Slavko Stojanovic

Tensions went up by a notch during elections in Montenegro Sunday when police said they had arrested 20 Serbian nationals, accusing them of intent to destabilize the country by terrorism.

"These persons are suspected... of acts to create a criminal enterprise and terrorism," DPA quotes national police director Slavko Stojanović says in a statement.

BELGRADE - Montenegrin police say they have arrested 20 people suspected of planning armed attacks after voting closes in parliamentary elections, RFE/RL reports.

National police director Slavko Stojanovic said on October 16 that those arrested late on October 15 came from neighboring Serbia.

The Interior Ministry has warned that the situation in Kotor is "alarming" after violence between criminal gangs caused it to deploy anti-terrorist officers to the coastal town on Monday.

The authorities fear that the violence could jeopardise the tourist season in Kotor, which is visited each year by thousands of foreign tourists on luxury cruise ships.

Opposition parties and some prominent NGOs have called on Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic to dismiss the director of police, Slavko Stojanovic, after the police accused the Special Prosecutor's Office of illegally ordering the arrest of senior police officers.

On the fourth day of opposition protests in Podgorica, Nebojsa Medojevic, one of the opposition leaders, on Wednesday told the director of police, Slavko Stojanovic, to quit following his statements that attacks on police at the meetings are possible.

Senior police investigators from Europe, Japan and the United Arab Emirates gathered in Budva, Montenegro, on Wednesday to share information about ongoing investigations into the so-called "Pink Panther" robberies around the world.

The meeting is part of an Interpol operation against the gang, most of whose members come from the former Yugoslavia.

Gendarmes indicted over incident involving PM's brother

BELGRADE -- The Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade has issued an indictment against eight members of the MUP Gendarmerie (Zanadarmerija) unit.

They are accused of attacking Andrej Vucic, the brother of Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, and Predrag Mali, the brother of Belgrade Mayor Sinisa Mali.

The head of the Montenegrin police, Slavko Stojanovic, said on Tuesday that media freedom is the basis of any democratic society, and that his force is working to protect it.