Municipal protection and rescue services are neither the army nor civil protection, but professional fire and rescue units, which are under the local government and to which they are responsible for their work, so it cannot be said that when the rescue teams from Podgorica and Nikšić are sent to Turkey, in February last year, violated the Law on the use of military and civil protection units.
Among other things, he told "Vijesti" yesterday Slavko Tadic, commander of the Nikšić Fire and Rescue Service.
Tadić said this in response to questions from the newsroom about possible and personal responsibility for sending Nikšić firefighters-rescuers to Turkey, after a devastating earthquake hit that country, then Syria, on February 6 last year.
The question of responsibility was opened after it was announced that, among other things, due to sending the team to Turkey, the Special State Prosecutor's Office (SDT) filed a criminal complaint against the former commander of the Podgorica Protection and Rescue Service. Goran Janković.
"On the first day of the earthquake, we were in communication with the Turkish Embassy, from which they requested our help, so we informed our authorities about our willingness to help. Under the auspices of the Turkish Embassy, the local administration of our city, the Government of Montenegro headed by the Prime Minister, we went to help. Human and professional. This is not our first international mission, and our Fire and Rescue Unit responded in the same way during the floods in Obrenovac, Serbia, in 2014 and was one of the first to send its specialized teams to help, in an identical way," Tadić told "Vijesta" yesterday. .
The mayor of Podgorica filed a criminal complaint against the former commander of the Podgorica Protection and Rescue Service, Goran Janković. Olivera Injac and Secretary for Local Self-Government and Cooperation with Civil Society of the Capital City Slađana Anđušić.
From the Capital City, other media, including "Vijesti", were informed about this by sending a post to Injac from the social network X (formerly Twitter). In that post, Injac shared a link to the text of the criminal complaint, which was published by the daily newspaper "Dan".
In the text, "Dan" stated, among other things, that when sending the team to Turkey, the Protection and Rescue Service of Podgorica, of which Janković was the commander, acted contrary to the provisions of the Law on Protection and Rescue and the Law on the Use of Units of the Army of Montenegro and International forces and participation of members of the operative unit for protection and rescue, police and employees of state administration bodies in peace missions and other activities abroad.
As they added, referring to the report, the Podgorica Service "sent its members on its own initiative, without prior consultation of the Directorate for Emergency Situations and Government of Montenegro's decisions".
"At the same time bypassing the established international practice, as well as the national procedure, especially in the part that refers to the failure to fulfill the basic prerequisite related to training on the subject of search and rescue from the ruins of all members of this service who went to Turkey, even though they Miodrag Bešović, Acting Director General of the Directorate for Emergency Situations of the MUP, pointed out the provisions of the law and warned them against violating the law," "Dan" reported part of the criminal report.
When asked about responsibility, Bešović and the others remain silent
Yesterday, the Directorate did not answer the questions of "Vijesti", among other things, about whether Bešović, at the time when the Podgorica Service made the decision to send rescuers to Turkey, was aware of the intention of Janković and the Capital City, as well as whether in relation to such action filed a report.
As Nikšić firemen and rescuers traveled to Turkey under the same conditions, Bešović did not answer whether the Nikšić Fire and Rescue Service sought and received permission to send rescue teams to Turkey.
Podgorica and Nikšić firemen-rescuers who traveled to Turkey to help claim that, with the consent of the administration of the Capital City, namely Nikšić, they had the consent of Prime Minister Dritan Abazović at the time.
Yesterday, the Civic Movement URA, of which Abazović is the president, did not answer questions from the newsroom, among other things, regarding the claim that Abazović approved the departure of firemen-rescuers from Podgorica and Nikšić to Turkey.
"Vijesti" asked Abazović and Adžić, as the then prime minister and minister of ministry, whether, if those two services did not receive their consent, the laws referred to by Injac and Andđušić in the criminal complaint against Janković were thereby violated.
They were also asked whether, if the law was broken, they consider themselves responsible, if they approved the departure of the municipal teams. "Vijesti" also asked them whether, if there is responsibility for the commanders of the municipal protection services, they believe that the mayor of Podgorica at the time must also be held accountable. Ivan Vukovic, that is, the president of the Municipality of Nikšić Marko Kovacevic.
Abazović and Adžić were also asked about the ceremonial reception that was organized in the Government upon the return of the Montenegrin teams and when 52 firefighters-rescuers from all three groups that were in Turkey - the National Team for Search and Rescue from the Ruins, members of the Protection Service received thanks for their humanity and the rescue of the Capital City and the Nikšić Fire and Rescue Service.
"For the heroic act and participation in the search and rescue operation in Turkey after the devastating earthquake in February 2023," it says on the personalized thank-you note, signed by Abazović.
Yesterday, the Capital City did not respond to the questions of "Vijesti" regarding the criminal complaint against Janković.
Among other things, they were asked to comment on the fact that Miodrag Bešović, as acting general director of the Directorate for Emergency Situations of the MUP, has not submitted such a report to date. Injac and Anđušić also did not answer whether charges will be filed against the former mayor Ivan Vuković, Prime Minister Dritan Abazović and the then Minister of the Interior. Filip Adžić.
Janković: I'm waiting for the prosecution's call to finish that story
The municipality of Nikšić did not answer yesterday about the possible responsibility of the first man of the city and the commander of the Fire and Rescue Service of that city.
"There is no way that those managers (in the Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, ed. nov.) understand that we are not 'their' civil protection, but professional fire-rescue units, which have their own hierarchy, which are under local administration and which answer to the founder. We are proud of the help to Turkey, as well as everything our guys did there and how they carried out the entire mission," said the service commander from Nikšić yesterday.
According to "Dana", the report against Janković stated "a series of suspicions of misuse of material and financial resources of the service", and the actions of the Podgorica Service on the day of the parliamentary elections on August 30, 2020 were also included.
Regarding the last one, Janković said that it had already been investigated and dismissed, and regarding the other allegations of the report and the sending of the team to Turkey, he was waiting for a call from the prosecution.
"Let me report properly and finish that story," he told "Vijesti".
Yesterday, the SDT did not respond to the questions of the newsroom regarding the report against Goran Janković.
Janković was the head of the Podgorica Protection and Rescue Service until October 2023, when Injac issued a decision on his dismissal. On December 14, the Government Appeals Commission annulled that decision. The Capital City did not answer earlier whether they had submitted a complaint to the Administrative Court in relation to this.
Since the dismissal of Janković, he has been the acting commander of the Podgorica Protection Service Zdravko Blečić.
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