Although the head of the Albanian-American Association of Staten Island, Naser Nika, recently threatened to organize protests against Prime Minister Milojko Spajić upon his arrival in the US, because he believes that the government's agreements with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) threaten the survival of Albanians in Montenegro, he met with him in Washington on Friday, in the presence of representatives of other Albanian diaspora associations, and no protests were organized.
This is shown by the posts of Nika and Spajić on social networks.
The Head of Government led the Montenegrin delegation that was on a working visit to the USA from 21 to 28 April. He announced the day before yesterday (27 April) on the X network that he had met with representatives of the Montenegrin diaspora in the USA, with whom, as he stated, he “discussed all the details of the Agreement with the UAE, in order to eliminate the dilemmas that arose due to the dissemination of incorrect information regarding this topic”.
He announced that in all municipalities, including Ulcinj, projects will be implemented "exclusively with the support of the local community."
"At the same time, I firmly believe that cooperation with investors from the UAE is a guarantee of development based on laws and in the best interests of Montenegro," Spajić said, adding that he is grateful to the representatives of the diaspora "for the trust they have shown" and that he will continue to work with them "in the interests of Montenegro and all our citizens."
Along with these messages, Spajić also posted two photos from the meeting on X, which also show the president of the Albanian-American Association of Staten Island.
On April 18, Nika called on Albanian associations and communities to organize as soon as possible and launch a strong protest against Spajić, who, in his words, "endangers the survival of Albanians in their homeland."
"This man, with his dangerous actions and policies, is not only trying to sell our country, but also to force those few Albanians who remained in Ulcinj and our regions to emigrate - just as we were once forced to leave our home due to injustice and discrimination. We must no longer remain silent. This country, which fed and raised us, needs our voice and our protection today more than ever," he wrote on Facebook.
Nika stated that they should protest "wherever Prime Minister Spajić appears", adding that "there must be no room for political hypocrisy, nor for attempts to deceive the international community with a false face".
"Let everyone see that the Albanian diaspora is not asleep and that it will not allow truth and justice to be trampled on," he said.
Shortly afterwards, Nika announced that only four diaspora associations had responded to his call, noting that he was disappointed that he had not received support from Albanian associations from Kosovo, Albania and North Macedonia.
However, on Sunday (April 27), also on Facebook, he announced that he had met with Spajić, accompanied by the secretary of the "Vatra" organization, Paško Camaj, the president of the "Skenderbeg" association, Imer Lačaj, and the Albanian activist Arba Šabani.
"I want to emphasize that as a diaspora we were organized and ready to protest against the recent developments, but after the Prime Minister agreed to meet with us, we decided to prioritize dialogue. We considered it right to listen to his side and to openly express our concerns and demands as the Albanian diaspora," he wrote.
As he stated, the Albanian diaspora opposes any form of investment or project that could lead to demographic changes and threaten the Albanian majority in Ulcinj, adding that they have also expressed great concern about the current Law on Maritime Property, which is "discriminatory against the people of Ulcinj and differs from the laws applied in other coastal municipalities in Montenegro."
"We also emphasized that every process and project related to Ulcinj must be implemented with full transparency and with the consent of citizens and the municipality. It is unacceptable that such important decisions go to parliament without the approval of Ulcinj representatives," said Nika.
The representative of the Albanian-American Association "Ulcinj" Džemal Lanica, whose organization did not respond to Nika's calls for protests, was not present at the meeting with Spajić. He told "Vijesti" that the Prime Minister initially agreed to meet with him, and that the meeting was confirmed by the Prime Minister's advisor, but that, he claims, in the meantime, "they changed their position" and shifted the responsibility for the meeting not taking place to the Embassy of Montenegro in Washington, "as if it should organize the meeting."
He therefore sent a letter of protest to the head of state Jakov Milatović, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Ervin Ibrahimović, as well as to the cabinet and parliament, calling Niko "a proven opponent of the current Government of Montenegro."
"A few days before Prime Minister Spajić's announced visit to Washington, Naser Nika published posts calling for strong protests wherever the Prime Minister appeared in America, and called the Prime Minister's actions 'dangerous for the existence of Albanians'," Lanica stated in the letter.
He wrote that Nika tried to organize "16 Albanian associations to protest," but that he failed because the Albanian-American Association "Ulcinj" did not respond to his call.
"Disappointed with the state of affairs in the diaspora, he posted that 'the diaspora has failed,'" Lanica added in the letter.
"Vijesti" expects the Government and the Embassy of Montenegro in Washington to answer questions about why Lanica was not invited to the meeting with Spajić.
The Montenegrin parliament ratified two agreements between the governments of Montenegro and the UAE in the middle of last week. The less controversial document, on economic cooperation, was supported by 50 parliamentarians, with 10 against. The Agreement on Tourism and Real Estate Development, which, among other things, provides for the exemption of public procurement legislation during the implementation of projects, was voted for by 46 parliamentarians, with ten against, while four abstained.
These documents were signed by Prime Minister 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 European Union (EU).
The Ulcinj government, part of the civil sector, as well as some Albanian parties in the state government protested against the agreement.
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