PM Marković in Danilograd: We have motivated self-government leadership and Government ready to help

Danilovgrad, Montenegro (11 December 2018) – Prime Minister Duško Marković paid visit to Danilovgrad, where he met with President of the Municipality of Danilovgrad Zorica Kovačević. The Prime Minister laid the cornerstone of the residential building for the needs of the Ministry of Defence and the Army of Montenegro and opened the reconstructed bridge "Radovan Pavićević". At the end of his working visit to Danilovgrad, PM Marković noted that this municipality has a serious development perspective thanks to the motivated leadership of the local self-government, adding that the Government is ready to support its efforts.

I am particularly pleased about the signed contract for the construction of a sewage treatment plant and sewerage system. This is an important issue; it is not just the utility infrastructure object, it is also a development issue, especially in the context of the opened Chapter 27, which happened yesterday in Brussels. The Government will do its best to contribute to a high-quality and quick implementation of this project, not only when it comes to the city and its vicinity, but also to the protection of the Zeta River, the Prime Minister said.

President of the Municipality of Danilovgrad Zorica Kovačević thanked the Prime Minister for the support given to Danilovgrad.

At the end of his visit, Prime Minister Marković responded to the journalists' questions. He said that he had the opportunity to hear the opinions and polemic of the professional and lay public about the legality and constitutionality of the Decision by which deputies are sent in prison for refusing to testify in court.



Regardless of the fact that I respect all those people who have spoken about this topic, and that I am a lawyer, the only one who is authorised to evaluate the constitutionality of acts in Montenegro, and individual decisions in these acts is the Constitutional Court. We all need to let the Constitutional Court decide on such initiatives and say whether it is a constitutional decision or not. In any case, it is a legal decision, the Court of Appeal acted under the authority given by the Law and one cannot speak of an illegal decision, but only debate whether this decision is constitutional, the Prime Minister said.

PM Marković said that the decision is within the jurisdiction of the judiciary and that the decision of the Constitutional Court should be awaited.

We have a decision of the judiciary and according to the legal procedure everyone who has a different opinion should prove that their opinion is based on the constitution and the law. But I agree with you that this has disturbed the good environment that we established in the Parliament through the formation of a working group that aimed to work on changes in electoral legislation. I believe that there will be a solution to this situation, but we all need to learn from this situation, politicians and lawyers and citizens, it is not allowed in developed democracies to accuse someone for the most serious, for the worst crimes and do not offer evidence for it. You are not accusing Milivoje Katnić as a citizen, you are accusing Milivoje Katnić as a state prosecutor, that is, the institution of Montenegro, the institution that runs a specific case, one of the most important cases in the legal practice of Montenegro, the Prime Minister emphasised.

Asked to comment on Nebojša Medojević's remarks that Deputy Prime Minister Zoran Pažin is behind the latest events, PM Marković said that the Government is not going to deny his allegations.

If we deny Mr. Medojević's allegations, the Government would only issue denials. It is a politician who is inclined to make allegations which are not based on facts, the Prime Minister noted.

Responding to the journalist's question whether the state of Serbia replied to Montenegro on a diplomatic note related to the accused Branka Milić who is at the Embassy of the Republic of Serbia, he said that the Government sent a diplomatic note, but the answer did not arrive.

We will be patient, we are waiting for the reaction of the Republic of Serbia, the Serbian authorities and depending on this reaction we will act in accordance with our interests and our legislation, Prime Minister Marković said.

PHOTO: PM Marković pays working visit to Danilovgrad

PHOTO: PM Marković meets with leadership of the Municipality of Danilovgrad

VIDEO: https://youtu.be/_0MzjZZKsPY

PUBLIC RELATIONS SERVICE OF THE GOVERNMENT OF MONTENEGRO

For full press release in the Montenegrin language please click here.