Only one of the four items on the agenda is marked as classified, which is why we believe that the Security and Defence Committee should open to the public the part of its 29th session scheduled for 16 May.
The agenda includes information regarding the actions of the police in relation to the tragic event in Cetinje in 2022, the activities undertaken by the Police Directorate concerning the incident in Cetinje on 1 January 2025, as well as information on the determination of security impediments for police officers, and on the recruitment process of Ministry of Interior police members and related procedures.
According to the session announcement published on the Parliament’s website, the meeting is planned to be held in a room intended for the review of classified materials. However, according to the response obtained by IA through a request for access to information, of the four agenda items listed, only the information on the activities undertaken by the Police Directorate concerning the tragic event in Cetinje on 1 January 2025 is marked as classified with the level “Internal” (Decision No. 39 “I”971 of 3 February 2025). This means there are no obstacles to opening the part of the session discussing the remaining three items to the public.
The importance of opening part of the session is further underscored by our years-long monitoring of this Committee’s work, which has shown that the Security and Defence Committee does not adopt conclusions on materials and information marked as classified. This implies that following this session—focused on key systemic problems within the Police Directorate—there will again be no recommendations for improving the system in this area.
We remind the public that in January this year, we proposed that Parliament activate oversight mechanisms and establish an Inquiry Committee to conduct a comprehensive analysis and determine accountability regarding the actions of the police and other state authorities in relation to three tragic events with fatal consequences (those of January 2025 and August 2022 in Cetinje, and of 2024 in Bijelo Polje).