U utorak će na Harimanovom institutu Univerzitetu Kolumbia u Njujorku biti prikazan dokumentarni film "Solana, u mreži privatnih interesa."

Dokumentarac u produkciji Centra za istraživačko novinarstvo Crne Gore i TV Vijesti koji je prikazan prije nekoliko mjeseci u Crnoj Gori, govori o propasti ulcinjske Solane koja je gotovo uvijek bila jedna od najznačajnijih preduzeća na jugu Jadrana, od koje su živjele generacije.

Solana je na daleko poznata po svom biodiverziteu. Kompleks od oko 15 kvadratnih kilometara jedno je od najznačajnijih evropskih staništa pojedinih vrsta ptica.

Već nekoliko godina, nakon naopake privatizacije i stečaja, u Ulcinju se ne proizvodi so, što ugrožava privredu tog grada, ali i opstanak ptica, od kojih su najpoznatiji i najatraktivniji flamingosi, čiji se broj dramatično smanjuje iz godine u godinu.

Film Solana, u mreži privatnih interesa, govori o tome kako visoka korupcija ekonosmki uništava živote i razara prirodu, kako iza propasti Solane stoji namjera da se čarobni komleks uz more betonira i pretvori u građevinsko zemljište, kako iza te namjere stoje najmoćniji klanovi u zemlji, povezani sa višestrukim premijerom i predsjedničkim kandidatom Milom Đukanovicem, bankom njegovog brata i privatizacionim ortacima.

Autorke film čija međunarodna produkcija počinje na jednom od najuglednijih svjetskih univerziteta - njujorškoj Kolumbiji, su Milena Perović Korać i Milka Tadić Mijović, a reditelj je Srđan Stanojević.

Nakon produkcije na Harimanovom institutu biće organizovana disksija o Solani i prilikama u Crnoj Gori, o čemu će govoriti Tadić Mijović.

Dokumentarni film Iz lavirinta, u produkciji CIN-CG i TV Vijesti, posvećen je pitanjima Roma i Egipćana u Crnoj Gori.

Ovo je priča koja budi nadu da se može izaći iz začaranog kruga siromaštva ako vjerujete u sebe, ali i poziv društvu da uradi više za ovu populaciju koja još uglavnom živi na margini, pritisnuta nevoljama, predrasudama i diskriminacijom.

Film je dio projekta Zaposli se i ispričaj priču, koji CIN –CG sprovodi u partnerstvu sa Monitorovim centrom za medije i demokratiju (MCMD), TV Vijesti i nezavisnim dnevnikom Vijesti. Projekat finansira Evropska unija, posredstvom Ministarstva finansija Crne Gore, dok je glavni korisnik projekta Ministarstvo rada i socijalnog staranja.

Na medijskoj sceni u Crnoj Gori postoji jedna jedina podjela -  na one koji istražuju i tragaju za istinom i one koji pokušavaju da je sakriju.
To je u petak 16.03. na konferenciji povodom predstavljanja rezultata projekta “Istražujem za M(e)NE i EU”, kazala predsjednica Centra za istraživačko novinarstvo Crne Gore (CIN-CG) Milka Tadić Mijović.

CIN-CG je u saradnji sa BIRN-om juče predstavio i dvojezičnu publikaciju, koja sadrži osam istraživačkih tekstova koje su prethodnih 14 mjeseci uradili novinari te dvije organizacije, u saradnji sa novinarima iz drugih crnogorskih medijskih kuća.

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Imate li ideju za novinarsku priču od javnog interesa koja se odnosi na pitanja vezana za zaštitu životne sredine i održivog razvoja, poglavlje 27 evropskih integracija, povezano sa poglavljima 23 i 24? Želite li da istražujete teme od značaja ne samo za Crnu Goru već i za region, kako bi se očuvale naše vode, vazduh, prostor, more, šume, a otpad tretirao kao u savremenim državama Evrope? Hoćete li da se pridružite onima koji imaju odgovoran odnos prema planeti? Da li želite da uz trening i mentore iz inostranstva, rukovodeći se najvišim standardima, razvijete temu koja vas zanima iz ove oblasti? Hoćete li da vaša priča bude prevedena na engleski, da dopre i do čitalaca van Crne Gore? Hoćete li da pokažete da vi možete da pomjerate granice, da unapređujete  istraživačko i odgovorno novinarstvo od javnog interesa? Ako na ova pitanja odgovorite potvrdno, prijavite svoje ideje za istraživačke tekstove vezane za poglavlje 27 i za proces evropskih integracija. Autori najboljih prijedloga će proći  trening, koji će se održati u Podgorici. Svi aplikanti koji uđu u uži izbor biće pozvani na trening. Nakon treninga, izvršiće se selekcija tri najbolje istraživačke priče. Pored istraživačkih tehnika, vrednovaće se regionalni i multimedijalni pristup temi. Kandidati sa najboljim idejama, novinarskim vještinama i znanjima, uz mentorsku podršku uredničkog tima iz zemlje i regiona, realizovaće svoje istraživačke projekte. Po završetku istraživanja, svi radovi će biti objavljeni na sajtovima CIN-CG-a i BIRN-a, kao i u posebnoj dvojezičnoj publikaciji i e-knjizi. Radovi mogu biti objavljeni i u drugim medijima u zemlji i inostranstvu. Pravo apliciranja imaju novinari sa istraživačkim sklonostima i iskustvom iz svih medija iz Crne Gore. Pored teninga, mentorske i uredničke podrške, odabrani kandidati dobiće po 1000 eura za rad na pričama. Zainteresovani kandidati treba da pošalju prijave do 6. aprila na e-mail:  konkurscincg@gmail.com, a formulare za prijavu možete preuzeti sa sajta: www.cincg.me. Ukoliko imate dodatnih pitanja, možete ih poslati na e-mail: konkurscincg@gmail.com.  

Aplikacija za prijavu na konkurs za novinarske priče o poglavlju 27.

U rožajskoj lokalnoj samoupravi su zaposlili 189 osoba, iako ne bi smjeli jer duguju porez, a plate kasne pola godine. Tivat je bogata opština, ali rizikuje da uskoro ne bude, jer su zbog prekomjernog zapošljavanja troškovi zarada porasli za oko 1,3 miliona eura. Partije, za sada, niko ne može da obuzda

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Young Roma activist Fana Delija, her family and colleagues face serious problems in their community while they are fighting for human and child rights.

I was physically attacked three times. “My colleague was stoned in her own house. My brother was injured in the head. But these are the risks we have counted on”, Fana told Centre for Investigative Journalism of Montenegro (CIN-CG).

She is a director of the NGO Center for Roma Initiatives (CRI) who has been fighting a long-standing battle against child and early marriages in the Roma community.

Under the veil of tradition, a trafficking in human beings (children) takes place in Roma community.

According to the CRI, about 60 cases of early marriage were registered in Montenegro in the last five years.

In the last two years, 49 cases have been reported to the police, but none of them was prosecuted. Mediators who are helping Roma children in elementary schools have recently complained to CIN-CG that two girls in Podgorica left school in order to get married.

The Roma National Council, an official institution for the Roma issues, denies these claims.

They state that the trafficking of girls and the arrangement of early marriages have been eradicated in recent years and that it is not happening anymore.

Aida Petrović, a Director of the Montenegrin Women’s Lobby and coordinator of the National Shelter for Victims of Trafficking, told CIN-CG that in the last five years they have been continuously providing assistance, support and care for the girls of the Roma population who were victims of early and contracted child marriages, begging and family violence.

From 2015 to August 2017, nine potential victims of forced marriage were staying in the Shelter. These were girls from Montenegro, Serbia and Kosovo.

“The victims of contracted child marriages are between 11 and 14 years old. In Roma camps, boys aged 13 to 14 are also victims of early marriage and contracted child marriage”, Petrović explained to CIN-CG.

She stated that child marriages are common in this population.

“This can by no means be accepted and regarded as common in the Roma population. Early marriage and contracted child marriage are forms of trafficking in human beings whose perpetrators should be subject to sanctions of national legislation”, she said.

According to Petrovic, neither Montenegrin Women’s Lobby nor other organizations have the exact number of children’s contracted marriages, because there is no single database.

“Although the number of unregistered members of the Roma population is significantly reduced, there are still those who do not have any documentation, and such children “do not exist” in the institutional system. That is why many early arranged child marriages cannot be recorded, Petrovic explained to CIN-CG.

She explained that even when a case is discovered, often parents or relatives put the blame on girls, saying that they “run away from home because they fell in love” and that they could not have prevented them.

“There is a number of girls who come from nearby countries (Kosovo, Serbia, Macedonia, Albania) illegally or with an excuse to go with their parents to visit their relatives in Montenegro. In reality, they are going in order to get married. Such agreements are made by families usually via the Internet, or by phone”, Petrović pointed out.

In the same way, Petrovic adds, a number of girls from Montenegro go to other countries where they marry according to the already agreed scenario of parents of the two families.

“Most often, these girls are taken away by their parents to marry in Germany, Italy, Austria, as well as in the neighboring countries such as Kosovo, Serbia, Macedonia, Albania etc”, adds the director of the Montenegrin Women’s Lobby.

Forced marriages are designated as the criminal offense of trafficking in human beings according to Amendments to the Criminal Code of 2013.

Marriage is forbidden to those under 16 years of age. Minors can marry after age 16, with the consent of their parents.

According to the last census, there are 8,305 members of Roma population in Montenegro, half of which are women.

According to United Nations (UN), around 140 million girls will be married by 2020, of which 50 million will be girls under the age of 15. A survey conducted by the CRI in 2014 showed that even 72.4 percent of the Roma population in Montenegro get married from 12 to 18 years of age.

CIN-CG previously reported that in the last three years Montenegro has not issued any final verdict for trafficking in human beings, and in the same period only one case of trafficking related to sexual exploitation has been processed.

The director of CRI points out that both ones who sell young girls and those who take money when arranging these marriages should be punished.

“It is worrying that in the process of the investigation carried out by the state prosecutor and the police, there is not enough material evidence on the basis of which the competent prosecutor would initiate criminal proceedings”, Delija says.

According to her, it is particularly worrying that after denying the contracted marriage, all the girls were returned to their parents who are perpetrators of the crime, mostly without any further supervision.

According to the Family Law, such families would have to be supervised by the Center for Social Work.

“According to the information we have, in two cases, this measure was carried out by the competent centers for social work”, the director of CRI said.

Goran Kuševija, Director General of the Directorate for Social Welfare and Child Care at the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, did not answer the question of CIN-CG whether the centers for social work carry out the necessary supervision of families suspected of selling their children for contracting marriages.

The elderly do not see the problem

Unlike young activists, the Roma National Council claims that the problem does not exist. They also strongly dismiss the unofficial criticism that heads of this umbrella organization have arranged marriages in their families, and that even the president of the Council Isen Gasi is involved in this matter.

“We will report every similar case. I cannot command anyone, but it has been two or three years that I have not heard that such thing happened, and nothing can happen without my knowledge”, Gasi said in a conversation with CIN-CG journalist.

When asked how he deals with that phenomenon, he said that he always “says at funerals that arranged marriages should not be done”.

Gasi said that the organization he runs has a monthly budget of about 4,000 Euros, which does not make it enough money to organize trainings and workshops on this topic.

“We are against all forms of violence that endanger and limit the freedom of Roma women, but we also advocate the resolution of these problems within institutions, through judicial and legislative authorities. The Roma Council condemns every form of arranged early marriages. We believe that the competent institutions should act repressively on such and similar phenomena”, the Council says.

When asked by CIN-CG to comment on the accusations coming from their population that members of the Council have contracted marriages in their families, the Council responds that “every member of the Council is completely autonomous, and has the right to their personal choice, attitude and way of life as an individual”.

At the same time, they stood in defense of their president, who “enjoys respect by the whole Roma community in Montenegro, which is confirmed by the fact that this is his third presidential term”.

“The entire Roma population in Montenegro believes that Isen Gasi is the only Roma leader to protect the interests of his community. The President of the Roma Council uses every opportunity to point out to his compatriots that it is necessary to accept new civilization values ​​and reject all negative segments of the tradition. Unfortunately, it is evident that no community can easily give up their customs and traditions”, the Council concludes.

Zoran Ulama, Head of the National Anti-Trafficking Office, says that it is necessary to put more effort into raising awareness, that the tradition should be respected, but not at any cost.

“The poor or non-existing education among the population is a problem. They don’t consider it a trafficking, although it concerns minors. It should be clear to everyone that it is a criminal offense”, Ulama stressed.

According to Ulama, despite the lack of cases which are processed, there is a growing number of cases which are reported. This suggests that awareness is raised about this issue.

Even after numerous insisting by the CIN-CG, we did not receive answers to questions from the police about arranged child marriages and the fact that reported cases mostly end up at their address and without an epilogue.

Virginity is on sale

Fana Delija, Director of CRI, explains that a narrow and wider family, neighbors, or reputable male members of the community and family gather when a contracted marriage is arranged.

“Then it is checked whether the girl is a virgin. The girl’s father guarantees that she is a virgin, arranges for a certain amount of money and the purchase of gold and clothes. Then they agree on the date of marriage”, Delija explains.

She adds that the amounts increase based on the social status of girls in the community and the fact that they are virgins. She claims that social status and virginity are valued from 500 Euros to several thousand Euros.

Victims of early marriages raising their own children in the spirit of tradition

According to a survey conducted by the CRI in 2014, as many as 72.4 percent of the Roma population get married between 12 and 18 years of age. Early interrupted childhood caused by marriage, illiteracy, poverty and survival, unconditional obedience to everybody in the groom’s house, suffering of various forms of violence, burden of family and housework, desire to meet patriarchal expectations in the role of housewives and mothers, are some of the burdens imposed on underage girls who are victims of early contracted marriages.

Aida Petrovic explains that the problem is that victims of early contracted marriages raise their female children in the spirit of tradition. She also adds that the Shelter’s protégées, among other things, have poorer health and often chronic illnesses, look much older than they are, and die much earlier because of their hard life.

“The joint work of institutions and the civil sector dealing with this problem, as well as the implementation of institutional mechanisms aimed at combating contracted child marriages, begging, violence, and increased level of education of Roma girls, can give them a good starting point to live their lives in a way that is worthy of every human being”, Petrović concluded.

Izgleda apsurdno, ali kada Ministarstvo odbrane kupuje helikoptere za 30 miliona eura, o tome javnost dobije bar osnovnu informaciju, dok je znatno teže proniknuti u kupovinu opreme za teretane, viljuškar ili avio karte. Zajedničko svim ovim transakcijama  je što su propisi i procedure nabavke još dublje skrivene od javnosti. Ili ih nema.

Zbog nedovoljne usaglašenosti zakonodavstva sa evropskim, dijelom i zbog loše regulisanih nabavki u oblasti bezbjednosti i odbrane, u izvještaju međunardne ekspertske organizacije SIGMA za 2017. godinu o poštovanju evropskih principa javne uprave, Crna Gora je ocijenjena – trojkom.

Ministarstvo odbrane (MO) ni nakon tri mjeseca nije dostavilo podatke Institutu alternativa o utrošenom novcu za povjerljive nabavke u posljednjih pet godina (2013–2017).

Povjerljive nabavke podrazumijevaju nabavku robe, usluga i radova, poput oružja, municije i druge specijalne opreme koja se koristi za zaštitu i bezbjednost države i građana.

Iz Ministarstva odbrane za Centar za istraživačko novinarstvo Crne Gore (CIN-CG) tvrde da ne sprovode povjerljive nabavke od maja 2015. godine, kada je prestala da važi Uredba o spoljnoj trgovini sredstvima za posebne namjene, kojom su one bile propisane i uređene. U istom odgovoru, ipak, kažu da sprovode nabavke u oblasti bezbjednosti i odbrane koji su Zakonom o javnim nabavkama propisani kao izuzeci, te da ih štite u skladu sa Zakonom o tajnosti podataka.

,,Preciznije, izuzeća od njegove primjene propisana su navedenim izmjenama Zakona, članom 116b (nabavke u oblasti odbrane i bezbjednosti), na osnovu kojih Ministarstvo odbrane sprovodi postupke izuzete od primjene Zakona o javnim nabavkama”, navodi se u odgovoru MO za CIN CG.

Međutim, u članu koji citira MO, a koji predviđa izuzetke od primjene Zakona o javnim nabavkama, propisana je i obaveza naručioca, u ovom slučaju Ministarstva, da internim aktom uredi procedure za to, što Ministarstvo odbrane nije uradilo. To je potvrđeno u odgovoru MO na zahtjev za slobodan pristup informacijama Instituta alternativa.

Sličan odgovor stigao je i na pitanje CIN-CG, o tome da li ugovor o kupovini na kredit, tri višenamjenska helikoptera za 30 miliona eura, koji je ministar odbrane Predrag Bošković u januaru potpisao sa Kanadskom privrednom korporacijom, potpada pod povjerljive nabavke. Istom logikom izuzetaka, odgovorili su da se ta kupovina sprovodi na osnovu člana 116 b stav 1. tačka 8 Zakona o javnim nabavkama - kojim je propisano da se nabavke koje sprovode državni organi Crne Gore sa državnim organima država članica EU ili treće države za kupovinu vojne opreme ili sigurnosno osjetljive opreme, sprovode na osnovu izuzeća od primjene ovog Zakona.

,,Član na koji se poziva Ministarstvo odbrane propisuje izuzetke od primjene Zakona o javnim nabavkama i jasnu obavezu naručioca da usvoji poseban interni akt kojim će propisati procedure za ovu vrstu nabavke. Mi smo Ministarstvu odbrane tražili ovaj akt i odgovorili su nam da ga nemaju, pa se ni ova ni bilo koja slična nabavka nije mogla sprovesti kako oni tvrde. Ako je ovako sprovedena, onda je to suprotno Zakonu'', kaže za CIN CG Ana Đurnić, istraživačica javnih politika u Institutu alternativa

U obrazloženju rješenja Ministarstva kojim se odbija zahtjev IA navodi se da ,,u postupku po zahtjevu utvrđeno je da ovaj organ nije u faktičkom posjedu tražene informacije”, i dodaje da je traženi akt u postupku izrade.

U odgovorima Institutu alternativa, iz Ministarstva odbrane su tvrdili da ni u prošloj 2017. godini nijesu sprovodili postupke povjerljivih nabavki. Međutim, MO je saopštilo CIN/CG  da je tokom prošle godine na ime povjerljivih nabavki potrošilo 893.972 eura. Objašnjavaju da je to trošak na ime povjerljivih nabavki koje je ovo ministarstvo pokrenulo prije maja 2015. godine

Jedini tragovi o povjerljivim nabavkama koje je sprovodilo Ministarstvo odbrane mogu se naći u izvještajima Državne revizorske institucije (DRI).

U reviziji finansijskog izvještaja Ministarstva odbrane za 2007. navodi se da je te godine realizovalo 39 od 42 planirana postupka povjerljivih nabavki. ,,Ukupna vrijednost realizovanih ugovora povjerljivih nabavki u 2007. iznosila je 4.799.681 euro’’, navodi se u izvještaju.

Za nabavku vojne opreme utrošeno je 47,82 odsto tog novca (2.295.329 eura), dok je 52,18 odsto (2.504.352 eura) otišlo na ostale usluge – nabavka teretane, viljuškara, usluga avio prevoza, konsultantskih usluga, radovi na opremanju multimedijalne sale Ministarstva odbrane...

Očigledno da se avio karte, teretana i viljuškar, ne mogu svrstati u vojnu opremu, pa je DRI u svom izvještaju konstatovao da je potrebno jasno razgraničiti što se sve može podvesti pod povjerljive nabavke, a da je za ove trebalo da se sprovede postupak nabavki u skladu s odredbama Zakona o javnim nabavkama.

Iste probleme DRI konstatuje i u izvještaju za 2013. godinu. Ponavlja se kupovina avio karata, a model zloupotrebe se prenosi i na drumski saobraćaj. Na osnovu postupka povjerljivih nabavki 2012. godine sa dvije firme iz Podgorice i Igala, Ministarstvo sklapa ugovor koji traje do sredine 2014. godine, o pružanju usluga prevoza pripadnicima Vojske CG na gradskim i međugradskim relacijama.

Ministarstvo odbrane je za 2013. planiralo povjerljive nabavke u iznosu od 4.617.630 eura, a realizovalo samo 1.773.747 eura. Objašnjeno je da su te godine ugovori zaključeni, ali da je realizacija većeg broja ugovora odložena za narednu godinu.

,,Sva dokumenta o postupcima povjerljivih nabavki u MO stepenovana su stepenom tajnosti ’interno’’’, navodi se u izvještaju DRI.

U posljednjem izvještaju DRI koji se odnosi na MO, objavljenom sredinom prošle godine, navodi se da je ovo ministarstvo u 2016. godini sprovelo četiri postupka nabavke, od čega su se dvije odnosile na bezbjednosno osjetljivu opremu. Revizor ističe da nije mogao da provjeri proceduru:

,,Državni revizor nije mogao utvrditi da li se i na koji način planiraju nabavke na koje se ne primjenjuje Zakon o javnim nabavkama (povjerljive nabavke), kako teče sam postupak i izvještavanje o predmetnim nabavkama, jer ne postoje akti kojima je navedeno propisano'', piše u izvještaju.

Ulazak Crne Gore u NATO, kao ni izmjene i dopune Zakona o javnim nabavkama iz juna prošle godine, koje nabavke u oblasti bezbjednosti i odbrane tretiraju u dva zakonska člana, još nijesu pomogli da se stanje poboljša u ovoj oblasti.

Kako je CIN CG ranije objavio, druge dvije institucije koje takođe sprovode postupke povjerljivih nabavki, u naznačenom periodu su za tu svrhu potrošili -  Ministarstvo unutrašnjih poslova (MUP) blizu pet miliona, a Agencija za nacionalnu bezbjednost (ANB) preko tri miliona eura.

I iz MUP-a smo dobili slične odgovore kao i iz Ministarstva odbrane, gdje tvrde da ni ovo ministarstvo ne sprovodi povjerljive nabavke od maja 2015.

U periodu od 2013. do 2017. godine, kako je CIN-CG ranije objavio, međutim,  na povjerljive nabavke utrošeno je gotovo pet miliona eura. A najveći iznos povjerljivih nabavki u MUP-u zabilježen je prošle godine - 2.528.761 eura.

Ni iz MUP-a za CIN CG nije stiglo pojašnjenje na osnovu kojih akata su obavljali proces povjerljivih nabavki u protekle dvije i po godine.

Na prošlonedjeljnom sastanku koju su predstavnici Instituta alternativa imali u MUP-u ponovljeno je da od maja 2015. godine nije sprovedena nijedna povjerljiva nabavka. Međutim, u MUP-u tvrde, da potrošnja za povjerljive nabavke i dalje postoji, jer se sredstva isplaćuju po osnovu ranije preuzetih ugovornih obaveza.

Razliku između iznosa koji je MUP dostavio  kao odgovor na SPI i izvještaja DRI vezano za potrošnju za povjerljive nabavke za 2014. godinu (prema izvještaju DRI se navodi iznos od 1.596.985,46 eura, dok se u odgovoru na SPI navodi četiri puta manji utrošak za tu godinu), u MUP-u pravdaju time   da je potrošnja jedno, a vrijednost zaključenih nabavki drugo. Naime, MUP je u 2014. godini sproveo postupak i zaključio nabavke u vrijednosti navedenoj u izvještaju DRI, ali nije odmah sve plaćeno, već se dio tog troška prenosi na naredne godine, a stvarna potrošnja (isplata) je onolika koliko je navedeno u odgovorima na SPI zahtjev.

Rekordnih dva i po miliona koji su, pod stavkom povjerljive nabavke, iz MUP-a potrošeni tokom prošle godine su obaveze po ugovoru za povjerljivu nabavku koji su naslijedili od Ministarstva za informaciono društvo i telekomunikacije, koje je prestalo da postoji reorganizacijom državne uprave od decembra 2016. godine, kazali su Institutu alternativa iz MUP-a.

Teško je povjerovati da MUP i MO plaćaju samo tuđe rate i ugovore koji su zaključili prije maja 2015. godine, a da  u toku protekle dvije i po godine nijesu sprovodile nabavku robe, usluga i radova, poput oružja, municije i druge specijalne opreme.

,,Povjerljive nabavke se sprovode izvan ili makar na marginama siromašnog zakonskog okvira’’, kaže Đurnić. Ona ističe netransparentnost koja prati ovu vrstu nabavki: ,,Skoro svi podaci, akti, izvještaji i planovi koji se odnose na povjerljive nabavke nedostupni su javnosti. Imamo jedan potpuno zatvoreni sistem u kome je svaka vrsta kontrole ovog dijela javne potrošnje skoro nemoguća’’.

A u takvom sistemu otežana je i mogućnost za uspostavljanje odgovornosti za eventualne zloupotrebe.

Poseban tretman ANB

Agencija za nacionalnu bezbjednost je jedina institucija koja ne spori da sprovodi postupke povjerljivih nabavki. U tu svrhu ANB je, prema informacijama koje su dostavili,  od 2013. do 2016. potrošila više od dva i po miliona eura.

Zahtjev za slobodnim pristupom informacija Instituta alternativa da im se dostavi koliko je ukupno ANB utrošila za povjerljive nabavke u 2017. odbijen je. Obrazloženo je da ne posjeduju tu informaciju, te da bi odgovor podrazumijevao sačinjavanje nove informacije.

U Institutu alternativa kažu da je ova odluka problematična jer je finansijska godina završena, pa bi ANB već trebalo da zna kolika joj je bila potrošnja u prošloj godini po ovom, ali i svakom drugom osnovu. ,,Zato odbijanje pristupa ovoj informaciji pod izgovorom sačinjavanja nove informacije navodi na to da se nešto pokušava prikriti. Posebno će biti zanimljivo da vidimo potrošnju za 2017. godinu, jer na osnovu do sada dostavljenih podataka znamo da je ona skočila sa nepunih 400 hiljada u 2015. godini na skoro dva miliona u 2016. godini’’, kaže Đurnić.

Odbijeni su i zahtjevi za pristup planovima povjerljivih nabavki i izvještajima o sprovedenim povjerljivim nabavkama. Razlog - imaju stepen tajnosti.

Institut alternativa je insistirao da im se omogući pristup Pravilniku o postupanju sprovođenja povjerljivih nabavki. Stepen oznake tajnosti ,,interno’’ koja prema Zakonu o tajnosti podataka traje dvije godine za Pravilnik je istekla početkom decembra 2017. Iz ANB-a su odgovorili da je Pravilniku sredinom protekle godine produžen oznaka tajnosti.

Povjerljive nabavke za ANB su izuzete od Zakona o javnim nabavkama, propisane su Zakonom o Agenciji za nacionalnu bezbijednost i regulisane internim aktom direktora ANB-a. Institut alternativa naglašava da ovakvo rješenje nema utemeljenje u evropskim propisima niti u praksi zemalja EU. Nabavke u oblasti bezbjednosti i odbrane trebalo bi jednako regulisati za sve naručioce koji ih sprovode, bez izuzetka, kažu u Institutu i ističu da nije jasno zašto kod nas Agencija ima poseban tretman.

Bilo je bolje prije izmjene zakona

Crna Gora je u SIGMA (inicijativa EU i OECD koja pruža ekspertske usluge u reformi administracije zemalja koje se nalaze u procesu pridruživanja) izvještaju za 2017. godinu o poštovanju evropskih principa javne uprave dobila ocjenu tri za usaglašenost zakonodavstva sa evropskim, dijelom i zbog loše regulisanih nabavki u oblasti bezbjednosti i odbrane.

U izvještaju se, između ostalog, navodi da su zakonska rješenja iz 2015. godine poboljšala nivo usklađenosti sa evropskim zakonodavstvom, naročito u oblasti bezbjednosti i odbrane. Međutim, posljednjim izmjenama i dopunama Zakona o javnim nabavkama od juna 2017. godine, nivo usklađenosti sa EU direktivama i Ugovorom o funkcionisanju Evropske unije je smanjen.

,,Nabavke u oblasti bezbjednosti i odbrane više nisu regulisane Zakonom o javnim nabavkama; umjesto toga, Zakon o javnim nabavkama propisuje obavezu Vlade da do kraja 2017. godine usvoji poseban akt kojim će se regulisati nabavke u oblasti bezbjednosti i odbrane. Ugovori za nabavke u oblasti bezbjednosti i odbrane vrijednosti manje od 20.000 eura za robu i usluge, odnosno 40.000 eura za radove u potpunosti su izuzete iz Zakona o javnim nabavkama, bez ikakve propisane obaveze da se oni zaključe uz poštovanje osnovnih principa propisanih Ugovorom o funkcionisanju Evropske unije”, navodi se u SIGMA izvještaju.

,,Imamo, dakle, već skoro tri godine pravnu prazninu i čini se da niko u našoj administraciji nema problem sa tim. U svjetlu najnovijih ocjena SIGMA-e, o nedovoljnoj usaglašenosti našeg zakonodavstva sa evropskim u ovoj oblasti, u procesu pripreme i usvajanja novog zakona o javnim nabavkama, donosioci odluka se moraju posebno pozabaviti regulisanjem ove oblasti’’ zaključuje Đurnić.

Predrag NIKOLIĆ

The innocent sounding email reached an official of the Montenegrin Defence Ministry in early January 2017.

Entitled: “NATO_secretary_meeting.doc”, it sounded like a communiqué from the Western alliance that Montenegro was soon to join.

However, IT experts say the message was not sent by NATO to update Montenegro on useful information.

It came from a notorious Russian hacking group, which wanted to break into the government’s IT systems and steal state secrets.

Same in January, according to BIRN sources, the Podgorica government received two more similar emails.

The subject line of the first read: “Draft schedule for British army groups’ visit to Montenegro”.

The title of the other was: “Schedule for a European military transfer program”.

All are believed to have come from the same Russian hacker group, which experts say is linked to the Kremlin.

Three international IT security companies say the emails came from APT28, also known as Fancy Bear, which US intelligence services say is connected to the Russian military intelligence service, GRU.

European Union officials also believe that Montenegro suffered a serious cyber attack in June 2017.

Over the last two years, Montenegro authorities have recorded a sharp rise in the number of cyber attacks, mostly targeting state institutions and media outlets.

From only 22 such incidents in 2013, almost 400 were recorded in only nine months of 2017, official data obtained by BIRN show.

Not all are related to malware viruses or attacks on state institutions, and not all the attacks can be attributed to Fancy Bear.

But many of the attacks are believed to be linked to the tiny Adriatic country’s decision to join NATO, which infuriated the country’s old ally, Russia.

Montenegro has since tightened up cyber security defences. It has formed a specialised police taskforce to fight cyber crime.

But with only limited resources, the team greatly depends on the help of NATO and other Western countries.

“After serial attacks in early 2017 we sought help from NATO and the UK to help us fight back. We succeed in reducing the damage and repelled two attacks in late 2017,” a senior police officer told BIRN, declining to provide details of those actions.

BIRN’s investigation shows that the rise in cyber attacks coincided with the final phase of the country’s NATO accession negotiations in late 2016.

In addition, Montenegro's leaders say Russia tried to interfere in the country’s October 16, 2016 general elections, a charge that Moscow has denied.

The authorities and the ruling parties claim that Russia sponsored a coup attempt on the election day.

Several Western governments, including the UK, support that interpretation of events.

The government’s critics, however, insist the coup attempt was faked, and was staged to help the veteran pro-Western leader Milo Djukanovic stay in power.

Bear leaves its tracks:

Three prominent international security companies, Fire Eye, Trend Micro and ESET agree that Fancy Bear staged at least three separate attacks in January, February and June 2017.

So-called “lures” – spearphishing emails – are common tactics used by the group to target victims who are tempted to open messages mentioning specific topics relevant to them.

Targets are fooled into believing the email is legitimate. Then, by clicking on the link or attached document, they enable a virus to enter their computers.

Ben Read, from the US intelligence-led security company Fire Eye, told BIRN that the emails sent to the Montenegrin Defence Ministry in January 2017 were designed to cause chaos.

“If you opened [them], they would install the malware Game Fish on the victim’s system. That’s signature malware for APT28,” he explained.

He said experts from Fire Eye believed the hackers’ motive was Russia’s deep displeasure over Montenegro’s NATO accession, and the cyber attacks formed part of a broader plan to destabilise the country.

In January 2017, Fire Eye published a report claiming that Fancy Bear primarily targeted entities in the US, Europe, and the countries of the former Soviet Union, including government and military targets, along with defence departments, media outlets, and political dissidents or figures opposed to the Russian government.

“Russia is attacking these governments using both traditional means and as cyber-attacks,” Read added.

Before January 2017, on election day in October 2016, many websites in Montenegro were suddenly taken down by so-called DDoS attacks, in which multiple compromised computer systems attack a website and cause a denial of service for users.

However, the authorities never disclosed what actually happened on that day although they announced a detailed investigation, hinting at a Russian role in the large-scale internet incident.

Four days after the elections, on October 20, 2016, another phishing attack was launched against the parliament of Montenegro, most likely by Fancy Bear again, according to IT security specialists Trend Micro.

But, government sources told BIRN that this attack was less serious, as it targeted the “wrong location”, the parliament, which does not deal with confidential data.

“It was a blind shot,” said this official who insisted on remain anonymous.

A bigger attack, which the Montenegro government describes as more intense than the one in October 2016, started on February 15, 2017 and peaked over the following days, government sources told BIRN last year.

This time, websites of the government and state institutions, as well as some pro-government media, suffered a wave of cyber-attacks, officials in Podgorica told BIRN.

“The scope and diversity of the attacks, and the fact that they were being undertaken on a professional level, indicates that this was a synchronised action,” an official said.

The next attack, which a European official attributed to the same Russian source, happened in June 2017.

Pierluigi Paganini, member of the European Union’s Agency for Network and Information Security, ENISA, told BIRN that Montenegrin infrastructure was again targeted by APT28, or Fancy Bear.

“In June 2017, after Montenegro officially joined NATO, the attacks continued; experts at the security firm Fire Eye who analyzed them collected evidence that confirmed the involvement of Russia’s APT,” Paganini said.

He added that the evidence included artefacts, malware, bait documents and exploit codes.

He said that although attribution is always the most difficult part of a forensic investigation, in this case, the information gathered “points directly to the Russian APT28 group”.

BIRN asked the Russian Foreign Ministry about its connections to the group and to its attacks on Montenegro.

It refused to respond specifically, noting only that “the mentioned issues were repeatedly commented on by the Russian Foreign Ministry”.

Russia strongly denies that its state plays any role in hacking governments, media or elections across the globe.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters in June 2017 that hacking groups, like artists, do their own bidding.

“Hackers are like artists who choose their targets, depending how they feel when they wake up in the morning. No such attacks could alter the result of elections in Europe, America or elsewhere,” Putin told reporters.

Cheap way of collecting intelligence:

America disagrees. In a report, published on December 29, 2016, the US Department of Homeland Security, DHS, and the FBI insisted that the Kremlin sponsored Fancy Bear.

Fancy Bear has targeted many important international groups and individuals.

They include Germany’s ruling Christian Democratic Union, CDU, the German Bundestag, NATO, the World Anti-Doping Agency, the US Democratic National Committee, the former White House senior official John Podesta, the US Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and others.

https://www.us-cert.gov/sites/default/files/publications/JAR_16-20296A_GRIZZLY%20STEPPE-2016-1229.pdf

Christopher Bing, Associate Editor of CyberScoop, a US cybersecurity website that has followed the attacks in Montenegro, agreed that Fancy Bear has subjected the Balkans to an intensive campaign of cyber-espionage. https://www.cyberscoop.com/apt28-targeted-montenegros-government-joined-nato-researchers-say/

“These activities largely serve as a cheap and effective way to collect intelligence remotely and covertly – without getting caught,” he told BIRN.

Bing explained that APT28 is a politically motivated threat group that is known to target geopolitical rivals of the Kremlin.

“APT28 is known to target military, governmental and civil society groups that are commonly of interest to the Russian state.

“As part of this targeting pattern, the Balkans represents a territory where Russia remains interested in controlling and asserting its dominance,” Bing explained.

The IT company ESET, known for its anti-virus and firewall products, also confirmed to BIRN that Fancy Bear was on active manoeuvres in the Balkans during summer 2017.

Not all cyber attacks are Russian:

New analysis by the Public Administration Ministry on cyber threat to Montenegro showed the number of hacking attacks rose in 2017. The attacks were also “much more serious and sophisticated,” it said.

Over 380 attacks on websites, state institutions, online fraud and misuse of personal accounts were reported in 2017. That compared with just six in 2012. The authorities promised to investigate the background to all those attacks.

“The severity and sophistication of cyber-attacks affecting Montenegro during 2017 were reflected in the increased number of identified attacks on infrastructure and cyber espionage cases, as well as through phishing campaigns that targeted civil servants,” the ministry report said.

These attacks caught Montenegro on the hop, as its small cyber security team had no experience of dealing with attacks on this scale. It has only a dozen employees, who are being trained by US and UK cyber experts.

Amid reports that Russian hackers played a role in downing several websites on election day in Montenegro, the government in December adopted new measures to tighten cyber security.

It said it would strengthen the capacity of the police and intelligence services to prevent hacking, after the attacks on election day had highlighted the vulnerability of the entire system.

“It not just Russian hackers that they are dealing with. The small, under-equipped team is also dealing with the increase in online bank frauds and other attacks that do not have political background,” a government official told BIRN.

Upsurge feared ahead of election:

Ahead of this April’s presidential election in Montenegro, experts warn that the country may experience more cyber threats.

On April 15, citizens will elect anew president, as Filip Vujanovic, is completing his final term and cannot be re-elected.

“Russia has strongly opposed Montenegro’s NATO accession process, so it is likely to continue using cyber capabilities to undermine Montenegro’s role in the alliance,” Pierluigi Paganini, from ENISA, warned.

Attacks disrupted Facebook services:

Major cyber disruption was noted in Montenegro on election day, on October 16, 2016, when people in Montenegro were unable to use Facebook services such as Viber and WhatsApp.

The government had to obtain permission from the Higher Court in Podgorica to temporarily block these applications for two hours on the election day and request a thorough investigation of the cyber attack.

Facebook detected this incident in its Transparency report under the title “Internet Disruptions”.

“We are aware of a disruption affecting access to Facebook products and services in Montenegro that took place during October 2016. This disruption impacted messaging services and coincided with the country's parliamentary elections,” it said.