Goran Vasić, acting director Republic Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments refused the employee's request to react regarding the insults directed at them by MP Milenko Jovanov in the National Assembly on Thursday, advocating for lex specialis on the General Staff. That's why the employees of the Republic Institute strongly condemned the mentioned presentation of Jovanov in a public letter.
Also due to the insults of SNS deputy Milenko Jovanov, the employees of the City Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments also reacted.
Jovanov insults and belittles us
In the letter, the employees of the Republic Institute assert that Jovanov, in the live broadcast of the session, "uttered a whole series of untruths, openly insulting and belittling the personality and expertise of the employees of the Republic Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments."
Let's remind you, the head of the parliamentary group Aleksandar Vučić - Serbia must not stop, Milenko Jovanov, said that he was not interested in what people in the institutes for the protection of monuments, both in Belgrade and in the republic, thought, and that if they wanted to say something, they would have figured out what to do with that object in time.
Jovanov calls employees non-workers
He asked which ruin was a symbol of resistance in the Second World War and protected by law that it must not be repaired. "It doesn't exist. Why? Well, because it's a symbol of victory to move on. And not to remain trapped in the past and live in ruins. But someone doesn't understand that. And the fact that they have the support of these idlers from the institute, it doesn't surprise me at all. Because these people serve to stop everything. These people serve to ensure that nothing is done. They are afraid that if they start giving those permits, their existence will be pointless," said Jovanov.
The employees remind that all this is happening "at a time when various actors of the Serbian political scene, and above all people in the highest state positions - presidents, ministers, presidents of the National Assembly, deputies and others - are constantly belittling the views and opinions of experts in the service of protecting immovable cultural assets".
Expert opinion is important
As well as that "in the process of making decisions of public interest, it is necessary to respect professional and scientific views, because experts possess relevant and specialized knowledge that they have acquired through systematic education and professional training".
That is why the employees demand that the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the Ministry of Culture stand in defense of the employees of the Republic Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments, "who have been working for the preservation of the cultural heritage of the Republic of Serbia for 80 years", and to publicly condemn the address of MP Milenko Jovanov.
City Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments
Their colleagues from the City Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments assess in a public letter that Milenko Jovanov "collapses and renders meaningless the decades-long contribution of institutions engaged in research, preservation and presentation of the immovable cultural heritage of our country, and its representatives are targeting, degrading and publicly humiliating."
They warn that such parliamentary statements "represent an attempt to divert attention from the illegal cancellation of the status of a cultural monument to the only achievement of the renowned architect and University professor Nikola Dobrović in Belgrade, which is the subject of an investigation by the Prosecutor's Office for organized crime. Such assessments contribute to the creation of a social atmosphere in which disrespect and abuse of the law, public humiliation of institutions and employees, as well as vandalism in the history, culture and identity of a nation are legalized."
In the end, they point out that "the Republic of Serbia, autonomous provinces and local self-government units have a special responsibility for heritage preservation. In the often uncomfortable shoes of "social parasites" and others who perform their jobs responsibly and in accordance with ethical principles, we once again stand up for the defense of cultural heritage, against those who treat it as a commodity."
