After the Parliament of Montenegro adopted the Resolution on the genocide in the Jasenovac, Dachau and Mauthausen camps, the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Croatia expressed regret that Montenegro decided, as they stated, to ignore Croatia’s calls not to politicize the victims of Jasenovac and withdraw moves that could have a negative impact on the bilateral relations of these two countries and the European path of Montenegro.
The Republic of Croatia considers the adoption of the Resolution “unacceptable, inappropriate and unnecessary, the intention of which is not to build a culture of remembrance and reconciliation, but to instrumentalize the memory of the victims of Jasenovac for the short-term political goals of the initiators of this resolution,” they wrote in a press release, reports Croatian Radiotelevision.
“There is no doubt that the motive for its adoption is contained in the fact that the Resolution on the International Day of Remembrance of the Srebrenica Genocide was initiated in the General Assembly of the United Nations, which was adopted on May 23, 2024. It clearly follows from the above that the resolution on Jasenovac was adopted in order to the UN resolution on the genocide in Srebrenica, which was determined by a series of judgments of the International Criminal Court for the former Yugoslavia and in the judgment of the International Court of February 26, 2007, was devalued and relativized,” the Ministry said.
As they stated, this action of Montenegro cannot be considered benevolent and good-neighborly in relation to the Republic of Croatia, nor is it in accordance with the declared goal of Montenegro’s membership in the European Union.
They believe that good neighborly relations are one of the key elements of the enlargement process, as well as the process of stabilization and association, and one of the key criteria for evaluating progress in Montenegro’s accession process, in accordance with the European Union’s Negotiating Framework for Montenegro.
“The Republic of Croatia expected that Montenegro would refrain from any activity that could lead to the disruption or deterioration of good neighborly relations and that it would focus its efforts on fulfilling the conditions and criteria in the accession process, some of which are particularly important for the Republic of Croatia,” they wrote. are in the press release.
They reminded that, in accordance with the EU Common Position on Chapter 23 presented at the Intergovernmental Conference on June 26, 2024, Montenegro must show progress and results related to the prosecution of war crimes, including determining responsibility at high levels, solving cases of missing persons, as well as the issue of compensation. for the victims and the protection of national minorities and their rights.
In the end, they expressed the expectation that “Montenegro will prioritize solving the issue of determining responsibility for the crimes committed by Montenegrin citizens during the aggression against the Republic of Croatia in the 1990s.”
