Zirojević: Šaranović escapes from the control hearing

AUTHOR: M.J.
The Minister of Internal Affairs, Danilo Šaranović, informed the President of the Committee for Security and Defense Miodrag Laković in a letter that, although he had previously confirmed his presence, he would not attend the control hearing on the topic "Appointment of the Acting Director of the Police Administration and the consequences for the security system in Montenegro", citing as the reason participation in the Summit of Chiefs of Police of the UN Member States (UNCOPS) - announced the deputy of the Social Democrats and member of the Security and Defense Committee, Nikola Zirojević.
- The MPs were informed about this by email, and the minister was "so impressed" that he offered to attend at some time "before or after the indicated period of absence". Because we MPs are idle and lazy, so we just wait for the minister to chirp and run to listen to him. At the same time, assuming that he gives us a lesson and tells us that he is the smartest and most capable for that job - said Zirojević.
In response to the president and members of the Committee, he assessed that this attitude of the relevant minister towards the parent committee is extremely unprofessional and incorrect, and that this way demonstrates disrespect for the committee, them as its members and the Assembly as a legislative chamber from which the prime minister and all ministers draw legitimacy. .
- We have been waiting for this control hearing for more than two months, in order to get into a situation where the minister informs us 10 days before the hearing that he will not be able to attend the hearing due to his attendance at the Summit of Chiefs of Police of the UN Member States. Personally, I think that not a single minister should have obligations of this type before participating in the work of the parent parliamentary committee. As the invitation to participate in UNCOPS was published on the official website on April 12, 2024, the minister must have known about this obligation much earlier and should have informed the committee about the situation in which he found himself. In this way, and bearing in mind that the minister confirmed the attendance of the board session on April 18, the impression remains that the minister of the interior is purposefully avoiding the discussion of the mentioned topic at the board, which I will certainly problematize if my colleague Laković does not use the authority of the chairman of the Committee for Security and Defense and does not solve the situation we found ourselves in - states Zirojević in an email.
He added that this attitude of the minister towards the Committee represents a continuation of the conflict between the Democrats and the Europe Now Movement, telling the Chairman of the Committee, Miodrag Laković, that if he is not able to ensure the presence of the Minister and the Prime Minister, he should resign from that position, given that the work of the Board is already meaningless to a large extent.