(Podgorica, 16 May 2013) – MANS condemns the behaviour of the Municipal Police for abusing its powers in order to pressure volunteers of the Podgorica Youth Association who have attempted to prevent illegal charges on parking.
That is, the inspectors of the Municipal Police attempted to remove a plastic table that was being used by the Podgorica Youth Association for gathering signatures for a citizen initiative to solve this problem.
As is well known, MANS has substantial experience in mobilizing citizens in gathering support for civic petitions and initiatives. Unfortunately, during such actions, MANS was also targeted by the Municipal Police, which had demanded that the constitutionally guaranteed right to civic initiatives and petitions be subjected to a permit by the capital (representing a bit of legal nonsense).
This was confirmed by judicial bodies that ruled in favour of MANS that such activity does not require a permit or permission from the capital city. This means that the most recent action by the Municipal Police is totally illegal and directed towards youth who are protesting lawlessness and who refuse to accept the imposition of someone else’s will on their lives.
Evidently, the Municipal Police was undoubtedly already familiar with this previous court ruling, meaning that its current behaviour is that much more problematic since it indicates a concerted attempt to stamp out any type of civic resistance and activism that would prevent the further enrichment of individuals in the local government at the expense of citizens.
The right to participate and make decisions at the local level represents one of the most basic citizen rights, which is a demand of the international community, something that the Municipal Police had directly violated by its most recent actions.
And while its ‘surveillance’ over youth is very strict, the Municipal Police somehow always neglects to notice the evidence violations of the law and municipal order by high state functionaries and local tycoons, who daily violate the law with their brash behaviour. Citizens are daily witnesses to the selective work of the Communal Police, especially those dealing with parking and the payment of fines, including the use of tow-trucks. The best example is the famous illegal parking of the Mayor of Podgorica, Miomir Mugosa, which resulted in a physical attack upon those who wanted to document his actions.
Given that the action of the Podgorica Youth Association directly affects the interests of those who want to further ‘tax’ citizens by illegally ticketing the capital’s residents, it is obvious why the municipal government and Mugosa are trying to immediately nip the initiative in the bud.
MANS will offer the Podgorica Youth Association free legal advice in order to encourage them and all other NGOs to continue with their actions against the further illegal taxation of Montenegro’s citizens.
