Games with children's safety must stop

Shameless abuse and playing with the safety of children and educational workers must stop urgently, and the police and the prosecutor's office should as soon as possible discover and sanction persons who threaten the safety of everyone in the education system.

This is what many parents told "Vijesti" yesterday, as well as from the Education Union and the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports (MPNKS), regarding repeated threats and reports of allegedly planted bombs in numerous educational institutions.

According to unofficial information, threats that an explosive device had been planted were sent by e-mail yesterday to the addresses of 178 educational institutions, 12 municipalities, and one each to the Protection and Rescue Service, the Security Center and the Communal Police.

In all schools and kindergartens that were threatened, classes were immediately suspended. By order of the authorities, an hour later classes were suspended in all Montenegrin educational institutions.

The Police Administration has officially announced that they have inspected each of those facilities and that there are no obstacles to the continuation of the teaching process...

Previously, "Vijesti" was unofficially told that there is no room for panic, but that the officials of that institution are still determining whether it is a case of false reports, although "it seems that the threat is not real"...

Despite this, the police officers, according to the same information, checked all institutions that were threatened and essentially eliminated any possible danger to students, employees...

Threats to schools were already made at the beginning of the month, and "Vijesti" was then told that there is a half probability that the Montenegrin police will find out who then threatened to "blow up" educational institutions...

The interlocutors of "Vijesti" said that it also depends on the level of technological skills and actions of people when registering and sending messages from one of the many services for anonymous and protected communication via electronic mail.

"Dream of Revenge"

President of the Education Union Radomir Božović, yesterday told "Vijesta" that they strongly condemn the shameless abuse of children and called on the authorities to find out from which addresses threats and reports of bombs in educational institutions are coming from.

He said that the Union follows the recommendations of the Ministry of the Interior and that, regardless of whether the reports are false, everyone must follow the procedures.

He reminded that this is not the first case of reports of bombs arriving at the addresses of Montenegrin schools.

"We appeal to the competent authorities, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Prosecutor's Office, to find out from which addresses the reports are coming, that is, who is abusing children and playing with the safety of children and employees, and to bring them to justice," said Božović.

In the threatening e-mails, an as yet unknown person or several of them stated that "many bombs were planted on the school grounds".

"We always dreamed of revenge. We will have our revenge. We will come to school. We will kill everything. No one will be left alive. The whole city will bleed," he wrote in an email sent to schools in Kolašin.

Similar messages arrived at the addresses of institutions in other cities, but also in the municipalities of Nikšić, Bar, Bijelo Polje, Berane, Kotor and Tivat.

Yesterday, MPNKS told "Vijesti" that they act in accordance with the protocols and recommendations of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MUP) and the Police Directorate (UP) in such cases.

"We expect the security sector to stand in the way of traumatizing children and parents, to make it possible for them to attend classes regularly, and for the perpetrators to be immediately discovered and severely sanctioned," the department replied to "Vijesta" Vesne Bratic.

UNICEF is concerned

Head of the UNICEF representative office in Montenegro Juan Santander he said yesterday that it is unacceptable that children are afraid to go to school.

He said that UNICEF is concerned about reports of another incident of bomb threats against schools in Montenegro.

"We call on all institutions to urgently investigate reported threats to schools and ensure the continuation of the educational process and safety in schools as soon as possible. We need to provide children with a safe learning environment and protect them from all threats during schooling," Santander said.

The Parents Association also called on the institutions responsible for security in the country to urgently find a solution to bomb threats against children and use all available means to find out who is behind yesterday's and previous monstrous reports.

"It is absolutely incomprehensible to any sane being that schools and kindergartens can become the most unsafe places to be and we can't help but wonder why it has become so easy to create general confusion and chaos in, this time, the entire country!? Because of everything that is happening, it is not surprising that parents' proposals to boycott classes in educational institutions until a safe environment for children and teachers is provided", it was announced.

From the Association of Parents, they assessed that people who dared to threaten children must be urgently found and held accountable for that act, and that this is the only way to send a clear message that anyone who dares to do something similar will be quickly found and severely sanctioned .

Bringing unrest

President of the state Milo Djukanovic, yesterday called on the competent state authorities to respond urgently to reports of planting explosive devices in educational and other institutions.

He said that the safety of children, as the most vulnerable category of society, but also of all citizens, must be the absolute priority of the state and every individual.

"We must not allow the most important process of a society such as education, already faced with problems in functioning and the impact of the pandemic, to suffer because of those who intend to cause emergency situations and destabilize the country ahead of the election of a new government, on the threshold of the tourist season".

He called for urgent clarification of that event and the finding of the "instructors, organizers and perpetrators of these crimes".

Deputy Prime Minister and coordinator of security services Dritan Abazovic he said yesterday, on the occasion of reports of allegedly placed explosive devices in educational and other institutions, that citizens should feel safe and that there is no reason to panic.

"The police have to do their job, this is an attempt to create unrest among the citizens. There is no chaos in the security sector. As for the session (of the Assembly of Montenegro), I said that there is a possibility of a bomb alert for it as well.

Requests are made to other countries to carry out control. My appeal is that nothing extraordinary happens. Is it an unsavory joke, a desire to portray the system as unstable - probably all mixed up. I think everything will end safely," Abazović told reporters after the conference on the completion of the "Schools for the 21st Century" educational program and the "Teacher for the 21st Century" project in Podgorica.

Regarding President Milo Đukanović's assessment that the reports came because of the election of a new government, he said that he did not have that information, but that he would not rule it out.

"Bombs are threatened by those who do not want the progress of Montenegro and this society and reconciliation. I would not tie it to the 43rd government. These people have their own specific agendas, and they are not progressive and well-intentioned. There are so many other problems," he added.

Threatening emails arrived even after 15 pm?

Almost all police services reacted urgently yesterday - both uniformed and criminal police were on the ground, inspecting schools and institutions that were threatened, according to "Vijesti" interlocutors.

One of the sources explained that the police were obliged to first empty the premises, and then perform a visual inspection to determine if an explosive device had been placed somewhere.

"The police unit for counter-sabotage inspection was divided into several teams, and then the elders sent them to carry out inspections in larger cities in the north, south and Podgorica", said the interlocutor of "Vijesti".

He said that protocols in such situations must be respected, regardless of suspicions that it is a question of false threats...

"Prosecutors from 12 municipalities were involved in the investigation, according to whose orders we acted", said the interlocutor from UP.

Threatening e-mails allegedly arrived even after 15 p.m., claims one of the sources...

The news was told that the police are trying to determine where the messages are coming from, i.e. the IP addresses, as well as whether there are any coincidences with the earlier wave of public unrest...

"The police reacted readily, in accordance with the procedures," said the source of Vijesti.

Local authorities are also under threat

Threats about allegedly planted explosive devices also arrived this morning at the addresses of the municipalities of Nikšić, Bar, Bijelo Polje, Berane, Tivat...

The Jedro portal reported that the Bar Municipality building, which houses the court, prosecutor's office, and party premises, was evacuated.

The President of the Municipality of Nikšić, Marko Kovačević, called on the citizens to remain calm yesterday, writing on Facebook that "it is terrible that someone threatens human lives in this way"...

"As in several elementary schools, the Municipality of Nikšić also received a report about a planted bomb with threats that human lives would be endangered. We immediately acted promptly to evacuate people from the building, in cooperation with CB Nikšić", said Kovačević.

The local government building was also evacuated in Berane.

The President of the Municipality, Tihomir Bogavac, told "Vijesti" that this was done in accordance with the recommendations of the police.

The information about the bomb allegedly planted in the Municipality building also reached the address of the local administration of Tivat.

The building was evacuated, and the employees of the Municipality were told not to come to work until the end of the day.

No interruptions to the teaching process...

Officers of the Police Directorate did not find any suspicious or dangerous objects, acting on all reports sent during yesterday, which refer to allegations of explosive devices in educational institutions and other facilities. "Members of the police, with the aim of possibly finding dangerous objects and eliminating potential dangers, performed an inspection of buildings and premises, during which no suspicious or dangerous objects were found.

Police activities to identify the sender are ongoing, both through intensive police-prosecutor activities in the country, and through international police cooperation.

From the point of view of the performed controls, implemented procedures and procedures that we have implemented so far, there are all prerequisites for the smooth running of the teaching process in educational institutions.