11.02.2020.
A delegation from the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces lays a wreath at the grave of Pavle Bulatović in Rovci
Minister Vulin: I expect the Montenegrin state to care for Serbs who live there
- Today, in the monastery of the Serbian Orthodox Church, with the Metropolitan of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Mr Amfilohije, with the clergy of the Serbian Orthodox Church, with the believers of the Serbian Orthodox Church, with friends and relatives of the late Minister of Defence Pavle Bulatović, we have marked 20 years since his assassination. Today, we are here to remind of the life, of the death of a man who lived for the common state of Serbia and Montenegro - said Defence Minister Aleksandar Vulin, who led a delegation of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces, who, in the presence of the Bulatović family and numerous citizens, laid wreath at the monument to Pavle Bulatović, Federal Minister of Defence of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, who was assassinated in Belgrade 20 years ago.
According to the minister, the common state of Serbia and Montenegro no longer exist, but those who lived for it, and often died for it, were not wrong, they did not waste their lives in vain.
- There is no common state any more, but that is why there are Serbs living in Serbia and Montenegro and as long as there are Serbs there will be a need for the Serbs to be together, to be safe and to gather. The Serbian Orthodox Church brings together all Serbs, no matter where they live, and the Serbian Orthodox Church has the right not to measure things against human borders. The Serbian Orthodox Church is here to preserve and gather all the Serbs, and the Serbian state will guard and defend the Serbs wherever they live and whatever happens to them - Minister Vulin pointed out.I expect the Montenegrin state, Minister Vulin said, to take care of the Serbs who live there.
- I ask it to take care and look after every Serb, to make sure that he is well, to protect his honour, to protect his property, and to give him everything that is provided to any person anywhere in the world, that he can be named as he wants, to speak the language he wants, to write the script he wants, to believe in God as he wants, in the Church he wants and that he chooses. The Serbian Orthodox Church is one, and the Serbian state cannot but to care about the Serbs and cannot but to care about the Serbian Orthodox Church. The attack on the Serbian Orthodox Church, on part of the Serbian Orthodox Church and on its property, is an attack on the whole Church and all Serbs, wherever they live – Minister Vulin emphasised.
According to him, the Serbian state will not remain silent about this; the Serbian state is there to preserve, to help.
- The Serbian state wants peace, wants stability and wants the whole of the Balkans and Montenegro in it to be safe, stable and peaceful, but there can be no happiness for anyone, if Serbs in Montenegro or any other country, wherever they are, do not live well, do not live in peace, are not respected and are not protected. It is terrible that in the 21st century, Serbs are the only people in Europe who have to fight for their right to speak their language, to write their script and believe in their God, in the Church they deserved with their existence – Minister Vulin pointed out.
- Once again, I would like to express my condolences to the family of Pavle Bulatović, to all Serbs in Montenegro, and to express my condolences to all those who loved and respected and praised him, to say that the state of Serbia remembers both good and evil and returns to everyone both good and evil – Minister Vulin concluded.
Metropolitan bishop of Montenegro and the Littoral Amfilohije served the memorial service near the eternal house of Pavle Bulatović in Gornji Rovci, and on behalf of the Bulatović family, Balša Bulatović addressed those gathered around the grave of his father.
According to him, today's gathering is a reminder that even two decades later, the authorities and investigating authorities of both countries could not, wanted or dare to announce who and why ordered and executed that killing.
- Minister Vulin, thank you for remembering my father and finding reasons and opportunities to visit his eternal home in hilly Rovci. Caught by your gesture, we do not know how to repay you, because this is for the first time, after so many years, that an official delegation of the Ministry of Defence not only comes, but also remembers this date and the unprecedented atrocity. I knew about your desire to come here with officers in dress uniforms of the Serbian Armed Forces, but you could not do it for known reasons. Souls of our ancestors would also rejoice here at the uniforms, those that rest exactly in this cemetery, who were either killed in such uniforms or died side by side with brothers from Skadar to Glasinac, from Metohija to Kajmakchalan, from Bregalnica to Mojkovac - Balša Bulatović emphasised, adding that in the future, when Minister Vulin comes he will be accepted as a native in the Rovci area.The delegation, led by Minister Vulin, attended, earlier today, the commemoration ceremony for Pavle Bulatović in the Kostrikovača Monastery, in Rovci near Kolašin, Montenegro, served by Metropolitan bishop of Montenegro and the Littoral Amfilohije.
In a speech after the liturgy, Metropolitan Amfilohije pointed out that Pavle Bulatović, who innocently perished, would remain recorded in the memory of this people as an innocent victim, and especially in the memory of the people of Rovci who gave him birth here. Metropolitan Amfilohije said it was shameful that the Minister of Defence of Montenegro was not there on that day.
Ambassador of the Republic of Serbia Vladimir Božovic also attended the liturgy and wreath-laying ceremony.
The delegation of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces consisted of Assistant Minister for Defence Policy Milan Ranković, Head of the Military Police Department Brigadier General Rajko Milovanović, Head of the Public Relations Department Colonel Mihailo Zogović and Head of the Protocol of the Ministry of Defence Colonel Vesko Mimović.
Minister of Defence of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Pavle Bulatović, was killed on 7th February 2000. The assassination took place while he was sitting in the restaurant of the Rad Soccer Club in Belgrade in the early evening. Pavle Bulatović was born on 13th December 1948 in Gornji Rovci, not far from Kolašin, Montenegro. He was the minister of interior of Montenegro and was killed while serving as federal defence minister.
