Budva: Banner in support of Serbian students against Vučić’s regime removed

Budva’s municipal inspection removed on Sunday morning the large banner that had appeared on the walls of Budva’s Old Fortress, above the main entrance, as the Montenegrin newspaper “Vijesti” reports. The banner read: “Students are writing history, while the ‘ćaci’ are still learning the alphabet. Pump!” — and it had been placed in support of the students in Serbia who oppose Aleksandar Vučić’s regime.

According to the Budva municipal inspection, the banner was removed after the service’s swift reaction, with the assistance of the public company “Komunalo”. For its placement, the inspection told “Vijesti”, no consent had been issued by the Institute for the Protection of Cultural-Historical Monuments of Montenegro, nor approval from the competent body of the Municipality of Budva.

Earlier that day, the inspection had told “Vijesti” it would carry out an inspection supervision of the case, after the banner appeared in the early hours of the morning. Budva’s Old Fortress is a protected cultural monument, so any intervention on its walls requires special permission.

The placing of the banner comes on the eve of Serbia’s early parliamentary elections, scheduled for October 25, where the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) list is headed by former president Aleksandar Vučić, while first on the Student List is doctor Ilija Srdanović.