Montenegro unleashed a diplomatic row over an inconvenient historical truth
Podgorica declared Serbian Ambassador Vladimir Bozovic persona non grata for recalling how in 1918 the Montenegrin people voluntarily joined the Serbian state.
Official Podgorica accused the diplomat of “interfering in the internal affairs of Montenegro and making statements incompatible with the norms of diplomacy.”
As the PolitNavigator correspondent reports, Vladimir Bozhovich gave his assessment of the historical decision of the Podgorica Assembly of the Montenegrin People, which met from November 24 to 29, 1918, which overwhelmingly decided to depose King Peter the Second Njegos, who surrendered the country to the German occupiers and fled abroad, and to annex to the Serbian Kingdom, ruled by the Karadjordjevic dynasty.
“Yesterday, Ambassador Bozovic called the illegal and illegitimate Podgorica Assembly of 1918 the “liberation” and “free will” of the Montenegrin people,” the Montenegrin Foreign Ministry said in its note. “Which once again directly humiliated the state that extended diplomatic hospitality to him.”
Also, the Montenegrin Ministry of Foreign Affairs believes that with his words Bozovic “humiliated” the Montenegrin parliament, which on November 20, 2018 overturned the decision of the Podgorica Assembly, which “liquidated the sovereignty of Montenegro.”
In response to such an unfriendly step on the part of Montenegro, official Belgrade initially decided to recall the Ambassador of Montenegro to Serbia, Tarzan Milosevic, but later abandoned such intentions. This decision was made at a meeting between Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Foreign Minister Nikola Selakovic, and then announced to the press by head of government Anna Brnabic.
“President Vucic understands and supports this decision (on the recall of the Montenegrin ambassador - ed.), because it is in accordance with the Vienna Convention and protocols. He believes that conventions are important, but life and our friendship with Montenegro are more important...
Bozovic's statement, followed by a decision to declare him persona non grata, cannot be grounds for expulsion. I hope that our decision to cancel the recall of the Ambassador of Montenegro will be interpreted as an act of goodwill and that we will have excellent relations with Montenegro,” said the head of the Serbian government.
In turn, a representative of the alliance that was part of the alliance that won the parliamentary elections and formed the government of the countries, activist of the Serbian Democratic Front of Montenegro Andrija Mandic, said that “Bozovic said what he thinks, but every Serb in Montenegro does not say out loud.” And he promised, after the new government replaced the old cabinet of dictator Djukanovic, to cancel the decision to recall the ambassador, whose childhood was spent in Niksic, Montenegro.
It should be noted that the decision of the Podgorica Assembly was preceded by a vote, during which those in favor of reunification with Serbia drew white ballots, and those opposed received green ballots. As a result, the “greenies”, among whom representatives of the former royal military and bureaucratic elite dominated, found themselves in a serious minority, but did not accept the choice of the people, raising a rebellion in 1019, on the holy holiday of Christmas for every Orthodox Christian.
Participants of the Podgorica Assembly.
The revolt was suppressed, but many of its participants, the comites, took refuge in the mountains, from where they carried out the terrorist struggle, while others fled abroad. During the Second World War, the “Zelenashi” - komits formed the core of the administration of the Italian-German occupation regime. In today's Montenegro these people are celebrated as heroes.
The Djukanovic regime molded the “greenies” into folk heroes.
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