Attack on Dubrovnik: Karlobag, Karlovac, Virovitica

Films Stir Memories of Montenegro's Wartime Guilt
28 05 2007 Montenegro's leaders may have forgotten their craven support for Serbia's wars in Croatia and Bosnia but some filmmakers won't let them off the hook

By Paul Hockenos and Jenni Winterhagen in Podgorica



One year after declaring independence, a controversial film is forcing a visibly reluctant Montenegro to wrestle with the legacy of its role in the bloody conflicts of the early 1990s.

In 1991, as part of Serbia's war against Croatia, Yugoslav Army units led by Montenegrin officers and full of Montenegrin reservists ravaged many of the villages in the southernmost tip of Croatian Dalmatia and shelled the historic port city of Dubrovnik, causing millions of euros in damage and hundreds of civilian deaths. Throughout the duration of the wars in Croatia and Bosnia, Montenegro remained in a federal state with Serbia until 2003 when the two countries formed a loose state union.

In 1997, Montenegro expressed regret for its part in the wars and the consequent atrocities. However, the process of coming to terms with the past has been selective and superficial, say opposition critics.

"Rat za mir", which in Serbian means "war for peace", was the cynical slogan under which Montenegrin politicians backed the Yugoslav Army's campaign in southern Croatia.

It is also the name of Montenegrin filmmaker Koca Pavlovic's controversial film about those events, which is only today, four years after its production, showing in state -- administered locations, such as universities, in the country.

Formally, the Montenegrin government, which is led by the same party that ran the republic in the 1990s, has taken important steps to right the wrongs committed during the period.

As well as expressing regret for its role in 1997, it has -- in stark contrast to Serbia - co-operated fully with the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia, ICTY, in The Hague.

In 2004-05, the court found former Montenegrin admiral Miodrag Jokic and General Pavle Sturgar guilty of war crimes and sentenced each of them to eight years' imprisonment.

Pavlovic, who is an opposition politician as well as a filmmaker, says Montenegro's gestures have not addressed the fundamental issue of responsibility for the war and the atrocities.

"Now everything is fine and wonderful between Zagreb and Podgorica but things between the people of Herceg Novi and Niksic [Montenegrin border towns] and Dubrovnik aren't fine," he says. "A real process of reconciliation hasn't even started. The politicians are just saying that it's happened."

Pavlovic added: "Our politicians, like [former president and prime minister Milo] Djukanovic still haven't visited Dubrovnik. They don't have the courage to try to walk down the streets in Dubrovnik because they can't, yet."

In a surprise move, shortly after the independence referendum last year, Djukanovic stepped down as prime minister, a post he had held almost uninterrupted since 1991. From 1998-2002 he served as President. He remains head of the ruling Party of Democratic Socialists.

There was much speculation at the time of his resignation from the government that the international community had put pressure on him to quit because of his involvement in the conflicts of the 1990s and in various blackmarket activities.

In Pavlovic's film, Djukanovic admits his actions and statements at the time were wrong but maintains he acted in good faith, as he had been under the impression that Montenegro was threatened.



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Category:

News & Politics

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• Dubrovnik
• croatia
• hrvatska
• war
• rat
• montenegro
• crna
• gora
• JNA
• serbia
• srbija
• yugoslavia
• LSCG
• serbian
• serbs
• srbi
• srj
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[ukljata]

Napad je jednostavno bio pokušaj otimanja tudje zemlje.Kada uzimaš tudje trebaš jače stisnuti jaja.Imali su sto tenkova ,mi nismo imali nijednoga,imali su desetke aviona,mi nismo imali nijednoga,imali su stotine topova ,mi smo imali tri,imali su deset brodova mi nijednoga.Mi smo bili spremni da umiremo za našu zemlju,oni nisu bili spremni nizašto,niti su bili ičemu.

[virovo11]

Hrvati izvinite pooozzzzz iz Srbije ........

[NEOPLANTERS]

KAKAV RAT KAKVI BAKRACI-TO NIJE NI VIDELO RATA.POUBIJANO 80000 civila i nekih 20000 vojnika,ZARAD VISIH CILJEVA NEKIH MAJMUNA SA VLASTI,pa ovde su sjebali ljude iz sela,a vojska ni jedne strane nije imala mnogo gubitaka zapravo,tj. osim JNA nije postojalo ni u jednom momentu klasicne vojske,STALI NA POLA PUTA I AJMO NAZAD-JEBO NAS SLOBO SVE ODREDA !!!

[81Natasa]

@djljuba82 Upravo tako....Bravo!

[djljuba82]

e da samo pare koje smo imali potrosili na opremanje i bolji zivot ,a ne na rat sad bi bilo mnogo bolje svima... a ovako sisamo..svi zajedno zapadni kur..

[nameless0193]

@ravnogorskipuk995 mislim, nemoj me krivo shvatiti, ja Srbe ne mrzim, dovoljno sam pametan da shvatim da je za rat u Hrvatskoj kriv jedan rezim. Pa prvi susjedi su mi srbi i slazemo se sasvim dobro. Ono sto zelim reci jest da ne mozes pricati o jednakim krivnjama za rat kad je jedna strana imala vojsku, a druga kite u rukama (da me prostis na izrazu)

[nameless0193]

@ravnogorskipuk995 a jeli, sa obje? Ne slazem se.

"Nitko ne sme da vas bije"

"Prema tome, tko god vam dode i kaze da je ovo njegova zemlja, taj je uzurpator, taj je dosao da ubija i tog imate prava da ubijete kao kera pored tarabe!"

Jel ti to poznato? A pjesmice o salati (mislim da znas koje) valjda ne moram ni komentirati. Mi smo takve ispade s nase strane sveli na krajnji minimum, a pobogu, na kraju krajeva, tko je napao koga?

[ravnogorskipuk995]

@universume Jesi li ti ikada ucio nesto iz istorije!!!!!!

[ravnogorskipuk995]

@nameless0193 To nije tacno,ja mislim da smo se mi mogli rastati i bez rat kao npr. cesi i slovaci,ali za taj rat su krivi politicari sa obe strane

[ravnogorskipuk995]

@gudeljb Slazem se potpuno ni Srbi nebi mrzeli Hrvate kad Hrvati nebi mrzeli Srbe,po tom pitanju bi se moglo i mladjim generacijama u obe zemlje predavati u skolama

[nameless0193]

A crvenu Hrvatsku ne spominji jer se tu pogotovo vidi koliko nemas pojma o tome sto pricas. Znas li ti uopce na sto se odnosi pojam "crvena Hrvatska" (ne, nije onaj povijesni jer se o tome u Hrvatskoj vec dugo ne govori, nego je taj izraz za nesto drugo)