The International Day of Cleaning the Coast in Ulcinj was celebrated at several sites organized by civil sector activists as part of a joint action by the NGO “Zero Waste Montenegro” and the Public Company for the Management of Marine Good and self-organized groups of citizens. Large quantities of waste have been removed from Solana Canal, from the mouth of Port Milena, from the beach Velika plaza and from the shores of Bojana.

"We got a little active today, this day inspired us. Although, we often do it ourselves, without much fuss, said a tourist and lover of Ada Bojana. Morsko dobro has previously announced that for the third year in a row it will actively participate in the coastal clean-up action organized by the NGO “Zero Waste Montenegro”.

The NGO Dr Martin Schneider Jacoby Associations, the NGO RDA-UBA and the NGO Zeleni korak also participated in the coordinating action.

Text by Samir Adrovic, on September 21st, 2019, read more at Vijesti

For the first time since 2005, the Tara river was cleared from Zugic to Radovan Luka, said the Citizens' Initiative “Dalje nećeš moći” (You won’t be able to go any further) from Zabljak.

Cleanup action (Photo: Private archive)

In the cleanup action, led by Dane Novosel, Veljko Ostojic, Darko Sljivancanin, Goran Lekovic, and their rafters, removed more than 200 tires.

Text by Jelena Jovanovic, on September 21st, 2019, read more at Vijesti

The seventh Montenegro Pride" was held in Podgorica under the slogan "Not over our backs".

Pride was carried out with a good mood of those gathered and without incident, and the celebration, the organizers said, continued with a concert by the Croatian band "Nipplepeople" at 9 pm in Bokeska Street, organized in cooperation with Podgorica Art Festival.

"Happiest, biggest Pride so far," Hana Konatar greeted the present and opened the seventh Montenegro Pride.

Danijel Kalezic of Queer Montenegro said they had gathered to say that they would not bow their heads and demand that the Law on Life Partnership to be adopted.

"I stand here once again as a gay man, proud of who I am, because I do not allow political battles to be fought over my back. I am here to fight every feeling of shame, with raised head, proud of who we are. Today, we are here to say out loud that we will not bow our heads and that we have equal rights, demand the adoption of the Law on Life Partnership, and those in the Assembly not to fight their battles over our backs. See you next year in the Pride," Kalezic said.

Kalezić (Photo: Luka Zeković)

"We are all made the same, we want love, and acceptance, we all have to do the same, but we do not have the same, so we demand laws, dignity, freedom. When we seek love from families, protection from violence... no one hears us, neither do our deputies hear when we ask for laws, that is why we have to claim our rights. For 50 years, the struggle for our fundamental rights has been going on in the world, and people are dying in this fight ... We will not allow to give up, we are here," said Marija Jovanovic.

Jovanović (Photo: facebook.com/Queer.Montenegro)

"I stand proudly with you today. I remember the first day I came into the community, when I said I would never come to the Pride. Today I understand the gravity of these steps, you all give weight to this fight, all the violence that has gone over our backs has made us to be brave today," said Nikola Ilic.

Ilić (Photo: Luka Zeković)

Jovan Ulicevic from Spectra said that "our backs are not a station for other people's dissatisfaction".

"I stand here to show that they did not break me. That one day, the walk becomes a festival, that once everyone sees what we see today - a fight that has succeeded. First time I realized I was different was in the elementary when my school-mate’s mother picked me up from school." Look at you, you are masculine. I was both a "freak "and a "lesbian", I became afraid to go to the market, I was hiding in my house... When I finished the transition, I got new descriptions - he is the one who changed gender, so how he has intercourses now... until someone told me "drag queen." That is why I say today - not through mine and the backs of everyone with whom I have the honor to stand today. Our backs are not a station for other people's discontent. Our backs have outlined everything I speak about, and we have the right to love, to move freely, not to remove organs so that M or F can be written in the documents ... I have the right that people's representatives do not use my identity to offend one another, the right to live my life genuinely, everyone to get off my back and that I live freely in the community I belong to," Ulicevic said.

Ulićević (Photo: facebook.com/Queer.Montenegro)

Judy Kuo from the US Embassy in Podgorica said that diversity is the essence of life.

"We need to respect the differences, whether they are sexual minorities or belonging to a particular nation, race ... and no one should be the victim of an attack because of their orientation," Kuo said.

That is why, she added, the US Embassy strongly condemns the attack on the trans person in Kolasin.

"We hope that the offenders will be punished. We are concerned about the recent hate speech that could recently be heard from the Parliament at the expense of LGBT people and we hope that Parliament will play a significant role in improving the equality of all citizens," she said.

During the Pride (Photo: Damira Kalač)

Pride parade was also attended by the representatives of Montenegrin institutions and political parties.

Police: The rally went without incidents

The seventh Pride Parade was held without incident, the Police Directorate said.

"Preventive police activities contributed to this rally being held in a peaceful atmosphere, in accordance with the organizers' plan. Police officers carried out planning activities that provided conditions for the safe conduct of this public gathering.  Based on the estimates and analysis of the parades held in the past, a smaller number of police officers were engaged in providing the Pride Parade than in the previous years. However, the optimal number of police officers was hired to respond to police tasks to indicate any need for intervention," the police said.

Officers of the Police Directorate will continue to contribute to the activities within their jurisdiction to ensure the implementation and respect of human rights and freedoms, especially vulnerable groups, including, as they said, the LGBT community.

Pride parades, he said, were attended by Assistant Director for the General Police Sector, Nikola Janjusevic, Chief of the Podgorica Security Center, Milovan Pavicevic, and police representatives at the Police Directorate's Trust Team and the LGBT Community.

The slogan of the seventh Montenegro Pride "Not over our backs" was inspired, as reported earlier, by abuse of the human rights of LGBT people for daily political purposes and spreading hatred against that population by political parties and members of the Parliament of Montenegro.

The Pride Parade route this year has been longer than ever and covers more than one kilometer of the capital's central streets.

At the end of July, the Parliament of Montenegro did not adopt the Law on Life Partnership of Persons of the Same Sex, because there was no majority in the parliament.

Thirty-eight voted in favor, and four deputies opposed.

Minority parties’ deputies Ervin Ibrahimovic (BS), Nedzad Dresevic (BS), Adrijan Vuksanovic (HGI) and Genci Nimanbegu (Forca) voted against. Opposition MPs were not in the hall during the vote.

The proposed law allows same-sex couples in Montenegro to enjoy the same rights as heterosexual couples, only without the possibility of adopting children.

Text by Damira Kalac, on September 21st, 2019, read more at Vijesti

September 22, 2019 - The manifestation Kotor Circle ended yesterday in the city. The second edition of this Festival of free thought will be remembered for political censorship directed by the local DPS government. Namely, on the day of the festival beginning, the financier - Kotor Municipality, informed the organizers that they would be denied support if, although it was foreseen by the previously defined agenda, Goran Jovanovic, alias Timur Tmurni appeared at the Festival.

Kotor circle: Teofil Pancic, Copyright: Timur Tmurni FB

 

Pancic came to the gathering wearing a "Je suis Timur Tmurni" t-shirt (I'm Timur Tmurni), alluding to t-shirts with similar messages worn several years ago by intellectuals around the world in support of the Paris satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.

Kotor Circle: NGO Anima's Performance, Copyright: Timur Tmurni FB

 

Activists of the NGO "Anima" followed the beginning of the second festival evening, sitting in the front row, with patches over their mouth, which read "censorship." All the audience expressed their support for Timur Tmurni and his newly acquired status as a dissident in Kotor.

22 September 2019 - The Budva City Theatre will host the TOURNEE Festival from 22 to 25 September this year in Budva. During these four festival nights, Budva will host partners from Italy and Albania with their programs.

The Public Institution City Theatre, together with the Municipality of Budva, is a partner in the project "Theatres for tOURism developmeNt in Europe, TOURNEE", funded through the EU trilateral cooperation program CBC Italy-Albania- Montenegro. This program aims to enhance the attractiveness of the cross-border area for all visitors, through the creation of new community festivals, the City Theatre representatives announced.

The overall objective of TOURNEE is to establish closer cooperation among the key actors in the theatrical sector, by creating a durable Cluster of Theatre Institutions in the cross border area. TOURNEE involves cross border experts in theatre productions, territorial marketing, cultural heritage management and tourism strategic policies, in creating innovative cultural products to strengthen the exploitation of tourist destinations. As a result, an increasing role of theatres in supporting tourist economic growth is expected, as well as an improvement of public policies in cultural and tourism sectors.

As reported by RTV Budva, on Sunday, September 22, the TOURNEE Festival Opening Ceremony will take place between the churches starting at 7.30 pm.

After the opening ceremony, at 8 pm, the audience will have the opportunity to enjoy the opera "The Servant turned Mistress" (La Serva Padrona) by Giovanni Pergolesi, directed by Vladan Đurković, as part of the TOURNEE project. This opera is a co-production of the City of Budva Theatre, Tirana Opera and the Pula Public Theatre, under the direction of the Operosa Foundation in Podgorica.

On the second night of the festival, on September 23, there will be a performance by partners from Tirana “Johan Padan and the discovery of the Americas”.

The third night is scheduled for the performance of “Farce of the Crown” produced by partners from Fier, Albania.

On Wednesday, September 25, two programs will be presented: the musical "Island" and the theatre performance "Oresteia. Dystopian”.

According to the organisers, the tickets will not be charged during the festival, as the project is co-financed by the European Union.

22 September 2019 - The German House in Montenegro was recently opened in Podgorica, under the auspices of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany.

During the opening ceremony, many guests were addressed by Minister of Culture Aleksandar Bogdanović, who said that the Montenegrin public has had a chance to get acquainted with the achievements of contemporary German culture, and that the establishment of the German House is a step forward in that regard.

“This event is of particular importance because it will greatly expand the opportunities for our public to get acquainted with the achievements of the great German culture, both recent ones and those belonging to the sphere of cultural heritage. Needless to say, what influence did German philosophy, literature, music and film exert on the development of world culture, and thus on the expansion of the cultural horizon of our country. In that context, this House will be playing a valuable educational and informational role, which will strengthen the already established mechanisms of cooperation in the field of culture,” Bogdanović emphasised.

Ambassador of Germany to Montenegro Robert Weber and Director of the Goethe Institute in Belgrade Frank Baumann also addressed the guests.

According to the statement by the Government, the German House in Montenegro will work primarily in the field of education and information. In that regard, special emphasis will be placed on promoting and spreading the idea of the German language, setting standards of quality of teaching German, providing access to information on institutions, current events and cultural events in Germany, achieving intercultural dialogue for the purpose of cultural exchange between Montenegro and Germany, and on improving the understanding of European values globally, as well as the development of common European perspectives.

20 September 2019 - The first charging point for electric vehicles has been put into operation in Podgorica. It is placed in front of the Podgorica Assembly, at the crossroads of Njegoševa Street and Vučedolska Street, and it is first of the three charging points planned for the capital. Usage will be free of charge during the first year.

The permanent representative at United Nations Development Programme to Montenegro Daniela Gasparikova stressed that the first public charging point for electric vehicles would boost further development of charging infrastructure across the country.

"Two more charging points will be installed in Podgorica by the end of Oct. and eleven in total by the end of the year," said Gasparikova reports Cafe del Montenegro.

The transport sector accounts for almost a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions, and this is the area that needs changes the most.

"The Montenegrin transport system currently accounts for 20 per cent of the national greenhouse gas emissions. If pollution by emissions keeps increasing in this way, estimations say it will make up to 30 per cent of the national greenhouse gas emissions," representative at United Nations Development Programme to Montenegro Gasparikova emphasized.

In her opinion, electric-vehicle charging soon will become as simple as charging smartphones.

Mayor of Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro, Ivan Vuković said that the environment protection represented the issue of topmost priority.

"Putting into operation the first charging point for electric vehicles represents a huge step forward for Podgorica and the whole country," pointed out Vuković.

Managing Director of the International Cooperation Directorate in the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism Igor Građević underlined this initiative was a part of the larger project dealing with the emission reductions.

Read more news about lifestyle in Montenegro at TMN's dedicated page.

20 September 2019 - President of Montenegro Milo Đukanović received Ambassador of the Republic of Greece to Montenegro Sotirios Athanasiou.

The President thanked Ambassador Sotirios Athanasiou for excellent cooperation during his diplomatic term and expressed satisfaction with the improvement of relations between the two countries in all fields. He extended special gratitude to Greece for its continued support to Montenegro and the WB region in the integration process, appreciating that Greece correctly understands the crucial importance of integration for the stability and perspective of the Region, as well as the whole of Europe. Expecting Montenegro and the WB to have encouraging messages from Athens in the coming period, Đukanović said full integration remains an essential issue.

"Stability and dynamic economic development are directly dependent on the speed of integration," said Đukanović.

In talks with Ambassador Athanasiou, President Đukanović congratulated him on his election to the Government and expressed hope that the new Greek executive authority would with great affection look to develop relations between the two countries. In this context, he welcomed the recent visit of President Pavlupoulos to Montenegro, which provided a strong impetus for further enhancement of co-operation, including on this occasion the signed Agreement in the field of culture, which will help further better connect the two peoples. Taking steps to intensify university and transport and maritime co-operation, with excellent defense co-operation with NATO, the President assessed that the most important co-operation resource in the coming period remains the field of economy and tourism and encouraged an even stronger presence of Greek investors in Montenegro, his office reported.

Ambassador Athanasiou thanked the President and the Montenegrin people for their friendly reception during his term and said that Montenegro had made tremendous progress, both economically and in the area of ​​the rule of law, and that it was a leader in the integration process.

"You have made tremendous progress and it would be fair for Montenegro to become an EU member," the ambassador said, stressing that the EU is the only path for WB countries without which Europe will not be fully integrated.

With satisfaction with the results of President Pavlopoulos's visit, the Greek ambassador reiterated his invitation to President Đukanović to visit Athens, which he was pleased to accept.

Read more news about politics in Montenegro at TMN's dedicated page.

20 September 2019 - Montenegrin Prime Minister Duško Marković met with representatives of world-renowned companies Northstar and Marriott, which will build a 210 million EUR Ritz-Carlton Montenegro resort in Herceg Novi.

The owner of the Ritz-Carlton Montenegro project Mohamed Al Sager said that preparations for the construction of the resort are going according to plan, and that the hotel operator would be the renowned Marriott hotel company, adding that they have ensured that one of their 30 luxury brands, the Ritz-Carlton, is coming to Montenegro.

The Ritz-Carlton Montenegro resort will be a hotel with 300 units, with 120 hotel units and 180 apartments. The first phase of the project, encompassing a hotel, 113 apartments, 13 villas and four restaurants, is expected to be finished in the summer of 2023.

According to the statement by the Government of Montenegro, Prime Minister Marković expressed his satisfaction that such prestigious companies will invest in Montenegro and bring not only money, but also knowledge, experience, and business ethics.

"The Government has serious infrastructure agenda, which will provide new quality to the resorts on that part of the Montenegrin coast," Prime Minister Marković said and pointed to the decision to valorize the airports and request for the construction of a water terminal in Tivat, as well as the construction of a four-lane boulevard between Budva and Tivat.

The interlocutors agreed that this resort offers great job opportunities for Montenegrin citizens and discussed the establishment of the Marriott Academy that would enable acquiring new knowledge and skills for work in tourism.

Read more about the business in Montenegro at TMN's dedicated page.