Gjeljoshaj: We might have left the government 20 times by now, but the EU is the priority; Camaj was wrong if he did not vote to dismiss Mandić

Montenegrin Deputy Prime Minister and Albanian Forum leader Nik Gjeljoshaj said that they might have left the government 20 times by now, but that they are prepared to put up with certain things solely to secure Montenegro’s accession to the European Union.

Speaking on the programme Iznova on TV Nova M, Gjeljoshaj said he believes the constitutional amendments will be adopted, as no one can afford to take responsibility for halting Montenegro’s European path.

Asked why the Albanian Forum remains in government alongside the New Serbian Democracy (NSD) party and Andrija Mandić, despite having supported their removal, and how their MP Nikola Camaj voted in parliament the previous day, Gjeljoshaj said he expected their MP to have complied with the decision of the party’s presidency.

- That was a situation in which we, as a political entity, could not compromise, regardless of whether the other side was our political partner or whether we were in a coalition with them. I believe Camaj voted in favour of the dismissal and respected the decision of the party that nominated him to serve as an MP. If he acted otherwise, he was wrong - Gjeljoshaj stressed.

He said the Albanian Forum was prepared to put up with a great deal simply to make Montenegro the next member of the European Union.

- I think we have demonstrated that. I believe we might have left the government 20 times by now. But given the significance of this moment and our priorities, you have to put up with certain things - Gjeljoshaj said.

He also maintained that his reaction to the first-instance verdict against former commanders of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) could not be compared with, or questioned on the basis of, the telegram of condolence sent to the family of convicted war criminal Ratko Mladić. He argued that the two cases involved different courts, as the verdict against the former KLA commanders was issued by a court in Kosovo, rather than by the International Court of Justice, which tried war criminals such as Mladić and Radovan Karadžić.