Podgorica, (MINA) - The manner in which the Government has proposed amendments to the laws on the National Security Agency and on internal affairs is deeply problematic, warned the Network for the Affirmation of the NGO Sector (MANS), adding that urgency must not be an excuse for expanding powers of security service without democratic oversight.

The Institute Alternativa (IA) stated that voting the day after the adoption of important amendments is inadmissible, while the Human Rights Action (HRA) said that the proposed amendments deepen concerns about endangering human rights, adding that the adoption of these legal solutions signals a renewed attempt at partisan control over the security sector.

MANS recalled that the amendments were adopted at the Government’s session on Thursday, and the Parliament was, as they stated, practically immediately placed in a position to decide on such sensitive matters without enough time for serious analysis or a public debate.

“This kind of “flying under the radar” approach further undermines confidence in security sector reforms, especially when the public is told that the amendments are the result of “many months of consultations with the European Commission” and are related to the GDPR, while the essential issues of power control remain unaddressed”, says the MANS.

This NGO called on the MPs not to support decision-making under an urgent procedure and to return the proposed laws to undergo a transparent procedure.

The IA recalled that both laws deal with very sensitive issues concerning the work of the ANB and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and above all the status of employees in those institutions, adding that “it is unacceptable to schedule a vote today on two important systemic laws in the security sector, when key amendments were adopted yesterday, published last night, and delivered to the MPs this morning, after the session had already begun”.

The HRA stated that they are protesting the repeated forcing of the adoption of the proposed legislation, adding that this haste once again reveals the interest in securing one-party control over the security sector at any cost.

They believe that the adoption of such solutions would represent a serious step backwards in terms of the rule of law and legal security.