SERVICE OF SERBIA

written at : 13.10.1995 16:49:10 W+1

INTELLIGENCE SERVICE OF MONTE NEGRO vs. INTELLIGENCE

Head of Montenegrin secret police - Milosevic's "mole"!?

Podgorica, October 13, 1995

Although more than six months have passed since Montenegrin Ministry of Internal Affairs was shaken by a major police scandal which blew away the Minister of police, Nikola Pejakovic himself and three of his assistants from their posts, airing of this highly significant state agency continues. The new Minister of Montenegrin police, Filip Vujanovic (he was transferred to this post from the post of the Minister of Justice in the Governemnt of Montenegro), immediately after inauguration discharged the former head of the Centre of Security of Montenegro, Zeljko Jocic and four of his immediate associates. The reason: the well-known "Spuz case", i.e. the case of "exceeding authorization and forcing out confession" by the discharged policemen. Minister Vujanovic also suspended numerous policemen of the Montenegrin Ministry of the interior suspected also of having exceeded authorizations. Well informed sources calculate speak about 100 removed policemen.

Simultaneously with this operation, far from the eyes of the public, a purge is going on in the State Security Service (SDB), of just as large proportions. And simultaneously with this opeation, a strange personnel police complex combination is going on between Belgrade and Podgorica.

Namely, after Bosko Bojovic, head of the Montenegrin SDB had departed, two of his close associates were also relieved of duty. The newly chosen head of the SDB, Vukasin Maras, has evidently without much beating around the bush and quite uncompromisingly relieved Radoje Radunovic, counsellor of the former head of SDB for the region of Montenegrin seaside (seated in Kotor), and Boro Djedovic who was until recently in charge of terrorism in SDB. Djedovic was immediately deprived of his official car and recommended to retire.

The following fact shows that this is not the matter of mere choice of a new team by the newly appointed head of the secret police, Mr Maras: Dragan Rajovic, driver of Bosko Bojovic, was transferred to the "garage". From now on, instead of the assistant minister of the police, he will be driving a truck or at best a bus.

Refusal of the Montenegrin state leadership to find a new job for Bojovic, as well as early retirement of his assistants led to a turn which can be seen only in skilfully directed films: Bosko Bojovic, the former head of SDB of Montenegro, was practically overnight appointed a member of a collegiate body of Jovica Stanisic, head of the Serb SDB and the right-hand man of Slobodan Milosevic. Bojovic even got the post of deputy director of the Institute of Security in Belgrade.

Instead of the suggested retirement, Radoje Radunovic also left for Serbia and he practically immediately found a job: he became the head of a regional Ministry of the interior in Vojvodina. In Podgorica, rumours go that allegedly, his connection for this transfer was Mihailo Markovic, a high official and the ideologist of the ruling Socialist Party of Serbia.

Boro Djedovic within 48 hours also found a job in Belgrade. He was appointed senior counsellor for consular affairs at the Yugoslav embassy in one of the Scandinavian countries. At the moment he is attending necessary preparations for the job in Belgrade. Our sources tell us that Maras quite tactlessly recommended Djedovic to retire. However, Djedovic answered that if Maras, who was over fifty years old, could work as the head of the SDB of Montenegro, he who was just over thirty was too young to retire.

Of all police transfers from Podgorica to Belgrade, departure of Bosko Bojovic to work with Jovica Stanisic is certainly the most interesting one. What has this former Montenegrin security serviceman done to deserve a job with the new master, after the Montenegrin state leadership had rejected him, and what might his transfer into Stanisic's headquarters actually mean?

The fact that the Montenegrin state leadership did not wish to appoint Bopjovic to a new post, as well as the fact that he was immediately given a job in the Serb SDB may be cause for many to believe that Bojovic has worked for the SDB of Serbia all the time, in other words, that he was a "Serb mole" positioned at the most delicate post in Montenegro. Bojovic's opponents in the police which are quite numerous will certainly grab the opportunity and proclaim him the top and most prominent Serb spy in Montenegro.

It is, of course, difficult to prove such accusations and a lot of time will be needed to bring things out into the open. A logical question arises, though: why does the Serb Ministry of the Interior need Bojovic (if he has not passed the test in Montenegro) and what jobs he will be doing in Stanisic's office?

Bojovic is best acquainted with Montenegro and circumstances in it, so one can expect that he will be responsible for that region in Stanisic's service. He will, of course, do what his new bosses expect him to do. Bojovic is practically a true data bank. He will take to Belgrade numerous ready-made data highly significant for an intelligence service (if he has not sent them there already, of course).

For instance, information about the plans of Montenegrin leadership in case Belgrade decides to deprive Montenegro of all its attributes of a state are certainly priceless for the Serb secret police as an instrument of Serb policy. Until just a few months ago, Bojovic was a man of great confidence of President Bulatovic and Prime Minister Djukanovic, so one can conclude that he knows answers to all the key questions. And what might be most significant for a top intelligence officer: what if Bojovic has acquired an insight into the way of thinking of the President and the Prime Minister and can therefore anticipate their moves? Data on secret flows of money, oil and cigarettes in this Republic are certainly also very valuable for the Serb intelligence service.

There are, of course, many more things in Montenegro which must be interesting for the police, or better still, the political leaders of Serbia. Bojovic is a man who possesses an enormous number of important information about people from all spheres of life in Montenegro. It would be sufficient for Bojovic just to give his new boss the list of "part-time" associates of the SDB of Montenegro. In this context, it is not at all negligible that Bojovic is angry with President Bulatovic who was extremely opposed to Bojovic remaining in the police, as one can hear from sources in the police. Although reasons for such stance of the President is not known for sure, two possibilities are mentioned: first is a personal dislike between the President's wife Nada and Bojovic, and the second possibility, which is much more acceptable, is a conflict between the President's chief of security and personal bodyguard Zoran Ulama and the head of the secret police.

Montenegrin independent weekly "Monitor" has recently published an interesting text with the following title: "Did Bojovic wish to spy on the President?" Namley, Monitor claims that Bojovic has tried to replace the President's bodyguard Ulama, and even states the fact that in mid '92 he managed to arrange Ulama's suspension. The main complaint against Bulatovic's bodyguard was that he was allegedly too friendly with people from Podgorica underground.

Referring to its source, Monitor writes that Ulama told President Bulatovic a different story: Bojovic demanded from him to spy on President Bulatovic, to report to him what Bulatovic was doing and saying at home, in his car, on journeys... Then a meeting of President Bulatovic, Prime Minister Djukanovic, Minister of police Pejakovic, and Head of the SDB followed. At that meeting it was decided that Ulama should continue to do his job of Bulatovic's bodyguard.

Whatever it may be, with its act of employing Bojovic, the Montenegrin leadership has received a serious blow from the Serb intelligence service. Such a significant transfer could not have happened without the knowledge and agreement of the Serb President Slobodan Milosevic. It is evident that the politicians are aware that a transfer of a discharged policeman of such a high rank into the first team of another federal unit is a political scandal.

The transfer of Bojovic has already served as evidence to some analysts that Milosevic is using the police to make a spider's web around Bulatovic and Djukanovic. Just as he had done once before around the previous Montenegrin leadership. This year's sabotage of Montenegrin tourism by Belgrade and other similar actions indicate that Milosevic's regime is trying to destabilize Montenegro economically. Social unrest which would follow, directed from Belgrade, would lead to a new "happening of the people" and a new shift at the helm of Montenegro. If Bojovic was really the Serb mole in the core of Montenegrin government, he has probably organized a special network of agents in Montenegro for the needs of Belgrade.

But, these are all just speculations. The facts are that Bojovic has been officially recruited for the Serb SDB and that he is now playing in the team with experts for "happening of the people" such as Mihalj Kertes and Maksim Korac.

The information about the already prepared purge in the State Security Service of all inspectors who are known to have been men of confidence of the runaway Bojovic shows to what extent this institution is shaken. All that implies that transfers between SDB of Montenegro and SDB of Serbia have not been completed yet, with a high dose of uncertainty what will come out in the end.

Seki RADONCIC (AIM POdgorica) BOX

While he was working in Montenegro, Bosko Bojovic was considered by the public to be a man of President Bulatovic. Things have started to go badly for Bojovic lately. In March this year, Montenegrin President Momir Bulatovic formed a personal security headquarters consisting of ten policemen, and he nominated his own bodyguard Zoran Ulama to the post of its head. Immediately after that, Prime Minister Djukanovic also decided to have a separate security service, so he too formed a team of his bodyguards. Svetozar Marovic, Chairman of Montenegrin parliament did the same. Until then, a special department for personal protection was in charge of security of Montenegrin politicians. Analysts assessed such moves of the leaders of Montenegro as their loss of confidence in the former Minister of police Nikola Pejakovic and the head of SDB Bojovic.

Montenegrin state leadership then used the well-known "Spuz case" as the pretext to dismiss the Minister of Police, Nikola Pejakovic. That is when Bojovic resigned. He suspected that he would also be discharged. Bulatovic and Djukanovic proved that they did not count on him any more. But, it also turned out that Belgrade did count on Bojovic and some of his close associates very much.

S.R.