While the tourist season in Montenegro is heating up, the season of civil discontent and road blockades is not going away. Some are trying to reach the sea and find some respite, while others are trying to reach justice and basic rights.
From south to north, the column includes both tourists and citizens - some in search of a beach, others for retirement, asphalt, security, or an institutional response.
The Televizija Vijesti crew headed towards the coast this morning, but the journey quickly took them to the other side of Montenegrin reality, the one where queues form due to dissatisfaction, and which will soon be followed by tourism.
Like many who decided to spend Saturday at the seaside, the Televizija Vijesti crew headed to the coast this morning - via Sozina. Whether because they were early, or because drivers had learned to avoid weekend traffic jams, they arrived in Sutomore without any delays, even though it was the weekend.
From Sutomore to Bar, there were queues, but traffic flowed without major delays.
However, anyone who headed to Ulcinj and did not arrive there by 11 am had to take alternative routes to the beach.
At the entrance to Ulcinj, former workers of the Bajo Sekulić Saltworks stopped traffic for the fifth Saturday in a row, demanding payment of debts in the amount of about one million euros and the registration of five years of service, so that they could finally retire.
"We will be there every Saturday for about two hours, yes it's hot, yes there are a few elderly people here, but we will manage, maybe we will bring some umbrellas, and even some refreshments, but we have to do this. Yes it's the tourist season, we apologize first and foremost to the tourists who come to this beautiful city, but... But we don't know anymore, we don't know how else. We have tried all the ways," said Saša Mitrović, a representative of the workers of the "Bajo Sekulić" saltworks.
Landowners within the Biogradska Gora National Park have no other choice. For the third Saturday in a row, they are blocking the Kolašin-Mojkovac highway, demanding the right to use their property within the boundaries of the protected area. As of today, the protest will last twice as long - two hours instead of one.
Traffic was briefly suspended today in Bijelo Polje, where residents of the Vraneška Valley are demanding the asphalting of roads passing through the area.
For about three months, daily two-hour blockades, and on Sundays three-hour blockades on the main road Podgorica - Cetinje in the town of Kruševo Ždrijelo, have been ongoing, during which citizens of the Royal Capital demand accountability from security sector leaders for two tragedies in which 23 of their fellow citizens were killed.
With a demand that the Ravno border crossing with Bosnia and Herzegovina be opened and made official, the citizens of Pluzine have recently joined the traffic blockade across Šćepan Polje.
Those planning a trip to Žabljak can count on a passable road, at least until Thursday. The people of Šavnica, who have been protesting almost daily for months due to the three-year institutional crisis in that municipality, have announced that they are temporarily suspending the blockades. They say that in communication with the parliamentary majority they have recognized signs of a possible solution, but if no agreement is reached, they will return to the main road from Thursday - every day from 13 pm to 16 pm.
The only thing more congested than traffic on Montenegrin roads is the system in whose rearview mirror, between the tourist season and institutional impotence,
And let's return to the south of the country from the north with the image. Although the sea was reached without any crowds this morning, the afternoon return from the coast is a different story - then the queues are common. Judging by the license plates, it seems that most of the roads to the south today were flooded with local drivers, informed when, where and for how long the streets will be blocked. However, the tourist season is heating up, so the question remains whether it is worth starting the car until the road blocking season is over.
Bonus video:
