We are starting the first in a series of steps that will help us cope with the scourges that have spread like a cancer since the 1990s, said the President of the Parliament of Montenegro, Andrija Mandić, at the opening of a roundtable on the topic "Initiative to declare criminal clans terrorist organizations" at Villa "Gorica".
Previously, Mandić's advisor Gordana Đuračić reminded that the aim of the event is to bring together relevant institutions, experts and decision-makers to consider the legal framework and possibilities for combating organized crime through its recognition as a form of terrorism. The initiative aims to strengthen the security and stability of society, in accordance with international standards and best practices.
Mandić said that today is the moment when we must say "stop" and that we must not allow Montenegro to be held hostage by crime.
He said that this is the last moment for a decisive fight for the recovery of the country.
He said that today it is difficult to find a judge who will convict dangerous criminals.
Mandić said that clans must not be allowed to prevent the administration of justice through kidnappings, murders and racketeering.
He pointed out that his proposal to declare organized crime groups what they are - terrorist organizations, met with strong support.
The President of the Assembly emphasized that it is very important that the Special State Prosecutor's Office and the Special Police Department begin operating in the old Government building as soon as possible.
He added that, although the idea of declaring organized crime groups as terrorist organizations was globally introduced by United States President Donald Trump, it has existed in Montenegro for a long time, and that its promoter is the former Democratic Front, primarily one of the former leaders of that alliance, Nebojša Medojević.
Božović: We have many brave judges
Minister of Justice Bojan Božović said that the department he heads has raised the issue of signing an agreement with the US, which will enable even better and closer cooperation.
He added that he believes we have many brave judges ready to make a decision.
He announced changes to the law that should contribute to better procedural discipline in courtrooms, but also in the area of criminal policy regarding illegal possession of weapons.
Božović said that the story about the prison in Mojkovac should eventually be put to an end, and that those funds should be redirected to expand the spatial capacities of the prison in Spuž.
He announced that he would soon make a final decision in that case, emphasizing that the prison in Mojkovac is also a challenge from a security perspective, and that the town should be developed for tourism, not built as a prison.
Minister Božović said that the department is ready to consider all models in order to find the best one, to agree on how and with whom cooperation will be established.
"We have begun a very bold process, we have some limitations and two margins that limit us - the introduction of a state of emergency on the one hand and the fight against organized crime and corruption on the other... We need broad social support," he said.
Medojević: The moves must be radical, introduce a state of emergency
The leader of the Movement for Change, Nebojša Medojević, said that back in 2015, the DF noticed that organized crime in Montenegro had a political background, in the offices of the President of the State and the Government.
"In addition to the political, the ideological background classifies them as terrorist organizations," he said.
He explained that those who "cleared" the way after the crime, prepared the ground, destroyed evidence, appear as ideological leaders of political processes...
He said that in Italy, if the mafia buys a police officer, it sees it as a success, and that in Montenegro the mafia was created by the former regime.
He said that only "shock therapy" could work to free the country from the clutches of the drug cartels.
Medojević said that the law must also be amended to facilitate operational work on detecting and preventing criminal offenses.
He pointed out that in some way, over a certain period of time, certain rights of murderers and criminals would be violated, and that decision-makers would be under pressure because of this, but that a radical move must be made.
He compared organized crime to cancer, adding that this is precisely why moves must be radical.
He said that OKG still has influence through the opposition and that he therefore advocated banning the Democratic Party of Socialists, as "the political wing of organized crime."
"We allowed our drug cartels to have their own portals, their own media, to communicate with their members in Spuž through them... Because after August 30th, we did not implement radical moves," he said, adding that all of this was registered by foreign partner services.
"All of this is impossible to implement without declaring a state of emergency," he said.
Medojević emphasized that everyone must know that the fight against organized crime is the greatest act of patriotism.
"I was in Istanbul recently at a security conference and I can hardly stand who was appointed by this government to represent my country there... To this day, my life is threatened because of some scum in the security sector," he said.
Medojević said that if we have mercenaries of organized crime in the security system itself, we have a corrupt environment, then nothing we do can have an effect unless it is a radical measure.
He said that this was the most difficult task possible and that a state of emergency must be introduced.
"They have their own media, banks, construction companies... We no longer have well-known police officers, and we have well-known criminals. We don't have authority, in the sense that the mafia is afraid of a police officer or an inspector, but we have the police being afraid of the mafia, or we have a police officer sitting in an office with a colleague he knows is in the clan," he said.
"I advocated for mass arrests, the introduction of a state of emergency, but I did not receive support for that," said Medojević, stating that after the arrest of two directors of the Police Directorate, prosecutors, the former president of the Supreme Court... only a radical measure can work.
Laković: Radical measures only if everything that the legal framework allows us does not yield results
Europe Now Movement MP and Chairman of the Security and Defense Committee, Miodrag Laković, said he was surprised by Medojević's insensitivity to human rights.
"I think it is good that you, as the Security Council, have expressed your will to fight organized crime in this way," said Laković, adding that there is a long way from will to realization.
Laković pointed out that there is a delay in the application of modern technologies in terms of intercepting communications, because communications are "almost the armature" of the OKG.
He added that the adoption of the law on confiscation of assets acquired through crime will contribute to the fight, and that only if everything that the legal framework allows us does not yield results, should we turn to radical measures.
Vučurović: We don't know if they are criticizing Mandić on their own behalf or on behalf of those who might be affected by the measures
New Serbian Democracy MP Jovan Vučurović said that today, 10 years later, it has unfortunately been confirmed that the DF was right in 2015, when they did not have the support of the government.
He said that he believes that Montenegro will emerge victorious from this fight, and that he wants to provide unreserved support to the security sector that is leading the fight.
Vučurović said that Mandić's initiative was immediately met with criticism from critics on duty, but that he knew why the criticism was directed.
"When Mandić proposed such a solution, they responded with platitudes and generalities, and we don't know whether they were criticizing on their own behalf or on behalf of those who might be affected by these measures," said Vučurović, adding that the judiciary is "a cancer of the wound," but that he agreed with Minister Božović that there are those among them who are ready to pass judgment.
"But he will also agree with me that we do not have a single conviction against the drug cartels," he said.
He said he knows of no example in any other country of a police drug cartel.
He said that he did not know who believed in the Sky application, but that everyone had read that members of the drug cartel wanted to violently seize power after August 30, 2020, and even considered the liquidation of one of the MPs, but also that they financed the protests.
Nedović: Government must show strength
Europe Now MP Jelena Nedović said that the government needs to show strength, and that the emphasis must be placed on judicial and police measures, such as confiscation of property and the use of advanced technologies.
"When we look at where Montenegro is and where other countries are, we must notice that other countries are investing in artificial intelligence," she said, citing the importance of technology and artificial intelligence in investigations.
"The successful fight against drug cartels depends on a combination of all the measures I have listed," she said, highlighting the example of El Salvador, where the most significant fight against organized crime was launched in 2020.
"This has been criticized when we talk about human rights, but on the other hand I would be in favor of that system," she said...
"In this specific case, this was justice, but it was not right. Considering the situation in Montenegro and the political influence that he had or still has over part of the opposition, a balance must be found," said Nedović.
Gogić supports Mandić's proposal: It is true that human rights violations are on the verge
Former President of the Constitutional Court Milorad Gogić said that he supports the idea of the President of the Parliament and that it is important that the criminal offense of political influence on organized crime be incorporated into domestic legislation.
He reminded that Montenegro still does not have a definition of a drug cartel.
"There is a solution for everything," he said, speaking about the dangers of drug abuse.
He said that the idea was great and that it would not be an easy and quick path to realizing specific provisions, that it was true that there was a violation of human rights here, but that tolerance of this must also be considered when it comes to terrorist organizations.
Goranović: Government and Spajić determined to fight crime
Security Advisor to Prime Minister Milojko Spajić, Todor Goranović, said that in the 2019 strategy, terrorism was identified as a threat, but a low one.
He said that the determination of the Government and Prime Minister Spajić to fight crime is unquestionable and that Mandić's initiative will have support.
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