Although he is the Minister of Defense Dragan Krapović (Democrats) annulled on Tuesday the decision by which the Chief of the General Staff of the Army of Montenegro (VCG) Zoran Lazarević extended period of service until June next year, the commander of the VCG will remain in that position until he is dismissed by the Defense and Security Council, after which the Ministry of Defense should issue a decision on the termination of his service.
This stems from yesterday's defense department's answers to "Vijesta" on the question of who is the head of the VCG if the decision on the extension of Lazarević's service has ceased to be valid.
"The current chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces is Brigadier General Zoran Lazarevic, until the decision to terminate his service is made," said the Public Relations Bureau of the Ministry of Defense.
According to the Law on the Croatian Army (Articles 38 and 40), the Chief of the General Staff is appointed and dismissed by the Council, at the proposal of the Minister of Defense.
Last week, Krapović submitted a proposal to the Council on the dismissal of Lazarevic - due, as he said at the time, to the assessment that a generational change and rejuvenation of the officer cadre in the VCG is needed - but the supreme command rejected it because there was no consensus among its members on this.
The three-member Council, which consists of the heads of state, the Assembly and the Government, decides unanimously, and Krapović's proposal was opposed by the President of Montenegro. Jakov Milatovic, saying that he will support the dismissal of Lazarevic when he is told what the general did not do properly or what he did badly. The remaining two members, the Speaker of Parliament Andrija Mandic (New Serbian Democracy) and the Prime Minister Milojko Spajic (Movement Evropa sad) supported Krapović's proposal at the session held on August 28.
The lawyer with whom "Vijesti" spoke, who is familiar with the regulations on the functioning of the VCG, says that Lazarevic is definitely still in office and can make decisions, but that the Council, after Krapovic's move, should react and dismiss the head General Staff as soon as possible.
Explains that the supreme command is obliged to release (from the duty of the formation post to which he was appointed) a professional military person for whom the procedure for termination of service in the army has been initiated, and that at the latest on the day of termination of service, and in accordance with the Law on VCG (Article 148) . He notes that in the case of Lazarevic it refers to Wednesday, September 4.
Since that day, Krapović's decision has been applied, canceling the one on the extension of Lazarević's service, which was brought by the then coordinator of the Ministry of Defense in mid-July last year. Filip Adzic (Civil Movement URA).
In the decision that "Vijesti" had access to, Krapović stated that, according to the Act on VCG (Article 203), service in the army can last a professional military person up to 40 years of insurance service and 55 years of age. He added that, exceptionally, when the needs of the service require it, the minister can, at the proposal of the Chief of the General Staff, i.e. a leading person in the Ministry, extend the period of service for a professional military person to a maximum of two years.
The minister states that, upon inspection of the official records of human resources that are kept for the needs of the department he heads, it was established that Lazarevic was born on December 4, 1967, and that on September 4 of this year he has 41 years, one month and ten days of insurance experience. , over 56 years of age, and that he has been in service in the Croatian Armed Forces since July 21, 1990. That is, he meets the conditions for termination of service.
According to the unofficial information of "Vijesti", Lazarevic is supposed to testify at the Ministry of Defense today about the procedure initiated by Krapovic.
Lazerević was appointed Chief of the General Staff in June 2022. He graduated from the Army Academy in Belgrade and Zadar in 1990, majoring in artillery. He completed command and staff and general staff training in Belgrade in 2002 and 2009, according to his biography.
After the formation of the VCG, he was appointed deputy commander of the Special Operations Brigade, and since 2010 he has been deputy chief of the General Staff.
From May 2016, he continued his career in the Military Representation of Montenegro to NATO and the EU, where he held the positions of deputy military representative of Montenegro to NATO and the EU and as an adviser to the military representative.
At the same time as the request for the dismissal of Lazarevic, Krapovic submitted a proposal for the appointment of a colonel Miodrag Vuksanović for the new Chief of the General Staff, but that issue was not discussed.
Vuksanović is the national representative of Montenegro at the NATO headquarters in Mons at the Allied Command for Operations (ACO). He graduated from the Military Academy in Belgrade, the Command and Staff School in the USA in 2011 and the National Defense School in the USA in 2016. Among other things, at one time he was the commander of the Training Center of the Croatian Armed Forces in Danilovgrad and the head of the Intelligence and Reconnaissance Department (J-2). in the General Staff of the VCG.
The chief commands the General Staff and army units, is responsible to the minister and is a professional officer.
The dispute over the Chief of the General Staff occurred at the session of the Supreme Command, which was held after half a year of non-session of that body. As "Vijesti" wrote, several attempts to hold sessions failed, mainly due to the inability of Milatović and Spajić to agree on the dates of the sessions. Because of this, some important questions were pending.
In the meantime, the head of the parliament Mandić proposed that the Council no longer decides unanimously, by consensus of three members, but by a majority of votes, which caused sharp reactions from part of the public.
"If Lazarevic were to end his service tomorrow, the chain of command would not be threatened"
When asked who, if Lazarevic's service were to end tomorrow, would perform Lazarevic's job until the appointment of a new Chief of the General Staff, the Bureau of Public Relations of the Ministry of Defense replied to "Vijesta" that the Law on VCG provides for mechanisms that regulate that situation, and that it is in accordance with them, the smooth functioning of the VCG is foreseen, without jeopardizing the chain of command.
"We remind you that the Minister of Defense, in accordance with his powers, proposed to the Council for Defense and Security the dismissal of Mr. Lazarevic from his duties, and at the same time proposed another officer, as a candidate for NGŠ, who would respond to the task with his knowledge and experience and contribute to the improvement of the current situation in the system ", he wrote in the answer.
According to the Law on the Armed Forces of Serbia (Article 103), instead of a professional military person, who is temporarily prevented from performing his duty for more than a month, an acting duty officer (acting) is appointed.
An officer is assigned to the formation position of an officer, and a non-commissioned officer is appointed to the formation position of a non-commissioned officer. V. d. can, as it is written in the law, be assigned to a vacant formation position. Which means - also to the post of Chief of the General Staff, if it were vacant. V. d. the condition can last for a maximum of 18 months.
Who would take over the role of the Council, and who would interfere with other people's powers
President Milatović said the day before yesterday that he had not received any official document regarding the status of Lazarevic, adding that Krapović "announced that he will cancel the decision of the previous minister and de facto retire Lazarevic".
"Thus, Lazarević would cease to be an active officer, and Krapović would take over the role of the Council," the head of state told journalists at the Music Center, after the meeting he organized.
Krapović answered him with the words that everything he does and proposes is in accordance with the Constitution and laws and in the interest of Montenegro and its citizens, "deprived of any particular or daily political approach".
"In the same way that I do not intend to interfere with other people's powers, I will certainly not allow anyone else to interfere with mine, as the Minister of Defense", he said in a statement the day before yesterday.
Bonus video:
