The leader of the Civic Movement (GP) URA, Dritan Abazović, said that he supports the pensioners of Montenegro, stating that the Government has put its hand in their pocket and humiliated them, adding that they should not accept this, and that he supports their announced protest.
This was announced today by the URA Border Guard.
As stated in the statement, Abazović, from Washington, where he attended the Prayer Breakfast, assessed in his podcast Friday with Dritan that we are a frivolous country due to the collapse in the security sector and that this government must go.
"He also emphasized that America is the most important foreign policy partner for Montenegro, with which economic cooperation should be strengthened," the statement reads.
The URA said that Abazović, commenting on the adjustment of pensions, which is why pensioners receive barely two euros more, assessed that it was "a topic for the believe it or not column."
"I apologize to you on behalf of these people, even though I am absolutely not to blame for anything. I apologize for putting you in a situation where, at a time when you should be thinking most about spending time with your grandchildren and having a relaxed life after your working life, you are being humiliated by the Government of Montenegro. The Government can change the adjustment and increase your pensions, but the problem is that there is no money. The Government of Milojko Spajić froze pensions, and before it froze them, it put its hand in your pocket and took money from your fund that it distributed to citizens for other things," he said.
The leader of URE supported the announcement of a pensioners' strike and the initiative to raise money for the Government of Montenegro.
"These are the hungriest people who have ever come to power. I am ready to participate when you collect money and I will donate something myself, so that these people can eat and drink more. Ask how much money they spent on official trips, how much on official lunches. We have a government that has more ministers than the government of India. And your pensions were increased by less than two euros. In addition to this inflation, which in the previous period also ate up those earlier increases," he added.
As reported, Abazović recalled that during his government in 2023, instead of the standard adjustment, pensions were increased by 17 percent, when Aleksandar Damjanović was the head of the Ministry of Finance in his government.
"I think every well-intentioned citizen should take your side. Please, be active when the elections come. Don't forget this for them, punish them and allow someone who will at least have a fair relationship with you to manage public finances," said Abazović.
The security system is in disarray, this government must go, and Montenegro must get back on the right path.
The leader of the URA Movement also commented on the collapse of the system in the security sector, stating that there is no accountability and that even after the escape of the former special prosecutor, there was no meeting to discuss it and determine responsibility.
"We have reached a situation where we are becoming a frivolous state. We have no outlines of government, no outlines of the state. Citizens have the opportunity to see institutions sinking every day. We are witnessing skirmishes between different systems, or branches of government. In this situation, we can only have one appeal - it no longer matters who is to blame. This government must go. Montenegro must get back on the right path," Abazović said.
He estimated that this humiliation of institutions would continue in the coming period.
"That's where they brought Montenegro. That's why resignations don't help here, they would only be a moral act. This is where this freakish government needs to go and, through early parliamentary elections, we should try to get a government that could work in different conditions. I led the government in a technical mandate, compare it, it worked like a violin. Without support in Parliament, but it was able to work, face problems and make decisions," he added.
Commenting on his stay in the USA, Abazović, added URE, assessed that the country is the most important foreign policy factor for Montenegro.
"Although I believe that we will be the first next member of the European Union, I think that Washington is the most important address for us. It is the only country that can establish peace and stability in the Western Balkans region. It is important that we maintain our strength and build partnerships with the US," he said.
Abazović said that American administrations will change, whether one likes it or not, but that the most important thing is to understand that the US has the capacity to bring peace and stability, but also instability in extraordinary circumstances.
"That's why it's important for countries like Montenegro to build friendships with countries that can be the greatest support on the international level. We are a small country and it's important to avoid alignments in complex situations, because our system is vulnerable. What the Government of Montenegro needs to do, and I'm not sure it's doing that right now, is to show seriousness in international politics," he added.
He also said that Montenegro needs to strengthen its international visibility, because some important addresses do not know enough about Montenegro, or if they do, it is not in a positive context.
"We all need to make an effort, starting from the network of embassies and diplomatic and consular missions, to the politics that comes out of the house. These addresses are also important for our economy. We must also turn to distant markets. In the global world, not everything is concentrated only on countries that are close to us," he explained.
When asked by citizens about the fact that the Parliament adopted 25 laws without debate, and the President signed them after announcing that he would return them, he said that he believed that the MPs did not even know what these laws were called and what they related to. URA did not attend that vote.
Abazović said that Montenegro needs leaders with backbone, who stand behind their words and decisions, and that Milatović is "a little stronger than sour water."
When asked whether the time was ripe for the resignation of Police Director Lazar Šćepanović and whether he would cooperate with PES in the next government, he said that it would be healing for him to realize for himself that he had failed in a mission that may have been noble and well-intentioned in the beginning.
"We are far from the next government. We are closer to it every day, but this is not the moment to declare," he added.
He reminded that the GP URA has the Montenegro 365 program and that it knows how to govern the country differently compared to the current government.
"I hope that citizens will increasingly recognize this. PES has been given a chance, here is their chance. If anyone can call this anything other than institutional mockery, then we really have a problem. In any case, we will see what time brings," Abazović pointed out.
Speaking about the legal initiatives of the URA Movement, he said that the proposal for the so-called anti-mafia law is one of the best and that the current proposal of the Ministry of Justice is not a good solution.
"It seems to me that they are trying to turn a blind eye. Criminals should be given back what they stole from citizens. We have other good proposals: housing for all, strengthening social policy, increasing child benefits. We cannot have nothing for children and not take care of them. In the previous period, while we were in power, we showed that even in difficult conditions we can achieve results, especially in the fight against organized crime and corruption," he said.
He reiterated that his party supports Sunday as a non-working day.
"Personally, I think this is a fraud by the current government and that they want to bring back the working Sunday, hiding behind the Constitutional Court. I am not sure of their sincerity, but we will defend the rights of workers. It is important for families to be together - the essence of the non-working Sunday is family gathering and that must be a priority," he added.
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