The initiative to return the Sveti Stefan hotel town to (complete) state ownership, which brings together the residents of that part of the Budva municipality, will soon present to the public the "Platform for Sveti Stefan", a new management model for Sveti Stefan, based on European standards, which will resolve the long-standing agony surrounding what was once a trademark of Montenegrin tourism.
This was told to "Vijesti" by the group of citizens gathered around the Initiative.
The city hotel "Sveti Stefan" will most likely be closed this summer, for the fifth time in a row, because not even a month and a half after the tenant of the hotel complex "Sveti Stefan-Miločer", the company "Adriatic Properties" of a Greek businessman Petros Statis and partner companies "Aidway Investments Limited" and "Amanresorts Management" signed an agreement on partial settlement and termination of the arbitration proceedings and sent it to the Government for initialing. There has been no response from the other side so far.
The government, as Forbes Montenegro reported yesterday, has allegedly not yet accepted the offer of the lessee of Sveti Stefan and Miločer for a partial settlement and termination of the arbitration proceedings, because it has requested guarantees from the company "Adriatic Properties" that if they do not resolve the disputed issues, the state will be able to terminate the lease agreement at any time.
As they told "Vijesti" in the initiative, even if the city hotel "Sveti Stefan" is open this summer for some, it will be closed for many others.
"This year, the agony continues over whether Sveti Stefan will open or not. Even if it opens for some, it will be closed for others. For many, it will be closed even if it opens, contrary to the applicable laws. As for our group of citizens, we welcome any hotel opening in accordance with the laws of Montenegro and international conventions ratified by Montenegro. However, judging by the various information we hear from various sources, even if Sveti Stefan opens, it will be a temporary solution that will be neither stable nor sustainable, and by all accounts, not even legal.
Since no one has proposed a concrete solution to the problem of Sveti Stefan so far, and apparently has no intention of doing so anytime soon, our group of citizens will soon present to the public the "Platform for Sveti Stefan", which will be developed with numerous entities, including international experts, but also the local community and local NGOs. This platform will present a new model of management of Sveti Stefan, based on European standards, because if Montenegro intends to join the EU by 2028, it must also harmonize its relationship with its national treasure. With Montenegro's accession to the EU, Sveti Stefan will become a European national treasure that must be treated in a modern way," the group of citizens states.
As they add, "everyone is welcome to support the platform for saving Sveti Stefan and Miločer."
"Including the tenant, of course, if he is ready to respect the laws of Montenegro and European standards, and we believe he is ready, i.e. we hope so. And Mr. Novak Đoković is welcome to support our platform. We know that some may find it difficult to accept European standards in Sveti Stefan and Miločer because they are used to other standards, more "feudal" and medieval. But, whoever wants feudalism and egoism, let them buy a yacht (if they have the money) and go swimming somewhere far away where no one can see them, and not here, to interfere with other people's rights and freedoms. The current main problem concerning Sveti Stefan, and many are not aware of it, is the condo hotel being built in Miločer park. This condo hotel is nothing more than a residential building, in a significant part of it, with apartments for sale," the locals say.
In order to increase the price of the apartment, as they claim, the investor is probably offering future buyers exclusive access to Sveti Stefan island, the beaches in Miločer, the Queen's Chair...
"Everywhere we locals cannot access when the hotel is open. This means that we locals, as well as other citizens of Montenegro, as well as tourists, have to refrain from our elementary human rights guaranteed by the Constitution and international conventions, so that some buyers and owners of apartments in Miločer have "exclusive" access to our area at various locations. In this way, the investor creates artificial exclusivity in order to raise the price of apartments for sale, at the expense of our rights and freedoms, as well as all citizens of Montenegro and tourists. In such a business model, Sveti Stefan and the beaches of Miločer are not used much for tourism purposes, but mainly to raise the price of apartments for sale and then probably for rent. As a result, we locals become second-class citizens in our own place, where our families have lived for centuries, and whoever buys an apartment in Miločer immediately becomes a first-class citizen because by buying an apartment they also buy 'first-class citizenship'," the Initiative emphasizes.
In ancient Rome, as they emphasize, there was something similar, "but still more logical and normal than what is happening here today."
"In Rome, we had Roman citizens (Civis Romanus) and peregrines, i.e. foreigners who had many fewer rights than Roman citizens. Here in Sveti Stefan today in the 21st century, we seem to be "peregrines" on our own territory, and whoever buys an apartment in Miločer becomes a full citizen in our town. Is this normal? This must change. No normal country in the world should allow this on its territory, for its cultural national treasure to be put at the service of selling private apartments in this way," they conclude in the initiative to return the city hotel to full state ownership.
It is important to note that Mr. Novak Djokovic, before any attempt to help solve the problem of Sveti Stefan, must know that the main problem of Sveti Stefan currently is that Sveti Stefan is not used for tourism purposes, but for the purpose of selling apartments for the market in Miločer. We hereby call on Mr. Novak Djokovic, as a man who always stands on the side of justice, and if he wants to, to help the local community to protect Sveti Stefan and its basic human rights.
Bonus video:
