Prime Minister Duško Marković is directly responsible for the case of Aleksandar Andrije Pejović because he had to know whether he is violating the Constitution and laws with the decisions he makes, according to the non-governmental sector.
Marković said that the former Minister of European Affairs was in a conflict of interest due to a wrong interpretation of the law.
The executive director of MANS, Vanja Ćalović Marković, believes that the attitude of the prime minister is "scandalous" and that it represents a "transparent attempt" to avoid responsibility for violating the Constitution and the Law.
"As prime minister, former minister of justice, and finally a lawyer, Marković absolutely had to know that the appointment of Pejović to several public positions violates the Constitution of Montenegro," said Ćalović Marković.
Pejović resigned last Sunday after the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (ASK) determined that he violated the law and the Constitution by combining the posts of minister and ambassador in Brussels. The former minister did this on the basis of the Government's decision, which, among other things, enabled him to receive an additional 3.165 euros per month.
Ana Nenezić from the Center for Civic Education (CGO) reminds that, according to the procedure, that decision had to go through at least three levels of control before it was at the Government session. The question arises, she claims, how many controversial decisions have passed "under the prime minister's nose".
"That fact does not justify Pejović, but in the coming period the responsibility of the Prime Minister and the Government must be determined. This issue cannot be closed by stating that it is all a 'consequence of misinterpretation of the law,'" warned Nenezić.
In the case of Pejović, the agency reacted on the basis of a report from the CGO, and the prime minister nevertheless praised the contribution of that NGO and called on the civil sector to help create public policies and not to engage in politics.
Commenting on Marković's statement, Nenezić said that the relations between the Government and the NGO sector are extremely bad "with no prospect of improvement in the foreseeable future".
"Although Marković's prime ministerial mandate began with a meeting with representatives of civil society, promising the improvement of relations and transparency in work and action, it all remained empty words followed by the opposite practice. Marković, and this is subsequently transmitted to the members of the Government, the level of cooperation is directly determined by the level of praise and criticism of their work", said Nenezić for "Vijesti".
The Prime Minister would like to discipline NGOs, as Đukanović tried
Attempts to discipline and politicize the work of the NGO sector cannot hide the fact that the Government has brutally violated the Constitution and the Law, and that the Prime Minister bears the greatest responsibility for that, warned Ćalović Marković.
"Instead of criticizing the Agency and seeking responsibility within his own government, Marković decided to deal with regulating the work of the NGO sector, following the example of his predecessor, Milo Đukanović," said Ćalović Marković.
She also said that the Agency had a legal obligation to act on time in the case of Pejović, but that it did not do so.
Ćalović Marković believes that the prime minister will not "hit" the Agency because of "personal ties with its director".
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