Montenegro, the Serbs and NATO: A Test of National Maturity – Personal Attitudes

It would turn out that its creators were former general secretaries of the aforementioned military alliance, and not Soviet-Russian theorists and practitioners and other Bolsheviks, whose intention was to weaken the Serbian factor as much as possible after the First World War.

It was perceived as the pillar of support for the so-called Versailles Yugoslavia, which was understood to be part of the Western Anx-Soviet wall, and every effort was made to undermine it.

The result of decades of propaganda and systemic action has led a part of the Montenegrin population to fully adopt the new national identity, while the vast majority have created a Serbian-Montenegrin amalgam.

When the Djukanovic regime felt that the Serbian component of that complex identity (which it had previously emphasized) no longer suited it, it began to force its Montenegrin side.

In the next steps, he went to the extreme of anti-identity politics in relation to what is the Serbian-historical background of Montenegro.

As for the West, it did not impose such a policy, but accepted it pragmatically.

Serbian politicians in Serbia and Montenegro are also to blame for that.

Thanks to them, we did not understand the meaning of the fall of the Berlin Wall and we did not adapt to the new global situation in time.

We continue to behave irrationally even after the fall of Milosevic.

It is as if we think that we are little Russians.

And still red, even though we were the first to distance ourselves from Bolshevism.

Djukanovic’s anti-Serbian policy has Bolshevik roots and, therefore, Serbian politics had to return to the Western democratic framework to which it historically belongs.

Due to the selfishness and superficiality of those who made decisions on our behalf, this did not happen.

For these reasons, we are perceived as a threat to what the main Western power centers defended.

Everything was manifested in the Montenegrin countryside.

Serbian parties and organizations showed aversion to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and glorified Russia (which, incidentally, as soon as it saw that the NATO affair was over, raised the hand of the Serbs in Montenegro).

Djukanovic flattered the West.

And why in such a context would Western powers play someone other than DPS?

The fact that the government, whose main pillar was that party, went to extremism in relation to the discrimination of the declared Serbs and the humiliation of the Serbian Orthodox Church, combined with the corrupt-criminal and undemocratic system that it created, finally led to the US Members of the EU distance themselves from it.

If that didn’t directly lead to his downfall, it certainly affected him. Even more than that, it contributed to the successful transition of power and the start of the democratization process of Montenegro.

That was one side of the coin.

The other is the wise politics of the late Metropolitan Amfilohije.

The leadership of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro understood that the anti-Western policy does not bring anything good.

That is why they supported Zdravko Krivokapić, who is sincerely committed to European values.

All of this paved the way for the West to give the green light for a change of government in Montenegro.

The people of the team that assumed command of the state of Montenegro and who have a moderate Serbian orientation (of course, not everyone in it has such views, but no one was in the previous government), well understand that the democratization of Montenegro and his cessation of trampling on his Serbian heritage cannot be without the support of the West.

And it would be illusory to expect it if Podgorica, from its attitude towards Kosovo to its attitude towards Russia, countered the interests of NATO, the United States and the EU.

The job of (pro) Serbian politicians in Montenegro is to protect the national interests of our people in that country and not to wage any regional or global “war”.

The Serbian state leadership and those who are related to it on the Montenegrin political scene would have to understand that and not create problems for their new government.

Judging by the behavior of the media under the official control of Belgrade, he, unfortunately, did not get like that.

Now it doesn’t matter if you don’t understand things or if you look at them on your own.

In any case, the interest of Serbia in relation to Montenegro is to show a friendly attitude towards NATO.

Only in this way will the path open for the return of Montenegro to the historical heritage on which it was created.

On the other hand, it is good that NATO supports that process.

Only if Montenegro relies on its true identity base will it be stable.

Then the passions in him will be calmed and the false Serbian-Montenegrin polarization will be overcome, so that he will be able to advance as a reliable segment of Western civilization and the political-military circle.

Furthermore, not least, it also shows that Serbs can be good in a NATO environment.

Satisfied Serbs in Montenegro will be the best signal to their compatriots in Serbia and the Republika Srpska that it is best for our people to unite and unite within the framework of Western economic, political and military integrations.

If we want to live together, it is not only the most realistic model but also the most progressive in every way.

This is how national and liberal-democratic values ​​merge, without which there is no individual integrity.

That is why the national and state maturity of the new Podgorica government is to be praised, but also the attitude towards it of important factors in the West that seem to be beginning to respect the national-historical reality of Montenegro.

Unfortunately, similar praise cannot be expressed for the behavior of the Belgrade authorities.

Instead of supporting the Serbian and pro-Western option in Montenegro, which can only benefit our people there, they remain prisoners of the sad propaganda phrases of the 1990s.

The author is one of the founders of Demostat

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