The radicalization of the protest, that is, a two-hour blockade of the Kolašin-Mojkovac main road on June 14, was announced at today's gathering by members of the informal group "Right to Ancestry and Private Property", which consists of owners of plots within the Biogradska Gora National Park (NP).
For the third Saturday in a row, from 12:13 to XNUMX:XNUMX p.m., they blocked the main road Kolašin-Mojkovac, pointing out, as they claim, "the discriminatory attitude of the state towards them and numerous restrictions on the disposal of their own property."
As Svetozar Bogavac announced at the protest, none of the relevant departments and institutions have yet contacted the members of the association.
The association announces that it will send a letter "describing the state's treatment of property owners within the National Park" to the addresses of foreign embassies and the Delegation of the European Union (EU) in Montenegro.
"We have prepared a letter for foreign embassies in Montenegro and for the EU Delegation in Podgorica. In it, we described how the state treats its citizens, their property, how it discriminates against us and how it violates our basic constitutional rights, the right to life, the right to work, the right to private property, the right to ancestral property. We also described how selective justice is being implemented against the inhabitants of the north, how it forces us to emigrate from our homes," the protest said.
As Bogavac said, the members of the association have not yet received a response from the authorities.
He recalled that in a television debate, the director of the Public Enterprise National Parks of Montenegro (JPNPCG), Marinela Đuretić, stated that the Biogradska Gora NP Audit Study has not yet been adopted and that there is room for further action by the competent state authorities, specifically the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Ministry of Spatial Planning, Urbanism and State Property.
Bogavac reiterated his call to parliamentary caucuses to get involved in resolving the problems of property owners within the National Park.
He invited Slaven Radunović, Minister of Spatial Planning, Urbanism and State Property, Damjan Ćulafić, Minister of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Development of the North, as well as EPA Director Milan Gazdić, to come to the NP and tour the "disputed zones in the park".
"They cannot decide about our property and our ancestral heritage from their offices in Podgorica. They must come to the scene and see for themselves the real situation on the ground. We invite them because we have decided to radicalize the protests, which will also affect the tourist image and reputation of the country. We will fight by all legal means for our property and ancestral heritage. We will not give it to anyone, not even the state, even though they took it from us, unlike other citizens of Montenegro who can do whatever they want with their property and dispose of it without restrictions," said Bogavac.
He said that "the state can take their property, but with fair compensation, through expropriation", and in this way, as he claims, "forces the owners to move out of the country".
Otherwise, he points out, it is not possible, "because the owners will not give up the fight, despite the reports and discrimination."
"It's no wonder we're moving out. We're being forced to do so by state institutions that don't hear the voice of the people. To them, we're just statistical numbers, and nothing more. That's why we'll wait a short while longer before sending a letter to various addresses, from Podgorica to Brussels," said Bogavac.
Property owners within the NP, as he pointed out, will wait for some time for a response from the relevant departments and the Agency, in the hope that they will be invited for a discussion and that their problems will be taken into account.
As previously jointly announced by the Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Northern Development, the Public Enterprise National Parks of Montenegro (NPCG) and the Agency, "they are continuously open to dialogue and cooperation with the local population and all stakeholders regarding issues of NP management."
They explained that the public debate on the Draft Audit Study for the NP lasted 55 days, that all interested parties were given the opportunity to review the document, submit comments and suggestions, and that two public forums in Kolašin and one round table were organized.
The NP protection zones were finally defined by the Special Purpose Spatial Plan (SPSP), which is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Spatial Planning, Urbanism and State Property, to which the Study was submitted as an expert basis in 2024.
The Ministry, JPNPCG and EPA remind that "nature protection laws clearly regulate the issue of property rights and the possibility of compensation in the event of restrictions on the right to use real estate", and that there are legal mechanisms that protect the interests of owners and enable compensation if legally valid restrictions occur.
They claim that the park's borders have not been changed except in a technical sense, so as not to intersect cadastral plots. Nearly 80 percent (4.720 ha) of the NP's area is state-owned. Within this protected area, three protection zones have been defined.
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