PODGORICA (Reuters) -Montenegro temporarily suspended a visa-free regime for Turkish nationals on Monday following a weekend of violence triggered by the stabbing of a Montenegrin man in the capital Podgorica by a group of Turks.
Police said they had detained dozens of Turkish and Azerbaijani nationals, while President Jakov Milatovic called for calm and condemned attacks by angry Montenegrins targeting Turkish citizens and property in the tiny Adriatic country.
The Montenegrin man was stabbed on Saturday night after an exchange of insults with a group of Turkish citizens. His injuries were not life-threatening.
Dozens of local people retaliated on Sunday by vandalising vehicles with Turkish number plates and at one point forced some Turkish citizens to barricade themselves in a casino. A Turkish-run restaurant was broken into and its windows smashed in the centre of Podgorica on Sunday night.
The police said they had detained two people suspected of being involved in the stabbing incident, a Turkish national and an Azerbaijani, as well as an additional 45 Turkish and Azerbaijani citizens suspected of lacking legal residence documents.
They fined seven of those detained and ordered the deportation of eight others, police said in a statement.
TURKEY SAYS ITS CITIZENS MUST BE PROTECTED
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan spoke with Montenegro’s Prime Minister Milojko Spajic and Foreign Minister Ervin Ibrahimovic by phone on Monday. He said Ankara expected Montenegrin authorities to take necessary measures to ensure the safety and rights of Turkish citizens, a Turkish foreign ministry source said.
In its statement announcing interim visas for Turkish citizens, Montenegro’s government struck a conciliatory tone.
“Montenegro fully takes into account the interests and status of approximately 14,000 citizens of the Republic of Turkey who are on its territory, and will take all necessary steps to ensure that their stay is unhindered and in accordance with the law,” it said.
It will provide an accelerated visa issuance procedure for all Turkish nationals who plan to arrive, stay or transit through Montenegro to minimise disruption, the statement said.
Officials say there has been an increase in the number of Turkish citizens opening businesses or seeking work in Montenegro, which is heavily reliant on tourism, ahead of its expected accession in the coming years to the European Union.
President Milatovic said on X: “There must be no room for collective guilt or the stigmatization of an entire people. Montenegro needs a more responsible immigration policy: firm against abuses and crime, fair towards all who respect our laws.”
(Reporting by Stevo Vasiljevic and Daria Sito-Sucic, Additional reporting by Ece Toksabay; Editing by Gareth Jones)
