By Stevo Vasiljevic
PODGORICA (Reuters) – A whole bunch of Montenegrins demonstrated within the capital Podgorica on Friday in opposition to what they see as an absence of motion by authorities to stop a mass capturing through which a gunman killed 12 individuals and significantly injured 4.
In one of many worst massacres within the Balkan nation, Aco Martinovic, 45, went on a rampage on Wednesday afternoon after ingesting closely within the small city of Cetinje and managed to evade police for a lot of hours .
Amongst these he shot was his personal sister. He then turned the gun on himself, dying early Thursday from his accidents.
The protest coincided with an ongoing session of the nation’s Nationwide Safety Council, which has adopted a sequence of stricter gun controls.
After the session, Prime Minister Milojko Spajic mentioned registered gun homeowners will now have one yr to cross medical and psychological checks, a prerequisite for renewing their license.
“Anybody who doesn’t cross the checks… their (firearms) license shall be revoked and their weapons seized,” Spajic instructed a information convention in Podgorica.
He additionally mentioned authorities would launch a two-month gun amnesty, permitting those that possess unlawful weapons to give up them with out worry of prosecution, or face “draconian punishment” if they’re subsequently arrested.
“Those that don’t return them (unlawful weapons) will face draconian sanctions (…) they are going to find yourself in jail,” he declared.
Many Montenegrins are sad with what they see as sluggish reform of an understaffed and under-resourced police drive, in addition to bureaucratic and political wrangling throughout the authorities.
To strengthen the police drive, the federal government additionally plans to rent 200 further law enforcement officials, Spajic mentioned.
REQUESTS FOR RESIGNATIONS
Protesters in Podgorica initially remained silent to commemorate the victims of the capturing, then hurled insults at police who cordoned off the federal government constructing within the metropolis heart. Some demonstrators tried to interrupt via a safety barrier.
Protesters held banners studying “Your system is rotten” and “Your arms are bloody.” They tied roses with black ribbons to the fence as an indication of mourning.
They’re demanding the resignation of senior officers, together with Inside Minister Danilo Saranovic and police director Lazar Scepanovic.
Scepanovic mentioned Thursday that the police response to the capturing was delayed by deceptive info that despatched the primary patrol to the flawed location.
“As honorable males, it’s best to come and inform us what is occurring in your system…in any other case tomorrow such a tragedy might knock on all of our doorways,” one protester shouted.
It was the second mass capturing in lower than three years in Cetinje, 38 km west of Podgorica. In August 2022, a gunman killed 10 individuals, together with two kids, earlier than being shot lifeless.
Spajic mentioned the Inside Ministry will now be tasked with forming an airmobile fast response crew to enhance response to such emergencies.
Montenegro, a small Adriatic republic of simply 633,000 individuals, has a deep-rooted gun tradition.
Like different international locations within the Western Balkans – Serbia, Bosnia, Albania, Kosovo and North Macedonia – Montenegro can also be filled with unlawful weapons, most of them from the bloody wars of the Nineteen Nineties.
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