WORLD NEWS FOR MONTENEGRO DIASPORA
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In the annual report on religious freedom in the world in 2022, the US State Department states that several religious communities reported concerning incidents in Montenegro.
The document refers to the policies of state authorities that violate the religious beliefs of various groups, denominations and individuals, as well as US efforts to promote religious freedom around the world. Every year, the State Department submits reports to Congress on religious freedom in the world, Voice of America reports.
In the part of the Report that refers to Montenegro, the Department of State lists recorded incidents in 2022 and points to a case when unidentified persons threw stones at the premises of the Montenegrin Orthodox Church (CPC).
There are also media reports that a nun from the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) allegedly took down the national flag placed on the fence of the Cetinje monastery and threw it on the ground.
As the State Department reminds, the nun claimed that she folded the flag and handed it over to an individual who, she claimed, threatened the priests. The report states that the prosecutor's office in Cetinje ordered the filing of a criminal complaint against the nun due to suspicion that she committed the criminal offense of "damaging the reputation of Montenegro", but that it is unclear whether she was prosecuted.
Separately, in case it is relevant, during a recent visit we noticed that there are still many flags on the fence around the monastery - the State Department points out in the Report.
According to the State Department, the Islamic community reported anti-Islamic and Serbian nationalist messages from fans from Petrovac, during the visit of the team from Plav (FK Jezero).
He also notes that the Jewish community in Montenegro has reported that it feels threatened due to the installation of billboards that mention the 'nakba' - which alludes to, as indicated, the displacement of Palestinians during the creation of the state of Israel.
The Report notes, however, that religious discrimination and hate speech are prohibited by law, but also that religious groups can obtain legal status without registration.
Agreement on relations between the state and the SPC
The State Department reminds that on August 3, 2022, Prime Minister Dritan Abazović and SPC Patriarch Porfirije signed a "framework agreement" regulating the relations between the state and the SPC "despite the opposition of civil society, other religious organizations and opposition political parties".
All of them "claimed that aspects of the agreement were unconstitutional and accused Abazović of hastening to sign the agreement without an adequate public discussion," the report says.
Also, the State Department writes, the non-governmental organization Action for Human Rights (HRA) has identified several provisions by which the agreement deviates from the existing governmental legal framework. Among the provisions are those related to granting certain public legal powers to the SPC, as well as a provision on religious education in public schools through a mechanism outside the Law on Freedom of Religion.
It is also recalled that the Democratic Party of Socialists of Milo Đukanović, together with other opposition parties, voted no confidence in Abazović's government, "stating that the government signed an unconstitutional agreement, which caused "immeasurable damage to state interests".
Civic activists stated that it is necessary to change the agreement in order to be harmonized with the amendments to the Law on Freedom of Religion from 2021 and the legal status of other religious communities, as well as with the civil and secular character of the state - the report says.
The SPC, however, notes from the State Department, "stated that by signing the agreement, decades of injustice were corrected and discrimination against the church ended, given that other large religious communities have similar agreements with the government."
The CPC leaders stated that the contract limits the opportunities for the CPC to use the 750 Orthodox facilities that the SPC maintains in the country - the State Department said in the report.
He also points out that President Đukanović made statements labeling the SPC as a "criminal and paramilitary structure".
The SPC, the report notes, stated that the Ministry of Internal Affairs continues to approve visas for clergy who have come to the country, but has not resolved the existing cases of priests who were denied residence permits by the previous government.
Property disputes
In the report, the State Department also indicates that Catholic Church officials continued to state that, as one of the largest property owners in the country, they are still involved in numerous property disputes with the government and the SPC.
The Montenegrin Orthodox Church also has property disputes with the government and the Serbian Orthodox Church, the report notes, "whose officials claim that they have only two churches in the entire country, one in Kotor and one in Cetinje, in which they can hold religious services, while SPC uses more than 750 Orthodox buildings".
According to representatives of the CPC, the government is protecting "this illegal property with police forces for the benefit of the Serbian Church". They state that during the year the government did not take any action to resolve disputes between the SPC and the CPC regarding the ownership of religious buildings - states the State Department.
It is also added that representatives of the Islamic community pointed to the "worrying trend of marginalization of minority religious communities".
The report states that the May 21 Civil Movement, "which describes itself as a pro-opposition and pro-CPC political movement", accused the government of discrimination against the Montenegrin Orthodox Church, and that the SPC Metropolis accused President Đukanović and his political partners of discrimination and publicly insulting the church and its members' claims that they are "traitors".
In the Report, they also state that representatives of the civil sector have warned that religious education in state schools is in conflict with the Law on Education.
The American ambassador and other embassy officials, as noted in the Report, discussed with government officials how religious groups are treated. They discussed "cases of religious discrimination, the growth of religious tensions after the signing of the framework agreement between the SPC and the government, issues of restitution and relations between religious groups and the government".
M. J.
