After yesterday’s vote in the Parliament of Montenegro, it is clear that there is a new majority that is, regardless of the laws and regulations, ready to meet all the wishes of investors. The enactment of the Law on Energy, the decision on the projects “Kraljicina Plaza” and “Mamula” represent classic betrayal of public interest for political and profit goals of the power elite.
When it comes to the Law on Energy, MANS for months warned about the harmful effects of the decision that the Government anticipated in the new text of the law, trying through deputies to amend and improve the document, but all that was not enough to put the public interest ahead of the interests of the energy lobbies whose individual parts have direct links and with the Prime Minister Djukanovic. There is no doubt that even members of the Parliament who voted for this law recognized its harmfulness, but unfortunately this time the political calculations and compromises were above the obligation to protect the public interest.
Regarding the decision on the projects “Kraljicina plaza” and “Mamula” we regret we have to note that this is a classic betrayal of public interests conducted by the DPS in cooperation with its political satellites, which since yesterday indisputably belongs and Positive Montenegro.
MANS before voting for this decision warned that those who will support these projects, contrary to what they voted in July, will have to explain to the public why and what was the reason of their motivation to take such a step. The only party that yesterday voted contrary to what was previously declared, is precisely Positive Montenegro. The members of this party are also and the members of the Parliament who, at least officially, had direct meetings with representatives of the company “Adriatic Properties”.
The vote process of Positive Montenegro was preceded by “their” amendments to the text of the annexes to the “Kraljicinu”, which were first greeted with hostility by the Government and investors in order to label this party as “protector of the public interest”, and to mitigate the fact that it is a classic act of betrayal. Only a day after, on the eve of the vote, the Government and the investor evaluated amendments of Positive as acceptable, and they become an integral part of the Decision on the annex for “Kraljicinu”. We believe that was unskilled preparation of the ground for what happened yesterday in the Parliament, and we have already warned the public that these are amendments which are totally acceptable to all sides.
Instead explanations for their acts, from the members of the Positive we received an unprecedented demagoguery and replacement of theses with allegedly inviting prosecution to investigate all the things that happened with the “Kraljicinom plazom”.
It is not clear how the extension of the contractual relationship between those who are responsible for the situation in Sveti Stefan contributes to the fight against corruption and represents the basis for the fight against organized crime, according to the member of Positive Azra Jasavic.
We believe that the fundamental logic dictates that the support of a single document as it is the controversial Annex, should be conditioned with opening of an investigation on the issue on which why no one in the Government is not held accountable for mismanagement of contract and why no one from the Adriatic Properties has been punished for violating of laws and regulations. Instead, Positive decided that a contractual relationship between such actors further extend, with reduced rent price and many other benefits.
Statement of the delegates that with such voting “save” citizens from paying the arbitration in millions, is just an ordered story of the Government and investors with the intention to create an atmosphere of fear and to justify an act of classic betrayal of the public interest.
With its voting Positive party did not protect anyone from the arbitration, except that helped the Government and representatives of “Adriatic Properties” to jointly align and cover up everything that they did illegally for years in Sveti Stefan.
MANS is not interested with speculation whether the deputies of Positive had and how much of material or other benefits from the Government, the DPS or investors, but we will leave it to the state prosecutor to determine. What is indisputable, key motive of deputies of Positive to change their opinion in any case could not be a public interest and the protection of citizens.
MANS therefore called on deputies of Positive to openly, without demagoguery and replacement thesis, explain to the citizens of Montenegro, why, as alleged opposition party, they made themselves available to the Government and the company “Adriatic Properties” in order to satisfy their profit and political interests.
Dejan Milovac
Director of the Research Center
MANS
