Vujović: No one disputed what the national flag of the Albanian community looks like, the context is disputed

No one disputes that the flag used by Albanians in Montenegro is legally recognized as their national symbol. But, to reiterate, this fact does not mean that every display of the same flag, by any person, in any situation, and in any capacity, constitutes the exercise of minority rights.

This was said by the Minister of Culture and Media, member of the Democrats presidency, Tamara Vujović, in response to yesterday's statement by Lindon Đeljaj, member of the presidency of the Albanian Forum.

"It is precisely Article 23 of the Law on Public Order and Peace that makes this distinction. The law exempts from sanctioning the symbol of another state when it is displayed as a symbol of a member of a minority people or another minority national community, in accordance with a special law. Therefore, the law does not only look at the appearance of the flag, but also in what legal capacity it is used. And who, in a legal sense, are members of minority peoples and other minority national communities is not a matter of political interpretation. Article 2 of the Law on Minority Rights and Freedoms explicitly stipulates that a minority people or another minority national community represents a group of citizens of Montenegro, numerically smaller than the prevailing population, historically linked to Montenegro," Vujović stated.

Therefore, citizenship, she adds, is not arbitrarily inserted into this debate, but is an integral part of the legal definition of a minority people.

"According to information from the Police Directorate, and it is important to point this out in order to further clarify the context for citizens, in this specific case it was an organized convoy of 13 vehicles with foreign license plates, with 20 foreign citizens, mostly citizens of the Republic of Albania, who used the territory of Montenegro for transit to Kosovo. Therefore, it is legally quite legitimate to ask the question: is this really about the exercise of a special minority right in Montenegro or about the display of state symbols of another state by foreign citizens in transit?!", Vujović pointed out.

She said that she accepts that the Police Directorate should publish data on the treatment of all flags of other countries, and that transparency can only benefit the institutions.

"But the number of prosecuted persons is not in itself evidence of discrimination. Only comparable situations can be legally compared. If there is a case in which a column of foreign citizens of another country, with the characteristics of that country, was treated differently in the same or substantially similar circumstances, let that case be established and investigated. Any previous failure to act by a state body, however, cannot become a legal basis for future failure to act," stated the member of the Democrats Presidency.

When it comes to weddings, family celebrations and other events of members of the Albanian people in Montenegro, the law specifically provides for the possibility of displaying the national flag, including family celebrations, adds Vujović.

"If in a specific case a right is wrongly restricted, that case should also be examined. This is the difference between the rule of law and political generalization, because each case must be assessed according to the facts and the law. Montenegro must simultaneously be a state in which the Albanian national identity is respected without reservation and a state in which its laws are applied without reservation. These two principles are not opposed. On the contrary, one cannot exist without the other," she emphasized.

She emphasized that no one in Montenegro should have fewer rights because of their nationality.

"But also, no one can have more rights than what the law prescribes. That is equality before the law and that is European Montenegro. And, colleague Djeljaj, let's be clear: no one disputed what the national flag of the Albanian community looks like. The context in which the professional activities of the police, which protect the legal order of Montenegro, are being tried to be placed is disputable," she concluded.