Andrija Mandić Invited to France’s National Day

Andrija Mandić, President of the Parliament of Montenegro, has been invited to attend France’s National Day celebration, Antena M has learned.

The invitation was extended by Yaël Braun-Pivet, President of the French National Assembly. The two parliamentary leaders previously met in Paris on April 3 of this year during Mandić’s official visit to France.

France marks its national holiday on July 14, commemorating the 1789 storming of the Bastille.

Andrija Mandić has served as President of Montenegro’s Parliament since October 30, 2023. He is the leader of New Serb Democracy, a far-right party that refuses to recognize Kosovo’s independence, denies that the Srebrenica genocide occurred, and glorifies convicted war criminals Ratko Mladić and Radovan Karadžić as “Serbian heroes.” Mandić was one of the initiators of a parliamentary resolution on the Jasenovac genocide, which led to him being declared persona non grata in Croatia, an EU member state, alongside Milan Knežević and Aleksa Bečić, who also led pro-Serb and pro-Russian parties.

In its latest report on Montenegro, the European Commission expressed serious concern over support from “senior officials” for Milorad Dodik and their participation in the so-called “All-Serb Assembly,” which adopted a declaration that “undermines the sovereignty of Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo”. The official referred to in the report is Andrija Mandić. His invitation to attend France’s national celebration raises questions about the EU’s commitment to its principles and values.

Mandić was one of the leading figures in the 2006 campaign against Montenegrin independence, advocating for continued union with Serbia. His party voted against Montenegro’s accession to NATO in 2017. He was also charged and initially convicted for allegedly participating in an attempted coup on election day in 2016, aimed at preventing Montenegro from joining the Western alliance. He was later acquitted in a retrial, although the prosecution has appealed that ruling to the High Court in Podgorica.

Mandić and his party continue to celebrate the so-called “Podgorica Assembly” of 1918, during which Montenegro was unlawfully and forcibly annexed to Serbia through the actions of mercenaries loyal to Nikola Pašić’s government and the Karađorđević dynasty. At the Versailles Peace Conference in early 1919, the great powers effectively legitimized the Assembly’s decisions, which were often violent. France played a key role in that outcome and has since remained a strong supporter of Serbia, primarily out of self-interest.

“French diplomacy behaves like a travelling salesman: buy their airplanes, let them build your metro or highway, and you won’t have to worry about being criticized for running an authoritarian regime,” a career diplomat told Antena M, commenting on the invitation extended to Mandić.

France’s ambassador to Montenegro, Anne-Marie Maskay, is known in well-informed circles as a strong advocate for including pro-Serb parties in the Montenegrin government.