Atomic and public shelters in Montenegro are not in operation and would not be able to provide shelter to citizens in case of war or some other emergency situation.
"News" was confirmed by the Ministry of the Interior that nothing has been invested in the shelters for twenty years and that many of them do not even have doors.
It is about 183 shelters, built in Montenegro during the former Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRJ).
Montenegro has been a NATO member since 2017, but in the last two decades it has invested practically nothing to adequately equip nuclear and public shelters and preserve them from further deterioration.
NATO does not oblige member states to build shelters, but it has a principle of building resilience that is rooted in Article 3 of the North Atlantic Treaty. In that article, it is stated that the signatories of the treaty, in order to more effectively achieve its goals, "individually and jointly, through continuous and effective self-help and mutual assistance, will maintain and develop their individual and collective capacities to resist armed attack".
And while some NATO members are building new and modernizing old shelters after the Russian aggression against Ukraine, there is no electricity in the part of the atomic shelter in the heart of Podgorica. It used to be a shopping center.
The "Vijesti" reporters were convinced that every purpose of the shelter was just an outline of the past and witnessed the state in which it is today. Protection and rescue equipment, dusty computer cases, document folders, cardboard boxes, but also unpacked printers in a huge, half-lit room that feels damp. A few smaller archive rooms with items to be written off, as well as other rooms, are what is hidden behind the outer doors of the nuclear shelter in the center of the city, which have been locked for years.
Garbage, broken glass, empty cans, cans in the shelter area, and that problem, as told to the journalists, no one can solve. During the tour, the reporters were told that they could only visit one part, because in the other, as the guides from the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MUP) said, nothing could be seen due to the lack of electricity.
The Podgorica atomic shelter is one of the many in Montenegro that, the Ministry of Internal Affairs told the newsroom, had not been invested in for years, so in case of emergency, citizens would hardly be able to find salvation in it.
Places for 27.500 people, but...
There are 183 atomic shelters on the territory of Montenegro, and during the former SFRY, "23 public shelters were built".
If they were functional, there would be room for more than 27.500 citizens in case of need.
After reviewing the state of the shelters in Montenegro, it was concluded that a large number of them lack doors, electrical and plumbing installations, that the ventilation systems are damaged, that unscrupulous citizens dispose of large amounts of garbage in front of the shelters...
From the department Danilo Saranovic In response to questions, they told "Vijesti" that, as far as the maintenance of the shelter is concerned, no financial resources have been invested so far in order to bring at least part of it to its intended purpose.
"23 public shelters with around 4.700 shelter places were built in Montenegro; 105 block and home shelters with around 16.277 shelter places; 46 shelters in the facilities of companies, other legal entities and state bodies with around 6.725 shelter places and family shelters", the MUP replied.
They also state that the Government Decree on Amendments and Supplements to the Decree on the Organization and Mode of State Administration, from September 2006, defined the takeover of civil protection tasks from the then Ministry of Defense of Serbia and Montenegro, as well as all shelters for which the previous Ministry of Defense was responsible ...
Out of the total number, 18 shelters are owned by the MUP, while the others should be taken care of, as they say, by the Property Administration.
The Podgorica regional unit includes the municipalities of Podgorica, Cetinje, Danilovgrad and Kolašin and has a total of 57 shelters. The Nikšić regional unit includes 19 shelters, while the Bjelopolje one has slightly less - 13. The Pljeval regional unit has 23, and the Bar one has 30 shelters. Hercegnovska has 32 shelters, and the Bar district unit has the fewest - only nine.
"During the previous period, a detailed inspection of the shelters in Montenegro was carried out on several occasions, with the aim of a detailed overview of the condition of the shelters and proposing their future purpose. After reviewing the condition of the shelters in Montenegro, it was found that a large number of them are missing doors, electrical and plumbing installations, the ventilation systems are damaged, large amounts of garbage are dumped in and in front of the shelters by unscrupulous citizens...", say the MUP.
They add that the shelters owned by the MUP are used to house equipment and means of action in case of various types of natural disasters, technical-technological and other accidents.
Warehouse for equipment and means for protection and rescue
During the tour, the "Vijesti" team was confirmed that the shelter currently serves as a warehouse, and the Ministry said that "equipment and means for protection and rescue are stored there."
According to them, the authorities are constantly visiting and checking the condition of the shelter in the city center.
"The Directorate for Protection uses the listed shelters as warehouse space, which implies a constant insight into their condition, while we have no information about the shelters that are owned by the Property Administration," they explained to "Vijesta".
The Ministry of Interior confirms that the shelter in the city center has not been adequately maintained for years.
"Unfortunately, since the time of their construction, the maintenance of the shelters has not been done adequately in order to serve the purpose for which they were built. In order to bring them to their intended purpose, it is necessary to make a detailed analysis that would give a clearer picture of their condition and the amount of material resources necessary for their adaptation or reconstruction", they emphasized.
Shelters for rent, but to be ready for 24 hours, if needed
Answering the questions of "Vijesti" whether shelters can be leased and what the situation was like in the past, the Ministry says that they can be leased "after a procedure that includes a public tender".
"After the procedure has been carried out, contracts are drawn up with the selected tenants, which are signed by the Minister of the Interior, on behalf of the Ministry on the one hand, and the tenants on the other. The contract always specifies that, in case of need, the shelter must be restored to its original state within 24 hours, in order to serve its basic purpose," the MUP pointed out.
They explained that a copy of the signed contracts is forwarded to the Ministry of Finance, which it heads Novica Vuković, who, as they say, is responsible for monitoring tenants' payments.
"Until now, we have had several requests from interested parties to rent individual shelters on the territory of the Capital City of Podgorica. "A part of the interested parties gave up after looking at the state of the shelters," concluded the Ministry of the Interior.
NATO: National responsibility and collective obligation
On the NATO website, it is written that resilience is a national responsibility and a collective obligation.
"Each ally must be sufficiently prepared and adaptable to face the entire spectrum of crises foreseen by the Alliance. At the same time, each Ally's individual commitment to maintaining and strengthening its resilience reduces the vulnerability of NATO as a whole.'
It added that military efforts to defend NATO's territory and population must be complemented by strong civilian preparedness, in order to reduce potential vulnerabilities and the risk of attack in peace, crisis and conflict.
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