NGO sector: The state to sanction the glorification of Draža Mihailović

We strongly condemn the public memorial service and the participation of representatives of the municipality of Nikšić at the memorial service organized by the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) for collaborator Dragoljub "Draža" Mihailović, as well as a series of dangerous extremist and anti-civilization messages that were communicated on that occasion, the non-governmental sector said, stressing that the state should sanction the glorification of Dragoljub Draža Mihailović.
Action for Human Rights (HRA), Center for Civic Education (CGO), Center for the Development of Non-Governmental Organizations (CRNV, Juventas, Kvir Montenegro, NGO Prima, Center for Monitoring and Research (CeM), Center for Women's and Peace Education (ANIMA), Center for Women's Rights (CŽP), Association Spektra, Center for Democratic Transition (CDT), European Association for Law and Finance (EALF), Media Center and Center for Investigative Journalism believe that any form of public glorification of the Chetnik leader, who is, among other things, through his command led the operation of ethnic cleansing of Muslims in the area of Bijelo Polje, Pljevlje and the surrounding area, encourages national and religious hatred towards Bosniaks and Muslims in Montenegro and beyond.
Any promotion of Chetnik ideology offends all citizens of Montenegro who want to live in a civil society in which the human rights of all are respected. We remind you that the memorial service was held for the leader of a military formation that, due to its crimes and open collaboration with fascist and Nazi occupation forces, was delegitimized by all allies, and even by King Petar Krađorđević and the Yugoslav government in exile. In a statement made via Radio London on September 12, 1944, the last Yugoslav king called on all Chetnik units to cease cooperation with the occupier, announcing on that occasion: "All those who rely on the enemy against the interests of their own people and its future, and who would not respond to this call, will not succeed in getting rid of the mark of betrayal, neither in front of the people nor in front of history" - they stated in the statement.
As they said, until that moment the Chetnik units had committed one of the biggest criminal campaigns during the entire Second World War on the territory of Yugoslavia.
According to the instructions given on December 20, 1941 by Mihailović himself, during 1942 and during the winter of 1943, Chetnik units from Montenegro killed several thousand Muslims in the area of northern Montenegro and eastern Bosnia. In January 1943, Mihajlović's commander Pavle Đurišić reported that 400 adults and 1000 children and women were killed on the right bank of Lim, and 33 Muslim villages were burned. Only in the campaign that lasted from February 5 to 13, 1943, Pavle Đurišić informed Mihailović: during the operation, the complete destruction of Muslim life was attempted, regardless of gender and age...victims - about 1,200 Muslim fighters and up to 8,000 other victims: women, old people, and children. We note that according to the post-war list of victims, the murder of 1,501 Muslims by Chetniks was confirmed in the Pljeval county alone - they reminded in the announcement.
As they pointed out, Chetnik units also cooperated with the occupier during all major offensives against NOB members, as well as during repression of the civilian population.
In today's wave of revisionism, the fact that in the last few years during the commemoration of the crimes in Doli and Velica, mention of the participation of Chetnik units in them is also worrying. In addition, during the Second World War, Chetnik units cooperated with the most notorious regime in the territory of the former Yugoslavia, the Ustasha regime of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH). Tragically, they participated in the attack on Kozara, and later they helped transport the Serbian population from Kozara to Jasenovac. In the end, the largest number of defeated Chetnik units retreated precisely towards the NDH and Zagreb - they point out in the NGO sector.
They believe that the rehabilitation of Dragoljub Mihajlović in Serbia due to an unfair trial cannot in any way justify the mass crimes committed by his units, especially against the civilian population.
We call on all social actors, who hold to human and civic anti-fascist values, to clearly oppose not only the revision of history, but also the promotion of a public narrative that aims to erase the essential difference between the victors in the Second World War and the collaborators of Hitler's fascist coalition, all with the aim of reviving the great national fascist ideology - they underlined in the statement.
They say that it is especially important for the descendants of members of the Chetnik movement to accept the historical facts, that not all Chetniks were criminals, but that their commanders were, and that their ideology was and remains disastrous.
The same applies to millions of Germans, Italians, Japanese, Croats and others who are descendants of soldiers of the former fascist coalition. It is necessary to prevent the repetition of historical mistakes - they emphasized.
As they said, the Constitution of Montenegro forbids it any incitement and incitement of hatred and intolerance, the Criminal Code prohibits the incitement of national, racial and religious hatred as a criminal offense, and the Law on Public Order and Peace also prescribes corresponding misdemeanors.
So we expect the representatives of all competent state bodies to act and react in accordance with the Constitution and the law - the NGO sector concluded.
M.J.