Montenegro Bishop and President Trade Blows in Religion Row

Metropolitan Amfilohije, the Serbian Orthodox Church's most senior bishop in Montenegro, has called on citizens not to vote for those who supported the contested Freedom of Religion law in coming elections. 

During a Church-led protest against the law on Sunday, Bishop Amfilohije also again urged the government to withdraw the law which parliament passed late last year.

"Until this iniquity is removed, I believe that you will not find a single Montenegrin who will vote for those who seek the abduction of holy places for the first time in the history of Montenegro. 

"For God's sake, I hope there will be none among you … who will vote for this lawlessness and support that lawlessness," Amfilohije said during the protest in the small coastal town of Risan.

Mass protests against the law started last December, with the Serbian Orthodox church claiming that it could lead to the government confiscating churches and other holy sites.

Parliamentary elections are due in Montenegro by October this year, while local elections in another coastal town, Tivat, are scheduled for April 17.

Meanwhile, the country's veteran leader for almost 30 years, President Milo Djukanovic, has accused the Serbian Orthodox Church  of undermining legal order and the civic character of the multi-ethnic state. 

During Monday's session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Djukanovic said that Montenegro would resolve this internal issue in a peaceful manner.

"Montenegro has faced allegations by only one religious community, and a brutal media campaign from the neighborhood, with skillful manipulation and attempts to accuse the state of intending to seize church property," Djukanovic said.

Montenegro has been in turmoil over the law ever since...

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