From Albanian to Montenegrin city and back: Albanian politicians then and now about Ulcinj

Statement by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Development Nika Đeljošaj that Ulcinj is an Albanian city, not only caused sharp public controversy, but also reminded of the time of similar assessments by other Albanian politicians, who said that the southernmost municipality was just a city in Montenegro.

"The current situation and the state's attitude towards the Albanian people lead us to think that Ulcinj is not currently a Montenegrin city, but only a city in Montenegro. For now, that is the perception, and whether Ulcinj will also be a Montenegrin city and whether the people of Ulcinj will feel comfortable in Montenegro as in their own country - depends solely on the state. All that is needed is a little more will and work on the democratization of society," said the MP and leader of the Democratic Union of Albanians (DUA) in an interview with "Vijesti" almost 15 years ago (February 2012). Mehmed Zenka.

On that occasion, as acting president of DUA, he insisted on answering the same question that the newspaper had previously asked the then mayor of Ulcinj in an interview. Nazifu Cunguu - whether for him Ulcinj is a Montenegrin city or a city in Montenegro.

Unlike Zenka, Cungu, who was also the leader of Force at the time, answered a journalist's question without thinking, saying that Ulcinj is a Montenegrin city.

But Zenka was in the state parliament a few days ago, replicating the prime minister Milojko Spajić in a discussion about the (illegal) borders of the maritime domain, he incidentally noted that Ulcinj is Montenegrin.

Shortly thereafter, i.e. last weekend, Đeljošaj updated a narrative on social media implying that the southernmost municipality is not Montenegrin.

"Ulcinj was a city. Ulcinj is a city. Ulcinj will always be a city. Ulcinj is a city with a majority Albanian population. Ulcinj is an Albanian city. Ulcinj is a city captured by certain politicians known for corruption. Ulcinj will be liberated in June 2027. Ulcinj is the metropolis of European tourism," Đeljošaj wrote on Instagram.

The announcement by the president of the Albanian Forum came a day after the parliamentary debate (held last Friday) on the proposal for amendments to the Law on Local Self-Government, for which the Albanian Alliance MP Ilir Chapuni previously assessed that it prevents historical and urban centers like Ulcinj and Kotor from becoming cities, and that it grants that status to other municipalities solely based on administrative and fiscal criteria.

Parliamentary presentation of representatives of the Albanian Forum Artan Chobi in Albanian, provoked reactions from some parliamentarians, who asked for clarification of the translation. Representative of the European Union Boris Mugoša he asked Čobi if he said Ulcinj was Albanian.

"I ask this with caution, because there may have been a problem with the translation. All cities are Montenegrin - not in the national sense, but in the state-building sense. It is dangerous if we name cities according to which people are the majority in them. I wish you hadn't said what we heard in the headphones...", Mugoša said.

Čobi then clarified that he was talking about the time "when Ulcinj was given to Montenegro as a city with a majority Albanian population."

Leader of Ulcinj Genzi Nimanbeg (Forca) called Djeljoshaev's statement the day before yesterday "afterthought".

Nimanbegu, unlike his predecessor in that position, Cungu, did not specifically answer the question of whether the executive branch member's narrative was acceptable to him.

"The message is certainly dedicated to the elections, because they are approaching, and it is defining Ulcinj as an Albanian city and flirting with the citizens," he said while appearing on "Colors of Morning" on TV Vijesti.

Nimanbegu did not directly answer the question of whether he was justified in such messages, saying that "that is a question for the person who said it."

Leader of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) Danijel Zivkovic wrote yesterday in an author's text that there is a big difference between saying that Ulcinj is a city with a majority Albanian population and that it is an "Albanian city".

"If we accept that logic... then Montenegro ceases to be a state, but becomes a collection of national territories...", he pointed out.

Artan Čobi responded by saying that Živković has the right to his political position that Ulcinj is a Montenegrin city, just as others have the right to say that it is Albanian.