Hundreds of people from Beran, and who knows how many more from the whole of Montenegro, who were participants in the then joint army of Serbia and Montenegro, fell upon the rumor that the so-called war allowances from the period of the NATO intervention would allegedly be paid, and that it was "finished thing", only to submit documents and pay a certain membership fee.
Most of them, moreover, did not even know what kind of membership fee they were paying and to whom, but it is quite certain that in the whole story someone benefited greatly.
Some time ago, the rumor slowly began to spread in Berane, and then former military reservists from other cities in the north, and even from the whole of Montenegro, began to come forward.
It is impossible to know how many of them fell for that unverified rumor until now, because, in addition to the organized collection of documentation at certain locations and from certain people in Berane, a large number of them went independently to Raška in neighboring Serbia, where "demands for the payment of war daily allowance" taught.
The citizens, who without much thought handed in their documents and paid five to ten euros, were given some hope that they were doing the right thing by being directed to the official website of the NGO "Serbian War Veterans", which indeed stated that "the collection action of documentation for exercising the right to collect war allowances" is implemented throughout Serbia
The fraud took on a massive form, when in front of a bar in Berane there were lines for days to hand over documents to one of the alleged representatives. People were not suspicious that no certification of photocopied documents was required, which could easily have been misused.
"Have you heard about these coins that are being distributed", the information spread slowly from ear to ear, and the queues in front of the bar grew longer and longer.
Citizens, who without much thought submitted their documents and paid five to ten euros, were given some hope that they were doing the right thing by being directed to the official website of the NGO.Serbian war veterans", on which it was indeed stated that "the action of collecting documentation for the realization of the right to collect war allowances" is being carried out throughout Serbia.
As one of the places where the documents are handed in, Raška was and still is, as well as the name of the commissioner who collects the documents, a certain Milutin Dikić, with an address and phone number.
On that website, however, not a single word mentions Montenegro and the rights of Montenegrin war reservists. And yet, that man in Raška did indeed receive documentation from Montenegro, along with the payment of a membership fee of five euros for membership in the NGO "Serbian Military Veterans", as an alleged condition for exercising the right to the payment of daily allowances.
Several citizens of Beran contacted "Vijesti" and by phone, believing that "at the very least, it is a questionable business in which someone is a big broker". All this, however, could not be verified with certainty until yesterday, when the Montenegrin "Association of Fighters of the 1990s Wars" made an announcement on local radio, which publicly called on citizens to stop paying money and hand over their personal documents, "because it is a kind of fraud".
All the membership cards of the Serbian war veterans that were issued to the fighters from Montenegro by the commissioner Milutin Dikić from Raška, and charged five euros each, are just worthless paper
The interlocutor of "Vijesti" who was in Raška and directly handed over the documentation "just in case" and paid five euros for the membership fee, said that they told him in that office that "the whole job is nearing completion and that on that basis only in Berane receives a million euros".
It is certain that, five by five and ten by ten euros, large sums of money poured into someone's private pockets, and the Montenegrin police did not check this "business or fraud of the decade" until now.
Office in the shed
Some of the residents of Beran, who expressed some degree of mistrust, went to Raška themselves and said that they had submitted the documents, but that they were convinced of the frivolity of the whole story about it.
"The three of us left. We just wanted to see what it was all about. There we found a large number of Berans and a whole line in front of a small office that looked like a shed. They welcomed us with the story that it was a done deal and that we were only waiting for money at the end of February.
When we expressed our doubt that it is possible to falsify a photocopy of a page from the military book that refers to participation in the reserve at the time of the NATO intervention, they answered that everything will be checked by computer," one of the Beran residents told "Vijesta", who he did not want his name mentioned.
Personal documents and public documents can be misused
The Association of Serbian War Veterans warned the citizens of Montenegro that their personal documents and public documents may be misused. The association reminded and explained that the rumor is based on the fact, which is true "that according to the lawsuit of several thousand reservists from the south of Serbia, in July of last year the court in Strasbourg issued a verdict ordering the Republic of Serbia to arrange the method of payment of war allowances to the plaintiffs and all other persons who are entitled to it".
The Montenegrin Association of Veterans of the 1990s states that, if the judgment of the court in Strasbourg becomes final, they will hire lawyer Srđan Aleksić, who represented reservists from the south of Serbia, and consider the possibility and way for Montenegrin reservists to exercise their right to war allowances.
"The association warns Mr. Milutin Dikić from Raška and his 'couriers' in Montenegro to stop harassing the Montenegrin fighters, about which, apart from the lawyer Srđan Aleksić, the president of the Serbian war veterans, Mile Milošević, was also informed", concludes the statement of the Montenegrin "Association". fighters of the wars of the 1990s".
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