Lawyer and human rights expert from Serbia Milan Antonijevic he assessed that that country should have the same standards towards its own and citizens of other countries when it comes to unhindered travel, especially towards those who in no way pose a threat.
He said this while commenting on the case of the former Minister of European Integration for "Vijesti". Jovan Marović, who was refused entry to Serbia on Wednesday evening due to "protection of the security of the Republic of Serbia and its citizens".
There were similar cases during 2021, when several Montenegrin MPs, despite having a diplomatic passport, experienced inconvenience at the border with that country.
For the most part, it was not known what the motives were for banning the entry of Montenegrin citizens into Serbia.
It was similar in the opposite case, when Montenegro, during the rule of the Democratic Party of Socialists, returned from the border singers like Vlada Georgiev, the Belgrade Syndicate, the priests of the Serbian Orthodox Church and the SPC Metropolis, and the expelled ambassador Vladimir Božović.
The Administrative Court in the Božović case drew attention to the fact that this was never argued, stating that it is not enough to say that someone is a threat to national security, but that evidence should be provided for this - at least to the courts when they decide.
"I expect an explanation from our security services, and I believe that the government or the president will distance themselves from this kind of behavior, because it would really lead to some new practice against which, ultimately, Serbia is also fighting," said Antonijević, answering the question of how bad it is the practice of banning people from entering a country due to political activities.
Yesterday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MVP) of Montenegro requested from Serbia an explanation of the decision on the detention of Jovana Marović. The president of the country spoke immediately after the incident Jakov Milatovic who said that "banning entry due to different political opinions is a practice that must be left behind if we want to build good neighborly relations".
He said that the ban on entering Serbia is contrary to building good neighborly relations.
Marović previously participated in protests against violence in Serbia in Belgrade.
As they stated, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs took appropriate measures to return the personal documents and enabled the return to Montenegro the same evening.
"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs asked the competent authorities of the Republic of Serbia for an explanation of this decision, and expressed its belief that this practice will not continue, as it violates democratic values and hinders the further development of good neighborly relations and regional cooperation, which are the main prerequisites for building a common European future. as a key foreign policy priority of both countries", the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced.
Minister of the Interior Filip Adzic said that frequent irresponsible and immature moves damage the image of Serbia and cause damage to interstate relations. "You are humiliating the strength of your own country if NGO activists and sportswomen are a threat to it," said Adžić.
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The Center for Civic Education (CEO) requested that the Government and the MFA send a note of protest to the Government of Serbia and that they request a list of all Montenegrin citizens who are banned from entering Serbia on the same basis.
"It is clear that in this way Marović is being punished for her publicly expressed criticism of the President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić”, said CGO.
From that non-governmental organization, they stated that the Constitution of Montenegro and the Constitution of Serbia, as well as international acts ratified by both countries, give it the right to do so.
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"Vučić's government has proven that it deserves the criticism of all progressive actors, and it remains to be seen whether the Montenegrin authorities will show that they have no guts to protect their citizens and the interests of Montenegro," said the CGE.
Antonijević: I expect a thaw in relations and an end to incidents
Antonijević expects that the incident with Jovana Marović will not and must not be repeated. He said that he expects the resolution of this and all other previous issues that ended in a similar way with the ban on entry into Serbia for certain Montenegrin citizens, also in the light of the thawing of relations between Belgrade and Podgorica, after the recent visit of the Montenegrin president Jakov Milatović and announced other visits:
"And after the formation of the government, I believe that the cooperation between the two governments will be intensified."
Antonijević explains that there are two aspects - one of which is the Law on Foreigners and the possibility of denying the right to enter the country to anyone at the border, based on the assessment of the MUP and security data.
"So, every foreigner can do it. On the other hand, it is really surprising when such a possibility is applied to citizens who cannot in any case pose any danger to the constitutional order or cannot be any danger in terms of security", he said.
He said that Serbia acted differently in the case of banning Serbian officials from entering the territory of Kosovo or the recent intervention of the Minister of Foreign Affairs when Goran Bregović was banned from entering Moldova.
"These are all situations in which Serbia acts completely differently, it tries to protect the interests of its citizens so that they can travel freely. So I expect that it will also enable the citizens of neighboring countries, especially those who do not in any case represent any threat, on the contrary, they are the ones who bring the values we are talking about, including European integration and everything else," he said. Antonijević.
They also harassed deputies because of their stance on the genocide in Srebrenica
Numerous cases of improper treatment of individual Montenegrin MPs were recorded in 2021. We are talking about the MPs who in the Assembly of Montenegro voted for the Resolution on the prohibition of denying the genocide in Srebrenica.
MPs from Montenegro Dragica Sekulić, Draginja Vuksanović-Stanković, Suada Zoronjić, Bozena Jelušić, Damir Šehović, Ervin Ibrahimović were stopped and detained at the border.
In July 2021, Vuksanović-Stanković was harassed at the airport in Belgrade, where she was detained and searched for several hours both upon entering and leaving Serbia. The then deputies of the URA GP Bozena Jelušić and Suada Zoronjić were detained on four occasions at the border crossings with Serbia when they went to Srebrenica to mark the 26th anniversary of the genocide. MP and vice-president of the Social Democrats Damir Šehović experienced inconvenience twice at the airport "Nikola Tesla" and the border crossing "Dobrakovo", because he was detained for about an hour longer than other passengers due to checks. At the end of August 2021, the president of the Bosniak Party, Ervin Ibrahimović, was thoroughly searched by the Serbian police on two occasions, when entering and leaving this country. As the Bosniak Party announced at the time, he first experienced discomfort and mistreatment at the Špiljani border crossing, upon entering Serbia, where he was detained for more than an hour, as well as upon exiting the country, at another border crossing.
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