Forced Festivity

Written by: Darko Šuković

I don’t believe anyone has ever done a study like this. Still, I’m sure the statistics would clearly show that the number of parents who end up loving an unwanted child is inversely proportional to the number of citizens who voted “NO” on May 21, 2006, and who genuinely celebrated Independence Day yesterday. What I mean is that almost everyone who has an unwanted child would fall into the first group, while almost no one from the second group would. And when I say “almost”, it’s not out of caution or political correctness – I say it because I know four former supporters of the joint state who today have no alternative homeland.

An important note – in a normal world, a world without national labels attached to everything, it’s natural for everyone to love all their children and their homeland.

Dates are the only real connection between numbers and holidays. Beyond the legal and political consequences triggered by the events we commemorate, their essence lies in the kind of emotions they evoke. The way the Montenegrin government marked the 19th anniversary of its renewal perfectly illustrates the paradox we’ve been living in for the past five years. Just like yesterday and the day before, those who mainly cried on May 21, 2006, were the ones celebrating Independence Day. That’s how the happiest Montenegrin holiday (July 13 being the biggest one, to borrow a religious term) looks when it falls into the hands of those whom the independence referendum has shrouded in mourning.

And those, speaking metaphorically of mourning, must have painfully removed it because protocol demanded it, even setting off fireworks from the Government building’s roof.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the ministers and lower-level officials from the former Democratic Front quietly left (before the fireworks) the building on Karađorđeva Street. At the reception with Prime Minister Milojko Spajić, there was no recognizable presence from that ideological-political group. For them, May 21 is a day to remember the “White Paper”, that fabricated excuse for poor performance and the unjustified massive funds invested in them by the authorities, who opened the purse strings for this cause over a century and a half ago. Their only somewhat comforting consolation is August 30 – a day which, for now, hasn’t nullified Independence Day but has only given them a chance to arrogantly show disrespect toward it from a position of power.

We’ve witnessed even more pathetic behavior than simply accepting positions in the very state you once opposed – and continue to oppose. On May 20, during the central news broadcast on RTCG, not a single word was mentioned about Independence Day. On the prime-time program of the First Channel of the Public Service of “European Montenegro,” airing at 9 PM on the eve of the holiday, the topic was microplastics. And on Independence Day itself, the show hosted by the “old liberal” Raonić treated us to an episode of a cheap soap opera called “Advokado,” featuring a segment titled – “Serbia, open up.” Milorad Popović was right – even Biroli and Kipper showed Montenegro more respect. I’m sure they hated it less, too, because those two occupation administrators weren’t traitors. There is a great truth in the saying: “There is no greater hatred than the hatred a traitor feels toward the homeland they betrayed.”

I won’t bore you with a long list of examples or overload you with reasons why a municipal mental health service should be established at AVM. Especially since I’m convinced that the only effective remedy for those who were deceived – those who gave their vote but not their soul to parties whose ultimate, more or less hidden goal is to ensure this country ceases to exist again – is blunt, disrespectful defiance toward Montenegro’s holidays and symbols.

This kind of government and this RTCG won’t just awaken the segment of citizens who oppose the old regime, but are not against Montenegro – they will do so inevitably. It’s a disgusting but unmistakable way for even those groups to finally realize that the real goal is the destruction of the state under the guise of fighting the old regime.

And yes, in that process, perhaps most importantly, at least some of the Serbs in Montenegro will finally recognize the cruelest lie they’ve been fed for years, now decades, and swallowed like healthy food: Montenegro and Montenegrins don’t have a problem with anyone because they’re Serbs – they have a problem with anyone working against Montenegro’s interests and for Serbia’s.

That lesson can only be learned by those deceived by the ones who deceived them, once the limit is crossed. They’ve been poisoned for too long, overdosed with messages from both government and media that everything Montenegrin is automatically anti-Serb. That no one truly loves Montenegro, as long as they can keep their hands in the state treasury. And that Montenegrins hate them sincerely, just because they are Serbs.

In the past five years, they couldn’t have missed noticing that, with a few exceptions, things aren’t really as they seem. Now, their sense of belonging to the state, combined with facing shameless mockery and the trampling of everything Montenegrin, has become the trigger for rejecting obedience to politicians and leaders who – let’s be brutally honest – have taken both their votes and their honor. Because there is no honor, no chivalry, no brotherhood, or courage in destroying your own country with the help of millions (both in money and population) from a neighboring country. Twenty against one, and it’s your people – that’s the harsh reality! This isn’t the first time something like this has happened in Montenegro’s history, but it has never been considered a virtue here.

Compared to the artificial, formal, and half-hearted state celebrations, we saw genuine celebrations from those who truly honor this holiday. Those who ask for nothing more from Montenegro than to exist as a country to be proud of, not as a joke. For them, even that minimal expectation has become a utopia since August 30th. For the fifth Independence Day in a row, they have faced an atmosphere that encourages anyone to attack and mock all things Montenegrin. To such an extent that the parties holding decisive power in government, and their obedient media, would lose their minds over Montenegrin flags proudly displayed in Budva.

In this bleak context, on several occasions – whether through grassroots citizen initiatives or local governments led by sovereignist parties – May 21 was marked with genuine emotion and symbolism. In those places, there was no doubt which country you were in.

I don’t want to repeat myself, but even a brief look back shows this isn’t new. Montenegro has always been bravely defended by those who received the least from it. The Christmas Uprising wasn’t led by officers of the Montenegrin army; they were the first to side with the Karađorđević dynasty, even though Nikola had given them all that Montenegro could offer at the time. It was the captains who fought to save their country and dynasty from extinction.

It’s dirty propaganda to say Montenegro was restored by the “winners of the transition” through the referendum, intending to make it a private, anti-Serb state. If money had decided, we would have never stopped being the 27th electoral district of FR Yugoslavia. Then, now, a hundred years ago, or a hundred years from now – Belgrade will always have more influence than all of Montenegro. Unless we find oil or legalize Alabar. What decided this was the heart. Our hearts led us out of the evil created under Milošević’s boot. And the heart will lead us out of this moral swamp, where Montenegrin symbols and holidays are trampled on with pride.