| Republika Crna Gora | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Flag |
 Coat of Arms | ||
 Map of Montenegro | |||
| Period | 2006-2016 | ||
| Predecessor |  Serbia and Montenegro
| ||
| Successor |  Serbia
| ||
| Basic Information | |||
| Motto | none | ||
| Anthem | Oj, svijetla majska zoro | ||
| Capital | Podgorica | ||
| Largest city | Cetinje | ||
| Other cities | Ulcinj | ||
| Demonym | Montenegrin | ||
| Government | Parliamentary democracy | ||
| Presidents | Milo Đukanović (2006-2016) | ||
| Area | 13,812 km² | ||
| Population | 651,864 | ||
| Currency | Euro, New Euro | ||
| Time zone | CET, CEST (UTC+1, UTC+2) | ||
| Internet TLD | .me | ||
| Calling code | 382 | ||
| Languages | |||
| Official language | Montenegrin | ||
| National language | Montenegrin | ||
| Regional languages | Serbian, Albanian, Bosnian | ||
| Other languages | Romani | ||
| Ethnic groups | |||
| Main ethnic groups | Serbs, Montenegrins | ||
| Other ethnic groups | Albanians | ||
| Religion | |||
| State religion | none | ||
| Main religion(s) | Eastern Orthodoxy (91%) | ||
| Other religions | Sunni Islam (8%), 1% other | ||
Montenegro (Montenegrin: Crna Gora, meaning "Black Mountain"), officially the Republic of Montenegro (Republika Crna Gora) was a country located in Southeastern Europe. Its capital was Podgorica. Montenegro became independent from Serbia and Montenegro in 2006. It became a part of Serbia in 2016, when the Serbian army, with the help of the Military of Brda captured it and imprisoned the Government. Since then, the Italian word "Montenegro" and all words that derived from it were forbidden. After Montenegro recognised Kosovo as an independent state in 2008, the Republic of Brda and the Republic of Herceg Novi proclaimed independence.
History[]
- Main article: History of SAO Crna Gora (Three World Orders)
The status of the union between Montenegro and Serbia was decided by the referendum on Montenegrin independence on 21 May 2006. A total of 419,240 votes were cast, representing 86.5% of the total electorate. 230,661 votes (55.5%) were for independence and 185,002 votes (44.5%) were against. The 45,659 difference narrowly surpassed the 55% threshold needed to validate the referendum under the rules set by the European Union. According to the electoral commission, the 55% threshold was passed by only 2,300 votes. Serbia, the member-states of the European Union, and the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council all recognised Montenegro's independence.
The 2006 referendum was monitored by five international observer missions, headed by an OSCE/ODIHR team, and around 3,000 observers in total (including domestic observers from CEMI, CEDEM and other organizations). The OSCE/ODIHR joined efforts with the observers of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA), the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe (CLRAE) and the European Parliament (EP) to form an International Referendum Observation Mission (IROM). The IROM—in its preliminary report—"assessed compliance of the referendum process with OSCE commitments, Council of Europe commitments, other international standards for democratic electoral processes, and domestic legislation." Furthermore, the report assessed that the competitive pre-referendum environment was marked by an active and generally peaceful campaign and that "there were no reports of restrictions on fundamental civil and political rights."
On 3 June 2006, the Montenegrin Parliament declared the independence of Montenegro, formally confirming the result of the referendum. Serbia did not object to the declaration.
Relations between Serbia and Montenegro were strained on 6 September 2007 after Montenegro banned Serbian Orthodox Church leader Bishop Filaret from entering the country. Tension escalated when an adviser to the Serbian prime minister referred to Montenegro as a "quasi-state", prompting Podgorica to seek an apology and lodge a protest with Serbia's government. The Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia, Božidar Đelić, sent a note of apology to Montenegro following the statement made by Serbian Premier's Aide Aleksandar Simić.
Recognition of Kosovo and secession of Brda and Herceg Novi[]
On 9 of October 2008 the Montenegrin government officially recognized the Republic of Kosovo, which resulted in mass demonstrations all over the country. In Cetinje, Nikšić, Podgorica, Bar, and Kotor protests were held almost at the same time. In Pljevlja, a group of 5,000 protesters tried to occupy the main police station in the city. Cities of Budva, Tivat, Plužine, Herceg Novi, Pljevlja, Berane, Andrijevica, and Žabljak were barricaded for three days.
On 14 October the local parliaments of Pljevlja, Žabljak, Plužine, Bijelo Polje, Berane, Andrijevica, and Mojkovac held a group meeting in Pljevlja, where they voted in favor of the proclamation of the "Republic of Brda". A day later they formed a region called simply "Border", consisting of villages located at the border of the Republic of Brda and the Republic of Montenegro. About 10,000-20,000 militia were stationed in the region. In the first days of independence, more than 6,000 people were killed in the region.
The first larger battle between the armies of Montenegro and Brda was the Battle of Gusinje. On 16 October the Army of Brda attacked the municipality of Plav, a Montenegrin enclave in the Republic of Brda. Although officially a part of the Republic of Brda, the municipality was under the control of the Republic of Montenegro. Forces of Brda crushed the Montenegrin army and police in and around the town of Gusinje after a couple of hours of fight. The Montenegrin forces were weak, which resulted in only minor damage to the town. After the Brda police established the control of Gusinje and villages around it (roughly 35% of the municipality of Plav), the government established the municipality of Gusinje, which exists even today under Serbia. Four days after the battle, the whole municipality of Plav surrendered to the Brda forces.
The Brda police forces attacked the town of Rožaje, another Montenegrin enclave, a day after Brda took control of the town of Plav. A few of policemen who were stationed in the town surrendered to the Brda police just a few moments after the forces entered the town. They took control of the town without a fight.
In the town of Herceg Novi, the local parliament declared independence of Herceg Novi municipality from Montenegro on 29 October and proclaimed the Republic of Herceg Novi. The Montenegrin police entered the town and tried to stop the declaration of independence, but was greatly outnumbered by the Herceg Novi police and militia. The Montenegrin army tried to take over the town numerous times, but never succeeded. In January 2009, the local parliament of Tivat voted in favor of unification of the municipality with the Republic of Herceg Novi.
Serbo-Montenegrin War[]
- Main article: Serbo-Montenegrin War (Three World Orders)
The Parliament of Montenegro voted in favor of war with Brda in December 2015 by passing the Declaration of Reunification, a document which predicted the "destruction of Great Serbs and serbianized Montenegrins in Brda and Boka Kotorska". A month later, on 5 January 2016, the Montenegrin army and police attacked the border posts of the Republic of Brda, which resulted in the destruction of the Brda Border Guard and Montenegrin progress towards Mojkovac. At the same time, Serbia fought the Battle of Peć in Kosovo. Serbian officials in Brda promised help as soon as Peć falls. Serbs of Pljevlja and Bijelo Polje, towns near the border with Serbia and far from the battle lines, organized several paramilitary groups to help Serbia in Peć. The city fell a day later, on Orthodox Christmas, 7 January 2016. The Serbian army split in two groups, one staying in Peć and other passing the border and helping the Brda army in war with Montenegro. Forces of Montenegro were stopped on 8 January 2016, a mile away from Mojkovac.
On 11 February 2016 the Army of Montenegro assembled in Podgorica and launched another attack, this time towards Žabljak. The same day Serbian forces secretly passed the border between Brda and Montenegro and attacked the army from behind, destroying much of the Montenegrin manpower. Serbian and Brda forces progressed towards Šavnik and eventually annexed it without fight. Kolašin was under siege for two days before it surrendered and Nikšić separated from Montenegro and joined Brda and Serbia. On 20 February 2016 Serbian forces attacked Danilovgrad, the headquarters of the Army of Montenegro. The battle lasted for 16 days and was the longest battle in the war. After Serbian forces captured Danilovgrad most of Montenegro surrendered, except Podgorica and Ulcinj. Podgorica was annexed with only minor fights and Ulcinj was under siege from 11 to 14 March.
After the war, the Serbian army established a military government in Podgorica which controlled towns of Danilovgrad, Cetinje, Nikšić, Bar, and Ulcinj. Brda annexed Kolašin and Šavnik, as well as parts of the municipalities od Podgorica and Nikšić. Kotor and Budva were given to the Republic of Herceg Novi. A few days later the three regions of former Montenegro unified with Serbia, which formed SAO Crna Gora in May 2016.
Politics[]
The Republic of Montenegro was a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister of Montenegro was the head of government, and had a multi-party system. Executive power was exercised by the government. Legislative power was vested in both the government and the Parliament of Montenegro. The Judiciary was independent of the executive and the legislature.
The only Constitution of the independent Republic of Montenegro was ratified and adopted by the Constitutional Parliament of Montenegro on 19 October 2007. The Constitution was officially proclaimed as the Constitution of Montenegro on 22 October 2007. This Constitution replaced the Constitution of 1992. The new Constitution defined Montenegro as a civic, democratic and environmentally friendly country with social justice, established by the sovereign rights of its government.
The President of the Republic of Montenegro (Montenegrin: Predsjednik Republike Crne Gore or Preśednik Republike Crne Gore) was the head of state, elected for a period of five years through direct elections. The President represented the republic abroad, promulgated laws by ordinance, called elections for the Parliament, proposed candidates for Prime Minister, president and justices of the Constitutional Court to the Parliament. The President also proposed the calling of a referendum to Parliament, granted amnesty for criminal offences prescribed by the national law, conferred decoration and awards and performed other constitutional duties and was a member of the Supreme Defence Council. The official residence of the President was in Cetinje.
The Government of the Republic of Montenegro (Montenegrin: Vlada Republike Crne Gore) was the executive branch of government authority of Montenegro. The government was headed by the Prime Minister, and consisted of the deputy prime ministers as well as ministers.
The Parliament of the Republic of Montenegro (Montenegrin: Skupština Republike Crne Gore) was a unicameral legislative body. It passed laws, ratified treaties, appointed the Prime Minister, ministers, and justices of all courts, adopted the budget and performed other duties as established by the Constitution. Parliament could pass a vote of no-confidence on the Government by a simple majority. One representative was elected per 6,000 voters. The parliament contained 81 seats.
Elections[]
Montenegro elected on national level a legislature and a head of state. The Parliament of Montenegro (Skupština) had 81 members elected for a four year term. The President of Montenegro was elected at large with a runoff if need be. Montenegro had a multi-party system with numerous parties. Parliamentary elections were held in 2006, 2009, 2012, and 2015. Presidental elections were held in 2008 and 2013.
Administrative divisions[]
Administrative divisions of Montenegro
Montenegro was divided into nineteen municipalities (opština), capital of Podgorica (glavni grad), traditional old capital of Cetinje (prijestonica), and two urban municipalities, subdivisions of the Capital of Podgorica.
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| Andrijevica | Municipality |
| Bar | Municipality |
| Berane | Municipality |
| Bijelo Polje | Municipality |
| Budva | Municipality |
| Cetinje | Prijestonica |
| Danilovgrad | Municipality |
| Golubovci | Urban municipality |
| Herceg Novi | Municipality |
| Kolašin | Municipality |
| Kotor | Municipality |
| Mojkovac | Municipality |
| Nikšić | Municipality |
| Plav | Municipality |
| Plužine | Municipality |
| Pljevlja | Municipality |
| Podgorica | Glavni grad |
| Rožaje | Municipality |
| Šavnik | Municipality |
| Tivat | Municipality |
| Tuzi | Urban municipality |
| Ulcinj | Municipality |
| Žabljak | Municipality |