Beating and arrests in parliament: Montenegro has passed a law that worries the Serbian minority

The opposition failed to stop the law, under which the country's religious communities would have to prove their ownership over a century ago. The Serbian church sees this as an attempt by the local church to urge it, but the government accuses it of promoting pro-Serbian policies. "Ready to Die for Our Church"

Beating and arrests in parliament: Montenegro has passed a law that worries the Serbian minority

Montenegro's parliament yesterday approved a law pertaining to religious communities in the country despite a last-minute attempt by pro-Serbian lawmakers to stop the vote. Under the law, religious communities in the small Balkan state will have to prove that their property was owned before 1918. That year, the majority of its Orthodox Christian population joined the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, prior to Yugoslavia.

Members of the opposition pro-Serbian Democratic Party and other critics of the law say it is an attempt to promote the small Montenegro Orthodox Church - not recognized by the other major churches - at the expense of the Serbian church. The latest is the main religion in the country, where some 620,000 people live.

They also accuse Montenegro's pro-Western President Milo Diocranovich and his Democratic Socialist Party of corruption, ties of organized crime and an attempt to further the country from Serbia, its largest neighbor. Opposition members clashed with their rivals before the vote, which began after a lengthy debate that continued into the night. Police have arrested all 18 Democratic Front party legislators, but all have been released except for three - including party leader Andreaja Mendicz.

"We have already said that we are ready to die for our church," he told reporters after the brawl.

On Thursday, hundreds of opposition supporters and clerics marched on the streets of the capital Podgorica in protest against the law, with several roads in the north of the country also blocked for several hours.

The Serbian Church called for the release of legislators. Clashes in Parliament yesterday (Photo: Reuters)

Montenegro Parliament Conflict Following Churches Act, December 27, 2019 (Photo: Reuters)

The Serbian Orthodox Church has about 12 million believers, mainly in Serbia, Bosnia and Montenegro. It owns 66 monasteries in the country, most of them from the Middle Ages, along with dozens of churches and other real estate.

The leader of the church, Patriarch Irenez, called on the Montenegro authorities to put an end to the "brutal terrorism" they are running, he said. "His Highness calls for the immediate release of the political representatives of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro," he said.

Serbia's President Alexander Wojcic said Belgrade will try to relieve the tension through diplomatic means. "We will help our people (in Montenegro), but we will not destroy the bridges with our neighbors," he said.

The church suspects the state plans to take over its assets, but the government denies it. Montenegro president, for his part, accuses the church of promoting pro-Serbian policies, in order to challenge Montenegro's identity.

The country split without violence from Serbia in 2006. She has joined NATO in recent years and, like Serbia, is a candidate to join the EU.

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Serbian priest talks to police in demonstration in front of parliament yesterday (Photo: Reuters)

Serbian Orthodox priest talks to police in protest against Montenegro's parliament, December 26, 2019 (Photo: Reuters)