Pro-Serbian parties demand Serbian language become official after census in Montenegro

(Patria) - Following the announcement of the census results, pro-Serbian parties have renewed their demand for the Serbian language to become official in Montenegro, reports RSE.

The census results in Montenegro showed that Serbian is the mother tongue for 43 percent of the population, and Montenegrin for slightly over 34 percent.

On the same day the results were announced, October 15, pro-Serbian parties reiterated their demand for constitutional amendments to make Serbian an official language.

The Constitution of Montenegro defines Montenegrin as the official language, while Serbian is in official use along with Bosnian, Croatian, and Albanian.

A change in the status of the Serbian language has been requested by parts of the ruling parties, including parties of the pro-Russian Democratic Front (DF), the pro-Serbian Socialist People's Party (SNP), and other smaller parties.

Their main argument was the fact that the census showed the majority of the population speaks Serbian.

A census was held in Montenegro in December last year, and its results regarding national, religious affiliation, and language were only announced on October 15.

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MONTENEGRO CENSUS Montenegrins 256,463, Serbs 205,370, Bosniaks 58,956...

(Patria) - In Montenegro, 256,463 citizens identify as Montenegrins, while there are 205,370 Serbs, official census results confirmed. As Montenegrins, 41.12 percent identified, and Serbs 32.93 percent. 43.18 percent speak Serbian, Montenegrin

For over a decade, pro-Serbian parties have sought to equalize the constitutional status of the Serbian and Montenegrin languages.

The current Speaker of the Parliament of Montenegro, Andrija Mandić, who is also the leader of the pro-Russian DF, has repeatedly announced an initiative to change the status of the Serbian language if the census showed that the population predominantly speaks that language.

In parliament on October 15, his party colleague Dejan Đurović reiterated this, stating that the Serbian language should be regulated as official in the Constitution.

"We must admit that the Serbian language should be official, as it is the majority language in Montenegro. I expect this from the opposition as well," said Đurović.

The same request was made by Dragoslav Šćekić, an official of the pro-Serbian SNP and Minister of Sports in Milojko Spajić's government, who said he expects the authorities to act in accordance with the 'real population structure'.

"And to acknowledge the fact that Serbs constitute a significant segment of this society. People who speak Serbian expect, at the very least, the right to speak and be educated in their language everywhere," Šćekić stated.

The rest of the ruling parties have not commented on this matter.

Momčilo Vuksanović, president of the Serbian National Council, said that Serbs in Montenegro face a "fierce struggle to preserve their identity through the introduction of Serbian as an official language in all state institutions and the promotion of the Cyrillic script".

The largest opposition party, the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), was the first to react to these announcements. DPS MP Andrija Nikolić reminded the ruling parties of their previous statements.

"You said that the Serbian language needed to cross 50 percent before the Constitution would be changed. You had different expectations. And the results are the same as in the 2011 census," Nikolić pointed out.

The Montenegrin language was defined as official by the Constitution during the DPS's rule.

The number of citizens whose mother tongue is Serbian increased by 0.3 percent between the two censuses – 2011 and 2023, while the number of those who speak Montenegrin decreased by 2.4 percent.

In the census held in 2003, when Montenegro was in a state union with Serbia, 63.4 percent of the population called their language Serbian, and 21.9 percent called it Montenegrin.

The Constitution of Montenegro, which prescribes Montenegrin as the official language, was adopted in 2007, a year after the independence referendum.