The Montenegrin human rights organisation Human Rights Action (HRA) has strongly condemned the appointment of Jovan Vučurović as minister without portfolio in the third reconstruction of Montenegro’s 44th government.
In a public statement, HRA described Vučurović as a person known for denying the Srebrenica genocide and for holding a series of other positions incompatible with a government post in a civic and European-oriented Montenegro.
According to the organisation, Vučurović has publicly denied the genocide in Srebrenica, glorified Chetnik ideology, belittled LGBTIQ+ people and disregarded their rights, taken part in the celebration of the unconstitutional Day of Republika Srpska, and referred to Kosovo as a “fake state.” HRA stressed that someone with such publicly expressed views cannot be considered fit to serve as a minister in a government that is obliged to protect human rights, respect international law and foster good-neighbourly relations.
(The Chetniks were a Serbian nationalist and royalist guerrilla movement during World War II, known for collaboration with Axis forces and for committing war crimes against non-Serb populations in the former Yugoslavia.)
The organisation highlighted a particular paradox: Vučurović’s appointment was supported by the very minority parties that in 2021 voted to dismiss then Justice Minister Vladimir Leposavić for relativising the Srebrenica genocide. Representatives of the Bosniak Party and the Albanian Forum voted in favour of Vučurović’s appointment, with the exception of Bosniak Party MP Kenana Strujić Harbić, independent MP Maja Vučelić and Albanian Alliance MP Ilir Čapuni.
HRA reminded that members of the government represent the state of Montenegro, not only the parties that nominate them, and that the selection of a person with such views seriously damages the country’s credibility.
The organisation also noted that the European Union expects Montenegro to respect human rights, accept judicially established facts about war crimes, and pursue a sincere confrontation with the past.
“The European body of civilisational values based on human rights is not a menu from which one can pick and choose according to preference – these values can only be respected as a whole,” HRA concluded.
As the current frontrunner in the EU accession process, Montenegro can ill afford scandals of this kind that risk undermining its European credentials. Pro-Serbian political forces in Montenegro are widely seen as seeking to derail the country’s path toward EU membership.
The article in Montenegrin by EUalive’s partner AntenaM can be found here.
Caption: Activists protest the appointment of Jovan Vučurović as minister. [Portalanalitika.me]