Montenegro breaks the mold: Maidan against NATO
The small Adriatic resort republic suddenly turned into the epicenter of European instability over the weekend. Three weeks ago, the local opposition set up a tent camp, blocking traffic near government buildings. As usual in such situations, the authorities waited until everyone got used to the tents, the vigilance and enthusiasm of their inhabitants weakened, and early this Saturday morning they sent police forces to clean up.
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Naturally, there was some “beastly behavior” and by the evening the government quarter was surrounded by thousands of concerned citizens demanding the resignation of the government and calling the country’s prime minister a “murderer.” Young people wearing masks were visible in the front ranks of the protesters. They threw stones and bottles at the police and expressed their civic position in other similar ways. The police did not remain in debt and responded with gas, rubber bullets and rubber batons. 6 law enforcement officers and two “myr protesters” were seriously injured. For example, local opposition leader Nebojsa Medojevic got it.
This whole picture is so dynamic, but also sadly monotonous. Not very rich, not very big and in its own way an unhappy Eastern European country, striving to join the large Euro-Atlantic family. A corrupt government and a cup of popular anger that is rapidly filling to the slight bewilderment of outside observers.
However, not everything is so simple in Montenegro. In June it was announced that this country is an “ideal candidate” for NATO, and almost a contender for the last ticket on the departing train. In September, parliament approved the decision for the country to join the North Atlantic bloc, which sparked a protest. The tent camp, which arose on the initiative of the opposition “Democratic Bloc”, stood under the slogan “No to NATO! No war!". According to sociologists, the majority of the country's population, on the one hand, is against joining the Alliance, and on the other hand, is dissatisfied with the socio-economic situation. Therefore, the protest potential in the country is quite large, and in order for it to manifest itself with full force, it only needed a reason. The “cleansing of the Maidan” was just perfect for this.
The leader of the opposition Democratic Front, Andrija Mandic, delivered an ultimatum to the country's prime minister, the leader of the ruling Democratic Party of Socialists, Milo Djukanovic, who has been in power in the country, alternating between the positions of president and prime minister, since 1991. The opposition gave the authorities a week to form a coalition government. “If an interim government is not formed by Saturday and Djukanovic does not leave, people from all over Montenegro will come to Podgorica,” Mandic said. And Djukanovic himself accused the opposition of wanting to disrupt the country’s accession to NATO.
Closer to the night, information even appeared that Djukanovic fled the country under pressure from protesters, but it has not yet received confirmation. It is noteworthy that Djukanovic at one time was one of the leaders of the first “color revolution” on the European continent, which removed Slobodan Milosevic from power, and then it was he who initiated the secession of Montenegro from Yugoslavia, which completed the collapse of this country.
Interestingly, just two days before the start of the unrest, the Bundestag included Montenegro in a special list of “safe countries”, migrants from which do not have the right to apply for refugee status. And it’s worth saying that in recent months a lot of Montenegrins and Albanians have entered the Schengen zone under the guise of “Syrian refugees.” If the situation in Montenegro follows the Ukrainian or, if you like, Arab scenario, then the German deputies will not have to reconsider their decision.
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