The majority of the members of the Committee for International Relations and Emigrants present voted in favor of appointing Olivera Injac as Ambassador of Montenegro to Belgium.
The only one who voted against was Nikola Zirojević, a Social Democrat (SD) MP.
The Parliamentary Committee on International Relations and Emigrants discussed today the appointment of Injac as ambassador to Belgium.
Flow of discussion
Zirojević said at the session that there is only one institution where Injac should be, "and it is certainly not outside of Montenegro."
Zirojević said that there are many reasons why Injac should not represent Montenegro anywhere, saying that Injac, during her term as Minister of Defense, carried out the "persecution of Montenegrins" in the Army of Montenegro.
"The best example is soldier Bojan Zvicer, whom you expelled from the Army with a dishonorable discharge. At that time, as confirmed by the Budget Inspection's findings, you spent money for no purpose, which is why we still have no response from those institutions that should be dealing with this, while in some cases we have express actions carried out for much less," he assessed.
He said that Injac then represented Montenegro as "a small state that has no influence on anything", and that when asked questions about Russia's aggression against Ukraine, she said that "others should ask that".
He said that numerous cases have been filed against her for illegal employment and abuse of official position.
Zirojević said that in 2021, the then Chief of the General Staff of the Army of Montenegro ordered that priests of "that religious organization that European parliamentarians assess as a center for the spread of malignant Russian influence in the Balkans" be transported to Cetinje by "NATO helicopters."
He said that the consequence of this was the "shameful suspension" of pilots Vlahović and Delević, who refused to "carry out that transport."
Speaking about Injac's term as mayor of the capital, the SD MP said that she acted similarly there as she did in the Ministry of Defense, stating that, in his opinion, there is only one institution where Injac should be, "and it is certainly not outside of Montenegro."
Injac: I had a really wide range of activities in cooperation with universities and military academies
After the agenda was adopted, Injac said that in the previous 20 years she had had contacts and cooperation with various institutions from Europe and the United States of America (USA) "regarding various areas of international relations."
"... With the greatest focus on Montenegro and the Western Balkans region, on topics that were within the scope of my scientific research work. I had a truly large scope of activities in cooperation with universities and military academies through work on projects, monographs," said Injac.
She pointed out that through networking with these institutions, she had the opportunity to work on many topics that are important in the 21st century, adding that as Minister of Defense and Mayor of Podgorica, she "received numerous praise" in the area of bilateral and multilateral cooperation.
She said that she had had good cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs over the last two decades.
Speaking about the current cooperation with Belgium and Luxembourg (where she would be the ambassador on a non-residential basis), Injac noted that improving relations with those two countries is important, and that political dialogue has existed since Montenegro regained its independence in 2006.
"I have identified that there is room to intensify this cooperation and expand its scope, I have great motivation to work on it dedicatedly in the coming period, which is crucial for Montenegro's integration into the European Union (EU). Diplomatic relations are stable and constructive, and my intention is to strengthen economic cooperation, in the energy sector, tourism, port cooperation, IT industry...", added Injac.
She said that there are possibilities for establishing a permanent air route with Brussels, as well as with Luxembourg.
Zirojević asked why the board session from April 24th was not held, at which, he said, three career diplomats were to be elected to serve in the embassies in Sofia, Zagreb and The Hague, stating that the reason for the failure was the lack of a quorum.
Committee President Duško Stjepović responded that his assessment, according to informal information, was that there was a quorum for today's session, and that he did not want to "waste people."
Zirojević replied that he could have scheduled another session after this one, and then asked whether the quorum for today's session was specifically for Injac, or whether it could have also been for the election of career diplomats.
Injac: It is estimated that there are around 2.500 members of the diaspora in Belgium
Europe Now (PES) MP Nađa Laković said she believes Injac will promote Montenegro in the best light, asking what steps she would take to better connect with the Montenegrin diaspora in Belgium, and how she plans to promote Montenegrin culture and tourism in that country.
Injac responded that her goal is to improve the promotion of Montenegro through public diplomacy, and that it is estimated that there are around 2.500 members of the diaspora in Belgium.
"There is room for improving these ideas and plans, it will be my honor to work on it, ideas will be developed, to present Montenegro as the next EU member," Injac said.
Injac: Inappropriate attacks that could be classified as a type of sexism
Injac said she was surprised that the parliamentary committee was not a political arena, and that "somewhat inappropriate attacks, which exceed the limits of good taste, can be classified as a kind of sexism."
She said that she would not comment on Zirojević's comments and that she was proud of her work.
"These proceedings are ongoing, I have nothing to fear, we need to let the competent authorities do their job. You made accusations that were carried by a part of the media, which are on the verge of disinformation and hate speech," she said.
The Chairman of the Committee, Stjepović, told Injac that they were in parliament, and that a political discussion was taking place there, but that he had not noticed any sexism.
Zirojević said that he did not care what gender Injac was, and that the fact that, in his opinion, she was a bad Minister of Defense was the only subject of his presentation.
"It's easiest when the facts are presented, to accuse someone of sexism," he said.
He said he would vote against Injac's appointment with "great pleasure."
Seid Hadžić (Europe Now Movement) said that Injac has an enviable biography, a background in academic education, and that this "very strongly qualifies her" to be the ambassador to Belgium.
He stated that it is important that each of the candidates for ambassador represents the country in the best possible way, and that it is important to him that no competent judicial institution has issued a final decision against Injac.
"I want to wish you luck and I will be happy to vote for you to be ambassador to Brussels," Hadžić said.
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