WORLD NEWS FOR MONTENEGRO DIASPORA
Choose language:
SOURCE: E TV – AUTHOR: M.J. GDNUS
Montenegrin director, intellectual, and columnist Danilo Marunović was questioned for more than five hours by Serbian secret police in Belgrade—specifically by the Security Information Agency (BIA)—on Friday, June 27th, the day his play The Glembays, produced by the Montenegrin National Theatre, was staged in the Serbian capital. The detained artist was later served with a deportation order, stating that his presence in Serbia posed a national security threat. Speaking to ETV, Marunović recounts that BIA agents interrogated him about key figures in Montenegrin public life—from politicians and state officials to journalists, activists, and university professors. He claims, based on what was said during the interrogation, that NATO is considered by Serbian services to be the biggest obstacle to fully taking control of Montenegro.
ETV PORTAL: What are your impressions a few days after everything that happened to you in Belgrade?
MARUNOVIĆ: I could write a good drama based on the conversation that took place during those five hours. And I’m thinking about doing just that. Because it was anything but a typical police interrogation—it felt more like an attempt at ideological recruitment, a push to change my core life principles, my ideology, my loyalty to my own ideas. That surprised me. These are highly educated and well-informed individuals, yet they somehow believed they could change my beliefs in the course of a police interrogation.
ETV: So they tried to discredit the ideas you stand for?
MARUNOVIĆ: Yes, and they brought up the biggest names in politics, state institutions, journalists, activists, and professors—always in a negative context. During the passionate debate we had, I found it astonishing that they thought I might shift my position—or that I could persuade them with my arguments. It was, of course, unrealistic. I tried to understand the deeper logic behind all this. From the moment they brought me to the BIA offices and I questioned whether they understood the implications for a country aspiring to be called democratic and join the EU, it was clear to me that public perception was a key part of their strategy. They were closely monitoring the media, and I realized that the public dimension of the whole operation was intentional.
ETV: From this perspective—why you, specifically?
MARUNOVIĆ: Through years of vocal advocacy for a civic, European Montenegro, I’ve apparently become one of the most recognizable public figures—especially because of my persistence while others gradually dropped out or made compromises. My detention was essentially a strong message to Montenegro, intended to portray Serbia as a power that controls all levers, processes, and institutions in our country. It was also meant to appeal to the dominant Serbian ideological framework that, unfortunately, still clings to 1990s-style mythological stereotypes.
ETV: When they mentioned specific political names, were they talking about the current government or the former leadership and opposition?
MARUNOVIĆ: Both. What’s inconsistent with our local perception is how they view the power dynamics in Montenegrin politics. Some politicians whom we in Montenegro might oppose as civic-minded individuals were described by them as traitors. In other words, they differentiate power channels in the Montenegrin government based on who controls whom and to what extent.
ETV: So even within Montenegro’s current ruling bloc, they see “traitorous elements of Serbdom”?
MARUNOVIĆ: Exactly. They analyze different state institutions and parliamentary factions based on control and alignment.
ETV: Can you tell us which individuals they labeled as traitors to Serbian national interests?
MARUNOVIĆ: I can say only this—it involves distinctions regarding the president and the prime minister of Montenegro.
ETV: So they’re not fond of them?
MARUNOVIĆ: Some, yes. Others, not at all.
ETV: What about the former ruling elite, pre-2020? Who was the main target?
MARUNOVIĆ: Milo Đukanović was the central topic, with the same allegations we’ve heard in the media before—including attempts to link Montenegro to the assassination of Zoran Đinđić.
ETV: You mean the same narrative we recently heard from the infamous Montenegrin Parliamentary Inquiry Committee?
MARUNOVIĆ: Exactly. Which clearly suggests who controls that committee, how it’s directed and where it’s headed.
ETV: Who was their target in civil society and media?
MARUNOVIĆ: They mentioned some of the most prominent Montenegrin journalists, professors, even entire faculties—like the Faculty for the Montenegrin Language and Adnan Čirgić. They brought up key NGOs and their leaders. Basically, anyone who has remained aligned with our civic values.
ETV: What do they see as a threat to Serbian national interests?
MARUNOVIĆ: For every person they named, there was a ready-made negative narrative—claims that they worked for foreign interests, attempts at character assassination, etc.
ETV: What's your impression—do they perceive Montenegro as Serbian territory?
MARUNOVIĆ: Yes. And despite some antagonism toward NATO’s presence in Montenegro, they clearly view NATO as the main obstacle to fully taking control of the country. They also openly expressed hostility toward Croatia, even identifying certain individuals as collaborators with Croatian intelligence.
ETV: They also mentioned journalists—who were their primary targets?
MARUNOVIĆ: They mentioned you, Draško Đuranović, Darko Šuković, and others. But those were mostly tabloid-style remarks—nothing beyond that.
ETV: From today’s perspective—do you think they psychologically abused you?
MARUNOVIĆ: From the moment they knocked on the door, I acted as if I’d been expecting this my entire life. I was mentally prepared. I had already avoided Belgrade for three years to avoid such incidents. But after The Glembays premiered and I began receiving directing offers from their theaters, I started going again.
ETV: What does it mean when a country detains an artist on the day his play premieres there?
MARUNOVIĆ: By detaining me, they effectively validated my column—which they claim was the reason for my arrest. In it, I criticized Vidovdan as a mythological construct built on the tradition of defeat, which lies at the heart of Serbian nationalist-imperial ideology. By detaining me for this column, they proved its validity.
ETV: Do you think the column was just an excuse?
MARUNOVIĆ: Yes. They know all my work—my columns and those of other key columnists. They follow all our media closely. This isn’t just obsession; it’s a kind of fetishization of the Montenegrin issue. The fact that they are so invested gives our struggle even more legitimacy and motivation.
ETV: You arrived in Montenegro yesterday. You were deported to North Macedonia on Friday night. Has anyone from Montenegro’s official institutions contacted you—either from the embassy or from the government?
MARUNOVIĆ: Not a single official from Montenegro contacted me—not to offer support, solidarity, or even to find out what happened. Except for one encouraging signal from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported in the media, no one reached out.
ETV: Do you feel the Montenegrin state abandoned you?
MARUNOVIĆ: I’ve felt abandoned for some time now. This is the core problem—we have a state disconnected from its citizens. I’m not trying to sound self-important, but I have a strong track record as a director. The government has a duty to protect the fundamental rights of all citizens—not just public figures. Here, the state failed. I’m especially disappointed by the silence of the Montenegrin National Theatre, and by the relativizing stance of the Ministry of Culture.
ETV: Your family was reportedly kept in the dark too?
MARUNOVIĆ: We Marunovićs are a well-known Montenegrin family. There were personal calls to my father and brother, some surprising. But all were private. Official Montenegro lacked the courage to stand up to Serbia’s secret service.
ETV: After all this—do you think there is hope for a civic Montenegro?
MARUNOVIĆ: I do. I received overwhelming public support. Our idea of a free, civic Montenegro is alive. But I also see a dangerous trend of provincialism and cynicism within our own civic movement—elitist, shallow posturing disguised as patriotism. This has paralyzed us. For example, some criticized us for performing the play in Belgrade, calling it “performing for the occupiers.” But we’re not entertainers—we’re authors. That play attracted the healthiest part of Serbian society. Being a Montenegrin sovereignist doesn’t mean severing ties with Serbia. On the contrary, we must continue to engage with progressive Serbian forces.
ETV: Do you believe a true civic movement exists in Montenegro?
MARUNOVIĆ: Absolutely. If I didn’t, I’d leave. I don’t believe in ethnic-nationalist concepts of Montenegrin identity. Our national spirit has always evolved through dialogue with
