The Serbian Church and its satellites attacked Montenegro with all media and other available means, which are reminiscent of that dispatch of Zivojin Misic, from the time of the bloody “White Terror” after the shameful so-called Podgorica Assembly(1918), when he orders the commander of the Serbian Adriatic troops based in Cetinje to use all available means in the persecution of patriots and their families ‘without any consideration’!
Even today, after 100 years, they threaten, curse Montenegrins, take away our centuries-old shrines, history… However, things have gone too far and now it is our turn to tell the whole world, i.e. Western democratic societies, to which Montenegro belongs, and above all the United States. We will show the American states what the last paramilitary formation in Montenegro is, dressed in religious clothes, the Serbian Orthodox Church, says Predrag Markovic, president of the Cetinje Montenegro Association, the oldest Montenegrin association in the United States, in an interview with Vikend novine. Markovic points out that they have relevant documentation for each claim, accompanied by photographs, which will be delivered and presented to foreign embassies, as well as to the American administration.
Weekend novine spoke with Markovic, a Katun resident from Cuca, who has been living in America for 30 years, in Podgorica the day before his return to the United States. Sharp in his comments on the current situation in Montenegro, he sees the biggest problem and challenge in the activities of the Serbian Orthodox Church, which for him is not a religious but a “sectarian organization”.
What are your arguments for the assessment that the Serbian Orthodox Church is a “sectarian organization”?
MARKOVIĆ: I say that it is a sect because it violates all the commandments of God and the church, which is easy to see with a simple insight: it does not falsely witness wider untruths on a daily basis; love your neighbor – they curse their neighbors every day, spread hate speech… Watch the video from the funeral of the late Patriarch Paul, where you can see the “grieving” Amfilohije who is baptized with one finger (forefinger), and that is the mark of the sect within Christianity, the so-called Monophylies, those who do not recognize the Holy Trinity! Furthermore, with the blessing of the Serbian Orthodox Church, unprecedented crimes took place against Montenegro and Montenegrins after the annexation of Montenegro in 1918… Decades later, due to Greater Serbia interests, they were actors in the breakup of the former Greater Yugoslavia and active participants in war events and crimes, and they never condemned the crime in Srebrenica, where thousands of innocent civilians were killed.
And that is where they abused the Montenegrin saint…
MARKOVIC: That’s right. For the purpose of warming up the warrior spirit, they carried the relics of Saint Vasilije Ostroški (his mercy and glory) in the so-called Republika Srpska, sending a message that for the events and misconduct in that part of the former Yugoslavia, they have the blessing of the great Montenegrin saint. Listen also to the words of Metropolitan Amfilohije in an interview for a Bosnian T.V, he says that Srebrenica was revenge. What servant of God, a believer, would ever say that? Christianity is a religion of love, forgiveness. A true believer forgives, does not take revenge! As is well known, the Serbian Orthodox Church took under its wing and protected the people responsible for the genocide in Srebrenica. Because of all this, I say that it acted more as a paramilitary formation than as a religious one, and what has already been said confirms that they are deeply “stuck” in sectarian behaviour and activities.
How is it?
MARKOVIĆ: They attacked Montenegro more fiercely than the “Turks” and the “Ustashas” who, in a “vine” state, appeared to them on various battlefields. They threaten, curse, insult, and accuse Montenegrins and all those who have Montenegro at heart… Everything that is based on lies and manipulations is not long-lived, but we have neither a reserve homeland nor a reserve time for the same structures to take us back to some evil past. We were silent, therefore, according to the popular saying that “the smarter one gives in”. They obviously understand our good intention as a weakness and a chance for the realization of the failed memorandum idea of Greater Serbia, and now modified into the idea of the “Serbian world”!
Do you know what your statement will provoke?
MARKOVIC: I know. Any statement that contradicts such insane ideas causes great “shocks”, but I speak and quote historical recorded facts. Nothing hurts like the truth! The truth is contained in the evidence! There are hundreds of photos from the crime scene where the priests were involved, even as executors! They proclaimed priest Milorad Maca Vukojičić a saint, who, according to his own confession, is responsible for the liquidation of about fifty civilians, most of whom were women, and among them is the mother of the late actor Miša Janketić. For these acts he was convicted and executed as a war criminal. You can imagine that religious institution in which priests and believers worship the priest butcher “Maca” (“hammer” in Wnglish), so named because most of his victims suffered from a hammer for breaking stones!
And what will you do with the documentation? What did you collect?
MARKOVIĆ: Our association collected documentation on the events of 1918 and after that, the greatest tragedy and black spot in Montenegrin history, then on priest Maca, Joanikije Lipovac, who collaborated with the fascists, and Nikolaj Velimirović, who was decorated by Adolf Hitler and who claimed that Saint Sava was the forerunner of fascism in the world, that before the end of the war the fascists would take him to a concentration camp and provide him with the same treatment as their officers, and then send him to recovery with full medical care in Austria. Thus he “suffered” greatly and became a “saint.” We also have photographs with each paper, and a line of Hitler’s soldiers with a characteristic greeting greets Velimirović’s. We have prepared everything and first he goes to the Israeli embassy to see how the head of a church works and gets a medal from the Nazis. They certainly already know that, but we will remind them over and over again. We have recordings of Vojislav Seselj, who was convicted of war crimes, and to whom the Serbian Orthodox Church awarded the Order of St. Peter of Cetinje, which is a desecration of this saint. We also have recordings and photos of terrorists, criminals, criminals who came to the Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral, enjoyed special hospitality and privileges. We translated everything into English, as well as the movie “Witness of God’s Love”! The next step is to send to foreign embassies.
MARKOVIC: If there is a hearing among those who flaunt democracy and respect for basic human rights. We will send again and again, everything we have and what we collect later. We believe that foreign countries, especially the United States, will have a clearer background of litigation due to the Law on Freedom of Religion and the latest developments in Montenegro, I mean the parliamentary elections and post-election mockery by the new majority. I want my family, my children, friends, Montenegrins in America and the entire democratic world to know what crimes Serbian priests committed in Montenegro. I do not want this to turn into a story about the Serbian honourable and honest people, but about the Serbian Church, which, with some exceptions, does not act as a religious institution, but as a well-organized paramilitary and sectarian-oriented group.
Are you a believer?
MARKOVIC: Yes, I and my family. But what is happening in Montenegro is the propaganda of evil, the incitement of evil in the name of faith. It has never been so pronounced. I remember from my young days when tens of thousands of people came on Christmas Day in front of the Cetinje Monastery. There was no looking at who was who. That is the true Orthodox faith. There were honourable priests! Today, Serbian bishops and priests are being tried for paedophilia, rape, abuse… And what is worst, some of such criminals are in Montenegrin shrines. What do you mean?
Who are the criminals who are in Montenegrin shrines?
MARKOVIC: First of all, let me draw your attention to one fact. There are over 1,000 foreign priests in Montenegrin monasteries, churches and temples. And in Serbia, believe it or not, there are about 800. Why are there so many Serbian priests in Montenegro? Who are these people, what are their pasts, where did they come from, why did they come to Montenegro? Our association has collected a lot of documentation so that I can say without any hesitation that people with criminal, suspicious, war past, paedophiles, also occupied Montenegrin shrines… A lot of that is already known to the media, starting from Pahomije to Kacavenda! So, it is shameful to call such a thing a religious institution. These are the facts! And now they have been waving the slogan “we don’t give sacred things” in front of our noses for months. Who don’t they give them to?
Since when do you defend them ?! Protect the right of usurpers and kidnappers to keep the looted property of our ancestors! Why didn’t they defend their shrines in Kosovo in a similar way?
Why aren’t they?
MARKOVIĆ: They don’t care! In addition, behind everything is dirty politics, which sees Montenegro as a “coin for undercutting”. Kosovo is lost anyway, but we will get Montenegro and realize a new-old project, but as a “Serbian world”. We have numerous examples that they sold their properties in Kosovo for “big” money, and then came to Serbia or Montenegro to lament and whine, as someone devoured them, wanting to keep, as our people would say, “both money and kids”!
How do you see Montenegro in the coming period?
MARKOVIC: This government cannot last long. It doesn’t take much political experience or wisdom to see it. Agreements on forming a government are being held in the Ostrog Monastery, Montenegrin sovereignists are being persecuted, the future prime minister loves the flag of another state, an MP elected by Montenegrin citizens comes to the parliament halls with the flag of another state. The future prime minister was filmed in the company of Nikola Kavaja, who was convicted before a US court as a terrorist. Krivokapić and Risto Radović welcomed him as a hero. There is nothing to add or subtract! Who wants to see everything is clear! They appropriate everything Montenegrin, even Njegos! He is a world-class person, of human greatness! They probably need it to fill in the gaps in their state and cultural tradition, which often rests on mythology and myth mania. Their myths and illiterate rulers are their problem, not the problem of Montenegrins! Montenegro has always been a reliable partner and protector of our Serbian neighbours. Take, for example, the Battle of Mojkovac, the greatest and futile death of Montenegrins.
Why do you mention the Battle of Mojkovac in this context?
MARKOVIC: Montenegrin youth died in Mojkovac defending the retreat of the Serbian army, which left its families at the mercy of the enemy, to “heroically” flee to Corfu, and they returned to Montenegro as a “liberation” army and seduced unprecedented bloody terror in these parts. Now they are freeing us from ourselves, from the Montenegrins, and defending the kidnapped saints. And who is the loudest in that “fight” for the abduction of our saints? Refugees hosted by Montenegro (over 25,000), given jobs, housing, security – and today they are working against Montenegro. Look at what a man who escaped from Kosovo is doing and is now persecuting our writer, academician Sreten Vujović, to which we as an association reacted and asked for his protection from the American administration.
According to Mr Vujović’s story, is he really experiencing real torture?
MARKOVIĆ: Yes, and it is not just a story, but facts! That persecutor is a returnee from Kosovo, most likely in the way it was said earlier, and I have information that behind that persecution are mostly a couple of people, the closest associates of Serbian Metropolitan Amfilohije, and one of them Jovan Markus uses every opportunity to discredit Vujovic. It is about a former educationally neglected young man arrested for stealing chickens, robbing grocers, stealing money from the Vlach church, now an alleged great believer. As a communist cadre, he was also a persecutor of the faithful, who was one of the first collaborators and helpers of Mihalj Kertes, and a supporter of Slobodan Milosevic’s regime. Family books of the Petrović-Njegoš dynasty, which, according to the media, he keeps “hidden” in his apartment, I do not need to mention more! There are relevant documents and evidence on this. The new government plans to put such people in key positions of “protector” of the Montenegrin cultural and national treasure!
There are elections in the United States. Who will you support?
MARKOVIC: We as an association support Mr Biden, not because we have something against the current president whom the Americans perceive as a great patriot, but because Biden is familiar with the situation in the region, from the 1990s onwards. He is well aware of the Balkan challenges, as well as the activities of the Serbian Orthodox Church and its “merits” in the war. As for the part of your question about Serbian organizations, it is true that they called us to lobby for Mr Trump, but we do not accept any cooperation with the Serbian Orthodox Church. There is no and cannot be an agreement with them. The Greater Serbia policy is still in force and a stumbling block to the entire Western Balkans and Europe. The rift that has been created is huge. And they encourage him even more.
How?
MARKOVIĆ: The next step of this political elite under the “conductor’s baton” of the Serbian Orthodox Church is the preparation of the census in Montenegro. They hope that by then they will be able to “Serbize” the majority of the population in Montenegro and thus prove that Montenegro is part of the “Serbian world”, i.e. the constituent of what Amfilohije has already announced in some speeches, Serbia with its “Serbian” Krajina ”! This is a very dangerous thesis, which could lead to new unrest in the Balkans! We will lobby the United States to postpone the census to the American administration, because there are no regular conditions for the census in Montenegro. There is a strong possibility that Montenegrins will boycott the census. The Diaspora, of course, supports the boycott until democratic conditions are created for its realization. A plot about Serb hatred Several times during the conversation you said that you did not want your words to be understood that you are against the Serbian people…
To get you to vote for their candidate?
MARKOVIC: That’s right. Politics needs to be separated from the people. I would be the first to wish that the relations between Montenegro and Serbia are better, and I am convinced that all well-meaning citizens of both countries want that. It is hard to believe that this can happen until Serbia gets politicians to take care of its own state, without pretensions to other people’s territories. How is it possible to talk about friendly relations when you hear their current politicians, kidnappers, who talk about our sacred heritage, the heritage of our ancestors as their property, when we listen to their rumours about “Serb hatred” just because we want to be on our own! When I listen to their leaders and occupiers of Montenegrin shrines, when I hear words of hatred, curses… how can you have good and friendly relations? How do you trust them? That is impossible until some new times and new people. Presenting the truth cannot be hate speech.
The Serbian Orthodox Church and its people in power will accuse you of spreading religious intolerance and hatred, they may file a report…
MARKOVIC: If telling the truth and historical facts is hate speech, then I have nothing to say. We will retaliate with the same measure through European and American courts, we have many examples when the leaders of the Serbian Orthodox Church publicly curse and curse Montenegrins and spread hate speech. We are not threatening anyone, but we will fight until the truth comes out! And it has to come out! The Serbian church has never made a procession, after the Storm action in Croatia, which they claim is a genocide action! That throws another stain on the face of the Serbian Orthodox Church. So, there are so many facts, data, documents, photos that were collected by our Association of Cetinje / Montenegro US, otherwise the oldest Montenegrin association in the USA. We are sure that our fight will not be in vain. We have arguments and we will deal with them before the American institutions and the international community. The world must know what is really happening in Montenegro!
