Demonstrations in Podgorica showed tension towards migrants in connection with an attack on a local citizen. The detention of the suspects is accompanied by a wave of migrant phobia and attacks.
Demonstrators chanted anti-Turkish slogans in front of the Montenegrin government headquarters in Podgorica on Tuesday evening in response to a weekend incident in which a group of foreigners stabbed a local young man with a knife. TASR writes about it according to the HINA agency.
Protesters chanted “We don’t want migrants” and “Turks won’t walk through our city” and carried banners reading “We defend ourselves against further migration, stabbings, rapes, occupation!”.
Montenegrin police director Lazar Šepanović told public television that the police will ensure peace and security throughout the country.
They also attacked businesses
The prosecutor’s office said they detained one Turkish and one Azerbaijani national in connection with the incident. The incident triggered a wave of violence against businesses owned by Turkish nationals and the setting fire to cars at a dealership operated by a Turkish company. Most Turkish-owned businesses in Podgorica remained closed. Police said eight people were detained in Podgorica on charges of inciting hatred and violence on ethnic and religious grounds.
On Monday, the Montenegrin government temporarily suspended the visa-free regime for Turkish citizens. About 100,000 foreign nationals have permanent or temporary residence in Montenegro, of which approximately 14,000 are Turks.
Local authorities are registering the growing interest of Turkish citizens in doing business or working in the small Balkan country with approximately 620,000 inhabitants, which is heavily dependent on tourism. It is an EU candidate country whose accession to the EU is expected in the coming years.
