WORLD NEWS FOR MONTENEGRO DIASPORA
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SOURCE: POBJEDA- AUTHOR: M.J. GDNUS
The report by the chairman of the Committee on Security and Defense, Miodrag Laković, which caused a rift in the relations between the Europe Now Movement and the Democrats and which led to the suspension of the Assembly session on Thursday, calls for the implementation of vetting in the police within the legal framework in a transparent, effective, comprehensive and reliable manner and with full respect for professional standards and principles, which calls into question the previous activities of the top leadership of the Police Administration and the Ministry of the Interior in implementing lustration.
Laković presented the contents of the report, which Pobjeda had access to, to the members of the Committee on Security and Defense at the sessions of that parliamentary working body, held on 16 and 20 May, which were attended by the Minister of the Interior Danilo Šaranović and the Acting Director of the Police Administration Lazar Šćepanović.
DISPUTED VETTING
- During this part of the debate on the issue of determining security obstacles to further work in the police and serious violations of official duties, the members of the Committee made a special reference to the application of the provisions of Articles 162 and 173 of the Law on Internal Affairs, and the initiation of proceedings based on "maintaining ties with members of organized criminal groups", where the deputies requested clarifications from representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs regarding the nature and intensity of ties that are assessed in each individual case - it is stated in the Report, the details of which are published by Pobjeda.
In this regard, they pointed out that the aforementioned legal provisions should be defined more precisely, towards the legal implementation of GRECO recommendations, and on this occasion expressed full support for solutions that are sustainable in terms of process and time.
- Based on the discussion on the presented topic, the members of the Committee particularly emphasized the importance of full compliance with the provisions of the Law on Internal Affairs and by-laws adopted in this regard, the implementation of procedures for determining security obstacles within the legal framework in a transparent, effective, comprehensive and reliable manner, with full respect for professional standards and principles, states the controversial part of the report that angered the very top of Democratic Montenegro, including Aleksa Bečić and Danilo Šaranović, who assessed that such a document is a direct threat to the extension of the acting mandate of Lazar Šćepanović, but also to the implementation of vetting in the police. Šćepanović's acting mandate expires in mid-June.
This is why, according to Pobjeda's information, the conflict between the coalition partners from PES and the Democrats began, which culminated on Thursday and which led to the sudden and without explanation interruption of the session of the Parliament at which, among other things, the deputies were supposed to express their opinion on the initiative to dismiss the Speaker of the Parliament Andrija Mandić and the re-adoption of the Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Tourism and Real Estate Development between the Governments of Montenegro and the United Arab Emirates.
REQUEST
The Democrats' deputies also demanded that their colleagues from PES confirm that the Acting Director of the Police Administration Lazar Šćepanović will continue his mandate in that position, that is, that he will receive a second acting mandate by the Government's decision. The Democrats, according to Pobjeda's sources, conditioned this request on their deputies' support for the Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Tourism and Real Estate Development between the Governments of Montenegro and the Emirates. However, Laković's report did not go unnoticed.
- The Empire, or rather the informal coalition of part of the ruling majority, with part of the NGOs, struck back, and the President of the Security Committee was targeted as an associate of organized crime and an obstacle to the police purge - said a source from Pobjeda.
Due to MANS' accusations, Laković also announced a lawsuit.
Pobjeda sources indicate that during the chaos in the Parliament the day before yesterday, the positions became so far apart that Spajić, Mandić and the leader of the Albanian Forum Nik Đeljošaj even considered a new majority of 43 MPs, given that, in the meantime, they received confirmation that the minority parties in power would not support the removal of the Parliament Speaker.
- The option of support from 43 MPs without the Democrats, and perhaps without the Socialist People's Party - Pobjeda sources announced.
The controversial report also states that the work of the police service should be ensured within the framework of the law and the Constitution of Montenegro, with a continuous increase in the level of trust of citizens, full respect and contribution to the reputation of police members.
- By actively working to build a police service as a strong, stable and reliable factor in the security system, Montenegro is sending a clear message and acting in a timely and substantial manner, undertaking activities at full capacity and in accordance with professional standards towards fulfilling strategic goals - says the report, which Pobjeda had access to.
The report also focuses on employment in the police
A part of the report, controversial for the Democrats, by the chairman of the Committee on Security and Defense, Miodrag Laković, also refers to the procedure for hiring police officers, the activities of the competent committees and the procedure related to it.
In this context, the application of the provisions of Article 133 a of the Law on Internal Affairs is mentioned, which prescribes a special procedure for filling police officer positions without public announcement and personnel plan, and due to the volume of work that cannot be done with the existing number of employees and with the prior opinion of the competent institution for financial affairs and the consent of the Government.
The importance of implementing these procedures in a transparent manner and with full respect for the provisions of the Law and by-laws adopted in this regard is emphasized.
It is also recommended to form a commission to verify the integrity and professional competencies of candidates, and that the verification procedure be of high quality and based on standards.
In terms of the provisions of the Law on Internal Affairs and procedures that limit the implementation of recruitment procedures in an effective manner, potential amendments to certain legal provisions are recommended, in order to raise the recruitment procedure for police officers to the highest professional level and thus ensure the selection of the best candidates.
