Director of Police Directorate, Veselin Veljović yesterday stated that the management of that institutions, “registered” activities of non-governmental organizations that “corruptive behavior gives unrealistic dimensions” as “behavior and activities conducted in order to cause harm the state and citizens”.
In addition to fact that Mr, Veljovic characterized us as enemies of the state, the director of police indirectly accused us of espionage, noting that the damage to state and the citizens is done in accordance to someone’s instructions.
We expect that Director of Police will inform us about facts and concrete data on which such claim is based and as well as strong public charges on work of organization with whose representatives he participate in the work of the National Commission for Fight Against Corruption and Organized crime. We also expect that he will initiate the procedure for elimination of state enemies from that body.
We hope that Mr. Veljović will soon provide us with an official information about the measures that his institution is conducting over us after we were “registered” as harmful to the state, in case that publishing these data would not violate national security or investigation that Police Department may lead against MANS -a.
Also, we expect clarification on whether director of the Police claims that we are instructed by someone based on its own operational knowledge or that he received those information from the Agency for National Security, whether one of these institutions is implementing measures of tracking and taping over MANS , as well as whether there will be and when submitted criminal appeal against us and our instructors.
Otherwise, statements of the Police director are only political attempt to justify lack of his own results with well-known communist police techniques and theory of conspiracy against the state interests.
We are fully aware that is for the director easier to deal with the MANS then criminals, but it is worrying that the institution for which citizens annually pay over 80 millions of EUR, represents a threat to their rights and freedoms and that police capacities are dedicated to the intimidation of the non-governmental sector.
This is not the first time that state officials directly and indirectly accuse, insult and intimidate NGO sector, but it is the first time that the director of police personally, publicly and officially announces that findings of his institution are marking some non-governmental organizations applied as harmful for the state and citizens.
Although Mr. Veljović stated “that we should think about what he said”, MANS will certainly not adapt to police perception of the obedient NGO. Since his statements we perceive as obvious continuation of pressure, intimidation and dealing with part of society that dares to point out the corruption and organized crime, MANS inform all relevant international institutions about his democratic capacities, with risk that even these activities could be defined as subversive action.
Vanja Ćalović
Executive Director
Member of the National Commission for Fight Against Corruption and Organized Crime
