Two "truths" for one lie: The case of Commodore Vuković's letter - Milatović in a wedge, his chief of staff in a board

President of Montenegro Jakov Milatovic or his chief of staff Ivana Pejović They are not telling the truth about whether the head of state received a letter from the suspended commander of the Navy of the Army of Montenegro (AVCG), Commodore Darko Vuković.

"Vijesti" has learned that Pejović told the Military Disciplinary Commission of the Ministry of Defense, which is conducting the proceedings against Vuković, in mid-February that he had not officially addressed the president, nor that such a document was filed in Milatović's records. She also stated that, apart from the usual oral conversation the two had when the head of state visited the Navy (on November 24 last year), there was no official written communication.

On the other hand, Milatović proposed a letter from Vuković “addressed to the President of Montenegro” as an item on the agenda of the Defense and Security Council session, which was adjourned on December 24th.

After the session was adjourned, "Vijesti" reported, citing an unofficial source, that Vuković said at that meeting that he had not written to Milatović, but that, after being told that the head of state had proposed that the letter be an item on the agenda, he stated that he had sent the letter to the Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces of Montenegro. Miodrag Vuksanović, and that he informed the president about the contents of the document.

Milatović's office did not answer the editorial staff's questions yesterday about whether Vuković wrote to the head of state, if so, when, and if not, as Pejović claims, why Milatović proposed a letter "addressed to the President of Montenegro" for the agenda of the Supreme Command session.

As reported by "Vijesti", the commodore claimed in the letter that the Minister of Defense had Dragan Krapović (Democrats) is being mobbed, that is, his rank is not respected when entering the Ministry of Defense building and when arranging seating arrangements at meetings.

Vuković was removed from duty on December 23, and on the same day disciplinary proceedings were initiated against him on suspicion that, contrary to the order of his superior, the Chief of the General Staff, he had addressed Milatović directly, in a letter.

Milatović's cabinet then assessed that Vuković's suspension represented a humiliation of the Army, while its first man, Vuksanović, said that the "first sailor" violated the principle of subordination by addressing the head of state and that therefore the removal was legal.

"... Vuković's actions recently represented a flagrant violation of the principles of subordination and single-seniority in command and the duty to execute orders...", Vuksanović stated on that occasion.

The session of the Defense and Security Council, which was scheduled for December 24th and at which Milatović wanted to discuss the letter, was interrupted without an official explanation and has not yet resumed.

Meanwhile, the Government's Appeals Commission rejected as unfounded Vuković's appeal against Krapović's decision to remove him from office at the end of January.

In his appeal, Vuković claimed that on November 28, he sent a letter to Vuksanović, not Milatović, as stated in the Ministry's decision, which, he added, does not cite any evidence to confirm its claims.

If Vuković's allegations are true - that he wrote only to Vuksanović on November 28, Pejović - that there was no official written communication, but only the usual oral conversation between Vuković and Milatović in Bar on November 24, and the "Vijesti" source - that Vuković said at the Supreme Command meeting that he had informed Milatović of the contents of the letter - this could mean that the "first sailor" informed the president about the contents of the letter four days before he sent it to the head of the Army.

Disputes

The Supreme Command, consisting of Milatović (chairman), Prime Minister Milojko Spajic (Europe Now Movement) and the head of parliament Andrija Mandic (New Serbian Democracy) appointed Vuksanović as Chief of the General Staff and Vuković as Commander of the Navy in June last year. This was a compromise solution, after months of conflict between Milatović and Krapović over who should be the first man in the Army. Milatović publicly announced that he preferred Vuković as Commander-in-Chief, while Krapović insisted that it should be Vuksanović, in which he was supported by Spajić and Mandić.

Since all decisions of the Defense and Security Council must be made unanimously, it was agreed that Vuksanović and Vuković, upon the proposal of the Minister, be appointed to their current positions. Vuksanović was simultaneously promoted to the rank of Brigadier General, and Vuković to the naval rank of general - commodore.

However, shortly after Vuković took office, problems began, culminating in a letter.

The disputes between Milatović and Krapović have been going on for a long time, and began after the minister submitted a request to the Supreme Command at the end of August 2024 for the dismissal of the then Chief of the General Staff. Zoran Lazarevic due to the assessment that "a generational change and rejuvenation of the officer cadre" is needed.

The council rejected it because there was no consensus. Milatović opposed Krapović's proposal, saying that he would support the dismissal of Lazarević when he was told what the brigadier general had not done properly, or what he had done wrong. Spajić and Mandić supported Krapović's request.

The Minister of Defense subsequently annulled the decision by which Lazarević, who at that time met the conditions for retirement, had his term of service extended until June 2025 in 2023, noting that the Chief of the General Staff met the conditions for termination of service, i.e. that he had over 40 years of insurance service and was 55 years old.

However, Krapović's decision was overturned by the Government's Appeals Commission. In the end, the Council dismissed Lazarević, because his term of office had expired, and a compromise was reached, as mentioned, on the appointment of Vuksanović and Vuković.

On Monday, Milatović submitted a proposal to the Constitutional Court for the review of the constitutionality of several articles of the Law on the Armed Forces of Montenegro, claiming that the disputed provisions give the Minister of Defense the authority to make decisions on the use of the Army and to carry out personnel management tasks for officers in terms of appointments, dismissals and promotions, and that this derogates from the constitutional competences of the Supreme Command.

Krapović responded that Milatović's initiative was a "miss" and that it would fail in the Constitutional Court.