2022 Montenegrin pro-government protests
 | This article documents a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses, and initial news reports may be unreliable. The latest updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. (January 2022) |
| 2022 Montenegrin pro-government protests | |||
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| File:Protesters in Podgorica 2022.jpg | |||
| Date | 19 January 2022 2 years ago – | ||
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| Status | Ongoing | ||
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Protests are being held in Montenegro against the proposition of URA to dismiss the incumbent Prime Minister, Zdravko Krivokapić, and the 42nd Cabinet of Montenegro, along with the announced formation of a temporary minority government. Since most ministers of the cabinet are close to Krivokapić, most ministers supported or attended these protests, including Vesna Bratić, Jakov Milatović and Milojko Spajić.[1] The protests are being held in multiple cities such as Podgorica, Bijelo Polje and Berane. While most have been peaceful, there have been incidents of violence at the protests, such as the assault of a reporter of RTCG, the state media of Montenegro.[2]
On January 24, Vesna Bratić was accused by opposition parties of insulting national minorities due to comments she made about the Serbian Orthodox Church.[3]
Background
The protests started as a response to the proposition of the United Reform Action (URA) and some other parties and political leaders to dismiss the current government and Prime Minister. The reason for these propositions is that Krivokapić outright refused to dismiss some of his ministers, such as Bratić, after a majority of parliament voted to dismiss them[4] because of “not doing their jobs correctly” or being outed as extremists.[5] The protests were composed of mostly conservatives and supporters of the Serbian Orthodox Church which has a significant influence in the Krivokapić government, as most of the ministers are close to it.[6]
Symbolism and slogans
Symbolism
Unlike most of the protests in Montenegro in the last few years, these protests are mostly secular. However, a lot of Serbian Orthodox Church flags and symbolism can be seen at the protests, along with the Montenegrin tricolour, which was a partly official Flag of Montenegro from 1905 to 1918. The flag is today used as a symbol of Serb politics in Montenegro. Along with historical flags, parody Euro bills were printed with figures such as Abazović, Joković and Đukanović on them.
Slogans
Slogans used include chants like “Traitor!”, and sayings like “You took the money, Dritan!” (Template:Lang-cnr),[7] referring to a claim that Abazović took a bribe of €21,000,000, even though this claim turned out to be false.
izdaja.me
An anonymous website was launched at https://izdaja.me that showed certain members of the Parliament of Montenegro that agreed to dismiss Krivokapić's government, with captions such as “Sold! Betrayal!” (Template:Lang-cnr).[8]
See also
References
- ^ "Montenegrin Education Minister Accused of Insulting Minorities". Balkan Insight. 2022-01-24. Retrieved 2022-01-25.
- ^ "Protest u Nikšiću, napadnut i dopisnik TVCG". vijesti.me (in Montenegrin). Retrieved 2022-01-24.
- ^ "Montenegrin Education Minister Accused of Insulting Minorities". Balkan Insight. 2022-01-24. Retrieved 2022-01-25.
- ^ "Omeragić: Još jedan pokazatelj Krivokapićeve samovolje - CdM". www.cdm.me (in Montenegrin). Retrieved 2022-01-24.
- ^ "(VIDEO)Bratić: Bake su u crnom zbog korote za Kosovom". Standard (in Montenegrin). 2020-11-10. Retrieved 2022-01-24.
- ^ "Državna nagrada za djelo koje negira Crnogorce i nacionalne manjine". www.slobodnaevropa.org (in Serbo-Croatian). Retrieved 2022-01-24.
- ^ "Protest u Podgorici, prisustvovao i dio ministara; Spajić: DPS još nije pobijeđen do kraja". vijesti.me (in Montenegrin). Retrieved 2022-01-24.
- ^ "Pojavio se sajt izdaja.me: Targetiraju se poslanici CnB i SNP i potpredsjednik Vlade". vijesti.me (in Montenegrin). Retrieved 2022-01-24.