Post by radovic on Oct 24, 2007 11:04:28 GMT -5
Citizenship - the most painful issue of the new Constitution of Montenegro
A year to choose a Montenegrin or Serbian passport
Author: M. Maleš | 24.10.2007 - 06:02
The new Constitution of Montenegro allows dual citizenship for the citizens of Serbian nationality only if the two countries, Serbia and Montenegro, express political will and sign bilateral agreement that would allow dual citizenship. If not, the citizens in Montenegro that take Serbian citizenship, according to the new Constitution proclaimed yesterday, shall be foreigners in Montenegro.
Officials of both countries claim that such an agreement is possible but not very likely.
Citizens of Montenegro that until proclamation of Montenegro independence on June 3, 2006 had except the Montenegrin, some other citizenship as well, shall be allowed to keep that citizenship. However, what mostly affects the Serbs in Montenegro is what is said in the next sentence of that provision: ‘Those that got another citizenship after that date, can keep Montenegrin citizenship until signing of the bilateral agreement with a country of their citizenship, but not longer than a year after adoption of the new Montenegro Constitution’.
Representatives of Serbian political parties in Montenegro think they are discriminated by the very fact that the citizens of Serbia and Montenegro could have got citizenship of these states only after Montenegro independence. Until then they lived in a mutual state without possibility to be registered as citizens of both republics, unlike others. They claim that Montenegrin authorities have allowed in the first place the Albanians and the Croats keep the citizenship they had before Montenegro independence because they contributed to the success of the referendum in Montenegro.
As ‘Blic’ learns at Serbia Government, the cabinet does not think at all about signing of any agreement with Montenegro when citizenship is concerned. One of the reasons is the fact that Serbia has made amendments to the Law on the citizenship ‘with the basic intention to protect members of the Serbian nation, and then give possibility to others regardless of their citizenship choice’.
That is why the additional agreement with Montenegro is, according to Serbia Government, unnecessary.
However, as it is added, if Montenegro authority happens to introduce certain restrictive measures that would narrow the rights given by Serbian citizenship, Serbian authorities shall be forced to react by other measures within limits allowed by diplomacy.
‘Now pro-Serbian political but not Serbian ethnic structures in Montenegro are waving with the Law on citizenship that Serbia has adopted, contrary to all European conventions. The Council of Europe has criticized Serbia over that law’, Miodrag , high DPS official said.
A year to choose a Montenegrin or Serbian passport
Author: M. Maleš | 24.10.2007 - 06:02
The new Constitution of Montenegro allows dual citizenship for the citizens of Serbian nationality only if the two countries, Serbia and Montenegro, express political will and sign bilateral agreement that would allow dual citizenship. If not, the citizens in Montenegro that take Serbian citizenship, according to the new Constitution proclaimed yesterday, shall be foreigners in Montenegro.
Officials of both countries claim that such an agreement is possible but not very likely.
Citizens of Montenegro that until proclamation of Montenegro independence on June 3, 2006 had except the Montenegrin, some other citizenship as well, shall be allowed to keep that citizenship. However, what mostly affects the Serbs in Montenegro is what is said in the next sentence of that provision: ‘Those that got another citizenship after that date, can keep Montenegrin citizenship until signing of the bilateral agreement with a country of their citizenship, but not longer than a year after adoption of the new Montenegro Constitution’.
Representatives of Serbian political parties in Montenegro think they are discriminated by the very fact that the citizens of Serbia and Montenegro could have got citizenship of these states only after Montenegro independence. Until then they lived in a mutual state without possibility to be registered as citizens of both republics, unlike others. They claim that Montenegrin authorities have allowed in the first place the Albanians and the Croats keep the citizenship they had before Montenegro independence because they contributed to the success of the referendum in Montenegro.
As ‘Blic’ learns at Serbia Government, the cabinet does not think at all about signing of any agreement with Montenegro when citizenship is concerned. One of the reasons is the fact that Serbia has made amendments to the Law on the citizenship ‘with the basic intention to protect members of the Serbian nation, and then give possibility to others regardless of their citizenship choice’.
That is why the additional agreement with Montenegro is, according to Serbia Government, unnecessary.
However, as it is added, if Montenegro authority happens to introduce certain restrictive measures that would narrow the rights given by Serbian citizenship, Serbian authorities shall be forced to react by other measures within limits allowed by diplomacy.
‘Now pro-Serbian political but not Serbian ethnic structures in Montenegro are waving with the Law on citizenship that Serbia has adopted, contrary to all European conventions. The Council of Europe has criticized Serbia over that law’, Miodrag , high DPS official said.