Who is Albanian Dritan Abazovic and how does the future in Montenegro depend on him

* Dritan Abrazovic is a doctor of political sciences and has been swimming in political waters for more than a decade * For the last three years he has been the leader of the civil movement URA

The results of the parliamentary elections in Montenegro were celebrated last night with flares and fireworks in the "Crno na Bijelo" ("Black-and-White") election headquarters, because the leader of the civil movement United Reform Action (URA), Dritan Abazovic, could be the one to send the ruling DPS party into the opposition.

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Although he is ideologically much closer to the DPS than to pro-Serbian parties, he has always stressed that his only goal is to fight against the government. However, considering that he has repeatedly pointed out that cooperation with the Democratic Front is "not close" to him, it remains to be seen whether he will turn to the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), or remain consistent in his position that he will not cooperate with Milo Djukanovic, its leader.

Who is Dritan?

Dritan Abrazovic (34) is a doctor of political sciences and has been swimming in political waters for more than a decade. Since April 2017, he has been the president of the Civic Movement URA. He was born in Ulcinj, where he graduated from primary and secondary school, then went to Sarajevo, where he graduated from the Faculty of Political Sciences (FNP), and then earned a master's degree in Montenegro, to defend his doctorate at the FPN of the University of Sarajevo in 2019.

It should be noted that he was one of the founders of the political party Positive Montenegro in 2012, which then won seven parliamentary seats, as Abrazovic became the youngest member of the Assembly of Montenegro at the time.

After the splits within the party, in 2014, Abrazovic left Positive Montenegro, and was as an independent MP until 2015, when he joined the newly established URA.

He attended extra courses at the University of Oslo, where he completed "Peace Studies" and has also been a participant in professional programs in the US, Luxembourg, Austria, Belgium, Spain, and Slovenia.

Aware that "his time has come"

On the eve of the elections, Dritan "spoke to everybody's face" clearly stressing that smaller lists will be kingmaker in the elections.

"Nobody who is seriously engaged in politics in Montenegro has a dilemma whether the future government of Montenegro will depend on the 'Black-and-White' list," said Abrazovic before the elections.

He has ben called an "Albanian Chetnik"

Abazovic always pushed the idea of ​​multiculturalism, which he did not give up on even in the campaign. It was then that he explained why he was once referred to as an "Albanian Chetnik."

"It's a synonym for the fight against organized crime and corruption," Abrazovic explained during the election campaign.

Also known as "scoundrel"

However, he is most remembered as a "scoundrel," as Djukanovic once called him during an argument in the Assembly of Montenegro.

The insult was preceded by an exchange between the then prime minister, Djukanovic, and MPs from Positive Montenegro, who asked Djukanovic about "million-dollar loans taken out by Djukanovic's companies" at the time when he was not the head of government.

Djukanovic denied that his companies took out these loans and stated that the borrowed money as a citizen. He then called Positive Montenegro a party "formed to defend the interests of the media mafia."

Abazovic reacted to his words, telling him that this was "the first and the last time that someone would say that any Positive MP defends the interests of a mafia."

"Shame on you, you scoundrel!," Djukanovic shot back at Abazovic.

He stands for an expert government

From the start, Abazovic spoke about how Montenegro deserved to be led by a government of experts.

"Our proposal is not to have politicians in the next government. They should be in the parliament, and in the government, experts who will delegate all parties together and who will have a program to organize the first free elections in Montenegro in the next two or four years, and then we will be able to have a clear ideological distinction," he said before the elections.

It was his attitude that led to some members leaving URA, who, according to Abrazovic, "honestly distanced themselves."

"Montenegro deserves to be led by an expert government in the coming period, I am glad that other colleagues from the opposition accept that as well. We wanted freedom. Here, take it, you deserve it," Abrazovic said last night.

Speaking about cooperation after the elections, he said that he "does not want neither fascists nor nationalists."

What's his position on Serbia and the Serbian Orthodox Church?

Speaking about the Serbian Orthodox Church, Abazovic said that he agreed that there should be a Law on Freedom of Religion, but that it should be "a European" one.

"I am sure that Montenegro needs the Law on Freedom of Religion, but a modern and European law, and any common sense policy would make that law in half an hour because only some articles are subject to dispute. We just want to have an equal relationship of all religious communities, to bring them all to the same level, and this government did not want to do that," said Abrazovic.

He said that he was in favor of better relations with the neighbors, and that he was sorry that tensions with Serbia had reached an unacceptable level, stressing that Montenegro is closest to Serbia.

"We must build the best possible neighborhood policy, especially with Serbia because it is closest to us, but also with the countries of the region," said Abrazovic.

The opposition accused him of wanting to deceive Serbs

Pro-Serbian opposition parties have previously accused Abazovic of acting against them and the Serbian Orthodox Church. That is why a former member of the Democratic Front, Professor. Dr. Budimir Aleksic at the time issued a statement in which he wrote that Abrazovic was "trying to deceive the Serb electorate."

"It is no secret that Dritan Abazovic, who otherwise likes to present himself as a civil politician, made the palms of his hands red with applause for Thaci as he declared him an honorary citizen of Ulcinj and brought from the embassy a platform for forming the government in Niksic, which was a simple anti-Serbian pamphlet against the majority of the citizens of Niksic," this 2018 statement said, among other things.

Montenegrin media previously reported about the clashes between the Democratic Front and Abazovic, reporting that DF MP Jovan Vucurovic said that Dritan had again found himself between the "regime and anti-Serb bastards, unprovoked by anything but serving the Dukla philosophy and the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS). Abazovic, who is openly looking forward to the torture to which the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) and, the Democratic Front and Orthodox believers are exposed, is opening a conflict within the opposition at this difficult time."

He called Skanderbeg a Serb

The leader of URA caused anger on social networks last year when he called Skanderbeg a Serb.

"After listening to the video, I can conclude that it was either my slip of the tongue or this video was supposed to discredit me in front of Albanians and everyone else, because they know that I 've openly declared war on political corruption and the octopus of crime, and this battle cannot be distracted or stopped with this 'madness' because even the kindergarten kids know that those whose father and mother are Serbs cannot be Albanian," Abrazovic wrote on Facebook.

(Telegraf.rs)