The President of the Republic Zoran Milanovi\u0107 attended a formal session of the Istria County Assembly in Pazin on the occasion of Istria County Day, after which he took questions from reporters about the JANAF case. The President insisted that Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovi\u0107 must be knowledgeable about everything that is a burden on the system and also sees the (State Attorney\u2019s Office) DORH as a possible source of information leakage in the JANAF case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Prime Minister had to know everything that was important and a burden on the system. Where is it written that that is forbidden and that the Prime Minister should not be kept in the know? I am telling you, he had to know, because otherwise there is no one running anything, but only anonymous people hiding behind the DORH\u2019s name. Who is the DORH, who was in charge of that case? That person has a first and last name,\u201d President Milanovi\u0107 told reporters in Pazin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOne person has the biggest responsibility, and that is the Prime Minister and he must know. And I believe that he will handle that information responsibly,\u201d the President said, because, as he put it, otherwise we have a Prime Minister who knows nothing. \u201cSo, the Prime Minister must know that. What are you afraid of, that maybe the Prime Minister will inform those persons who are under investigation?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The absurdity of the possibility that the Prime Minister does not know the important things for the functioning of the system was illustrated by President Milanovi\u0107, with the possibility that the Prime Minister appoints, for instance, the Chief State Attorney, but does not know that he is under investigation. He also said that Ranko Ostoji\u0107, who was Minister of the Interior at the time when he was Prime Minister, was not correct when he said that he had not been informing then PM Milanovi\u0107 about investigations. \u201cHe was informing me, and he was not the only one, on all important things,\u201d the President said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
President Milanovi\u0107 believes that DORH\u2019s autonomy means that \u201cthere is no influence on their procedures.\u201d \u201cSo you know that something was started, it didn\u2019t start at your initiative, you have information about the consequences and the damage it can cause and you don\u2019t interfere. Because as soon as you interfere it will cause damage and 50 people who are in that system will know,\u201d the President noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As for information leaking from the investigation, President Milanovi\u0107 said that there were only two possible sources \u2013 the police and DORH, and he suspected that DORH was leaking information to the press. \u201cGiven that the DORH is more interested in this case, I suspect that the DORH is giving information to the media. And as long as that is the case \u2013 don\u2019t complain to anyone at all. The legislators must regulate that,\u201d the President told reporters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He reiterated that it was not clear to him why (oil pipeline operator) JANAF CEO Dragan Kova\u010devi\u0107 had not been arrested when he had accepted a bribe and the investigation continued for 10 more months, so there was only circumstantial evidence left now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
President Milanovi\u0107 dismissed claims by ministers in the Plenkovi\u0107 Government that at the time when Milanovi\u0107 was Prime Minister, he abolished security checks, saying that was not true. \u201cI did not. That\u2019s a lie. I refused to let the (Security and Intelligence Agency) SOA check my ministers, candidates for ministers, when I had to form a Government. (…) I refused that. I take responsibility for the Government,\u201d he pointed out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The President rejected claims that he was putting pressure on the courts. \u201cHow can I put pressure on the courts, by what means? With money, the army, the police, helicopters \u2013 not at all. But I can put pressure (by appealing to) common sense. And you know what kind of pressure that will be \u2013 unbearable,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Asked about his visits to former JANAF CEO Kova\u010devi\u0107\u2019s private club in Slovenska Street, President Milanovi\u0107 said that he thought he had not been there during the coronavirus crisis lockdown. \u201cI don\u2019t think I was there, but if I was, I was accompanied by two or three people. Who says so, the Prime Minister? The one who shook hands with Novak \u0110okovi\u0107 before 5,000 people? That\u2019s rude. It\u2019s better for him to remain silent,\u201d said President Milanovi\u0107.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The President of the Republic Zoran Milanovi\u0107 attended a formal session of the Istria County Assembly in Pazin on the occasion of Istria County Day, after which he took questions from reporters about the JANAF case. The President insisted that Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovi\u0107 must be knowledgeable about everything that is a burden on the system and also sees the (State Attorney\u2019s Office) DORH as a possible source of information leakage in the JANAF case.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":5654,"template":"","news-cat":[12],"class_list":["post-5708","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-cat-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n