Montenegrin government

Nikola Grdinic - civil society activist and a leader of the 'Odupri se' movement

Grdinic. Photo: BIRN

Ahead of the start of talks between the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Montenegrin government on Wednesday, the church called on the authorities to halt the implementation of the law on religion, which it strongly opposes.

War damage in Dubrovnik in 1991. Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Bracodbk.

"Around 75 per cent of citizens have heard about the attacks on Dubrovnik, but half of them refuse to answer [when asked] who was to blame for the attacks," said Milos Vukanovic from the Centre for Civic Education.

A senior Russian-backed bishop in Ukraine will lead a prayer walk in the Montenegrin capital, Podgorica, on Saturday, joining protests led by the Serbian Orthodox Church against a recently-adopted law on religious freedom.

He stated that the position of the Episcopal Council, the clergy, the faithful and the citizens who participate in the liturgies in that country is to go all the way till the goal is achieved, and that is - the "victory of Christ".

In the first such meeting since the country's parliament adopted a new law on religion in December, Metropolitan Amfilohije, the Serbian Orthodox Church's top bishop in Montenegro, has met the Prime Minister, Dusko Markovic, and submitted a list of proposed changes.

Serbia's Defence Minister Aleksandar Vulin attended a commemoration in Montenegro on Tuesday to mark the 20th anniversary of the murder of Yugoslav Defence Minister Pavle Bulatovic in 2000.

EU Enlargement and Neighborhood Policy Commissioner Olivr Vrhelyi said that Montenegrin Prime Minister Dusko Markovic had informed him that the Government was ready to temporarily postpone the implementation of the Freedom of Religion Act.
Multiple sources confirmed to "Vijesti" that Vrhelyi conveyed this message at a meeting with the Montenegrin opposition.

European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) rejected the request to ban Montenegro from implementing its Law on Freedom of Religion until the Constitutional Court decides on the law's constitutionality or until a deal with the Serbian Orthodox Church is concluded, the Montenegrin Government said.

Rocked by protests over a controversial law on religion, the Montenegrin government says it is the target of 'hybrid warfare' and is taking the media to task.