Podgorica, (MINA-BUSINESS) – The police in Tivat have prohibited a peaceful rally of the Union of Free Trade Unions of Montenegro (USSCG), scheduled for Friday at 1:00 p.m. in Tivat under the slogan “Together for 100.”

According to the authorities, the ban was imposed to prevent disturbances to public order and peace, criminal offenses, and to ensure public safety, as there is a genuine risk that such issues could arise because the EU–Western Balkans Summit EU–Western Balkans Summit will be held in Tivat on the same day, with the expected attendance of Montenegrin and EU officials as well as numerous delegations.

USSCG representatives said that the authority issuing the decision failed to provide specific reasons from its security assessment demonstrating that the prohibition was a proportionate measure restricting the constitutional and internationally guaranteed rights to peaceful assembly, freedom of movement, and freedom of expression. 

They argued that a peaceful rallying of employees and citizens of Montenegro could not reasonably be considered a threat to public order, public peace, or the safety of summit participants.

USSCG stated that the right to public assembly is a fundamental human right under Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights, adding that the planned rally was intended to be entirely peaceful and legitimate, and that its objectives could only have been achieved by holding it in Tivat.