APPEAL TO THE EU AND THE USA (regarding the endangerment of peace in Montenegro)

Peace in Montenegro is dramatically endangered by the announcements of the enthronement of the Metropolitan of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the Cetinje Monastery.  The current government in Montenegro thus continues the previous anti-Montenegrin and anti-Western policy, which has shattered interethnic and inter-confessional harmony, based on the anti-fascist tradition, civil and secular state, and the firm commitment of the majority of citizens to EU membership and NATO.

 The current government in Montenegro is an instrument of the dark goals of Greater Serbia policy, which resulted in genocide, ethnic cleansing and the most serious war crimes in Europe after the Second World War.  Today, the target of the same policy is the state of Montenegro and its national minorities, and especially the Montenegrin Orthodox Church, Montenegrins and all features of cultural and historical identity and tradition of the Montenegrin people, among which the Cetinje Monastery has been one of the most important symbols for centuries.

 The announced enthronement of the Metropolitan of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the Cetinje Monastery, despite the clear opposition of the vast majority of Cetinje citizens, would be a symbolic act of complete submission of Montenegro to Greater Serbia policy and destroy peace and security of citizens, which would have unforeseeable consequences not only in Montenegro but also abroad its borders.

 That is why we call on the European Union and the United States of America to urgently influence the authorities of Serbia and Montenegro, and the Serbian Orthodox Church to cancel the scheduled ceremony in the Cetinje Monastery.

Signatories of the Appeal:

Latinka Perović, historian; Veljko Bulajić, film director; Vesna Pusić, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Croatia; Sonja Biserko, founder and president of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia; Senad Pećanin, journalist; Milan Jovanović, journalist; Bogdan Tanjević, basketball coach, Dimitrije Popović, painter; Slavo Kukić, university professor, member of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina; Nikola Samardžić, university professor; Boro Kontić, journalist; Dino Mustafić, film director; Slaviša Lekić, journalist; Aleksandar Sekulović, lawyer; Senada Šelo Šabić, political scientist; Dinko Gruhonjić, journalist; Davor Gjenero, journalist; Edina Bećirović, university professor; Dragan Bursać, journalist; Azem Vllasi, lawyer; Adil Kulenović, professor and journalist; Salih Fočo, university professor; Lada Sadiković, university professor; Senadin Lavić, university professor; Hazim Bašić, university professor; Martin Tais, physicist and climate expert; Strajo Krsmanović, theatrologist and Director of Art Gallery; Momo Dragićević, journalist; Marinko Pejić, university professor; Farida Sadiković, physician; Mustafa Alagić, economist and businessman; Sabahudin Hadžialić, university professor; Bojan Šošić, psychologist; Ismet Dizdarević, university professor; Senad Oprašić, university professor, David Pettigrew, Professor, Southern Connecticut State University; Renad Šeremet, engineer; Džemal Sokolović, university professor; Aleksandar Knežević, university professor (emeritus); Haris Kulenović, journalist; Nedim Suljić, university professor; Esad Jaganjac, senior mechanical engineer; Carole Hodge, Dr. sci.pol. University of Glasgow; Ajla Kirlić-Hasović, information technology expert; Ibrahim Đikić, former Ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ervin Sendijarević, psychiatrist; Višnja Đikić, economist and businesswoman; Hasan Mahmutović, university professor