Protest against the announced performance of “Baja Mali Knindža” in Pljevlja
Our non-governmental organizations and activists protest against the public performances and promotion of singer Mirko Pajčin, alias Baja Mali Knindža, whose songs contain nationalist, chauvinistic and warmongering messages that glorify war crimes and war criminals and incite ethnic and religious hatred.
His performances have been banned in Croatia and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, because the lyrics of his songs are considered hate speech.
The announcement of Baja Mali Knindža’s performance in Pljevlja is deeply concerning, especially if it were to be supported by the authorities through funding from the municipal budget.
It is unacceptable for money from all citizens of Pljevlja, including more than 4,000 citizens of the Islamic faith, 17% of the population, to be used to finance a performer whose songs incite hatred against Bosniaks and Muslims, and deeply offend all those who uphold civic and anti-fascist values.
His songs glorify Ratko Mladić and Radovan Karadžić, who have been convicted of genocide and other war crimes committed during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. His lyrics contain open messages of ethnic and religious hatred, as they support war crimes, as confirmed by songs such as: “Ne volim te Alija zato što si balija”, “Sjetićeš se nekad Vukovara, grada Knina i starog Mostara, boleće te i Kupreška vrata, tamo više i nema Hrvata”, and “Pala je i Srebrenica, a pašće i Žepa, Republiko Srpska, al’ ćeš biti lijepa”.
For example, in the song “Oj Alija, odnijela te voda”, he systematically lists towns where documented war crimes were committed against Bosniaks — Prijedor, Bijeljina, Brčko, Višegrad and Zvornik — in a manner that celebrates those crimes. The reference to the Drina River is a direct allusion to the documented criminal practice of killing civilians and throwing their bodies into that river, while the verse about a “new Sarajevo” celebrates the siege of the city, which claimed more than ten thousand lives. This is an absolutely unacceptable glorification of war crimes against specific victims, whose families live not only in Bosnia and Herzegovina but also in Montenegro.
A particularly illustrative example of such criminal discourse is found in the song “Moj je tata zločinac iz rata”, in which the refrain “Moj je tata, zločinac iz rata, vi se potrudite, pa ga osudite, nema niko m*** da vodi ga do suda” directly mocks the judiciary and the victims of war crimes.
Such content goes beyond the limits of artistic expression and contributes to the normalization of hate speech and warmongering narratives in the public sphere, with well-known and documented tragic consequences throughout the region.
We recall that the public glorification of convicted war criminals itself constitutes the criminal offence of inciting hatred and intolerance, punishable by imprisonment from six months to five years. In addition to the Criminal Code of Montenegro, hate speech is also prohibited by the Law on the Prohibition of Discrimination and the Law on Public Order and Peace.
Pljevlja is a multiethnic town with a long tradition of mutual respect and coexistence.
Therefore, we demand that:
The Municipality of Pljevlja abandon, now and in the future, the organization of performances by Baja Mali Knindža;
The competent authorities examine possible criminal and other liability in the event of insistence on organizing such an event;
All political actors who invoke civic and European values prevent the organization of this and similar events.
We call on the citizens of Pljevlja and Montenegro to support this protest.
Both Pljevlja and the rest of our country need the cultivation of a culture that brings people together, instead of inciting hatred.
Human Rights Action, Tea Gorjanc Prelević
Centre for Investigative Journalism of Montenegro, Milka Tadić Mijović
Centre for Civic Education, Daliborka Uljarević
Spektra Association, Jovan Džoli Ulićević
Centre for Women’s and Peace Education ANIMA, Ervina Dabižinović
Centre for Democracy and Human Rights, Nevenka Vuksanović
Ipso Facto, Milena Popović Samardžić
Montenegro Media Institute, Olivera Nikolić
Association of Montenegrin Publishers, Prof. Dr Vladimir Vojinović
Queer Montenegro, Staša Baštrica
Eduko Plus, Almedina Dodić
Anti-Fascists of Cetinje, Filip Kuzman
Women’s Safe House, Budislavka Saveljić
Prima, Aida Perović
Montenegrin Women’s Lobby, Aida Petrović
Centre for Development of Non-Governmental Organizations, Zorana Marković
Dr Martin Schneider-Jacoby Association – MSJA, Zenepa Lika
Civic Initiative 21 May, Rade Bojović
Štrpci Association – Against Forgetting, Demir Ličina
Montenegrin Committee of Lawyers for the Protection of Human Rights, Velija Murić
Juventas, Ivana Vujović
Association of LBTQ Women “Stana”, Ana Dedivanović
SOS Podgorica, Biljana Zeković
Centre for Monitoring and Research, Zlatko Vujović
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