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Podgorica Assembly

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The Podgorica Assembly (Serbian: Подгоричка скупштина or Podgorička skupština), also known as the Great National Assembly of the Serb People in Montenegro (Serbian: Велика Народна Скупштина Српског Народа у Црној Гори or Velika Narodna Skupština Srpskog Naroda u Crnoj Gori) or the Serbian Great People's Assembly in Montenegro, was an assembly held in Podgorica that served as the representative body of the Montenegrin people during the Creation of Yugoslavia in late 1918 and early 1919. The president of the assembly was Savo Cerović, and two vice-presidents were Savo Fatić and Lazar Damjanović. It was organized by Andrija Radović, former Prime Minister of the Princedom and later Kingdom of Montenegro and head of the leading People's Party. Its most known for its decision to merge Montenegro with Serbia.

Background

The Kingdom of Montenegro capitulated to the forces of Austria-Hungary on 6 January 1916 during The Great War and its parliament was dismissed and King Nicholas I secretly fled the country to allied Italy with his closest men, failing to sign a separate peace for Montenegro. On 17 July 1917 the Yugoslav Committee and the Government of the Kingdom of Serbia signed the Corfu Declaration, which, accepted by the Great Allied Powers, laid the foundations for a South Slavic state that would also include Montenegro. In 1918 the Serbian Royal Army liberated Montenegro from the Central Powers' occupation and Allied mission of Serbia, Italy, France, the United Kingdom and the United States was assigned to provisionally occupy and establish control over Montenegro.

Montenegro had planned and prepared unification with Serbia for more than a full century, the decision was cemented after gaining a common border after the Balkan Wars and the negotiations initiated in 1914, when negotiations have started about military, economic and foreign affairs union. In Montenegro strongest supporter of this project has been prime minister Andrija Radović. On other side Serbian goverment has worked on annexation of Montenegro from 1866. Since the beginning of October 1918, various initiatives have been raised to formalize unification with the final moments of the war drawing to a close. Various tiny assemblies organized similar to the ones in the former Austro-Hungarian former lands, including all clan assemblies of the Montenegrin clans as well as most of the Montenegrin diaspora organizations, particularly those in USA, have convened in support of such an act. It is thus that on 15 October 1918 the Government of Serbia named a "Central Executive Committee for Unification of Serbia and Montenegro" consisting of four strong proponents of a union of the two states, two from Serbia and two from Montenegro, that would organize the process of unification.

Rules

On 25 October 1918 in Berane, the city of one of the Committee's members, it brought the decision to schedule a nation-wide election for 165 MPs a Parliament which would decide about the form and process of unification of Montenegro with Serbia, as well as the rules of its election. The official name that was adopted was the Great People's Assembly of the Serbian People in Montenegro.

The people will secretly elect electors, who would subsequently nominate the assembly.

The electors were the democratic holders of the national vote from the people, but they were supposed to themselves elect the Members of the Parliament in order to secure the balance and equally represent all levels of the community by profession, religious determination and ethnic affiliation.

Every male Montenegrin aged 25 or more had the right to be elected into the Parliament:

  • Each Captainy must give 2 MPs
  • Every District must give 3 MPs
  • Every Town must give 1 and every City 2 MPs

It is important to notice that this election has been against Montenegro laws because Committe created by Serbian goverment has give himself right to call parliament election which will vote about union with Serbia. Only legal possibility for calling election has been dismissal of 1914 parliament by king Nicholas I of Montenegro or resigning of parliament members.

Serbian elections preparations

For easier victory of pro-serbian supporters Committe, goverment of Serbia and her military forces in Montenegro have made number of moves to block pro-Nicholas supporters. Serbian military has recieved command to block return of montegrian prisoners of war home from Austro-Hungary until elections have ended. Must known separate incidents from that time are blocking of 3 montenegrin generals (Radomir Vešović, Jovan Bećir i Jakov Jovanović) and duke Đuro Petrović. Similar destiny has happened to politicans which has been known opponents of monarchy. In continuation of this policy Serbian goverment has demanded from France to block return of king until end of Podgorica Assembly vote which has happened. Committe on the other side has called for election without lists of people which are having right to vote or even mechanism which will make sure to block multiple voting of one person. For election campaign supportes of union with Serbia has started newspaper "Novo doba" (New time) which will call everybody which do not vote for union traitor which need to be destroyed.

Election

Two organized lists were opposed:
1. White List - Gavrilo Dožić
2. Green List - Špiro Tomanović

The Whites were opponents of the reigning King Nikola, presenting him as an enemy to democracy, the people and betrayer of his dynasty's original foundations. They were led the Metropolitan of the Serb Orthodox Church in Montenegro, Gavrilo Dožić, and stood for direct, immediate and unconditional unification with the Kingdom of Serbia. The Greens were pro-dynastic supporters of King Nikola and abbreviated for a conditional and loose unification of Montenegro with Serbia.

After quick but major preparations, the elections were held on 19 November 1918. The Whites won at all locations except at the heart of Cetinje, where the sovereignists received considerable support too.

During the elections the Kingdom of Italy, frustrated by the not fulfilled promises of the 1915 Treaty of London, prepared and an invasion of Montenegro with its forces centered at the Bay of Kotor. The Italian forces were bent on capturing Cetinje and proclaimed a Montenegrin client state, but they were repulsed after the possibility of war with Serbia and the pressure of the other Allied Powers, most notably the US. This and other numerous problems in the chaotic time that stood to the scene after the Central Powers' defeat in formerly occupied territories caused individual irregularities during the election. In Bijelo Polje, Plav and Gusinje instead of elections the electors were appointed by the local community, and due to the subsequent rapidly changing following acts elections were never properly repeated.

The Electors then publicly nominated a Session of the Parliament with 165 MPs (of which 30 have not been elected). 56 MPs had a PhD, 6 were teachers and priests, 25 were Clan Chieftains, 14 were Agricultural workers and 3 youthe. The several Green electors refused to show up and boycotted the assembly. Italy then opened up in Gaeta at the coast a camp for training Greens in preparations to instigate a rebellion, to prevent again the unification since it was forced to withdraw its forces completely.

The Parliament

The Great National Assembly was constituated on 24 November 1918 in the most appropriate object in Podgorica, the Tobacco Monopoly. Podgorica was chosen because it was the largest and most populated city in Montenegro. In two following session of 25 November '18 the parliament elected its President, two Vice-Presidents and the Secretary. The day on 26 November 1918 the parliament unanimously adopted a resolution with the following decisions:
1. To depose King Nikola I Petrović-Njegoš and his dynasty from the Montenegrin throne
2. To unite Montenegro with the brotherly Serbia into a single state under the House of Karađorđević, and in such entity to then enter into a common Fatherland with our people under three names Serbs, Croats and Slovenes
3. To establish a National Executive Committee made up of five individuals, that shall handle the administrative affairs, until the unification of Serbia and Montenegro is complete
4. To announce the Assembly's decisions to:

The MPs called upon the long lasting desire to unite the Serb people from Montenegro with the one in Serbia and sent a copy of the Montenegrin Crown to King Petar I Karađorđević with a delegation that went to Belgrade led by Metropolitan Dožić on 17 December 1918.

The Parliament continued its session until 29 November 1918, when the "Central Montenegrin Committee for Unification" was appointed and sworn composed out 5 most experienced individuals in Montenegro.

Epilogue

Nevertheless, after the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was proclaimed, the historic entities have remained and Montenegro too, parallel to Serbia. The Great Serb People's Assembly convened for the last time on 27 December 1919 when it elected the Montenegrin share into the Collective National Representing Body of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes that was to draft a Constitution.

When the deposed King and his self-appointed Government of the Kingdom of Montenegro in Exile in Neilly was informed by French intelligence, Nicholas discarded the decisions of the assembly claiming it was illegal, calling upon the Constitution of Montenegro, and called forth the Montenegrins not to accept the annexation. Prime Minister Evgenije Popović wrote to the Great Powers in complaint. Nevertheless the Allies broke off connections with the Montenegrin Court in Exile stopped recognizing it as a legitimate body and the United Kingdom of Great Britain in specific openly supported and recognized the Assembly's decisions.

The Greens led by Krsto Zrnov Popović, supported and organized by the Italians, changed their desire to include a completely independent Montenegrin state and resorted to violence to fulfill their goals. They raised on Christmas Eve of 7 January 1919 the Christmas Uprising, with an attempt to martially secede Montenegro from the early Yugoslav country. The international community fiercely reacted to the event and the Allied forces quelled the rebellion in blood, raising the sieges of completely cut-off Cetinje and Nikšić. The insurgents mostly found amnesty, others went to Italy which further continued to agitate Montenegrin separatism until it was realized under fascist Italy in 1941 during the Second World War, but some form of little guerrilla resistance from bands of the Greens continued all the way until every last one's defeat in 1926.

After the creation of the League of Nations, the subject of international law emerged on the 1919 Treaty of Versailles where Andrija Radović went, as representer of pro-serbian Montenegro. Representer of King Nicholas has been Jovan Plamenc . At the specific case of Montenegro and the question about the assembly that annexed it to Serbia, though the Kingdom of SCS was internationally recognized, the Montenegrin question itself was left to be later resolved and allied powers in 1919 are still having diplomatic relationship with king goverment. Nicholas' 1920 request that the Montenegrin People deserve the right for full self-determination was finally answered by the following elections, agreeing that the legitimacy of the annexation will be judged by the results. King Nicholas sent a plea to the Greens not to resist and asked for peace and stability, however some comites continued to resist until 1926. On 28 November 1920 over 67% of Montenegro's electorate voted and furthermore, the Serbian Radical People's Party received most of the cast votes.

References

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