Bečić attends ceremony marking the Day of Internal Affairs

The central ceremony marking the Day of Internal Affairs was held this evening in front of the building of the Ministry of Interior, where, for the first time, the highest award for police service – named after the fallen officer Slavoljub Šćekić – was presented. On this occasion, gold, silver, and bronze badges were also awarded to Police Directorate officers for exceptional contributions to their work and for achieving measurable and visible results.

The “Slavoljub Šćekić” Award was posthumously bestowed upon Milutin Leković, a police officer who lost his life in the line of duty in Herceg Novi in 2019. The award was presented to his daughter, Jelena, by Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinator of the Bureau for Operational Coordination of Security Services Aleksa Bečić, who addressed those gathered.

“Today, I congratulate you on the Day of Internal Affairs and extend my gratitude for the historic struggle you are waging against all forms of crime – for every step you take to return to the state what was stolen from it for years.

This year marks a turning point – a year in which the drug, tobacco, and eco-mafias suffered defeats and lost power, while the state regained its dignity. A year in which those long deemed ‘untouchable’ have finally been brought to justice. Today, those who once believed they could buy, mock, or trample the law now stand before it. They answer the call of the state – not because they wish to, but because they must. Not because they have changed, but because Montenegro has.

Step by step, we are addressing the weaknesses and deficits left behind. Staffing reforms are in full swing. We are preserving valuable experience, cleansing the system of illicit influences, and injecting new energy into every uniform and every office. Soon, we will complete the largest public recruitment campaign in the history of the Ministry of Interior – bringing a new generation of young, educated, and honourable individuals ready to wear our badge with pride. A generation that will prove the badge should not be guarded from the people, but worn for the people.

The system is modernising – numerous projects are being implemented: new uniforms, stationary radars, video surveillance systems, and inter-service interoperability. Every new metre of security is a metre of freedom. Every radar, camera, and patrol is a new line of defence for Montenegro. 

But the most important reform is not technical – it is moral: vetting. Vetting is a message – to criminals, to those who hide them, and to those who protect them. A message that the time of impunity is over. That loyalty will no longer be measured by party, kinship, or abuse of power, but by truth. That the badge will no longer be worn by those who served cartels, godfathers, or companies, but by those who serve citizens. That the state will no longer distinguish between the powerful and the weak – only between the honest and the corrupt.

Vetting is the law. Vetting is an obligation. Vetting is the line that divides the past from the future. Therefore, those who are clean should be proud – and those who are not should prepare their defence. For this is not persecution, but purification. Not a reckoning, but a rebirth. And there is no turning back. The state is no longer guarded by the privileged, but by the loyal and the faithful. 

This year, for the first time in two decades, the state spoke where it had remained silent the longest – at the grave of Slavoljub Šćekić. That is why, together with the Minister and the Director of the Police Directorate, I proposed that the Police Academy bear his name, and that the Ministry of Interior establish the highest state award in his honour – the “Slavoljub Šćekić” Award, which we present tonight for the first time. So that it is clear – when Montenegro kneels, it does so only before its heroes, never again before the powerful.

To the family of Slavoljub Šćekić, you have waited long for truth, for justice, for a conviction, for the state to raise its head at your brother’s grave. For years, you bore the burden that we all should have shared.

And tonight, the award bearing his name goes into the hands of another fallen officer’s family. It is proof that truth always finds its way home, no matter how long it takes. As long as there are those who have fallen for this country, Montenegro will remain upright, grateful, and eternal.

Dear citizens, esteemed officers,

The state does not care for your name or affiliation – only whether the hands that bear its symbols serve the law or crime, the people or the cartel. This state will no longer sit at the same table with those who robbed it, nor make compromises with those who humiliated it.

And so, be prepared – the state will not stop, it will see it through to the end. Because only a just state can be a free state. And freedom is the only line Montenegro will never retreat from.

Director of the Police Directorate,

Thank you for proving that leading an institution means serving the state, not power – and that today, thanks to you, your team, and the Minister, we are proud, not ashamed.

Ladies and gentlemen, police officers,

The badge is worn only by those who deserve it – those who never lower their gaze. Those who know that there is no holier duty or greater pride than to protect citizens, the land, the rivers, lakes, sea, cities, and everything for which our ancestors gave their lives. Those who know how to safeguard the children, youth, and the future of Montenegro.

Remember – a uniform without honour is just clothing, but a uniform with honour is sacred. Wear it with pride.

Long live a clean, steadfast, and professional security sector!

Long live proud, upright, and eternal Montenegro,” Deputy Prime Minister Bečić concluded in his address.