Milović: Voting on the resolution on Jasenovac would be a hasty and unstate-building move

Montenegro should be guided by its own interests and the interests of its citizens and the European path, not some other country, and should not use certain resolutions to relativize others, Montenegrin Minister of Justice Andrej Milović said in an interview for the Voice of America, commenting on the plan of the parliamentary of the majority to adopt the resolution on Jasenovac.

Milović pointed out that he supports the resolution on Srebrenica, which the General Assembly of the United Nations should declare on Thursday, but that the Montenegrin government decided not to be one of its sponsors because of its relations with Serbia.

Milović is visiting the United States where, among others, he met with officials of the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Voice of America: You are in America during the week in which the General Assembly of the United Nations is supposed to consider the proposed resolution on Srebrenica. The Montenegrin government, which proposed two amendments, announced that it would support the resolution, which caused sharp reactions from Serbia, including President Aleksandar Vučić's assessment that it was a dirty game. Do you support the resolution on Srebrenica and how do you comment on the reactions from Belgrade?

Milovic: When it comes to the Montenegrin side, we never had a dilemma regarding Srebrenica. The International Court of Justice and international organizations have clearly decided on this issue, and Montenegro, as a serious country that aspires to join the European Union, must accept everything that is the modern world. Given that the judgments of the international court are clear, Montenegro has no dilemma and the Montenegrin Assembly has expressed its views on the issue of Srebrenica several times. It is clear that this is about genocide and that is nothing new for us and something we can have a dilemma about. Simply, Montenegro, as a country that has assumed international obligations, must act in accordance with those obligations.

Voice of America: And how do you comment on the reactions from Serbia to the moves of Montenegro?

Milovic: It's all politics. There will be life after that session in the United Nations. All this is for the purpose of everyday politics and addressing the voters for the past, upcoming and all other elections. I don't experience it as something special. The region needs a little more statesmen and a little less politicians.

Voice of America: There were calls for Montenegro to be one of the sponsors of the resolution on Srebrenica, which did not happen. Do you think that should have been done?

Milovic: The Montenegrin government has decided that we, as the Minister of Justice, should support the resolution on Srebrenica in such a way that it is not co-sponsorship, but only support. In a way, this is also the relationship towards Serbia, you know that Montenegro and Serbia have traditionally good relations and that they are centuries old. That's why Montenegro decided somewhere to just support the resolution, without being a co-sponsor.

Voice of America: Was there any pressure from Serbia that Montenegro not be a co-sponsor of the resolution?

Milovic: I, as the Minister of Justice, did not notice those pressures because it is still an issue that pertains to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Prime Minister personally. I cannot say whether it was or not because it is not in my department at all.

Voice of America: The parliamentary majority in Montenegro simultaneously submitted a proposal for a resolution on Jasenovac to the parliamentary procedure. Some experts assess that this is a political move and that, under pressure from Belgrade, they are trying to relativize the resolution on the Srebrenica genocide. Do you support the adoption of the resolution on Jasenovac?

Milovic: That is primarily a question for the Assembly. We are separate branches of government. What I think is necessary is that Montenegro should be guided by its own interests and that we should not be guided by other people's interests. The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, said yesterday that he does not want to say whether there was genocide in Jasenovac or not, because that would damage relations with Croatia for the next hundred years. We have seen that Serbian politicians and statesmen do not even want to qualify it as genocide, and I think that we, as deputies in the Montenegrin parliament or ministers in the government, should be guided by the interests of the state of Montenegro and look at what is in our greatest interest. And the greatest interest for us is to have excellent relations with Croatia, which is our partner on the way to the European Union and the country on which our entry into the EU depends.

Voice of America: Croatia has already sent a note of protest to the announcement of that resolution and assessed that it will have a negative impact on Montenegro's European path and bilateral relations with Croatia. Is there a danger that this will affect whether Montenegro will receive a positive IBAR in June?

Milovic: I believe there is, that's why I say that Montenegro should be guided by its own interests and the interests of its citizens and its country and the European path. And not to be guided by the interests of another country or to accept external influence on our daily politics and to use certain resolutions to create a balance with other resolutions or relativize other resolutions. What I believe is that MPs and ministers and the government and parliament will behave responsibly towards their country and will accordingly take the next steps. It would not be good for Montenegro if, after everything we have done in the matter of IBAR, especially the Ministry of Justice, the Government of Montenegro, the Ministry of European Affairs, that in the end, I should say, we spilled all that with some hasty and unstate-building move, such as the vote on resolution on Jasenovac.

Voice of America: So, you think that the deputies should not adopt the resolution?

Milovic: That will be determined by the MPs, I, as the Minister of Justice, cannot determine that, nor can I suggest it, I can only say that they should be guided by the state's interest.

Voice of America: When you mentioned that Montenegro should be guided by its own interests and not succumb to other people's pressures, what pressures were you referring to, from which countries?

Milovic: No, but not subject to other people's interests, whether they come from certain political entities or from other countries, we simply have our own interests. Montenegro is an independent country that conducts its own politics and should behave accordingly.

With officials in the USA and the extradition agreement

Voice of America: You have just completed an interview with an official of the US Department of Justice. Were there any talks about concrete forms of cooperation between the two ministries?

Milovic: It is, of course, Montenegro and the USA are two friendly, partner countries whose partnership has lasted for more than a century, so American support to Montenegro has always been significant and it is crucial not only for international matters concerning Montenegro, but also for European integration . The USA is willing to support Montenegro even more strongly on that path, we discussed the agreements that the USA and Montenegro have, which they are negotiating, and future agreements that we need to sign.

Voice of America: Can you give me a little more detail about the agreements that are being negotiated and that need to be signed?

Milovic: We talked about the extradition agreement that we need to negotiate, we also talked about the umbrella cooperation agreement that should enable the US to help Montenegrin institutions in the area of ​​the rule of law. We also discussed support for the special state prosecutor's office and the special police department. I asked the American side to give the greatest support they can provide - to support the special prosecution because it is really crucial in the fight against organized crime and corruption. We know that when it comes to Chapter 23, our main task and obligation on the European road and in general to develop the Montenegrin justice system is precisely the fight against organized crime and corruption, as the biggest targeted problem of our society in previous decades.

Voice of America: During the meeting, was there any discussion about the case of Do Kwon, who is wanted by the USA, and did you make a decision to which country he will be extradited?

Milovic: I still cannot make a decision for the simple reason that we are waiting for the second-instance decision of the competent court, that is the Appellate Court of Montenegro. We expect the Court of Appeal to make a decision on the appeal that has been filed these days, so we have to wait and see what the final decision is.

Voice of America: According to the latest report of the State Department, corruption is still a big problem in Montenegro, the judiciary is still not independent, the process of appointing judges and prosecutors is politicized. What are the obstacles to a faster solution to the problem that has existed for a long time in Montenegro?

Milovic: The Ministry of Justice is struggling with those problems addressed by the State Department, proposed new amendments to the Law on Judicial Council and Judges, the Law on the State Prosecutor's Office and the Law on the Special State Prosecutor's Office, and all those changes that we made in cooperation with the European Commission. The Council of Europe, the Venice Commission and international experts will contribute precisely to the fight to increase independence and impartiality in the election of judges and prosecutors and enable the independent and independent work of Montenegrin judicial institutions.

Voice of America: According to the same report, the Special State Prosecutor's Office took a number of actions against high-ranking officials. Former special prosecutor Milivoje Katnić, who is still in custody, was also arrested. Representatives of the opposition claim that this is political revanchism and that Katnić should be allowed to defend himself from freedom, especially considering his health condition. Katnić himself claims that his human rights are threatened. How do you comment on that, do you see the admixture of political revanchism in this case and is the decision to keep Katnić in custody justified, bearing in mind his state of health?

Milovic: The court decides on the custody of Mr. Katnić, neither the prosecution, nor the Ministry of Justice, nor me as the Minister of Justice, nor the special prosecutor Mr. Novović, nor the prosecutor in question Mr. Šoškić. They asked for detention for Mr. Katnić, the court appreciated the evidence and everything that was attached, and it was the court that ordered Milivoje Katnić to be in custody. How long he will be, I do not know, but what I do know is that I absolutely do not believe that this is any kind of political revanchism. I don't want to judge at all who is right and who is wrong, because that role does not belong to me, but what I want for both sides is for them to provide as much evidence as possible, to succeed in proving their claims in court. I wish the prosecution the best of luck in proving whether he is guilty, while I wish Katnic the best of luck in proving that these accusations are unfounded and that he is innocent. The Ministry of Justice, as part of the executive branch, and the Minister of Justice must act impartially.

Every day I am interested in Milivoj Katnić's health condition, I have daily communication with the director of the Administration for the Execution of Criminal Sanctions. Milivoj Katnić was given the best possible health care, he was also offered a stay at the Clinical Center, he refused all of that, he even confirmed in writing that he refused. We see that, unfortunately, that case is being politicized a little for daily political purposes, we can read that he is not allowed health care, going to the Clinical Center, that is simply not true. He was taken to the Clinical Center, he refused to stay there, he refuses medical examinations, it is very difficult to carry out medical examinations and control his condition, but he does these things consciously and we cannot do anything else. The court ordered that he be in custody and we cannot change the court's decision. We can only provide him with the best conditions and take care of him on a daily basis, and regarding his strike, it is solely his decision that he made consciously.

Voice of America: Progress in the fight against corruption and organized crime is, among other things, a condition for Montenegro to receive a positive IBAR from the European Commission, which, as we know, is an assessment of the extent to which temporary benchmarks have been met in key chapters concerning the rule of law. Did Montenegro do enough to get a positive IBAR in June?

Milovic: During the 43rd government, Montenegro completely deviated from the European agenda and this was confirmed by Brussels. These are not our daily political frictions between the parties and the new and old governments, but rather a statement from Brussels. The 43rd government is, we can safely say, the most anti-European government so far. We had a very difficult task to return the focus to the European agenda in a very short period of time and to return Montenegro to the European path. I believe that we have succeeded, especially as far as IBAR is concerned. Somewhere around 70 percent of things certainly depend on the Ministry of Justice, which does an excellent job. We have already passed two key documents, we are working on amending seven to eight of the most important laws in the field of justice. These are about 10 documents that we are currently working on and that will hopefully be ready in the first week of June to be adopted by the Montenegrin Parliament. And that will be exactly what the European Commission, that is, the European Union, is asking us to do to get IBAR.

Voice of America: Will it be fast enough to get IBAR?

Milovic: I believe it will. The dynamics are very demanding and it is a very fast process, but I think we will manage to finish everything by the end of May when it comes to the adoption of those acts by the government, and then we will adopt them in the parliament.

Voice of America: How could it be affected by the fact that the president of the Supreme Court was not re-elected last Sunday?

Milovic: The election of the President of the Supreme Court is not a requirement for IBAR. And they pointed that out in Brussels. We are changing the law on the judicial council and judges, and the new solution will make it easier to elect the president of the Supreme Court. And the adoption of that law in June will enable us to have a new election for the president of the Supreme Court by the end of June, the beginning of July, and we hope to have a president soon.

Voice of America: You mentioned that the previous government was anti-European, and this one is European. What has this government done to show that it is pro-European?

Milovic: She has done everything that Brussels asks of us and every task and condition that they have targeted in the European agenda, we have approached that condition and problem and are solving it actively, and it will be solved in the shortest possible time. And this is something that the European Union and the main member countries emphasize.

Voice of America: In February, you were excluded from the Europe Now movement, you remained the Minister of Justice in the Government of Montenegro, will you remain in the Government even after the announced reconstruction?

Milovic: That question depends primarily on the Prime Minister. I believe that as long as I have Prime Minister Spajić's trust that I will be in the Government, that's why I stayed, as long as I have his trust there and when I don't have it, I believe that I will no longer be part of the Government. I think that the Ministry of Justice is doing its job well, that we have delivered everything that is needed for IBAR and that we continue to work at full capacity in accordance with state interests and the Montenegrin European integration process. So that's a question for the Prime Minister and the Government, I do my job professionally and expertly, I don't deal with politics anymore.

Voice of America: Will your stay in the government depend on IBAR?

Milovic: Well, I believe that it will depend on IBAR because it is very important for us, it is simply a condition for our continuation of the integration path, and it is mostly in the hands of the Ministry of Justice.