While more Montenegrin families are approaching the depths of absolute poverty, the government of Prime Minister Djukanovic is planning a serious reduction, and even the complete abolition of some basic social benefits, while millions in taxpayers’ money have been spent on a unilateral NATO campaign, said Igor Damjanovic on behalf of the Peace Movement “No to war, No to NATO”.
Originally appeared at IN4S, translated by Milan exclusively for SouthFront
In addition to NATO meetings organized in the most luxurious hotel, admission to the most expensive restaurants, caricatures of forums at which the number of speakers often exceeded the number of citizens present, expensive TV spots and tens of billboards in every Montenegrin city, a significant portion of these funds was spent on polling alleged public opinion. This job was entrusted to the agency “Ipsos Strategic Marketing”, otherwise known for its forecasts of the results of the second round of presidential elections in Serbia in 2012, which predicted an overwhelming victory for Boris Tadic by as much as 20 percentage points, says the statement of the Peace Movement.
Apparently it is this reference which was crucial for their cooperation with the Government of Montenegro.They find that an Agency with such credibility is an ideal partner for the ruling elite intent on embedding the country in the NATO pact without a public referendum.
With the “research”, which talks about a 52% increase in public support for NATO in the targeted samples, “Ipsos Strategic Marketing” exceeded its achievement from 2012.
The Peace Movement “NO to war, no to NATO” says we can expect more of these “studies” tracking a similar trend, until it reaches the limit of 101% support for joining this military alliance, which not only bombed the country, but used highly toxic weapons, such as depleted uranium, permanently polluting our environment.
It will be recalled that the compulsory brochure intended for NATO soldiers in Kosovo literally states: “Inhalation of insoluble particles of uranium dust is associated with long-term health consequences, including cancer and birth defects. These effects may become visible only a few years later”, says Damjanovic on behalf of the movement.
That is why they appeal to the Minister of Health, Dr. Budimir Šegrta, that he present statistics from the height of the NATO bombing campaign that show the increase of ailments and deaths from malignant disease during the past two decades, and initiate the formation of an independent expert group to provide an estimate of how much influence NATO bombing and the usage of depleted uranium ammunition has had.
