The Security and Defense Committee is set to open part of its 29th session to the public on May 16. According to the Institute Alternative (IA), only one of the four agenda items is classified.

“The session announcement published on the Parliament’s website indicates that it will take place in a designated room for materials marked with a level of secrecy. In response to the IA’s request for free access to information, it was confirmed that out of the four agenda items, only the information regarding the Police Directorate’s actions related to the tragic event in Cetinje on January 1, 2025, is classified as internal secrecy (decision 39 ‘I’971 of February 3, 2025). This implies that there are no barriers to opening the part of the session where the remaining three agenda items will be discussed with the public,” states the NGO’s media release.

The Institute of Alternatives emphasized that the significance of opening part of the session lies in the findings from their multi-year monitoring of the Committee’s work, which reveals that the Committee for Security and Defense does not formulate conclusions on classified materials and information. They noted that this means that no recommendations for system improvements within the Police Directorate will emerge from the session that addresses vital systemic issues.

“We remind the public that in January of this year, we suggested that Parliament implement control mechanisms and that the Inquiry Committee carry out a thorough analysis of and accountability for the actions of police and other state entities in relation to three tragic incidents with fatal outcomes (January 2025 and August 2022 in Cetinje, as well as 2024 in Bijelo Polje),” the statement concludes.

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