It's easier to cover yourself with the nation than to defend the law: In the name of the people - the case of the conflict between Đeljošaj and Milatović

Politicians should also protect the national communities they claim to belong to, but hiding behind them in their own political troubles is a sign of manipulation by which politics is attempted to be presented as the defense of the nation.

With these words, the interlocutors of "Vijesti" comment on the most recent example of political hiding behind the nation, namely the claims of one of the Deputy Prime Ministers and Minister of Economic Development. Nika Đeljošaj (Albanian Alternative) that the decision of the head of state Jakov Milatović to refuse to declare the amended Law on Real Estate Tax an attempt to “politically discipline Albanians”.

After the President of Montenegro returned the amendments to the Parliament for reconsideration, his verbal conflict with Đeljošaj followed. The government official told him in a phone message that he expected “a reaction from Albanians at all levels” and wherever they have influence, and then stated in a press release that the Albanian Forum (the coalition of which the Albanian Alternative is a part) would continue to protect the interests of the citizens of Tuzi and the entire Albanian community, and that it would not allow the “blockade of development” of that municipality, nor the discipline of Albanians.

Messages on a similar note also came from officials of Đeljošaj's party, and the prosecution filed a case after Milatović reported that the Deputy Prime Minister had threatened him.

This is just one in a series of cases in recent years in which politicians and their parties have treated decisions they don't like as attacks on the ethnic communities they claim to represent.

Civic activist Stefan Djukic He told "Vijesti" that he believes that hiding behind the national community is resorted to "because it's easier that way."

"Because in this way the feelings of voters, voters, citizens are manipulated, and it is not necessary to explain whether a law is bad or good. We also have the opposite practice of explaining a law as good because it is good for a certain national community, and not because it brings certain benefits," he said.

Đukić said that when something goes wrong, such as when an official is replaced, the public is told that it is not because something was done badly, but because that official is of a certain nationality.

"The issue of criticism of the award is not because he did not deserve it, but because it is of such and such a nation... It is about manipulating collective identities in order to create the biggest storm. This does not mean that every criticism was unfounded, but the reaction is an indicator of the level of the political class, they manipulate in order to present themselves as defenders," the interlocutor stated, adding that such behavior is an indicator that Montenegrin politics is not principled and meaningful, but neither civil and European.

Where does Đeljošaj see an attack on Albanians?

This is not the first time that Đeljošaj has characterized a move that is not in his interest as an attack on Albanians.

In 2016, after the former head of state Filip Vujanovic did not call elections in the then municipalities within the capital, Golubovci and Tuzi, announced that the former president refuses to respect the Law on Local Self-Government and that his decision represents "an attack on the Albanian national community."

Two years later, after amendments to the Law on Public Order and Peace were not adopted, Đeljošaj told the Social Democratic Party and Liberal Party deputies, who voted against or abstained, that they were “undesirable persons in places where Albanians live.” The amendments called for provisions to be included in the law that would prevent Albanians from being punished for using the Albanian flag.

"You will be remembered as great enemies of Albanians, not only in Montenegro, but we will do our best to ensure that Albanians perceive you as such wherever they live," he said at the time.

When discussing the demarcation between Podgorica and Tuzi in 2020, Đeljošaj stated that "Albanians have no greater enemy" than the then mayor of Podgorica. Ivan Vuković "and his policies".

During the 2021 coronavirus pandemic, Đeljošaj, as mayor of the Tuzi municipality, called for the non-compliance with the epidemiological measure regarding the closure of catering establishments and participated in a traffic blockade. He called the epidemiological measure “revenge for the display of the Albanian flag on the occasion of Kosovo's Statehood Day on February 17.”

In February 2023, after Faruk Resulbegović After being elected as a judge of the Constitutional Court (he later became a judge), Đeljošaj attacked the Democratic Party of Socialists and the Bosniak Party, claiming that they did not vote for Resulbegović “just because he is an Albanian”.

Đeljošaj did not answer "Vijesti" why he qualifies moves, decisions, laws and measures that he does not like as attacks on Albanians.

Journalist and publicist Mustafa Canka, told "Vijesti" that politicians should be of benefit to "their community", but not hide behind it.

"It is a commendable effort to protect the rights and interests of one's community. And this should be done constantly. Because the best of us is the one who is most useful to his community. But we should not hide behind the community and constantly wave that card when we are in trouble. Accepting responsibility means having an answer. Everything else is politics...", he assessed.

Speaking about Đeljošaj's conflict with Milatović, Canka states that the vice president of the executive branch, if he was sure of what he was saying, should have waited for the Parliament to vote again on the amendments to the law and for "the entire procedure to end smoothly."

"But he reacted rashly, and haste is often a bad ally, both in life and in politics," he notes.

Others are hiding too

Many other political entities also resort to the practice of hiding behind the nation.

One of the striking cases is the dismissal Biljana Vučurović (current advisor to the speaker of parliament) from her position as principal of a Podgorica high school. Parties from the former Democratic Front (DF) called the demands for her dismissal "Serbophobia", saying that the real motive for her dismissal was that Vučurović was a Serb.

"Interest groups close to the opposition, or rather the former regime, whose goal is to eliminate members of the Serbian people from the field of education again, have long stopped talking about the predator and the victim and have directed all their malicious power towards the director... If structures close to the former regime think that by creating such narratives they will try to bring back an atmosphere of open Serbophobia through the back door in the future, they should know that the New Serbian Democracy (NSD) and the coalition 'For the Future of Montenegro' will know how to respond appropriately," the NSD announced in mid-January.

Vučurović was dismissed because she did not take the measures she was required to take following a report of possible sexual harassment by a former student of that school by a professor, which she was obligated to do.

Similar moves were made by the Bosniak Party (BS). Ervin Ibrahimović. Among other things, in early February 2023, when the Parliament approved the proposal of candidates for judges of the Constitutional Court among whom there were no Bosniaks, she stated that this was another "in a series of bad messages that the parliamentary majority has been sending to Bosniaks in Montenegro since August 30, 2020, and the continuation of the ethnic cleansing of institutions from Bosniaks."

Milatović's Cabinet: Law written for the interests of one politician

When asked whether, if the amendments to the Real Estate Tax Law are adopted again, an initiative will be submitted to the Constitutional Court to review the constitutionality of that regulation, President Milatović's office responded to "Vijesti" that that institution will have full responsibility to protect the Constitution.

They stated that they believe the law will not receive renewed support, "unless all illegal and unconstitutional provisions are corrected."

"The Law on Real Estate Tax, which the President returned to the Parliament, is unconstitutional and against the interests of the citizens of Montenegro. Now all citizens know this, the law was written for the interests of one politician, to the detriment of 22.000 agricultural producers across Montenegro, including almost 1.000 in the municipality from which that politician comes," Milatović's office said.

They stated that the proposed law introduces retroactive application of tax obligations, which, they claim, is a direct violation of the Constitution and the principle of legal certainty.

"In practice, this means that farmers and citizens could pay taxes two to three times more than before, retroactively, which creates uncertainty and additional financial pressure. And all this without the consent of the Ministry of Finance, which explicitly stated that such a law should not be accepted," they explain.

They say that it is particularly worrying that the legislative process took place "under political pressure and in an atmosphere of direct threats to the president of the state."

"The threats that were made, and then, have been continuing for days, have not been condemned by any state body. This sends an even more dangerous message, that it is permissible to threaten the president, that one can pass laws in one's own interest with impunity, and that despite everything, institutions are not making a statement," Milatović's office points out.

They also say that this sends a message to citizens that they live in a society where personal interest is above the law, above the Constitution, above the public good.

"That is why President Milatović believes that this law will not gain a new majority in parliament... If this is not the case, the Constitutional Court will have full responsibility to protect the Constitution of Montenegro... But before that, we expect the parliament and the government to return to the principles of the rule of law, because this is no longer just a matter of law, but a matter of freedom, dignity and the European future of Montenegro," they concluded.