Civil Society: Naming a Street After Pavle Bulatović Would Mean Today's Montenegro Supports the War Crime of Deportation

AUTHOR:M.J. GDNUS

Civil society organizations strongly oppose the possibility of naming a street in the capital Podgorica after Pavle Bulatović, the person directly responsible for the war crime of deportation of Bosnian-Herzegovinian refugees, a group of NGOs announced.

"We regret that our earlier arguments against this initiative, which we presented last year, were not taken into account.

We warn that the decision to name the street would send a message that war crimes are still politically acceptable. This would undermine the rule of law and undermine trust in institutions. In this way, victims are insulted, divisions are deepened, reconciliation is made more difficult and the building of a society based on justice and truth is destroyed. Instead of fostering a culture of remembrance by naming streets, it insists on legitimizing the war past and the ideology that left behind unnecessary suffering and mass crimes," they state in the statement.

They recall that at the meeting of the Council for Proposing Names of Settlements, Streets and Squares, on July 29, 2025, the councilors of the Capital City adopted the proposal of the Democratic councilors, Mitar Vuković and Vladimir Čađenović, that Pavle Bulatović, former Minister of Internal Affairs of Montenegro and Minister of Defense of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, be given a street in Podgorica.

"Vuković and Čađenović submitted this proposal on October 27, 2023, but its consideration was postponed until the opinion of the Ministry of Culture and Media was received. However, the Ministry pointed out in its response that it still did not have a legal basis to express its opinion on this issue, because the Council had not adopted it, so the proposal was returned. Also, 23 non-governmental organizations called on the President of Democratic Montenegro, Aleksa Bečić, last year to influence the councilors of his party to withdraw the proposal, but Bečić never responded.

The initiative was adopted by the votes of the Council members from the ruling parties (Democrats, Movement for Podgorica (PzPG) and United Montenegro), with one vote against - the representative of the European Union, Miloš Đuričković," the statement said.

They add that Đuričković has meanwhile resigned from the Council in protest against the aforementioned decision, saying that such a decision conflicts with his “moral and value beliefs, but also with the truth about the events of that period.”

"We recall that Pavle Bulatović, as Minister of Internal Affairs of Montenegro, was the direct orderer of the illegal deportation of Bosnian-Herzegovinian refugees in 1992. On his orders, the Montenegrin police, without legal basis, arrested and handed over to the armed forces of the Serbian Republic in BiH, according to official documents, at least 66 civilians, of whom only 12 survived (judgment Ks. 6/12, dated 22.11.2012, available on the portal www.sudovi.me, p. 120). These are not speculations, but judicially established facts. The fact that Bulatović was not convicted, because he was killed in an assassination attempt in 2000, does not mean that he was not responsible, and even less is it a reason for him to be glorified today.

In addition to his role in the crime of Deportation, during Pavle Bulatović's mandate as Minister of Defense of the FRY (1993–2000), members of the FRY army committed massive war crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Kosovo. The Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, Graham Bluth, stated that “the murdered Yugoslav Defense Minister Pavle Bulatović was under investigation, and not only for the events in Kosovo,” the statement said.

By the Council’s decision to honor Pavle Bulatović in a street in the capital of Montenegro, the city authorities, they say, have offended the families of the victims, who are still searching for the remains of their loved ones, but also all citizens of Montenegro who believe in justice and respect for human rights. This is an act of institutional revisionism that undermines efforts to build reconciliation and the rule of law.

"The fact that this proposal was supported by councilors of parties that publicly present themselves as civic, while in practice they participate in the rehabilitation of actors of the war past is particularly worrying. This shows that denying crimes and celebrating the war past are an integral part of their policy.

The Ministry of Culture and Media is taking action, which, according to the Law on Memorials, should assess whether Pavle Bulatović meets the requirements for a "prominent personality" (Article 5). We also note that Article 10 expressly prohibits the erection of memorials to persons who have played a negative role in the history of Montenegro or humanity.

It is undeniable that Pavle Bulatović does not meet the legal criteria for a prominent personality, and therefore we call on the Ministry to reject this proposal without delay. We particularly point out that the rehabilitation of individuals responsible for crimes is very dangerous, and that the European Parliament has already warned about this in this year's Resolution on Montenegro. If the state agrees to this practice, it sends a message that crimes can be rewarded, and responsibility minimized. This makes justice meaningless, insults victims and creates a society in which violence and impunity are acceptable," the statement reads.

Human Rights Action

Association Spektra

Centre for Civic Education (CCE)

Centre for Civil Liberties (CEGAS)

Centre for Democracy and Human Rights (CEDEM)

Centre for Investigative Journalism (CIN CG)

Centre for Monitoring and Research (CeMI)

Centre for Development of Non-Governmental Organizations (CRNVO)

Centre for Women's and Peace Education ANIMA

Centre for Women's Rights (CŽP)

Montenegrin LGBTIQ Association Kvir Montenegro

Montenegrin PEN Center

Montenegrin Women's Lobby

Montenegrin Philological Society

Society of Montenegrin Publishers

Institute for Socio-Political Research Analitico

Institute for Media of Montenegro

Juventas

PRIMA

Safe Women's House

STEGA

Association of Youth with Disabilities of Montenegro (UMHCG)

Association "Štrpci - Against oblivion”

Association of Lawyers of Montenegro

Alen Bajrović, civic activist

Dina Bajramspahić, civic activist

Jovana Marović, civic activist