Thought Police: Montenegrin Activist Grilled by Authorities for Anti-NATO Views

A political activist in Montenegro was recently harassed by the authorities for his anti-NATO stance.

Marko Milacic, a Montenegrin political activist and one of the leaders of the Resistance to Hopelessness movement, was summoned by the authorities for questioning mere hours after publicly voicing his opinion on the government’s attempts to secure NATO membership for the country.

During his interview with the news website Kodex.me, Milacic warned about "possible fatal consequences for the authorities if they remain deaf to the demands of 84 percent of the country’s population to hold a referendum on (Montenegro’s) accession to NATO."

Six hours after the interview, law enforcement officers arrived at Milacic’s apartment, ordering him to "immediately" report to a precinct for questioning.

Marko Milacic

© Photo : Private archives

According to Milacic, his interrogation seemed like a language test because the men questioning him kept asking about the meaning of the words he used, their context, and what he exactly wanted to say; it was, by his own admission, “something between a threat and a warning.”

"If the authorities along with the shady power brokers will, despite all of the arguments for referendum, choose to decide the NATO issue only at the parliamentary level, it will create a risk of bloodshed in our country," said one of the Milacic’s statements that invoked the authorities’ scrutiny.

Milacic explained to the police officials that there are many people who won’t remain silent if the government decides to join NATO without holding a popular vote first, as 84 percent of the country’s citizens, including 68 percent of NATO proponents, support the idea of a referendum on the matter.

Andrija Mandic from the Democratic Front opposition political alliance, told Sputnik that the government in Montenegro uses every tool at its disposal to silence those who oppose its attempts to make the country a NATO member.

"Of course it’s less risky to oppose NATO today than back in 1999 when it was bombing us. But the tools used against the NATO membership opponents today are much more insidious. All of the government machine’s capabilities are being used, just like in the case of Marko Milacic and the Democratic Front members who are being summoned by police to be interrogated and humiliated. But I believe that this tactic won’t be effective as it will not change the citizens’ opinion about NATO. Two thirds of the people of Montenegro still oppose joining this offensive alliance," Mandic said.