[ad_1]
Previous censuses were marked by tensions, pressures, anti-Serbian hysteria from the Djukanovic regime, but even in that environment, the number of Serbs in Montenegro started to grow enormously, so in 2011 it was 28 percent. If we go back to the point of history, we will see that in 1909, up to 95 percent of the population declared themselves Serbian, while, say, in 1948, only 1.78 percent declared themselves Serbian.
– The results of the parliamentary elections in Montenegro created a new social environment for the national declaration, because the last two censuses were traumatic for the majority of the population, if the pressure and blackmail of the outgoing regime are taken into account. For years, the so-called Montenegrin Identity, from the language to the church in the anti-Serbian matrix – says, for “Novosti”, the university professor Dr. Ljiljana Vujadinovic.
Pljevlja, VN Photo Archive
He explains that “the fear of not being able to find a job, the fear of losing a job, the fear of being denounced and being treated as second-class citizens if you come out as a Serb” were created by the ideology of the dominant party. There are almost no people declaring themselves Serbs in leadership positions in state institutions.
Ljiljana Vujadinović, Photo by VK
Every effort was made to reduce the number of Serbs in the census next year to around ten percent.
The vote on the Law on Religious Freedom at the end of December last year, recalls Vujadinovic, in an extremely undemocratic atmosphere, in the dead of night, initiated already known facts and “ruined the work of the builders of Montenegrin identity.”
– I hope that in the new circumstances, the national declaration will be free, without pressure and, above all, without fear. Belonging to a nation is an objective category, it was given to us by birth. Subjective affiliation is questionable, because subjectively you can sometimes feel good and sometimes bad. Being Serbian is not a disadvantage, says Professor Vujadinović.
VN Photo Archive
Jovan Markuš, a prominent publicist from Cetinje, who was mayor of the old capital, explains by “Novosti”:
– Unlike today, at the time of the independent state of the Kingdom of Montenegro, our ancestors knew very well the difference between the terms nationality (nationality), religion and citizenship (citizenship), which is not difficult to see when looking at documents officers and textbooks of that time. . Although formally less educated, our ancestors in the principality and kingdom of Montenegro knew well how to distinguish terms and if someone were to tell them that they were not Serbs by nationality (nationally) and Montenegrin territorially (as citizens), they would consider it a fool. There is no reason for us to be different from our ancestors …
Jovan Markuš, VN Photo Archive
The outgoing government’s intentions were completely clear. Montenegro is the only country in Europe where the “carrier” nation does not have a majority in its own country.
– That is why the Orthodox Serbs should have been “fused” into Montenegrins, so that they become more than half of the majority, especially when they fail with Albanians, Muslims, Bosnians and Croats – believes Markuš.
Markuš recalls that since the beginning of the last census process in 2011, he “smelled” that the government is preparing to list the census results where it is cheapest and safest: at the state statistical office, Monstat.
– Throughout the entire census process, Monstat testified very clearly that he is not interested in European norms and standards, and that he will not try too hard to do his job. Until the end, Monstat did not give methodological instructions on how certain identity statements would be categorized and, to make matters worse, did not even provide detailed instruction for citizens on census rules and their rights. After all, it was announced that the census results will be released in one year! When all the data was collected, the number of Serbs in Monstat was 32.4 percent, and the number of Serbian speakers was close to 48 percent, says Markuš.
GEOGRAPHY MESSAGES
To the various doubts that plague the younger generations today, the answer can be given by textbooks from a century ago. In the Geography of the Kingdom of Montenegro, which had four editions (the first in 1893 and the last in 1911), among other things, it is written:
“They all live alone in Montenegro and they are pure Serbs, who speak the Serbian language, and there are about 300,000 of them. Most of them are of Orthodox faith, and there are some Roman Catholics and Mohammedans, but we must know that we are all of Serbian origin and of Serbian nationality.
Montenegro is ruled by King Nikola I of the famous Petrović-Njegoš Serbian family … Besides Montenegro, there are other Serbian countries where our Serbian brothers live. Some are free like us and some are not, but they are under a stranger. All Montenegrin Serbs are obliged to know and love their entire homeland, all Serbian lands inhabited by our liberated and non-liberated Serbian brothers. “
It was clear that such a result makes the Duklja project made by the theft of the referendum meaningless.
Photo illustration by VN
However, that number was also corrected, so the official data remained that the number of Serbs in Montenegro in the 2011 census was 28 percent. If next year’s census is free and objective, and the change of government suggests that it will be, the number of Serbs in Montenegro will certainly be higher.
Follow us through iOS and Android apps
[ad_2]
