Controversy over ethnic and linguistic identity in Montenegro

rdf:langString Controversy over ethnic and linguistic identity in Montenegro

rdf:langString Controversy over ethnic and linguistic identity in Montenegro is an ongoing dispute over the ethnic and linguistic identity of several communities in Montenegro, a multiethnic and multilingual country in Southeastern Europe. There are several points of dispute, some of them related to identity of people who self-identify as ethnic Montenegrins, while some other identity issues are also related to communities of Serbs of Montenegro, Croats of Montenegro, Bosniaks of Montenegro and ethnic Muslims of Montenegro. All of those issues are mutually interconnected and highly politicized. The central issue is whether self-identified Montenegrins constitute a distinct ethnic group or a subgroup of some other nation, as often claimed by self-identified Serbs. This divide has its historical roots in the first decades of the 20th century, during which the pivotal political issue was the dilemma between retaining national sovereignty of Montenegro, advocated by supporters of the Petrović-Njegoš dynasty, most notably Greens, i.e. members of the True People's Party, and supporters of integration with the Kingdom of Serbia, and consequently with other South Slavic peoples under the Karađorđević dynasty, advocated by the Whites (gathered around the People's Party). This dispute renewed during the dissolution of Yugoslavia and subsequent secession of Montenegro from the state union with Serbia after the 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum. According to the 2011 census data, 44.98% of people in Montenegro identify as ethnic Montenegrins, while 28.73% declare as ethnic Serbs; 42.88% said they spoke "Serbian" whereas 36.97% declared "Montenegrin" as their native language.