Party Marathon Men

When Montenegrin President Momir Bulatovic’s latest "police" bomb turned out to be a dud, the eight-hour fight in Tuesday’s session of the republic’s ruling DPS executive board ended in success. That party body decided to accept Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic’s offer to reshuffle his government in accord with the demands of the party main board but as a more fundamental government reshuffle in about two months. Djukanovic even allowed them to consider toppling state security service chief Vukasin Maras but since Maras isn’t a cabinet member he can be ousted only once his guilt is determined. That could be the introduction to a peaceful end to the current political mess in Montenegro.

The agreement reached by the main board on April 11 and executive board on April 14 was undermined by Bulatovic when he published his letters to the Montenegrin public prosecutor and parliament Speaker Svetozar Marovic suggesting an urgent parliament session to debate the endangering of constitutionally guaranteed civil rights and liberties by the state security service. Following the executive board session on Monday when Djukanovic said Maras can’t be ousted, Bulatovic wrote to Marovic quoting highly confidential documents which said an extended security service board meeting on April 8 had discussed "repressive measures in preventing and pre-empting activities aimed at complicating the security situation in the republic". Bulatovic complained to Marovic that he asked the public prosecutor to look into the matter but hadn’t heard from him and added that he sees no other solution apart from an urgent parliamentary debate since "the rights and freedoms of citizens must not be endangered". In that letter, which he also sent to the media, Bulatovic said he had discussed the issue in a closed door meeting with Marovic and Djukanovic and added that Djukanovic had disagreed completely with his assessment.

The public was upset by those letters but assessments soon followed that the aim wasn’t to show care for the population but to tell them that allegedly not even the police, prime minister or parliament speaker cared about their rights and liberties. That gave everything a new tone.

That topic dominated at the executive board session on April 15 and there were expectations of personnel changes. "You’re to blame for the crisis and breakup of the DPS," Bulatovic shouted at Marovic and Djukanovic. VREME sources said they didn’t keep quiet. At some moment, everyone expected the session to break up, especially when they realized Djukanovic wouldn’t back down. The source said that the further the session went, Bulatovic realized that his support was weakening and his position was growing worse. Djukanovic decided to offer a concession when he saw how strong he was and realized that he could launch a counter-offensive, topple Bulatovic and overpower Milosevic.

Djukanovic then decided to postpone his scheduled press conference (which he had obviously been prepared for considering the 100 pages printed out for reporters).

A DPS main board session was hastily convened and it rejected the main accusations against the prime minister and his associates. The main board said the government was operating along the lines of the DPS program and in accordance with the Montenegrin and federal constitutions.

"I don’t know why they didn’t give up the request for changes in the government since they’re superfluous now when they decided it’s impossible that the deputy PM and ministers worked outside the cabinet," a main board member told VREME.

Another main board member said most of the board members realized the futility of Bulatovic’s accusations.

Given that mood, with no one willing to listen to federal Defense Minister Pavle Bulatovic, Djukanovic said he would reconstruct the government after all but in two months, which the people who gave the orders against him think is too long, a VREME source said. That gesture made Djukanovic even stronger in the party.

"The police, i.e. security service, thing could final cost Bulatovic his position," the source said. Bulatovic left traces of his intention to attack the police at the April 11 main board session when he said Montenegro was not a democratic country because the police is doing what it wants while he has no information about it or control over it. Deputy PM Miodrag Vukovic interrupted him to recall that the opposition had insisted on giving parliament control over the police. "The last time they proposed that we refused," he told the president.

That same day, Bulatovic sent a letter to public prosecutor Vlada Susovic, demanding an investigation into the security service. On Monday, he sent his letter to Marovic and the media. Susovic responded on Tuesday afternoon with a public statement, saying his detailed investigation determined that the security service did nothing against the law.

Marovic’s statement also showed things are going badly for Bulatovic. He told Nasa Borba that you can’t draw conclusion from a photocopy of the agenda for a security service board meeting.

Bulatovic couldn’t hide the damage and, after the main board session, he issued a public statement signed by his cabinet chief Zoran Celebic, saying the public prosecutor’s statement presented only a part of the findings he sent to the president. The statement said Susovic first phoned Bulatovic on Monday, April 14 at noon. Bulatovic said he refused the public prosecutor’s offer to consult about the whole thing.

While this article is being written, no information is available on whether and how Susovic will react to Bulatovic’s actions.

Informed sources said a no holds barred clash is coming because, allegedly, Bulatovic got Susovic’s findings before he made his letter public. In fact, Susovic got the letter from Bulatovic on Friday, April 11. He went to work on Monday and sent his reply to the president before Bulatovic decided to upset the public and demand a parliament session.

Djukanovic said in public that suspicion and accusations should stop as did Marovic who added that someone on the outside wants just that.

There were no rational reasons to clash and VREME sources said the latest DPS executive board session heard opinions that the whole mess was orchestrated by Slobodan Milosevic to weaken the authorities in Montenegro.

Those sources said Bulatovic called Djukanovic and Marovic to resign on Tuesday but even his closest associates were worried about his behavior, loss of concentration, growing impatience and changes in his stands. One source said he can’t seem to get anything right ever since he was told that Milosevic would take over a federal president in May without changing the federal constitution but wouldn’t be taking Bulatovic along.

To date, Bulatovic had strong leverage in the authorities thanks to good relations with Djukanovic and Marovic. Under the law his position is that of a "weak" president and his associates have started invoking the constitution in this clash and it says his hands are virtually tied. The loss of support in the party makes him powerless.