Thursday, August 16, 2007

Montenegrin Opposition Seeks Constitution Changes, Without Albanian Input


15 08 2007 Podgorica, Montenegrin: Opposition parties agreed on Wednesday to prepare a common platform for changes they want to the draft of the new country’s first constitution, however there was no representation or input from the four Albanian parliamentary representatives.

The attending representatives of four opposition parties agreed at a meeting in Podgorica to prepare a the text of their platform in next few days.

“We agreed on a remarkable number of questions regarding the new constitution that are disputable for us, but supported by the parliament majority,” Velizar Kaludjerovic, the coordinator for opposition activities on the new constitution, told journalists.

The opposition’s main objections to the draft constitution include the current language on citizenship and the relationship of parliament to the executive powers.

The meeting was attended by the representatives of Movement for Changes (Pokret za Promjene, or PzP), Socialist People’s Party, People’s Party and Serbian List. Another meeting of opposition parties is planned after the platform is prepared, Kaludjerovic said.
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Albanian reps in Montenegro have been absent from these forums and have failed to impress upon parliament that as a significant minority in the country their rights should be on a level with the rights of the Montenegrins, the majority ethnic group.
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At a minimum, the new wording of the Constitution should not use the terms ‘Montenegrin people’, ‘nationalities’, and ‘minorities’, but rather speaks of ‘majority population’, ‘communities’ and ‘communities not in the majority’; provide for a stronger participation of members of the minorities in public institutions, as ‘equitable representation’ should now becomes a constitutional principle; the Orthodox Church should be mentioned on an equal footing with the Islamic Community, the Catholic Church and other denominations; the government will henceforth have to provide university education for language communities which speak another official language than Montenegrin; particular attention to the principles of non-discrimination and equitable representation of communities in public bodies at all levels and in other areas of public life, and a clearer depiction on the law of local self-government and its applicability and review of Tuz. These are constitutional rights that need to be guaranteed/protected prior to any concessions or final vote. But without a true Albanian voice in parliament, these issues will wither away and never be realized.

External monitoring, support and occasionally intervention is crucial for the realization of
the constitutional planned reforms because without them, nothing will come to fruitition. In the interim, Albanian parties should boycott parliament sessions as long as the Montenegrin parties refute these demands (the boycott of parliament should be used as one of the Albanian parties’ preferred tactics when they were faced with votes in parliament they can not win).

After ten months of discussion on the new constitution, the Constitutional Commission of the Montenegrin Parliament adopted a draft two weeks ago without opposition representatives.
The constitution can be adopted either by the support of a two-thirds majority voting in parliament or by the approval of voters in a national referendum.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

These behind-the-scenes compromises on Montenegro's future have always been conducted behind the backs of Albanians -- simply because Albanians have no future in the Constitution or in Montenegro as a whole.

I am certain Dinosha, Gegaj, etc. were present, but the interests of Albanians are not negotaited with them, they are bought-out!

Where are the voices from Tuz, Ulqin? Have they dissipated in the heat wave? Or are they taking a break in Budva? Nevertheless, it is embarrasing as usual.

Anonymous said...

Without knowledge on the specifics of the new Copnstitution, I remain pessimistic on the language as you mention above. Props to your proposals, did you extract them from another version, or have these rights become so universal that they are a mainstay to any rights-seeking peoples as we have in Montenegro???

Anonymous said...

Haven't we all been propogating these comments for the past 8 months? We should all be experts on the minimum standards afforded to us, don't you think?

Anonymous said...

Where are the voices from Tuz and Ulqin? The only voices that will make a difference are those in the Diaspora -- NY & Detroit.

Are you serious asking a question like that? Which Albanian politician or NGO is making headway in constitutional changes that protect them as the "national" minority? After the constitution is approved Albanians will have the same status as any other minority, on the same footing as Bosniaks, and any other group that decides to settle in Montenegro tomorrow.

This will have far-reaching controversies because Albanians have a special status that linkks them to a HISTORIC HOMELAND in Malesia, Ulqin, Kraja, Plave, Gusij, etc.

If the constitution fails to differentiate this, then it is the first process in their anialation.

Anonymous said...

Diaspora? Who? Where? How?

Analyze your diaspora very carefully before you cash in all your chips.

In the last 10 years, what have they done to improve the peoples socio-economic lives in Montenegro? When you really think about it ... nothing. A bunch of amateurs with no real objectives.

Let's go back to Montenegro and continue the debate on how grass-roots organizations and the people "on-the-street" can make a difference. That's the starting point.