In 1918, when Serbian forces entered Montenegro, after the Austro-Hungarian troops left, the Serbs, got hold of the power and demanded that Montenegro become part of Serbia, now under “Yugoslavism”. This led to a revolt among Montenegrin military leaders, who viewed “Yugoslavism” as nothing more than a “Greater Serbia”. They sieged Cetinje but failed to achieve their goals. During this time, Albanians of Rozhajë, Plav and Gucia were massacred by the troops of new Slav federation. This was however a repeating cycle as these atrocities had been carried out for 7 years non-stop.

Cited:

“On 25 November 1918 (in the northern Serbian city of Novi Sad), the ‘Great National Assembly’ had already proclaimed the unification of Srem, Banat and Bačka with Serbia. Thus, following the Assembly of Podgorica, the Great National Assembly announced the formal unification of Serbia and Montenegro.

Following these proclamations, both Bosnia & Herzegovina and Croatia followed suit, with the National Council in Zagreb declaring that those South Slavs living in the former Austro-Hungarian Empire wished to unite with Serbia and Montenegro. Thus, KSHS, later the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (Kraljevina Jugoslavija – KJ), was declared on 1 December 1918.

South Slav unity had finally been realized, but the seeds of its subsequent crisis were already sown. ‘Yugoslavism’ meant one thing to the Serbs and quite another to the Croats and Slovenes who headed the Yugoslav Committee. The former saw the new state as a fulfilment of the dream of a state for all Serbs, albeit along with a significant number of Croats, Slovenes and other minorities.

For them, it was completely natural that Serbia, with its established state infrastructure, army and dynasty (not to mention their losses during the 1914-18 war), should lead the new state. The latter, however, envisaged that the new state would take the form of an equally balanced federation, a partnership of equals, within which the Croatian and Slovenian lands of the former Habsburg Empire would unite with Kingdom of Serbia. Such divergent expectations were to have a significant impact on the future of the KSHS.

From his base in Neuilly, France, King Nikola I Petrović could do nothing to influence matters in Montenegro. He did, however, implore Montenegrins not to recognize the legitimacy of the outcome of the Podgorica Assembly. His supporters in Montenegro thereafter launched, on Orthodox Christmas Eve (6 January 1919), the Božićna ustanak (Christmas Uprising), during which the Zelenaši (Greens) besieged Cetinje and surrounding towns and villages and targeted those deemed guilty of crimes against Montenegro.

Led by Krsto Popović (who had led Montenegrin troops during the Battle of Mojkovac), their initial campaign was relatively successful, but the Greens were plagued by internecine divisions between factions which advocated full independence and those who merely wished to restore Montenegrin pride by achieving a more equal status within the KSHS. Resistance to the new regime also emanated from the northern parts of Montenegro where there were significant Muslim populations.

Indeed, in Plav and Gusinje local leaders sought some form of autonomy, a development that elicited a strong reaction from the KSHS authorities. Their response was unforgiving, with approximately 450 (mainly Muslims) being killed after a small uprising against the unification of Serbia and Montenegro and the creation of the KSHS. In addition to the Plav and Gusinje incidents, an estimated 700 Albanians were killed in a similar crackdown in nearby Rozhaje. According to Mehmedalija Bojić, similar reprisals took place in Bijelo Polje, Pljevlja and Berane, although these were relatively minor by comparison.”

Source

Nationalism, Identity and Statehood in Post-Yugoslav Montenegro. Kenneth Morrison. 2018