Nationalizing the issue of Ulcinj's Velika Plaza Beach distracts attention from the fact that it is a common good of all citizens of Montenegro and that it should be defended unitedly, not through ethnic divisions.
With these words, the interlocutors of "Vijesti" answer the question - whether the first man of Ulcinj, Genci Nimanbegu (Forca), by stating that he informed Albanian officials about the agreement between the Government of Montenegro and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is making an economic, spatial, ecological... issue an international (national) one.
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Late last week, while appearing on Aplus television, he said that he had informed Albanian President Bajram Begaj and the ambassador (of that country) about the agreement with the Emirates and the "local community's opposition" (to that document), stating that they have a "constitutional obligation to know what is happening with the minority community."
"The bottom line is that the issue of Velika Plaza is not an issue of any minority or national affiliation. It is a natural wealth of all citizens of Montenegro, which, as we have seen, citizens have stood in defense of, regardless of their ethnic or religious affiliation. It is also a serious part of Montenegro's tourist offer, important both for the local community and for the state of Montenegro. Nationalizing this problem is not a good way to defend this resource of ours," Nikola Mirković, a program associate at the Center for Civic Education (CCE), told "Vijesti".
Lawyer and former Secretary General of the Government Boris Marić assessed that Montenegro has a decent normative, institutional and democratic capacity, that dialogue is necessary on all issues, and that he therefore sees no reason for anyone's mediation.
"I don't see any problems that couldn't be solved through social dialogue and the Montenegrin political and institutional system," he told "Vijesti".
On the night of April 22-23, the Parliament ratified two agreements between the governments of Montenegro and the UAE - on economic cooperation, and tourism and real estate development. These documents were signed on March 28 in Dubai by Prime Minister Milojko Spajić (Europe Now Movement), 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, primarily those on tourism and real estate development, 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 agreement.
"Some fight, others hold the armchairs"
Nikola Mirković states that during the debate on the agreements in the Parliament, the MP of the Albanian Alliance (the coalition of which Forca is a part), Ilir Čapuni, partly tried to approach this issue from the perspective of protecting the rights of less represented peoples.
"That is his legitimate right, just as, in obvious desperation due to the government's blatant ignoring of the local administration's position, the mayor of Nimanbegu is now doing," says the interlocutor.
He claims that the idea he mentioned to Nimanbegu is on the same level - to declare the Prime Minister and Minister of Public Works Majda Adžović undesirable at the local level, which is not legally possible, but is a kind of political message and an attempt at political pressure to make the voice of that community heard.
"I don't think these are good paths, but we are paying tribute to some processes that are like Pandora's box when they open...", adds Mirković.
He said that some facts are important, one of which is that the Government persistently goes against the unified position of an entire local community, because the unanimous decisions of the Ulcinj Municipal Assembly are too quickly forgotten. The local parliament said at the end of March that all investment projects must be in accordance with the principles of sustainable development, respecting the planning and strategic documents of the Municipality of Ulcinj and Montenegro, taking into account economic, environmental and social sustainability.
"This cannot serve to the credit of any prime minister, nor of the ministers or MPs who support him in this, although they have recently been trying, through quite transparent crisis PR, to repair this damage to their image, but it is essentially irreparable if this agreement is insisted on," Mirković concludes.
The interlocutor notes that it is a very interesting fact that the Nimanbegu political group is part of the parliamentary majority and the Government, and that this mechanism is not used enough by their representatives in the executive branch.
"It seems that, while on one side we have Nimanbegu who is fighting convulsively for the interests of the local community, on the other we have ministers from that group, but also from that national group, if the ethnic argument is being made, who give priority to official positions," said Mirković.
On April 29, Head of State Jakov Milatović returned a controversial document - on tourism and real estate development - to parliament for reconsideration, while he signed a decree proclaiming an agreement on economic cooperation with the UAE.
"Quick moves"
Boris Marić assesses that it seems that through the weakening of civic expression, "which will certainly consolidate", "ethnic aspirations, populist agendas and hasty moves that simulate a fight with an imaginary opponent" are gaining intensity.
"I repeat, by strengthening the civic concept and consolidating it, minority rights, institutional reforms, and EU membership can become a full reality. With the strengthening of ethnocentrism, everything is called into question. That is why we must work on establishing a permanent social dialogue and work on understanding even when we disagree on certain issues," Marić underlined.
"Vijesti" expects Nimanbegu to answer why he informed Albanian officials about the agreements with the Emirates and what exactly this issue has to do with national minorities.
Mirković, answering the question of why cases of Montenegrin politicians "reporting" to other countries are becoming more frequent, said that "we are experiencing the consequences of deep polarization, which, although blamed on the previous authorities, is actually contributed to daily by the new ruling structures."
"Thus, ethnic diversity in Montenegro, instead of being valued as an expression of multiculturalism and rich history and tradition, is most often used to manipulate the people and pursue party interests. And that is Pandora's box that is not easily closed once it is opened," the interlocutor states.
He said that we should not forget how willingly the leaders of the New Serbian Democracy (NSD) Andrija Mandić and the Democratic People's Party (DNP) Milan Knežević, as well as their other colleagues, regularly visit neighboring Serbia and appear at rallies of the Serbian Progressive Party, presenting themselves as representatives and leaders of the Serbian people in Montenegro.
There were several such examples, and one of the most striking was from December 2022, when the then local officials from the NSD and DNP, at a session of the Committee on Diaspora and Serbs in the Region of the Serbian Parliament, among other things, presented the results they had achieved after coming to power.
"We see that it is the case that representatives of almost all national groups in Montenegro are part of the government and hold numerous ministerial and vice-presidential positions, which strengthens their position and increases their reach, but multiculturalism is becoming less and less in practice...", concluded Mirković.
Ulcinj is also considering blocking roads.
According to unofficial information from "Vijesti", the Ulcinj ruling coalition held meetings in Ulcinj last night and the night before last, where they allegedly discussed the options they would take depending on how the Parliament would react during the re-decision on one of the agreements.
One option is to allegedly block some roads in Ulcinj as a warning sign before the vote in the Assembly.
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