The Silence

Written by Đorđe Šćepović

Whether it’s election time or not, there seems to be little need for a legal mandate to enforce silence. Especially in public spaces – the very places that must remain quiet on election day. Aside from a few websites, one TV channel, and social media, silence prevails. And when it’s not silence, it’s the loud cries of black propaganda or the defense of the indefensible. The court ruling in the "BIRN" case can best exemplify both of these.

In the "BIRN" scandal, a fabricated and intentionally published map of “extremists” was drawn by journalist Jelena Jovanović from Vijesti. The goal was to label civic activists and journalists as religious extremists, grouping them with radical and militant church brotherhoods and organizations. The plan fell apart as soon as the map was published. But the dirty work that emerged from Jelena Jovanović’s “investigative” efforts has now been exposed by the Montenegrin judiciary. The verdict was clear: “Jovanović and Tomović acted recklessly and are guilty of defaming Tanja Pavićević”.

The Basic Court has confirmed what we already knew when black propaganda polluted the public sphere, attempting to equate nationalists and extremists with those who point them out. The effort was to equate armed criminals gathered in so-called church brotherhoods with journalists and activists who spoke out against them and the Serbian Church that brought them together. In their desperation and with blatant intent, the defendants clung to their claims, calling them “accurate”. As irrefutable proof, they presented a petition against the enthronement of Jovan Mićović, which Tanja Pavićević had signed. Naturally, the court dismissed this pathetic defense as baseless.

Through this, Jelena Jovanović and Dušica Tomović once again exposed the motives behind the scandalous "BIRN" map. The crime of all the denounced journalists and activists was simply their opposition to the enthronement of Jovan Mićović in Cetinje – a man who preaches Christ’s love with the language of hate. But for Jovanović and Tomović, the extremists aren’t those who hate and call for the lynching of anything different; they’re the ones who don’t want such a person in the Cetinje Monastery. The ones at fault aren’t those who fired rubber bullets, shock bombs, and tear gas, nor those who ordered the violence and assault on Cetinje. The guilty ones are those who were victims of that barbaric act. This is how Montenegro looks through the lens of Jelena Jovanović.

This is what Montenegro looks like today – barbaric and primitive. A country where the police remove the national flag from fences and gates, throwing it onto the street. A country where nationalism and chauvinism shout in every public appearance of the current government and those seeking to remain in power in Montenegrin municipalities. Sacred and profane. Profane and sacred. In fact, both in one, because what should be sacred is distorted, unrefined, ordinary, and crude. It belongs neither to the Church nor to God. The vulgar interpretation of religion is at its peak. The shepherds are false, and the flock is false. So, it’s no surprise that we have false investigative journalists and their media dens.

What is surprising, however, is Dritan Abazović. Former prime minister and now the host of the podcast Friday with Dritan. It’s not surprising that a once-important figure like Dritan Abazović now hosts an internet podcast. What is surprising is that someone who sold out Montenegro now criticizes the regime for doing exactly what he once did – and he weeps inconsolably over the miserable, extinguished URA. How will he cry on his podcast when all the wrongs he has committed against Montenegro come to light? When prosecutors and judges are free and independent, like the judge in the "BIRN" case? When prosecutors and judges are no longer afraid of the regime or media hounds? When will black propaganda and its leaders be held accountable for every lie they’ve written and spoken?

It may seem far off, but that day will come. Resurrection doesn’t happen without death.