Relations between Montenegro and Serbia went through cyclical phases, both before and after the restoration of Montenegrin independence. The negative constant in these relations is that certain political circles, secular or spiritual, in Serbia cannot accept the fact that Montenegro is an independent and sovereign state, that it is a NATO member and has advanced far in the EU membership negotiations, and especially that in domestic and foreign policy, it behaves primarily in accordance with its own national interests, Srđan Darmanović, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Montenegro, told the Serbian daily paper Danas.
Here are the highlights of the interview with Minister Darmanović…
The impression is that the relations between Montenegro and Serbia are perhaps at the lowest point since the declaration of Montenegrin independence 14 years ago. In your opinion, is that so, and if so, what is the reason for such a state of relations?
– Serbia’s constant interference in the internal affairs of Montenegro, which has become evident again, especially after the adoption of the religious freedom law, leads to the fact that our relations are not as they should be between the, as Serbia likes to point out “brotherly peoples”. The rhetoric used against Montenegro is well known and has had, in the not-so-distant past, severe consequences for the entire region and Serbia itself. She testifies that official Belgrade, in its relations with Montenegro, essentially accepted the platform of nationalist circles as its own. It is not excluded that one of the reasons for such rhetoric and campaign is the mobilization of the constituency ahead of the upcoming elections, but this cannot be accepted as a justification.
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Was the arrest of Bishop Joanikije and his 72-hour detention necessary? We could hear many other complaints claiming that there were other gatherings as well despite bans during the coronavirus pandemic, and allegedly no one reacted.
– It was a decision of judicial authorities, and as far as we could see, they acted the same towards many other citizens of Montenegro who did not adhere to epidemiological measures during lockdown. Thanks to the timely and rigorous implementation of these measures, as well as good discipline of citizens, we managed to fight Covid-19 and become the first European ‘coronavirus-free’ destination. In introducing epidemiological measures, the National Coordination Body for the Fight against Infectious Diseases did not discriminate against citizens on any grounds, so the measures also applied to all our religious communities.
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Will the dialogue between the Government and the Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral, MCP, on the religious freedom law be continued?
– The Government of Montenegro is firmly committed to dialogue with the MCP, because we believe that it’s the best solution to get out of the current situation regarding the implementation of the religion law. Dialogue between the expert teams of the Government of Montenegro and the MCP was established before the epidemic outbreak and will continue as soon as the conditions for it are met. I guess it will happen soon.
Not so long time ago, Serbian Patriarch Irinej said that Montenegro’s plan is to have no more Serbs in 10 years. How do you interpret that statement?
– Unfortunately, this is not the first time we can hear something like that from Patriarch Irinej. He was speaking the same even before the adoption of the religious freedom law. Had it come from someone else, I wouldn’t be commenting on it at all. Considering that it comes from the Serbian patriarch, and that we could hear much worse statements about Montenegro – when he compared the events in Montenegro with the period of Ottoman rule, and the attitude towards the SPC as worse than the one it had during the NDH – the malicious side of all of them [statements] must be mentioned. They aim to cause division or even hatred among the citizens of Montenegro.
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Are you in contact with your Serbian counterpart, Mr Ivica Dačić?
– We haven’t seen each other at multilateral forums since the start of the coronavirus outbreak, but we took part in several video-conferences that were dedicated to regional issues and the cooperation with the EU.
Montenegro, just like Serbia, according to the Freedom House report, is no longer a “partially consolidated democracy” but it has a “hybrid regime”, where the “state is captured”, power is abused and “scare tactics” are applied. What do you say about this?
– Freedom House is a prestigious think tank whose reports we are monitoring and analyzing deeply. As a full NATO member state and a leader in the process of European integration in the region, we are convinced that we have achieved better results than suggested in certain parts of the FH Report. We will certainly take the findings that did not deserve the expected assessment seriously. It remains, however, to wait for the Report of the European Commission, which we believe will give a more precise and comprehensive picture of progress in internal reforms.
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Montenegro has been officially declared the first European “coronavirus-free destination”. How much will it contribute to this year’s tourism season?
– Being the first coronavirus-free country in Europe represents a certain chance to get the most out of the tourism season in the given circumstances. Therefore, all competent institutions and hospitality owners are fully devoted to the preparation of the season, but it is clear that a lot will depend on the situation in our region and in Europe, where the largest number of tourists come to Montenegro.
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