Serbs were considered the most privileged national group in Montenegro, and the privilege of Montenegrins is lower compared to the previous year, according to the results of a public opinion survey by the Center for Civic Education (CGO).
"Findings from 2024 indicate that Serbs are perceived as the most privileged national group - an average score of 3.49, with a slight increase compared to 3.46 from 2023. Montenegrins were perceived as less privileged in 2024 than in 2023, with the average rating dropping from 3.44 to 3.30," it was announced during the presentation of the results.
Nikola Đurašević, a project associate at CGO, said that a large part of the respondents believed that they live in a multicultural society - 76,8 percent of them, which, he said, was a decrease compared to the previous year when 81,3 percent of citizens believed that that multiculturalism is very present.
The CGO survey was conducted on a sample of 1.000 citizens over the age of 19, in the period from October 17 to 25.
"Discrimination based on nationality is widespread. Roma remain perceived as the most discriminated group, with an average score of 4.20. Muslims follow with a rating of 2.76. Other groups such as Albanians, Croats and Bosniaks have recorded smaller changes... More than 50 percent of citizens believe that minorities are not discriminated against...", said Đurašević.
According to him, the results of the survey showed that the majority of respondents (43,4 percent) see positive relations between different ethnic groups in Montenegro.
"...Either as good (33,6 percent) or very good (9,8 percent), while slightly more than a third (35,2 percent) of those for whom they are neither good nor bad, and over a fifth (21,5 .15 percent) considers these relations to be negative (bad - 6 percent and very bad - 5,9 percent)," said Đurašević.
He pointed out that there is a decrease in trust in the Government from 40,6 percent in 2023 to 34,2 percent in the current year.
"Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) remain seen as the biggest contributors to trust. They are most often recognized as key actors in reducing discrimination - with 39,4 percent. The majority of citizens, as many as 57 percent of them, believe that the Constitution and laws adequately protect the rights of minorities in Montenegro," explained Đurašević.
The results of the research, he said, showed that religious communities recorded growth in the area of reducing discrimination against different groups - from 25,1 to 30,9 percent.
Marlena Ivanović, a program associate at the CGE, said that citizens' awareness of the existence of national councils of minority communities in Montenegro has increased.
She pointed out that "the percentage of citizens who are familiar with the culture and customs of minority peoples in Montenegro has increased slightly".
Ivanovic emphasized that a large number of respondents - 47 percent - gave a neutral assessment of the work of Radio and Television of Montenegro (RTCG). The same assessment of work, she said, also applies to private media.
"Negative ratings have decreased and we can see a slight increase towards positive ones, which are now around 30 percent."
Ivanovic said that the perception of discrimination before the courts increased from 2.28 to 2.60.
"...While in the field of education there was an increase from 2.23 to 2.56. "When it comes to health care, the rating did not increase from 2.13 to 2.53," she said.
The research results also showed that as many as 52 percent of the surveyed citizens stated that they would not marry a person from another ethnic group.
Đurašević said that "an increase in distance towards migrants and refugees has been recorded".
"There is a big drop in the percentage who believe that the state should provide more of these mechanisms, and there is an increase in those who believe that refugees and migrants should not be detained on the territory of Montenegro. "More than half of the surveyed citizens (57 percent) support the introduction of content in schools that promote the idea of multiculturalism," Đurašević explained.
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