WORLD NEWS FOR MONTENEGRO DIASPORA
Choose language:
AUTHOR: M.J.-POBJEDA
Vidoje Žarković deserves the best memory and the deepest respect of his Montenegro. And the political generation to whom it belonged was immensely grateful for the reliable foundations of an anti-fascist, civil, European and prosperous Montenegro whose architecture will be built upon by its new generations, said former President of Montenegro Milo Đukanović at the international symposium "Vidoje Žarković - life and work".
He pointed out that Vidoje Žarković is one of the most prominent Montenegrins of the 20th century.
"To a man who, even in his early youth, included himself in the legendary list of Montenegrin July 13 insurgents and liberators responsible for the success of the National Liberation Struggle of Yugoslav partisans, as well as for the restoration of the Montenegrin state and Montenegrin national identity within Yugoslavia. "Certainly, one of the most deserving of the economic revival, institutional and democratic development of Montenegro, as well as the prosperity and affirmation of the SFRY", said Đukanović.
He points out that he had the privilege to meet Vidoj Žarković as a student and a member of the Central Committee of the SKJ during the time when he was performing the most responsible party and state duties in Yugoslavia and Montenegro, and to witness his self-sacrificing work and responsibility from such proximity.
"Yugoslav society was already entering a deep economic and political crisis, but the bloody disintegration of the common state was not yet foreseen, nor were the processes that would soon change the political configuration of Europe and the world clearly seen and understood. "The combination of circumstances made these processes mark the end of the brilliant political career of Vidoj Žarković and the very successful generation of post-war political ascetics in Montenegro," said Đukanović.
Immediately afterwards, Đukanoivć, the story goes, found himself in the innermost party, and soon state leadership of Montenegro, after the tectonic political processes that took place in the 90s.
"Such changes inevitably bring a feeling of bitterness for people who leave the political stage, but also a warning and understandable fear for those who are just entering it. Especially in an environment that is traditionally Montenegrin, prone to revolutionary upheavals, with a lack of respect for those who are leaving and an excess of unfounded trust for those whom he does not know and who are just arriving. An environment that is not conducive to developing a culture of gratitude even towards the most deserving", said Đukanović.
Great people are also great when they leave, and Vidoje Žarković is, Đukanović points out, one of the best examples of that.
"He continued his life guided by faith in the same ideals that drove him to great lengths both through the war and in the years of peace and prosperity, unreservedly dedicated to the good and progress of his Montenegro, prudently saddened by the epilogue that the Yugoslav idea experienced. I can proudly say that, even though we are generations apart, after a short time we got closer and built a friendly relationship, with full mutual respect. It was not difficult, because I had the feeling that Vidoje was eagerly waiting for the first hint that Montenegro would emerge from the political nightmare in which it found itself thanks to the irresponsible nationalist policies of the bigger and more influential people in that bad time at the end of the Yugoslav state, as well as due to the absolute inexperience of the new state leadership to is adequately positioned in the processes that were generated by major geopolitical changes, primarily on the European continent", stated Đukanović.
"When he saw the first such signal, he did not hesitate to show his readiness to support the awakening and sobering up of Montenegro, to make available to her all his vast political experience, to help her face the temptations, which she knew, by turning to her national interests. , we enter as prepared as possible and to lead Montenegro out of them with as few new scars as possible. I felt, it is not an exaggeration to say, a kind of political parentage that Vidoje radiated towards me and everyone who was an actor of that demanding and risky turn that Montenegro entered at the end of the first half of the last decade of the 20th century," he added.
Reading the books of famous Montenegrins of those generations, Đukanović says, he did not miss one more of Vidoj's human qualities, which he thinks is less characteristic of our compatriots.
"Milovan Đilas in his diary, in the book "Disintegration and War" writes about the meeting with Jova Kapićić in the middle of 1991. And what two Montenegrins, even those of such stature as Đilas and Kapićić, would be able to talk about when they met in Belgrade rather than about Montenegro. Jovo resignedly talked about betrayal as a national trait, citing examples of it. Đilas reacted to that with the remark: "a man is found"... and concluded: well, Montenegro is "a man is found"; these rare people make up the image of Montenegro, of its character and heroism", stated Đukanović.
And Vidoje Žarković, he adds, in his precious war diary "Paths of Freedom" denies the harshness of their criticism by describing the entire gallery of personalities from his native region and the whole of Montenegro, those who laid down their lives for freedom and those who were lucky enough to survive and make an honorable contribution to the construction and reconstruction of the country, suggesting that each of them could be just that exception from Đilas's book.
"I want to say, in addition to the rest that is less - more commonly known, Vidoje had the breadth to understand that not only individuals but also nations and states are woven of virtues and vices, that everyone's life alternates with ups and downs. He possessed and radiated optimism that where there is a moral substance, as in Montenegro, after a setback, the upswing must be renewed. Not to mention the deeply emotional descriptions of his relationship with his mother, his brother Luka, who died early, uncles Jevrem and Radoje Dakić, which reveal a different sensibility than that of a partisan or a statesman," said Đukanović.
This gathering, says Đukanović, has an additional value because it is being held in a time when the great results of the brilliant victory over fascism in the Second World War are too quickly forgotten.
"In the time of the crisis of the idea of a united Europe, the time of the arrogant onslaught of right-wing policies and cheap populism in Europe and the world, which affected both Montenegro and our region. Unfortunately, we live in a time and in a country where examples of heroism and honesty of people like Vidoje Žarković are forgotten. A man who came from the Durmitor region where, as he writes, there were only honest people in abundance, one of whose grandfathers died in Shkodër, and the other as a comita. And the Chetnik butchers, priests who killed partisans and their families with machetes, are declared saints. It's as if, again I believe temporarily, we forgot about the stories that were kind of lessons about the homeland, about freedom, morality, about bravery and heroism and about the shame of betrayal, which inspired Vidoje, as he wrote in his childhood, "said Đukanović.
According to him, both as a boy, the youngest fighter of the 4th Montenegrin proletarian brigade, and as one of the most prominent political and military leaders of Yugoslavia, and as a former official after its disintegration - Vidoje Žarković was a great man.
"As a 14-year-old, with a rifle in his hand while they were forcing him to return home, he knew how to snap at Moša Pijade and Sava Kovačević and Ivan Milutinović and Savo Orović and Stana Tomašević; to reject the offer of his uncle Radoje Dakić to send him to study in the Soviet Union, although, as he says, he would have been happy if that offer had come from someone else. How relevant is his testimony about Montenegrin divisions during the war, the reflections of which we are still living today. About how Montenegrin partisans and Montenegrin Chetniks came to Bosnia. How both of them wore Montenegrin hats and sang the same Montenegrin songs, quoted Njegoš... but in everything else they were two different worlds", added Đukanović.
As a statesman, he adds, Vidoje Žarković belonged to perhaps the most prolific Montenegrin political generation.
"Of course, the post-war period of stability and the unquestionable authority of the government to which they belonged worked to their advantage. However, this does not call into question the fact that from 1945 to 1990, led by that generation, Montenegro achieved gigantic progress in overall social development and to a significant extent overcame the huge gap of backwardness compared to other republics in the SFRY", says Đukanović.
This, he emphasizes, particularly refers to the construction of state, scientific, academic, educational, health, cultural, media and other institutions that contributed to overcoming the severe consequences of violent annexation and state discontinuity at the end of the First World War.
"It was also a time of international affirmation of Montenegro and its champions. "Vidoje Žarković was among the members of the Yugoslav delegations led by Tito in his visits to America, Canada, Great Britain, at the 6th Non-Aligned Summit in Havana, he was his special envoy with special missions in a number of countries," said Đukanović.
Repeat - Vidoje was great when the boiling nationalism and wandering of Montenegro in the 90s tried to challenge all that.
"As an unquestionable human greatness, his resignation did not lead him into conflict with Montenegro. On the contrary, he did everything to help her to be summoned as quickly as possible. Because of all that, Vidoje Žarković deserves the best memory and the deepest respect of his Montenegro. And the political generation to which he belonged owes immense gratitude for the reliable foundations of an anti-fascist, civil, European and prosperous Montenegro whose architecture will be built upon by its new generations," concluded Đukanović.
