In addition to proposing the relocation of the remains of the former Yugoslav president, Josip Broz Tito, from the House of Flowers, the mayor of Belgrade, Aleksandar Šapić, has also come up with the idea to erect a monument to Draža Mihailović, leader of the Chetnik movement, in Terazije.
Dragana Rakić, deputy president of the Democratic Party (DS), stated that when Šapić is unable to offer Belgraders functional and safe public transport or ensure regular funding for the city’s most basic institutions, he stirs up age-old debate – Chetniks or Partisans.
“That is the extent of his political thought, and he is certainly incapable of more. And now that Dr. Šapić is tackling major political topics, I have no doubt that he and the regime he belongs to will also announce monuments to be erected in honour of Nedić, Krcun, Stalin, Pol Pot and Idi Amin, just to avoid answering questions about lithium or Kosovo”, Rakić pointed out.
Miloš Karavezić, the first secretary of the League of Communist Youth of Yugoslavia (SKOJ), stated that Šapić’s move is one in a series of shameful statements made by him during his term in office.
“Draža Mihailović is a traitor to the Serbian people, a Nazi collaborator, and a war criminal, and such a statement is aimed at inventing new traditions in which freedom fighters are called criminals, and criminals like Mihailović are labelled as heroes. The entire anti-fascist public must stand against this shameful initiative”, emphasized Karavezić.
Art historian Branislav Dimitrijević believes that the only monument that should be erected is Terazije is a new monument in honour of the patriots hanged there in 1941 while Šapić’s ideological predecessors drank coffee beneath them.
“The idea of a monument to Mihailović is as absurd as the idea of a monument to Milošević, which is barely mentioned anymore. Historical revisionism has taken root in this society, and ideas like this serve cheap politicking and further societal divisions”, stated Dimitrijević.
Art historian Borka Božović said it is incredible to what extent, without shame or historical knowledge, certain people in power systematically revise history.
“This is certainly not good for a country that until recently nurtured and respected anti-fascism, but is now sinking to the bottom in every sense. And below that – these people crudely keep digging at historical wounds because that’s all they know how to do. But this regime’s obsession with “historical motifs” and its public provocation is really brainwashing – there is a constant effort to deflect from essential issues so that people don’t think and don’t focus on pressing problems”, Božović concluded.
(Danas, 17.09.2024)
Photo credits: FoNet/Beoinfo