Opposition Green-Left Front against Initiative To Erect Monument to Chetniks Commander Dragoljub Mihailovic in Belgrade

BETAPHOTO/MILAN ILIC

Opposition party Green-Left Front on Sept. 27 called on all groups in the Belgrade City Assembly to reject the initiative to erect a monument to Dragoljub Draza Mihailovic, the head of the royalist Yugoslav underground army known as the Chetniks,during World War II, in the center of Serbia’s capital, which Belgrade Mayor Aleksandar Sapic had launched with the Commission for monuments and naming streets and squares. 

“This initiative is yet another example of violence against public space in our city and our country’s history. There is not a single historical, cultural or national reason for erecting such a monument, but to ignite divisions in the society and provoke the neighboring nations,” the party said in a statement. 

Party alderman Branislav Dimitrijevic believes that Mihailovic “is a historically very disputed figure,” saying that the military movement under his command, “based on historical facts, from Nov. 1941 through the end of World War II, was engaged in fighting against anti-fascists and a series of documented examples of direct collaborative activities with the Nazi occupying forces.” 

“Even if he had not been personally responsible for a number of atrocities the Chetniks committed against the anti-fascist movement in Serbia and civilians, particularly Muslims, Dragoljub Mihailovic is not a historical figure who did anything for our society to deserve a monument in his honor,” Dimitrijevic stressed.

The party also said it “decisively opposes anything promoting historical revisionism,” particularly ideas coming from the regime. “With such initiatives the regime wishes to cover up the vital problems in the society, while masking its inaptness with attempts to provoke conflicts. We therefore suggest to the members of the Commission for monuments, regardless of whether they are members of the ruling coalition or the opposition, to demonstrate dignity and dismiss this proposal as unfounded and harmful,” it is said in the release.