The pact with DPS suppresses the rule of law

The return of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) to power a year and a half after it was defeated in the elections, would represent the erasure of the idea of ​​the rule of law in Montenegro - he assessed Bozo Prelevic, a lawyer and the first minister of police in Serbia after the change of regime Slobodan Milosevic.

He said that Montenegro must not repeat what happened to Serbia after October 5, 2000 and Milošević's "fall" - that the defeated forces, which held the country captive for years, return and take even stronger positions of power.

"The previous government will not miss the chance to take revenge and take even stronger positions. They know political technology. In that case, nothing will happen to you but what is happening in Serbia. Disappointment with the Democratic Party (DS) in Serbia results in twelve years of rule Aleksandar Vučić. And now everyone is crying... When you look at Serbia, none of those people who lost power from the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) have anything to look for on the political scene of Serbia anymore...," said Prelevic in an interview with "Vijesta".

He states that he thinks that the minority government, which was offered by the Civic Movement (GP) URA and whose support was announced by the DPS, is buying time "to consolidate the one who should be the subject of criminal prosecution".

"Such a government cannot implement the policy of fighting crime and corruption, which, according to European reports, are measured in hundreds of millions or billions of euros. "Instead of locking up people who have been involved in crime, you'll be locking up the government so they can overthrow it whenever they want," he warns.

In November 2020, twenty days before the formation of the outgoing government, you told the "News" that Milo Đukanović and his regime can only be returned to power by those who defeated them in the elections, and that the head of state and the leader of the DPS in two years lustrate those who defeated him if they do not first lustrate him. A year and four months later, Đukanović and his party announce their support for the minority government of GP URA, which many perceive as the return of DPS, while the mandate and leader of GP URA Dritan Abazović claims that there is no question of this. Do you think Djukanovic is coming back?

That's a big question. However, I would say that my assessment - that Đukanović can only be brought back by a new government - is unfortunately correct. You cannot, after winning the elections because you were against the DPS, ask for their minority support. It is unnatural fornication. In doing so, you are trampling on the basic promise you made about what you are going to fight against.

Such a government cannot implement the policy of fighting crime and corruption, which, according to European reports, are measured in hundreds of millions or billions of euros. There will be no investigations, because that is impossible. Instead of locking up people who were involved in crime, you'll be locking up the government so they can overthrow it whenever they want.

It is best for Montenegro not to listen to anyone from outside, but only to the citizens. I'm not sure that's the case right now. If they would rule out prompting from the outside and prompting money - and there is both - I think that this situation would somehow be eased.

It seems fairest to me to call elections and for citizens to cut the current Gordian knot.

Do you see a similarity between what is currently happening in Montenegro and what followed in Serbia after October 5, when the defeated forces slowly began to return to power?

Why not! After October 5, the transitional government created a 'white book' on crime and criminals in Serbia. We formed one unit - POSKOK (Special Squad for Suppression of Corruption and Organized Crime) - but, unfortunately, the first decision of the government Zoran Djindjic was to disband it. I don't have to tell you anything else. Then they got involved with the former government of the SPS (Socialist Party of Serbia)...

So in 2004 SPS supported the minority government of Vojislav Koštunica, and in 2008 it came to power through the government of Mirko Cvetković...

Exactly the same. That's why I say - let Serbia be a lesson in what you must not do. Otherwise, the DPS will return and then they will cry like today's Democrats (DS) in Serbia, who did everything to break the citizens' illusions about faster entry into the EU, a civilized state... After October 5, there was a conflict between Kostunica, Đinđić and many other actors, half of whom are with Vučić today. That is why I would not be surprised if some of those who won the elections in Montenegro found themselves with Đukanović.

Montenegro had a good opportunity, and I hope they will not miss it. DPS will not ask for a price to return to power. Just as he did not ask about the cost of overthrowing the government. Đukanović must try to regain power in the first half of the year, and in the second half of the year he would go on some kind of campaign for the president of the country, regardless of whether the candidate will be him or someone from his party.

That's why I think the talk of a minority government is buying time to consolidate one that should be prosecuted. No government in the world could deal with that kind of corruption if it was supported by a minority of the system whose actors it should investigate.

But, shouldn't the outgoing government have already done that? Will the eventual return of the DPS mark the end of the "dream" of cracking down on crime?

If Montenegrin citizens love 'bananas' and crime too much, then they will deserve such a government. If they wanted to live in a normal state, I assume that they would vote for those parties that promise a normal government.

I am sorry that Krivokapić's government did not last. Another issue is its success at a time when, due to the lack of the necessary majority in parliament, some levers of power were disabled. Not only are these big challenges, but the stakes are also high because of a regime that has ruled for 30 years. Anyone who thought that it would be solved so simply, with one election, I don't believe it...

The previous authorities engaged various universities, media, foreign experts... All this is expected. As expected, people who are threatened with criminal proceedings and long prison terms will defend themselves in all possible ways. I didn't think it would fall by itself. It was very difficult to appoint people to the Prosecutor's Council, you also had a suicidal security guard... We are talking about severe traumas for which you need to have serious inspectors, police officers, prosecutors, judges, serious authorities...

Did you notice, during the tenure of the outgoing Government, that there was that seriousness and any more concrete results that were expected and announced?

I wish there was more of that. To be precise in some way: Montenegro, according to my deep conviction, was a captured state, but I am not sure that the victory of the new forces completely freed it. First of all, because the necessary personnel changes in the prosecutor's office, the judiciary and the police did not take place, which would enable the initiation of the procedures that were promised. Before every election, parties promise to solve criminal affairs. But with one extra deputy in the parliament, it is very difficult. Parts of the captured state could not be freed without a serious majority.

Did you get the impression that some people in the new government tried to obstruct changes and reforms? Recently, NGO activist Vanja Ćalović Marković spoke about her experience working in the National Council for the Fight against Corruption at a high level, claiming that those who were recruited by the new government also sabotaged the fight against crime?

I don't know Mrs. Ćalović Marković, but I believe her that there was no desire to do it. At the end of the day, if there had been - we would not have stated today that the least was done in the field of fighting crime.

It's about a lot of invested money, about someone's head, about someone's future, fleeing the country... Teams and cooperation are necessary for that. If there was no cooperation, as Ćalović Marković claims, you could hardly have achieved results. If someone obstructed the investigations, they obstructed them for someone else's account - or they were paying back some debts or doing something else. It is difficult to assume that there are people in such places who for some other reason do not submit data that is important. If they had delivered, the former government would have been on the defensive, not on the offensive...

What, specifically, will happen if that offensive results in their return?

What I said in the last interview - that he will polish his predecessors and erase the idea of ​​the rule of law in Montenegro. The previous government will not miss the chance to take revenge and take even stronger positions. They know political technology. In that case, nothing will happen to you but what is happening in Serbia. Disappointment with the Democratic Party in Serbia results in Vučić's twelve-year rule. And now everyone is crying...

When you look at Serbia, none of those people who lost power from SNS have anything to look for on the Serbian political scene, but they are by no means leaving it. No one can explain to them that their time has passed.

Is that actually the lustration you're talking about?

That's right. That is why serious pro-European and pro-democratic forces and parties must strengthen their ranks, consolidate and try to win power in the elections. If this does not happen, then there will be no lustration and no justice for the previous regime, which will return. And those who are the most financially powerful will return. When they come back, they will proudly show these others how stupid they are. This is not the prediction of a clairvoyant, but something that has already been seen in these areas.

There will be revenge on the media, on Crvka... Anyone from the Church who thinks that the DPS will not pay them back if they come to power again, is quite shallow...

It is completely clear that the DPS is a stone around everyone's neck and that those who are now trying to take over power will do everything to prevent the election from happening. They do not need elections, because in them the Montenegrins would crystallize their political image a little more and in them the balance of power would be even worse according to the DPS. If you are going to the elections, it is the cleanest solution.

Many who are against the elections justify it by claiming that there are no conditions for holding them, because the voter lists have not been "cleaned", the electoral laws have not been changed...

The elections don't have to be tomorrow, but in three or four months. I think that time is quite enough to 'clean' the lists. It is not so impossible to prepare elections in a fair and honest way, to invite foreign observers... If this Government cannot clear the lists, then what can?

How does the war in Ukraine affect the political events in Montenegro? To what extent does everything that happens there play into the hands of Đukanović, and is he consolidating his position as a "factor of peace and stability", which he successfully played on several times during his three-decade political career?

Ukraine will most certainly occupy the media for some time to come, but I do not see that it can preoccupy the citizens of Montenegro more than their future. If Đukanović achieves positive points in Ukraine, it means that there are no people in the government who would be able to stand out in this situation.

Montenegro is in NATO. We are surrounded by NATO countries. All those who talked about an alliance with Russia would be wise to think about further rhetoric. Stories with fiddles and Russians - I'm not a Russophobe, I love Russia - but come on, focus on life's questions about the future of Montenegro. I would like the government parties in Montenegro not to offer fiddles to citizens. They are a good instrument, our cultural heritage, but you have to offer citizens a future. If they don't understand that, let Đukanović rightly enlighten them. They will pay for their stupidity perhaps with their detention and imprisonment tomorrow. In such conflicts, Đukanović, as the best government technologist in this region, knows which instruments he must not let go. And he doesn't play those instruments. If the government has not learned how to oppose him, so much the worse for it.

Did Đukanović, after the defeat of DPS in the elections a year and a half ago, lose more important levers of power?

Well yes. He lost a lot of local governments...

It is clear what is happening in Montenegro and where the power comes from. No one is stupid... That's why, to oppose it, you need a bit more determination, knowledge and ability. I think there is that outside of DPS, and maybe even in DPS. I think the smart world should not shy away from politics.

Either the services do not work or they are under criminal control

Before the elections, the parties of the new government promised to pass laws on the origin of property and lustration, but these acts were not adopted. Instead of the law on the origin of property - and due to the impossibility of its retroactive application - changes were made to the existing Law on confiscation of property benefits acquired through criminal activity, but this process has not been completed. On the other hand, drafting of the law on lustration was not even started because the new government claimed that international partners were against it. How can we expect a more serious fight against crime if these initial steps have not been taken?

It's a sign of weakness. And the fact that someone from the West opposes it is always the best excuse...

We made such laws in Serbia and no one ever told us that it was wrong, but they told us that they were not applied. So I don't even believe that this is the case with Montenegro. Unless it was done by those ambassadors who enjoyed special benefits during the previous government. And that was seen in Serbia...

Other laws give just enough space for you to put under a microscope what happened. The very fact that the import of 'bananas' has continued in Montenegro indicates that there have been no necessary changes at the level of the rule of law.

Do you think that some actors of the government also participate in this importation? And in the Government, various accusations were exchanged about the issue of smuggling...

I do not know. That is very difficult to say. A few days ago, cigarettes disappeared again from the port of Bar. It is difficult to understand that today, in the time when you can determine whatever you want with cameras, you cannot determine that. If that cannot be determined, nothing can be determined...

If professionals did their job, there would be no room for accusations. Accusations are pouring in where civil servants are not doing their job. There is a Montenegrin intelligence service. So you determine who killed whom, but you can't determine who stole cigarettes from the trucks or whose narcotics are in the bananas?! You can't determine that unless you're not going to determine it. In such a situation, you can only say that the services are not doing their job or that they are under someone's control - criminal, because it is not about legal work.