RESPONSE: There is no and should not be any secret in war crimes victims compensation data

On the occasion of the statement issued by the Serbian state agency Tanjug, which is broadcast by numerous media outlets in the region, referring to a certain BIRN portal, that the Government of Montenegro stated in a report that it would pay EUR 1.35 million in compensation for the victims of the crimes committed in the 1990s on the territory of Montenegro and that it is written in the Report to which "BIRN had insight", in order to correctly and completely inform the public, we announce that there is no secret report, that all Government reports on this topic are public and available on the Government portal www.gov.me.

At its 36th session, held on 27 July 2017, the Government of Montenegro adopted the Fifth Semi-annual Report on the Implementation of the Action Plan for the Negotiating Chapter 23 – Judiciary and Fundamental Rights for the period January – June 2017 with the Second Semi-annual Report on the Implementation of the Operational Document for the prevention of corruption in areas of special risk – Annex of the Action Plan for the Negotiation Chapter 23.

The report was published the same day.

All material is available in Montenegrin. (Link to the material and conclusions of the 36th Cabinet session of the Government of Montenegro: http://www.gov.me/sjednice_vlade_2016/36; Link to the Report: http://www.gov.me/ResourceManager/FileDownload.aspx?rId=282747&rType=2)

The information in question can be found on page 36 of the document.

Therefore, it is not a question of any secret information or a document in which someone had to "have an insight" in order to publish something about it is, but it is a public document published almost a month and a half ago on the web portal of the Government of Montenegro.

Using sensationalist media approach and insinuating that it is a classified information and document, they try to drag Montenegro – whose government is the most transparent in the region – into the political polemic it has overcome through the already seen matrix.

The policy of responsible dealing with its own past, which implies adequate compensation award for victims, as well as the need to fulfill its obligations as a legal state, has long been recognised as a feature of Montenegro's policy beyond our borders. This policy is also a confirmation of Montenegro's stride.

PUBLIC RELATIONS SERVICE OF THE GOVERNMENT OF MONTENEGRO