Sekulovic: Weapons in Montenegro are a matter of national pride, with over 65,000 citizens licensed

Milan Sekulovic, editor at RTV Podgorica, says that Montenegro is still shocked by the events in Cetinje, and that the country is third in the world in terms of citizen armament as more than 65,000 citizens hold weapon licenses. He emphasizes that for most inhabitants of Montenegro, possessing firearms is still a matter of national pride.

"According to official data, over 65,000 citizens are armed in Montenegro, which has less than 650,000 inhabitants. Therefore, more than ten percent of the population is armed. We have about 100,000 pieces of weapons in legal possession, while unofficial estimates suggest that between 45,000 to 100,000 pieces of weapons are in illegal possession. By all standards and research, we are record holders in terms of population armament. According to global statistics, we are third in the number of armed citizens," Sekulovic told Kosovo Online. He explains that weapons in Montenegro are not just objects, but also a matter of national pride.

"Weapons in Montenegro are not simply objects. For some inexplicable, yet historically explainable reasons, weapons in Montenegro are not considered just weapons; they are a matter of national pride. Many families have pieces of weapons that have been inherited from great-grandfathers, grandfathers, and great-great-grandfathers. However, what is an additional problem is that there is very often no control," emphasizes Sekulovic.

An additional problem is that a good portion of these weapons are not registered, and at the same time, there are examples of registered weapons in the hands of "problematic individuals."

"A classic example of this was (Vuk) Borilovic, who two and a half years ago killed ten fellow citizens. He had a license for hunting weapons and he killed ten of his friends, neighbors, family members, fellow citizens with that hunting weapon. Thus, even that weapon which is in legal possession is very often not controlled," highlights Sekulovic.

Commenting on the initiative of the Prime Minister of the Government of Montenegro, Milojko Spajic, to change the weapons law, Sekulovic says he supports it, but that it followed only after the tragedy.

"Unfortunately, as in all Balkan countries, including Montenegro, reactions occur post festum, when something happens then the competent state organs react. In this case, the reaction from the government is the announced change in the weapons law. It has been announced that these controls will be significantly stricter, and of course, this is something we all need to support. We need to know who is armed and ultimately, I think it would be very therapeutic for this society to also track the psychological situation among the population," says Sekulovic.

He believes that after the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, there were drastic changes in the psychology and behavior of citizens who instead of turning to professionals for help, mostly turned to quacks and "influencers."

He sees another related problem in the imposition and indiscriminateness in media content.

"There's a big problem with mental health among people. Today, unfortunately, you have an expansion of influencers and various supposed experts, quacks in the field of psychology who preach to people, but with completely wrong things. We've completely shifted focus. Look, ultimately, what is presented to us through heaps of media, heaps of media content. We are a society where, unfortunately, there isn't much selection when consuming media content," concludes Sekulovic.