Vuksanović: The proposed law attempts to retroactively abolish Đeljošaj's illegal actions

If today the Deputy Prime Minister can threaten the President of the state who is performing his constitutional duty with impunity, then no citizen is any longer sure that he can invoke the law, said Nebojša Vuksanović, an associate in the Office of the President of Montenegro.

"The Deputy Prime Minister who does not accept the Constitution, does not recognize court decisions and who does not hesitate to threaten the President of the state who is performing his constitutionally prescribed duty, has become the first to publicly, without shame, announce that he has put the state in the function of protecting his personal interests. First, his targets were journalists and judges, and today the President of the state. And tomorrow?" said Vuksanović.

According to him, the President of Montenegro returned the amendments to the Law on Real Estate Tax to the Parliament because they are unconstitutional.

"He did not know, nor could he have known, that the Law was written in the interests of a politician. Only after threats followed, and then personal attacks on the President of the country, did it become clear whose interests were actually at stake. Therefore, it is no longer just a matter of the law, but of the way in which the Constitution and legal order are protected in Montenegro today," he said.

Vuksanović said that, as an associate in the President's office, and as the former President of the Board of Directors of the "Plantaže" company, which has faced the illegal actions of that politician for years, he has an obligation to react.

He pointed out that the problem is not personal, but one of principle and with clear legal arguments.

"The taxation that was implemented for years by the administration of the Municipality of Tuzi, headed until recently by the Deputy Prime Minister, was contrary to the laws of Montenegro. The Administrative Court has confirmed this on several occasions. Instead of acting according to the rulings, they moved on to blocking accounts, ignoring institutions and, ultimately, criminal charges that the company was forced to file. Today, the proposed Law attempts to retroactively abolish this illegal action by a politician. If this is allowed, Plantaže will lose the legal basis on which all the court processes initiated by the company are based, which will certainly be resolved in its favor. And even more dangerously, all other registered agricultural producers will lose the right to equal treatment and tax breaks," he stated.

That is why, as Vuksanović says, the president of the state could not, but above all should not, sign such a law, adding that the threats he has been exposed to are proof of how correct that decision was.

"This is not a national or party issue, as the Deputy Prime Minister wants to present it in his manner, nor is it one of different political views. This is an issue of the rule of law and the protection of the state of Montenegro, on which all citizens should be united! That is why I reject all meaningless and malicious constructions that try to divert attention from the essence. There are no "kinship ties", there are no hidden intentions. There is only the right and courage to tell the truth and to defend what protects us all: the Constitution and laws. That is the only patriotism that I recognize," concluded Vuksanović.