Heated NATO Debate Predicted in Montenegro Parliament

Montenegro’s parliament is to debate a law on the status of NATO forces in an emergency plenary session this week, starting June 18.

A highly sensitive issue among many Montenegrins - NATO bombed the country back in the Kosovo conflict of 1999 – the agenda will include the physical presence of NATO soldiers on the country’s soil, military exercises and the different benefits NATO soldiers will enjoy.

The document offered to parliament reads that NATO will have its own small headquarters in Montenegro and that the country will be able to host larger military exercises.

The biggest sticking point that the agreement relieves NATO troops of any criminal liability in Montenegro; they may be held liable for crimes committed in the country only in the courts of their own countries.

The ruling coalition, led by Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic, which proposed the document, is likely to have enough votes to push it through parliament.

However, opposition parties, claiming the support of more than half of the population on this issue, are determined to put up tough resistance.

The Djukanovic government claims 46 per cent of Montenegrins support NATO membership but opposition parties and NGOs believe the real figure is much lower, at around 35 per cent.

Despite consistent efforts on the part of the government, public support for NATO membership remains low, according to opinion polls.

An activist from the Movement for Military Neutrality, an anti-NATO campaign group, Marko Milacic, told BIRN that he expected a heated debate in parliament and strong resistance from opposition parties, because “it is the least that the Montenegrin public deserves.

“This is sad and shameful. Djukanovic’s team are pushing us...

Continue reading on: