Podgorica Assembly - The Parliament

The Parliament

The Great National Assembly was constituted on 24 November 1918 not in the Montenegro parliament which was in Cetinje, but in the Podgorica Tobacco Monopoly building. During that time Podgorica was the largest and most populated city in Montenegro. In two following sessions of 25 November 1918, the parliament elected its president, two vice-presidents and the Secretary. The assembly members demanded that Montenegro's independence be restored prior to any discussion about union with Serbia. This was refused by president of the assembly Savo Cerović: "This will not lead to anything good". On 26 November 1918 when the assembly building was encircled by a detachment of Serbian army, the parliament unanimously adopted a resolution with the following decisions:
. 1. To depose King Nicholas I Petrović-Njegoš and his dynasty from the Montenegrin throne
2. To unite Montenegro with the brotherly Serbia into a single state under the House of Karađorđević, and in such entity to then enter into a common Fatherland with our people under three names Serbs, Croats and Slovenes
3. To establish a National Executive Committee made up of five individuals, that shall handle the administrative affairs, until the unification of Serbia and Montenegro is complete
4. To announce the Assembly's decisions to:

• the ex-King of Montenegro Nikola Petrović
• the Government of the Kingdom of Serbia
• the friendly Allies (the United States, Britain, France, and Italy), and all neutral countries

At the time, because of the threat of foreign claim of the liberated lands, detachments of Serbian army (with many volunteers from other nations of future Yugoslavia who helped liberate territories under Austria-Hungary, Italy and Nicholas I) were dispatched throughout the newly liberated territory (which was unrecognised as part of any state until Treaty of Versailles 1920. Because this territory did not belong to any recognised state, the threat of entry of foreign forces was annihilated until the unification was complete by the presence of the only recognised, organised army among South Slavs of Yugoslavia, Serbian army (with many Montenegrin Serb, Croat and Slovene volunteers).

The MPs called upon the long lasting desire to unite the Serb people from Montenegro with the one in Serbia, and sent a copy of the Montenegrin Crown to King Petar I Karađorđević with a delegation that went to Belgrade led by Metropolitan Dožić on 17 December 1918. In his 24 December speech for The Associated Press King Nicholas I repeated the Montenegrin wish to became part of a "Yugoslav confederation, but preserve its autonomy, independence and customs"

The parliament continued its session until 29 November 1918, when the "Central Montenegrin Committee for Unification" of five members was appointed and sworn to duty.