(Podgorica, 9 February 2012) – We call on Prime Minister Lukšić to focus on resolving concrete issues in Montenegro, instead of seeking to politicize and manipulate public discontent. This last strategy is not viable because citizens are no longer willing to pay the costs and bear the consequences of privatization deals that have destroyed the economy while lining the tycoons’ pockets.
January’s protest initiated a movement that is now unstoppable. Thousands of citizens poured out onto the streets to demand that the Prime Minister take concrete actions tied to electricity prices. January’s electricity bill was a test for the Prime Minister and the minimum he should have done – even without these protests – is to ensure that the impact on citizens is minimized. His reaction showed that he doesn’t want to (or perhaps is not allowed to) do even this much.
This is why we plan to come out in greater numbers during the next protest in order to ask for concrete changes; to make it clear to the Prime Minister that he not only needs to eliminate the kickbacks that are built into the electricity price, but that he must also unequivocally denounce obedience to organized crime and take the side of the public interest.
Every citizen has the right and obligation to stand in defense of their future and that of their children, regardless of creed, nationality and political orientation, because all of us have the right to civic control over the government’s work and to know how it manages our tax-money in the public interest.
For this reason we are telling Prime Minister Lukšić that we have no intention of entering party politics and that we’re not interested in parliamentary or government positions. Nor are we interested in Lukšić’s personal qualities. What we are interested in are concrete results in the fight against the corruption devouring our economy, which has left thousands of workers on the streets while we are left footing the bill for debts accumulated by “strategic partners” that had promised an economic renaissance and increasing prosperity.
It is up to the Prime Minister to chose if he wants to continue operating at the level of rhetoric and manipulation or if he wants to begin working concretely on such issues. In essence, he can chose whether this will be the beginning or the end for him.
Concrete results in the fight against corruption and organized crime are expected by the European Union and this demand is a key condition for Montenegro to begin negotiations. Brussels is seeking higher-level convictions and the seizure of illegally acquired properties.
We will do our best at the next rally to bring out a sufficient number of people that will put pressure on the government and the Prosecutor’s Office to finally begin doing their jobs or if they can’t do so to leave. By protecting their own private interests they are destroying the future of this state and are blocking the process of its European integration.
The citizens of Montenegro certainly won’t allow themselves to become once again divided along party or nationalist lines as a strategy to distract us from our empty wallets. We won’t fall for such manipulations anymore and we’ll continue demanding concrete actions through peaceful protests.
January’s protest is just the beginning. The electricity price hikes that we’re seeing appear on our bills these days; the highest fuel and phone prices in the region that also contribute to the higher cost of other products; the evident corruption of “untouchable” individuals; the debts of tycoons that are covered through tax-payer money; and the brutally evident destruction of national resources for the enrichment of a few: all of these things will bring even more citizens onto Podgorica’s streets in order to demand – through peaceful and dignified protests – our rights for a better future and a clean government that works in the public interest.
It will not be easy and it may last a while, but for our own sake and for the sake of our children and their futures we are responsible for working towards leaving behind us a better Montenegro. A Montenegro in which the government works in the interest of citizens. A Montenegro in which we pay bills without subsidizing kickbacks, in which investors respect agreements they signed, in which they invest and create jobs, where privatization brings with it greater productivity and new markets, where individual responsibility exists and where money gained through criminal means is returned to the state budget. A Montenegro in which youth have a clear perspective and enjoy equal opportunities. Even if such a movement lasts a while, the important thing is that resistance to the sale of Montenegro has already started.
Vanja Ćalović
Executive Director
