The Protection and Rescue Directorate once warned the leaders of the Podgorica and Nikšić protection and rescue services about the procedures for sending rescuers to Turkey after the devastating earthquake last February, but despite that, they never raised the issue of responsibility.
This was officially confirmed to "Vijesta" from the Department Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MUP), which he heads Miodrag Bešović.
The acting director of that service said yesterday that it was related to the actions of the then commander of the Protection and Rescue Service of the Capital City Goran Janković, the Directorate "requested data through inspection".
"But he did not initiate proceedings regarding this event," he said.
He also explained that the inspection supervision in the Podgorica Service was carried out based on the initiative of the mayor Oliver Injac, from July 31, 2023.
"As far as the Nikšić Service is concerned, we inform you that the initiative for an inspection was not initiated, and it was not carried out," said Bešović.
"Vijesti" asked about the possible responsibility of these two protection and rescue services for sending teams to Turkey after a criminal complaint was filed against the former commander of the rescuers from Podgorica, among other reasons.
In the earthquake that hit that country and Syria on February 6 last year, more than 55.000 people died.
The report against Janković was submitted to the Special State Prosecutor's Office (SDT) on February 5 by Injac and the secretary for local self-government and cooperation with civil society of the Capital City. Slađana Anđušić.
The SDT, as "Dan" announced yesterday, opened a criminal case. "Vijesti" did not answer the questions sent two days ago.
"Immediately after the information about the earthquake in the Republic of Turkey, we in the Directorate raised operational readiness in order to make adequate decisions regarding aid to the affected country. After an official request for international assistance through the European Response and Coordination Center (ERCC), which goes through the OKC 112 Directorate, and in consultation with the Minister of the Interior (then Filip Adzić, prim. nov), the procedure of writing Information was entered in order to adopt the Government's Decision to send the Montenegrin team to the affected area. At the same time, the mobilization and preparation of the team for protection and rescue from the ruins was being done," said Bešović, among other things, in his reply to "Vijesta", explaining what happened in February last year.
The mobilization and deployment of the team, he added, is done on the basis of the earthquake protection and rescue training database.
"And they are the only criteria on the basis of which members of the protection and rescue system are delegated to provide international assistance. As is the practice, on February 6, 2, we sent a written request to the Protection and Rescue Service of the Capital City of Podgorica to delegate two representatives, to which we were told that those appointed to the Republic of Turkey will be sent as part of the Capital City team. In the meantime, the Government's decision was exclusively related to the protection and rescue team that was sent to the Republic of Turkey by the Ministry of Internal Affairs - Directorate for Protection and Rescue," he added.
As he said, at that time the protection and rescue services of the Capital City and the Municipality of Nikšić were warned about the procedures for sending aid based on the request for aid through ERCC.
"However, despite this warning, a team composed of representatives of the Protection and Rescue Service of the Capital City and the Protection and Rescue Service of the Municipality of Nikšić went to the Republic of Turkey, where they were involved in field work in the city of Kahramanmaras," said Bešović.
When asked whether the Directorate made an official decision due to violation of procedures or filed a report in relation to, specifically, Janković's actions, Bešović said that the Directorate "requested data through an inspection... but did not initiate proceedings regarding this event".
He also said that the Nikšić service did not seek and receive the consent of the Directorate to go to Turkey.
"The Nikšić Protection and Rescue Service is a local service managed and coordinated by the President of the Municipality of Nikšić, who did not officially ask for permission to go on the stated mission. Despite this, the Directorate was in communication with the head of the Service, he was warned about the obligation to comply with the necessary procedures, to which he replied that the Service has the consent of the President of the Municipality of Nikšić to send its team", said Bešović.
The Directorate for Protection and Rescue of the MUP was also asked what the difference was in the way the firefighters-rescuers from Podgorica and Nikšić went to Turkey.
"The difference between these teams is that the Protection and Rescue Service of the Capital City of Podgorica asked for consent from the Directorate, which, despite the negative opinion on the consent, still took the team to Turkey, while the team from the Protection and Rescue Service Nikšić did not officially request permission to leave team for protection and rescue from the ruins to Turkey," Bešović told "Vijesta".
Inspection supervision
In relation to the inspection of the Podgorica Protection Service initiated by Olivera Injac, Bešović said yesterday that the inspector of the Directorate acted on his initiative on 29 August 8.
"An inspection was requested, because the work report for 2022 was not adopted, and among other things, it was requested to submit the unified Rulebook on the internal organization and systematization of the workplaces of the Protection Service, with the corresponding approvals that it was adopted, as well as certificates of completed training for members of the Service", he said and added that the Podgorica Service was then ordered to remove six identified irregularities and was given a deadline of 30 days to do so.
In the minutes after that inspection, which "Vijesti" had access to, nothing specifically related to the trip to Turkey was mentioned as an irregularity. According to the same document, Janković, among other things, also stated that the request for help after the earthquake was sent to the Podgorica Service by the Embassy of Turkey, which organized the trip, that the then mayor Ivan Vukovic and Abazović gave verbal consent, and that all members of the Capital City Protection Service signed a declaration of voluntary participation.
"On the occasion of the aforementioned activities, Prime Minister Abazović and other representatives of the Government presented certificates of appreciation to our members of the Service," said Janković.
Even yesterday, Abazović and Adžić did not answer the questions about the possible and personal responsibility of the rescuers from Podgorica and Nikšić.
After returning from the mission, apart from Podgorica, awards were also presented to Nikšić, as well as to the rescuers of the team organized by the Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Desire is one thing, rules are another
"Of course, the desire and intention of all firefighters-rescuers from the aforementioned services is not questionable, nor is it the desire to diminish or favor someone's work, but it is necessary to know that even in such difficult moments, especially when it comes to very dangerous protection and rescue actions which are carried out on the territory of another country, in accordance with international and their legal regulations, it is necessary to follow the procedures that guarantee the success of the mission for which the teams are sent", said Bešović.
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