Regime and Crime

The Nacional Scandal and Montenegro

The "Del Turko" scandal and writing of Italian and Serbian press during Milosevic's time were less dangerous than the present campaign initiated by Zagreb Nacional daily

AIM Podgorica, May 31, 2001

Montenegrin political public (and not just it) was disturbed by a wind coming from an unexpected direction - from Croatia. Nacional weekly from Zagreb published in three instalments extensive articles on the "smugglers' boss of the Balkans", Stanko Subotic alias Cane from Ub, permanent resident of Switzerland. The immediate cause of this lengthy writing seems almost banal - discovery of the background of how and for what reason Subotic got Croatian citizenship back in 1999.

But Subotic's passport is not the most controversial detail. According to what Nacional wrote, for years he has enjoyed the support of the top Montenegrin and Serbian statesmen, but primarily of Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic who, the weekly claims, shares with the rich Subotic the income made in highly profitable cigarette smuggling. Apart from Djukanovic, in the entangled network of connections and interests, in a discrediting context, the author mentions Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic, former chairman of Montenegrin parliament Svetozar Marovic, but also a number of entertainers from Croatia and Serbia, named and unnamed members of various intelligence services, persons from Montenegrin and Serbian underground...

Numerous serious accusations were written against Djukanovic, the gravest among them being that he himself was behind the given order for the murder of Goran Zugic killed in Podgorica half a year ago. Zugic was Djukanovic's advisor for national security. His "guilt", according to the Zagreb weekly, was that he knew too much, since he was in charge of putting away the money made in business deals with Subotic. About Subotic, the "king of smugglers", it is claimed that he had "death squadrons" ready to act if somebody in that complicated chain of illegal business became undesirable. He is even accused of the murder of Radovan Stojicic Badza, Milosevic's man, former deputy of Serbian minister of police. The list of alleged murders Djukanovic's "business partner" is responsible for was extended in Nacional with the names of a number of persons from Serbian underground. His alleged "logistics officer from Podgorica", Blagota Baja Sekulic, who is claimed to have liquidated former Subotic's partner from early nineties Vanja Bokan in Athens, was himself murdered two days ago in Budva.

Besides the alleged series of murders organised by Subotic and Djukanovic, Nacional presents a number of other discrediting details - sexual orgies and unprecedented showing off of the two main protagonists of this story. As one of its main sources of information the Zagreb journal states American intelligence service which had allegedly started to investigate Djukanovic's sources of income when the President purchased one of the three airplanes the government of Montenegro now possesses. The last instalment of the article carried a long interview of Srecko Kestner, Montenegrin "Tobacco king" who has also recently become a citizen of Croatia and who gave a detailed description of the operation of illegal cigarette trade in Montenegro, of the division of profit and the main protagonists of this, most profitable business in this space in the past ten years since UN sanctions were introduced. He claims that Djukanovic takes the biggest share, while, he says, Svetozar Marovic received a monthly "allowance" from Cane Subotic "just to be quiet". Late Goran Zugic, Kestner claims, took the same "allowance".

All these articles were promptly carried by Dan, daily from Podgorica, which is controlled by the non-parliamentary People's Socialist Party, the party of former federal prime minister Momir Bulatovic.

Writing of the Zagreb weekly was obviously addressed primarily to the Montenegrin public. Indeed, it reached proportions of an unprecedented scandal in Montenegro. Djukanovic himself publicly denied writing of Nacional adding that it was monstrous slander and announced that he would raise charges against Nacional and Dan. Svetozar Marovic also denied the writing about his allowance. Denying the writing of the Zagreb weekly through his lawyer, Subotic indicated that the sources of information and even co-authors of the articles were Ratko Dokic, businessman-caterer from Podgorica, and Ratko Knezevic, former head of Montenegrin commercial mission in Washington and former close friend of Djukanovic. Subotic raised charges against them for extortion. Before he was killed, Blagota Sekulic had expressed readiness to testify at that trial in Subotic's favour.

Writing of Nacional provoked an avalanche of denials, statements and mutual accusations on the pages of Dan. It is practically impossible to find a copy of this journal in newsstands in Podgorica except early in the morning.

State media and Vijesti independent daily, which is believed to be close to Djukanovic's coalition, are simply passing over this scandal in silence. What is even more interesting, the opposition Glas Crnogoraca daily which is controlled by “For Yugoslavia” coalition and which is the most ardent critic of Milo Djukanovic and which raises hue and cry against all supporters of independent Montenegro, is also silent. Such attitude of Glas is interpreted by the fact that Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic is mentioned in Nacional as Subotic's “mentor”, and Bulatovic and Soc's coalition is a collaborator of DOS on the federal level.

Even Dan devoted a whole page to reactions of Montenegrin politicians to Nacional's writing only once. Besides Momir Bulatovic's party and Dan itself which is sold more than any other newspaper in Montenegro, others are reluctant to make political points on account of the big scandal. The Liberals “hope that writing has no connection with the truth”, for the Serb People's Party of Bozidar Bojovic it is “yet another proof that in Montenegro the regime is corrupt, while a representative of the Socialist People's Party of Predrag Bulatovic says that for him “as a man it is exceptionally difficult that such things are written about Montenegro and Montenegrins, even if they are representatives of the regime”. The scandal induced the President of the People's Party to appeal on the state prosecutor of Montenegro to initiate official investigation in order to establish whether what Nacional had written was true.

Predrag Popovic, high official of Soc's party, announced a stormy debate in the just constituted Montenegrin parliament on this topic. This statement did not sound as a serious threat. In the best demagogical manner, Dan publicly offered its pages to Milo Djukanovic, Svetozar Marovic, Zoran Djindjic and Macedonian Prime Minister Ljupco Georgievski (who is also claimed to be Subotic's patron) to “state their stands”. Djindjic chose to do it on the pages of Serbian press, and the others ignored the invitation.

But one should not be deceived. The general stand in Montenegro is that regardless how noisy it was, the “Del Turko” scandal and the two-year long anti-Djukanovic's campaign on the pages of Italian and Serbian press that had preceded it on cooperation with Italian mob was less dangerous for Montenegrin President than this one initiated from Croatia. It is believed that Djukanovic's power has never been as eroded as it is now. For the time being nobody is questioning it, but it is generally believed that his wings for carrying out the project of independent Montenegro have been dangerously cropped.

In Podgorica it is unofficially calculated on the background and motives of Nacional's writing. The general conviction is that American secret service and American interests are in the background, or more precisely, that the goal is to reconsolidate Kostunica's power as American “Balkan trump card” by discrediting Djindjic and Djukanovic. The revelation of details on cigarette smuggling would not exactly shock anyone in Montenegro. This is a topic quite openly discussed even at the highest instances. That is why Nacional interprets Djukanovic's project of independent Montenegro solely by his alleged wish to defend the “absolutist and mob-style” regime. There were obviously no scruples in the attempt to achieve that. The proof for that is, among other, Sekulic's murder, whoever ordered and committed it.

Gordana BOROVIC

(AIM)