Montenegro will have to open secret files if it wants to enter the European Union, because that question will be asked immediately after receiving the Report on the assessment of the fulfillment of the temporary benchmarks for chapters 23 and 24 (IBAR).
This is what the lawyer told "Vijesti". Nikola Angelovski, who on June 18 submitted to the Assembly an initiative to sign a petition for the adoption of a law on the opening of files and documents of the civilian and military intelligence services of Montenegro.
"Montenegro must face its past. Every country that was supposed to join the EU had to do that, of course with full restitution and compensation for its citizens," said Angelovski, the legal representative of a number of citizens who sued the state in the case of the "Udar" portal.
That portal marked 235 people from Montenegro as spies, collaborators of various security services from the region.
If the initiative to sign a petition to enact a law on the opening of secret files gathers enough signatures of citizens (6.000), it will become a petition, and in order to become a bill, it must be supported by at least one member of parliament.
Angelovski points out that he expects the initiative to collect enough signatures.
He reminds that the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) calls on Montenegro every year to adopt a law on the opening of secret files.
"There is no need to invent hot water, let them take the experiences of Germany, the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, and see how people have faced it," he said.
In 2021, the Foreign Policy Committee of the European Parliament (EP) adopted a report on the fight against organized crime in the Western Balkans, which states that the countries of the region, including Montenegro, should open the files of secret services as soon as possible, and primarily work on breaking up criminal organizations , rather than focusing on individual cases.
The opening of secret files was requested last year and in an amendment to the draft report of the European Parliament (EP) on Montenegro. She submitted that amendment Željana Zovko, a Croatian member of the European Parliament, who requested access to the UDBA and KOS files for investigations into crimes from the communist era.
Angelovski's initiative was published on the Parliament's website, and the document reminds that Montenegro is one of the few former communist countries in Europe that has not fully started the process of fully opening files and documents of civil and military intelligence services.
"Secret services, in addition to their legal responsibilities, have been abusing their power since 1945, which they derived from servility to party interests and the inviolability that these interests provided them. The consequence of such a practice of their work is still great and deep divisions in Montenegrin society", the initiative states.
It is recalled that the intelligence and counter-intelligence service, the Department for the Protection of the People (OZNA) in communist Yugoslavia was formed in 1944, while the Second World War was not yet over, and then in 1946 it was reorganized and divided into a civilian and a military wing. The civilian intelligence service was called the State Security Administration (UDBA), while the military intelligence service was called the Counterintelligence Service (KOS).
After the breakup of Yugoslavia in the civil war, the newly created states formed their own civil and military security services.
"The newly created civil and military security services, which are the legal successors of the former OZNA-UDBA and KOS, have taken over the officers, archives, equipment, funds and items, as well as the work methods of the services they were successors to," the initiative reads.
As it is added, civilian control over the security services in Montenegro has never been fully implemented and unauthorized secret surveillance is the basis for "further abuses in the work of civilian and military intelligence services (pranks on targeted people, compromises in the environments where they live and work, and also in the public, pressures on their families, staging court proceedings, and even physical confrontation with them)".
"This kind of functioning of the security services in Montenegro is characteristic of authoritarian regimes, so Montenegro's international partners saw it as an insurmountable obstacle for its integration into the EU," Angelovski states in the initiative.
There is no such thing as a perfect crime, some clue will be found
When the UDBA was officially dissolved in 1990, Montenegrin officials promised that its files would be opened, but this did not happen.
When asked if he thinks that the documentation of the secret services has mostly been destroyed, Angelovski replied that it is possible, "but there is no such thing as a perfect crime, some trace will be found".
He points out that 34 years is a very long period.
"But the time has come for us to do it too, if we want to enter the EU by 2028, and if we don't, we will be to blame ourselves, as citizens. This is a small step I took, to try, together with the citizens, to come up with this law", he said.
He says that the people should face the truth, so let those who did it answer.
"There will probably be fake files, but let them be opened. Let there not be a witch hunt, but the victims have the right to justice," he says.
The Assembly explained that the deadline for signing the initiative is 60 days, and if it collects 6.000 signatures of citizens of legal age, the initiative becomes a petition which, by act of the General Secretary of the Assembly, is sent to the competent working body of the Parliament.
"In the absence of a legislative framework, i.e. regulations for handling petitions, which would establish a legally binding framework in this area, 6.000 signatures were requested, which is the number of signatures necessary for citizens to submit a bill, through deputies whom they authorize, in accordance with Article 93 paragraph 2 of the Constitution of Montenegro. If the initiative collects enough signatures, it does not become a bill, but a petition. In order for it to become a bill, at least one member of parliament must support it by creating, based on the petition, a proposal for a specific law and sending it to the President of the Assembly, which puts it in the procedure," they told "Vijesta" from the Assembly.
The petition is sent, by act of the general secretary, to the parent board.
It is possible, say the Assembly, that two committees have competences for a specific matter: the Committee for Security and Defense, which, among other things, considers proposals for laws, other regulations and general acts, strategy and other issues in the field of security and defense of Montenegro and its of citizens and the Committee for Human Rights and Freedoms, which considers proposals for laws, other regulations and general acts and other issues related to the freedoms and rights of man and citizen.
"However, according to Article 129 of the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly, it is prescribed that the acts of the Assembly are: Constitution, law, spatial plans, Rules of Procedure of the Assembly, declaration, resolution, decision, recommendation and conclusion. So, not a petition. If, on the basis of a petition, one or more deputies submitted a bill, it should be considered by the Legislative Committee, which considers bills, other regulations and general acts passed by the Parliament from the point of view of their compliance with the Constitution and the legal system of Montenegro, and the parent committee. here the Committee for Security and Defense or the Committee for Human Rights and Freedoms. "Which committee will be the parent depends on the direction of the president or vice-president of the Assembly," they explained.
If the files are not opened, they will be misused by any government
Angelovski is in favor of the German model of file opening.
In the initiative, he reminds that Germany is the first European country to regulate the issue of opening the secret files of the infamous Stasi service, which operated on the territory of East Germany from 1945 to 1990. Germany established maximalist solutions in the approach to the overall problem and implemented them successfully, both in terms of realizing lustration and in terms of realizing violated individual rights, which is what this law wants to achieve according to that model, the initiative states.
"Opening files is also a means of preventing file manipulation. The legality is: if the files are not opened, they are misused by any authority that has access to them. Orderly opening of files is the best way to prevent their unregulated use. The availability of the file to the person to whom it refers is sometimes the only way for him to defend himself from accusations (including those that he cooperated with the political police to the detriment of other people's human rights) and to protect his rights from being violated. By opening the file, it is prevented, therefore, that the former instruments of violation of rights become so again, only in a different way".
The experiences of post-communist countries indicate, as it is added, that the opening of files is a powerful mechanism for dealing with the legacy of the authoritarian past and a path to establishing the rule of law and justice in transitional democracies.
"The issue of opening files and documentation is particularly important because they are often the only official versions of documents about the dark and cruel communist and transitional past. Despite the fact that it was possible to falsify them, like all other official documents, these files and documentation can significantly contribute to confronting the past. That is why files and documentation should be available not only to the citizens they refer to and their heirs, but in a certain form they should also be available for scientific and professional research, for educational purposes and for the purposes of informing the public", it is stated.
NATO captured a spy in Poland, but did not react in Montenegro
Recalling the case of the Udar portal, Angelovski states that four years ago, 235 people were accused of being spies, and recently NATO captured a Russian spy on the territory of Poland.
"The entire NATO rose up to catch one spy, and here 235 people are allegedly spies, and NATO did nothing," he said.
He reminds that he won that case in court - the dispute was legally ended in favor of his client, but that he still cannot get the documents because, as he judged, the secret mark was placed illegally on something that represents an abuse of office, "that is, where it is obvious that the service was working against its people".
"Now the victims of that portal cannot find evidence. We heard the witness (Dritan) Abazović, now we have to hear the witness (Dejan) Vukšić. By passing this law, we would not only reach this case, but also some others that will be very interesting for the Montenegrin public", he said.
On April 26 of this year, the Higher Court in Podgorica confirmed the verdict of the Basic Court in the case of Vlad Bulatović, a former military officer, who was represented by Angelovski.
The higher court obliged the state to pay the plaintiff 135 euros for the costs of the second-instance procedure and revision.
Previously, on May 19 of last year, the Basic Court issued a verdict in which it found that it was a violation of a person's reputation and honor, but the judge ruled that instead of the requested 20.000 euros, 3.000 euros, plus interest, should be paid.
"The claim is partially accepted, so the defendant is obliged to pay the plaintiff the amount of 3.000 euros in the name of compensation, non-material damages due to the violation of personal rights - the right to psychological (mental) integrity, the right to honor, the right to reputation and the right to dignity, with with default interest from May 19, 05, until the final payment in progress, from 2023 days after the judgment becomes final, while in the remaining part, for the amount of another 15 euros up to the requested 17.000 euros, the claim is rejected as unfounded," the judgment states. .
Democrats support open-file legislation
In Democratic Montenegro, as they told "Vijesta", they believe that the adoption of the Law on opening files and documents of civil and military intelligence services is an important step towards strengthening democracy and transparency in our country.
"This initiative represents a significant step towards confronting the past and clarifying the role that the intelligence services played in the political life of Montenegro. Therefore, our party supports the adoption of such a law," they said in response to the question of whether the adoption of such a law is acceptable for the Democrats, i.e. whether they would support him in the Assembly.
Other majority parties did not answer that question.
Democrats believe that the adoption of this law would have multiple significance for Montenegro.
"First and foremost, it would be a step towards healing our society, allowing citizens to learn the truth about the role of intelligence services in creating files and collecting information about citizens. This law would also contribute to transparency and accountability, which are key elements of any democratic society. It works is about a very sensitive issue, especially considering the way in which the files have been formed over the past hundred years the process takes place carefully and responsibly, with respect for the rights of individuals and protection against possible incorrect information," they said.
The opening of the file, they say, is a democratic step forward that can help reveal those responsible for the wars and persecutions of the 90s, the establishment of absolute power, the persecution of political opponents, the division of the people into "patriots" and "traitors", and who participated in criminal activities under under the auspices of the state.
"Through this process, we can identify those who misused the intelligence services for the needs of one party and its criminal pyramid. We conclude that the opening of files must be started successively in relation to certain persons and groups of persons, focusing first on the security sector officials who collected and used data for political and criminal purposes, then to their principals according to the principle of subordination. This will allow us to first understand the structures and mechanisms that enabled the abuse of power, and then to face the consequences of those actions. To understand which data is correct, a who are motivated with the intention of discrediting people for the sake of realizing political and criminal plans," said Democratic Montenegro.
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