OPENING OF THE 11TH 2BS FORUM

Montenegro cannot and must not allow Serbia, Russia, China one day, or any other country to govern our country, a NATO member state, said the President of the Atlantic Council of Montenegro Savo Kentera while opening the 11th 2BS Forum.
Kentera said that this is not only about us anymore, but the whole Alliance and protection of its interests, as well as protection of each NATO member state’s national interests.

He particularly emphasized that we must not allow Montenegro to become an example of causing instability, social divisions, and chaos through the spreading of fake news, intensive disinformation campaign and, generally speaking, malign influence implemented through political parties, individuals, NGO sector, or similar.
What is happening in Montenegro today may become a pattern tomorrow- any member state may be presented as a factor of instability and divisions within NATO. This is not and cannot be in the interest of anyone within the Alliance, he warned.
Pointing out to the fact that during the previous years a particular ambiance was created, resulted in deep divisions backed by a foreign factor, and led us to where we are now, Kentera emphasized that the only way to oppose such condition is to strengthen the institutions of the system.
We need to have the Government that would be capable to close all Chapters with the EU as soon as possible, that will work to make Montenegro the EU member in a couple of years, instead of receiving negative reports from the EU on the other hand. We need the Government that would be engaged in attracting foreign investors and not cause their outflow from Montenegro, the Government that will take care of its citizens and better quality of life instead of adopting or announcing populist measures that it knows are not realistic, Government that would never allow for those who prefer some other country to Montenegro to infiltrate into the security sector. And, the most important, the Government that would support Montenegrin NATO membership not only declaratively, but actively contribute to the strengthening of the Alliance and all its members, the President of the ACM emphasized.
At the same time, he emphasized that the future of our country and the region is only in our hands.
If we themselves do not do something to fight all the threats to the Western civilizational values, in that case, we cannot expect to move forward, he said, expressing the belief that we have enough strength, will, and wisdom to set Montenegro and the region back on the right path.
Reflecting on the whole path of Montenegro, from the independence to nowadays, Kentera said that progress is obvious in many areas. We became a NATO member and therefore, rose the security to the highest level, attracted many investors who saw Montenegro as an exceptional opportunity to invest their capital in the long term. We elevated the level of rule of law, adopting numerous laws in accordance with the EU directives, opened all the Chapters and closed the three of them.
However, there are some areas where a lot more could have been done, first of all, in the field of education, culture, strengthening of the institutions’ independence, Kentera said, adding that the consequences caused by the lack of attention to these areas are visible today.
Commenting on the situation in the region, the President of the ACM emphasized that today, we are in a more difficult situation than we were a couple of years ago. In that context, he mentioned the path that Serbia took – from the constructive factor of peace and stability in the region to the country that compromises the stability of the Western Balkans, due to the political decisions of its leaders.
Unfortunately, today we have a completely different picture. Instead of being the factor of stability in the region, Serbia seems to be returning to the 90s politics, but this time using sophisticated methods, covered by democracy and protection of Serbs in the region. We are witnessing the events in Kosovo and other countries in the region these days. However, the most prominent example of disruption of good neighborhood relations is reflected in the example of Montenegro, said Kentera.
He wondered if Serbia is pursuing such policy due to the election that it needs to gain or to cause instability in the region, or for the interests that Russia wants to achieve in the region while not exposing itself and its people, taught by the poor lessons< from the previous years?