Why is Montenegro Changing the Law on Citizenship

A Step Forward - In Defence

AIM Podgorica, 15 July, 1999

"Montenegro can grant citizenship only to persons who have indisputable vital connection, proven intention and expressed interest to create goods in it and donate goods to it", it is stated in a part of the explanation of the draft law on Montenegrin citizenship which will be put on the agenda of the current session of the assembly of Montenegro.

According to the announcements of the ruling coalition "So That We Live Better", this law and its amendments proposed by the Republican government may be adopted in an emergency procedure in the course of next week already. And when the content of the law is concerned, opinions are undivided - both the supporters and the opponents of Montenegrin authorities agree that it is an important step towards the increasingly mentioned independence of this Republic. Every one of them interprets the law according to their respective political stands, of course, primarily on the basis of their own judgement of the prospects of the existing Serbian-Montenegrin state community. In any case, official Podgorica is in a fair way to win an important battle in the seven-year long "war for citizenship" waged with the federal state.

From 1972 until dissolution of SFRY, its inhabitants had the republican citizenship as the primary one. After the establishment of of FRY, however, pressure increased to impose on both the citizens of Serbia and of Montenegro Yugoslav citizenship as the predominant one. After several years of "coordinating opinions", the then Montenegrin authorities, like so many times before, showed that they were not capable of oppose any wish of official Belgrade, and in July 1996, the federal assembly passed the law on Yugoslav citizenship. Pursuant its provisions, Republican citizenship became subordinated to the "superior" Yugoslav one. And the federal ministry of internal affairs was the only one authorised to decide whether an inhabitant of FRY could be granted citizenship.

This brought Montenegrin citizenship the status of an appendage. It was not necessary to have a certificate about it, it had no practical purpose. In order to obtain any paper for which it was necessary to submit a citizenship certificate, citizens of Montenegro were forced to wait for months, even years, until the clerks of the ministry decided to be merciful and sent them the requested certificate. Only potential recruits had priority in having their requests acted on. The price for considerably shorter time they had to wait for the certificate was - the uniform of the army of Yugoslavia (VJ).

Times have obviously changed. Referring to the Republican constitution which in Article 10 prescribes that "in Montenegro there is the Montenegrin citizenship",the local law-makers proposed solutions according to which Montenegrin citizenship will again get primacy over the Yugoslav one. At the same time, very strict requirements will be prescribed for acquiring citizenship of Montenegro. Those who will not be able to become Montenegrin citizens on the basis of the place of birth, but on account of the citizenship of their parents or spouses, shall have to prove that they have lived in Montenegro for at least ten years.

And that having Montenegrin citizenship will not be just an insignificant detail is confirmed by the demand of Montenegrin government which, disregarding inconsistency with the federal regulations, demands that the provision according to which "a citizen from the other Republic-member of FRY enjoys on the territory of Montenegro the same rights and has the same obligations like Montenegrin citizens" be deleted from the new law. In the government explanation of this amendment, the following is stated, among other: "The question can be put whether a citizen of the other Republic-member can fully enjoy the same rights which a Montenegrin citizen is entitled to, for example, franchise".

Republican deputy (SDP) Miodrag Ilickovic speaks to more detail about the reasons for passing and possibilities of implementation of the drafted law on citizenship. As one of the most persistent advocates of the most urgent possible passing of this law, Ilickovic believes that it should resolve problems Montenegro has with refugees and displaced persons - primarily in the spheres regulated by the law on the electoral register, the law on election of councilmen and deputies, and the law on the election of the president. "Current regulations prescribe that a person who has come here for the first time and registered a place of residence just a year before the elections may even become the president of Montenegro. Let us not mention that franchise is acquired just six months after moving to Montenegro", stresses Ilickovic, and adds that the law on citizenshiop is the starting point for resolving the problem of pro-forma "immigration" of the citizens of Serbia, work of some clerks and officials in state administration, public enterprises and even the ministry of the interior, who do not have the citizenship of Montenegro.

That is why amendments on the law on citizenship submitted in the name of the smallest member of the ruling coalition, (SDP) by deputies Miodrag Ilickovic and Ranko Krivokapic are even more "radical". They suggest that the potential citizens of the Republic who apply for this right on the basis of having resided in Montenegro for ten years should meet another two compulsory conditions. First, that they have lived here incessantly for five years before applying, and that they have "a place of residencen and permanent income which provides them with material and social security".

"A person who is granted citizenship shall make it indisputable that it is capable of creating goods and contributing to development of Montenegro, as well as that he/she shall notbecome a burden to the state", this proposal is explained by those who submitted it. They also suggest that in case of marriage with a citizen of Montenegro, a time limit of ten years should be set. "In this way the possibility of abuse of fictitious marriages would be avoided of a large number of refugees and displaced persons with citizens of Montenegro, which might contribute to a change of the demographic composition of Montenegro in a comparatively short time".

Deputies of DPS remind that on the territory of FRY there are more than 700 thousand persons whose citizenship is an open issue! The federal law on Yugoslav citizenship prevents refugees from former Serb Krajina and Republika Srpska to acquire citizenship of FRY.

For Montenegro, the problem became even more complex due to the recent decision of the government of Serbia not to allow the Serbs and the Montenegrins who have fled from Kosovo to get employed, continue education and receive any social welfare or allowances unless they return to Kosovo... Now these unfortunate people are coming to Montenegro in the attempt to continue living what at least resembles normal life until their return to their abandoned homes is made possible.

The past war has greatly contributed to the question of Montenegrin citizenship and its specific implementation coming into the focus of interest of Montenegrin public. As if many in Montenegro have suddenly become aware that their country is too small to open its doors widely without any preventive protection and welcome and very often become the permanent home to all those brought here by the ten-year long war crisis on the territory of former SFRY.

This is not just the question of tens of thousands first Croatian and then Bosnian, and nowadays Kosovar refugees (during the past spring, every sixth inhabitant of Montenegro was either a refugee or a displaced person). In Montenegro the feeling intensifies every day that "the shadow refugees" are perhaps an even greater problem in preservation of the natural demographic composition of Montenegro. These are the citizens of Central Serbia who are either for political or economic reasons increasingly arriving in Montenegro.

Between the beginning of NATO intervention and the first days of July, in the Podgorica security centre more than five thousand new identity papers were issued, mostly on the ground of the notice of departure at some registration office in Serbia. Real estate prices in Podgorica have gone up in this period by at least 10 per cent. That this trend will persist is confirmed, among other, by local agencies for registration of enterprises. Their employees say that hardly a day passes without at least a single request being filed for registration of a privately-owned enterprises moving from Serbia to new addresses in Podgorica. The rush at the prestigious faculties in Montenegro where not only students, but also professors from Serbia are trying to find a post for themselves also testifies about increased interest for life in the state which is keen on reform and environment protection.

When these data reached the public, it became understandable why deputies of the SDP insisted and their coalition partners accepted that the law on citizenship be put in assembly procedure as a matter of urgency, although until recently DPS and NS believed that voting on it could be postponed until the autumn session of the Republican parliament.

Zoran Radulovic

(AIM)