The holding of the tricolor with the coat of arms of the Petrović dynasty, as well as other historical symbols of Montenegro in the offices of municipal officials is not precisely defined by law because only one article of the Law on State Symbols and the State Coat of Arms is devoted to the treatment of historical symbols.
That article determines that they enjoy the same protection as valid state symbols, and the lawyers that "Vijesti" contacted, although only one agreed to speak officially, have different interpretations of what exactly this means.
While lawyer Dalibor Kavarić, who is close to the Serbian Orthodox Church, believes that this means that it can be displayed together with the Montenegrin national flag and that there are no prohibitions, part of the lawyers with whom "Vijesti" spoke, but who, because the topic of symbols visibly polarizes the Montenegrin public, they did not want to speak officially, they explain that this article refers only to the fact that historical symbols must not be burned, torn up and the like.
What do municipal leaders say?
Flags in cabinets became relevant after some municipal officials in the Serbian Parliament boasted that they had put tricolors in their cabinets, at the time not describing exactly which tricolors they were.
They pointed out that they decided on that act because these are things that are important for Serbs in Montenegro, and the opposition speculated that it was the flags of another country and called for responsibility.
Although the tricolor with the coat of arms of Petrović was one of the symbols of the Kingdom and Principality of Montenegro, earlier from the Democratic Party of Socialists and other opposition parties, as well as from state institutions such as the Police Administration, those flags were treated as flags of another state, although they did not state which another country is being worked on. Interestingly, DPS used to display the tricolor without applications on its billboards with the national flag in local campaigns, for example in Berane.
The President of the Municipality of Mojkovac, Vesko Delić, who was the first to brag about the display of the tricolor, initially answered the question of "Vijesti" in accordance with which regulations he had placed it, by counter-questioning which regulations prevent the display of the tricolor.
A day later, to a repeated question, he answered that the flag of the Kingdom of Montenegro "about which an unprecedented commotion arose" was placed in his cabinet in accordance with the Law on State Symbols and the Statehood Day of Montenegro and referred to Article 28.
"The state and military symbols of the Principality of Montenegro and the Kingdom of Montenegro, the symbols of the People's Republic of Montenegro and the Socialist Republic of Montenegro and the symbols of the Republic of Montenegro established by the Law on the Coat of Arms and the Flag of the Republic of Montenegro enjoy protection, as do the state symbols established by this law," it says. in Article 28.
Delić said that this flag will remain in his cabinet for a long time.
It is interesting that the tricolor with the coat of arms of Petrović does not appear in Delić's cabinet from the very beginning of his assumption of office, which can be seen by a simple search of pictures from the cabinet from various occasions, and it appears when it was used as an illustration in propaganda media close to the Democratic Front.
Article 28 is referred to by lawyer Kavarić, who adds that the display of the tricolor with the coat of arms of Petrović is indisputably allowed and notes that this represents the display of the Montenegrin historical symbol, not the national symbol of a minority nation or minority national community.
The President of the Danilovgrad Municipal Assembly, Velimir Đoković, did not answer according to which regulations he installed the tricolor, but explained that it is the flag of the Kingdom and Principality of Montenegro and that the Montenegrin national flag is in the place of honor.
"I brought that flag in because I wanted that symbol of Petrović's Montenegro to be represented in my cabinet," Djokovic said, adding that his cabinet also has the state coat of arms, as required by law.
What do the regulations say?
The Law on State Symbols and Statehood Day of Montenegro stipulates that the coat of arms is used in the official premises of state bodies and local self-government bodies, while the display and use of flags in the premises is not defined by this law.
The Rulebook on the closer method of highlighting, using, as well as the composition of the material of the flag of Montenegro, stipulates that in cabinets, the flag is kept on the right side of the workplace of the person whose cabinet it is.
The same rulebook also defines the material from which the cabinet flag is made, and what kind of stand it should stand on.
The rulebook refers to state symbols.
Much more precise is the Law on the Selection, Use and Public Display of National Symbols, which stipulates that the flag of that minority nation or other minority national community is also displayed in the official premises of local self-government and public authorities.
This law is applied in local self-governments where members of a minority nation or other minority national communities make up the majority of the population, according to the results of the last census.
The same law stipulates that the flag is determined by the council of the minority people, and that the approval is given by the Government of Montenegro.
What is being punished
The Law on State Symbols does not provide for penalties if a flag that is not the flag of another state is displayed in a public place.
Penalties are foreseen if the coat of arms and flag are used in such a way as to violate the public morals, reputation and dignity of Montenegro, if things are changed, corrected, or added, if they are used as a trademark without prior approval, if they are used damaged, if the flag touches the ground...
Fines range from 300 to 20 thousand euros.
The Law on the Selection, Use and Public Display of National Symbols also provides for a penalty if the state symbol does not occupy a place of honor when using or displaying national symbols alongside state symbols. If two flags are displayed, the place of honor is on the left when viewed from the front.
The Law on Public Order and Peace stipulates that whoever displays or uses the flag, coat of arms or other symbol of another country in a public place, unless the flag, coat of arms or other symbol of another country is displayed as a symbol of members of minority nations and other minority national communities in in accordance with a special law or if the flag, coat of arms or other symbol of another country is displayed during a sports event.
The law is already ripe for change
The issue of the use and highlighting of national symbols of minority peoples in Montenegro has for years led to tensions on the political scene and the punishment of citizens as well as tourists.
During 2018 and 2019, the courts punished several Albanians in Tuzi and Ulcinj for displaying Albanian flags on their houses or spreading them in public. This caused strong protests from Albanian politicians, who announced that they would pay the fines to their compatriots themselves.
In November 2019, the government proposed a new Bill on the selection, use and public display of national symbols, which was adopted by the Parliament.
At the conference "Results and challenges of implementation: Law on the selection, use and public display of national symbols", held at the end of 2021, it was pointed out that this law is already ripe for changes, and in order to legally qualify some events in the right way, it is necessary is to clearly know the national symbols of all minority peoples and other minority national communities.
The Municipality of Ulcinj replied to "Vijesta" that in the office of the President of the Municipality, Omer Barjaktari, the flags of Montenegro and Albania, as well as the flag of the Municipality of Ulcinj, are displayed.
"The flag of Montenegro is displayed according to the Law on State Symbols and the Day of Statehood of Montenegro, the flag of Albania is displayed according to the Law on the Selection, Use and Public Display of National Symbols, Article 11 of that law, while the flag of the Municipality is displayed according to the Decision made by the Municipal Assembly" , it was announced from the municipality of Ulcinj.
According to the last census from 2011, in Ulcinj the majority of the population in that municipality is made up of Albanians.
In the cabinet of the president of the Municipality of Rožaje, Rahman Husović, as "News" was told by that local self-government, the flag of the state of Montenegro, the national flag of the Bosniaks and the flag of the Municipality of Rožaje were displayed.
"As according to the data of the population, household and apartment census in 2011 in the municipality of Rožaje, the percentage of Bosniaks was the majority population, i.e. 83,91 percent of the total number of inhabitants in the territory of the municipality of Rožaje, in accordance with the aforementioned regulations, the national flag is also displayed in addition to the national flag. Bosniak flag", it was announced from the Municipality of Rožaje.
The national flag and coat of arms of the Bosniaks are described in detail in the statute of the Bosniak Council in Montenegro.
"The coat of arms of the Council is in the form of a European shield divided by a white ribbon running diagonally from the upper left corner to the right side. On the left diagonal half of the coat of arms, on a blue background, there are three lilies of golden yellow color, of equal size, evenly distributed under the lower edge of the ribbon. On the right diagonal half, on a green background, there are three white crescents open to the right side, arranged in the form of an equilateral triangle", the description of the coat of arms states while adding that the flag of VIeća is white with the described coat of arms in the middle.
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