Montenegro's lengthy response to Serbia

Montenegrin MFA announced last night that it decisively rejects the assessments of the head of Serbian diplomacy, Nikola Selaković, on Serbs being endangered.

Montenegro's lengthy response to Serbia

Montenegrin MFA announced last night that it decisively rejects the assessments of the head of Serbian diplomacy, Nikola Selaković, on Serbs being endangered.

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The Montenegrin ministry claims that official Belgrade "probably contrary to the wishes of its citizens" often deals with the Government of Montenegro and its citizens, instead of facing domestic and international challenges.

The Ministry called on Selakovic, in direct communication with Montenegrin Foreign Minister Djordje Radulovic, to raise "all issues of common interest, doubts and disagreements, as well as, as he stated, befits neighboring countries and serious state officials", which include responsibility and work in in the interest of our peoples, the CDM reports.

"It is incomprehensible that officials constantly want to talk about the 'legitimate right' to take care of 30% of our citizens, presenting Serbia as the home country of the Serbian people. In this context, the only correct thing would be to understand that all the citizens of Montenegro who declared themselves Serbs, should be regarded as loyal and respected citizens and that their only motherland can be Montenegro", the ministry states.

The ministry estimates that any other approach is unacceptable and carries a touch of questionable political ethics.

"This means that all our citizens who feel like Serbs have no other state or motherland, except the state of all of us - Montenegro. Its government and institutions are the only address for them. Our state does not want to give up a single person, and let alone 30 percent of Serbs who present the indispensable foundation of our state", they said in a statement.

The statement estimates that the reference to, as they say, historical "facts", such as the statement that "Montenegro is a toponym that has existed since the 14th century, which carries an admixture of pejorative and offensive attitude, and the interpretation of decisions of the sovereign state of Montenegro in the media, is not a measure of good neighborly policy and negotiation skills, which they see as a duty and obligation that accompanies the position of a Minister of Foreign Affairs.

They also remind that the head of Montenegrin diplomacy sent an invitation to Selaković to visit Montenegro at the very beginning of his mandate, which, in their opinion, is a clear signal of readiness for dialogue and finding solutions to certain bilateral issues, as well as the will to find points that connect us, not separate us.

They also claim that Montenegro is a civil and multiethnic state, which is committed to building a civil society, as well as respecting and preserving the specifics of members of different nations, religions and cultures. Earlier yesterday, Selaković, commenting for TV Prva the accusations of Montenegrin President Milo Djukanović that Serbia did not accept the independence of Montenegro, said that this was not true and asked what was the attitude of the state of Montenegro towards the Serbs in that country.

"Have you ever had a concern that was in favor of these people? No, you had something completely different. You had one legal imposition of the Montenegrin language in place of the Serbian language, although the overwhelming majority of Montenegrin citizens declared themselves to speak Serbian at every census. You had an attempt to annul everything that is Serbian", Selakovic said.

He also emphasized that the programs from which children in Montenegro learn claim that Saints Sava and Stefan Nemanja allegedly forced Montenegrins to convert to Orthodoxy, although, as he stated, "the toponym Montenegro appears only at the end of the 14th century."

Selaković emphasized that it is in the legitimate interest of Serbia to protect its identity, along with the right to that identity to members of the Serbian people in Montenegro. "And we legitimately ask and demand from the state of Montenegro that these rights be respected, as we respect them towards those who say that they are Montenegrins and live in Serbia," Selaković said.