Metropolitan Mihailo for NAP: Bosniaks and Montenegrins have no reserve country, they will have to defend themselves together

(Patria) - Metropolitan Mihailo, the supreme head of the Montenegrin Orthodox Church, is concerned about the situation in Montenegro.

The Archbishop of Cetinje and Metropolitan of Montenegro is one of the most educated priests in the Balkans. His biography states that he graduated from the Faculty of Theology in Belgrade and completed postgraduate studies at the Spiritual Academy of the Russian Orthodox Church in Russia.

As far back as 1973, he completed postgraduate studies at the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome. He is known for his noble and sincere public statements.

In an interview with the Novinska agencija Patria, he talks about what is to come, how he experienced the elections, and the unpleasantness he has faced.

Given that Bosniaks and other minorities have come under attack from pro-Serbian forces in Montenegro, have you had problems due to your previous public appearances? Have you faced any unpleasantness?

- The Serbian Metropolitanate in Cetinje is a branch of the Serbian Orthodox Church Patriarchate tasked with preparing for the re-annexation of Montenegro to Serbia. The final stage is to be completed by political parties led by their leaders Bečić, Krivokapić, and Abazović. Just as you survived in Srebrenica, we also experienced a kind of genocide, but in 1918. Crimes were committed then, just like those in Dubrovnik, Vukovar, Srebrenica, and in some places across Montenegro. The latter were incited by Amfilohije Radović, accompanied by the strumming of gusle.

He thus inspired the Saint Sava horde to commit crimes on the battlefields of former Yugoslavia. And in the country, I, as a metropolitan, have been subjected to numerous attacks throughout Montenegro. Believers of the Serbian Church physically attacked me during a public discussion on the Draft Law on Freedom of Religion, in Bijelo Polje, Kotor, Podgorica, but also in various places while serving in local churches there, and this has been going on for 25 years.

Are the attacks on Milo Đukanović a consequence of his unhesitating advocacy for an autocephalous Montenegrin Church?

- A brutal campaign against Montenegro and Milo Đukanović as president was waged from Belgrade because, by restoring independence, he tore Montenegro away from the embrace of Greater Serbia. He knew well that there is no Montenegro without the Montenegrin Orthodox Church, nor a CPC without Montenegro. That is why he recently stated: "As long as I am in power, and as long as I live, until my last breath, I will work to strengthen the CPC in Montenegro."
Otherwise, Serbia carried out a treacherous attack on Montenegro through bishops and priests, who mobilized the masses by falsely claiming that they needed to 'defend Montenegrin holy sites' that the state would seize.
And these holy sites were built by Montenegrins, the ancestors of today's Montenegrins. Despite this undeniable truth, the SPC and its three-member coalition managed to achieve a minimal electoral victory based on the false claim that the centuries-old Montenegrin holy sites belong to them, constantly and persistently repeating, 'We will not give up the holy sites.'

Have your predictions come true that this is ultimately not just about church property, but about Serbs wanting to annul the referendum and annex Montenegro to Serbia, thus gaining access to the sea. Does it seem like there is a fear of a new Republika Srpska in Montenegro?

- This is not just about church property, nor just about access to the Adriatic Sea, but also about annulling the referendum and bringing Montenegro into the status of a Serbian colony. Serbian Patriarch Irinej explicitly states this, declaring that Serbia should embrace two more Serbian states: Republika Srpska from Bosnia as the second Serbian state and Montenegro as a Serbian republic. This trio, as they call it, of 'Serbian lands' would represent the realization of their imperial political program. Perhaps the new alliance of Krivokapić, Bečić, and Abazović, which has chosen to be an enemy of Montenegro and a civic state, will help them in this. I regret that this young man will politically burn out among Serbs. I do not understand how he could have stated that Serbs in Montenegro are endangered, which is not true, just as it is not true that the Serbian Metropolitanate in Montenegro is endangered.

The entire Montenegrin public knows this, but so does the vice-president of URA, Filip Adžić from Cetinje. On the contrary, the recent attack on Bosniaks in Pljevlja shows the true face of that coalition. It is obvious that the Adriatic Sea continues to strongly inspire them, and that they are ready to do anything to access it, and this should be taken into account. But I tell them that Beelzebub has been pushing the barrel uphill his entire life, but it has not yet reached the top, and it never will.

The region is in shock after Srebrenica was mentioned in the context of what destructive individuals are predicting for Bosniaks in Montenegro. This could be a sign that a plan for Montenegro is being hatched in Belgrade, as the slogans "Knife, wire, Srebrenica" are not local in nature. Will such forces ever calm down?

- Bosniaks, like Montenegrins, have no other reserve country and will have to defend themselves together. We must not allow another Srebrenica, nor a repeat of the tragedy of 1918. I clearly remember the Saint Sava message sent to Montenegrins in 1999 and to me as metropolitan: 'Montenegrin brothers, you detestable ones, Serbian knives will judge you.' A similar one from a few days ago in Pljevlja: 'Who is second, I am first to drink Turkish blood.'
Finally, I emphasize that Krivokapić, Dritan Abazović, and Aleksa Bečić bear responsibility for all potential challenges and unrest. Their voters carried banners with offensive inscriptions aimed against interfaith and inter-ethnic peace and love, Montenegro and Montenegrins, and wrote messages of hatred directed against Muslims.