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Ten to Eight – Monstrous attack

You are reading a daily contextual review of the news that marked the previous day.

By Ljubomir Filipović, CdM observer

An unknown person attacked a member of the LGBT Forum Progress and a resident of the LGBTIQ Shelter in front of his family house in Podgorica at around 8pm the day before yesterday, says the NGO LGBT Forum Progress.

Yesterday, President of Montenegro Milo Đukanović said that violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity was unacceptable in European and civil Montenegro.

PM Zdravko Krivokapić posted on his Twitter account that he strongly condemned the attack on the member of the LGBT Forum Progress and the resident of a shelter for LGBTQ people.

Speaker of Parliament Aleksa Bečić said that he expected the competent authorities to urgently prosecute and, in accordance with the law, punish the actors of the seismic attack on the activist of the LGBT Forum Progress.

Condemnations of the attack came from many addresses, starting from foreign embassies, through the media, to NGOs and parties.

Extremism in Montenegro is on the rise. Surveys have shown that society is being seriously clericalized and extremist. The polarization of society is huge, and violent incidents can become more frequent in the country if political and social leaders don’t take responsibility and stop feeding populism.

Lajčak’s visit

EU Special Representative for the Western Balkans Miroslav Lajčak visited Montenegro.

Together with Messrs. Rade Bojović, Miko Živković and Branko Lukovac, I wrote him a letter on behalf of the 21 Maj civic initiative that was handed over during yesterday’s protest in front of the EU Delegation in Montenegro.

The gathered citizens called on the EU to finally set red lines for the new Government in Montenegro.

In a conversation with PM Krivokapić, Mr Lajčak said that this Government had a chance to bring the country into the EU, and praised them for the harmonization of this Government’s policy with EU policies.

Asked to comment on the increasingly frequent interference of foreign factors in Montenegro before the elections, Mr Lajčak said that the EU was carefully monitoring the situation in Montenegro and that he expected things to take place without external influence.

Katnić vs Vlada

The Chief Special Prosecutor Milivoje Katnić was a guest on Prva TV, where he said that he would not resign until the end of his term, but he also referred to members of the Government and the media that were not very favorable to him. He warned Željko Ivanović and Minister Mladen Bojanić about some allegedly suspicious money and transactions. It would be good if he said that some proceedings were initiated against them for those alleged malversations, because this way it looks like it is a matter of political skirmishes.

Medo’s corner

I am thinking of introducing a new column as part of Ten to Eight – Medo’s Corner, where we would publish all the statements and performances produced by Mr Nebojša Medojević during the day. The hashtag #medojesveupravu was also launched on social networks.

MP Medojević named Prime Minister Preletačević (flyover), because he is now in a coalition with the Democrats in Nikšić, and he was the DF list leader in the state elections. Later in the day, he called on the PM and his deputy Abazović to resign over the escape of indictee Dragan Kovačević, the former director of the Real Estate Administration.

Nikšić chronicle

After the events in Župa of Nikšić, when the participants in the patriotic ride were attacked, when some locals pelted them with stones, university professor Dragana Marković reacted yesterday. She is also the author of the footage of the events in Župa. She claims that because of the footage where her voice is heard, people insult her and call her names. She says that if they had not been stoned, the cars would not have stopped at that place. She emphasizes that the stoning continued even after the convoy was stopped. She says that they did not provoke anyone, and that the video-clip confirms it all.

We remind her that the Democrats added fuel to the fire by declaring the man who threw stones at the convoy a “hero” and that the officials of that party visited him to thank him.

The founder and leader of the People’s Movement Miodrag Daka Davidović said that it was not an option to enter a coalition with the Democratic Party of Socialists after the elections.

Investors vs. Government

At the session of the parliamentary commission for monitoring and control of privatization processes, the owner of Uniprom Veselin Pejović exchanged a few harsh words with Mr Maksim Vučinić, the president of this commission. Mr Pejović presented data on investments in the KAP aluminium plant, after which he was provoked by the reactions of politicians, left the session and threatened to fire 600 KAP workers.

Blažo and plaque

The controversial memorial plaque at the entrance to the Old Town of Budva has been repainted.

The plaque above the main gate to the Old Town reads “in memory of the arrival of the brave victorious Serbian army that liberated Budva after heroic victories, on Mitrovdan – 8 November 1918.”

A couple of years ago, URA official Blažo Rađenović demanded the removal of this plaque, while he was a member of the Liberal Party.

Now he rarely mentions it. The plaque painted before, but the local government would always clean and restore it.

Members of the Army of Montenegro set up checkpoints at several locations in Podgorica, to remind citizens of the respect for measures and the importance of individual responsibility in this very important struggle for the entire Montenegrin society.

Many journalists and social networks users complained about the army taking to the streets, recalling the legal functions of the army.

So much for today, see you again on Monday. Enjoy the weekend, if you can.

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