Human Rights Action (HRA) once again finds it necessary to respond to the misleading and harmful statements made by Radan Nikolic, who claims to serve as the President of the Association of War Veterans since 1990. This time, Nikolić’s rhetoric includes serious threats.

Nikolic has misrepresented HRA’s advocacy for legislation aimed at equitably addressing the status of all civilian victims of war in alignment with human rights standards. Throughout this year, HRA has publicly protested the delays in the passage of the Act on Veterans and Disability Protection. The enactment of this Act aligns with the best interests of all those Nikolic claims to represent. It remains unclear why he opposes its adoption and in whose interest he seeks to undermine the victims and HRA.

Nikolic accuses HRA of acting “to the detriment of Montenegro” and has called on his like-minded associates for “maximum organized resistance.” It remains ambiguous whom Nikolic intends to threaten and against whom he would wage war. We particularly condemn his slanderous and evidently unbalanced assertion that “non-governmental organizations are spy organizations that masquerade as supranational entities, controlling significant portions of prosecutors and judges for the interests of foreign countries to the detriment of Montenegro.”

Nikolic’s assertion that the European Parliament did not criticize the Law on Veterans and Disability Protection as selective, and that HRA’s Executive Director falsely conveyed this to the public, is incorrect. In its resolution dated October 18, 2023, the European Parliament explicitly stated, in point 52, that it “is concerned about the dissolved Montenegrin Parliament’s adoption of the Law on Veterans and Disability Protection, which selectively prescribes the category of ‘civilian victims of war’ and their right to monetary compensation, despite the fact that this law has not yet taken effect.” The resolution can be accessed here: [European Parliament Resolution](https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-9-2023-0369_EN.html).

Furthermore, it is false to claim that HRA Executive Director Tea Gorjanc Prelevic is part of any “secret group” involved in drafting this law. HRA did not have a representative on the working group formed by the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare under Minister Naida Nišić, a fact that can be easily verified. The proposal submitted by HRA in January 2024 to the relevant ministry for regulations to address the status of civilian victims of war in accordance with international standards was publicly disseminated. Yet, Nikolic absurdly misrepresents this as evidence of membership in a secretive alliance with ministry officials.

We caution the media that disseminating defamatory and threatening statements carries accountability for those involved. We emphasize that Nikolic’s claims are easily verifiable within the documents of the European Parliament and the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, as well as through HRA. Regrettably, no media outlets reporting on Nikolic’s statements have sought to verify their accuracy.