Democratic People's Party (DNP) Milan Knežević does not reveal which tricolor it would standardize as the "national flag", and this idea, according to the claims of a lawyer with whom "Vijesti" spoke, is contrary to the Constitution - because Montenegro, according to that act, is organized as a civil, not a people's state.
The DNP did not respond to "Vijesti"'s questions - which tricolor would be the "national" one, whether they could provide a photo of that flag, which nation's flag it would be, and whether they believe that such a request is contrary to the highest legal act.
This is one of the demands that officials of Knežević's party, the vice president of the executive branch, would make. Milun Zogović and Minister of Transport Maja Vukićević, should have been submitted to the Government Milojko Spajić at its first regular session.
In addition, they will also request the initiation of constitutional changes to make the Serbian language, along with Montenegrin, an official language, an amendment to the Law on Citizenship to introduce dual citizenship with Serbia, and the initiation of a dialogue based on the results of the referendum on the construction of a wastewater treatment plant in Botun, "which would take into account the views" of the citizens of Zeta, who said "no" to the construction of the collector on December 14th last year.
If these demands do not receive support from the executive branch, Knežević's party claims that Zogović and Vukićević will resign, that the DNP parliamentary group will deny support to Spajić in the state parliament, and that the mayor of Podgorica will be denied support. To Saša Mujović in the city.
After the police in Botun carried out an action on December 30 last year that ended a two-month protest by the residents of that Zeta settlement against the plan to build a collector there, Knežević said that he would propose to the DNP presidency that he leave the “bloody government”, and that, if that party body did not accept his proposal, he would resign from his parliamentary function and the position of party leader. However, the DNP did not leave power, but announced that it would present demands to the government, while Knežević, despite his promise, did not resign.
Constitution and law
A legal expert the editorial team spoke to said that the DNP's request regarding the "national flag" is unconstitutional, because, he says, Montenegro, according to the highest legal act, is organized as a civil, not a people's state. In addition, he quoted a part from the preamble of the Constitution - "... we are determined that as free and equal citizens, members of the peoples and national minorities living in Montenegro: Montenegrins, Serbs, Bosniaks, Albanians, Muslims, Croats and others, committed to a democratic and civil Montenegro...".
The Law on State Symbols and Statehood Day also protects several versions of the tricolor that have been used throughout the history of the Montenegrin state. It stipulates that the state and military symbols of the Principality and Kingdom of Montenegro, the symbols of the People's and Socialist Republic of Montenegro, as well as the symbols of the Republic of Montenegro established by the Law on the Coat of Arms and Flag of the Republic of Montenegro, enjoy protection, as do the state symbols established by that law.
The DNP has repeatedly used, as experts interviewed by the newspaper called it, a “contemporary interpretation” of the flag of the Kingdom of Montenegro. However, this flag differs from those displayed during the Kingdom's time.
DNP's coalition partners, New Serbian Democracy (NSD) of the parliament speaker Andrije Mandić, they point out in public the tricolor without the coat of arms. "Vijesti" wrote in mid-January 2024 that the Ministry of Culture and Media cannot determine what kind of flag, in addition to the state flag, is in Mandić's office. That flag is red-blue-white, the same colors as the current flags of Serbia and Republika Srpska, without the coat of arms.
The Parliament then told the editorial staff that the tricolor was the “state symbol of the Principality of Montenegro and the Kingdom of Montenegro,” and that it was protected by law. However, the National Museum of Montenegro did not confirm to “Vijesti” that it was the flag of the Principality/Kingdom of Montenegro, while historians with whom “Vijesti” spoke at the time claimed that there was no physical evidence of the use of the tricolor without the coat of arms for exclusively state purposes.
What is the "real" tricolor?
Historian Vukan Razantovic told "Vijesti" that the announcement of the DNP's demands regarding changes to the Constitution, including the flag issue, raises the issue of historical education in Montenegro. He stated that it is not known which tricolor the DNP would like to include as one of the official symbols, but that it can be assumed that it is "the one they use in their statements."
"The flag that has been appearing at public gatherings in recent years, including those of the DNP and the former DF, is not defined by any document in the history of Montenegro. Numerous statements by the DNP and their coalition partners use platitudes about the 'age-old', 'national' and 'historical' flag of Montenegro, often referring to the Constitution of 1905 and the Kingdom of Montenegro. According to the Constitution of the Principality of Montenegro, the coat of arms is a double-headed white eagle, and the national colors are red, blue and white," he stated.
Ražnatović said that the 1905 Constitution does not mention the flag, so that over the past 121 years the status of state symbols has been open to interpretation, adding that the fact is that both the gold and white double-headed eagles in combination with red and tricolor fields have been used as state, military and court flags.
According to him, while it can be interpreted that the tricolor with the white eagle is defined as the official flag of Montenegro, for those 11, or rather 13 years of its existence, it is certainly not "age-old", as many claim. Based on all this, in addition to the question of which "age-old" tricolor will the DNP propose as the national flag, Ražnatović points out that the question also arises - "of which nation?".
"If the answer is 'the same as in the 1905 Constitution', one must take into account what Montenegro represented in 1905, because the Constitution is a legal act that represents only subjects from the then territory of Montenegro, and not a political one that can have a broader purpose. If the answer is - to be the Serbian people, Pandora's box opens where every ethnic, religious and any other community can demand the introduction of 'its' flag and thus flood both the public and the legislative system with the problem of identity issues," the interlocutor underlined.
He explained that the first mention of the tricolor, as one of the symbols of Montenegro, was found during the reign of Prince Danila 1858, and that it is a decision to create this flag that "remained a letter on paper", because no copy has been preserved.
"It is interesting that one of the government representatives, a member of parliament from the Socialist People's Party (SNP) Bogdan Božović, in the show 'Načisto' on Television Vijesti on January 15, stated that it (the tricolor) was mentioned in 1850 during the reign of Prince Danilo. In addition to the fact that the year is wrong - in 1850, Montenegro was ruled by Petar II Petrović - Njegos "It is indicative that politicians use history, forgetting that it is a social science, not a political platform, and that not everything in history is open to interpretation. This speaks to a general lack of familiarity with historical processes that they use on a daily basis," Ražnatović assessed.
In addition to Božović's statement, the interviewee also cites an example of the tricolor from the celebration of the 120th anniversary of the 1905 Constitution in Podgorica in December last year. He stated that at the ceremonial academy he organized Mandic, a prominent tricolor with a white eagle, and that it is the banner of the supreme commander of the king Nicholas, or the military flag. He emphasized that flying the military flag at a gathering on the highest legal act - once again shows "ignorance of our past, disinterest, or manipulation of it."
Misuse of history
Ražnatović says that criticism of the state flag is often heard from the same ranks. He noted that the July 13th Uprising was raised under the red flag on a red field in the immediate vicinity of Cetinje and, as such - one of the most glorious moments in the history of Montenegro, deserves to be respected.
"The uprising, as we know, was raised due to the proclamation of the independent state of Montenegro at the St. Peter's Day Assembly, and during the proclamation of this quisling creation in Cetinje, on the building of the Zeta Banate, today's symbol of the Assembly, the Montenegrin tricolor was displayed, desecrating the former symbol of freedom," he stated.
He believes that the use of history for daily political purposes can best be seen in the politics of Mandić's NSD. He stated that Prince Nikola's work "Onamo 'namo" was played at the party's rallies, while the party's highest order was named after him. Marko Daković, one of the greatest political rivals of the last Montenegrin monarch.
Ražnatović also said that, in addition, the frequent references to the verses and policies of King Nikola, common sense conflicts with the positive attitude towards the Podgorica Assembly and the dethronement of King Nikola and his dynasty, despite the reference to "Petrović's" Montenegro, which this "illegitimate and illegal assembly abolished with the help of a foreign factor."
"The DNP and their partners SNP and NSD, who constantly emphasize the issue of the tricolor, are not familiar with its history or its use and contribute to the creation of an unscientific narrative about this symbol. The tricolor, as a symbol and flag, which is already protected by the Law on State Symbols and the Statehood Day of Montenegro, as a historical symbol, and as such enjoys a special status in the Montenegrin legislature as monarchist, revolutionary, and socialist," he said.
On the other hand, he points out that it is not clear why the tricolor and certain moments in Montenegrin history are emphasized. He asked - why they do not propose a red banner or a cross, whether it is white on a red background or red on white.
"Or why not the coat of arms of Crnojević, Balšić or Vojislavljević as three Montenegrin dynasties that are not politically emphasized like the Petrović Njegoš dynasty? I am not sure why the flag from the late 19th and early 20th centuries is constantly being pushed, and not the cross as a symbol from Njegoš's time, which is often referred to," notes Ražnatović.
He said that the DNP and their coalition partners are misusing a symbol for daily political purposes, thus continuing the negative attitude towards Montenegrin symbols "since the time of the laughter of the former Prime Minister and former high-ranking official of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), Duško Marković, in the nineties as a reaction to the proposals of the leaders of the Liberal Alliance Slavko Perović on state symbols at the time of the unified DPS, or the ancestor of the DNP".
"The same DPS created the current variation of the tricolor, which differs from the historical one, so we should not be surprised by the politics of its derivatives today," the interlocutor concluded.
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