President of the Parliament of Montenegro, Mr Ivan Brajović, opened the round table today with the topic "Resisting populist movements”. President Brajović said in his introductory speech that for the second consecutive year the Parliament of Montenegro, on the occasion of the V Day, has held a duscussion on antifascism, its values and what was left of it more than half a century later. "That is the reason why we have given ourselves the task this year as well – to gather, speak about anti-fascist values in a wider sense and discuss the following: what the present has placed before us and how does one resist populist movements today; which are contemporary tendencies and who are political models for young people; how to defend from playing with emotions and imaginary identification with the problems of society; what is the aim of these political currents and what are their next stages," said the President Brajović.
President of the Parliament of Montenegro said he believed that, when it came to Montenegro, major political decisions have already been made, adding that "Balkan history, however, has occasionally sternly warned us that our existence in this region required continuous and strategic nourishing of the values that made this society healthy and have been pushing it forward. Adhering to the anti-fascist values, Montenegro has shown that diversity has built a unique Montenegrin civil identity of coexistence and synergy of nations, religions and cultures."
Moderator of the discussion, Dr Dragutin Papović, historian, Member of the Parliament of Montenegro, honorary professor at the University of Montenegro, said that the historical truth had survived in Montenegro and that he believed that history must be reconsidered, but without reconsidering of the truth. Mr Papović added he believed that the good of communism should be preserved and adapted to the modern age.
Academician Mr Zuvdija Hodžić, President of SUBNOR and antifascists of Montenegro, reminded that the organisation he was part of has been nourishing the values of anti-fascism and added that it was interesting to discuss the topic of populism especially concerning its manifestation in Montenegro and whether in any way it attracted young people. He also said that there was a quite common abuse of historical facts, which would require the state to react more effectively.
Mr Janez Drobnič, sociologist, professor at the University of Primorska in Koper and the lecturer on the EU Mobility Program at the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Montenegro, stressed that opportunities like the round table should be used to exchange views on the danger of creating fascist initiatives in any form.
Mr Aleksej Kišjuhas, sociologist, senior lecturer at the Department of sociology at the Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad and a regular columnist of the daily Danas, put the emphasis on the question of how to resist populism today, since those who advocated it knew how to reach certain groups of people.
Ms Biljana Maslovarić, Professor of Sociology, Vice Dean for Science and International Cooperation at the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Montenegro, reminded that on the present day, in 1942, Mr Ljubo Čupić, an antifascist and a national hero, left his last smile as a legacy, for the sake of, as she said, freedom, equality and justice.
Mr Goran Radojičić, literary critic and theorist, editor of numerous editions of textbooks for primary and secondary schools, in the capacity of one of the keynote speakers, also spoke about the importance of contemporary perception of anti-fascism and its impact on the younger population.
MPs of the Parliament of Montenegro also took part in the discussion, as well as professors of history, young anti-fascists, and representatives of SUBNOR.
Speech of the President Brajović at the discussion on "Resisting populist movements"
