Laws allow the Montenegrin police to prohibit unreported road blockades, but the lack of their reaction shows that these powers are not being used, despite the violation of citizens' freedom of movement.
The Police Directorate warned yesterday, primarily the residents of Botuni, who have been briefly blocking roads in Podgorica for several days, that they are violating the provisions of the Law on Public Gatherings and the Law on Road Traffic Safety, and that by unannounced blockades they are directly endangering their own safety, the safety of other road users, as well as the rights and freedoms of other citizens.
However, the statement did not state why they were not taking any action on the matter, whether they would, and if so, what.
They remind organizers and participants of blockades that in exercising their rights they cannot limit or threaten the rights of other citizens, adding that for security reasons it is necessary to register public gatherings.
The Police Directorate did not respond to "Vijesti's" question yesterday as to why the police are not acting in accordance with the law to prevent road blockades.
The institution announced last night that several people were detained due to the incident during yesterday's blockades, and that 18 people will be prosecuted for unregistered gatherings.
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The Law on Public Gatherings and Public Events provides that the police have the authority to, among other things, break up a public gathering if it has not been registered or is not permitted. It also stipulates that “the police may temporarily restrict the freedom of public assembly if such restriction is necessary in a democratic society to prevent the violation of public order and peace, the commission of criminal offenses, the threat to human rights and freedoms and special minority rights and freedoms of other persons, the safety of persons and property, or at the request of a state administrative body responsible for health affairs, in the event of a threat to health.”
According to the same regulation, the organizer is obliged to submit a written application for holding a public gathering, no later than five days before it is held.
Yesterday, at around 15 p.m., the residents of Botuni blocked the roundabout on the Nikšić - Cetinje main road and the main road towards Virpazar in the town of Bistrica, as well as the railway. On that occasion, an incident occurred near the Nikšić Bridge, when a citizen, outraged at not being able to pass, started hitting the parked car of one of the residents of Botuni with a hammer. An incident almost occurred the previous day in Donja Gorica, when one of the residents wanted to "force" his vehicle through, but the residents of Botuni prevented him.
The people of Botunja are blocking roads in protest against the construction of a collector in that settlement in Zeta. This week, they blocked the roundabout at the exit from Podgorica towards Cetinje, the roundabout at Zabjelo near Vodovod, Bistrice, Mataguži... On New Year's Eve, with the support of officials from the Democratic People's Party (DNP), which is threatening to leave the government and the authorities in Podgorica, they blocked the roundabout at the turnoff to the airport in Zeta, as well as local roads on the road to Podgorica, and after the police action on the plot where the construction of a wastewater treatment plant is planned.
Residents of the Zagorič Forest Park blocked the roundabout leading to the highway at around 14 p.m. yesterday. They have previously organized such blockades to protest, as they say, the high interest rates charged by the state for paying for state-owned plots of land on which they built houses about 20 years ago.
AMENDMENTS TO THE LAW ARE STUCK IN THE PARLIAMENT
Some government deputies, including representatives of the DNP, proposed tightening regulations regarding road blockades at the end of June last year. They submitted a proposal for amendments to the Law on Public Assemblies to the parliamentary procedure with the aim of preventing blockades, but, according to a source from "Vijesti", after public outcry - there is currently no intention to discuss it.
A newsroom source from a ruling party said, in response to the question of whether a proposal would be withdrawn from the procedure if there was no will to consider it, that it rarely happens that amendments are withdrawn, "because it practically means nothing."
"At any moment, by the decision of a member of parliament, one can find oneself in the procedure," said the interlocutor.
Part of the government proposed the changes when, in protest, citizens blocked several roads throughout Montenegro, the most famous of which were the road blockades in Kruševo Ždrijelo, on the main road Cetinje - Podgorica, as well as the protest of citizens in Šavnik, i.e. the blockade of the main road towards Žabljak.
After months of daily protests at Kruševo Ždrijelo, the citizens of Cetinje, who were demanding accountability for two massacres in the capital in which 23 people were killed, decided in early December last year to lift the blockades. The Šavnica opposition, which protested against the re-election Jugoslav Jakić (DPS) for the mayor of that municipality and the fact that local elections have not been completed since October 2022, she gave up on the blockades last summer.
The proposed amendments to the law would prohibit “seeking justice on the streets,” i.e., prohibit the blocking of highways, expressways, main, regional or local roads, and border crossings if the protesters thereby prevent or hinder traffic and the movement of other citizens. This, they argued, clearly defines the boundary between the right to assemble and the right of other citizens to safe and unhindered movement. The amendments, which became part of the proposal, also prohibit the blocking of railway traffic.
Fines for violating the law range from 500 to 10.000 euros. The fines already exist, but the proposal significantly increases them.
Although "Vijesti" was told by a part of the government at the end of July last year that the Parliament would not further comment on the proposed amendments until it received the opinion of the European Commission (EC) on the proposal, it is not known whether the document was even sent to Brussels.
The interlocutor of "Vijesti" said that he was not informed about this, stating that the Government, not the Parliament, does this.
Yesterday, the parliament did not respond to questions about the status of the proposed amendments to the Law on Public Assemblies, whether it will be voted on, or whether the document has been sent to Brussels and, if so, what opinion was received.
The Government said that they had forwarded the question to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but no response was received from those departments yesterday.
Part of the Montenegrin public claims that voting for the amendments would represent the introduction of a blanket ban on public gatherings, that is, that it would be an attack on the Constitution.
When it comes to criticism of the proposed legal solution from international organizations, the United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinator in Montenegro Diego Sorilla In July last year, he submitted a letter to the head of parliament Andrija Mandić (New Serbian Democracy) and all heads of parliamentary groups warning of the possibility that the proposed amendments "are not compatible with Article 21 on peaceful assembly guaranteed by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Montenegro signed in 2006."
The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights also had a similar view. Majkl O'Flaerti, who on July 24, 2025, urged MPs not to adopt the amendments, claiming that they were not in line with international human rights standards.
There were 90 unregistered gatherings in 2024
In 2024, 347 public gatherings were held in Montenegro, while the previous year there were 422, according to the Report on the Implementation of the Law on Public Gatherings and Public Events.
Of the total number of public gatherings, 247 were registered and held, while 90 were held without registration, and ten were spontaneous. The police provided security for 308 gatherings.
Of the 282 registered gatherings in 2024, 35 did not take place because the organizers canceled. The gatherings were attended by about 228.630 citizens, the report says.
Police say that "on-the-go" protests are problematic because they often involve blocking roads, leading to complaints from citizens who are restricting their movement, with the risk of possible conflicts.
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