The session of the Council for Defense and Security, which was paused on October 11, and whose main topic was a letter from the Chief of the General Staff of the Army of Montenegro (VCG) Zoran Lazarevic to the members of the Supreme Command, in which he accuses the Minister of Defense Dragan Krapović for actions that harm VCG, will continue tomorrow, but without the presence of the two.
"Vijesti" learned unofficially that Lazarević and Krapović were not invited to the continuation of the session, the agenda of which in the meantime was supplemented by the proposal of the Department of Defense for the participation of Montenegro in the NATO mission for the establishment of security assistance and training for Ukraine (NSATU - NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine ), and the proposal of the Ministries of Education and Health to enable the presence of the police in schools and health institutions.
Immediately after the session was suspended, "Vijesti" announced, referring to the claims of sources, that the President of Montenegro and the Chairman of the Supreme Command Jakov Milatovic does not want to support the dismissal of Lazerević proposed by Krapović, although it was supported by the remaining two members of the supreme command - the head of the parliament Andrija Mandic (New Serbian Democracy) and the Prime Minister Milojko Spajic (Europe Now Movement).
According to that interlocutor, Milatović asked at the session "to drop the ball" and demanded from Krapović to lift the ban on Lazarević's activities abroad. Krapović allegedly refused, saying that these were his responsibilities and that he would not deviate from them.
In a letter at the beginning of October, Lazarevic accused Krapović of undermining the combat readiness of the Croatian Army, that he "improperly and harmfully ordered that all the activities of the Chief of General Staff abroad be removed from the Work Plan of the Croatian Army for October", that he was doing this "unfounded, deliberate , and continuously..."
"...Trying to present the work of the Army units, as well as his (Lazarević's), as low-quality, unproductive and insufficiently professional, all in a way that does not befit a minister of defense".
The first man of the army previously, in mid-September, sent Milatović a request to "accept and sign" the decision on his dismissal from the head of the VCG, which was proposed by Krapović at the end of August.
On August 28, Krapović submitted to the Council a proposal for the dismissal of Lazarevic due 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, parliament and government, decides unanimously, and Krapović's proposal was opposed by Milatović, saying that he would support Lazarević's dismissal when he was told what the general did not do properly or what he did badly.
After that, on September 3, Krapović annulled the decision by which Lazarević's term of office was extended last year until the following June, stating that the Chief of the General Staff meets the conditions for termination of service, i.e. that he has over 40 years of insurance experience and is over 55 years of age. That is, that on September 4 of this year, he had 41 years, one month and ten days of insurance experience, over 56 years of age, and that he has been in the service of the Croatian Civil War since July 21, 1990.
However, the Government Commission annulled Krapović's decision in mid-October.
The Minister of Defense submitted it to the Supreme State Prosecutor Milorad Marković information about, as he stated, the illegal actions of Lazaravić, among other things, and the failure to comply with the order to submit documentation in connection with the decision to transport a private motorcycle from Slovenia with a VCG vehicle.
One of the topics of dispute between Krapović and Lazarević is the issue of food procurement for the VCG. The military census commission found a series of irregularities and possible abuses in bookkeeping and procurement of food for the needs of the VCG in the warehouse in Zeta, and the military police informed the Basic Prosecutor's Office in Podgorica about it. Krapović accuses Lazarevic of not reacting on the occasion for months, even though he asked him to do so.
On the other hand, Lazarević sued the Ministry of Defense for discrimination, saying that the ministry "hurt his honor and dignity as an officer" with numerous decisions.
At the same time as the request for Lazarevic's dismissal, Krapović submitted a proposal for the appointment of a colonel at the end of August Miodrag Vuksanović for the new Chief of the General Staff, but the Supreme Command did not consider the issue.
Parliament has not yet decided whether the officers of the Croatian Army will train Ukrainians
Although the supreme command at the end of August supported the proposal of the Ministry of Defense to engage members of the Croatian Armed Forces as part of the European Union (EU) military assistance mission to support Ukraine, and although it was sent to the Parliament for decision, it has not yet commented on it.
To "Vijesta", the parliament and its president Mandić did not answer the question when the proposal for that decision will be on the agenda.
The source of "Vijesti" explained in August that it is about sending three instructors to one of the EU countries (possibly Slovenia), officers of the Croatian Army, who will train Ukrainian colleagues in the areas of their specialties.
From 2022, almost every member of the EU participates in that mission, except for those that have an ambivalent attitude towards Russia's aggression against Ukraine. Third countries, such as Montenegro, can also participate in the mission.
And participation in the NATO NSATU mission, which the Council will decide on tomorrow, refers to the sending of up to two members of the Croatian Armed Forces to Wiesbaden, where Ukrainian soldiers are trained.
Bonus video:
