Police clash with opponents of Serbian church in Montenegro

CETINJE – Riot constabulary utilized teardrop state connected protesters who fired gunshots successful the aerial and hurled bottles and stones aboriginal Sunday successful Montenegro earlier a planned inauguration of the caller caput of the Serbian Orthodox Church successful the country.

The ceremonial scheduled successful Cetinje, a erstwhile superior of the tiny Balkan nation, has angered opponents of the Serbian religion successful Montenegro, which declared independency from neighboring Serbia successful 2006.

On Saturday, hundreds of protesters confronted constabulary successful Cetinje astir a monastery wherever the inauguration of Metropolitan Joanikije is expected to instrumentality place. The demonstrators besides acceptable up roadworthy barriers with trash containers, tires and ample rocks to forestall religion and authorities dignitaries from coming to the inauguration.

Chanting “This is Not Serbia!” and “This is Montenegro!,” galore of the protesters spent the nighttime astatine the barriers amid reports that constabulary were sending reinforcements to interruption done the blockade. The protesters, immoderate firing handguns into the air, acceptable occurrence to car tires astatine 1 of the blockades, trying to forestall constabulary from breaking through

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Montenegrins stay profoundly divided implicit their country’s ties with neighboring Serbia and the Serbian Orthodox Church, which is the nation’s ascendant spiritual institution. Around 30% of Montenegro’s 620,000 radical see themselves Serb.

The concern flared up successful Cetinje aboriginal Sunday aft a comparatively calm nighttime that followed Saturday’s clashes and a parallel gathering successful the capital, Podgorica, wherever thousands of radical greeted Serbian Patriarch Porfirije and Metropolitan Joanikije earlier the planned inauguration.

In a wide objection of the crisp governmental and societal disagreement successful Montenegro, President Milo Djukanovic, the designer of the state’s independency from Serbia, visited Cetinje portion the existent pro-Serb Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapic went to Podgorica.

Though Djukanovic said helium wasn’t taking sides arsenic the president of each citizens, helium praised the protesters successful Cetinje for guarding nationalist interests against the alleged bid by Serbia to enforce its power successful Montenegro done the church.

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“We request to support our state and sovereignty,” Djukanovic told the authorities tv transmission RTCG, urging calm and restraint. “Any nationally-responsible idiosyncratic people resists.”

Djukanovic has urged that the inauguration beryllium postponed and immoderate media precocious Saturday reported this would happen, but the accusation was soon denied by the Serbian religion which said the inauguration would instrumentality spot contempt the tensions.

Since Montenegro divided from Serbia, pro-independence Montenegrins person advocated for a recognized Orthodox Christian religion that is abstracted from the Serbian one.

Joanikije’s predecessor arsenic the church’s person successful Montenegro, Amfilohije, died successful October aft contracting COVID-19.

The Serbian Orthodox Church played a cardinal relation successful demonstrations past twelvemonth that helped topple a long-ruling pro-Western authorities successful Montenegro. The caller authorities present includes staunchly pro-Serb and pro-Russian parties.

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Montenegro’s erstwhile authorities led the state to independency from Serbia and defied Russia to articulation NATO successful 2017. Montenegro besides is seeking to go a European Union member.

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