Vujanović addressed Milatović, explained why he did not come to the reception on the occasion of the National Day

The former President of Montenegro, Filip Vujanović, sent an open letter to the current head of state, Jakov Milatović, in which he explained that Milatović's untrue messages to innocent victims in Murin were the reason for his absence at the reception marking the Statehood Day in Cetinje.
The letter from Vujanović is transmitted in its entirety:
"Dear President of Montenegro, Mr. Jakov Milatović,
I met you in the Parliament of Montenegro when you took the oath and on the same day attended the reception that you organized at Villa Gorica. I did not respond to the invitation to celebrate the Statehood Day in the Residence - on the lofty and magnificent throne of Cetinje, because - in the meantime - you seriously offended me with the painful story about the Murina victims. To the victims for whom the pain - both immense and permanent, and the concern of Montenegro - is both great and mandatory.
That's why I start this open letter by apologizing to the families of the victims, because I am forced to write about a day that is unbearable for them.
Immediately after the first bombing - as Prime Minister - I went to Murino and, together with the director of the Directorate of Public Works and the presidents of the municipalities of Plav and Berane, visited the place of horror that claimed six innocent victims. A place of horror that could have been the image of the whole of Montenegro - if there had not been a state policy that protected our country from such evil and undeserved tragedy.
Montenegro could be Murino only in one bombing campaign - as - in that harsh military term - the raids of planes that dropped deadly bombs were called. Bombs that took innocent lives, seriously injured people and destroyed what generations - and mostly from the poor - created with great dedication.
While we, with a few locals who did not leave Murino, were crossing one third of the undestructed bridge to Lima, NATO planes flew over us with the intention of repeating the bombing and destroying the rest of the bridge, which was then only for a pedestrian crossing. Upon warnings to leave immediately, because the death of the then Prime Minister and those who were on the bridge would be a new and tragic reminder, I announced that we would first express our condolences to the families of the innocent victims and visit the injured in the hospital in Berane - and then in Podgorica - within the Government, we see what, how and in what time we can help. And so it was.
Immediately after our tour of the bridge and Murin, another bombardment followed - then without victims - because there was no one left in that area of horror. At the Government, we immediately made a decision to restore the bridge on Lima and the buildings that could be renovated. On October 8, 1999, a new bridge over the Lim in Murin was opened, which was also the largest investment in the reconstruction of buildings destroyed in the NATO bombing.
During the opening of the bridge, I expressed my regret for the six victims who died in the bombing, which obliges - as the media reported - "not only to remember but also to care and pay attention to their families, knowing that Murino can warn us that force can only bring misfortune and that it is senseless to persistently provoke force".
I am sure that there is a way and a time and an obligation to continue to give care and attention to the families of the innocent victims. It is also a great and permanent duty of those who exercise power.
At the end of this open letter, I will send you, President of Montenegro, just one message. Everything passes. Presidential mandates passed before mine. The presidential term passed after mine. Yours will pass too. Some words and some parts will be remembered either for good or for bad.
Your painful and untrue messages to the innocent victims of Murin obliged me to this open letter - with a renewed apology to the families of the victims.
There is, of course, also the imperishable. Montenegro is permanent and impassable.
May Montenegro be eternal".
M.J.