The protest of residents of Botun in Zeta, Montenegro, against the construction of a wastewater treatment plant reached a climax this morning with the arrest of demonstrators by Montenegrin police in an operation described by the media as “dramatic.” Residents of the Zeta village physically shielded the President of the Municipality of Zeta, Mihailo Asanović, to prevent his arrest, while the president of the Democratic People’s Party, Milan Knežević, voluntarily entered a police van to express solidarity with the arrested citizens, RTCG reports.
Representatives of the city of Podgorica arrived early this morning, around four o’clock, with machinery in Botun in order to begin work on the construction of the facility. However, residents prevented them from approaching the site. The police were notified and soon arrived at the scene, RTCG reports.
Shortly after 8 a.m., arrests of citizens began. The police detained Municipality President Asanović, while DNP leader Milan Knežević was with the residents on the ground and said he would not give up the fight.
Pripadnici Interventne jedinice policije počeli su privođenje mještana koji su sjedjeli na lokaciji gdje je planirana gradnja postrojenja za prečišćavanje otpadnih voda.
— RTCG (@RTCGme) December 30, 2025
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Knežević rejected the police request to exit the police van that he had entered voluntarily.
“So, the van works, but the problem is that I am in the van,” he said.
Residents announced the continuation of gatherings and mentioned, as reported by RTCG, a roundabout toward Podgorica Airport.
Before the police action, they sat on the parcel designated for construction, singing and chanting “This is Zeta,” as well as “Arrest Zvicer.” They also accused Deputy Prime Minister Aleksa Bečić of betrayal.
In a statement to assembled media representatives, Knežević said that “around 500 police officers have arrived who will arrest citizens,” stressing that he would offer no resistance.
“We will sit on our Zeta land, and let Montenegro and the entire public see that an entire village has been arrested because it opposed a highly corrupt contract. It is more than obvious here that someone took money, and because of that the citizens of Botun should be arrested,” Knežević said before the arrests.
Knežević emphasized that the citizens were prepared for this, and told those who issued the order that they would be left with a “blackened face forever.”
Lider DNP Milan Knežević je kazao da će nakon završetka kako je kazao agonije institucija u Botunu, pokrenuti na predsjedništvu stranke inicijativu da izađu iz ove Vlasti.
— RTCG (@RTCGme) December 30, 2025
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The Mayor of Podgorica, Saša Mujović, had earlier said that the messages from the European Union are clear – the start of construction of the wastewater treatment plant cannot be further postponed, nor is a change of location possible.
“The best and strongest message is that response from the EU to certain statements that were heard, that we could postpone construction, that we could relocate the site. I think the EU and its position were extremely clear and correspond to what we have been saying, which is that we must begin work by December 31 if we want to avoid penalties and damage, and that changing the location is not possible because we would thereby jeopardize the closing of Chapter 27 and its closure within the prescribed timeframe,” Mujović stated.
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Source: Euronews, Foto: Printscreen /rtcg.me