Montenegrin Prime Minister Dritan Abazović talked about the political situation in Montenegro after the election and defeat of the long-term ruler Milo Đukanović in an interview with Federal Television, but also about regional issues.
Abazović emphasized that the defeat of Đukanović is significant for Montenegro because it marks the end of the political cycle of the “nineties” of the last century. He pointed out that Đukanović personified a party that was mired in corruption and crime, creating a system of a private state where the institutions of the system were captured by one political option.
According to Abazović, it was the personification of political monopoly, where there was no possibility for some other people to come forward.
Prime Minister Abazović believes that the new political era in Montenegro will mean faster movement towards the European Union, and that the defeat of Đukanović sent an important message to the citizens of the region. He emphasized that the way they accepted both defeat and victory shows that “some other winds are blowing in these areas”.
He emphasized that the fight against organized crime is one of the main goals of his government, and he is particularly proud of the actions of the police that exposed drug cartels within the institutions of the system.
Abazović emphasized that people in BiH and Kosovo have a wrong perception of the situation in Montenegro, thinking that Đukanović is Montenegro, and that everything will fail without him. However, Abazović pointed out that nothing has changed after Đukanović’s departure, and that Montenegro is still on the way to the EU, that it will not leave NATO, that it still recognizes Kosovo as a state.
“Did Montenegro change its name, its flag, did it leave NATO, did it withdraw its recognition of Kosovo? So what about the Serbian state because someone else got it. And because someone wants to create the perception that if there is no there are no criminals in Montenegro either. We are from a different milieu. When it comes to the Church, by signing the fundamental contract, which I personally signed and of which I am particularly proud, we created a situation where the SPC entered into a contractual relationship with the state for the first time, which she did not want to do for 30 years under Đukanović.”
“If they had invited me, I would not have come to the celebration on January 9. Therefore, the government of Montenegro did not have any official visit nor did it come to any official celebration of RS Day. And that’s the point.”
When asked about the future of Montenegro, Abazović expressed his belief that the new Montenegro will not be part of the so-called “Serbian World“. He says that he is Dritan Abazović, the leader of the URA civil movement.
“I was on the black and white list that I led myself. We lead a party that was not the only one. There were several parties that stand for three things – for a civil, European and ecological Montenegro. We are not part of a coalition with the Democratic Front and we are not part of no Serbian bloc. We are part of the majority that wanted changes in Montenegro and brought those changes. When it comes to the DF, we are not in a coalition with them. We formed the majority with them, we formed an expert government in 2020 in which there were no politicians except me and we formed a minority government in 2022 in April, this government that I currently lead and which is the most inclusive since Montenegro existed. There is no DF in this government. It is in the public administration and I am the same proud. I don’t want us to ghettoize our society. People who vote for DF have the same right as they voted for URA or DPS or any other party. In that context I really don’t see anything controversial.”
Abazović explains that they have never met a man like him.
“They thought that I would be part of their political colony where, due to some of my personal privileges, I would accept to be what their coalition partners were for 30 years. I speak for DPS and Đukanović. I am a man who has his dignity, I fought for changes and I have achieved every political goal. That is why Ostrog is disputed by them, the Church is disputed by them, Dritan Abazović is disputed by them, the story of the Serbian world is disputed by them, etc., because we broke the criminal pyramid that worked here.”
He points out that he has not heard a relevant argument against the Open Balkans.
“It seems that Albania and North Macedonia actually want the Serbian world. That is the thesis when someone says the Open Balkans is the Serbian world. I support every regional initiative that goes in the direction of achieving greater cooperation between the countries of the Western Balkans. I see this as just one tool with which all of us together, all six countries of the Western Balkans, we are moving faster towards the EU. The open Balkans is good because it emphasizes economic cooperation, greater mobility, greater openness, recognition of various licenses, work permits, open market, so something that is a requirement of the EU and according to to us and to BiH and to Serbia and to Kosovo and to everyone else. It has always been emphasized that it is inclusive, that it is open to all six countries of the Western Balkans, and that is the most important thing. That it is not exclusive only to certain countries and I do not consider it at all any part of the Serbian world or the Albanian world or anything else.”
He believes that the new president, Jakov Milatović, will continue in the direction in which he started, when it comes to relations with neighboring countries.
“Otherwise, Montenegro is recognized as a country that does not have any open issues with its neighbors. Very good communication with all governments in the region. I expect the president of the country to take a completely identical position. I am very proud of the relations we have with all the countries in the region .”
Regarding the relations between BiH and Montenegro, he emphasizes that they have the best possible relations.
“I think that Mr. Milatović was clear about the issue of Srebrenica, and I think that a small number of people who may have supported him have some dilemma regarding that issue. As far as he is concerned, I believe that he does not have that dilemma, and as far as official Montenegro is concerned, she is not even in the imagination. So there was genocide in Srebrenica and that is such a fact that there is no need for any broader interpretation of it, for someone to explain it. I am sure that it will remain so when it comes to the official communication of officials in Montenegro And what do people think individually, some people who I claim are really in a huge minority, probably until the Balkan conditions are like this and until we all get rid of those policies of the past, you will always find some people who will probably want to do that, intentionally or not deny the fact.”
Abazović says that they did not send ministers to the celebration on January 9 in the RS.
“The government didn’t send them, they were there privately. And there was your prime minister, the president of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina. I don’t care where he comes from. If they invited me, I wouldn’t come to the celebration on January 9. So, the government of Montenegro she did not have any official visit nor did she come to any official RS Day celebration. And there is the point. We should all look more at our house and our yard. That would be the best thing to start with. And not to look at our neighbors for enemies, but that we try to make as many friendships as possible. Our intention is such. I believe that this policy is increasingly dominant in BiH as well, and a hand has been extended from our side.”
Regarding reconciliation within Montenegro itself, he says that it is a process that has been started and is moving at a very good pace.
“Personally, I think that Dayton has expired and that a new time calls for a new Constitution that will define what the country will look like, how it will be organized within itself and make the system functional. This is something that I would like in a friendly and brotherly manner to see in BiH”
“These last elections are the biggest proof of that. We had two policies that were more difficult than each other. Now these policies of the center are dominating. I think that we made a decisive contribution here, both my smallness personally and the party I represent in general. We no longer have the division that was a bloc at 55-45 which was a referendum and cultivated by the previous regime. That previous regime has lost its strength, likewise a right-wing policy on the other side has lost its strength and now it seems to me that the politics of the center is growing. It is painstaking and a long-term process because it does not imply only some political changes. It implies the issue of justice, people yearn for justice, they want justice, and I think that the hand of justice has really worked in Montenegro. And the second component is an increase in the standard of living, which will lead to the polarization in society somehow diminishes it. In 2022, we ended up as the country with the highest average wage in the region and the highest minimum wage in the region.”
He points out that there is no revenge, and that some structures from the former regime consider it revenge that justice knocked on their door.
Abazović points out that Bosnia and Herzegovina is an old European country and that the adversities characteristic of the last historical period, the last decade or two, are not something that can disrupt what has been its statehood since time immemorial.
“Personally, I think that Dayton has expired and that a new time calls for a new Constitution that will define what the country will look like, how it will be organized within itself and make the system functional. This is something that I would like in a friendly and brotherly manner to I see in BiH. Is it possible to achieve this with these political elites – no. It is your internal matter, we wish you the best, but in my humble opinion, if it continues, it will only burden the citizens. I believe that some maybe new generations, I don’t mean younger people but people who have less infection from what were the events of the war, contribute to inject some new spirit in a political sense, in a positive sense and that it will lead to the necessary changes.”
He says that he regrets that in Bosnia and Herzegovina what was current in 2004 is still current in 2023.
“Similarly, perhaps in a different format. It was the same with Montenegro until 2020. I think something needs to change. I think that Dodik’s aspirations for secession would absolutely not get support in Montenegro. I absolutely don’t think it would.”
(Federal)