Đeljošaj: state bodies will investigate what happened at the Cultural Center in Bar

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Development Nik Đeljošaj said in Montenegro’s parliament that the government respects the final decisions of international courts and expects state authorities to investigate what happened at the Cultural Center in Bar, as Vijesti reports. The debate was opened by DNP lawmaker Milan Knežević, who asked whether the copyright of the group “Fenečki biseri” had been violated — the choir sang “General, may your mother thank you” two days earlier in Bar during the program marking the tenth anniversary of the consecration of the St. Jovan Vladimir Cathedral.

“For the Government of Montenegro, what international courts have decided is something we respect, and this is a publicly known position; I will not go into further details. I hope that state bodies will investigate the circumstances and say everything that happened,” Đeljošaj said. He was in parliament to explain proposed amendments to the law on copyright and related rights.

Knežević asked whether the prosecution reacted because of a copyright violation or because the song bothers someone, and recalled Đeljošaj’s earlier statement that in the heart of every Albanian is the KLA war and its commander Adem Jashari. “I respect this, but I cannot understand why, when we sing about the general — and that Veljko Radenović, not General Ratko Mladić — the prosecution’s campaign against Serbs begins, just because they preserve the memory of those who took part in defending the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the FRY,” Knežević said.

Đeljošaj replied that such issues could be debated elsewhere, but that he was in parliament as a member of the government. As Vijesti writes, the Basic State Prosecutor’s Office in Bar has formed a case of its own motion over the performance of the “Fenečki biseri” choir during the program marking the tenth anniversary of the cathedral’s consecration and the interpretation of songs that potentially glorify war crimes. The head of the Bar ODT, Radovan Đurišić, confirmed to Vijesti that they are gathering information on the event and will determine whether there are elements of a criminal offense prosecuted ex officio.