Montenegro Opposition Moves to Oust Speaker for Mladic Condolences

Montenegro’s Parliament Speaker Andrija Mandic addresses the Parliament in Podgorica, Montenegro, 30 October 2023. Photo: EPA/BORIS PEJOVIC Montenegro’s main opposition party has moved to oust Speaker of Parliament Andrija Mandic over his public condolences following the death of the convicted war criminal Ratko Mladic, media reported on Wednesday. The initiative led by the Democratic Party of Socialists, DPS, was signed by 35 of the chamber’s 81 lawmakers, while 29 opposition MPs submitted a request for an extraordinary session on September 24 to debate Mandic’s dismissal. The proposal says the speaker’s position carries “special political and institutional responsibility” and an obligation to safeguard the reputation and integrity of parliament, which represents all citizens. Mandic publicly expressed condolences following the death on August 27 of Mladic, who was convicted by the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague of genocide, crimes against humanity and other war crimes. He died serving his sentence. The DPS said expressing sorrow for a convicted war criminal, particularly someone convicted of the 1995 genocide in Srebrenica, is incompatible with the responsibilities of the speaker and Montenegro’s obligation to respect international court rulings and good neighbourly relations. The proposal denies that Mandic expressed his condolences in a personal or party capacity, saying his institutional responsibility remains because he simultaneously holds the position of speaker. The document cites critical reactions to the funeral from the European Commission and neighbouring Croatia, which condemned the glorification of war criminals and Mandic’s expression of condolences as incompatible with European Union values. “When the actions of the speaker of parliament of a candidate country produce such reactions from EU institutions and a neighbouring member state, they can no longer be presented as a matter of his personal or party convictions,” the proposal says. The DPS also argues that the episode is not isolated but forms part of a broader pattern in Mandic’s exercise of the speaker’s office. The proposal also raises concerns about his alleged use of the speaker’s office to promote political and ideological positions. The proposal recalls that Montenegro is entering a decisive phase of its EU integration process and that membership requires more than meeting technical conditions, including a clear commitment to European values, confronting the past, respecting international court judgments and maintaining good-neighbourly relations. “We believe that the speaker’s latest action has crossed the line beyond which the question of his responsibility can no longer be relativised by the need to preserve the parliamentary majority or political stability,” the proposal says. The ruling coalition’s three main groups, Prime Minister Milojko Spajic’s Europe Now Movement, the Democrats and the New Serb Democracy, which together hold 41 seats in the 81-member parliament, said they will not support the opposition initiative. But parties representing Montenegro’s Bosniak and ethnic Albanian communities, which are also part of the governing coalition, have announced they will back the motion. An absolute majority of all 81 lawmakers is not required to dismiss Mandic. The motion can pass with a majority of lawmakers present at the session, provided that at least half of all MPs are present. Montenegro’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs this week also expressed concern about the glorification of Mladic during the recent commemorations of his death. “It is our obligation to preserve the dignity and memory of the victims, to preserve the truth about crimes and individual responsibility for them, and to resolutely oppose any attempt to deny genocide, war crimes and other serious violations of international humanitarian law,” the Montenegrin ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.