Some of the residents of Buljarica, owners of the land in this virgin bay, asked the Prime Minister Milojko Spajić to arrange a meeting with an Arab billionaire Mohamed Alabaro and are ready to offer their property for development of an investment project.
This was told to "Vijesti" by a local resident. Ilya Armenko, stating that several neighbors and landowners in Buljarica called him to publicly distance themselves from the views that everyone is opposed to the arrival of investors, but that they are ready to discuss a potential investment in that location.
"We want to talk to the investor about Buljarica. We believe that we should not just immediately reject Mr. Alabar, because like all other locals, we want the best for Buljarica. We simply need to talk, which is why we want to hear what the investor is planning. If his plans match the interests of the locals and if such a project fits into a detailed urban plan, why not take advantage of the historic opportunity and enable a project in Buljarica from which everyone will benefit," Armenko pointed out.
According to him, many locals are dissatisfied with what is being presented to the public that they are a priori against investments in Buljarica, because that is not true.
"We need to talk to the investor, and now it's Mr. Alabar. No one has heard what his plans are for Buljarica. We are against investors being chased away without first asking and explaining to the public how he envisions the investment in Buljarica. Only we can speak on our behalf, no one else. That's why we want a meeting with the potential investor and Mr. Spajić, which we would like the Minister of Public Works to attend." Majda Adzović", in order to get to know what it's all about, and not to push everyone who is interested in investing in Montenegro," emphasized Armenko, stating that this is the position of a large number of locals.
He points out that locals believe this is "a real chance to move forward from a dead end and do something for the benefit of all citizens."
"Therefore, we ask the Prime Minister to organize a meeting with the owners of the land in Buljarica and discuss all the details regarding the investment. We evicted the previous investor, because there was talk that they would evict us from our homes that have been there for hundreds of years, which was impossible. It ended as it ended, the investor gave up. We want to be included in the discussions with all relevant entities in this country, because if it's not this one, there will be another investor," Armenko emphasized.
At the end of April, residents of the local communities of Buljarica, Petrovac, Reževići and Sveti Stefan and property owners in Buljarica issued a joint press release regarding the agreement between the governments of Montenegro and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), stating that they were explicitly opposed to what they said was the seizure of land from citizens under the guise of public interest, and announced that they would use all available means to defend their ancestral homeland.
"As in 2015, when a similar attempt was made to violently seize property and evict the population in Buljarica, also under the guise of public interest, we want to make it clear that such a blitzkrieg attempt will not succeed now. Buljarica is a place that needs to be preserved for the development of sustainable tourism, taking into account its natural values, to which we remain committed, and unfortunately we are witnessing that Buljarica and other valuable sites need to be protected from greedy authorities, regardless of which political group holds it. In this regard, we publicly announce that we will use all available means to defend our ancestral homeland, as our ancestors have done for centuries, against those who intended to take away our homes for the sake of current and personal interests," the statement states, which, as it states, was also supported by numerous Montenegrin emigrants in the United States of America and European Union countries with roots and ancestry in Buljarica.
The Parliament of Montenegro ratified two agreements between the governments of Montenegro and the UAE on the night of April 22-23. These documents were signed by Prime Minister Milojko Spajić in Dubai on March 28, after which he sent them to the parliamentary procedure in the form of a bill.
Previously, he presented to the leaders of Ulcinj and local parties the intention of Arab billionaire Mohamed Alabar to allegedly invest 35 billion euros in the construction of a tourist complex in that municipality and to lease the entire Ulcinj Velika Plaža for 99 years.
Part of the public, political parties and the non-governmental sector claim that the agreements are contrary to state interests in several areas and that they jeopardize Montenegro's path towards the EU. The Ulcinj authorities, part of the civil sector, as well as some Albanian parties in the state government protested against the agreements.
President of Montenegro Jakov Milatovic On April 29, he returned to the Parliament for reconsideration the Law on Ratifying the Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Tourism and Real Estate Development, while he signed the decree on the promulgation of the less controversial Agreement on Economic Cooperation with the UAE.
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