate where the limits lie that the executive branch must not cross - Radulović said.