Some political actors have declared their regret for the attack on Dubrovnik, while others have not, and to this day deny the atrocities.

This is how a civic activist assesses for “Vijesti” Dina Bajramspahić, asked to comment on recent statements by the Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman.

The head of Croatian diplomacy said in an interview with “Vijesti” last week that “the aggression against Dubrovnik was carried out by the Montenegrin side, so a resolution condemning it and all the crimes committed would be a good gesture towards Croatia.”

“I don’t see why the Parliament wouldn’t adopt the Resolution on Dubrovnik, especially when it recently adopted the Resolution on Jasenovac, and is discussing Goli Otok – which is even further behind us,” Bajramspahić believes, adding that “the thesis that the past should be left behind is unconvincing, when political parties deal more with the past than with the present on a daily basis,” says Bajramspahić.

She states that a number of ruling parties “publicly promised to support every resolution and respect all victims, and then, of course, they ‘stuck’ with the Resolution on the Šahovićs, when they suddenly ran out of principle.”

“So, war crimes are being dealt with selectively and only to the extent that they can instrumentalize history to foster intolerance towards someone. This is not a confrontation with the past that should lead to inner catharsis, recognition of one’s own responsibility, and the cultivation of memories that are a bitter warning of what must never happen again to anyone.”

Bajramspahić adds that the attack on Dubrovnik is “the greatest shame in the long history of Montenegro.”

“The barbaric act of shelling a medieval city, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a city that posed no threat to anyone, with no barracks or weapons stockpiles. The attack was commanded by the Yugoslav People’s Army from Belgrade, but the nationalist riots of reservists and volunteers from Montenegro are well documented, not to mention the looting and everything else that accompanied the shameful campaign.”

Bajramspahić emphasizes that the responsibility of the Montenegrin political leadership is undeniable:

“While some have declaratively repented, others have not, and to this day they glorify the participants in the terrible events of the 1990s, denying the atrocities.”

Kaluđerović: Instead of resolutions, a call for a revision of the Agreement on the Prosecution of War Criminals

“Vijesti” asked the majority of parties with parliamentary status how they viewed the claims of the head of Croatian diplomacy, but also how they would vote if a resolution on the attack on Dubrovnik came on the agenda and why.

Member of Parliament of the Socialist People’s Party (SNP) Sladjana Kaluđerović She said that she condemns every war crime committed by any side, but believes that those responsible should be brought to justice.

“Especially since, although war crimes cases do not expire, every day, when we do nothing, we lose the opportunity to find evidence.”

She called on her Croatian colleagues, “instead of sharing lessons about resolutions, to support the signing of a revised agreement between the state prosecutors’ offices of Montenegro and Croatia on cooperation and prosecution of perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity, because the agreement, which was signed in 2006, contains an obvious asymmetry in rights and obligations.”

“Signing the revised agreement would be the best gesture for better relations between Montenegro and Croatia and our common European future.”

Camaj: About the resolution when it comes to the agenda

Representative of the Albanian Forum Nikola Camaj He reminded that plans are already underway to submit various initiatives on crimes from the past, which would in some way pay tribute to the victims.

“I believe that this would show that all those innocent human lives have not and will not be forgotten. By accepting and facing the truth, I believe that we could more easily turn to building a more tolerant and wiser future policy in this region. So that it is not forgotten, but also so that it never happens again,” he explains, adding that the plenum is the only place where a dialogue could be held on a resolution condemning the attack on Dubrovnik.

Camaj did not directly answer whether they would vote for the adoption of such a document, but rather said that each of them would “give their opinion and vote on possible initiatives and resolutions when they come on the agenda of the Parliament of Montenegro, when they would take a position as a coalition.”

Čapuni: The road to the EU leads through Croatia

Albanian Alliance (AA) MP Ilir Caround pointed out that he was the only one who voted against the Resolution on the genocide in Jasenovac.

“Wanting that the resolution ‘teach a lesson’ to our neighbor about the crimes that occurred almost 80 years ago and which it does not deny, due to the newly emerging circumstances on the international level, we will first have to read for ourselves the collected atrocities of Montenegro and Serbia in Croatia during the 90s and thoroughly establish that material, and then prove specifically how we are applying the legal solutions, namely the so-called IBAR laws that we passed 10 days ago,” he said at the time, and reminds us of this occasion.

He assessed that we view the Croatian minister’s statement as a courteous reminder to Montenegro that the road to Europe leads through Croatia and that on that road we will have to face the accumulated crimes of members of the JNA and volunteer units from Montenegro:

“Ever since the adoption of the Resolution on Jasenovac, it has been clear to us that confronting the past is inevitable and necessary.”

Answering the question of whether he would vote for such an act, he said that in principle he would vote for such a resolution, but that it also depends on its content.

“Unlike the Resolution on Jasenovac, which does not regulate any internal issues in Montenegro, this resolution with good content would certainly influence awareness of the prosecution of war crimes, comprehensive catharsis, regulation of the status of the training ship ‘Jadran’, and the status of war booty…”

According to him, this resolution would be “a minimal act in the process of raising awareness among our people and in the process of establishing good neighborly relations with Croatia.”

“When I think that Croatia has the ‘Jasenovac’ memorial complex with a whole series of regular activities and a sizeable budget, a resolution with which we would express repentance for the accumulated misdeeds of the Volunteer Guards is truly a minimal act. And given that the time is very short until the set goal of closing all chapters by the end of 2026, we will see more intensive activities and communications on the Podgorica – Zagreb route,” Čapuni pointed out.

Nikolić: Croatia provoked by Jasenovac

At a press conference held on Monday in the Parliament of Montenegro, the president of the Democratic Party of Socialists parliamentary group Andrija Nikolić, asked to comment on Grlić Radman’s allegations, said that his statements were “a continuation of the problems of Croatia and Montenegro, and that Croatia was provoked by the Resolution on Jasenovac”, but on that occasion he said that he was not familiar with the content of the interview with the head of Croatian diplomacy in detail.

“They probably recognize in Croatia that part of the parliamentary majority has not made a deal with the events of the 1990s,” he said on that occasion.

However, his party did not respond to “Vijesti”‘s questions about how they view Grlić Radman’s allegations, and whether they would vote for such a resolution.

The same inquiry was sent to the Europe Now Movement, New Serbian Democracy, Democratic People’s Party, Democrats, Civic Movement URA, Social Democrats, Bosniak Party, United Montenegro, but no response was received from these parties either.

The generals were responsible, not the Montenegrin state leadership.

Bajramspahić recalls that they were held accountable before the Hague Tribunal for war crimes committed during the siege of Dubrovnik. Pavle Strugar i Miodrag Jokić, and that the Hague Prosecutor’s Office has dropped the prosecution of the admiral Milan Zeca due to lack of evidence, while the trial of the JNA captain Vladimir Kovačević called Rambo was discontinued due to a serious mental illness.

“Six former members of the JNA in Montenegro have been charged with crimes against humanity, and four have been convicted, who participated in the abuse of prisoners in the Morinj camp, on the territory of Montenegro,” points out the interlocutor of “Vijesti”.

He adds that the former president of Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia are indicted for the destruction of Dubrovnik. Slobodan Milosevic on September 27, 2001, and the participants in the joint criminal enterprise included, among others, Momir Bulatović, then president of Montenegro and JNA generals Veljko Kadijevic i Blagoje Adžić, but no specific indictments were filed against them, while against the then Prime Minister of Montenegro Milo Đukanović no proceedings have been initiated.

“A significant number of Montenegrin citizens did not understand the clear voice of the Liberal Alliance, the Social Democratic Party and peace activists who opposed the madness. The population was massively (led) by the nationalist hysteria produced by warmongers, who are still present in Montenegrin public discourse today, without responsibility for the horrific consequences,” she says.

“Spreading national intolerance, inciting hatred, advocating war and changing borders, fabricating “spiritual” justifications for destruction, falsifying history, misusing myths and epics, inciting crimes, mass displacement and perpetuating the ideology of ‘blood and soil’ made everything that happened possible. Too few people have acknowledged how terrible a mistake that was and how great a duty it is now for everyone in Montenegro to cultivate peace and good neighborly policies, and proactively and systematically encourage a cohesive pluralistic society and tolerance,” believes Bajramspahić.

As he adds, the resolution makes sense if it will serve as a warning about the terrible consequences of nationalistic and hegemonic policies and if it will help the majority understand how strongly residents can be indoctrinated, mobilized, and seduced into projects of hatred towards others.

“It is more important for us to understand what we did and how it happened than for Croatia. We remain obliged to respect the deserters who resisted the dominant mob, to remember the peace movement, the anti-war demonstrations, the famous ‘From Lovćena fairy cries, forgive us Dubrovnik’ and the company that was disbanded because the soldiers sang: ‘This army that is moving towards Croatia will not shoot'”.

Months of blockade, without water and electricity

Bajramspahić recalls that according to data from the Center for Dealing with the Past, Dokumenta from Zagreb, during the war in the Dubrovnik area, 116 civilians were killed, 194 Croatian fighters and 165 members of the JNA from Montenegro were killed, and that 443 people were detained in the Morinj camps in Montenegro and Bileća in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

It also states that 33.000 people were displaced and 2.071 residential buildings were destroyed, and that Dubrovnik was without electricity and water for 138 days, under a naval and air blockade.

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