Workshop “Open Data for Good Governance”
Appeal of 11 NGOs – the Government should provide free access to information to the Commission for monitoring cases of attacks on journalists and release reports on the work of the Commission
Eleven NGOs (Human Rights Action, Centre for Civic Education (CCE), Centre for Investigative Journalism, Centre for Monitoring and Research (CEMI), Centre for Women’s and Peace Education ANIMA, Women’s Rights Centre, Institute Alternative, Juventas, Network for Affirmation of NGO Sector (MANS), Women’s Safe House and Association of Youth with Disabilities of Montenegro (AYDM) have sent a letter to the President of the Government of Montenegro, Mr Duško Marković and Vice President of the Government and Minister of Justice, Mr Zoran Pažin, in which they appealed to them to provide conditions for effective work of the Commission and for informing the public on that work.
It was suggested that the Government publishes reports of the Commission and informs the public whether those reports, along with recommendations, were sent to the State Prosecution and Police Directorate, whether the implementation of recommendations has started, and whether any results were achieved, as well as that the Government ensures that the Police Directorate and Ministry of Interior are providing documentation to the Commission without censoring personal names.
It was pointed in the letter that the effective work of the Commission, as well as regular informing of the public on results of such work, is in general interest of respecting human rights and improving trust in work of the Government of Montenegro and other state bodies.
Last Assault of DPS on the Independence of RTCG
We inform the national and international public that Administrative Committee of Parliament of Montenegro continues illegal action in proceedings that are being led towards members of Council of RTCG, exactly in the manner that we warned in our statement from 5 October 2017.
Administrative Committee called upon the member of the Council, Goran Djurovic, to declare himself on all circumstances in relation to the fact that he violated Article 11 and 13 of Law on Prevention of Corruption in the next Committee session, scheduled for 27 December 2017.
We remind that Agency for Prevention of Corruption indisputably ascertained that Goran Djurovic is not in the conflict of interest, which may represent the only legally founded basis for further proceeding of the Administrative Committee in this case. Additionally, Administrative Committee has jurisdiction for application of the Law on National Public Broadcaster Radio and Television of Montenegro, which Goran Djurovic has not violated, and which is also indisputably ascertained in the Decision of Agency for Prevention of Corruption.
Despite the official decision of the Agency, meaning – with no basis whatsoever, Administrative Committee calls upon Djurovic to declare himself. Considering the so far action of this body, we have no dilemma that Committee is preparing itself for initiating proceeding for dismissal of this member of the Council. By its action, except disrespect of the law, Administrative Committee, i.e. the ruling party with the majority in this body, demonstrates force by derogating even official decisions of other institutions in the country – in this case, Agency for Prevention of Corruption, but also by directly jeopardizing independency of public service RTCG.
Initiating proceedings for dismissal of Goran Djurovic would represent a brutal violation of the law for the aforementioned reasons. We have warned about this plan of the Administrative Committee in our reaction in October, while Committee, unfortunately, rather quickly affirmed our suspicions that this is merely an intention to remove free-minded activists of the non-governmental sector from Council of RTCG and establish party control over public service RTCG.
We express concern that ultimate political clash of the ruling party with independent members of the Council of RTCG has begun. For the purpose of this clash, the means are not being chosen any longer, thus, for the purpose of achieving this goal, pro-regime media and institutions have been put into operation.
We expect that national and especially international interested public will follow all further occurrences in regards to pressures on the Council of RTCG and clear attempts to destabilize public service RTCG.
Ana Novakovic, Executive Director, Centre for Development of Non-Governmental Organizations (CDNGO)
Daliborka Uljarevic, Executive Director, Centre for Civic Education (CCE)
Stevo Muk, President of MB, Institute alternative (IA)
Zlatko Vujovic, President of MB, Centre for Monitoring and Research (CEMI)
Presentation of the results of the public opinion survey “Citizens’ Perception of Corruption”
Public opinion survey was conducted by the Ipsos Agency for Institute Alternative, within the project “Towards qualitative signs of the anti-corruption efficacy”, financially supported by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
More than half of the citizens consider institutions corrupt
Institute Alternative research shows that more than half of the citizens consider state institutions generally corrupt while institutions directly in charge of addressing corruption are mostly perceived as ineffective.
“Institutions dealing with corruption issues in public institutions are mostly perceived as protecting the interests of ruling parties’ officials,” stated President of the IA Managing Board, Stevo Muk during the press conference.
IA presented the results of the public opinion survey “Citizens’ Attitudes on Corruption”, conducted on November 7-12, by Ipsos Strategic Marketing for this NGO.
The research was done by the “face to face” method on a representative sample of 1,044 respondents.
Muk stated that when it comes to Montenegrin citizens’ awareness of institutions directly in charge of solving corruption problems in public institutions and impartiality of these institutions with regard to which political option the actors belong, there is a certain mistrust that all participants of political process are treated equally.
“Almost 40 percent of the citizens believe that the ruling parties’ representatives are treated more favorably than other persons,” noted Muk.
Regarding the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (ASK), he stated that the survey results showed that only 22 percent of respondents consider that ASK treats all officials and public servants equally, regardless of party affiliation.
Further, Muk pointed out that nearly a quarter of the citizens – 24 percent, have not heard about the Agency at all.
“Contribution of this institution to the fight against corruption is not recognized by 44 percent of Montenegrin citizens – and if we count out those citizens who have never heard of the Agency as many as 57 percent of them do not consider that the Agency has contributed to the solving of corruption issues,” elaborated Muk .
Speaking about the impartiality of the Special State Prosecutor’s Office (SDT), Muk stated that more than half of the citizens (53 %) consider this institution to treat more preferably public officials currently in power.
“Most Montenegrin citizens do not consider that this institution has contributed to the fight against corruption and organized crime (56%), while the fifth does not recognize any contribution at all of SDT to the solving of this problem,” Muk said.
He assessed the citizens’ attitudes and opinions shown by the research as worrisome and somewhat cautionary.
According to Muk, citizens’ attitudes show that SDT and ASK have failed to credibly convince citizens in their impartial acting.
“We consider that citizens’ attitudes represent a strong demand for these two institutions to get much more dedicated to the fight against corruption at the highest levels of government and among the government officials, which was the basic idea and goal of their establishment,” stated Muk.
Ana Đurnić, public policy researcher at IA, said that more than half of the Montenegrin citizens consider that corruption is present in state institutions as well as in the processes within their remit.
As stated by Đurnić, between one fourth and one fifth of citizens consider these institutions very corrupt.
She stated that the institutions involved in the process of privatization of state property received poorest rating, with 30 percent of citizens saying that the area is very corrupt.
Đurnić said that among the citizens of Montenegro there is opinion that the state institutions are significantly corrupt.
“70% of citizens consider health care providers very corrupt, 67% of them consider the police to be very corrupt, 66% consider corruption very present in state property privatization processes, 63% in local government bodies, 63% in urban planning, 59% in public procurement, 56 % in educational institutions, ” specified Đurnić.
Speaking about the personal experiences of citizens with corruption, she stated that every fifth citizen admitted giving money or gifts in the past year or doing a favor for a civil servant.
“Although most citizens would not give money to a public servant who asks for it, less than half of them categorically claim they would not do it in any case,” said Đurnić.
She assessed that compared to the research data from the previous years, there is neither a constant decline nor a steady increase in how often citizens give money, gifts, or do favors to civil servants.
The event was organised within the project “ Towards Qualitative Signs of the Anti-Corruption Efficacy” implemented by IA with the financial support of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
European Commission to Call Government and Parliament to respect the Law on Public Broadcasting Service (RTCG)
We invite the European Commission to, more vigorously than so far, call upon Government of Montenegro and Parliament of Montenegro to respect the letter and spirit of the Law on public broadcasting services of RTCG.
Proceedings, from mostly bizarre reasons that are formal in nature, that in urgent procedure lead to resolvement in such a Parliament refer to the members of the Council who have indicated a certain level of resistance and contributed to RTCG making first significant steps on the path to establishing a truly public service.
Proposal of the Union of Employers that, on behalf of them, a member of Council of RTCG becomes director of a state enterprise, a party official for decades, basically until yesterday a councillor of Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) and member of Municipal Committee of DPS in Bar, testifies of proportions of party control over various segments of Montenegrin society on detriment of public interest.
Continuous restriction of space for action and influence of critically oriented non-governmental organizations, campaign against Council of RTCG, suspension of work of professional organizations – are only a tip of the iceberg of a systematic resistance of this government to every alternative in the society and the country, which in no manner corresponds to current phase in the negotiation process of Montenegro with the EU, or to the rhetorical advocacy for democratization of society.
Ana Novakovic, Executive Director, Centre for Development of Non-Governmental Organizations (CDNGO)
Daliborka Uljarevic, Executive Director, Centre for Civic Education (CCE)
Vanja Calovic, Executive Director, Network for Affirmation of Non-Governmental Sector (MANS)
Stevo Muk, President of MB, Institute Alternative (IA)
Zlatko Vujovic, President of MB, Centre for Monitoring and Research (CEMI)