A little interesting piece of news came out this past week from Montenegro. Interesting and relevant enough I thought for me to put here, even though I try to keep it fresh and try not to get into topics of a political nature for the most part. (For those with a penchant for history however, one can read about White Croatia, and the belief that Montenegro was once part of Red Croatia, But that's another topic that opens up a lot more discussion. I'll leave that to historians and archeologists)
Now, for those not in know, Montenegro has been an independent country since the official disintegration of the short lived entity known as Yugoslavia, but has a history dating back to a thousand years ago remarkably. A fact that may be surprising to many. It was a kingdom for some time, until the Turkish Ottoman incursions came to the area, and complicated matters for the following centuries, with battles being fought over large swathes of Europe, and with immigration and emmigration cycles taking place depending on the where the big battles were taking place. However, even then it still retained a level of autonomy, with borders changing slightly through the centuries, as with many European countries.
Although at times it was a supporter of Serbs in helping to rid Europe from the yoke of the Ottoman Empire, the fact remains that Montenegrin aspirations for independence were first and foremost with it's own King and Queen. An autonomy and then independence again that lasted right up until the end of World War I, when unknown to many, it was forcibly and brutally annexed to Serbia again and then forced to become part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. The Montenegro Orthodox Church which maintained independence for centuries was subsumed into the Serbian Orthodox church. From 1919 to 1926 Serbian troops maintined a reign of terror against pro-independence forces. This multi-cultured and multi-ethnic artificial creation/product of WWI came to be called Yugoslavia for the first time in 1929, after a proclamation by the Serbian dictator-king, known as the January 6 Dictatorship (The current Republics of Macedonia, Slovenia, B-H as well as Croatia were also not represented as one of the peoples of this newly named and newly made country)
....Montenegro attained a level of autonomy again however after WW II, becoming one of the constituent republics of communist Yugoslavia, and then becoming a full fledged officially independent country again in 2006 after voting to secede from the remains of Yugoslavia, which was essentially just Serbia now. Montenegro has had it's own literary history, political history, and even has it's own Royal line and Montenegrin Orthodox Church.
However, Serb immigration to the area, especially over the past few centuries, has led to a sizable Serb presence which has complicated matters for the country for some time. So much so that even now, the independent Montenegrin language, culture and history is threatened by Serbian political machinations and opposition groups to boycott school cirriculums, and disrupt daily operations of the Montenegrin government and it's laws. Over the past few years, Serb opposition parties and groups have begun refusing to send their children to Montenegrin schools and want them to be taught in Serbian, as well as have Serbian be declared an official language in the Republic of Montenegro. All in hopes of halting a deadline set for the beginning of EU negotiation talks, and moves toward becoming a member of the European Union and NATO.
But here's the twist. Serb refusal to send their children to Montenegrin schools, and boycotting until Serbian is declared an official language within Montenegro has reached a crucial threshold that is hindering the forward progress of and daily operations of the countries school system, which is having a snowballing effect. Afterall, more important matters are at stake, like the above mentioned EU negotiation talks as well as negotiations with NATO to become it's next member state in the near future, and obviously of course the daily function of the Montenegrin government regarding defined laws. The EU deadline was just around the corner and the clock was ticking. Quite a sticky situation. So the Montenegrin government came up with a very unforeseen, intelligent and out of the blue compromise on SeptemberSeptember 8th. Something the Serbian opposition groups and parties maybe didn't see coming or expect.
Source: www.balkaninsight.com
Related: www.crisisgroup.org
Montenegro_removes_Serbian_writers_from
After months of stalemate, Montenegrin Prime Minister Igor Luksic and opposition leaders agreed that the academic subject in the country’s education system will be entitled "Montenegrin – Serbian, Bosnian, Croatian language and literature". .
Until now, opposition parties had been conditioning their support to the Election Law, a key requirement on country’s path towards the EU, demanding that the Serbian language receive equal status alongside Montenegrin in the education system.
At the last census 36 per cent said that they spoke the Montenegrin language and 44 per cent of citizens said they spoke the Serbian language.
Adoption of the Election Law is one of the crucial preconditions set by Brussels for Montenegro to gain a date for the commencement of accession negotiations. A two-thirds majority of MPs need to support the law, in order for Parliament to pass it.
PM Luksic said that the solution showed that Montenegrin remained an official language, while ensuring full protection of other languages from any kind of discrimination.
“We are now able to utilize in a good way the richness of the Montenegrin society, of our civic state, by implementing a truly European solution to the issue of language,” said Luksic.
The curriculum for this school year will remain almost the same, while the expert commission will draft a permanent curriculum that is supposed to be implemented next academic year.
Former Montenegrin Prime Minister, Milo Djukanovic, also took part in the talks that resulted in the deal.
Now, for those not in know, Montenegro has been an independent country since the official disintegration of the short lived entity known as Yugoslavia, but has a history dating back to a thousand years ago remarkably. A fact that may be surprising to many. It was a kingdom for some time, until the Turkish Ottoman incursions came to the area, and complicated matters for the following centuries, with battles being fought over large swathes of Europe, and with immigration and emmigration cycles taking place depending on the where the big battles were taking place. However, even then it still retained a level of autonomy, with borders changing slightly through the centuries, as with many European countries.
Although at times it was a supporter of Serbs in helping to rid Europe from the yoke of the Ottoman Empire, the fact remains that Montenegrin aspirations for independence were first and foremost with it's own King and Queen. An autonomy and then independence again that lasted right up until the end of World War I, when unknown to many, it was forcibly and brutally annexed to Serbia again and then forced to become part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. The Montenegro Orthodox Church which maintained independence for centuries was subsumed into the Serbian Orthodox church. From 1919 to 1926 Serbian troops maintined a reign of terror against pro-independence forces. This multi-cultured and multi-ethnic artificial creation/product of WWI came to be called Yugoslavia for the first time in 1929, after a proclamation by the Serbian dictator-king, known as the January 6 Dictatorship (The current Republics of Macedonia, Slovenia, B-H as well as Croatia were also not represented as one of the peoples of this newly named and newly made country)
Larger image: wikimedia.org
....Montenegro attained a level of autonomy again however after WW II, becoming one of the constituent republics of communist Yugoslavia, and then becoming a full fledged officially independent country again in 2006 after voting to secede from the remains of Yugoslavia, which was essentially just Serbia now. Montenegro has had it's own literary history, political history, and even has it's own Royal line and Montenegrin Orthodox Church.
Unidentified woman celebrating in Montenegro after independence referendum results in May 2006. news.bbc.co.uk
However, Serb immigration to the area, especially over the past few centuries, has led to a sizable Serb presence which has complicated matters for the country for some time. So much so that even now, the independent Montenegrin language, culture and history is threatened by Serbian political machinations and opposition groups to boycott school cirriculums, and disrupt daily operations of the Montenegrin government and it's laws. Over the past few years, Serb opposition parties and groups have begun refusing to send their children to Montenegrin schools and want them to be taught in Serbian, as well as have Serbian be declared an official language in the Republic of Montenegro. All in hopes of halting a deadline set for the beginning of EU negotiation talks, and moves toward becoming a member of the European Union and NATO.
But here's the twist. Serb refusal to send their children to Montenegrin schools, and boycotting until Serbian is declared an official language within Montenegro has reached a crucial threshold that is hindering the forward progress of and daily operations of the countries school system, which is having a snowballing effect. Afterall, more important matters are at stake, like the above mentioned EU negotiation talks as well as negotiations with NATO to become it's next member state in the near future, and obviously of course the daily function of the Montenegrin government regarding defined laws. The EU deadline was just around the corner and the clock was ticking. Quite a sticky situation. So the Montenegrin government came up with a very unforeseen, intelligent and out of the blue compromise on SeptemberSeptember 8th. Something the Serbian opposition groups and parties maybe didn't see coming or expect.
Source: www.balkaninsight.com
Related: www.crisisgroup.org
Montenegro_removes_Serbian_writers_from
Montenegro Ends Longstanding Language Row
A landmark deal has been reached between the Montenegrin government and opposition parties surrounding the terminology of language in the country's education system.
After months of stalemate, Montenegrin Prime Minister Igor Luksic and opposition leaders agreed that the academic subject in the country’s education system will be entitled "Montenegrin – Serbian, Bosnian, Croatian language and literature". .
Until now, opposition parties had been conditioning their support to the Election Law, a key requirement on country’s path towards the EU, demanding that the Serbian language receive equal status alongside Montenegrin in the education system.
At the last census 36 per cent said that they spoke the Montenegrin language and 44 per cent of citizens said they spoke the Serbian language.
Adoption of the Election Law is one of the crucial preconditions set by Brussels for Montenegro to gain a date for the commencement of accession negotiations. A two-thirds majority of MPs need to support the law, in order for Parliament to pass it.
PM Luksic said that the solution showed that Montenegrin remained an official language, while ensuring full protection of other languages from any kind of discrimination.
Government discussions regarding the status of the official language(s) of Montenegro. Photo: Reuters.
“We are now able to utilize in a good way the richness of the Montenegrin society, of our civic state, by implementing a truly European solution to the issue of language,” said Luksic.
The curriculum for this school year will remain almost the same, while the expert commission will draft a permanent curriculum that is supposed to be implemented next academic year.
Former Montenegrin Prime Minister, Milo Djukanovic, also took part in the talks that resulted in the deal.
