According to the latest report “Nations in transit”, by Freedom House, human rights organization, Montenegro and Serbia have lost the epithet of “partially consolidated democracies”.
After the assessment of state, Freedom House grouped these tow WB countries in the category of “hybrid regimes”, consisting of countries where democratic institutions are fragile and faced with challenges in defending their political rights and civil freedoms.
However, assessment of state in Montenegro is, at the very least, problematic, for several reasons.
It is incredible that the institution has published that religious processions which took place last year although everybody knows that first important protests began in January and lasted until the outbreak of the pandemic.
Part of the report entitled “Within Eco-Protests, Support for Democracy”, says: Meanwhile, Montenegro experienced the largest protests in its history last year—involving perhaps 10 percent of the population—yet government officials there only granted concessions to a diffuse campaign against dams whose rallies never drew more than a few dozen people.
The report is flippant as it is clear that methodology of the research is not correct as events from this year have been put in the last.
The report, simply, is not accurate.
Montenegro has come under attack of “scientific collaborators” of Freedom House due to cooperation with China and while reading the report, you can form an impression that it is wrong and made to point t Chin as global problem.
Freedom House states that China is seizing on the weaknesses of institutions. The report points out the import of technology for surveillance in countries like Serbia, as well as companies of media influence, in which Chinese authorities intervene in order to shape content to their advantage.
FH states that Montenegro owes 39% of its debt to China. Everybody in Montenegro knows this debt refers to the construction of the highway and that so far, there has not been any indicator that the debt can’t be settled. What would this report look like if the highway was being constructed by some American, German, Swiss or French company?
Freedom House reminds of the opposition boycott in the Parliament after the Coup attempt in 2016.
