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Professor of the Faculty of Montenegrin Language and Literature, historian Boban Batrićević, responded with an open letter to the evaluation of the French ambassador to Montenegro, Kristijan Timonije, which called the protest gathering of citizens of Cetinje on the occasion of the promotion of Jakov Milatović, "fascist aggression against human values."
We are transcribing Batrićević's open letter in its entirety:
V. E. Mr. Thimonier, I have carefully read your statement regarding the event that took place in Cetinje two days ago. And I must tell you, I am deeply disappointed. Not only with your arbitrary statements, but also with very malicious qualifications. But I leave room for you to correct yourself in a possible answer or addendum to your statement, not to say sorry.
In your condemnation of the protest that you gave to the pro-government media because of the objection that Jakov Milatović held a forum in Cetinje, you said: "All those, who have already been elected by the citizens of Montenegro, represent part of the democratic will of the people and should be immune to any pressure, personally or through their families. This type of fascist aggression is against not only European values, but also basic human values. Attention should be paid at all levels in all parties to prevent hate speech that opens up space for this type of unacceptable behavior."
The first thing that caught my eye was the phrase "will of the people". For someone who comes from France and who rhetorically adheres to the rich French tradition, the "will of the people" does not exist in democracies. This can only be stated in the statements of right-wing and pro-Russian actors both in your country and in mine. Both in France and in Montenegro, as you know, we prefer the "will of the citizens" and not the "will of the people". Because both countries are organized in such a way that citizens and not nations are the bearers of sovereignty.
Another thing that caught my eye is the use of the terms "fascism" and "European values". I will not go into the deep history of the French colonial legacy in Africa and Southeast Asia, the legacy of the French action of Charles Maurras and the Vichy syndrome, and in the manner of a putinophile and war criminal Ratko Mladić, trying to discredit your right to stand by historical episodes. I will not publicly share backroom gossip about your connections with the regime of Aleksandar Vučić, because I do not believe in rumors until they are confirmed by facts. For me, you are a representative of the French state, an official of French foreign policy and a guest in my country. That's why I will speak in the language of facts. Since you qualified the context of the protest against Jakov Milatović's tribune, I believe by mistake, as fascism, I will refer to several fascist moments that took place in Montenegro and which you kept silent about.
Writing for the IN4S portal, the main newspaper of Russian propaganda in Montenegro, which almost daily promotes the language of hatred against dissenters, Muslims, Ukrainians and Montenegrins. Not only did you never deign to speak about it, but you gave the founder of that portal, the rector of the University of Montenegro Vladimir Božović, a declared and proven pro-Russian man in Montenegro, a digital platform for - sic! - the fight against malignant Russian influence. If you don't believe me, at the bottom of this text there is a link that confirms it.
Since you were appointed the ambassador of France in my country, the Church of Serbia has on several occasions organized commemorations for war criminals and collaborators of fascism in the Second World War. First of all, to Draža Mihailović and Joaniki Lipovac. Nowhere did I come across your reaction that it is fascism and that it is not in line with European values. No, I only came across your frequent visits to dignitaries of the Church of Serbia in Montenegro and very polite reports about those meetings.
During the enthronement of Joanikij Mićović in Cetinje on September 4 and 5, 2021, which was carried out by a NATO army helicopter, I could not find your position on it. Is animal hunting for people and suffocation with tear gas a European value for you? Tradition certainly is.
When Mr. Leposavić or Herr Leposavić, the Great Serbian-Montenegrin version of Karl Schmitt, denied the genocide in Srebrenica, I don't remember that you appealed against the trampling of European values.
But, if I don't list it further, I could go on like this indefinitely, and I doubt that you would have time to read it due to the volume of work, because you missed much more important things than my text. That is why I will ask you, in the French way:
If by any chance a German and not a Gallican bishop was enthroned in Notre-Dame, who at the same time denies the existence of the French nation, and if on that occasion a certain French minister Jakov Milatović was one of the commanders of terror against the opponents of that act, would you then consider that man French patriot or traitor? And could such a person strut the streets of Paris? Because for us, both the Government and the Church controlled by Serbia in Montenegro are nothing more than Vichy puppets.
So you see, the people who resented Milatović's arrival in Cetinje did not do so because he is a presidential candidate, nor because are fascists. They did it because of his shameful role when Cetinje found her and beat her in front of your and all other diplomatic representatives in Montenegro. If you had stuck to European values and anti-fascism, as you did not, Montenegro would not be governed today by a Church that glorifies fascist collaborators, nor would the pro-Russian Democratic Front ask about the fate of Montenegro. Therefore, in the future, I ask you to take care, in accordance with your position, how you qualify or disqualify people and events.
In the hope that you will understand this as a friendly gesture, I warmly greet you and invite you to come and visit the Faculty of Montenegrin Language and Literature in Cetinje to introduce you to the rich anti-fascist literature we have, both in French, in Montenegrin and in Serbian. So you choose which one you prefer.
Source - POBJEDA
