Violence erupted in the Cetinje, old capital of Montenegro, on Sunday, after opposition supporters and self-declared patriotic groups clashed with police, trying to stop the new local head of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the country from being enthroned.
Police used tear gas to break up the protests, while media reported that the former head of the police, Veselin Veljovic, was among those arrested.
Police reported that two officers were injured while eight protesters were arrested during the clashes in Cetinje.
As the roads to Cetinje were blocked by barricades and protesters, Serbian Orthodox Church Patriarch Porfirije and the new Metropolitan of Montenegro had to be transported to Cetinje by army helicopters. They were escorted to the monastery protected by bulletproof shields, while police used tear gas to disperse protests nearby.
Montenegrin Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapic on Sunday called the riots in Cetinje an attempted terrorist act by the opposition, warning that an attack on the police was an attack on the state.
“It is completely clear that the perpetrators and organisers [of the protests] are the highest leadership of the [opposition] Democratic Party of Socialists in cooperation with organised criminal groups. The state will stop them,” Krivokapic wrote on Twitter.
Protesters clashed with police after they set up roadblocks on Saturday, using tires, rocks and vehicles, trying to prevent clerics from coming to Cetinje. Police later broke up the barricades.
After the enthronement ceremony, the new Metropolitan Joanikije said it would take time to overcome the ethnic, political and religious divisions in Montenegro.
“A lot of divisions were seen in Cetinje, which were artificially caused. We did everything to avoid them, but we will need a lot of time,” he said.
The US embassy in Podgorica called on all sides to urgently deescalate the situation, saying that religious freedom and freedom of expression must be respected.
“While there has been much finger-pointing about who is responsible, individuals will ultimately be held accountable for their actions. We urge citizens not to take their anger out on the police as they try to uphold public order and to police to use only the means necessary to restore peace,” the embassy posted on Twitter.
While ruling parties praised police action, the opposition Democratic Party of Socialists, DPS, accused the government of attacking peaceful protesters.
On Saturday, President Milo Djukanovic came to Cetinje to show support for the protest together with his opposition DPS supporters, calling on the authorities to cancel the enthronement ceremony, warning that it could trigger violence.
“The greatest responsibility for all the consequences lies precisely with Zdravko Krivokapic and Deputy PM Dritan Abazovic who are ready to set Montenegro on fire in order to keep their mentors in office. We will not allow you to sacrifice the citizens of Montenegro at the expense of other interests”, the DPS said in a press release on Sunday.
Violence erupted in the city of Cetinje, as police clashed with protesters in Montenegro’s former royal capital ahead of Serbian Orthodox Church Metropolitan Joanikije’s enthronement.
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— Balkan Insight (@BalkanInsight) September 5, 2021
The ceremony in Cetinje angered opponents of the Serbian Orthodox Church, who claim it is an insult to Montenegro’s struggle for sovereignty and independence from Serbia, to which it was united from the end of World War I until 2006.
The outgoing Bishop of Budimlja-Niksic was elected Metropolitan of Montenegro at the Bishops’ Council of the Serbian Church in Belgrade on May 29, to succeed the late Metropolitan Amfilohije, who died of coronavirus infection last year.
On Sunday, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic praised the Montenegrin government’s action to secure the ceremony, saying that police had to protect Church authorities.
During the large welcome ceremony in front of the Christ Resurrection church in the capital, Podgorica, Serbian Church Patriarch Porfirije called all on Orthodox believers to support the new Metropolitan. Before the thousands of believers and state and church authorities, he said citizens must refrain from violence.
The European Union delegation’s ambassador to Montenegro, Oana Cristina Popa, on Saturday called decision-makers to put the state’s future before their political interests, stressing that only a broad political dialogue will enable Montenero to overcome its divisions. British ambassador Karren Maddocks said the reasons behind the tensions this weekend would not be resolved with provocative words and violence.
On September 1, Interior Minister Sergej Sekulovic said the police could not guarantee absolute security to every citizen during the rival gatherings in Cetinje, warning there are extremes on both sides and that they are planning radicalization.
Montenegro, which declared independence in 2006, is a multi-ethnic society split between those who consider themselves Montenegrins, those who identify as Serbs and various other smaller groups.
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