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- Accompanied by riots, protests and street fighting, the new leader of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro was ordained on Sunday.
- 1,800 police officers guarded the ceremonies at the monastery in the historic capital of Cetinje.
- Metropolitan of Montenegro Gwankeci, headed by the Serbian Orthodox Patriarch Porvirij, arrived at the monastery and left by helicopter.
The protesters wanted to prevent Joanikije’s installation in Cetinje. They set up barricades on the paths to Cetinje and fought street battles with the police in front of the monastery, as noted by a reporter for the German news agency dpa.
Legend:
Demonstrators set up roadblocks.
Keystone
Protesters threw stones at the police, who responded with tear gas. The police violently dissolved the siege. The news portal «vijesti.me» reported that 16 people were arrested or detained, and seven police officers were injured. The demonstrators were supporters of the independence of Montenegro.
The question of identity divides the population
The small Balkan country was independent until 1918, then was part of various Yugoslav states, before it left the former confederation with Serbia in 2006 and became independent again. The question of identity divides the Montenegrin population. Supporters of independence felt that the installation of the new capital in the Cetinje region was a show of force by the pro-Serb camp.
The small town, about 40 kilometers from the capital Podgorica, is considered a stronghold of the idea of independence. At the same time, Serbs make up about 30 percent of Montenegro’s population. Much more people are converting to the Serbian Orthodox Church. Its head is located in Serbia, it does not recognize the identity of the state of Montenegro.
SRF News 4, 05.09.2021, 09:00; sda / dpa / geta;
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