The Regional Academy for Democratic Development warns with great concern about the possible consequences of last night’s apprehension of the member of the Parliament of Montenegro Dragica Sekulic, who was kept at the border for four hours due to six pills of bromazepam found in her kit and afterwards charged with drug possession.
Good neighborly relations in the region, despite the fact that they have been built for years and even decades, can be disrupted in one day, and events like this contribute to their deterioration and destabilization of the region. The decision to treat officials of the neighboring country in such a way at the border crossing further fuels the tensions and conflicts that escalated several days ago during the demonstrations because of the enthronement of metrpolitan Joanikije and in no way contributes to building good neighborly relations.
This is just another in a series of moves by the Serbian regime that sends very worrying signals and shows a clear intention to interfere in the internal affairs of neighboring countries, and the announced retaliation against Montenegrin MPs who voted for adoption of the Resolution banning genocide in Srebrenica denial is obviously beginning to materialize. This is extremely dangerous because the authorities in Serbia fail to understand that it is the right of every citizen of other countries to express their political views freely, that the institutions of other countries have the right to make political decisions as decided by the majority and that the authorities in Serbia must not punish them for this, violate their rights or influence their political positions in any way. After the bitter experience of the 1990s, Serbia has to decide whether to respect the sovereignty of neighboring countries, their institutions and their right to conduct politics, regulate relations and take care of their citizens in the way they deem appropriate and necessary, or it will once again become a factor of instability and destabilization.
Belgrade, September 8, 2021
