Former Montenegrin President Denies Involvement in Serbia’s Election Campaign

MIlo Djukanovic (BETAPHOTO/AMIR HAMZAGIC)

Milo Djukanovic, the honorary president of the Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro and Montenegro’s former head of state, denied on Sept. 28 that he or his party are supporting Student Ticket lead candidate Ilija Srdanovic in Serbia’s upcoming snap parliamentary elections.

Speaking for the Pobjeda daily, Djukanovic maintained he does not know Srdanovic and denied any involvement in Serbia’s current election campaign.

The Pobjeda reported that certain analysts and pro-regime media in Serbia, along with Montenegrin politicians close to the freshly-resigned Aleksandar Vucic, have accused Djukanovic of attempting to topple Serbia’s regime via the Student Ticket.

“Everything panicky thing said and written about this over the past weeks is a blatant lie in the service of Serbia’s ongoing election campaign. It is good that Dr. Srdanovic is ignoring this smear-campaign with superiority and dignity, although it is truly not easy to be a Montenegrin in Serbia today. Apparently, we have even supplanted the traditional great Serbian enemies, the until recently incomparable Ustashas. Someone once said that Serbia’s only sin was that it loved Montenegro too much. It seems the path from love to hatred is quite short,” Djukanovic told the paper.

Djukanovic proceeded to compare the current attitude of Serbia’s regime toward Montenegro to the late 19th century, when, he claims, “Montenegrins were exiled from Serbia.” “I believe this will be short-lived and that the normal, majority part of Serbia does not support it,” the politician added.

According to the Pobjeda, the loudest accusations against Srdanovic have been made by Democratic People’s Party of Montenegro leader Milan Knezevic, who has publicly supported Aleksandar Vucic’s ticket, participated in the Serbian Progressive Party’s campaign in Belgrade and made numerous claims regarding the current political situation in Serbia and Montenegro.

Pobjeda reports that, among other things, Knezevic has asserted that Djukanovic would never have been removed from power were it not for Vucic’s support and that honest Serbs should vote for the Serbian Progressive Party in the Oct. 25 elections. With regards to Ilija Srdanovic, the head candidate of the oppositional Student Ticket – The Students Will Win, Knezevic has claimed that Srdanovic has ties to former Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic and is a candidate of Djukanovic’s party.

“Now you need to know why Ilija Srdanovic is the Democratic Party of Socialists [of Montenegro]’s candidate. Because Milo Djukanovic cannot forgive Aleksandar Vucic for Aug. 30, 2020. Aleksandar doesn’t want me to talk about it. He keeps telling me to let it go. But I want to say that, were it not for Aleksandar Vucic, and the religious processions, and the Serbian Orthodox Church, and the citizens who voted, we never would have defeated Milo Djukanovic,” Knezevic was quoted as stating.