Non-governmental organizations and civic activists welcome the unanimous decision of the Council of the Public Institution “Ratković Poetry Evenings” to revoke the literary award granted to war criminal Radovan Karadžić, convicted of genocide, crimes against humanity, and violations of the laws and customs of war.
The Council revoked the award given to Radovan Karadžić in 1993 at its session held on 6 November 2025, acting in accordance with the Conclusion of the Bijelo Polje Municipal Assembly of 2 October 2025. In doing so, this institution made a final formal break with a decision that unjustly linked Bijelo Polje, the city of the great poet Risto Ratković, and “Ratković Poetry Evenings,” one of the most important cultural events in the country, with the criminal politics of the 1990s.
It is particularly important to highlight that this institution demonstrated integrity at a time when war criminals from the conflicts of the 1990s and promoters of the “blood and soil” ideology are increasingly being glorified in Montenegro.
Bijelo Polje is a city of great writers, such as Risto Ratković, Ćamil Sijarić, and Marko Vešović, whose works connected and inspired people beyond the borders of Montenegro. With this decision, the city sends a message that it will not side with criminals and that it remains a city of culture that celebrates all its diversity, and that “Ratković Poetry Evenings” will no longer bear the burden of the crimes of a single individual. We hope that this will inspire more writers to participate in the festival, which is particularly significant given that Marko Vešović, Jevrem Brković, and Sreten Perović refused to accept the award or returned it precisely because it had been granted to Karadžić in 1993. We also hope that this decision will be clearly reflected on the website of the Public Institution “Ratković Poetry Evenings,” and that, next to the year 1993 on the list of award recipients, it will be noted that the award was revoked, along with an explanation of the reasons for this decision.
We thank all social actors who participated in and supported this initiative. No one can erase the past, but through a responsible approach to the past and a clear break from the policies that led to genocide, we can build a Montenegro of which we can all be proud.
Bijelo Polje has set an example that we hope will inspire other institutions to demonstrate integrity as well. We express the hope that the Ministry of Culture and Media will also send a message that culture cannot be placed in the service of crime and will act on initiatives concerning illegal memorials dedicated to war criminals.
Bearing in mind that policies justifying the crimes of the 1990s, and even denying the Srebrenica genocide, are being actively pursued from official addresses in Montenegro, this example offers hope that the suffering of victims will nevertheless be acknowledged.
We call on state and local authorities to cease encouraging public honours that insult the victims of war crimes and undermine the antifascist and civic values of Montenegro. This includes the renaming of streets and squares, the erection of monuments, and the public funding of revisionist content and events that erode social cohesion in Montenegro.
We call on the Government to assume responsibility for any further tolerance of practices that rehabilitate criminals and violate the dignity of victims.
Daliborka Uljarević, Centre for Civic Education (CCE/CGO)
Tea Gorjanc Prelević, Human Rights Action (HRA)
Ervina Dabižinović, Centre for Women’s and Peace Education ANIMA
Demir Ličina, Association “Štrpci – Against Oblivion”
Velija Murić, Montenegrin Committee of Lawyers for Human Rights
Dina Bajramspahić, civic activist