A parliamentary inquiry committee investigating attacks on journalists in Montenegro will question former president Milo Djukanovic, lawmakers said on Friday, following a unanimous vote at a session of the panel.
The proposal to summon Djukanovic was put forward by Democrat lawmaker Momčilo Leković and received backing from all members present.
Leković said Djukanovic should testify after publicly denying the existence of a so-called “seventh department”. At the same time, former head of the National Security Agency and ex-prime minister Duško Marković has claimed the unit did exist.
“I wanted to allow him to explain many of the allegations we have heard before this committee, as well as over the past 20 years,” Leković said. He added that he had expected members of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), Djukanovic’s party, to propose the initiative themselves.
Leković said Djukanovic, who held senior state positions for decades, “had to be familiar with these matters,” and called for the hearing to take place within the next 10 days, “without tensions.”
“This would be purposeful for the work of this committee and for the future of the state,” he said.
DPS lawmaker Oskar Huter criticised the move, saying he had initially expected the committee to focus on its original mandate. He suggested the decision to summon Djukanovic was aimed at boosting public interest in the panel’s work.
“It appears that the thirty-year archive has been exhausted and we are moving on to new topics,” Huter said, adding that current challenges in the security sector may have reduced public attention on the committee.
He said he understood that some members of the public wanted to see Djukanovic testify, but questioned the broader purpose of the move.
The head of the inquiry committee, Andrija Nikolić, said the date of the hearing would be announced at a later stage.