Several hundred Montenegrins protested on Friday near the Government Building in Podgorica, demanding accountability from the political leadership of the security system following the murder of 12 people on January 1st in Cetinje.
Aco Martinović killed twelve people, including two children, and injured four others on January 1st in Cetinje. Several hours later, he committed suicide.
The suspect for the mass murder and injuries, Aco Martinović, attempted suicide and died during transport to the hospital.
Two boys, aged 8 and 13, were among the victims.
The protesters initially stood in silence to honor the dead and injured. They hung 12 roses on the metal protective fence around the Government Building, symbolizing the number of those killed.
Later, expressing their dissatisfaction with the authorities’ actions that evening, they chanted, “Where were you on January 1st?”, “Where is Danilo Šaranović [Minister of the Interior] who hasn’t shown up?”, “Is it the citizens’ fault?” and “Murderers.”
“You should have been in Cetinje, not guarding us here,” the citizens shouted, referring to the fact that Martinović was not apprehended even six hours after committing the murders.
They also shouted the names of the murdered boys, “Jovan” and “Vukan.”
Some of the crowd tried to break the protective fence on several occasions.
“We have children, and we’re afraid someone will repeat something similar. Who are you protecting, we are not armed and we don’t have illegal weapons,” said Dušan Drakić from Podgorica, addressing the police officers guarding the Government Building.
Drakić referred to claims by the police, which on January 1st announced that the weapon with which Martinović carried out the killings was “unauthorized.”
Drakić urged the authorities to take action, emphasizing that “otherwise, this tragedy will knock on everyone’s door.”
On Thursday, citizens in several cities across Montenegro paid their respects to the victims in Cetinje by lighting candles.
The massacre in Cetinje was the second multiple murder in the city in the last two years. In August 2022, Vuk Borilović killed 10 people and injured 6 others before committing suicide.
Due to the Cetinje massacre, two protests have been announced for Sunday, January 5th – one in Cetinje and another in Podgorica, in front of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. /REL
