More Clashes as Police Break-up Podgorica Protest

Police in Montenegro fired tear gas on Saturday to disband hundreds of protesters who have been calling for the government to resign and hold early elections amid allegations of corruption and election fraud.

At least three opposition leaders and several MPs were injured during the violence, which erupted when protesters tried to march toward the parliament headquarters in Podgorica.

The main opposition alliance, the Democratic Front, has claimed that its leaders Nebojsa Medojevic and Andrija Mandic were ‘brutally beaten”.

Parliament Vice President Branko Radulovic was also reportedly injured in violent clashes late Saturday evening. Violence had also erupted earlier in the day when riot police moved in at around 6am local time to break-up the three-week protest.

Montenegrin police have used tear gas to break up a protest by the opposition | Photo:AP/Risto Bozovic.

Journalist Marko Milacic, activist Vladimir Dajkovic and several university professors have been arrested while protesting in front of the Montenegrin parliament.

Around 6 am on Saturday riot police clashed with protesters when they moved in to dismantle the camp set up by protesters in front the parlament, since the end of September.

Several people were reportedly injured in the clashes, including MPs. The leader of the opposition Democratic People’s Party, Milan Knezevic was reported to have suffered severe injuries.

Police have arrested at least dozen protesters, including two MPs from the opposition alliance, Democratic Front, who staged an “unauthorized” pro-democracy rally.

Montenegro police said they have arrested 11 people, including MPs Slaven Radunovic and Vladislav Bojovic, a journalist of the daily Dan Drazen Zivkovic and editor of the web portal IN4S, Gojko Raicevic, and several opposition councelors in Podgorica’s local parliament.

Police said that six officers were injured in the clashes with protesters, and in order to overcome “active resistance and acting according to the law”, the police forces had used tear gas.

However, the family of the arrested editor Raicevic told local media that after the arrest was beaten, most likely in the police vehicle, and he was transferred to the local hospital’s emergency room.

The police had called the peaceful protesters to move from the square in front of the parliament building after their permit for protests expired on October 10. But the anti-goverment protesters, who were blocking the main streets in the capital Podgorica for days, have ignored the calls to dismantle the camp.

The organizers of the protests claim that over 1000 police special force’s officers have “brutally attacked to break up a peaceful and democratic” rally.

“Brutal police violence of [Prime Minister]Milo Djukanovic,  has brought Montenegro to the very brink of civil war, and sent a clear message that he is ready to use all means to defend his power,” representative of the main opposition party alliance, the Democratic Front, Koca Pavlovic said on Saturday.

The leader of the opposition Democratic People’s Party, Milan Knezevic, was reported to have suffered severe injuries | Photo: Democratic Front.

Opposition parties condemned the use of force to dismantle the protesters camp and the arrest of journalists. The Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro and several watchdog organizations, urged the prosecution to initiate an “impartial investigation” into the actions of police officers.

The Council for Civil Control of Police, an independent national body, scheduled for Tuesday an extraordinary meeting to discuss the police operation.

A 24-hour demonstration launched in September demanded the creation of an interim government to organise what they say would be Montenegro’s “first ever free and fair elections”. The Democratic Front, joined by several civic and student organizations, accuses Djukanovic’s government of widespread corruption, undemocratic practices and election fraud.

Police have arrested at least dozen protesters, including two MPs from the opposition | Photo: Democratic Front.

Earlier, on Friday, the atmosphere at the rally was festive with people carrying signs, singing songs and shouting chants. Sandwich stands and ice cream trucks were rolled out, providing food and drinks to those attending.

The protest follows months of tension over the country’s new elections legislation which the majority of the opposition sharply criticised because they claimed that it would not provide for a fair vote in elections set for spring 2016.