Koprivica: Publish documentation on granting consent for the monument to Amfilohi

The lack of information or concealment of key data not only undermines citizens' trust in institutions, but also opens up space for manipulations, non-transparent pressures and abuse of power, the CDT says.

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Koprivica, Photo: CDT
Koprivica, Photo: CDT
Disclaimer: The translations are mostly done through AI translator and might not be 100% accurate.

The Center for Democratic Transition (CDT) called on the Ministry of Culture and Media to respect the Law on Free Access to Information and to respond within the legal deadline to the request for free access to information sent on September 20.

CDT Executive Director Dragan Koprivica recalls that at that time they asked to provide them with all relevant documents and information about the process of making a decision on the request for consent to erect a memorial to the former Metropolitan of the Montenegrin littoral SPC Amfilohi in Berane.

"The legal deadline for the submission of the answer by the ministry expires on Monday. Although we publicly appealed to the ministry not to wait for the final legal deadline for the delivery of information, and to inform not only us but also numerous interested media and the general public about this topic, until today on our address, no response was received," Koprivica announced.

He recalls that they asked for authentic copies of: the original decision on the request for consent from August 21, which was annulled; requests and additions to the request of the Municipality of Berana for the erection of a memorial; copies of the minutes from the sessions and possible individual statements of the members of the Commission for Monuments of the Ministry of Culture and Media, which considered the request; as well as acts on the formation of that commission and the appointment of its members.

"In democratic and orderly countries, decisions are made on the basis of regulations, rules and procedures. Citizens have the inalienable right to know whether the procedures were followed, how the process went, what were the views of the members of the expert committee of the Ministry, and on what basis and why there was a change of decision in the course of one afternoon," said Koprivica.

He says that the lack of information or concealment of key data not only undermines citizens' trust in institutions, but also opens up space for manipulations, non-transparent pressures and abuse of power.

"In a civil and legally regulated state, decisions must not be made based on the demands and pressure of any interest group, especially religious communities, but exclusively in accordance with the law, expertise and clear public interest. Any deviation from these principles is a danger to the democratic order and leads us towards irresponsible governance based on favoring certain interests, instead of respecting the rule of law," the statement concluded.

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