Jevrem Brkovic
writer. Montenegrin, has been living in Croatia for four years; from the beginning of the aggression against Croatia he took the side of the Croatian people
10 000 Zagreb-CROATIA

Why is it that in the former Yugoslavian Republics no one saw the collapse of Montenegro as the beginning of an aggression, towards the creation of a Greater Serbia? There are several reasons for this. The most significant reason being that in all Yugo-States, in Bosnia and Montenegro especially, there was a persistent class of citizens with totalitarian ideologies. They were spiritually asleep, fired with platitudes of "brotherhood and union", "eternal Yugoslavianism," and so brainwashed by the so-called communist socialist justice that they experienced Milosevic and his pep-talking attackers as an awakening of communistic ideals and bearers of the anti-bureaucratic revolution.

In my partially published journal, from these subversive days, under the date October 7, 1988, the following is written: neither the Montenegrin state and party management, nor the state security, foresaw that today would see the start of the third act of the battle for Montenegro, a battle as old as Garasanin’s "Nacertanije", if not older. It has been known for months that preparation has occurred for this day and this night with one thoughtful furious "blitz-krieg" meant the end of the Republic of Montenegro. This slogan is known as well: "Today Novi Sad, in the morning Titograd, the day after tomorrow Sarajevo!" According to strategists, those who studied at the Serbian Academy of Arts and Sciences, in fact in the "wolf’s den" of Greater Serbia, Sarajevo is not even the final goal. Preparations are being made for Zagreb and Ljubljana....

The non-historical positivistic relations towards the Yugoslav revolution smothered by the Balkan or South Slavic complex contradictions, historical and other, and the inadequate status of some South Slav and non-Slav peoples, made the second Yugoslavia into an intolerable state union for the nations it comprised. It is a fact that some nations were historically more defined than others, therefore they did not reconcile themselves to the subjection of their historical, national, cultural and geographic individuality to the twice-failed Yugoslavianism. This second Yugoslavianism is more evidently drowning in an overbearing, primitive, folkloric, destructive and violently exposed Greater-Serbianism. It is drowning as the first Yugoslavia from the first day - militarily, politically, diplomatically, commercially, economically, educationally and culturally, and even with respect to mentality. Greater Serbianism immorally metastasized on the entire Yugo territory, from Triglav to Djevdjelija as the song goes. It metastasized through various colonization’s, and through the working class with the aid of Marx’s slogan "that the worker has no homeland" through military, police and educational cadre and other ways.

It turned out that the first and second Yugoslavias were only names for Greater Serbia. It is similar to the now officially quasi-national construction of the third or Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. In the end, it all comes down to Pasic’s well-known statement, stated in 1917 on Corfu before the regent Aleksandar Karadjordjevic: "Yugoslavia can exist but only in the borders of a Greater Serbia." The regent, according to the testimony of Stevo Jakovljevic, the author of "Serbian Trilogy", nodded his head at Pasic’s idea, touched his spectacles and said: "Baja, we’ll have some problems with the Croatians and Slovenians". Baja gave his regent added explanations and assurances that, "Croatians come to their senses only after the train has passed, and Slovenians are in fact Alpine Croatians, only with a happier disposition and a more work-oriented characteristic".

Nikola Pasic was undoubtedly the most true to Garasanin’s "Nacertanije" ideals. He, when the defeated Serbian army left Serbia, when they retreated in dissolution through Montenegro and Albania, sent a telegram from Skadar to the regent Aleksandar stating: "Your Highness, Serbia is momentarily losing the war against Austria, but at any rate is winning the war against Montenegro." That same day, the Montenegrin army triumphantly put an end to the renowned Mojkovac battle which was led only to make possible the retreat of the defeated Serbian army. This meant sacrificing themselves for their ally, instead of focusing their strength to the south on the Lovcen front where it was difficult for Montenegro.

Following World War I, even in the greatest Serbian national, military and governmental catastrophe, in the defeat by the Austrian military, Nikola Pasic and regent Aleksandar console themselves in advance with the prepared victory over its only ally Montenegro. Yet, Montenegro did not need to enter into the First World War, as she had all the opportunities and offers to remain according to foreign world conflicts, the only oasis in the Balkans not engaged in the war. What allied brotherly dynastic, diplomatic, chivalrous "virtues" does such a connection towards the Sovereign Kingdom of Montenegro fall under? It is not difficult to guess. It falls under typical Serbian virtues. Yet today’s Serbian forefather of a Greater Serbia, Dobrica Cosic would comment "that lies maintained the Serbian people as much as heroism." Everything that is happening now, this horrible dirty war, originated from Dobrica’s moral vertical which was expressed long before him by wiser and less blood-thirsty Serbs than himself.

Pasic’s predictions stated in 1915 about the "winning of the war against Montenegro" were actualized in 1918. The allies won the war for Serbia, and Serbia, as soon as her army disembarked in Bar, Budva, and Kotor occupied Montenegro which had already been liberated. The Serbian army on Montenegrin territory did not come upon one Austrian soldier. In the commands of Zivojin Misic (commanding officer of the so called Serbian Adriatic troops) to Colonel Milutinovic, it is literally stated "consider Montenegro occupied territory!" They did! They burnt six thousand Montenegrin homes, killing and imprisoning approximately twelve thousand insurgents and guerrillas. They began this terror and committed so many crimes of tyranny resembling today’s crimes in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The monstrous scale of crimes committed by today’s Serbian Army and Serbian Chetniks has its origins in the crimes performed in Montenegro from 1918 to 1926. They burned houses, destroyed national, cultural, religious and historical monuments and desecrated sacred belongings of the Montenegrin people. They committed murders (hanging sixteen Montenegrins on one mulberry tree), killed children, placed cats in men’s underpants and women’s skirts, exhumed the remains of guerrillas and shot their bodies until they fell apart, and also raped women and girls of ages 12 to 60. 568 women and girls were raped in just one region of Montenegro, in the Kolasin district, and this mostly from the brotherhood of Bulatovic!

At the time American-English observer missions eagerly recognized the Serbian crimes as fact, but did not undertake any action to prevent further crimes and protect the Montenegrin people. The head of the British mission in Montenegro in 1920, Mr. Alex Devin, reported on the situation in Montenegro to his Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lord Kerzon. Alex Devin’s report is quite significant and insurmountably reminds us of the reports of today’s UNPROFOR in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Below is the report of Alex Devin’s:

"My Lord,
It is an honor to submit to you a report of the work of the mission in Montenegro and the continuous suspension of the mission’s work by the Serbian government which has militarily occupied this land.

I am convinced that Your Lordship will consider the facts I bring to you as something of a complete and serious nature which should be made public as soon as possible. This is to ensure that the submitters to the British fund are offered an opportunity to familiarize themselves with the conditions there as should all public, in general. Consequently, I am taking this opportunity to bring forth my facts, first before You, and I hope, as this is a very urgent matter, that you will find a way to meet with the Serbian Minister in London and that You will endeavor to employ your influence to receive from him and his government a pledge that any further obstacles will not be put upon the subsequent work of the mission in Montenegro.

Taking into consideration the fact that the Serbian side will not admit to any forceful occupation of Montenegro (this is an action which has never been officially recognized by the super powers), it is entirely impossible for any type of British mission to enter into any kind of political situation and recognize a situation as such which the British government has not yet accepted. Well known is the fact that various American missions which did this, did not have freedom in the distribution of aid during their entire stay in Montenegro. Their aid was utilized only for the purpose of Serbian propaganda and not even the smallest coin was ever given to that part of the population which did not recognize the annexation of Montenegro."

The well-known Italian botanist Antonio Baldaci, who had done research on plant life in Montenegro for decades, wrote the following in his memoirs: "Italian politics began to sway in Montenegro immediately following the French-Serbian union. Unfortunately, our diplomacy was convinced of the propriety of the method of the French Minister of Foreign Affairs. France had its main and subsequent goal to minimize the prestige of King Nikola and the Petrovic dynasty using all means. It is clear that that was a plan which had been prepared by Serbian diplomacy, a plan which France immediately and eagerly joined, supporting the Belgrade government, and above all maintaining its well arranged material interest in the Balkans."

In Baldaci’s memoirs there are credible conclusions about the personality of the already aged King Nikola and his masochistic need to sacrifice his two hundred year throne and thousand year old land and people. Here is how Antonio Baldaci, a long time personal friend of King Nikola, notes this: "With the coming of the world war, Montenegro had already made one of its greatest and most disastrous mistakes. Without hesitating for even an instant, it enters into war (even though the heir to the throne, Danilo was against such an act), accepts the cry for help and the request sent by Serbia horrified by the invasion of the Habsburg monarchy! The impulsive but ideal cavalier , King Nikola forgives them of all their insults and once again pulls the saber to save the rival dynasty, its politics and diplomacy, those in fact who were even at that moment working against him, his crown and his land."

Here is another authentic note about the crimes of the Serbian army in Montenegro, namely, the desecration of the sacred objects of the Montenegrin people:

"One December day in 1918 at 1 A.M., a group of Serbian officers, accompanied by soldiers and a mob, terrorised the honest and peaceful citizens and executed the following disgusting crime in Niksic in the hopes of killing the authority of the church, that is of the patron saint of the Montenegrin people and the Montenegrin state. They constructed three chests in the form of coffins. Written on one of the coffins was St. Petar of Cetinje, on the second was St. Vasilije Ostroski, and on the third was the Montenegrin Crown. These coffins were carried through the town of Niksic like a church procession. Stopping at the town square, they dug three graves and placed the coffins inside. After this a funeral service was held in the manner of an Orthodox Church service. Traditional methods call for wine and oil to be poured over the graves but instead Serbian officers publicly urinated on the graves. These officers included infantry Lieutenant Dusan Stajic, infantry Lieutenant Mijuskovic, and artillery Lieutenant Tunguz."

This event was recorded in Rome, 1921, in the book "Several Pages From Karadjordjevic’s Bloody Album". This booklet is a collection of documents about Serbian crimes in Montenegro.

There is a telegram from Colonel Burnam, the chief of the Canadian humanitarian mission in Montenegro, about the days and years of the frightful Serbian crimes. The telegram states: "This situation in this unfortunate land is from day to day getting worse. The people cannot live much longer. The entire land is in mourning. The people are losing sense because of this disgusting violence. The Serbians have tried every vile means possible by threatening my life. What then will they do to those poor people who have no help."

The telegram was sent from Bar on September 26, 1920.

These and similar authentic documents may be quoted for days. Nevertheless, at this time, it is very opportune to conclude: History does indeed repeat itself, however not as a farce, rather, unfortunately, as a bloody drama, bloodier even than in its first occurrence. Documents dating back seventy years and more show that the Serbian occupying army even then did not allow any humanitarian missions, that the French-Serbian alliance is unwavering and is even experiencing a certain renaissance. The desecration of national and religious sacred objects has occurred more often in this war (which continues today) than in all the Balkan Wars until today and we have seen that Serbian officers drastically practised the desecration of sacred objects on the Montenegrin sacred objects in Niksic in 1918. The appeals from Colonel Burnam are almost identical to the pleas by the Canadian Colonel who with the Canadian battalion recently entered destroyed Srebrenica where peoples’ blood flowed down the streets. The life of this Canadian Colonel was threatened just as the life of Colonel Burnam was threatened in 1920 in Montenegro. Unmistakably, everything is the same but, unfortunately, in more drastic forms.

The great Croatian poet, Tin Ujevic, has a verse which reads: "All these things have already occurred" (quoted by memory), but for decades we did not notice them, nor predict such barbarian monstrosities and scenarios and this is testimony and incentive that all values of the Balkans, and above all, the taboos and historical entities must be carefully and consistently re-assessed. The barbarian adventures of the Serbian-Montenegrin army in Dubrovnik and those around the Neretva River have their barbarian roots from the era of Nemanja’s conquests and destruction. Writing about the life of his father Nemanja, Rastko, who was later to become St. Sava, states: "My father Nemanja destroyed the land of Zeta and all coastal towns up to Ston!" Isn’t it strange how history repeats itself in such a drastic sense? Now, a somewhat reasonable question is asked: If Zeta was Serbian land, why would Simeon Nemanja destroy it? It is not known to me which Croatian duke, prince or king stopped, beat and defeated Nemanja’s army at Neum. But it is also a historical fact that towards the end of the twentieth century, the Croatian army, under the command of General Janko Bobetko, stopped the Serbian army from a similar barbaric conquest of Ston and Neretva in 1992.

For two full centuries, the Russian-Serbian scheme of access to the Adriatic Sea exists. The thirteenth point of the Testament of Peter the Great reads: " Russia will not be a nautical force until it gains access to the Adriatic Sea!". I have already stated that capitalist Russia, after it has recovered mentally and economically from the seventy year DIAMATA, will be far more dangerous for the Balkans and Europe than the former communist state with which Broz’s propagandists have been frightening us and calming us down for a full forty years.

One cannot forget that the peacemaking "Balkan butcher" Milosevic had a great model in Lenin’s bolshevistic stubbornness that everything may be sacrificed including territory and national pride in order to save the Revolution and the Revolutionaries. Lenin sent Leon Davidovich Trotsky to sign the Brest Litovsk Peace Agreement. When Trotsky realised that the terms of the agreement were degrading, he anxiously sent word to his leader Lenin that he would not sign such a peace agreement. Lenin neurotically sent word, rather orders: "Leon Davidovich, you wish to save Russia, and I wish to save the revolution, the revolutionaries and our power. This is what is essential to me, and I have no time to think about Russia and her fate, so I am ordering you to sign the Peace agreement in Brest Litovsk immediately!" The peace agreement was naturally signed. Does Slobodan Milosevic in Athens, Pale, and at the "all - Serbian assembly" in Belgrade not order the criminal Karadzic to sign and to save what can be saved and primarily to save himself and the dictatorial, communist, nationalist regime in Serbia. In all this, the only unsuitable comparisons are Milosevic - Lenin and Karadzic - Trotsky!