Members of the Union for the Enforcement of Criminal Sanctions (UIKS) protested in front of the Prosecutor's Office building in Podgorica, demanding a better response from the authorities to the attacks on their colleagues, the capture of those responsible and protection for those most vulnerable.
The reason for the gathering is the bomb attack on the house of Predrag Spasojević, the head of the Investigation Prison, last week.
The President of the Union, Milan Ilibašić, said that he took to the streets with about seventy colleagues, because they do not feel protected in their own country.
"A bomb was thrown at our colleague, we did not have any reaction in the Prosecutor's Office. We are putting pressure on the competent institutions to react and catch those who are responsible," Ilibašić said.
Ilibašić emphasizes that they are grateful that the Prosecutor's Office started doing its job and caught the perpetrators.
"But it is a big complaint that we had to raise such a media fanfare for this to happen. We are here to support a colleague who was thrown a bomb, because it can happen to all of us," Ilibašić added.
"We want to draw attention so that we don't find ourselves in this situation again, that we go out into the street and expose ourselves to the media, in order to protect us. Although they had information, they were waiting for all this to happen. Spasojević was lucky enough that no one he didn't get hurt, what will we do next time," emphasized Iibašić.
We appeal to the Prosecutor's Office, "that these things do not happen again, that our problems are taken seriously and that timely responses are made.
Ilibašić emphasized that he will continue with the protests, if there is a need for it.
Nataša Karadžić, the secretary of the Trade Union, also addressed those present.
"It was only by sheer luck that serious consequences for Spasojevic and his family were avoided. Yesterday it was him, tomorrow it could be any of us who do their job professionally," Karadzic pointed out.
Karadžić emphasizes that such a case must happen every time for the state to pay attention to them.
"It is high time for the support to be constant and unreserved, so that the prison system itself remains. We must have dignified working conditions, which we have been asking for years," added Karadzic.
As he says, "things will not change, we will be more and more endangered. We must urgently start hiring and training new staff to meet the challenges".
He also emphasizes the need for better cooperation with the police and the Prosecutor's Office, because, as he says, they are "on the same task."
The protest was also supported by members of the Independent Police Union, the Professional Board of Firefighters, as well as part of the Administration and Judiciary Union.
Igor Rmandić, representative of the Independent Police Union, announced that, "our prosecutors decided not to interfere too much in their work and not do it properly.
"I'm only thinking about the part that is the loudest, there are also honest people who are sidelined. Those others shape the fate of colleagues and all citizens of Montenegro," Rmandić pointed out.
"The building in front of which we are standing is the black hole of our society," Rmandic said.
He adds that in that hole, "on the one hand, objects of huge abuse disappeared, the biographies of many criminals were washed, and on the other hand, the hopes of honest Montenegrin citizens were buried".
Rmandić points out that those who lead us must come to an agreement and look forward.
"If they think that they are making Colombia from the beginning of the nineties out of the country, they are currently on a great path," he emphasized.
He adds that it is a common problem of two unions, and that the only way out is solidarity, harmony and determination.
Zdravko Blečić, a representative of the professional board of firefighters, offered his support, saying that Spasojević is an example of professionalism.
"He must be an example to all honorable people of how to behave in their workplace and fulfill their work tasks," concluded Blečić.
The president of the Trade Union of Administration and Justice, Nenad Rakočević, announced that they support all those who are engaged in dangerous jobs, including prosecutor's offices and courts.
"All of them contribute, all of them object to addresses that should not be objected to, and it is only a question of the amount of boldness, i.e. courage. The one who works honorably, passes the way Spasojević and his family passed, coincidentally, very happily," he emphasized. Rakočević.
He adds that the bombs were used to kill, and not, as speculated, to warn.
"This attack was monstrous and can happen to anyone. Not a single case like this has been solved, it was left somewhere in the drawers," he pointed out.
As he says, the family had to be protected even before the event, and they expect someone to be responsible for that.
"The perpetrators were found, but there are rotten boards everywhere and we have to mark and target them so that the prosecution can do its job," he stressed.
"We are a country and we ask ourselves, let's be united and strong and these events must not affect us," concluded Rakočević.
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